University of Houston Athletics
Weekly Football Press Luncheon Quotes
11/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 9, 2004
On the win over ECU and the upcoming game at UAB "Appreciate you all being here. It (ECU) was a nice win for us last week. It (the ECU game) seems like a month ago now, since we're already deep in our preparation for UAB this Saturday. It was a good win against a team that won two of their previous three games. We played pretty confidently. It was a great win for us, and great to be home again. The thing that I am really most pleased with is the attitude and effort that our players ad coaches have maintained throughout the season. The way our schedule fell forward - it was no one's fault, just the way it feel through the conference office and everything - but to be able to come on and hang on and improve as the season developed, to me, is a testament to our team. Like we talked about Sunday, there are a lot of different ways to measure a champion, and I think one measure of a champion is somebody who continually gets better from one day to the next. And I think that's what we've done as a football team. From that standpoint, we're very pleased.
"We still have a chance to finish very strongly. We have a huge challenge this week at UAB against a very fine football team, who two weeks ago was leading the conference and have been stumbling a little bit over the last couple weeks. I'm thinking they are going to be totally focused, as we will be, and that it will be a great match-up for us and one we're really looking forward to. I think we're playing at a high level right now on both sides of the football and on special teams. We're ready for the challenge on Saturday."
What has happened over the last few weeks - is it more strategy, confidence or changing things up a bit? "You probably hit it right the first - change in strategy. Against Tulane we really felt like we had to, because its quarterback is really good and can pick you apart. Our guys did a great job putting pressure on him. Same thing this past week. I think the two most improved areas of our football team are our offensive line and the defensive line. I think that's been the difference the last two weeks. We had a great push defensively last week against ECU, and the week before against Tulane. Our O-line has really done some good things protection-wise which has enabled us to do some things from an offensive standpoint."
What have you done different offensively? "We've kind of moved some people around. We're playing a few more guys in there, keeping them fresh. Competition is always a great thing, and we're just trying to make sure that everybody is playing at their best with every snap. I think that has helped us."
Are you at all surprised at freshman Harold Taylor and how he has been able to make the adjustment (to college) so quickly? "Honestly, not really. Anybody sitting up here will tell you Harold has talent and he has an electrifying skill. What he did the other night was something that we expected, and we plan on him doing it a lot more. It's just hard to be in those situations where you have a chance to show that. Finally, we're able to give him a couple opportunities where he has been able to show his talent, and hopefully, we can find other ways to expand on that. He is really a positive young man who has a bright future with us."
What about some of the other guys who have made contributions this year? "It's been a big year. We'd rather redshirt all of those guys (true freshmen), just like we planned on redshirting Harold until the Miami game and Anthony (Evans) went down. SirVincent's (Rogers) opportunity came about kind of out of a necessity, as we were thin there, and Pahulu just came in and did a great job. These guys are great football players. Like I said before, I don't care if they're 18 or they're 24, we're going to put the best players on the field, because that's the name of the game - to win. We want to win now. We're not building right now to see what's going to help us next September; we're working right now to see what's going to help us win Saturday. That's the only thought and concern I have. And we felt like those guys were the best we had at the time, and that's why they are playing."
Can you compare UAB's offense to something you've faced before, or are they fairly different than what you've seen this year? "Offensively, they are of course strong. Of course, (QB Darrell) Hackney is an enormous talent and has a riffle arm, very accurate. They have two or three really outstanding receivers. They do a great job protecting up front. They have some big offensive linemen; they will keep seven in for protection, sometimes eight and just let Hackney sit back there and work his magic. It's a nice scheme.
"As far as comparing them to someone else we've faced...I don't know. They're not an option team. When they do run the ball - and they do run it pretty effectively - it's a zone-type offense. Honestly, they are a little bit hard to compare to anyone else."
How do you defend against Hackney? "It's not like he's going to pull out and scramble on you. Now if he does get out in the open field, you better make sure all of your chin straps are buckled. It's not like hitting me out there. That guy is a man out there. I don't think he's going to dance or twinkle-tow out of bounds. He's not afraid to take a hit or deliver one. It's interesting when he breaks out of the pocket. But I feel confident in my players, so it will be an exciting afternoon.
