Bonamego talks punting competition, O-line starters
Central Michigan football has begun preparing for its first game against Presbyterian on Sept. 1 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
The team went through a light walkthrough Monday morning without pads on and had a full practice scheduled for the afternoon.
On Saturday, the team had its final full-contact intersquad scrimmage at the Indoor Athletic Complex in front of the 1100 Club. The scrimmage was supposed to take place at Kelly/Shorts Stadium, but inclement weather forced the event inside.
"It was really good. It was sharp and a good back and forth," Head Coach John Bonamego said. "Offensively, we took care of the football and defensively we ran around well. I thought our tackling was good in the open field."
Bonamego's takeaways from scrimmage
Bonamego said he was pleased with the way his team performed during the scrimmage. Both sides of the ball, he said, did what they were supposed to do and played well. The second-year head coach said the team has met or exceeded the expectations he had at this juncture of fall camp.
"You always want to improve. You come out to improve every day," Bonamego said. "Our big emphasis is that we want to eliminate mental mistakes and the things we can control. There are times where a player, regardless of level, is going to get beat from time to time."
Looking ahead to the season opener, Bonamego wants the team to focus on its execution and knowing their assignments on the field.
Punting duties
One of the primary position battles taking place during fall camp has been for the starting punter position.
Sophomores Cooper Mojsiejenko and Jack Sheldon are the primary candidates for the position, which has been an interesting contest according to Bonamego.
Saturday's scrimmage was supposed to feature a lot of opportunities for the coaching staff to evaluate both punters, but being forced inside limited coaches' observations.
"I think we're in a good position. We have two punters that are both quality players and really competing," Bonamego said. "I wouldn't rule out using two punters. Both of them have unique skills so that's a distinct possibility for us."
Neither player has seen collegiate game action in their career.
Offensive line play
CMU lost two starters from its 2015 front seven. Center Nick Beamish and Ramadan Ahmeti both graduated, leaving two holes in the line to fill.
Six-foot-4, 300-pound junior Austin Doan has moved from left guard to center this season, a transition Bonamego said is going well. So far, Bonamego said he is happy with the way his line has performed and how Doan has progressed from the end of last season to fall camp.
"He's done a really good job," Bonamego said. "It's fair to say he's been a better center than he was a guard. Part of that is (because) he's really done a great job with Jason (Novak, strength and conditioning coach) throughout the summer. He's a much different player than he was physically from a year ago."
The rest of CMU's offensive line has also developed well from last season, Bonamego said. Starters will officially be established later this week by Bonamego and offensive line coach Derek Frazier. However, starting positions have been "narrowed down."
Following Monday's walkthrough, Bonamego said starters are likely to be Doan at center, junior Joe Austin at left tackle, junior Derek Edwards at right tackle, and the guard positions will be a rotation of senior Kenny Rogers, junior J.P. Quinn and sophomore Shakir Carr.
