University of Houston Athletics
Football Media Day Press Conference Quotes
8/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Quotes from University of Houston Football Press Conference
Friday, August 7, 2009 * Houston, Texas * Athletics/Alumni Center
HEAD COACH Kevin Sumlin
Opening Statement:
"Obviously we're excited. We had open camp yesterday to go over compliance and discuss things like eligibility. We had dinner last night and took pictures this morning; we're just getting all of the non-football stuff out of the way. We'll have a few meetings today before we hit the field at 5:30 p.m. The hottest part of the day is between four and five o'clock so the good news for these guys is that it will get cooler for them as practice goes on. It's good for us to practice in the heat.
"These guys have done a good job this summer with coach (Larry) Jackson. Talking with coach Jackson, these guys are in tremendous shape. They've been conditioning all summer. There has been, in my opinion, some ownership taken by some of the players in the voluntary workouts and 7-on-7s, which is what you like to see as a coach. The more players take ownership, the better off you are as a team. I think that comes with experience in age.
"We're still a very, very young football team. We have very few seniors. We're counting on those guys to lead us. We're also counting on some sophomores and juniors to lead us through because we had a lot of those guys who played as freshmen and sophomores in some critical games last year. They will help the other players on and off the field. We're excited about where we are right now. I can't wait to get going this afternoon. Based on what I've seen and how guys have been, I think these guys are ready to go too. It's been a long time since we've played football."
On how accolades about the team is effecting their mindset:
"We talked a little bit about this as a team yesterday. That doesn't really matter. Everyone is going to have an opinion about your program, right or wrong. Fortunately for us right now, it's a pretty good opinion, but that doesn't really matter. What matters is what we do day to day, how we handle each other and how we progress one week at a time. Those things [accolades] are nice, and they all come when a program starts to have success. If we do the things we need to do on a day-to-day basis and handle our business at practice, those things will continue. Also if we continue to approach things the way we've approached them and not let those outside things effect us, then I think there's more out there for us.
"Like I said before, this team's challenge is how we grow up and how we mature from today through the season; how we handle success and how we handle adversity. It's not always going to go well and it's not always going to go bad. When you have a younger team, you can't ride the wave. Last year, we rode the wave a little too much. We were a top-25 team one week and a bottom-25 team the next week. We can't do that. As you grow and mature as a team then there has to be a level of consistency for your program. That's probably why I feel better than I did last year, because we had a bunch of really young guys. We still have a lot of young guys but a bunch of them have played."
On if he is approaching this season differently than he did last season:
"I think so because there's a little bit more of a comfort and a trust level. Last year, these guys didn't really know us and we didn't know them. It's not until you get into some situations that are really critical when you get to truly know someone. It's like everything else, you think you know someone until something bad happens, and then the real person comes out. We went through a lot last year. With moving because of the hurricane, we spent a lot of time together. We shared some really tough times and went through some hard losses. In the middle of the season, our coaching staff and players really showed that they are able to pull together. Now, there's a whole different level of trust."
On if he thinks he'll be better this season:
"I made plenty mistakes last year. This year, hopefully I won't make as many but you do the best you can. You go with your instincts, and you never try to stop getting better. It takes practice and dealing with people day to day. I made plenty of mistakes last year and hopefully I'll be better this year and the team will be better this year."
On getting off to a better start during games:
"It's interesting if you go back through the statistics. Statistically speaking we were even in the first half of every game last year. We outscored opponents two to one in the second half so maybe we just played better in the second half. We would love to play better in the first half. We did some things differently at practice in the middle of the year and really tried to address that. When you're dealing with a young team, the there's a feeling out process for us because a lot of the guys hadn't played this kind of football.
"Obviously, everyone wants to go wire to wire in every game. It doesn't happen every time. Coach Jackson and his staff have adjusted the strength and conditioning program, and this will help us prepare for this year."
RUNNING BACK Bryce Beall
On what you were thinking when you became the starter:
"Once I got my chance to run, I knew I could run. Sitting on the sideline watching (Andre) Kohn, it helped me a lot. I could see some of the mistakes he made. When he would make good plays, I would watch that too. It was also a blessing. If I would have been thrown in the first game, I would have been nervous; once I played the bench role at first, I didn't have to worry about the pressure. I wasn't nervous. After the first three games, I felt more comfortable."
On the effects of how different after he feels after one year in the program:
"Very big difference, my hips are a lot better. I'm a lot stronger. One thing I didn't have coming out of high school my hips were really tight. Coach Jackson helped get my hips together this summer. I feel like I could be the best running back in the conference."
On if he was in shape to start the year last year:
"That's another thing - I feel like I can carry the ball a lot more now. You can tell I was more fatigued last year."
On how it is to play in this offense:
"Moving the ball like we do is fun. It gets you in shape with all the running. It gives me a lot of room with all the space; you got to be a playmaker."
On the difference between small town and big city football:
"One thing about being from a small school is you got to play both ways; in Houston you just play one position. Country football is a different breed, it's more physical. City football is soft to me; football in the country is real."
On growing up in Tatum:
"It's a football town. Best football in Texas - we won 3 straight state championships. Growing up as a kid you couldn't wait to put on that jersey Friday nights. That's why we have so many D-1 players from such a small town. It makes you want to want it even more."
On what else there is to do in Tatum:
"Dominoes. I'm the man on the team along with my cousin Chase. We're running these city boys in dominoes."
On the schedule being tough and being thought of as a team one year away:
"Schedule is what it is. We think we can beat every team; we're not expecting to go into any game thinking we're going to lose. People say we're one year away; our question is why not now? I feel like we're good enough, talented enough and been working hard that we're confident."
On if the team is a 10-win team:
"It's a 12-win team. Definitely a 10-win team."
QUARTERBACK Case Keenum
On how long he is going to keep his facial hair/mustache:
"I don't know, probably going to have to shave it because I keep getting questioned about it."
On how he handles the preseason attention on him:
"I wouldn't say I like it, but I'd say it's better than people hating on you. But we take it in stride and we know that our important of ourselves is what's important."
On whether or not last year's success was a surprise:
"There was a lot of unknowns going into last year, coming into a new system, new players, new offense and I think we surprised ourselves. But looking back we were kind of disappointed; we felt like we left a lot on the field, so that's one thing we're working on getting better at this year. "
On comparisons to Andre Ware and David Klingler:
"Just to get mentioned in the same sentence as those guys is definitely a great honor."
On possibility of being a Heisman candidate:
"That's going to be a side product of the season we're going to have. If I take care of the Houston Cougars, if we take care of ourselves, we take care of each week, week by week, then that would be another great testament to our team."
PUNTER Chase Turner
On the tough games coming up and what it changes:
"Nothing really. I look at like Coach Sumlin says its just another game. I really don't pay attention to who is coming at me. I trust all my guys to do a phenomenal job at blocking. As long as they do their job, I do mine."
On if he will be in the top-10 in punting again this year:
"I sure hope so. I'll be very disappointed with myself if I'm not. That's something I pride myself in even if no one else does. That's something me and my teammates know about."
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER Matt Nicholson
On the importance of defense this season:
"You've heard before that defense wins championships, and that's true."
On second year in Coach Sumlin's system:
"It's a routine and you get used to it. Right now we're all used to it, so it helps."
On offense's ability to score points:
"We know we're going to score, so we've got to make stops. If we do that we'll win games."
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER CJ CAVNESS
On offense's ability to score points:
"They are going to score points, but we are going to stop people from scoring too. That's what's going to win us the games. We don't want to get in shootouts with people."
On how players feel about being picked to win the Conference:
"I don't think we look at it like that; we just have to win each game. We can't win them all until we win the first one."
MIDDLE LINEBACKER Marcus McGraw
On fans' expectations of the defense this season:
"It's nothing less than what we expect out of ourselves."
On playing against Tech and Oklahoma State:
"We're going to have to face a lot of adversity, a lot of `downtalkers' of what we can do when we play bigger schools. So, we're going to have to come out, play hard and hopefully do a good job. We welcome the opportunity to play teams that let us prove ourselves and see what kind of defense we really are."
On defensive improvement from last year:
"We'll be better all around, meaning that we've got a year under our belt on the defense we're running now. We feel a little more relaxed now and have gotten into the routine of things."
On seeing the improvement / evolution of the football program:
"We did win a championship in 2006, so I came in expecting to win a championship. It's not like we just have high expectations, but Coach Sumlin sat us down and helped us get back on track."
