Bonamego begins second year with conference title as goal
John Bonamego barely made it through a half hour of the 2015 Mid-American Conference Football Media Day. He threw up in the bathroom. The next day he was eating through a feeding tube and battling tonsil cancer.
At the 2016 MAC Football Media Day, Bonamego stayed the entire time. He said the difference between last year and this year is "night and day." The second-year head football coach has been cancer-free since November.
"There were some challenging times," Bonamego said. "Physically, there’s not even any comparison right now in how I feel.”
Bonamego's cancer diagnosis was part of a 2015 offseason which also saw the death of cornerback Derrick Nash, the death of the team's physician Dr. Jason Davenport in June and the dismissal of two-year starting cornerback Brandon Greer after he was arrested on a kidnapping charge in July 2015.
This summer, the Chippewas dealt with the arrest and trial of sophomore linebacker Malik Fountain and the death of former running back Zurlon Tipton.
Despite the adversity, Bonamego said he always puts his faith in his coordinators, assistant coaches and players to do their jobs.
"We never lost the Xs and Os," he said. "As a head coach, I'll be the first one to admit I've got great coordinators in Morris Watts, Greg Colby and Mike Dietzel. You hire good people and you let them do their job. You're a planner, an organizer and creating the culture for the staff and the team. I trust my staff."
Senior quarterback Cooper Rush said Bonamego and Nash helped inspire their run to a share of the division championship and is happy Bonamego will be healthier this season.
“Last season with Derrick and Coach Bono, it was about sticking to the plan," Rush said. "Coach Bono has always preached business as usual. It’s been like that this summer. It will be great in camp to have him healthy. We won’t have to see him tough it out. I think he’ll enjoy it a lot more and so will we.”
2015
Nash passed away June 22, 2015 at age 20 following a battle with leukemia.
Bonamego announced in June 2015 he was diagnosed with tonsil cancer. Throughout the summer, Bonamego woke up at 4:30 a.m. to drive from Mount Pleasant to Ann Arbor for treatment. He would then return for practice in Mount Pleasant later in the day.
The Paw Paw native and former CMU walk-on finished cancer treatment in August 2015 and led the Chippewas to a 7-5 regular season record. On Nov. 21, he announced he was cancer-free. Six days later, CMU topped Eastern Michigan to clinch a share of the Mid-American Conference West Division in his first season coaching his alma mater.
CMU lost to Minnesota 21-14 in the Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field to finish the 2015 season with a 7-6 record. The Chippewas entered another offseason which again featured another player arrest and another death within the program.
New Year, New Challenges
On April 7, sophomore linebacker Malik Fountain was arrested after a woman claimed he assaulted her at Wayside Central on Dec. 2. Fountain was suspended from the team following the arrest, missing the team's spring game.
The Chicago native was found not guilty of four assault charges on June 23 in Isabella County Trial Court. He was then reinstated to the team. Bonmego said he spoke to Fountain and said he is "in a good place and has been working hard."
Senior safety Tony Annese said Fountain has jumped right back into the team
“I like Malik a lot," Annese said. "He’s a really good, young football player with a good head on his shoulders. I’m just happy for him, and his family, that he got through that situation.”
On June 28, former running back Zurlon Tipton died after accidentally shooting himself at a Roseville car dealership. Tipton had two guns in his duffel bag. One gun accidentally discharged and shot him in the stomach when he removed the bag from his trunk.
During his 2009-13 career, Tipton rushed for a 2,463 yards on 461 carries and 34 touchdowns.
Rush and Annese both played with Tipton during their CMU careers. Rush's first season as a starter was Tipton's senior year in 2013.
"We have ultimate respect for Zurlon, one because of his work ethic and his ability and the energy he brought to the team was amazing," Rush said. "He was always out there having fun, talking and truly loved football. It was his number one love. It was very contagious.”
CMU will continue to rotate Nash's No. 21 jersey among the team each game in 2016. Bonamego said the team will discuss ways to honor Tipton this season in the coming weeks.
Annese said he is more comfortable with the coaching staff in its second season after learning a new system and dealing with the tragedies and distractions from a year ago.
"Life is precious and you realize football is just a game," Annese said. "At the end of the day, life is just never guaranteed and that’s what we learned throughout the process. You just got to take every day and be thankful every single day.”
Sports editor Andrew Surma contributed to this article.
