Morehead State Athletics

6/16/2009
Nick Feldman Named to National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society

MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State wide receiver/kick returner Nick Feldman, who completed his athletic eligibility during the 2008 football season, has been named to the 2009 National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society. The prestigious list includes student-athletes who excel in the classroom, on the field, and in the community.

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5/15/2009
MSU Announces 2009 Football Recruiting Class

MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State football program has announced its 2009 recruiting class. The 33-member group has all signed letters of commitment and all have also completed enrollment requirements for the university. The class includes nine Kentuckians, including the state's all-time career passing leader.

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5/11/2009
Three Eagle Gridders Earn Honorable Mention Preseason All-American Honors

MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State football senior defensive athletes Wes McDermott (Louisville, Ky.) and Andrew Doan (Dublin, Ohio), and Derik Steiner (Mason, Ohio) have been named 2009 Honorable Mention Preseason All-Americans for the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) by the Consensus Draft Service (CDSdraft.com).

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4/29/2009
- Football Eagles Wrap Up Spring Workouts With Annual Spring Game

"The spring game wasn't the prettiest thing in the world, but it's not meant to be," said MSU head coach Matt Ballard. "We assign two or three captains and they pick their teams so you get a lot of mismatches. It's meant to be fun and exciting for our players and fans."

The blue team answered with a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Evan Sawyer to halfback Desmond Cox. The blue team took the lead when David Francis scored on a 60-yard interception return putting the score at 12-7 after a failed two-point conversion.

Phillips struck again on a 56-yard touchdown run to put the white team back on top 14-12. Phillips found Pendleton in the end zone on a 40-yard touchdown pass to give the white team a 21-12 lead.

The blue team answered with one more touchdown but were unable to take the lead and fell 21-18.

Despite Sawyer's team losing the spring game, Ballard thought last season's starter had a decent spring.

"I thought Evan (Sawyer) shot par," said Ballard. "He had a good solid spring. He had some great days and made some great plays. Most importantly he had healthy year.

"I thought that from the way he handled himself you could tell he had had a year under his belt," said Ballard. "I think he needs to get more consistent and improve on handling some of the little things. We didn't execute some of the easiest things last season and we need to improve on that."

Ballard said that the Eagles had a productive spring despite some injuries to key players.

"Overall I think we accomplished what we set out to do this spring," said Ballard. "With the exception of one player we came out of spring without serious injury."

MSU defensive back Dereck Harkness missed most of spring practice with a torn meniscus but should return in the fall. Ballard said minor injuries slowed progress somewhat during the second half of spring practice.

"I think up until the second half of spring ball we were exceeding expectations," said Ballard. "I think the silver lining in that cloud was that the injuries allowed us to develop our depth more. The way our team practiced and with their attitude you never would have thought that we were missing Harkness or Wes McDermott the last week and a half. That was positive because during the season you're going to need the depth.

"Overall I think we got better as a football team," said Ballard.

Ballard said that the Eagle receiving corps showed improvement over the course of spring practice.

"Early on in the spring I was not happy with the way we caught the ball at all," said Ballard. "By the end of spring we were much better. We don't have that deep threat guy and we knew that going in but we'll just have to do things a little differently to work around that."

Defending against the run should be a high point for the Eagles next season said Ballard.

"Run defense was rock-solid," said Ballard. "We're as good as we've ever been up front. I was also very impressed with how our guys played in the secondary. We made tremendous improvement there."

Heading into spring practice Ballard and the rest of the MSU coaching staff were concerned with the development of the Eagle special teams. Now that spring practice is over, Ballard and company are pleased with the improvements they saw in special teams.

"When you graduate Mason Webb and Max Hammond, you know it's going to be an uphill battle," said Ballard. "Overall I think our special teams really improved."

With key Pioneer Football League home games against Dayton and San Diego, Ballard thinks the 2009 season will be another tough one.

"In this league it's really getting to where any team can beat any other team any game," said Ballard. "Our fans know that we are going to work hard every game. We're just going to have to keep improving each practice and work on executing better or else it's going to be a tough season. I think we can be competitive but we will have to execute."

MSU opens the season September 5, as the Eagles welcome Southern Virginia to Jayne Stadium.

4/28/2009
- Eagle Defensive Back David Hyland Invited to This Week's Cleveland Browns Rookie Camp

3/26/2009
- Football Eagles Open Spring Practice On March 31, Announce 2009 Fall Schedule

Coach Matt Ballard's Eagles finished the 2008 season with a 6-6 overall record and a 4-4 Pioneer Football League mark. MSU ended the season with wins at Dayton and at home against Campbell.

The 2009 schedule includes eight PFL games and non-conference contests against Southern Virginia, Saint Francis (Pa.) and North Carolina Central. The complete schedule, with times to be announced later, follows:
Sept. 5 - Southern Virginia
Sept. 12 - at Saint Francis (Pa.)
Sept. 19 - at North Carolina Central
Sept. 26 - Butler*
Oct. 3 - Dayton*
Oct. 10 - at Davidson*
Oct. 17 - at Jacksonville*
Oct. 24 - Marist*
Oct. 31 - at Campbell*
Nov. 14 - San Diego*
Nov. 21 - at Valparaiso*

"There are several concerns and goals that apply to spring practice every year," Ballard said. "We have to make sure we have all our personnel moves in place. We always want to avoid key injuries that require surgery or long rehabs.

"We got to adjust and tweak our schemes based on our personnel. And, we want to end spring practice with everybody in place and knowing what we can hang our hat on offensively and defensively."

Offensive coordinator Gary Dunn mentioned the offensive line, wide receiver spots and fullback as key areas to be addressed during the spring.

"We lost two key members of the line in Nick Schoenfeld and Chris Setters," Dunn said. "We have a couple of probable starters who will miss spring practice due to injury. So, we will be able to evaluate several guys who have been in our program for a couple of years who should be ready to step up and earn starting or key reserve roles.

"We have to replace Nick Feldman at wide receiver, but we have a lot of good, young talent. We've got to identify who our fullbacks are going to be. Evan Sawyer is our leading candidate at quarterback, but Jared Phillips is also experienced."

Associate Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator John Gilliam returns several key members of the 2008 Eagle defensive unit that ranked sixth nationally in rushing defense and eighth nationally in total defense.

"We're excited about our guys up front," Gilliam said. "Wes McDermott anchors our linebackers and Derik Steiner our defensive line. I told them that I was excited and that they could be among the national leaders in rushing defense again.

"We've got to answer some questions in the secondary, especially at cornerback. We lost a great player in David Hyland, but we do have some talented players returning. We have to identify a starter at cornerback and establish some depth."

While weather adjustments may be necessary, the Eagles are scheduled to practice on Tuesdays (March 31 and April 7, 14 and 21), Thursdays (April 2, 9, 16 and 23), Fridays (April 3, 10 and 17) and Saturdays (April 4, 11, 18 and 25) during the spring practice period. Weekday practices are scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EDT. Saturday practice times vary, and the spring game is scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT on April 25.

2/5/2009
- Morehead State Places 47 On Pioneer Football League Academic Honor Roll

1/19/2009
- Former MSU Defensive Coordinator Rex Ryan Named New York Jets Head Coach