BOWLING GREEN — Bowling Green State University football coach Scot Loeffler wants to get the most out of his players as the Falcons prepare for the 2024 campaign.
But when it comes to balancing reps and rest during fall camp, there’s a fine line the sixth-year Falcons’ coach wants to follow.
“We’ve got to push, but we can’t be stupid,” Loeffler said. “I honestly believe, when you’ve got a veteran team, if you take the foot off the gas, it hurts you.
“We’re going to keep our foot on the gas, but you have to have intelligence. You have to know when enough is enough. We believe that we’re tough, and in order to be tough, you’ve got to practice tough. That just doesn’t happen. So we’re going to practice really hard, but we’re going to have some intelligence with it.”
When BGSU opened fall practice early last week, nearly every player on the roster participated in some capacity, whether it was in drills, 7-on-7s, or game-type situations. Keeping it that way for the rest of the season may be the biggest challenge for a deep, talented, and senior-laden BGSU team that has aspirations of winning its first Mid-American Conference title since 2015.
Staying healthy is critical for every team, but it will certainly be the case for the Falcons this year.
During the 2023 season in which BGSU (7-6, 5-3 MAC) posted its first winning campaign in eight years, the Falcons were noticeably banged up. An early-season loss at Michigan resulted in at least a handful of starters leaving the game, including linebacker Demetrius Hardamon, who suffered a season-ending injury after making a tackle in the third quarter. That contest severely impacted BGSU’s preparations for its MAC opener against Ohio — a 38-7 loss at home — the following week.
Significant players like first-team All-MAC tight end Harold Fannin, Jr., (two games), second-team running back Terion Stewart (four), second-team cornerback Jordan Oladokun (two), safety Trent Simms (four), quarterback Connor Bazelak (two), and wide receiver Finn Hogan (three), missed multiple games due to injury.
“Going back to last year, injuries messed us up,” Oladokun said. “I remember [saying] after [the win at] Western Michigan, like, ‘Hey, we have to get ready for next year, because we have a lot of guys banged up.’
“…We’re taking it very seriously this year.”
The Falcons are doing everything they can to make sure their stars stay on the field. A few changes before and after practice, and even different eating habits, have been a focus for BGSU.
“I think something really good that we’ve done is implement the prehab stretches before practice. Everybody on the team is doing it now, and then we do a post-practice stretch, so that’s helping out,” BGSU senior tight end Levi Gazarek said. “Other than that, really just getting guys in the training room to stay on top of things and not until it’s too late.”
Added Oladokun: “A lot of stretching, a lot of mobility, a lot of food that we’re eating that the staff is getting us. There’s a lot of better food for us to be able to last a whole year instead of lasting five or six games. … We’re taking that into a very big consideration because we know if we stay healthy that we’ll be a team that can contend for the MAC championship.”
Bazelak, as well as a good amount of his teammates, looked solid during BGSU’s first fall practice, which was open to the media. Fellow sixth-year quarterback Camden Orth had a helmet on, but he was limited.
Having those two players ready for the Falcons’ season opener Aug. 29 against Fordham is high on Loeffler’s priority list.
“We need to get Connor and Cam completely 100 percent healthy,” Loeffler said. “They could both play right now, no question about it. But over this next month, they’re going to get better and better with health.”
Bazelak said the Falcons need to have what he called “elite habits.”
“We just try to be more consistent in everything we do, every single day,” Bazelak said. “We hope that’ll translate to the season.”
First Published August 7, 2024, 5:55 p.m.
