Dec. 24, 2006

ORLANDO, Fla. -

Head Coach Ralph Friedgen
On the second day of practice: "We had a good practice. I think the humidity got a little hot for us and so we gave them a break, and they came back and practiced strong."

On any concerns about the weather affecting stamina: "I think it's good we came down early to get used to it. I'm sure it's going to be a factor for both teams. It's not like it is in Indiana or in Maryland. To me, I'm enjoying it, and they should too."

On his plans for Christmas Day: "I'll be relaxing with my family. I'll probably still watch some tape, but I want to give the kids off and the coaches will probably spend some time with their families. But it's back to work on Tuesday."

On Sam Hollenbach: "He's been a solid player for us. He had some early struggles last year. He's a solid kid, a character kid who is getting better all the time. I think his best football is still ahead of him."

On the representing in the ACC: "I think any time you play a team in another conference, you want to represent your conference well. At the end of the bowl season, everybody looks how everyone matched up with the other teams. I'm sure Purdue is feeling the same way. What I think is so unique about this game is that we've never played before, and it's been a long time since a lot of our teams have played Big Ten teams, or since they've played ACC teams. That makes this game pretty unique. I'm a tremendous admirer of Coach Tiller's program and I have a tremendous amount of respect for what they do and how they do it. I think it's going to be a really good football game."

Sam Hollenbach (QB, #14)
On how practice is going: "Practice is going well. We're having fun with it down here, and it's been good. You want to come down to a bowl in warm weather and practice and have a little fun with it."

On the weather: "Coming from practice in College Park to down here, I have a whole new respect for teams that come from Florida and play up in College Park in December. The temperature change takes a couple days to get used to. Today was tough. It's humid, and you just have to work through it. It feels like August again."

On being away from home during the holidays: "It's tough. It's really hard. It doesn't feel like Christmas Eve right now, but in the holiday season, you want to be around guys that you love and get along with. To be around the team and with the same people all season long, it is fine."

On his plans for Christmas Day: "My grandparents are flying down on Christmas, so I will be able to go out and get a bite to eat. We have the day off and I'll be taking a minute to get into the holiday season."

On Coach Friedgen: "Coach Friedgen could be described in one word, as a perfectionist. As far as running the practice, he wants everything to be perfect. He takes stats of every single throw I make in practice, video from two different angles of every rep we take. He watches everything and wants it to be perfect at all times, with good reason. When we get in the games we're well-conditioned and games are actually easier than practice, because he's not out on the field with us."