Notebook: Bonamego talks fall camp, Ross injury, running game and dream job
"This is my Alabama, this is my Michigan, this is my Notre Dame. I'm right where I want to be and right where I always hoped I'd be."
Less than two weeks before its Sept. 1 season opener against Presbyterian, Central Michigan football is winding down fall camp and will begin preparing for it first opponent next week.
CMU was hit with its first major injury this week, losing sophomore running back Romello Ross for the season due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury during a non-contact drill at practice.
Head Coach John Bonamego has repeatedly said the running back position will be a by-committee effort. He said after Friday's practice the team was expecting a lot from Ross this season.
"We still have Devon Spalding, Jahray Hayes and Jay Roberson who all played significant snaps last year," Bonamego said. "Then we've got a couple freshmen in the mix that we expect will have an opportunity as well."
Bonamego talks Cooper Rush, running game
The Chippewas finished last in the Mid-American Conference in rushing last season, which meant they relied heavily on senior quarterback Cooper Rush to carry the offense through the air.
"I haven't been around many successful teams or championship caliber teams that didn't have great play at the quarterback position," Bonamego said. "To have Cooper in his senior year with everything he's accomplished and knowing he's improving all the time is a tremendous advantage for us."
While Bonamego knows what he is getting from his senior signal caller, he also said he would like his offense to be more balanced than it was last season.
"You're always going to do what you do best. We definitely wanted to have a better balance of pass and run," Bonamego said. "At the end of the year, we were better and a lot of those don't show up statistically because we dug ourselves (into) such a hole to get out of."
He also said having a balance of passing and rushing helps balance the game plan and keep the clock moving in late game situations while holding onto a narrow lead.
"Control what we can control"
At this point in fall camp, the Chippewas' primary focus has been controlling everything they can and installing pieces of their playbook.
"You're always emphasizing trying to minimize the (mistakes) you can control like eliminating mental mistakes. You want to eliminate the turnovers," Bonamego said.
The second-year head coach said he is happy when his defense causes turnovers in practice, but upset the offense gave up the ball, so he has to balance out the effort on controlling what they can.
Bonamego was upbeat when speaking about what he has seen out of his team approaching its first game.
"They showed up in really good shape," he said. "We were bigger, stronger and faster than we were a year ago. I think we're in a good spot mentally and the attitudes are good. It's all positive."
Embracing CMU and head coaching job
Since being hired as CMU's head coach, Bonamego has said repeatedly that coaching at his alma mater was his dream job.
With one year under his belt, his feelings towards the university and football team haven't changed.
"This is my Alabama, this is my Michigan, this is my Notre Dame. I'm right where I want to be and right where I always hoped I'd be," Bonamego said.
CMU football practice song of the day
As players prepare for the season opener against Presbyterian Sept. 1, the musical stylings of rapper Jeezy echoed during practice Friday, Aug. 19.
Jeezy - Put On ft. Kanye West (Clean)
