When Ball State University linebacker Spain Cosby returned a Tanner Justice interception to inside his team's five-yard line, it seemed the score of Saturday's spring scrimmage was about to turn ugly.
Despite a 23-0 victory for the Cardinal team, which teamed the starting offense with the second-string defense, Cosby's pick failed to produce points. Instead, Saturday's signature drive featured the Cardinals' first-team offense stymied on four goal-line plays.
The offense's failure to execute in short yardage situations is a carry over from numerous times last season. It's also one of Ball State's biggest concerns entering the summer.
"With our goals of winning a championship, you can't go out there and not score on the goal line," senior center Dan Gerberry, a captain on last year's team, said. "When the defense, Spain Cosby, takes the interception down to the four-yard line, and you don't [score] that's just a joke. It's something that we've got to address, and we're going to address it in fall camp, and it's not going to be an issue. We're going to go out there and win football games and do it in short yardage."
While the offense was trying to figure out what went wrong in yet another goal line situation, Hoke said, he was very pleased with his defense's effort. Playing with an inexperienced makeshift unit - due to losing four seniors from last year's squad and three key contributors to injury - Hoke said he was pleased with his starting defense, which held perhaps the most explosive offense in the Mid-American Conference to three touchdowns.
"Them having to come out and keep [the offense] out of the end zone, I thought that was probably one of the best overall defensive efforts of the spring," Hoke said.
All three Cardinal touchdowns came from the arm of Nate Davis, who completed 15-of-21 passes for 251 yards. Despite his strong numbers, Davis said, he was less than enthused about his performance.
"I didn't play well today," Davis said. "I've got to work on a lot of things, but of course throwing the ball down the field, that's the biggest thing. I've just got to keep on working hard over the summer."
Hoke said part of the problem with Davis' throws down the field was the swirling wind in which he was forced to play.
However, Hoke said he agreed with the way his quarterback assessed his play.
"There were probably some throws he'd like to have back," Hoke said. "... I'm glad he [wasn't happy with his performance] because it tells you about the competitor and the detail that he has. Everybody has asked me, 'What motivates him?' Well, it's that he loves to win and wants to be the best."
Despite the struggles his team experienced, Hoke was quick to note that Saturday's game didn't show the full spectrum of what has been a successful spring for his program. Hoke said the scrimmage will give his team a solid base to stand on as it moves into summer conditioning and then the fall season.
"You can't judge how your spring went on today, totally," Hoke said. "It just factors into your evaluation. Obviously, [improving] is something we've got to keep striving for."
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