University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Coach Fedora Weekly Media Conference Quotes
8/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 25, 2008
Head Coach Larry Fedora's Weekly Press Conference Opening Statement: "We have been waiting for a long time, we are excited and looking forward to it. We think we are pretty close to being prepared. We have the remainder of this week with practices today, tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday. The way we are going to do the practices is today's practice will be like a normal Tuesday practice, tomorrow will be like a normal Wednesday practice, and Wednesday will be like a normal Thursday practice, and Friday will be like basically a thirty minute run through, pretty easy going. We feel like we have them where we want to be and we have been cutting back with our game plans in all phases and hopefully we can execute. That's the key. It won't matter about a spread offense or a new defense or new special teams if we don't go out there and execute the basics."
On quarterback situation: "It is still up in the air. We have not made a final decision on where we are at. Obviously, we have to make a decision here pretty quick on who is going to go out there and take the first snap of the game. You know, somebody's got to do that."
On a date he would like to have a quarterback named: "About three months ago. No, it's no big deal, because both guys have been getting equal reps, both guys the team feels very comfortable with; it's not like we change when one guy fills in or another guy fills in. The team is comfortable with seeing either guy out there, so it's not like it will be something new for them."
On situation with two quarterbacks: "Yeah, there could be. I don't anticipate that. I would rather put one guy out there and let's see what he can do. But if one guy excels in a certain situation then obviously we are going to put the best guy out there."
On playing freshmen in the opener: "DeAndre Brown is definitely going to play for us. I haven't looked at the entire list, but DeAndre is definitely going to play. I think there's a chance Marcal Robinson could be playing for us, a chance Terrance Pope could play for us, and Kendrick Presley. He is running (in) the two-deep right now."
On Kendrick Presley: "He is at safety but he is playing nickel so he is learning the nickel spot. We have tried to trim it down for him, so he is just worrying about nickel, and not necessarily safety right now."
On DeAndre Brown: "He is running number two. He has gotten in the ranks with the ones, but more often than not he has been with the twos. But I anticipate him getting in the game in certain situations and playing for us, and hopefully making some plays. "
On implementation of offense up to this point: "We have enough offense in to get through a season, and I think the guys understand what we are doing. But now executing what we are doing, there's a big difference, when it's third and four and you call a certain play, whether there is no huddle or not, you still have to go out and execute and pick up more yards or you are punting. So moving those chains consistently is going to be very critical to success of the offense."
On Louisiana-Lafayette: "I know that they are going to have some guys that can run around. The strength of their team is probably going to defensively be their linebackers and offensively be their quarterback and their running back. When you talk about them offensively, you first talk about their quarterback as he can really run. They were No. 4 in the country last year in rushing. Their running back has a chance to break all of their rushing records there at Lafayette, he is probably 5-9, 190 lb., that has really good speed and they get the ball to him. Between him and the quarterback, they are the keys to their offense, and they do a lot of really good things with their quarterback. Defensively like I said, linebackers are their strength, they lost a lot of their D-lineman and some of their secondary guys you know one thing they are going to be able to do is run. I believe their kicker and their punter are both back."
On his personal feelings about leading the team Saturday: "To be honest, it is going to be a lot like it is for any other game that I have had. I am a bundle of nerves on game day anyway, whether I was calling a game, or whether I was a position coach or whatever. That is why I chose this as my profession, because I truly love it, I have a passion for it, I get excited on game day, I really get excited. I get butterflies, I get nervous, just like when I was a player. I love that feeling, that is what it is all about in my opinion."
On offense being similar to Rich Rodriguez at Michigan: "No, it's not what Rich did out at West Virginia. It's not that style, basically they were probably more two back than they were one back . They had the big fullback, but they were in the gun, it doesn't mean you weren't in the spread when you have two backs back there. They are very similar to what we do, except they spend a lot more time in the running game than in the passing game. But they could pass now, who knows. I understand they probably worked a lot on their passing game so we will see."
On Ryan McKee: "He has had a great camp, he is in great shape, over 300 lb., he can run, he can jump and he is the leader on the offensive line. The guy has experience. Basically we have two guys with experience up front, with him and Calvin, and so we are going to need his experience and leadership up there during the game."
On not calling the plays now that he is a head coach: "That will be the toughest thing for me, but I will still be involved. I will still make suggestions, but Darrell is going to call the plays. He has been doing a great job this thus far. The system is in place and he is going to do a great job with it. He will be in the box."
On getting a certain amount of snaps: "I would love to be in the 80-85 area. You will still see the transition on us; it will still take a toll on us as well. That will be something that you play your way into. As much as we practice and as much as we try to simulate a game, you just can't do it. The adrenaline, all of those things, you just can't simulate. They are going to have to play themselves through the game. They are just going to have to adjust, so hopefully we will get that done in these early games."
On player emotion: "I really believe you play the game hard, you play aggressive, and it doesn't matter when you play or who you play, or what the weather is like. You should play the game one way and I don't care if people say it's a big game or it is not a big game. Every game is a big game, you only have so many opportunities to go out there and play this game - the greatest game on earth - and when you get a chance to go out there, you should play it like it is supposed to be played, and that is hard. Every snap, every chance you are out there is an opportunity to make a play because you can go back to every single game you have ever seen, played in, or heard about and Sunday, people are going to be talking about probably six plays, They are going to say if this would have happened, then this would have happened, and if this would have happened, then this would have happened. Six plays. Six plays are going to determine that game. Six plays. The key is, which six? If we knew that going out there then we could just play six plays, and go in and we would have a game. But we don't know."
On the team's health: "We are pretty healthy. The only guy that would be questionable for the game is Tory Harrison. Right now we anticipate the rest of the guys playing."
On the kicking game: "(Britt) Barefoot is the guy right now. He will be doing all three phases right now, and if we have to give him a break then we might be in the punting area, (Brett) Hicks might come out and get a few punts. But I think Barefoot will be fine.
On the defense: "I have been pleased with the way our defensive tackles have played this fall camp. They have really come along. We still have some work to do at defensive end, we are still waiting on someone to step up and say they are the man at defensive end, and that they are going to make the plays consistently. But I have been very pleased at the way the defensive tackles have come through. We have improved from the spring, there is no doubt about that."
On scripted plays: "I've always scripted the first fifteen plays of the game in the past. Obviously, you come off your scripted plays in critical situations, a short yardage play or something like that. But we will have some openers also."
On pre-game details: "All that is driving me crazy to be honest, trying to cover every little detail, how we are going to go eat for pre-game meal, where we go from there, what they are wearing we they go, what they wear on the walk... But it is important, because it is the first year, the first time, so they don't really know, and if we don't cover it then they won't know. But what it all boils down to is how we play on Saturday. That will all come in time, but it is still about our execution on Saturday."
