Bobcat camp continues with Lulay at the helm
8/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Mike Kramer sat in a room full of football coaches and media members at the Big Sky Conference’s annual football media session in late July, pat questions and cliches flying, and held his ground.
“Defense doesn’t win championships,” Kramer said several times, attempting to debunk one of the coaching profession’s oldest truisms. “Quarterbacks win championships.”
The most compelling evidence in Kramer’s case is an unassuming sophomore who did the unthinkable last fall, leading the Bobcats to out of a mid-season funk and to the program’s first Big Sky Championship in 18 years. Travis Lulay threw for 2,064 yards, completed 58% of his passes, and registered a 14-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
With all that the team accomplished last year, however, Lulay enters fall camp anything but content. “There’s a sense of urgency that’s still here,” Lulay said. “Nobody’s complacent, nobody’s riding on last year’s coat tails. We have things to prove still, we have things to prove to ourselves. We have talent, we just have to put it all together.
In spite of his relative inexperience, fifth-year senior receiver Scott Turnquist said Lulay holds an important part in the team’s emotional composition. “We have leaders on our team, and he’s definitely one of them, regardless of his age. He comes in and has confidence in himself, and that gives us confidence in him. We know he’s going to do well, he has the confidence to do that.”
Turnquist said the Bobcat passing game benefits from the repetitions last fall and this spring. “I think it’s a big deal, just working out that timing, knowing that I’m going to be where I’m supposed to be and knowing that he has confidence in us. That comes from working all summer and during camp.”
The new year holds many challenges, Lulay said. “I’ve learned so much in the last year, but it’s completely different being in the leadership role rather than being one of the pups learning plays. It’s been really fun and exciting, and now we have the challenge to go out and win another Big Sky title, and I think we’re up to it.”
Kramer said that Lulay will have the opportunity, early on, to prove his mettle with this year’s team. “He needs to have one of those years where everything settles on him, and this has to be that year because of our unsettled situation at running back. He’s very calm for a sophomore, he doesn’t get rattled, he doesn’t get anxious. He plays within the confines of what we’re trying to do, and very rarely does he stray from our plan.”
Lulay is focused on the task at hand, but said that he has allowed himself to rummage through the memories of last fall’s thrilling league title chase. “All summer that was in the back of my mind, the feeling of walking off the field after a big victory. The end of last season was really exciting. But now we’re starting over, so here we go.”
Kramer leaves no doubt as to his expectations for Lulay. “He is right along the lines of the great quarterbacks in the history of this conference. For him to achieve that status, he needs to understand that he can’t have a bad day, a bad series, a bad practice. He needs to show the consistency that great quarterbacks display.”
“Defense doesn’t win championships,” Kramer said several times, attempting to debunk one of the coaching profession’s oldest truisms. “Quarterbacks win championships.”
The most compelling evidence in Kramer’s case is an unassuming sophomore who did the unthinkable last fall, leading the Bobcats to out of a mid-season funk and to the program’s first Big Sky Championship in 18 years. Travis Lulay threw for 2,064 yards, completed 58% of his passes, and registered a 14-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
With all that the team accomplished last year, however, Lulay enters fall camp anything but content. “There’s a sense of urgency that’s still here,” Lulay said. “Nobody’s complacent, nobody’s riding on last year’s coat tails. We have things to prove still, we have things to prove to ourselves. We have talent, we just have to put it all together.
In spite of his relative inexperience, fifth-year senior receiver Scott Turnquist said Lulay holds an important part in the team’s emotional composition. “We have leaders on our team, and he’s definitely one of them, regardless of his age. He comes in and has confidence in himself, and that gives us confidence in him. We know he’s going to do well, he has the confidence to do that.”
Turnquist said the Bobcat passing game benefits from the repetitions last fall and this spring. “I think it’s a big deal, just working out that timing, knowing that I’m going to be where I’m supposed to be and knowing that he has confidence in us. That comes from working all summer and during camp.”
The new year holds many challenges, Lulay said. “I’ve learned so much in the last year, but it’s completely different being in the leadership role rather than being one of the pups learning plays. It’s been really fun and exciting, and now we have the challenge to go out and win another Big Sky title, and I think we’re up to it.”
Kramer said that Lulay will have the opportunity, early on, to prove his mettle with this year’s team. “He needs to have one of those years where everything settles on him, and this has to be that year because of our unsettled situation at running back. He’s very calm for a sophomore, he doesn’t get rattled, he doesn’t get anxious. He plays within the confines of what we’re trying to do, and very rarely does he stray from our plan.”
Lulay is focused on the task at hand, but said that he has allowed himself to rummage through the memories of last fall’s thrilling league title chase. “All summer that was in the back of my mind, the feeling of walking off the field after a big victory. The end of last season was really exciting. But now we’re starting over, so here we go.”
Kramer leaves no doubt as to his expectations for Lulay. “He is right along the lines of the great quarterbacks in the history of this conference. For him to achieve that status, he needs to understand that he can’t have a bad day, a bad series, a bad practice. He needs to show the consistency that great quarterbacks display.”
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