by Chris Boyce

The Appalachian State University Football Team held its annual Fan Fest Sunday, an event which also served as Media Day. Mountaineer fans braved rain showers to get autographs with their favorite players, and media members met players for the first time this season. The Mountaineers kick off the season when they travel to Winston-Salem to play the Deamon Deacons on Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. Media Day allowed players to voice their expectations and hopes for this year. With a strong core of seniors returning, including wideout Joey Gibson, who's back after missing a year due to a knee injury, the Apps have dreams of capturing the Southern Conference (SoCon) title again this year. Gibson is looking forward to getting back on the field and being the impact player he was before the injury. "It's good to be back. It's good to actually have the opportunity to play with guys again. Overall, the experience of getting hurt was a good experience but I wouldn't want to do it again," said Gibson. Gibson stressed the importance of taking this season one game at a time. "Right now our focus is on Wake. A lot of people have been talking about conference championships and national championships but we can't get the cart in front of the horses. We gotta go one step at a time and Wake Forest is a very tough obstacle," he said. Getting the ball to Gibson will be in the hands of two very experienced quarterbacks, David Reaves and Daniel Jeremiah. Both have competed strongly for the starting job, but both recognize the luxury of having two good quarterbacks instead of one. "The positives have to be that we push each other," said Reaves. "When you have two guys that both can play you're gonna do that extra rep or stay after practice and work a little bit harder." Reaves expects his senior experience to come into play when he takes the field this fall. "If you're a senior, you've seen so much. You know the offense much better and it just kind of flows a lot better. I can sit back there and be more comfortable in the offense as far as two or three years ago when you're jittery and throwing the ball away quick," said Reaves. The other signal caller in the Mountaineers' huddle this season is Senior Daniel Jeremiah. "It kind of hit me today. We took our senior pictures today and you look at all these guys and know that it's our last shot. I have a real good feeling about this team and I think we're gonna accomplish some special things," said Jeremiah. "We have a real close group of seniors and that will provide us with the leadership we need to accomplish our goals." One of the Mountaineers' most athletic and versatile defensive backs last season, Corey Hall, has big expectations for this year's team. "We plan on winning it all. We just want to go out and play every game one by one and beat them all," said Hall. He made the transistion this summer from safety to cornerback in an effort to improve the Mountaineers' outside defense. In Hall's opinion, the biggest difference between the two positions is the less physical and more finesse-oriented aspect of being a cornerback. Hall is looking forward to the tough schedule the Apps will play through. "I'm really looking forward to it. I enjoy playing the bigger teams because that's what you play for," he said. The Apps backfield this season is stacked with returning running back Karim Razaak and fullback Senior Neil Cornatzer. According to Cornatzer, it's up to the players to determine how good this team will be. "We have tremendous talent and as long as we keep that going and all pull in one direction we'll be in good shape," said Cornatzer. Last year, Appalachian's starting tailback, Karim Razaak, came out of nowhere to lead the Apps' ground assault last season. This year, he knows teams will be ready for him. "I know ... I've gotta come in and move my bar up a little higher and everything I do has to be a little bit better." Razaak is excited about being the man for the Mountaineers' running game. "This year, I think I'll take more into looking forward to getting the ball. Hopefully, the coaches will have confidence in me to give me the ball in crucial situations and I'll put myself into position to make plays when the situation calls for it."