University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Media Day Quotes
8/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Southern Miss Media Day Quotes
Head Coach Jeff Bower
On Steel Adams:
?He left the football team.?
On how preseason practice has gone:
?I think it has been good. Our conditioning has been good, and that allows you to get a lot done. I think our players really worked hard this summer. We have been pleased with the first week of practice. The effort has been good. The attitude has been good. As long as you go out and do those two things, you are going to improve as a football team.?
On things like playing at California helping to put Southern Miss on the map:
?It is a mission for us, and that is part of the reason behind the scheduling of some games. When Richard (Giannini) scheduled the game, it was to give us an opportunity to go out on the West coast and get exposure out there by playing a team in the PAC-10. And California is a pretty good football team. It will be different for us. It has been quite a long time since we have been out there, at least in the last 25 years we haven?t played out there. So that will be good to go out there.?
On the early travel and set up affecting the team:
?You know what you are dealing with so you plan accordingly. We have talked about it at length with the staff, and the thing we know is that we can?t wait to work on UAB on Sunday after the Cal game. We have to do our homework now, and we will come up with a game plan in all three phases. We will actually mix in some UAB looks in our preseason work, prior to starting on Cal and really settling in on that game.?
On if the separate practices worked out the way Bower wanted:
?With the new schedule, you talk to other people and find out what they are doing. And I don?t think that many people were doing things like we were. We went four days with the new players, and I was real pleased with it. I thought it went very well. You get to give the new players so much more time and attention, and teach the practice routine, drills, and schemes on offense and defense. I think that if we had thrown them out there and started with practice as one team, those kids would not be nearly as far along as they are now. In that respect, I think it has worked well for us. I like it so much, that I don?t think we will change it next year ? unless we get a better idea.?
On what Bower sees in players when he recruits them that translates into success on the field:
?That is hard to say. We really don?t pay much attention to where kids are rated and things like that. We talk a lot about being able to run to play the game. An offensive lineman has to be able to move his feet. A player certainly has to have growth potential. I would rather take an undersized guy with growth potential who can move his feet, than a bigger guy who can?t. But I think it all boils down to an evaluation. You don?t want to evaluate necessarily how they play, but you evaluate their athletic ability. That is what we try to do. We talk quite often about projecting kids to different positions, because so often, in high school, a coach will play a kid at a position because he has to. An example could be fullback because you rarely see a high school fullback who becomes a college fullback. They are always somewhere else. You need to look at kids and try to project them in a position where you think they will play the best in college. And again, the character issue is huge. Kids who do things right, work hard and take care of the little things will get better every day. It?s performance over potential, and I think character has a lot to do with that.?
On if the new offense could be used with a two-quarterback rotation:
?I think you always can do that, if you have two of them who can play. With this offense, we are multiple enough that if you are an athletic quarterback who can run, there are things we can do to feature what the best ability is. I don?t have a problem using two quarterbacks, but it is something that I would rather not do. I would rather have one guy separate himself and be the guy. If that happens, fine, and if it doesn?t we may entertain the thought of playing a couple of them.?
On if Jeremy Young will stay at quarterback or play another position:
?He is a quarterback.?
On if there has been any separation yet between Micky D?Angelo and Dustin Almond:
?I think that Micky has separated himself a little bit. It may not be to where we can say that he is the guy and will be the guy.?
On if Bower talked to Steel Adams before he left:
?Yes. Steel wasn?t happy with his role. He wanted to be a running back, and we were trying to develop him into a fullback. We all felt that it would be his best position, but that is not something he wanted to do.?
On if Micky D?Angelo is different this year:
?He competes so much better than he used to. In his freshman year, he didn?t compete. And you see that quite often. Guys who are highly recruited out of high school have never really had that much competition. They were the guys. And now, all of a sudden they have to step it up a level and work a bit harder. You have to study the game. And that is the biggest difference I have seen in him. The more he matures, the harder he works and the more conscientious he is at doing the things he has to do to be successful at the position.?
On if Bower has seen anyone battle through injuries the way Corey Yates has:
?I have seen it occasionally, but he has really been persistent. I feel sorry for him because just the way things have happened. He is a hard worker and a good football player, and he has had some bad luck. But he has pushed through it. He has always had a positive attitude and worked himself hard to get his knees back to where he can play. He has maintained his speed, and he still might be the fastest guy we have on the team. I think good things are going to happen to him. He has worked too hard for that not to happen.?
On Tim Blackwell:
?We have had a number of talks, and I hope they have helped. I think he is doing better than he has ever done. But the book on Timmy is, and this is something I talked to him about quite often, he is a roller coaster. He is an up and down guy, and when things are good you have to be real concerned. He has fallen off that mountain before. He has to be consistent with his behavior and doing everything right. He has to continue to work hard. A lot of times, that comes with maturity and growing up. We hope that he will continue to do that.?
On what made Bower decide to give Blackwell another chance:
?Number one, he wanted to come back to school here when he could have played at many other places. But he wanted to come here. There is no doubt when we dismissed him, that it was justifiable. But kids make mistakes and sometimes, it takes a decision like that to really turn a kid around. We are in this profession to help kids. We all make mistakes at some point in time. And Timmy came back, and we had a great discussion. I think he is very sincere in wanting to turn it around. And we didn?t put him back on scholarship; he is paying his way. If the guy wants to come back and pay his own way, with the ability he has, that says something.?
On if there is an open door for Chris Johnson:
?No.?
On Darren McCaleb:
?I think he is going to be a good kicker. I like him right now. He is a little inconsistent, but a lot of that has to do with your operation, your new holder and things like that. He has a good leg and he will be a good kicker for us. I think Brad Langley is ahead of him right now, but things can always change.?
On punters:
?I don?t know. That is a worry to me. Luke Johnson had a good day punting yesterday. But the biggest issue is with consistency. Both guys have the ability to be a punter. I felt that after last fall and into recruiting, we would be fine there. But we are probably not as consistent as we were last fall. I don?t know what it is, but we certainly work at it and spend a lot of time on it. But we hope that it will work out in preseason, and we will become more consistent. Johnson and Neal Schmidt both have good legs, but it is a matter of becoming more consistent.?
On what Rip Scherer brings to the program:
?Leadership. He is outstanding with people. I felt that we needed to bring someone in here who was good at that. Not saying that Rip doesn?t have a great football mind, but I felt that it was important to bring someone in who is a leader, who has character and integrity and can relate to kids. We have to be able to motivate kids. You have to get close to them and know them. I think Rip will do that, and I think our other coaches who we brought in offensively can do that. That is extremely important.?
On if the position of return man is open to starters and other players:
?Yes. Marvin Young and John Eubanks could factor in there. John broke his hand yesterday and he will have a cast on it for a couple of weeks. He may or may not be ready for the first game. But we have always worked a lot of guys as punt and kick catchers in our specialty period. And because of that, we have developed kids who are able to a do a good job. Corey Yates and Jasper Faulk could possibly do that as well.?
On if there are any freshman that could factor in:
?Anthony Perine really looks natural catching punts and kickoffs. Caleb Hendrix is another one, and (Adam) Hurst could do it. We have a lot of guys who can do that.?
On Perine?s attitude:
?It is real good. He has a great attitude. He?s a good worker and picks things up. He has a lot of ability.?
