Dec. 9, 2008
On the latest happenings in the program:
"We have a lot of things going on right now - hiring new coaches, bowl practice, exams and recruiting. Once again I'll probably have to pay my daughters to Christmas shop for me."
On the Nevada offense:
"I haven't looked a whole lot at Nevada yet. Our coaches have. From what I see they're a very good football team. They're very good offensively. They have a real threat at running back - Vai Taua. Their quarterback is (Colin) Kaepernick, who is the offensive player of the year in the WAC. He's thrown the ball for over 2,400 yards with 19 touchdown passes. He's ranked 12th in total offense in the country."
On the Wolf Pack defense:
"Defensively, they're awful good also. They're third in the country in rushing defense. Most of the time when that happens, it's kind of indicative that maybe they're not very good in pass defense, but they played four of the top 10 passing teams in the country, so that's going to have a little bit of an effect on your pass [defense] stats. They have two great defensive ends. Kevin Basped has 18.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks, and Dontay Moch has 15.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks. Between their two defensive ends they have 19.5 sacks, and they're tied for 17th in the nation in sacks. Their secondary is very big. Uche Anyanwu has 65 tackles and Jonathan Amaya has 62 stops and three interceptions."
On the Nevada special teams:
"They've got the 11th-ranked punter in the country, and they have a field goal kicker who is 14 out of 17, so this is a very solid football team."
On Maryland's preparation for the Humanitarian Bowl:
"We're going to have to do a heck of a job of preparing and going out there and playing. I think our team is looking forward to that. We had our first [bowl preparation] practice yesterday. It was very enthusiastic, and it was very physical. After a week layoff, I was a little bit surprise because I thought we were fairly crisp. Where we were a little bit off was in our throwing game, and I think we're going to work a little bit harder on that today."
On evaluating younger players:
"It's also a time to evaluate some of our younger players. We spent some time on that yesterday, trying to get a leg up on spring practice. I was very impressed with how they worked and how enthusiastic they were."
On dividing the coaching responsibilities with the departure of Danny Pearman and Chris Cosh:
"I have taken Brian White and put him in charge of tight ends and I will assist him with special teams. Right now, we haven't gotten into special teams (at practice) but we will. I have appointed Al Seamonson as the interim defensive coordinator and Henry Baker will assist him with the inside linebackers. Al will oversee both the inside and outside backers. We are a little bit short but I have to take that into consideration in how we schedule practice, but I wasn't displeased with how things went yesterday. I think they went real smooth."
On Al Semonson being a candidate for defensive coordinator:
"I think Al does a very good job. He is a very solid coach and extremely hard worker. He is very loyal and I think when Gary (Blackney) and Chris (Cosh) were here, they depended on Al very much. So now it's a matter of finding the right guy for the job and yes we are keeping him in consideration."
On what he knows about the city of Boise:
"I know it is probably a beautiful place. I have been told that people are very friendly and hospitable. Every head coach I have talked to said they enjoyed their time there. So I think our kids are embracing it and looking forward to it."
On the upcoming schedule:
"It's a little of a difficult schedule for us because we will practice four days this week, maybe five. We have 22 prospects coming in this week. We won't practice Friday because coaches will be taking the prospects to academic appointments. We will lift on Friday as a team. We will practice on Sunday and then we will have a week off for exams. The last two bowl games, there was hardly anyone taking exams on Wednesday so I was able to get a practice in there. This year, there are about 45 guys taking exams each day."
"We won't practice from Monday until Friday and then Saturday (Dec. 20) we will have a practice. Sunday we will practice early in the morning, then we will have two days of practice before we go home for Christmas. We then go to the bowl on the 26th and have two practices out there. It is a difficult schedule and I am a little worried about time and jet-lag. It is what it is, and we just have to deal with it."
On whether having a veteran team will make it easier with the coaching changes:
"We haven't had this situation before. I find that kids are very resilient, and sometimes when the coaches leave it has more of an affect on the coaches then on the players. Sometimes we think we have more importance then we do because kids just adapt to changes like that. Preparation is my major concern because we have to double up on responsibility now and get things done."
On prioritizing the many events and tasks over the next few weeks:
"Everything is important. Next week I am going to get into the homes of recruits. We have a lot of kids committed and we want to make sure they stay that way. I'll be out recruiting next week but I will still like to have our game plan done before we go to the bowl. This Sunday we will start putting in the game plan. They're all critical things going on right now, I don't know if you can say one is more important than the other. I don't know if winning this game is more important to the seniors or to the football program. I think 8-5 is a very commendable season, especially with a bowl trip. Winning a bowl game is a springboard into next year, and carries through the whole winter. Recruiting is extremely important right now. It's a contact period so we have to be able to balance that with hiring coaches, and with retention of players and having them do well on exams. The kids are always looking to go home. Most of them have been here all summer and maybe had one weekend to go home. I was originally going to practice on Sunday of this week and a couple of them were upset so I spoke to them and they decided they'd rather go home. I acknowledged that they need to get away and they practiced well yesterday. It's just a crazy time of the year."
On importance of bowls after attending so many:
"I think it is special. The kids have enjoyed themselves and I am very thankful to our administration the way they have allowed our kids to go to Bowl games. I asked them the other day if anyone didn't want to go and they all do. I think it is special to them and it is an accomplishment. I know every year when we reach bowl eligibility, they get very excited and I think this year when we got the seventh win they had very high expectations. It is a goal that they want to accomplish every year."
On special preparations for Nevada:
"What is unique about them is that they have been the inventor of the `pistol offense' in that the quarterback is in the gun and the tailback is in the eye formation behind him. I have watched enough film to know they will run inside and outside zone (plays). They also run the zone option. (Colin Kaepernick) is a really good runner, and they have (Vai Taua) who runs welll too. They do things that are non-conventional from the formation that they run."
On next season's team:
"I think we are going to be a very young team. Obviously with 31 seniors, you are going to have to fill a lot of holes. We have all of our running backs and fullbacks back. We have our quarterback and quite a few of our wide receivers returning. Darrius (Heyward-Bey) hasn't decided what he wants to do at this time, but we are going to try to give him as much information as we can. He has to make a decision by January 15. It is a very tough decision. We will basically have to replace our offensive line because the only guys we have coming back are Phil Costa and Bruce Campbell. Some other guys have played, but not that much. It is amazing for me to see some of the improvements some guys have made on the scout team and at JV games. I was happy to see they knew what practice was about, and embraced it. I think there are some skilled guys that are going to help us. Kerry Boykins, Kevin Dorsey, Tyler Bowen and Ronnie Tyler are going to be strong players for us. Defensively, we lose linebackers. We have recruited a lot of them and some of those kids will have to come in and play. We lose eight linebackers that play quite a bit. Some of the guys that are coming in are coming in midseason so that will help us. Retention is so important because it is not easy to replace them and prepare new people."
On visiting Boise, Idaho:
"It's definitely something new. It's something I might not otherwise get to do in my lifetime. We get to go out there and play a good team in Nevada and have a lot of fun. It's another game on our schedule, and 8-5 would sound pretty good at the end of the day."
On playing on Bronco Stadium's blue turf:
"That's something different. It's going to be kind of strange, but it's going to be a lot of fun to play on. I'll have to see if it affects your vision on the field - maybe I can wear blue cleats."
On taking on an opponent from the Western Athletic Conference:
"Nevada is good team. They run the ball well and they're one of the best in the country at stopping the run, so I think we have our work cut out for us."
On what the Wolf Pack offense does well:
"Offensively, they are always a threat to run the ball. Their quarterback can run, too, and the running back likes to line up straight behind him, and that make it harder to read if he's going to give the ball to him or keep it himself. We have to focus on that when we're game-planning."
On the team's schedule leading up to the bowl game:
"It's going to be pretty hectic. This is the last week of classes and final exams start next week, but we also need to find time to prepare for the game, so we'll have to balance that. We'll have to cram everything in, and hopefully we can find time."
On what a victory in the Humanitarian Bowl would mean for the team:
"I think it would mean a lot. We've all been unhappy with the past two games. To get one last win for the seniors, that would mean a lot. We've been playing here for a long time, and it's always a good feeling when you can end on a good note."
On playing in the Humanitarian Bowl:
"It's going to be fun. We're playing a good team, and we're going to go there and have fun. If we can make it out with a win, it will be a good trip."
On the prospect of finishing the season with a record of 8-5:
"8-5 sounds a lot better than 7-6. We don't want to be just one game over .500. There is nothing wrong with eight wins, especially with all the teams in our conference being so close this year. 8-5 would be much better."
On the Nevada offense:
"They run the ball a lot, and they run the ball well. The stats don't lie, and it's going to be a challenge. Their quarterback runs the ball really well, so we need to get everything straight with that. I'm looking forward to the challenge."
On what he enjoys about the bowl experience:
"I like to visit new places. Last year we went to San Francisco, and I had never been there before. Getting to see other parts of the country to play football and the whole experience is exciting for us."
On returning to playing winning football:
"Three losses [in a row] is kind of unacceptable. We have to bounce back. We had some tough losses here at the end of the season, and now we can end this thing more of the way we wanted to end it. It's sort of like we have a second chance now."
On his initial reaction to learning of Maryland's bowl berth:
"I was excited that we were going to a bowl. We get to go out there for a week and have fun and see if we can get a win, and then come back here and celebrate [New Year's]."
On playing in Boise:
"I'm extremely excited. I just want to see what the blue field really looks like. I'm really excited to go to Boise, Idaho. It's one of the places in the world you never thought you'd ever go to, so it will be interesting. I checked the events schedule, and it looks like a pretty nice bowl. Iit looks like something I would want to do...it looks like a fun time, so I'm excited but we have to get through this first week of practice."
"There is no such thing as a bad bowl game, just to have the opportunity to go and play against a team, and have a good time with your guys; this is going to be the last one for me. I think it's great in itself just to have that last postseason game."
On Monday's practice:
"Yesterday we had our first practice since the [Boston College] game and it was actually really exciting. People were hyped and there was a lot of energy, probably because people have been really antsy. We did a lot of fun stuff and a lot of the young guys got some good looks. I think that's the same kind of tempo we're going to have throughout the week so I look forward to having a good time."
On Nevada:
"Well from what Coach Friedgen has told us and from what I know about them, I think they're tied for second in the WAC. (Vai Taua) has over a 1,000 rushing yards and (Colin Kaepernick) has over a 1,000 rushing and 2,000 yards passing. They have a great offense. And don't take away anything from their defense, they have two guys that have nine sacks or more. I think they're top in rush defense. It's going to be a great task, a great opportunity, and at the same time, I think it's great to play against out-of-conference teams. I have never played against them it's pretty exciting."
On the offensive line's focus:
"We're really getting established. We have Da'Rel Scott, he's one of the premier running backs in the ACC and we have to get him to that 1,000-yard mark. That's definitely a goal for us. We want to get him past that mark and establish ourselves as an offensive line. It's the last game of the year. We just want to end on a good note."
On the best part about going to a bowl:
"It's probably the events really. Iit's just a fun time. You get to go to somewhere else other than College Park, other than being on that turf field and going through all those drills that we know. You get to go to a whole different place and stay in a hotel. You actually get treated like kings, you get endless amounts of food, you get to go see different things, new attractions, new people. It's fun. It's a vacation, in way, but then at the same time you have to realize, of course you have a game and you want to prepare for it."
