University of Houston Athletics
Football Media Day Held on Friday in Athletics/Alumni Center
8/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 5, 2011
HEAD COACH Kevin Sumlin
Opening Statement
"In a lot of ways, it's an interesting year, and we're excited. A couple of guys that have new leases on life - Jacky Candy and Case Keenum - have been granted a sixth year. They are extremely appreciative, understand where they are and cherish every moment they are out there. We have a group of 18 seniors that have been through some big ball games and have experienced some big time success and some hard times like last season.
"From my standpoint, this is going to be a fun year, and we have a good group of guys. We have a good core group of seniors and veteran players; we also have a real influx of talent. Defensively it's going to be how quickly we can get those guys involved, knowing what they are doing and being disciplined.
"The addition of Chevy Bennett and D. J. Hayden at corner really helps what we are trying to do in our run defense. Last season, we gave up too many touchdown passes, and our corners didn't allow us to load the box and play some different coverages. It starts on the perimeter.
"We've gotten some new players and hired some new coaches. Carlton Hall from Harvard, and Jamie Bryant from Vanderbilt have reputations of developmental coaches. With the guys that we have coming back and with the new additions, we have some work to do in the next couple of weeks. The good news is we have work to do with some really good players."
"From an injury standpoint, Chris Wilson had a fractured foot three or four weeks ago, and he will be out until October or November. Shane Ros, a walk-on that played a lot of special team for us last year, had foot surgery in the spring, and he'll be back in the middle of the month. Blake Sargent had tonsil surgery about two weeks ago. We need to get his weight and strength back up. We are not going to push him right now. Xavier Brown had foot surgery in the spring, and he'll be back mid-month. Radermon Scypion had a broken leg towards the end of last season that required surgery, so we are going to ease him into things.
On practicing in the hot weather
"We are very aware of the weather. Our practice times are a little bit different. When we go to our two-a-day schedule, we don't get on the field until 6 p.m. and stay until about 8 p.m. In the morning, we are on the field from 9:30 a.m. until about 11 a.m. but we are not in pads. From talking to (head athletics trainer Michael) `Doc' O'Shea, the hottest part of the day in Houston is 4 p.m. , so we are trying to avoid that time during practice. When school starts, we are on the field at 4:30 p.m., but that is two or three weeks down the road, and hopefully the temperature is down to 95 degrees by then."
On his plans are for quarterback Case Keenum during training camp
"He is on track right now, and I expect there to be some soreness. It hasn't been a complete year. We are going to be smart with how we do things, and we aren't going to try get everything back at one time. We are going to move him along, and its going to take him some reps. Cotton (Turner) and (David) Piland got all the reps during the spring, which helped their development. We go from being the less experienced quarterback team to the most. We have a sixth year starter, a fifth year back-up and a true freshman (Piland in 2010) that started seven games. "
On what he expects out of running back Charles Sims
"He had a year where he sat out. He is another guy that needs reps. We are going to ease him back into things, and he isn't going to like that too much because he likes to compete. Charles is a fantastic and multidimensional player. He has a different dimension than Bryce (Beall).
"We've got three great running backs, and we are going to find a way to get them all on the field. You can never have too many running backs. "
On pass rush options for the season
"If you go back and evaluate where we were last year, the transition from a 4-3 to a 3-4 is more difficult than I expected. I feel pretty good though right now. Sammy Brown was productive but gets lost in defensive stats. Kent Brooks had double-digit tackles and interceptions against Texas Tech as a true freshman. Colton Valencia played 12 games at Texas A&M. It really helps our safety position when our two corners give us more than pass defense and helps our run defense."
On what they will face in Week One
UCLA is a great test out of the chute. It's an important game because it's the first game. It has nothing to do with last year. There are different players and coaches, but it's only important as a coaching standpoint because it's the first game. Our focus and preparation has been really easy to get our team's attention."
On the challenges facing Keenum
"He is really a self-driven young man. We have to do a good job monitoring him, and we already have a good communication system. We have a comfort level between one another. I told him he needs to not impress everybody but just be truthful with everyone."
On where defensive lineman Zeke Riser is after ACL surgery
"Zeke's injury happened in late spring (2010), and he has had time to recover. I like where he is weight wise. He is an attitude guy and brings a lot of things to the team. Even though he sat out a year he is an experienced and talented player."
SENIOR QUARTERBACK Case Keenum
On head coach Kevin Sumlin's message to the team
"A lot of the first of the year talk. Last year is over this is a new year, that kind of stuff. He talked to us about what the expectations are for us on and off the field. It was good, I'm ready to get out there and start practicing. It feels like this has been the longest week of my life."
On how he feels
"I feel really good. I've been doing a lot of 7-on-7, a lot of rehab stuff like that. But it's about time to get on the field and start practicing with my teammates."
On how he adjusted to his injury
"It's tough; my mindset had to change; I used to just go in the weight room and work as hard as I could, but now I have to listen to what they're telling me and back off or take a few rest days. My work ethic before and after injury has changed."
On how he has changed having to take a step back
"Any time you get to spend another year in the system, you're going to get better. That's what I've said from the beginning; I want to come back stronger, and that's in all aspects of the game, not just physically but to come back mentally."
On the Heisman Trophy
"It's going to mean a lot. That means a lot to be mentioned in the same sentence as a lot of the great players. But if that's happening, then that means the team is doing well, and that's going to make me happy. That's all I care about is helping my team. If I have to hand the ball off 100 times, then I will. Whatever it takes to win a football game, I want to do my best to put this team in a position to be successful."
On expectations
"As far as expectations and plans go, I'm not so much for making plans. The only expectations I have are that I expect to win every time I go onto the field. That's no different than anything else I do in life. "
On the weapons the team has
"We have a lot of great players on our team, some guys that have been around and some new guys too. We have three guys in the backfield that we can hand it off too and a bunch of returning receivers."
SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER Tyron Carrier
On what it feels like to be where he is
"I tell everybody my dream was just to go to college and play college football. I never thought I would be this successful. I had a big injury (coming out of high school as a senior) that made other schools turn away, and it was a tough road coming back from that."
On amount of time it took for his speed and confidence to return after his high school injury
"I really don't know. I was going through therapy, and I couldn't run. Then a dog started chasing me and I took off running and that was the first time I realized I could run again. Afterwards I was in pain, but I still knew I could run fast again."
On the return of Case Keenum
"First of all, I know now that we have three good quarterbacks, so that makes me comfortable about this season. We have a lot of guys who have been playing football at the University of Houston for a long time so everybody is on the same page. We're trying to leave last season behind us and move forward."
SENIOR LINEBACKER Marcus McGraw
On the team's expectations
"We need to improve on what we did last year and make the Conference USA championship game. Individually, being a senior I just want to leave my legacy here on this school and with my teammates."
On preparing for the Conference USA schedule
"We have some new corners and linebackers. We're just trying to make our defense better than it was. We don't have to be the best defense in the country; we just need to improve in camp."
On increasing his size
"That means I can take a little more abuse than I used to be able to. As a freshman I was 205 and now I step on the scale at 228. It allows me to stay fresher and keep going the whole game."
On how he would like his career to end
"With a championship. I've only been to the championship once in the three years I've been here so that would mean a lot to me."
SENIOR RUNNING BACK Bryce Beall
On the return of Case Keenum
"He means a lot to us. He really opens up the field for us. You could see the difference the first two games he played with us last year, the running game really opened up because teams feared us passing the ball."
On voting for Keenum for the Heisman Trophy
"Definitely. He means more to this team than any other player in the country, and he's just as good as any quarterback in the country."
On opening the season against UCLA "It's great. It's a good chance for us to get off to a good start against a good team and make people notice."
SENIOR LINEBACKER Sammy Brown
On his relationship with teammate Lloyd Allen
"He's cool. He's from Louisiana, and we went to the same junior college. We're good friends. I told him this was a good school and he'd be a good player here."
On what he's looking forward to
"I'm just trying to win every game and be one of the best players in Conference USA."
On the linebackers
"We feel better because we've got one year under the system, and now everybody knows where everybody else is going to be. We have a better understanding of how it works."
SENIOR DEFENSIVE LINEMAN David Hunter
On being a leader
"It means a lot to me. It feels weird to say that I'm a senior because it feels like just yesterday I was walking in here. But it feels good to have that leadership role, and I know that I had a lot of guys to look up to while I was here. "
On how he would like the season to end
"I would love to see us win a conference championship. I've never won a football championship in my whole life through Pee Wee (League) on up. I would love to see us when a conference championship."
JUNIOR KICKER/PUNTER Matt Hogan
On special teams coach Tony Levine
"Coach Levine has some of the driest humor ever. He'll talk to me, and I will have no idea what he said, but then he'll tell me `That was a joke... laugh.' He knows a lot of stuff about the kicking and punting aspect of the game. He knows when I get tired, when to give me a rest, when to talk to me, when to leave me alone."
JUNIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN Jacolby Ashworth
On being a leader of the offensive line
"Over the next few weeks we want to build a lot of chemistry with each other. We have a lot of new guys coming in, and we have three spots that need to be filled. The offensive line is a big part of the team, so we need to get that together."
On the offensive line's increase in size
"We've gotten huge across the board, and that will help us with the upcoming season."
