 |
| October
15, 2004 |
| Dante
Ridgeway Talks About the Team, the Receiving Record, and Cole
Stinson |
|
| by
Rob Mathews - GoBSU.com |
| Photo
by Jim Kemp - GoBSU.com |
|
|
| Rob Mathews:
First of all,
you’ve had some really good games the last few weeks. Do you expect to put
up those kind of numbers every game? |
| Dante Ridgeway:
I expect to do well in
the games, you know, to go out there and have a complete game, a perfect
game for the coaches, because they preach perfection. I have to go out there
run good routes and get open, and I also have to block down field. If
another receiver makes a catch I have to try to spring him-or the running
backs – spring them too. |
|
| Rob Mathews:
I believe you’re the only
player on the team with double digit, catches and you’re the leader in the
MAC and among the leaders nationally in yardage and receptions. Does that
put a lot of pressure on you to perform or is it a situation where the
coaches would like to see the ball spread around more? |
| Dante Ridgeway:
I couldn’t tell you. I
know that my coaches put a lot of pressure on me to go out there and make
plays. They put a lot of pressure on us - on the other players too – to make
plays too. |
|
| Rob Mathews:
You recently broke the
Ball State career receiving yardage record. What does that mean to you? Have
you had a chance to think about it much? |
| Dante Ridgeway:
Yeah,
I’ve thought about it, but we’ve got to go out and win this next game. We
just need to go out and win this next game take every game one at a time. |
|
| Rob Mathews:
It seems like you’re at
your best after you catch the ball. Would you say that getting out in the
open field with the ball is your favorite part of the game? |
| Dante Ridgeway:
I wouldn’t say that. I
just go out there, and if I catch it and I need to make the first down or
get a certain amount of yardage for first down efficiency or whatever, I try
to do it. As far as saying it’s my favorite, I wouldn’t say that. I wouldn’t
say that. Just playing is alright with me. |
|
| Rob Mathews:
Was moving you off of
punt returns done just to lighten your load and take some pressure off of
you? |
| Dante Ridgeway:
I don’t know. I wouldn’t
say that. I think they wanted to get the freshman, Ryan Patrick, in there -
get him some experience out there in the return aspect of the game. He’s
been doing a pretty good job out there. |
|
| Rob Mathews:
Talk about Cole Stinson
and his talent, where he’s at with his game right now, and what it means to
the receivers and the team. |
| Dante Ridgeway:
He brings a lot to the
game. He has a strong arm. He’s getting smarter with each game. As each
practice goes along he’s getting smarter. The coaches are getting on him,
but I think he’s taking the pressure pretty well. |
|
| Rob Mathews:
Considering his arm
strength coming into the season and especially the Western Michigan game a
few weeks ago, you obviously knew his abilities, but do you kind of think it
caught the fans and media a bit off guard? |
| Dante Ridgeway:
Yeah. I’ve been with Cole
all summer and all fall, so I have known about his abilities, but yeah, I
think he surprised a lot of fans as well as a lot of other people. |
|
| Rob Mathews:
Coming in and starting as
a true freshman at quarterback has got to be one of the toughest things to
do in college football. |
| Dante Ridgeway:
Yeah |
|
| Rob Mathews:
Have you guys helped him
along? |
| Dante Ridgeway:
Yeah. On the sidelines if
he comes off and says “my bad” and we say “get the next play.” He’s
young. He takes chances and everything, but that’s what you’ve got. He’s a
true freshman quarterback and I think he’s doing pretty well as far as
handling the pressure and getting things done. |
|
| Rob Mathews:
It seems like Joey Lynch
has been a real team player over the last few weeks and is actually helping
Cole out a lot too. Can we get your thoughts on that? |
| Dante Ridgeway:
Yeah, he has been helping
Cole out a lot as far as how to find the coverage and watching film and
everything. Joey’s a real smart kid as far as knowing coverages, watching
film, and what you need to know out there. |
|
| Rob Mathews:
Where
would you say the team’s morale is right now after a big win and then a
couple of tough losses? |
| Dante Ridgeway:
We’re ready for this game
coming up. We’re going to be fired up for this game and every game after
that. We didn’t come at and play as a team, as Coach Hoke said. We didn’t
play complete games. We didn’t play how we know how to play. That’s Ball
State football. They were tough losses, but we’ve got to move past that and
get some momentum going. |
|
| Rob Mathews:
Alright, Dante, thank you
and best of luck! |
| Dante Ridgeway:
Thank you.
|
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