University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Larry Fedora Weekly Media Conference Quotes...Nov. 17, 2008
11/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 17, 2008
Coach Larry Fedora's Weekly Press Conference Transcript
November 17, 2008
Opening statement:
"First of all I want to thank our staff; they did a tremendous job last week of preparing this football team for a tough opponent. I think they did a great job with the game plan. Our players responded very well last week, they practiced hard, and we played a good football game. We played a good football team, the crowd was great. We did some good things on offense, we did some good things on defense, and we did some good things on special teams. Probably not as good as we would have liked in all areas, but we played well. We played as a team and did what it takes to win a football game. On defense, we wanted to be able to stop the run and try to make them become one-dimensional and see if they could beat us that way; we didn't feel like they could. We did stop the run and we did a nice job against the quarterback. Our defensive line played probably their best football game of the year so we were really pleased with that. Offensively, we would have liked to have a few more explosive plays, we thought we were in position to get them, we just didn't make them. But we put enough points on the board to win, and that was the objective. On special teams, we would have liked to flip the field a few more times for field position, but we didn't get that accomplished. We didn't punt the ball well enough with the rugby punt to do the things we needed to do."
On a pair of officiating calls during the contest:
"The one on (Shawn) Nelson, where they took the ball away from him, first of all they said you couldn't challenge it. Second of all, they said that his forward progress was never stopped. That was their answer. The one where the punt hit our defender, they said our guy pushed the defender into the punt."
On if he has ever been a part of a team that turned the season around like the team has:
"To be honest with you - no. This is the first team that I have been involved with that has been in a situation where things didn't look good early and not many people gave them a chance, and they fought their way out of it. We still haven't accomplished everything, but what they have done in the past three weeks says a lot about the heart this team has and the character this team has. That was something we talked about when things weren't going our way, we were going to find out what kind of character this football team has, this coaching staff has, and we were going to find out a lot about us. I think that they have answered those questions."
"I think there is a lot of strength, a lot of pride, a lot of perseverance in this group."
On what turned the season around:
"We haven't changed anything. We haven't changed the way we practice, we haven't changed the game plan, we haven't changed the way we coach the players, we haven't changed anything. I think part of it is the players kept believing in what we were doing, kept believing in the coaches, and no matter what anybody was saying they put blinders on and focused on what needed to be done, and took it one step at a time. I think that's the difference. I think they learned lessons from earlier games. We have been in similar situations in all three of these games. Now we are making those plays, where earlier in the year we were standing around looking for someone else to make the play, now we have guys stepping up and making the plays, even guys who were back ups at the time. We have guys like Justin Wilson, after Chico (Hunter) tore up his knee, Justin Wilson steps in and is playing really well. After Korey (Williams) goes down, Martez (Smith) comes in and he is playing lights out. Kendrick Pressley, Kyle Burkhart who filled in for Calvin Wilson, V.J. Floyd, who came in for the two tailbacks, I can't say enough about these guys who have filled in. It just says a lot about these guys that they have done a great job preparing themselves, while understanding that they are only one play away. All of those guys are young, so it's just going to help us in the future."
On if this is where he thought this team could be:
"It depends on what point in the season I was thinking that. At the beginning of the year, I will be honest with you, I thought that we would compete for the conference championship - I really did. But there was a point in the season where we had to put that aside and say where do we go from here, how do we get back on track, and you wish you could do it all over again, but you can't. That's just the way the game of football is. You come out on Saturday, and you have to be better than the team you are playing that Saturday. You don't have to be a better football team, you just have to play better than they do and find a way to win a football game."
On if three wins will change the way they prepare for SMU this weekend:
"We aren't going to change anything. We are not going to change anything the whole way through because we were doing things the right way, even when things weren't going our way we were still doing things they right way so we aren't going to change that. I don't even know if there will be an extra step in them in practice, because they have been practicing that way all year. I know everybody thought when things weren't going our way that the guys were dragging around and their heads were down. But it wasn't that way, and that says something about the players, and even the coaches. It starts with the coaches and the energy level that they have out on that practice field, those kids draw off of it and those coaches don't allow them to be down. They have done a great job of that. We will continue to prepare the same way because none of this matters if we don't take care of our business a Saturday from now."
On what he will use the off week for:
"Two things, we are definitely going to recruit this week - that's not going to change - we are definitely going to do that. The coaches are getting out three times this week, to get on the road. We also want to get some guys healed up, but we are still going to practice. We are going to get after it a couple times this week to keep honing our skills and trying to get better. When we play SMU I don't want to be the same as we were when we played East Carolina. That's one thing that has been very important to me, that we get better each week of the season so that we are playing our best ball at the end of the season. I think that's the most important thing, it tells you a lot about the football team that you have."
On the importance of depth:
"You never know with a backup how they are going to perform in a game. You can only go by what you see at practice and a lot of that is based on spring ball and two-a-days. When you get into a game week, it's not like you are doing a lot of competing for a job that week, you are putting in a game plan, not so much focusing on is this guy beating this guy out, unless they are very close. You are going to look at them as being very close on how they came out of fall camp. That's so important and then to see these guys step up and make plays when they have the opportunity. Unless you have been in that situation and have been a backup, you don't understand how hard that is to prepare yourself each and every day knowing you are one play away or you may not touch the field. You are preparing yourself and you may not touch the field, you are preparing yourself and you may not touch the field, and then you prepare yourself and all of a sudden you are on the field. It takes a very tough minded kid to be able to handle that situation."
On if there is anyone that has really surprised him and stepped up with their play:
"I have probably been most impressed with what Martez (Smith) has done. I didn't know how he was going to handle the situation. He didn't have a choice, it wasn't give him a few reps here, give him a few reps there, he was a stand out on special teams all season but I wasn't sure how he was going to handle it when he had to carry the load. He has done a great job with that."
?On if Eddie Willingham will play in SMU game:
"We will make that decision next week."
On if defense has done anything differently in the past three games:
"I know no one would believe me when I say they are getting a little bit better each week. One week it was this guy, one week it was this guy. Our defensive line as a unit played the best they have played all year (against East Carolina). I have continued to say they are getting a little bit better, they are getting a little bit better. The linebackers have been solid all year but they played better, the secondary played a great game. Just a play here and a play there and a couple of calls, and they played an excellent game. I think it's an accumulation of continuing to work hard, learning from experiences and when those things come up, they take advantage of them."
"There were a lot of people that were on them pretty hard, saying they were the reason we weren't being successful and that was not the case. To see them stay focused, keep believing in what the defensive coaches are telling them, and keep doing it, that is rewarding."
On Defensive Coordinator Coach Bradford coaching from box the past three games:
"I'm sure that has something to do with it, because he can see more from up there, you are in a controlled atmosphere, don't get so emotional when you are on the field, plus I try to stay off the phone as much as possible when the defense is on the field. They don't need my two cents worth as much. I just let them do what they can do and they have done a great job. If you look at what the defense has done, they have been dominant the past three weeks. One drive against UCF, and other than that they have been dominant."
On impact of Coach Barney Farrar:
"He has to be an inspiration to every one of our players and everybody on our staff. Nobody in here has ever experienced that I hope, what Barney is going through. We are fortunate to have (Southern Miss alumnus) Bobby Dews who has been there with him and has gone through the exact same thing. Pat Sullivan is on the phone with him weekly. Bobby is on the phone with him daily. We don't know what he is going through because we haven't experienced it. But we have not tip-toed around it with our players, or with Barney. We decided we are going to hit this thing head-on and fight it, all of us, and give him all of the support. Not pity, we have never pitied, because that is not the way that man is. That guy is a fighter. There are times when I have had to challenge him because he was down, and he was tired, and I could see it. There are some people you couldn't do that with, but he needed that. That's what gets him out of bed every morning, that challenge, and that fight. What he has gone through this season, what he has done, and what he has meant to this football team is unbelievable."
"I constantly have to tell him to go home, and get some rest. He takes that as a challenge and he doesn't do it. So I worry about him constantly, but ask somebody like Bobby Dews who has been through it, experienced it, know how he feels each day. I can only tell you what I see, but Bobby knows what Barney is doing and it's amazing."
"He is gone most of the day with his treatments so he is not involved in the game planning. But he gets out there on the field and the kids see him everyday, and they see his attitude when he is out there on the field, he is always so upbeat and positive with the players. Just knowing what he is going through, and for him to be that positive and upbeat is an inspiration in itself."
On health of team: "We are pretty much the same as we were going into this game - with more bumps and bruises obviously. We knew it was a very physical game going into it and we said the most physical team was going to win. We felt like we were the most physical team the other night. Damion (Fletcher) is sore obviously. He rushed for 120-something yards on a leg that was probably 80 percent. He is a tough kid and he willed himself to do those things. Tory (Harrison) is better, not 100 percent, but better. The rest that he has gotten has been good for him. So those guys will continue to rehab all week, and hopefully have them back to 100 percent next week. Chico (Hunter) will not be back with us next week, he is done for the year. From what I understand, that bucket tear in the knee, when they stitch it that puts him out for a while. I don't know what it means for after the season, we will have to find out."
