Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Quotes from Patriot League Football Media Day
8/1/2007 8:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 1, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Head coach Tim Landis, co-captains Jonathan Grainger and Ryan Slater and sophomore Sam Nana-Sinkam represented Bucknell at the annual Patriot League Football Media Day, held Wednesday afternoon at Green Pond Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa.
The Bison begin preseason camp this weekend, with the first practice scheduled for Sunday afternoon from 3-5 p.m.
The Patriot League announced its preseason\ poll, voted upon by the head coaches and sports information directors, and Bucknell was picked to finish fifth. Defending champion Lafayette earned 63 points and was labeled the preseason favorite, edging Lehigh by just one point. Colgate (52), Holy Cross (50), Bucknell (31), Fordham (21) and Georgetown (15) rounded out the poll.
Lehigh quarterback Sedale Threatt and Colgate linebacker Mike Gallihugh were named preseason offensive and defensive player of the year, respectively.
Below are a sampling of quotes from Landis and the Bison student-athletes.
Tim Landis
On Bucknell's offense:
On the offensive side of the football, I feel very good about the backfield. I think we'll be as good at wide receiver as we've been. I think the biggest question mark will be the offensive line. We have two very good returning third-year starters in Chad Glasser and Jonathan Grainger, but the other three spots are unsettled.
On the incoming freshmen:
I think this is another very good recruiting class for us. I think with last year and this year's recruiting classes, we've made great strides. I do anticipate that even though we were young last year, we have a lot of guys coming back with starting experience. I still expect the freshman class to have some impact and for there to be some starters and certainly some contributors in this class coming in.
On the Bison defense:
We're returning eight starters on defense and we've got more depth and experience up front on the defensive line than we've had in the past, so I'm excited about that. We have a great linebacking corps led by Ryan Slater and Sam Nana-Sinkam, who started for us last year. In the secondary, we need to find two corners to replace Matt Palermo and David Frisbey, but we feel good about the safety position with returning both Stephan Collage and Brigham Farrand, who started for us last year as a freshman. There are three key positions on defense and three key positions on offense that we have to fill, whether they will come from upperclassmen or incoming freshmen, that's the beauty of preseason camp. We'll find out."
Sophomore LB Sam Nana-Sinkam
On preseason rankings:
"We don't look at them at all, to be honest. We're just worried about ourselves right now. We're not worried about where we're getting picked or anything like that. Everybody knows that in this league anything can happen. All the teams are pretty much even going into it."
On the upcoming season:
"We're really excited. We have a lot of young players that can come in and contribute, in addition to great senior leadership. They set the standard of hard work for all of us, we just follow in. We're all really excited to get the season going. We'll see what happens."
Senior OL Jonathan Grainger
On being in the Patriot League:
"Being in the Patriot League is a great experience because not only do we have high academic standards, but the competition level is great as well. We've had two Patriot League teams represent us in the postseason a number of times. It's definitely an honor and it's cool that we're recognized nationally."
Senior LB Ryan Slater
On the Patriot League:
"It's great how even the competition is between all the teams. It doesn't matter who is playing, anyone can beat anyone on any given Saturday."
