University of Houston Athletics
Houston at Tulsa: Press Conference
11/18/2019 12:06:00 PM | Football
HOUSTON FOOTBALL
Monday, Nov. 18, 2019 • Houston
Carl Lewis Auditorium • Athletics/Alumni Center
HEAD COACH DANA HOLGORSEN
On Max Banes and Quavon Beckford…
"When you're down your top six offensive linemen from the beginning of the year, you need to play somebody. I thought he did okay out there. Then Beckford is a little try-hard guy. We did a lot of motion stuff against Memphis, and he's the best I have at that. I don't want to wear Marquez Stevenson out on doing a bunch of motions. He was a guy that we could plug in there to do some motion stuff and gain us some advantages. He's a walk-on from Miami and going to redshirt this year. He's played in about two or three games and then he'll have three years to play."
On development for the future…
"It is still about this year's team. We have to play Tulsa and Navy and we are going to do everything we can to try to win. I have never lined up with anything in life and not tried to win. I think our team needs to have some pride about themselves when it comes to that. It is still about developing as coaches and as football players and continuing to improve on our schemes. Our commitment level to the University of Houston has never been stronger. Myself and the coaches and whatever players want to be a part of this program moving forward better have some pride about themselves and practice and continue to play at a very high level. Whoever is going to be a part of that needs to have that kind of mindset, period and that starts today in practice.
We have 12 days left in this season and nobody is happy being 3-7. I'm sure they are saying the same thing up in Tulsa right now because we are very similar teams when it comes to the schedules that we've played, how we've been competitive and what our record is. You look at them based on the last time that they played which was two weeks ago. It's unfair they have two weeks to prepare for us and we have one week to prepare for them, but that's a whole other conversation when it comes to scheduling and all that. They play hard, they are physical, so we better have the same mindset. It is going to be a hard game up there on Saturday night. We have to have some pride about ourselves, coach hard, go practice hard, line up and go play hard. A quick reminder that everybody is being evaluated. I am being evaluated, the coaches are, and the players are as well."
On the possibility of Dane Roy playing professional football…
"His plan has always been to go back home, get married, and work. That is what his plan has always been. I don't know. You would have to ask him. There is an age deal. The NFL usually doesn't draft punters very high. The only one I've ever seen drafted high is the Michael Dickson kid from Texas, who is Australian and went to Seattle. That was the best one I've ever seen. He was a magician with that stuff. He came out early, so he was a younger guy. They want to draft youth when it comes to that. When you draft them you put money into them. It's harder when you're older. That's not my job. I just appreciate Dane Roy. He's a fun guy to be around and he is having a heck of a year."
On "week zero" concept…
"It was my idea to come up with it, I've been promoting that for two years. I've been dealing with this and you're going to see it happen a lot, you're going to see a lot of guys not being to play in bowl games. There are no bad bowl games, they've all been good. Unfortunately, we're not going to one this year which is disappointing and unacceptable on a million different levels. We were in that stampede talk all year and then we didn't get in and all of the sudden this bowl game isn't good enough for some people. It happened a lot last year and it will happen a lot this year.
"There are important ones where they expand the playoffs, which I think they're going to expand the playoffs. It will probably go to eight and then to 16, but I don't know what will happen after that. The neutral sight preseason bowl games are very popular and they're happening more and more. We're usually not in school at that point, but the NFL and high schools are playing, so why can't college play? I don't understand it. There' s a health factor, but guys are here all summer so it's not like we're bringing them off vacation earlier and paying more. They're cutting down practices so much that you have to play them and the quicker you play, the better. Then, that gives you the opportunity to have another bye-week or start the playoffs earlier. I think some things are going to happen."
