Miami Football Press Conference Quotes
Sept. 11, 2002
Miami Football Press Conference – Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Tight End Eric Winston
On going from playing Florida to playing Temple
“I’ve watched some film and they’re tough. I’m not going in there thinking that they’re not a tough team. It’s all about us though. We’re not worried about who we’re playing against. As long as we’re just trying to keep getting better everyday, I think we’ll be fine and the score and everything will take care of itself.”
Miami’s ability to reload
“I’m not surprised at how well we’re doing. Part of recruiting is looking three or four years down the road at what kind of guys are going to be around. You can’t just look at the guys that are going to leap to the (National Football League) because that wouldn’t be doing yourself any good. I look at some of the sophomores that are coming in, some of the freshmen, and some of the recruiting classes that they’ve been having. They’ve been having some great recruiting classes. Just because you’re not the starter on the team doesn’t mean that you haven’t traveled with (the team), you haven’t learned a whole lot, or that you haven’t gotten into some of the clean-up action. You’d be surprised how much some of the clean-up action and being around some of the older guys helps you become a better ballplayer. I think some of the fans miss that.”
Running backs coach Don Soldinger
On sophomore running back Frank Gore’s recovery from a spring knee injury
“He’s doing well. He’s starting to squat. He’s starting to come around I think. (Whether or not he’s coming back) is up to (head coach Larry Coker) and it’s up to Frank. If it gets to be too late in the season, it might not be worth it.”
On the running game
“In this offense, you’ve got to run the ball. I think that’s what makes (quarterback Ken Dorsey so effective), I think that’s what makes the receivers so effective. Some people throw to run. We run to throw.”
On whether or not Willis McGahee (who rushed for 204 yards against Florida) is a surprise to people
“If you’ve been following Willis McGahee since eighth or ninth grade, which I’ve been doing since he was in ninth grade here in town, (they’d know) that he’s big time. I’ve always felt that. I don’t laugh at anybody. I know that the guys who end up dotting the I here are going to be ready to play. Look at Jason Geathers, a lot of people doubted Jason Geathers, but I think he’s going to be (an outstanding) player too, and that’s only (after) two games from him. This might be the best tandem that we’ve had since I’ve been here and that’s saying a lot.”
On running back Jarrett Payton’s recovery
“(The Florida game) was the first time that he really took any shots. He feels better. His back is a lot better. He’s been out almost five weeks so it’s feeling better. He’s getting a lot of treatment on it. He brings another dimension there. He really understands the blitz pickups well and he can just jump in there. He could probably do both fullback and tailback, really. He played fullback last year. He really understands the offense and that helps us depth wise. I think that’s a big key. What I’ll probably do is use him as a one-back because Jason (Geathers), even though he’s getting really good with pass protection. Even though he’s getting so much better, I think Payton will be a little bit better in a diamond set or a one-back set. Like a third down type of guy. He really understands the blitz pickups and he’s a really good blocker. I mean Jason’s good, don’t get me wrong. You want Jason in the game. He’s probably as devastating as any guy I’ve ever coached coming out of the back field because of his receiving skills. But the blitz pickup, to me, is probably the most important thing because you need to keep guys off (quarterback Ken Dorsey). I have a lot of confidence that Jarrett Payton can do that.”
On running back Willis McGahee
“The guy pretty much has it all. He’s probably the strongest guy on the team and he’s one of the fastest if not the fastest. He’s just a real special guy. He has it all: strength, speed, he can catch, he can block. You don’t know what his weaknesses are. I think the only weakness he has is that he has to learn to use his tailback skills a little more than his brute strength sometimes. He has to learn when to use his brute strength. I’d like to see him use his tailback skills a little bit more.”
On Miami reloading
“Everybody says that you have to play guys (individual players for an extended period of time) and get them in the flow of the game. I think that’s a bunch of bunk. When you get in the game you have to make sure you don’t waste your reps, you have to make sure you make them count. What I’ve tried to do ever since I’ve been here is play a lot of guys because experience, at this level, is the most important thing that there is as a far as being able to reload, so to speak, goes. That’s why I let (former receiver Jason Geathers) play more in the FAMU game more than Willis. He needs the experience. He needs the reps. That’s my philosophy. That was my philosophy when I was in high school and that’s my philosophy here. If you’re going to play and not make mental mistakes and get the job done, that’s what you want. The next year, the experience comes through.”
On continuity in Miami’s program
“What you see right now is seven years of experience coming together. The bulk of our staff, other than Butch Davis or Chuck Pagano leaving, has stayed together for years. Especially on offense. Without even talking to each other, you know who’s making mistakes and who’s doing what. You feel real comfortable with it. We’re not changing from year to year. We’re keeping the same basic offensive scheme. I think that’s what you’re seeing. I think that was something that wasn’t talked very much around the Florida game. (Florida coach Ron Zook) has a great staff, but they’re all new. They’ve got to learn each other. We’ve been together for seven years. When we first came back (to Miami with Butch Davis) and played Florida State, this was a brand new staff putting together an offense going against guys that had been coaching 20 or 25 years together. It’s hard to beat those guys because of their experience. I think that’s what you’re seeing now.”
Assistant Head Coach Art Kehoe
On the running game
“If you talk to (Miami defensive coordinator Randy Shannon), there number one concern is shutting down (Florida’s) running game with a four-wide offense and a guy in the shotgun, but that’s football to me: stop the run and run the ball. When you do that, everything else falls into place. The minute that doesn’t happen, then you’ve got problems. During the game, our kids kept saying, “Run the ball, coach, we can run the ball,” and they kept emphatically saying that all through the first and second quarter. If we’re running the ball then you’re really going to have problems defending us, because we have good play action and we’re good at drop backs. So if you can stop the run then you make the game even. We go in trying to establish the run, even if it means you’re not running the ball. Even if it means you’re running it, but you’re not getting the yards. You want to make them defend run and that makes it easier to pass protect.”
On defending against the running game
“If you talk to any defensive guy, if you’re getting the ball run at you, it’s a humiliating thing. Otherwise, you could say “That guy was holding me and their receiver beat our one DB.” You can make excuses if you’re defending the pass. If you’re (defending the run), your whole defense has to be accountable for tackling that one back. That means everybody goes back to the huddle and asks, “What happened there? How did they gash us for 26 (yards) on that play?” When you get the ball run at you, it’s a terrible thing.”
On run blocking against Florida
“Vernon Carey is an unbelievably good run blocker and Chris Myers had a great game and Sherko (Haji-Rasouli) pulled good and (Brett) Romberg pulled good.”
On the difference between the 2001 National Championship team and the 2002 edition
“I don’t know. I mean that team was really good. We go just one game at a time. Just beat Temple this week, that’s all we’re thinking about. We got a good team though, I can tell you that much.”
Safety Maurice Sikes
On whether or not there is a letdown between playing Florida and playing Temple
“No. This team will not let down at all. We’re not playing against Temple or Florida State or Florida or Florida A&M. We’re playing against Miami. We’re playing against the tradition that’s been here already and we’re trying to set our own tradition up.”
On being National Defensive Player of the Week
“I didn’t even know. It’s an honor. But it goes to my teammates and my coaches. My coaches believed in me and my teammates gave me the opportunity to make plays. I’m just doing my job. To be recognized and noticed is something that’s really been good, but it’s something (wherein) my teammates believed in me. I’ve been doing it in practice. I never had an opportunity to do it in a game. Now you do it in a game and it just comes. That’s how our defense is. Everybody does their job and they’ll get the recognition afterwards.”
On starting for the first time
“I came in during my freshman year and I had an opportunity to play in a couple of games and I really thought that I was going to do something, but I hurt myself and I ended up redshirting. The last two years have definitely been hard on myself. Last year, we had the coaching change and the coaches talked to me and that really made me feel good. I’ve backed up some great guys who’ve all been in the (National Football) League. I backed up Al Blades, Ed Reed, and James Lewis. It’s been a long wait, but it’s something that I’ve looked forward to and I’ve always seen this day coming, but you know, you have to wait your turn here.”
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