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| Brandon Meriweather |
Read Brandon Meriweather’s Chat
Senior Safety Brandon Meriweather held a chat at 11 am, Friday, Sept. 1 – he answered general questions and questions about the upcoming Florida State game on Monday, Sept. 4 at the season opener in the Orange Bowl.
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Moderator, Miami: Thanks for joining us ‘Canes fans! Brandon will begin answering your questions shortly. |
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Moderator, Miami: The man is here! Bring on the questions. |
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| Brandon Leonard ,Hopkins(S.C.): Brandon how much confidence do you guys have going into the season opener at home against rival Florida State, come Monday night. Do you think you guys can rebound from last years 10-7 loss to Florida State. |
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Brandon Meriweather: Yes, I feel like we have a lot of confidence in ourselves and the new coaching staff. We feel like we’re a national championship team and have the ability to go 14-0 and win it all. |
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| Kris (Miami): Do you think that the defense will force more turnovers and rack up more sacks this season? |
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Brandon Meriweather: Yes, because the coaches stress turnovers more in practice this year than last year. Since we’re an older and more mature defense, we understand that turnovers win games. |
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| Chris Jones (Harrisburg,Pa): How does our offense look so far to you, leading up to the big game? |
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Brandon Meriweather: They look a lot better than they did last year. I think they have more confidence and faith in each other than last year. And with confidence, you can always do a lot. |
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| Miami: Will the defense be ready to play if they need to be out on the field longer than usual and will you be up on your game. |
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Brandon Meriweather: Yes. We had a long summer where we did a lot of hard work. I feel like we have the best-conditioned team in America. I feel like we could play 100 plays in a game if we have to. |
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| Brandon (Port St. Lucie): Do you think that you guys will show up flat against teams such as Georga Tech last year and Clemson the year before? What do you think will be the difference this year in winning those games? |
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Brandon Meriweather: I think we’re older and mature. We understand that we can’t take anybody lightly. |
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| go canes: What game do you think is the toughest on the schedule (besides the fsu game)? |
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Brandon Meriweather: I only take it one game at a time. You can’t look past your next opponent. |
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| Fountain Hill: With you being one of the leaders of the defense, how important is it for you to set the tone for the rest of the defense during the game and for the rest of the season? |
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Brandon Meriweather: It’s very important because if we don’t have a high intensity level, then you play flat. When you play flat, that’s when upsets come, like against Georgia Tech last year. |
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| Rick in Miramar: B-Dog…congrats on being named to Playboy’s All-America team this year. What was it like to hang around with all those other All-Americans? |
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Brandon Meriweather: It was nice. It was just a fun time with some college kids. |
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| Fuzzy (Sebring): Brandon………..what do you like to do more…get an interception or make a big hit? |
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Brandon Meriweather: It depends on the time of the game. If we’re winning, but playing flat, I’d rather have a big hit to amp the team up. If we’re losing, or it’s a real tight game, I’d rather have the interception. |
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| Nick (Port St Lucie): New Coaches, new schemes… What can we expect from the “New Look” Canes? |
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Brandon Meriweather: More confidence and more of a swagger. I expect us to be looking like the old ‘Canes again. |
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| Don (Miami): How will you and KP line-up against the WR corp that FSU has? Much has been made about how good they are.. |
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Brandon Meriweather: It’s not just me and KP. It’s the University of Miami defense. With our d-line and our linebackers and our secondary, we’ll matchup great with anyone in the nation. |
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| jake (winter haven): What do you think is the teams biggest obstacle this year? yourselves or other teams? |
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Brandon Meriweather: I think ourselves. If we don’t make stupid decisions or have turnovers in crucial situations, I think we can go out and beat anybody. |
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| Philip (Miami): Will you be playing cornerback in nickel and dime packages? Thanks, and good luck on Monday. Go Canes! |
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Brandon Meriweather: That’s up to my coaches. |
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| Abraham (Miami): Everybody is saying the Canes’ have lost their swagger. How hungry are you guys to prove everyone wrong? |
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Brandon Meriweather: It’s not about other people. It’s about ourselves. We’re not worried about what other people say, we just want to focus on ourselves. |
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| Bryan (Orlando): HIT STICK!! do you think because fsu’s WR’s are taller than the secondary it will give you guys problems?? |
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Brandon Meriweather: I don’t think the height of their receivers will give us problems. Basically every receiver we play against this year will be taller than us. We have to adjust to that and that’s why we’re here. |
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| Juan Tampa: How do you feel about the fact that you are probably the best hitting safety in college football, yet you aren’t as big as other so called ‘hard hitters’? |
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Brandon Meriweather: I appreciate the comment. I’ve never worried about being a big hitter, it just came. |
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| john (napels): who was your role model coming up, what players did you want to mold yourself after. |
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Brandon Meriweather: Ronnie Lott and Steve Atwater. I wanted to be just like them when I was growing up. They were all my uncle and my dad talked about, when I was growing up, so I wanted to be just like them. |
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| john (napels): do you feel like this is the year the canes break though and win there first acc crown |
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Brandon Meriweather: Yes, I feel like we have the talent and ability to win a national championship every year. I think this is the year we put it all together. |
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| Roke, Miami: Bring that swagger on Monday man, well bring it too..How is it to follow up on great safeties like Sean Tee, and E Reed?? |
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Brandon Meriweather: It has it’s good and bad sides. The good side is that they always come back and you can learn from a great safety that was in front of you. The bad part is that you’re always compared to them even if your game is nothing like theirs. |
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Moderator, Miami: Brandon has about 10 more minutes before he has to get to class. |
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| Chris (chicago): Hey Brandon, Biggest canesfan here in the midwest! You and Kenny are going to have monster seasons. Can you give me a youngsters name people are going to hear about this season. and give me a score monday…it’s all about the U |
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Brandon Meriweather: I cant’ give you a score, but I can give you some names. Little James and Sam Shields. Both are outstanding athletes who I feel are going to have breakout years. |
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| Roke, Miami: What makes Randy Shannon so good? |
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Brandon Meriweather: The fact that he knows his players. He knows what they can do and what they can’t do. He knows how to push his players so they improve every aspect of their game. |
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| john (baton rouge): if you had to compare yourself to a past miami player who would it be? |
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Brandon Meriweather: Al Blades. I think me and him have a similar game. He liked to come down and hit. He’d rather have a big hit than an interception. |
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| Bryan (Orlando): HIT STICK!!! how anxious is the team to get in the OB and start the season??? |
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Brandon Meriweather: We’re very anxious. We haven’t been there in about 10 months. We’re very anxious to go in the OB and play against somebody besides ourselves. |
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Moderator, Miami: We have time for one more question. |
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| john (baton rouge): how have the players especially the veterans taken to the new coaching staff. |
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Brandon Meriweather: We’ve taken to them very well. The coaches came in and they adapted to the system. They fit in the system and the swagger of the U. Coach Olson was here before and he came back back with the swagger that I think never left him in the first place. |
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Brandon Meriweather: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your questions and your time. I’m sorry I couldn’t get to all of your questions. If I don’t see you, I want to hear you on Monday. Be easy. |
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Moderator, Miami: Thanks again for the questions and taking time out of your day to visit. And most of all … GO CANES! |
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