Quotes: Rose Bowl Media Day
Dec. 30, 2001
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HEAD COACH LARRY COKER
On playing in National Championship:
“I’ve never played in this game (the national championship), I’ve been close to it though. I understand the magnitude and I’ve talked to people about the game. We know what got us here. Sometimes you get too inventive, too smart and you have too much time. Now you really have to decide what do we have to do to stop Nebraska’s offensive team and what do we have to do from our offense to establish ourselves and win the football game.”
OFFENSIVE LINE COACH ART KEHOE
On Bryant McKinnie:
“When you challenge him like this in a big game, or put a guy against him that you say can beat him, that’s when he’s really at his best.”
“He’s a quiet kid and doesn’t say much at all in meetings. He kinda reminds me of Leon Searcy a bit. Leon used to sit there and I’d ask ‘What’s he doing and he’d say I got that coach.’ And that’s how Bryant is. He gets it done and does a great job at it.”
On Discovering McKinnie:
“We just got lucky. We needed a left tackle. We were just coming off of probation and scholarship restrictions and we needed a left tackle so we called all over the country. Pete Garcia called the head coach at Lackawanna Junior College. I went down to see him and looked at about three series and said ‘Oh my god. Send this freak to me.'”
QUARTERBACK KEN DORSEY
On receivers:
“They’ve been doing a great job. They really picked it up. Kevin Beard stepped up into the starting role and has done a great job for us. Jason Geathers is a guy that’s going to have to step up big for us this game. We’ve got guys that can make plays and I think that’s where our program has come back from where it was a few years ago. We got the depth that we need now s if we lose a guy, we’ve got guys that can step in.”
CORNERBACK PHILLIP BUCHANON
On defense playing with swagger like Hurricanes teams of past:
“We play with very high confidence, we just don’t act the way they acted. We’re more of a laid back team. We talk among ourselves, but we don’t talk out loud. We know we’re good.”
On winning National Championship:
“I don’t know how I would feel, but I certainly do want to know that feeling. I’m looking forward to it.”
SAFETY ED REED
On defending the big play:
“If guys aren’t ready for the pass, then he’ll (Eric Crouch) get a big one. But I don’t think our guys will do that. We’re going to look for him to throw the ball, but we know their strength is in their running game.”
On close games this season:
“We learned a lot. It just goes to show you can be beat. It’s good that we had those close games – although I don’t want another one- but it’s good for us that it happened.”
“I got caught up in the moment at Boston College. It happens, but it’s a good thing we came out on the top end of the stick. But no matter what, you just got to play the game.”
On winning the National Championship:
“I’m all confidence. No matter who we play or what game it is, I always think we are going to win. If we don’t, I’m prepared for that, but I just hate losing.”
OFFENSIVE TACKLE BRYANT MCKINNIE
On O-line teammates:
“If you go up to any of the lineman and say they’re fat, it’s going to be a problem. Everyone is insecure or something. I don’t know – I don’t care. Everyone is self conscious about their weight, like they want to be on the beach looking all slim or something.”
On late football start:
“My assistant coach in high school told me that if I started to get focused and concentrated, then I would be able to write me ticket anywhere I want. When I was in high school I was like okay, whatever, but eventually I started taking it seriously in junior college and then when I got here, I was like now I really have to start taking it seriously.”
DEFENSIVE END MATT WALTERS
On playing Nebraska:
“Getting into their back field, getting penetration and causing their timing to get off is the big thing and that’s the key to this game. Coach has opened it up and asked us to be as aggressive as we’ve ever been.”
On Defensive Line getting attention:
“Being on the defensive line, you don’t usually get much attention or a lot of focus. Actually, we’ve had a lot of attention on us this game. I think its good because it gives us a lot of motivation to prepare and play hard.”
On O-Line:
“Our offensive line is awesome. I think they’re great. When we had extra days to prepare for Nebraska, we had a chance o play them and those guys are really good. If we can play against those guys, we can play against anyone in the country.”
“The thing that makes our o-line so good is -obviously they’re big and strong- they are so athletic it’s unbelievable. At most schools in the country, they’d be playing on the defensive line, they wouldn’t be offensive linemen.
