University of Houston Athletics
Football Press Conference Quotes
8/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Houston-Southern Football Press Conference Quotes (Aug. 20, 2008) in PDF Format 
Quotes from Houston-Southern Football Press Conference
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 • Houston, Texas • Grooves Restaurant & Lounge
HEAD COACH Kevin Sumlin
Opening Statement
"It sounds like we better do something about that quarterback if we are going to have a chance to win the game.
It's a pleasure to be here and a great opportunity next Saturday to start the season against Southern. I have always had a lot of respect for (Southern head) coach Pete Richardson. I have known him for a while. He has won a lot of games. His teams are always well prepared and play well. We look forward to it next Saturday.
Based on the press conference today, the people in attendance and what I hear around the city, as coaches and players, we are looking forward to next Saturday because it is going to be a festive event. There is going to be a lot of people there, and we are looking forward to a sold-out stadium.
It will be a chance for our guys to stop running into one another and start trying to tackle some other people.
Our team is getting better. We have a quarterback that we have chosen in Case Keenum for the first game. We have a bunch of young guys that are pushing some of the older guys right now for, not only playing time, but also starting positions.
All in all, practice has been going very well. As the week winds down, as we get out of camp and we start school next week, everybody is excited about our first game, especially against an opponent that will be well-coached and come in here with a bunch of fans. With a night game, it ought to be a pretty good test for both teams.
ON SOUTHERN
"I don't think it's an "any given Saturday, anybody can win" thing. You look at where they finished ranked last year in their division. You look at Coach Richardson's record since he has been there. They are a good team. They are going to have good athletes and be well coached. All you have to do is look at football on Sunday, and you will see a bunch of Southern Jags on NFL teams. They have talent. With an alumni base like they have here in Houston, they are going to bring a lot of energy to the stadium. They have a lot to play for."
ON FACTORS IN PICKING STARTING QUARTERBACK
"It's the same thing that comes down to any other position. We evaluated over time, and the guy that was most consistent and the guy that gave us the best chance at this time to win was who we were going to go with. Over the course of time and just consistency more than anything else, with the youth that we have at receiver and the youth we have at running back, one guy getting more reps with six or seven or eight guys was better than four or five quarterbacks getting reps with 12 or 13 guys. It's going to speed up the development of our passing game, and we will go from there."
ON DIFFICULTY OF DECISION
"It was a difficult decision. I said this, and I still say this. I told Blake (Joseph) this Sunday night when we met with them. Both of them are good enough to win and win championships with. It just gets down to one guy doing something a little bit better than the other one, and that doesn't take away from either of them. Both of them are capable, and it's a good position for us to be in as a team."
ON PROGRESS OF RECEIVERS AND RUNNING BACKS
"It's good. During Saturday's scrimmage, we were a little better than we were Tuesday. That's what we are looking for; we're looking for some consistency. I don't think you're going to have one player replace DA (Donnie Avery) or one player replace Quick (Anthony Alridge) this year. As a group we could do that, but I don't think we need to put that much pressure on those guys. As a group, we have enough talent to be pretty good. The quicker those guys get to that level, the better off we are going to be early."
ON SOUTHERN
"It's no different than any other game. They are well coached. Coach Richardson has been doing this for a long time, and he has won a bunch of games. Those guys are going to come in here playing a Division I opponent. It's a big game. We are going to get their best shot. We are going to have to be prepared, play hard and execute."
ON NUMBER OF RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS TO BE USED
"We would like to have about eight guys who could go for the first game and just see how that goes. Mark (Hafner) is pretty interchangeable at tight end and wide receiver. If we have a solid eight guys, two deep with four counting the tight ends, I would feel pretty good going into the game.
ON SNEAKING UP ON SOMEBODY
"We're not sneaking up on anybody. We're not here to sneak. We're here to play.
"We can't be concerned about that. We just show up and play. I really don't care what people think. We have the games that are schedule and we are going to show up and play whoever is on the schedule.
ON END ZONE FACILITY
"It's great. It will be great for recruiting. It will be great for the University. It will be a great look for the University. From the plans that I have seen with the new rail system, it's going to be great. From a recruiting standpoint, it shows a commitment to the football program and shows where we are headed. An on-campus stadium with renovations shows a University's commitment to where we are going in the future and is something that the players can be proud of too."
