University of Houston Athletics
Cougar Football Press Conference Quotes
11/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 9, 2010
HOUSTON HEAD COACH Kevin Sumlin
On whether Houston approached the game knowing they need to win the next two games:
"We haven't approached it that way. Like I said three or four weeks ago, we've reduced it down to one week at a time and tried to be 1-0 at the end of each week. That didn't happen last week and we sit where we are every Sunday. Our team responds better playing one game at a time and winning today instead of looking around and trying to handle the big picture. We're back to that. We can't do anything about Saturday; we're disappointed, but reality is whether we won or lost Saturday, we'd have to win this week again. We're moving on to this Saturday night and it's another big game because it's our next game. It's also a conference game and a game that has been exciting against a team that has been extremely explosive and very hot right now, considering their last three games. They've been scoring an average of 40-points and 500-yards the last three weeks. We have to worry about this time."
On Tulsa's offense:
"Damaris (Johnson) is an exceptional player and has great stats. He set the conference record last weekend in kick-off returns and there's been some great returners in this league. I would hazard to guess that statistically we're going to have three of the best returner guys in the league on the field at one time. We talked as a team the other day and they just happen to have one guy that does both; we have two guys. It's never a one-man operation; it takes 11 guys on the field to be successful, but it also takes a talented guy with the football in his hands. They do a great job scheming him and getting him where he needs to be. There have been all kinds of people who haven't tackled him; it's been week-to-week. There was Notre Dame, just everybody he's played against; that's why he set a record. He's a phenomenal player with the ball in his hands. He's a danger, as a weapon, not only in the kick-off game, but as an offensive player. He's a special guy and we need to be aware of where he is all the time and we need to be able to handle it. That being said, I think we handled it pretty well last year. How I think about it is, last year is last year, but it definitely gives us some confidence. We've been on the field and we've been able to handle it, but we have a bunch of guys on the field that didn't play last year and he is, along with Tulsa in general, playing with a lot of confidence right now as opposed to the beginning of the year. They should be though, based on their last three performances. I see him playing with confidence and I see their team playing with confidence."
On Tulsa being a high-scoring team:
"We're averaging 40-points a game too. We have a plan, we have a defense and like I told our team, we average 40, they average 40, but it's not going to be a tie game; they don't allow ties anymore. We've got a plan to disrupt them; they've got a plan to disrupt us, but that's why you play the game."
On the defense in the UCF game:
"I thought we did a poor job of that Saturday. It depends on what you're talking about. If you're talking about a mobile quarterback that's a passer, that's really the first time we've seen that. If you're talking about a mobile, wildcat, running type offense--those are two different things. What you saw Saturday were guys that came from underneath and made plays two or three weeks in a row against quarterbacks that weren't mobile, that were passers and got sacks and tackles for losses. Our guys made poor disicions against a quarterback that played extremely well not only being able to throw the football, but efficiently. He's really, a guy that quite frankly that is probably playing as well as any player in the league right now. He was basically the difference in the football game. We didn't handle that very well. We've got to understand the situation and who we're playing against. With this week, we have G.J. (Kinne) coming in who is a fine athlete. He played exceptionally well against last year. He was able to not only throw it, but he scrambled and ran like crazy and it wasn't a containment issue, it was right down the middle of the field. We've got to be able to handle those types of things and we've got to be smarter as players and understand who we're playing against and what they're trying to do. We have an aggressive style and we've had some success coming in under blocks. You've got to know who you're playing and how they play the game. Unfortunately there were some big plays that not only cost us some third-downs, but gave Godfrey success in winning the game."
On the previous games Houston's played against Tulsa:
"Quite frankly, every year is different. There are a bunch of guys that weren't playing last year or the game before last week, and certainly not four or five years ago. We both average 40-points a game, they're extremely explosive and over the last three weeks, they threw over 500-yards a game. We've got to be able to do what they do; they have a plan to stop us too. They've got a really explosive trio of receivers and they're going to do formation and try to get us to do some mismatches; they do a really great job of coaching and getting the ball to their playmakers. Our defense has taken some hits this year and all I can say is that they've continued to play hard. We understand what we're up against this week and we'll see what happens."
On playing nose-tackle:
"Ask the Washington Redskins. It's one of those jobs that not many people like and you have to like to do it. What kind of guy would get up in the morning and look forward to going out in the afternoon for two hours and getting double-teamed the whole time. At best, you do a good job against 600 pounds and not get moved back; coaches say `great job' and no one else even noticed you played. It takes a different kind of guy that is going to get double-teamed and post-chopped and cut from the backside in every play. There are certain guys that are going to get touched no matter what you do. This guy is going to get hit by at least two guys every play. He played well Saturday night. He did some things and brought an energy level to our front and I thought for having that much time off and only a week of practice, he handled the situation very well."
On Matt Nicholson:
"I met with Matt this morning and he's going to have surgery and be done for the year. He played for a tackle for a loss and had six or seven tackles; he basically played for three quarters of the game. He's played a lot of football this year. Coach Brurnett and his defensive staff did a great job of handling Matt Nicholson this year. We've gotten far more out of Matt than I could've ever dreamed. I met this morning and I told him how much I appreciate him as a player, a guy that walked on and was given a scholarship and had two major knee surgeries. January of last year, I sat with him and told him I would respect him either way, if he came back or not. The ball was completely in his court and what I dreamed about was him graduating. He's a guy that came back a couple of months later and I didn't think he'd play, quite honestly. He came to me a few weeks into spring training and said `you know what coach, I'm thinking about playing,' and I said `think about it again because I care about you as a person. One day you're going to have kids and you're going to want to play ball with them and stuff like that, so you need to think about it.' He was on an unbelievably fast track. He went through two-a-days this summer and his production this year for us has been far more than we had dreamed. There were a couple of times this year when he really didn't practice more than one day a week and virtually all the reps he had when he practiced has helped him be able to handle the situation. Going in a game is different, I know it's hard to explain to people, but going into a game from the sidelines is different than starting. I told Matt this morning that I can't be more appreciative for a guy that walked on and adapted to us, and really put the numbers up that he did in the amount of games that he's played in and it's really a phenomenal story. I told him he's always a part of this team and we're going to help him any way we can."
On Patrick Edwards:
"He was 140 pounds. He was doing two-a-days and I didn't even know what his name was. He's a walk on guy, a little guy, but he was clearly one our better players. It was a time when we didn't have any veteran receivers and a bunch of just little guys that were pretty fast. He was probably the most competitive and best player here. When Dana (Holgorson) was here, we kept saying `who is this guy?' and that's how he got the nickname `Hearne.' No one knew who he was; it was just where he was from. You're looking at the roster and you have all these guys on scholarship, so it's hard to remember everyone. He's extremely competitive and even though he doesn't run track, based on what we do, we might have a Conference-USA champion and guys who run at meets, as in Isaiah Sweeny and Tyron Carrier, but Edwards is every bit as fast as these guys are. He was playing so well after the first or second scrimmage, I talked to Dana and we had a scholarship open and we gave him the scholarship before school started. He was extremely appreciative, but not as appreciative as his mother was. It's interesting because today you're talking about two walk-ons that are impact players. He's a great story, especially with what he went through as a freshman. I know you've heard me talk about how I didn't know if he'd walk; there was stuff everywhere and the way it was shattered, it didn't look good. We tried to help him, but when he came in and said he was going to play, I thought he was absolutely insane. You take a guy's hand and you hold on to it and you look at the x-ray and you think `I just hope you can live a normal life,' and he came over in the spring and I was scared to death and wouldn't let him do anything. I will never forget the first scrimmage when we threw him a hitch and he caught it and he turned around and I held my breath because it was the first time it was a live deal for him. He made a guy miss, so I didn't have to worry about it because he made the guy miss and then he scored. He's pound-for-pound one of the toughest guys on our team, and that's saying something. What I think is amazing is how he plays when the ball is not in his hands. For his size and what he's been through, he's just a great story. He's a fighter and he's a guy that still has metal in his leg, but he doesn't make excuses for anything. He has such toughness; we need 50 guys like that."
On Patrick Edwards playing in the NFL:
"I don't know enough about that situation to tell you, but if he continues to improve, which he has put up numbers with a shattered leg that guys that are healthy have never put up. He's on a record pace again this year to do some great things. He's another guy that has come a long way since he's been here. I think he understands where he is and it's very important to him to be the best player he can be. He doesn't judge himself against a lot of people except that he wants to be the best player that he can be and I think he's working towards that."
