University of Houston Athletics
Cougar Football Weekly Press Conference
11/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 2, 2010
Head Football Coach Kevin Sumlin
On Bryce Beall's injury and running back depth
"I said during our two-a-day practices that our running back situation went from `oh no' to `oh wow,' and that's really being proven this year. The loss of Charles Sims was significant for the year. Charles is doing great right now in school and we look forward to having him back next year. Mike (Hayes) has picked up the slack to help us. It's really day-to-day right now. (With Bryce's injury) We didn't really want to take a chance with him in the game. Let me just say, Chris Wilson, who came just short of 100 yards rushing, hasn't gone unnoticed from Saturday night. Chris Wilson came in and did some things for us, particularly blocking and protection for Mike (Hayes). When it came to running, he did an excellent job with ball security. We've got some capable running backs with really different styles that complement each other. Since we've been here, there has been a worry that we didn't have running backs, but we do. We'd love to have Bryce (Beall) back, but we have guys who've shown they can get things done, too."
On the differences between the Eastern and Western sides of the conference
"It's probably obvious to everyone, but it's like two different leagues. It's like the Big 10 and the Pac 10. There's a different style of football than what's been played there on the eastern side. East Carolina is really changing that. You saw the high score with East Carolina and Central Florida. The other games they've played with the east side haven't been that high scoring. The styles are different.
Central Florida has built themselves into a very rugged type of football team. They like to lead the game in time of possession and run the football. They're first in every defensive category except rushing defense and they're second in that. They're in the top 15 in the country in each defensive category. (Jeff) Godfrey is playing very well for them at quarterback. He's a dual-threat guy; he's extremely quick and extremely fast, which has added another dimension to their running game. Their running backs are playing very well; they rushed for 180 yards last week. Godfrey, (tailback Ronnie) Weaver and (tailback Latavius) Murray all have over five touchdowns this year. Murray is a little bigger back, so they give him short-yardage situations.
There's no doubt how they're going to approach the game and how we want to approach the game. If you go back and look at last year's game, it was a heck of game. Both teams tried to impress their styles and the score was a lot closer than the game felt. We had an opportunity to take control of that game early, but turned the ball over. Every game comes down to the same thing. We've got to get off the field on defense and convert first-down and convert third-downs and hang on to the ball and we'll be all right."
On the confidence of the return game with touchdowns on punts and kickoffs
"We were always confident. The fans were not confident. If you go back and check the records from last year to see when someone finally returned a kick, it was game seven before we did that. Our averages are about where they were last year. This year, we've got explosive guys and we're not any different in our kick-return game than we were a year ago. As a matter of fact, that was our first punt-return in 66 games, so obviously we're better. Patrick (Edwards) is leading the league in punt-returns. This time of year, not just in special teams, but in all phases it's important that guys feels like they're getting better and they're getting an opportunity to score every week. (Special Teams Coordinator) Tony Levine does an excellent job providing schemes that give us an opportunity to be successful. You have to get settled on what your personnel is on special teams and the more injuries that occur, the less continuity there is. We play a lot of young guys and put them in critical situations and make them make critical blocks. Just like every position, they're getting better as the year progresses."
On UCF quarterback Jeff Godfrey
"They're a good team; they're playing as a unit. The ability of Godfrey to get in the pistol and do some quarterback runs has helped. He's been very efficient with the ball and when they ask him to throw it, he's been very effective. He's done a great job of managing the game, controlling the football and not turning it over. Obviously, the way they do things, they're very well coached. They have very few penalties. They're a George O'Leary team. It's going to be tough. They're well coached, they don't turn the ball over and they force you to make mistakes. They've done a nice job with (Godfrey). What they ask him to do, he's done very well--they've played up his strengths. Godfrey has done a nice job of not forcing the football when he has to throw it and he's been good about protecting it and capitalizing on the defense's mistakes."
On how UCF plays differently than Houston
"It's style of play. There's a difference between style of play and pace of play. You can up the tempo and do some things, but our teams are a little bit different. The teams are bigger on the east side. You can look through the rosters and see who's starting and as opposed to some of the guys over here. I think everyone is bigger than us right now. The style of play is different on the east side, but that's what makes for a good league.
There are a lot of things going on right now. Southern Miss is trying to get as many plays as humanly possible in. They're making as many or more plays than we do; we've slowed down a little bit to try to bring our offense along. We're starting to get back to a pace that we're comfortable in. There are different philosophies, but that's what makes for a good league.
When everyone is doing the same things, that's when it becomes boring. I have a lot of respect for George (O'Leary) and how he does things; he sticks to his philosophies and he's successful doing it. They're going to hang on to the ball and try to be the first in the league with time of possession. They're the least penalized team in the league, they're highly disciplined and they know what they want to accomplish. They play a good defense and that's who they are; that's their identity. That takes a lot of work by him and his coaching staff and they're getting it done that way."
On the states of Texas and Florida having a lot of talent
"It depends on how you look at it; there are also more schools (recruiting the area). There are more players, but there is more competition. We have nine other division one schools in the state that recruit players besides us. We did a study and out of the 120 division ones schools in the country, between 75-78 were recruiting not just the state of Texas, but Houston. There is tremendous competition because people know there are players here. It's easy to say `hey, why don't you just get them to stay home,' but if that was the case, you all know how easy that would be. They face the same thing in Central Florida. They're not too far from Tallahassee or Tampa or Miami or Gainesville; they have teams there that try to get good players, too. Our league is highly competitive."
On Conference-USA
"We have a lot of really good programs, a lot of good athletes and that shows up during the (NFL) draft. You get some of the better players playing in the NFL out of this league. There are a lot of good coaches in this league. You have to give some credit because we don't have one team and then everyone else. I'm not picking on any league in particular, but that's kind of the case. There are teams that have gone outside this league and beaten teams like Notre Dame and North Carolina State, not only this year, but in years before. We have some teams that maybe people outside our league don't have respect for, and they should. That speaks to where this league.
On how well the UCF defense plays
"I'll be able to answer that Saturday morning or probably Friday night. I know that they have the defensive player of the year in this league (Bruce Miller), and he was a unanimous defensive player of the year. He has been a nightmare for everyone he has played this year, and last year. He's a phenomenal player. People feed off that and they move him around. He's done his thing against everyone they've played so far, but anytime you're playing good defense, it's not a one-man operation. They have good players and a sound scheme. They play very disciplined and very hard and that's how they win."
On the Houston offensive line
"Obviously for us to be successful the last couple of weeks, they've played pretty well. They have to continue to get better, but they've been able to handle some things in the last couple of weeks that they weren't in the beginning of this year. I hope they keep that up."
