Quotes from Tuesday's Football News Conference
12/5/2007 7:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 5, 2007
Head Coach Ralph Friedgen
Opening Statement "We will start preparing for Oregon State. Obviously they are a good football team. They are third in the Pac-10 and won six out of their last seven. I've looked at them on defense and I can see why they are the second ranked team in the country against the rush. Offensively we are expecting their running back to be back. Yvenson Bernard averages over 100 yards a game but was out for their last game. Hopefully we will get [wide receiver] LaQuan Williams back. He wont practice today, but I am hoping he will be able to practice next week.
On the Bowl with a Pac-10 team "I think our players were excited about going to San Francisco even before it was decided where we were going to play. We discussed Charlotte and they said, `We've played so much in North Carolina.' Its not that we wouldn't want to go there, but it seems pretty neat to go to a side of the country that we are not familiar with. I think there is some excitement along those lines with our players, but when I watch the tapes I realize how good of a football team we are playing, so the intrigue isn't quite the same with me as it is with them. When you go to a bowl game you are not going to play a bad team because they are there for a reason. I think every team we've played in the bowl games has been excellent. Hopefully we'll come ready to play, and it will be a great challenge for us."
On the meaning of the bowl game "Five out of the last seven years we've been to a bowl, and I think that's very significant. The fact that this team could achieve their goal of going to a bowl says a lot, especially with all of the adversity we have faced this season. Regardless of the injuries, I told the team that I think there were four games that we still should have won. If we would have won those games we would have been 10-2. I try to keep it positive with them in saying that we are not too far away from being really good. We just have to understand that we cannot let games slip away from us, and when we have the opportunity we have to win those games. I told them that this is an ending for our seniors but a beginning for next year and that is how we want to start preparing for it."
On the emotional drain of this season "One of the hardest things this year was the preparation because we've had so many situations that we've had to prepare for. If someone went down, there was a point in time when we really didn't have a second team quarterback that could fill in and play. We were spending a lot of time planning for things that we hoped would never come, but we had too be ready for them in case they did come. Probably the thing that balanced it out was the way our players responded. It would have been a tougher year if it wasn't for our players. I would love to see them win this game and be successful in response to all of the adversity, more so for them than for me or for our program. I don't look at these kids as losers because they've proven so much."
Junior Linebacker Erin Henderson
On this game being a must win to finish out the season strong: "We always want to win every time we step on the field, but it's an opportunity for us to salvage a season that a lot of people thought was over. They were ready to write us off. If we could finish off the season at 7-6, I think that would be a very successful finish of the season for us."
On a lot of alumni living in San Francisco to support the team: "That's a great feeling knowing that we are going to have the support we will need to beat Oregon State. Coach Friedgen said that this would be a good bowl game because of that. All of the players believe in our fans and they have always been there to support us."
Sophomore Quarterback Chris Turner
On the best part of going to the bowl game: "The best part about the bowl game is the gift of getting the opportunity to play and the experience of going somewhere that you wouldn't normally get a chance to go."
On playing against high school teammates: "My buddy from high school who I played with, plays for Oregon State and he is already talking trash. I got to talk to him the day after we beat NC State and we were hoping that we would get to play each other."
On what he knows about Oregon State: "I know that they have a good defense and that they are one of the best teams in the country against the run."
Senior Offensive Lineman Andrew Crummey
On wanting to go to San Francisco for the bowl game: "Some of the players wanted to go to Charlotte because it is close and over the holidays you want to be with your family. But on the other hand most of our players had not been to the West Coast so San Francisco will be a great experience. That's what coach Friedgen talked to us about, just the learning experience of this trip and how we should definitely take advantage of that."
On playing a team they wouldn't usually get to play: "It's is exciting, last year we played Purdue and it was a great match up. It was great in practice trying to prepare for a style of team that you usually wouldn't get to play against, and just traveling. This year is going to be even better because we are playing a Pac-10 team that we have to prepare differently for, and it's going to be fun."
Sophomore Wide Receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey
On the excitement of playing Oregon State: "I am very excited personally because a lot of guys on the team have never been out to California. I hear the weather is about the same as it is here, so we won't have to worry about the heat or anything like that. We just have to be ready for the game."
On utilizing the experience from last years bowl game: "For a bowl game you have to practice every day; you have to treat it like a regular season game. It is very important to make sure you have a good time, because I feel so fortunate that I get to go to a bowl game for a second straight year. I know how important it is for us to have a good time."
On playing a good defensive team like Oregon State: "They have a great run defense, but at the same time we are going to keep doing what has been working for us all year, which is run the ball. It is going to be challenging, but we are going to get the job done."
Senior Defensive Lineman Dre Moore
On wanting to play in San Francisco: "I'm from Charlotte so I didn't want to go play the bowl game there. I was really excited to hear that we were offered the chance to play in San Francisco. I have never been able to go out to the West Coast before, so I am really excited to finally get that opportunity."
On getting the chance to see former Maryland player and current San Francisco 49er Vernon Davis in San Francisco: "He has talked to a few of us on the team and said he is going to have us over for dinner and try and get us prepared for the game. It should be good to see him.
On Oregon State's style of play: "I don't really know that much about their offensive attack yet except for the fact that they have a really good running back that we are going to have to contain if we want a chance to win. I have seen their defense play, and they have a similar style to ours because they concentrate on putting pressure on the quarterback and stopping the run."
