Falcons Report To Camp Thursday

August 06, 2015 | Football

By: by Scott Swegan, BGSU Athletic Communications

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Recapping MAC Media Day
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BGSU Media Day
Bowling Green State University begins the 2015 season on Saturday (Aug. 8) when the Falcons take to the practice field for the beginning of fall camp. After Friday's media day, the Falcons will partake in 24 practices over the next three weeks in preparation for the season opener against Tennessee.

Ways To Follow
Fans can follow along during Media Day all afternoon several ways. Fans will find unique, behind-the-scenes content on the official social media networks of BGSU Athletics.
Twitter: @BGAthletics | @BG_Football
Instagram: bgfalcons
Snapchat: BG Athletics
Periscope: BGSU Athletics

Falcon Facts
• Bowling Green enters the 2015 season as the defending Mid-American Conference East Division champions. In fact, the Falcons have won the division in each of the past two seasons.
• BGSU finished the 2014 season with an overall record of 8-6 - their third straight season with at least eight wins.
• The Falcons capped off last season with a 33-28 win over South Alabama in the inaugural Raycom Media Camellia Bowl. The bowl win for the Orange and Brown was the first since the 2004 season.
• Head coach Dino Babers enters his second season at BGSU, and his fourth as a head coach. He carries a career record of 27-13 with him, and has won two conference championships, a division championship, and a bowl game in his first three seasons.
• Quarterback Matt Johnson returns after missing most of the 2014 season due to a hip injury he sustained in the season opener at Western Kentucky. In 2013, Johnson started 13 games and led the Falcons to a MAC Championship, where he was named MVP of the Marathon MAC Championship Game.
• Defensive tackle Zach Colvin also returns after missing most of the 2014 season. Colvin suffered from shortness of breath in the season opener a year ago, and thought his career was over when he was diagnosed with a heart defect. But, after months of testing, Colvin was re-diagnosed with vocal cord dysfunction. After several months of treatment, Colvin is ready to return to the field for his senior season.
• Bowling Green's offense appears to be loaded headed into the 2015 campaign. The Falcons return 11 starters on that side of the ball. On the defensive side of the ball, the Falcons return just three starters.
• Babers announced the hiring of new defensive coordinator Brian Ward to the staff last February. Ward comes to BGSU from Western Illinois where he led one of the best defensive units at the FCS level over the last three seasons.

Garnering Preseason Attention
• A total of 12 Falcons were named to preseason All-MAC teams by various publications throughout the summer:
• On Phil Steele's Preseason All-MAC teams, five Falcons were named to the first team, three were named to the second team, and three were named to the fourth team. First team members were Roger Lewis (WR), Ryan Burbrink (PR), Alex Huettel (OL), Tyler Tate (PK), and Joseph Davidson (P). Second team honorees were Travis Greene (RB), Jacob Bennett (OL), and Logan Dietz (OL), while those on the fourth team were Matt Johnson (QB), Clint Stephens (KR), and Eilar Hardy (DB).
• Additionally, 11 Falcons were named to Athlon Sports Preseason All-MAC teams. Both Lewis and Tate garnered first team attention, while Alex Huettel joined them on the first team. Two Falcons - Matt Johnson and Travis Greene - were named to the second team. Logan Dietz, Jacob Bennett, Joseph Davidson, and Ryan Burbrink were all named to the third team, while Clint Stephens and Ronnie Moore were fourth-team honorees.

Watch List Falcons
• Eight members of the 2015 Bowling Green football team were named to preseason watch lists, announced by the national College Football Awards Association over the summer.
• Ronnie Moore (Sanford, Fla.) was named to the Paul Hornung Watch List as one of the nation's most versatile players
• Tim McAuliffe (Lemont, Ill.) was named to the Rimington Trophy Watch List as one of the country's best centers
• Tyler Tate (Carroll, Ohio) is on the Lou Groza Award Watch List as one of the best placekickers in the country
• Alex Huettel (Pickerington, Ohio) was named to the Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List as one of the best interior linemen in the nation
• Both Ryan Burbrink (Shady Side, Md.) and Roger Lewis (Pickerington, Ohio) were named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List as some of the country's best wide receivers
• Christian Piazza (Ann Arbor, Mich.) was named to the Wuerffel Trophy Preseason Watch List
• Travis Greene (Carol City, Fla.), one of the best running backs in school history, was named to the Doak Walker Award Watch List

#FalconFast Enters Year Two
• Bowling Green featured one of the best offenses in the country a season ago, and also one of the fastest.
• The Falcons' offense ranked third in the country last season in pace, ahead of traditional 'speed' offenses such as Oregon and West Virginia.
• Under Dino Babers, the Bowling Green offense shifted into a new gear during the 2014 season. But, it is expected to be even faster in 2015.
• During the 2014 season, the Falcons had 55 scoring drives (80.88% of scoring drives) under THREE minutes in time. Compared to the 2013 season, when just 50 scoring drives (62.5% of scoring drives) were under FOUR minutes.
• #FalconFast doesn't always operate on a short field, either, as 29 of the Falcons' 49 touchdown drives were 70 yards-or-more in 2014.

Falcons Use Fourth Quarter To Advantage In 2014
• During the 2014 season, Bowling Green was one of just five teams in the entire nation to register four-or-more fourth quarter comebacks. The Falcons were joined by Illinois, North Carolina, Florida State and Utah.
• The first fourth quarter comeback of the season came on Sept. 13 against Indiana, an eventual 45-42 Falcons win. BGSU entered the fourth quarter trailing 28-26, but outscored the Hoosiers 19-14 to earn their first win ever against a Big Ten opponent inside Doyt L. Perry Stadium.
• A few weeks later Bowling Green entered the fourth quarter against UMass trailing 35-33, but outscored the Minutemen 14-7 on the road to earn the come-from-behind win.
• Against Buffalo the very next week, the Falcons fell behind against the Bulls early in the fourth quarter, but overcame the deficit to move to 2-0 in the conference.
• With just 1:20 to play in the Camellia Bowl, South Alabama took a 28-27 lead over the Falcons. But, James Knapke connected with Roger Lewis on the very first play of the next drive for a 78-yard touchdown pass to give the Orange and Brown a bowl victory.

Falcon Friends From South Bend
• Bowling Green features four players who hail from South Bend, Indiana. All four went to both Washington High School and LaSalle Academy and were on the Dean's List during the spring semester.
• All four - Nolan Dieter, Gehrig Dieter, Alfonso Mack, and Terrance Bush - will be seniors academically this upcoming year.
• Nolan, a quarterback from the Falcons, will be a redshirt senior this upcoming season. The other three will be redshirt juniors athletically, and have two years left on the field heading into the 2015 season.

The Falcons According To Phil Steele
• The Falcons' 2015 roster returns plenty of talent and experience from a 2014 squad which won eight games, the MAC East Division, appeared in the MAC Championship Game, and won the Camellia Bowl.
• According to college football guru Phil Steele, the Falcons return the second-most offensive line starts in the country (125), 13th-highest percentage of lettermen (78.0%), 11th-highest percentage of yards (91.84%), and the seventh-most experienced roster.

Falcons Experienced Up Front
• Bowling Green was one of just nine schools in the entire country to start the same five players on the offensive line every game last season. The Falcons were joined by Fresno State, UL-Lafayette, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Rutgers, Tulane, Wisconsin and Rice.
• BGSU is the only one of those nine schools which returns all five of those players in 2015. Ohio State and Tulane each return four.
• The Falcons' 125 offensive line starts returning are the second-most in FBS football. Alex Huettel (41), Logan Dietz (28), Jacob Bennett (28), Tim McAuliffe (14) and Ben Steward (14) all come back after starting all 14 games for the Orange and Brown in 2014.

Lewis Has Historic Freshman Season
True freshman Roger Lewis had one of the most impressive seasons catching passes in Bowling Green State University history a season ago. Even more impressive was that it came as a true freshman. Lewis set several milestones and records throughout his inaugural campaign:
• 73 catches most by freshman in school history (9th-most all-time)
• 1,093 receiving yards most by freshman in school history (5th-most all-time)
• First freshman at BGSU to earn first team All-MAC since Brian McClure in 1982
• Six 100-yard receiving games, second-most in a single season in BGSU football history (behind only Freddie Barnes' nine during historic 2009 season)

Greene Set To Wrap Up Historic Career In 2015
Redshirt senior Travis Greene enters his third season at running back for the Falcons in 2015, after coming to BGSU and playing wide receiver his first two years on campus. Greene has set the school record for most rushing yards in a season and nearly broke 1,000 yards a season ago despite missing two games because of injury. What will his third year bring? He is chasing several milestones in the Orange and Brown in 2015, including:
• Enters season 5th all-time with 2,553 rushing yards...just 870 yards shy of the all-time career record currently held by Dave Preston (1973-76)
• Could become just the second Falcon player ever, behind Paul Miles, to lead Bowling Green in rushing in three consecutive seasons
• Comes into 2015 with 14 career 100-yard rushing games...the school record is 20 held by Dave Preston
Best Receiving unit In the Country?
• BGSU enters 2015 with a deep and talented wide receiver unit, among the best in the entire nation. Here is a look at the Falcons' wide receivers by the numbers:

In Rare Company
• Bowling Green enters the season having three receivers with 1,000 career yards and a running back with more than 2,500 yards.
• Ryan Burbrink leads the Falcons active receivers with 1,586 yards in his career. He is joined in the 1,000 yard club by Ronnie Moore (1,237) and Roger Lewis (1,093). Chris Gallon enters the 2015 season with 952 yards receiving in his career.
• Travis Greene starts the season fifth all-time with 2,553 yards rushing. Fred Coppet could join him early in the season, as he enters with 978 career rushing yards.
• There are just 35 players in school history who have recorded over 1,000 receiving yards in their careers, and only 36 who have done so rushing.

Offense Ready To Explode In 2015
• The Falcons' offense has been good in each of the past two seasons, but is it primed for greatness in 2015? The Falcons return every offensive starter from last season's team.
• During a six season stretch (2007-12), Bowling Green's offense had just 19 100-yard rushing performances. But, the Falcons have had nine such performances in each of the past two seasons.
• 11 times last season a BGSU receiver had more than 100 yards receiving in a game, which tied a school record. During the 2012 & 2013 seasons, Bowling Green had just nine such performances.

Mr. 300
• It didn't seem to matter who the quarterback was last season, as the Falcons produced six games of 300 passing yards or more in 2014.
• Matt Johnson opened the season with a 300-yard game at WKU before suffering a season-ending injury.
• James Knapke had five 300-yard games the rest of the season, including three games over 350 yards.
• From 2010-2013, the Falcons produced just five 300-yard games.
• With a deep and talented offense, the Falcons will be looking at racking up more 300-yard games in 2015.

Head Coaches On The Rise
• During the month of June, Athlon Sports named several head coaches who were rising stars in the profession. In just his fourth season as a head coach, Dino Babers made the list.
• Babers is 27-13 in his three year career as a head coach, including an 8-6 record during his first season on the sideline at Bowling Green.
• Despite losing his starting quarterback in the season opener last year, the Falcons still managed to claim the MAC East Division and win the inaugural Camellia Bowl over South Alabama.

Four Years Going On Five?
• Bowling Green's offense has gotten a spark from it's running game over the last four seasons, producing 28 games of 100-yard performances from 2011-14.
• Those performances have come mainly from a pair
of high school teammates in Travis Greene and Anthon Samuel.
• BGSU had five such performances in 2011 and 2012 before exploding onto the scene with nine such games of 100-yards or more by Travis Greene in 2013.
• Greene had five 100-yard games in 2014, while Fred Coppet and Andre Givens each had two.
• The Falcon rushing attack hasn't always been this strong, as BGSU had just 22 100-yard performances from 2003-10.

Falcons On National TV This Season
• The Orange and Brown are currently scheduled to appear on National TV six times this season, with every game expected to be broadcast to a national audience.
• With the announcement of the Mid-American Conference's deal with ESPN last season, every MAC game and home Falcon game will be, at a minimum, carried on ESPN3.com (available through cable and internet provider).
• The season opener at Tennessee will be carried on the SEC Network, while the week two matchup at Maryland is scheduled to air on the Big Ten Network.
• After an ESPN3 broadcast against Memphis in the home opener, the Falcons will travel to Purdue in a game expected to be live on either the Big Ten Network or the ESPN family of networks.
• All MAC games will be shown on ESPN3, while the Ohio (ESPN2), Western Michigan (ESPN2 or ESPNU), Toledo (ESPN2 or ESPNU) and Ball State (ESPNU or ESPN3) games are expected to be available on National TV.

MAC Announces Deal With CBS Sports Network
• The Mid-American Conference continues to expand their national footprint, which will only improve with the announcement of a deal with CBS Sports Network starting this fall.
• While the Falcons are not currently scheduled to appear on the network this season, 12 MAC games per year through the 2018-19 season are scheduled to air each season.
• The deal also includes men's basketball, with 12 MAC men's basketball games being shown annually on CBS Sports Network.

Florida Falcons Flocking North
• Bowling Green has made a habit of recruiting the talent-rich state of Florida in recent years. The 2015 roster is expected to feature 18 players from the Sunshine State.
• The Falcons have especially had luck recruiting Dwyer High School in the Palm Beach, Fla. area. Four players - Darrell Hunter, Mike Minns, Malik Brown, and Clint Stephens - on the 2015 roster are graduates of Dwyer.
• The four players from one high school are tied with Washington High School (South Bend, Ind.) for the most on the team.
• More impressive, is that the four players from Dwyer are all members of different recruiting classes, meaning that the Falcon coaching staff recruited one player from Dwyer in four straight seasons.

Grad School Falcons
• Several Falcons who will be on the field this season have already graduated with their bachelor degrees and will be pursuing higher education this fall while completing their eligibility.
• Christian Piazza, a candidate for this season's Wuerffel Trophy, graduated with a degree in business this past spring. He will pursue a Masters in Business Administration this fall.
• Zach Colvin, who graduated last spring with his degree in exercise science, will continue his education this fall along with Darrell Hunter, who graduated with a degree in human development and family studies.
• Eilar Hardy, who graduated from Notre Dame with a degree in sociology, will also pursue a masters degree this fall while playing his fifth season with the Falcons.

'15 For '15: Falcons Recognized By NFL.com
• Throughout the summer, NFL.com writers analyzed several measurable categories within the college game from strongest players, to smartest players, and seemingly everything in between. With approximately 130,000 college football players at the FBS level, the chances of a Falcon appearing on the list would seem slim. But, with the quality of student-athlete inside the program, it was no surprise to see several Falcons recognized throughout the summer.
• College football's most freakish athletes: 13. Ronnie Moore, WR, Bowling Green ... Moore is another smallish guy whose strength numbers wow you. He can bench-press 315 pounds, squat 505 pounds and hang clean 240 pounds. Moore doesn't have elite speed -- he runs in the high 4.4s -- but he has excellent quickness and can stop and start on a dime.
• College football's strongest players: 8. Zach Colvin, DL, Bowling Green ... The 400-pound bench, 700-pound squat club is a small one. Colvin (405 and 705) can also hang clean 385 as the top performer in the Falcons' weight room. His career is on the rebound from an illness that cut his season short after just one game last year. At 6-3, 287 pounds, he should re-take his role as a starting defensive tackle this fall.
• College football's most explosive athletes: 15. Roger Lewis, WR, Bowling Green ... Lewis burst on the scene in a big way as a true freshman last season, being named first-team All-MAC after catching 73 passes for 1,093 yards and seven TDs. Eleven of his receptions went for at least 30 yards, with nine going for at least 40, five at least 50 and three at least 60. His seven TD receptions averaged 46 yards, and two were game-winners in the final minute.
• College football's smartest players: 14. Nate Locke, LB, Bowling Green ... With a 4.0 GPA as a psychology major, Locke has plenty to look forward to if football isn't in his future after college. The MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete logged 30 tackles for the Falcons last season and recovered a fumble against Big Ten power Wisconsin.

Tate On Pace To Become All-Time Great
• Redshirt senior Tyler Tate (Carroll, Ohio) is already one of the best kickers in school history entering his redshirt senior season. Tate has combined for 227 points over the last two seasons, setting the school record for points in a season by a placekicker in both 2013 (113) and 2014 (114).
• Tate set the school record in 2014 with 23 field goals made, breaking Brian Leaver's record of 21 makes set in 1994. In the process, Tate also became the school's all-time leader for career field goals made with 48.
• Former Falcon Shaun Suisham, who is currently the Pittsburgh Steelers' placekicker, still owns the all-time career record for points in a career, though, with 361.
• With another year like Tate had last year, he will challenge Suisham for that record. Tate starts the 2015 season with 253 career points - 108 behind Suisham.