University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Coach Larry Fedora Press Conference Transcript
8/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 2, 2008
HATTIESBURG, Miss -
Preseason Media Day Press Conference
Overview of the Season Thus Far
"The first two practices the guys have moved around well. The recall was really good. The retention rate was good from spring and that was one of the things that I wanted to see where these guys were going to be coming out of spring ball through the summer and how much work they put in (during the summer months) to see where we are right now. That gives us a pretty good idea of how far we can go going before we get into this first game with the offense, defense and special teams. I am pretty pleased with where they are. We had some guys with a few cramps today, but other than that it was a good day."
How crucial was it in increasing 40-yard times during the summer?
"We had a quite a few of them change their bodies. They got stronger, faster and also got bigger. We check these guys and their body fat is going down and their muscle mass is going up. That is a result of guys getting bigger, faster, stronger and obviously speed is a big factor in what we are doing. So, we want as many guys that we can run fast as possible.
On thinking are you going to give Damion 20 to 25 touches a game
"I will be honest with you. I have never really just sat there and said 'this guy needs to touch it 20 times.' What we do, though, is see how many ways we can get this guy the ball. We may have that boxed in on our game plan. Then what I will do throughout the game, I may ask 'how many times has he touched it' and we have someone keeping track of that and I may say that we need to get it into his hands more. Then they have a chart that they can go to see if this where we want to go. If you are asking me 20 to 25, I don't know, but I get a feel for that as we go. A lot of that is going to depend on what is happening in the game, what they are trying to accomplish. If they sit in there and stack it up there to try and stop Damion then he may not touch it 20 times or he may not touch it 20 times in the running game."
On Fletcher Being Bigger Physically
"I wondered about that (Fletcher's size) until we got into spring ball. He will get after it now. You have to hold him back, I promise you. I don't have to make him go."
On the defense
"If you look around this conference, and from me studying this conference, a lot of people have scored points. If we play great defense and don't turn the football over, we will have a chance to win each game. That's going to be the key to our success and I believe that and a lot of that has to do with your defensive line. We're young, but you know what, we're young - so what. What are we going to do. It is the hand we're dealt and we are going to play with it. We will be very strong at linebacker and we have some really good talent in the secondary. I feel good about where we are. I tell you the one thing we can really do is run. The guys on defense can run around well. We are pleased at the way the corners are playing right now. But, we have had two days in shorts so it is hard to give you a feel at where we are."
On Gerald McRath
"I am glad that he is on our side. He is the leader of our football team. Not just the defense, but our football team. Everybody on the team respects him and a lot of it has to do with the type of person is he both on and off the field. He is a lot alike in both places. Whatever he does, he has a passion for it and he loves playing the game and his parents have done a tremendous job raising him."
On Getting 85 Plays a Game
A lot of that has to do with tempo and the biggest thing is you have to move the chains. If you don't move the chains, you are not going to get to 85 plays. If you got some three-and-outs and some five-and-outs, you are not going to get 85 to 88 plays. I would love to be around 88 plays and anything above. If we get to that situation, that means we are rolling pretty good. The other way that I have been in some situations that I didn't get to 88 plays was because we had so many big plays, but I will take that if that happens."
Are you opposed to a two-quarterback system?
No I am not opposed to it. I have been involved with it before numerous times to be honest with you. Is it the best way? No, but until one guy emerges and shows he is clearly the better of the two and he is the best guy to have on the football field, then I am not opposed to it."
What about situational use of quarterbacks
I have done it as a situational deal, but those times were when I had two really different quarterbacks. That is the most difficult way to do it, because, if not, it is like trying to run two different types of offense which is very difficult thing to do. I think it was very obvious from watching Oregon this past year when they had the quarterback that got hurt and they had the kid that came in behind him who was not anywhere like him so it was difficult for him to run the offense."
Thoughts on freshman DeAndre Brown
"I try to be careful to be too optimistic about it, but he a couple of phenomenal plays. How many guys out there in this country that are 6-foot-6, 230 pounds and can run like he runs. The nice thing is - he likes playing, he likes practicing. People may wonder when I say that he 'likes playing;' the think all football players like playing but that is not really how it is. Some of them are just out there. He seems to really like it, but we will see when things really get tough."
On possibly having too many weapons on offense
"You I have never been in a situation where I have had too many weapons, I assure you. Never can I ever remember saying that I got too many guys, I don't know what I am going to do. I promise that I will find ways to move the ball around as well as our offensive staff. We do have some guys we feel pretty good about. I think it is fun to figure out different ways to get the ball in different people's hands. I guess you can look at, if you got a bunch of guys you may have a hard time to figure out where to put the ball. I don't. I know that if I got a Damion Fletcher, and I got some other guys out there where I can put the ball in their hands it will open up more things for Damion Fletcher. You have to have players that are unselfish, because one week he could be them and then the next week someone else. One thing we are not going to do is beat our heads against the wall. We are just going to take what they give us. However they want us to beat them, I don't mind. If they want us to do it throwing, we will do it throwing and if they want to do it running we will do it running. But we are going to able to do it both."
