Watch Tuesday's Football Press Conference
Oct. 7, 2008
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Miami Football Press Conference 10/7/08
Miami Head Coach Randy Shannon:
Opening Statements…
This week we have Central Florida. It is a non-conference game, but it is a big game in the state of Florida. This is our first time playing Central Florida. Coach [George] O’Leary is a really good coach. For years, I have known him to be an aggressive coach. He is a coach that believes in running the football and playing great defense. He gets his players playing really hard.
On playing against UCF players that might have wanted to go to Miami and UCF’s recent success…
Every now and then, you might pull a player aside and ask if they know anyone on the team and they will give you the run down of the players on the team.
They won 10 games and went to a bowl game last year. They have done a great job there. I don’t think they feel bad that they are not at the University of Miami, Florida or Florida State. They are at a great place for their school.
On UCF being a dangerous game…
Every game is dangerous for us right now. We are coming off of two home losses and two that were close in the fourth quarter where we had opportunities. The players know not to take Central Florida lightly. They are a good team. Their record was better than ours last year, and they are just coming off a win against SMU. Our guys will be ready and focused for the task we have this week.
On “Thank You” advertisement for fans at Dolphin Stadium…
If you look at that game, it was storming, raining and the fans stayed in the game. It was 24-3 at half time and then we came up with a couple of plays in the third quarter. The fans got involved in it and I think the players fed off of it. I think you have to thank the fans for that, and we also have to thank our student section for that.
On young guys dealing with losses…
They don’t handle it. A lot of the young guys don’t accept it, and they know that we have to keep working to get better. Some of these guys haven’t loss a game in two years, but also when they were in the 9th and 10th grade they came through some losses. So, they understand it is a process and they have been through it before. They are not accepting the loss, they are not happy with the losses. They say coach, ‘We have got to get it back, we have to find a way to get it done’ and as coaches we have got to find a way to get it done also.
On losing injured players’ leadership…
You’ve got Colin [McCarthy], Randy Phillips, and Eric Moncur. Randy Phillips started at cornerback four years ago – that is a lot of experience. Colin McCarthy is a third-year guy who played a lot his freshman year and started last year. Now you have Eric Moncur – a fifth year guy – who has played a lot of snaps and made a lot of plays at the University of Miami. Now, we lose Reggie Youngblood who was a starter for two years. You have to learn how to adjust.
Miami Quarterback Robert Marve
On team avoiding feeling like last year all over again…
We have to play with pride. People say what about this, what about that, and a lot of ‘if’ questions. I think the biggest reason we all play this game is for pride, even when we were little. Sometimes I just think about what got me started in football – it is just for pride, for the love of the game. We work so hard and we are only five games into the season. We are just going to keep playing and keep on it.
On process of coming off losing seasons to winning ones (something you did in high school)…
It is really hard to explain. How do you explain to someone that it is okay to lose? It isn’t. You have to build a base around you. You can see how teams that have been playing together for three or four years look. When you can come up and see all of those leaders playing together, it is something really special. There is still a long season ahead of us, there is no quit in us. I think we are fighting and we are getting better every week. We have a lot to improve on, but we are getting better.
On what he has seen on film on UCF…
They are a good team. We have to go out there and really be ready to play ball. They are solid players and they work really well together.
On freshmen receivers…
They are playing pretty well. Every week we have different schemes and routes and I think they are picking it up pretty well, even though the playbook changes here and there for the opposing team’s defense. We just stay with the basics on just catching the ball and running. Staying to the basics is a big thing for us, and understating that the routes might change, the offense might change, but all you are still doing is playing pitch and catch, and that is what those guys are good at.
On mood of team after the FSU game…
It hurts. Obviously in the North Carolina game, we thought it was a wrap. Then you play a game like Florida State and it seems like everything possible went your way except for a third and twelve, and then you fell a little short. It’s rough, it’s hard, but it’s life so let’s just move on and keep going.
