Nov. 24, 2009
On Boston College:
"When you watch Boston College on tape, they play with a lot of energy, a lot of effort. They're very well coached and very disciplined team. I think they have the fewest amount of penalties in the league."
On the team's dedication:
"I tell you, these kids never cease to amaze me. At our meeting yesterday, I kind of go through what the procedures are going to be this week - it's kind of a special week with Thanksgiving. What we have done traditionally, the non-travel squad stays with the team through Wednesday practice and then Wednesday night they're allowed to go home. We normally service ourselves (with the scout team) on Thursday morning and I would say 25-30 kids would go home. Yesterday, I need to get numbers to see how we can organize practice and meals and everything else, so I asked who was going home. Two kids stood up. So I said, `Did you not understand the question?' I didn't know if they understood or not, so I went back to my office and I asked my operations guy, `Was I not clear? Maybe I need to ask again tonight.' So after practice I said, `Maybe some of you didn't understand me. It's okay to go home after practice on Wednesday. Stand up again if you're going home.' This time, one kid stood up. That's unbelievable. Here we are 2-9 and these kids are staying. It's a special bunch. I enjoy coaching them so much and I just wish we could do better. We're going to work as hard as we possibly can to win this game this weekend."
On the quarterback situation with Chris Turner possibly returning this weekend:
"Yesterday we ran Chris and he did better than we anticipated. Now, we'll wait to see where he is today. We'd like to get a little bit out of him, but we're not pushing too hard. We'd like to see him on Wednesday and we'll make a decision. Jamarr's got an injury right now himself. His leg is injured, but we think he's probable for the game. We'll just have to see how the week plays out. At this point, I would not like to burn two kids' redshirts."
On how this team's heart stacks up with other teams he's coached:
"After last night, I would say it's one of the best team's I've ever had a chance to work with as far as the type of people they are. They just keep coming back and it's why Saturday's game was such a tough, tough loss. We really, really had the game and we just couldn't close the deal. I talked to them (yesterday) about the positives of that game because we were hearing a lot of negative things. I talked about Jamarr's play. I talked about how our turnovers have gone down. I see us making progress. Sometimes, I think, you can't play to lose - you have to play to win. That's the next hurdle we have to get through. It's really been a privilege for me to work with them."
On if the `Senior Day' game is different from other ones:
"It's such a young team. I don't know how that's going to play out. I had Cory Jackson in my office today and he was telling me how special this game is to him. He said when Nolan (Carroll) got hurt, he realized he didn't know how many football games he had in him because he had some leg issues too. He said, `I'm just trying to play as hard as I can for as long as I can.' I think for the seniors, it's a very, very important game. A couple of the younger guys have mentioned that they would like to win this one for the seniors."
On this year's senior class:
"The thing I like about this class is that they're not afraid to speak their minds or say what they feel, whether it's to me or whether it's to their peers. A lot of times, you come on tough times and momentum starts going the wrong way. You get a lot of guys that have fallen in line. I think there's been times when this senior class has stepped up. Even though we haven't been as successful as we want to, that's what I appreciate about them."
On what he would say to fans right now:
"Keep the faith. We have a lot of guys coming back (next year) and I believe in this team very much. They've got a lot to look forward to because we're going to grow from this experience. We're going to be better for this experience. We're going to appreciate winning maybe more than we have in the past. I think the future's pretty bright. A thing I know that I'm much more optimistic this week than I was last week is the play of Jamarr Robinson. I think I got two young quarterbacks (in C.J. Brown and Danny O'Brien) that are pretty good too. I think I've got a transfer that's pretty good. I got two coming in that I think are pretty good. I got all the running backs back. I got all my wide receivers back. I lose one offensive lineman and they all play. We took our lumps this year, but we won't be taking our lumps next year. That's what I would tell them."
On Jamarr Robinson's status for Saturday:
"I've been told that he's probable. My concern is preparation. We actually did some things almost in a walk-through mode yesterday, so he would get the repetitions at least from a mental standpoint and I'll do some of that with him today, too. I'm hoping by tomorrow and Thursday we'll be able to get some more out of him."
