University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Head Coach Jeff Bower's Weekly Press Conference
8/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 28, 2006
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Opening Statement:
"It's good to be in game week. We're looking forward to getting back on the practice field today, after giving the players a break. Certainly, I expect to see a bounce in the players' legs and some excitement with the game week. We're also looking to see who really practices well this week. The players that practice the best are the ones that will be ready to play. We have a lot of work to do, but we're on schedule getting ready for Florida."
On Florida:
"They are very talented. They have a tremendous amount of speed on the field. They had the No.1 ranked recruiting class in the country, and I think that we will see some of those true freshmen play at some point during the game. They have a very fast football team. Defensively, the front seven players are very good. They maybe have a little more inexperience in the secondary. They have a lot of talent on offense and a lot of speed in the skill positions. Chris Leak is a very good football player. Their offensive line has had a few injuries, but they are big athletic guys. Maybe they don't have the game experience coming into the game that you'd like to have, but they're athletic. They're just a very talented football team. I don't know if we're going to play anyone with more talent or speed on the field than Florida has. We'll have a great week of practice and go down and play. We're healthy and I expect everyone to be ready to play, unless something happens before game time."
Plans For The Week:
"We're going to work on our game plan and get ready to play. We worked on Florida for three days last week. We'll continue that process. We're going to sharpen up our game plan and work against our schemes. We got a jump start on them with our work last week. That's our normal preseason plan. You get about a week and a half away from your opening game, then you start working on your opponent."
On If Seeing Urban Meyer's Offense Before Helps:
"We saw them all last year on tape. They're not going to change their schemes. They're doing a lot of the same things. There are some additions. There's some movement and a lot of different formations. You've got to be good with your eyes defensively. They're a tough team to get ready for. You've got to be disciplined on defense."
On Chris Leak:
"He has a lot of game experience. He's had a great career there. He can throw it and is very athletic. Without question, with a year in the scheme he has a better understanding on what they're doing offensively. He's really dangerous."
On How The Team Simulates Florida In Practice:
"You do the best you can, putting them in the same situations. Martevious Young has done a pretty good job of it. You run their offense. The hardest thing to simulate is the speed of the game and how fast it happens. We've got to get great effort out of our scout team this week going fast."
On Similarities Between Jeremy Young And Chris Leak:
"Jeremy is very athletic. He doesn't have the game experience, but he's an athletic quarterback. He can hurt you running the football."
On Young's Decision Making:
"I think he's better. I don't think he's playing as cautions and isn't afraid to make a mistake, as opposed to making plays. He's been more positive and more aggressive. Jeremy has improved."
On Announcing Three Scholarships:
"We had an awards ceremony last night and we put three guys on scholarship, Don Loehr, John McMahan and Rick Thompson. They are all walk-ons going into their fourth year. With the exception of our walk-ons that are here on scholarships, they are the only ones that are four-year guys. They are back-ups in some positions and are in the kicking game. They haven't played a lot of football, but they've all played some. Everyone has a different role and contribution, and these guys never miss workouts and work the tails off. They do everything right. They're outstanding students, two of them are well above a 3.0 and all were above a 3.0. They are very good for our football team for what they do. Hopefully, they will get more playing time this year. They're worth the scholarship and are great to have around. They're all good leaders and display good work ethic and do everything they can to help us win. We're pleased to put them on scholarship."
On The Running Backs:
"Larry Thomas will start against Florida, with Damion Fletcher and Cody Hull right behind. All three will see action.
On Conrad Chanove:
"He gives tremendous effort. He'll be on all special teams. I don't know how you get more than three backs into the mix, although we've got a lot of them. Conrad can play and has done a lot of good things. You might see him in the backfield some this year too."
On Larry Thomas:
"Cody Hull has missed some time due to the injury, but Larry has run tough. He's had a good camp, has worked hard and is deserving of the start. We're going to get Damion Fletcher into the game pretty quick too."
On If Damion Fletcher Learning The Offense Quickly Was A Surprise:
"I guess a little bit of a surprise. He's athletic, but he's learned what we're doing pretty fast. We've got to play him."
On Any Changes To The Starting Wide Receivers:
"It depends on if we go one-back or two-back. We're going to have Anthony Perine, Josh Barnes, Damion Carter and Rodney Gray out there. Rodney Gray will definitely play. I don't know if we have plans to play other true freshmen. I think a lot of that depends on this week and seeing how they practice."
On The Plan For The Running Backs:
"We're going to see how the game goes. We'll get into the flow of the game and go from there. There's not a lot of difference in our running backs. I'm not afraid to play 2-3 running backs, or more if you have to. There's not a lot of difference. We've got to continue to bring Damion Fletcher along. He's got a different gear and has really good feet and vision. We've got to get him the football."
On The Hurricane And How It Could Affect The Week:
"I don't know. We're going to play. We've got to get ready to play. That's the only way to approach it. It'd be hard to reschedule this one. It can't happen again, not three in three years."
On Gerald McRath:
"He's smart and has good instincts. I think with him at middle linebacker, that gives us the best three linebackers, moving James Denley up. I hope we can give Marcus Raines some playing time. We'd like to. The emphasis on the past week has been getting the best three out there. That situation could change when Mitch Craft comes back, but that's how we're approaching the game."
On If Brandon Davis Has A Chance To Play:
"Yes he does. He's No. 2 behind James Denley. We will play him. We're going to get him involved on special teams."
On The Difference In Larry Thomas:
"He's running harder, more north and south. That's what I like and have seen in him. Before, he used to be a feeler, now he's cutting it loose more."
On Injuries To The Offensive Line:
"I think we're in good shape, especially with the weekend. I don't think we're going to have anyone out of practice today."
On If Two Days Really Makes A Difference:
"I think so if you're smart and you get off your feet. You get the opportunity to get your legs back. We were at the point where we needed the break."
