Canvass: Students react to hiring of John Bonamego
Charlotte junior Jake Walker shares his hopes for a better Central Michigan football program with the hire of new Head Coach John Bonamego on Feb. 10 in the Bovee University Center’s Down Under Food Court.
Students outside the Charles V. Park Library and Bovee University Center reacted to the hiring of head football coach John Bonamego, and offered
Central Michigan Life predictions on how they think the head coach will do in his first season at the helm of CMU football.
Junior Pat Collins, 20, attended all six home games this past season. He believes Bonamego will have trouble getting started, and believes the team will have a 6-6 finish in 2015.
“I think the first season might be a little rough,” Collins said. “He has to get his own recruiting set up. All the guys right now are (former Head Coach) Dan Enos’ guys. It might be a little rough the first year but hopefully in two to three years, Central is back to eight or nine wins a year.”
Senior Emily Boss has higher expectations for the Chippewas, who are coming off a bowl loss to Western Kentucky University in the Bahamas.
“I’m hoping for a good season,” Boss said. “With our (men’s) basketball team doing so well maybe the students will think ‘wait, if we start to care about our teams maybe it will give them a pep in their step.’ Hopefully it will carry over and transition to seasons and we can shoot for an 8-5 year.”
Sophomore Jordan Jalving wants to see change in the program, and wants to see what Bonamego brings to the Chippewas this fall.
“It will be interesting to see what he can do to the program,” Jalving said. “I think Dan (Enos) was a good coach. For the most part I think it was a good move. It will be interesting to see what he can do with the program.”
22-year-old senior Brandon Faber was ecstatic that CMU was able to tab someone from Michigan, as Bonamego grew up in southwest Michigan in Paw Paw. Faber is excited to see a Michigan man come into a role that he hopes will bring them back to the days of quarterback Dan LeFevour and wide receiver Antonio Brown.
“I think that they went out and found someone who is from the local area that can be a respected coach for Central that will hopefully bring them back into prominence, like we had in the past,” Faber said. “I think we’ve kind of gotten away from that a little bit but I think that with this hire we can hopefully go back towards that.”
Senior Jamie Anderson attended only two home games last season. She still knows Bonamego’s history as someone who has been around the NFL and is interested in seeing the coach transition into the college game as a first-time head coach.
“There is really not a whole lot to expect his first year,” Anderson said. “It’s kind of like the trial run to see what they’re capable of and what they can do. It’s like with the Detroit Lions. You see Jim Caldwell and his reputation from Indianapolis but you’re not quite sure how he’s going to be compatible with the team. The first season is kind of to see what he can do with the team with what he’s got and what he can bring to the floor with bringing in new members and recruiting.”
