Meet The Press: @GoldenAl Previews Pitt

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Head coach Al Golden met with members of the media Monday to discuss the team’s Friday road game against Pittsburgh. Miami (8-3, 4-3 ACC) faces the Panthers (6-5, 3-4 ACC) at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.

Earlier in the day, sophomore DB Tracy Howard was named ACC Co-Defensive Back of the Week for his pick-6 on the first play on Saturday’s 45-26 win over Virginia.

Opening Statement…
“Obviously Pittsburgh had a big win up at Syracuse and our guys are excited about the opportunity to play up there on Friday. It’s going to be a great challenge. I think you can see the Coach Chryst formula come into play here with a big offensive line, big running backs, play-action game, and a quarterback like [Tom] Savage that can deliver it down the field. [Devin] Street and [Tyler] Boyd are as good as any tandem that we’ve seen at wideout all year – excellent group. Obviously Savage, with 19 touchdowns and two interceptions over his last seven games, is playing really well for them.

“On defense, it starts with the inside two: [Tyrone] Ezell and [Aaron] Donald. What can you say about Donald? Just a talented, talented young man, and he plays with great motor. I’m doing him an injustice by saying he’s talented, because what he is is skilled. He plays with great pad level, he’s got long arms, transitions really well on pass rushes. They move him around. He splits double teams very effectively – just a heck of a football player. You can see why is he as heralded as he is. [Anthony] Gonzalez at linebacker, [Todd] Thomas at linebacker, [Jason] Hendricks at safety, [Ray] Vinopal at safety – those guys are all active guys. They have [Lafayette] Pitts and [K’Waun] Williams at corner that cover for them, and they’re doing a really good job on their third-down operation. It’s going to be a great challenge for us, and one we started our preparation for this morning. We’ll watch the film here this afternoon, make some improvements and move on with practice tomorrow.”

On if he was surprised season-ending injury prognoses to cornerbacks Nate Dortch and Corn Elder…
“No. I told you it was significant after the game. You just know by the battery of tests they’re going through. I’m always reluctant to say something, because it’s not communicated to their parents or siblings or whatever. You just don’t know how until they do the MRI and all those things. I’m disappointed for both of them, because both of them were really starting to come on and would have benefited greatly from the preparation moving forward. I also feel badly for Corn because I know he was anxious to play basketball. So I’m disappointed for him.”

On the common trend of high school seniors to enroll early…
“I think in a sense we’re almost circumventing something that we’ve all wanted for a long time, and that is an early signing date. We’re saying it’s kind of there. I would be in favor of an early signing date. To some extent, it does allow that to transpire. I think fiscally it’s the right thing for all of us as institutions. We’re going to save a lot of money. For instance, for us to fly to Texas for the next six weeks to see a kid that is committed to us – if he signs [early], it clears up the pool for everybody that is a member institution. It saves the budget. That’s my take on it.”

On colder weather affecting certain play-calling tendencies… 
“Sure it does, but it affects both teams. There’s a little bit of a misconception that it just affects one team. It affects both teams. Certainly once we get up there and see what it looks like on game day, we’ll have to adjust. But it also depends on if we’re running the ball better, if we’re throwing and catching well. The same could be said the other day – we didn’t throw and catch particularly well in the rain. We have to do a better job. That got us behind the sticks against that defense, which is the one thing we could not do going in. We had too many third-and-longs, and that’s why we weren’t on the field in the first half. The defense was out there too long, and we couldn’t get the running game going.”

On the importance of defensive lineman David Gilbert to the team’s defense…
“I’m happy for David. He, Justin [Renfrow] and Pat [O’Donnell] have done a great job. We’ve welcomed them, but they also wanted to be a part of what we’re doing and help us. That’s what they’ve done – they have given us a lot of help in a time that we needed help. It’s not a secret to anyone in the room that we needed help at those positions. Those guys bailed us out – for that, we’re grateful. It was great to see all three of them play as much as they did and as well as they did in that game. They all had a piece in that.”

On if he will continue to sign fifth-year seniors in the future…
“I’d like to get back to just conventional recruiting – we haven’t tried that here yet at Miami. We would really like to get back to being able to manage our numbers, knowing what we have and go through a normal recruiting cycle. Obviously the penalty is already factored into this one, so hopefully the next cycle will be our first. Next year’s class – so that’s what, 2015? – will be the first one we haven’t had anything to deal with. We’ll always keep our eyes out for guys that can help us improve our team, but we don’t want to live in that world. You have to train guys in your system. Obviously those guys are here, they can help you, but there’s nobody behind them. It’s not like you’re training them in the program.”

On if Kacy Rodgers II taking reps at cornerback is a difficult transition…
“For a lot of players tough, but for Kacy, no. He has a background there. He’s taken reps there, he has taken reps at the nickel for us during the year. It’s going to be a seamless transition for him. He’s fast, he has long speed, he has length. Artie [Burns] looked really good today, so that was a relief for everybody.” “It would be for someone that hasn’t played there or someone that isn’t as bright as Kacy or someone that hasn’t been around at all. He’s seen and heard it all on the back end. He knows – because of the type of person he is and the preparation that he has done. He’ll be fine.”

On what he’s thankful for with Thanksgiving coming up later this week…
“I’ve said it all along – we’re not to our destination yet, but we know where we’re going and we’re going to keep moving forward. We’re grateful for the seniors, for leading us through that wilderness. I’m grateful for those guys. I was really happy for them on Saturday. We have to keep playing hard for them. I’m really grateful for the opportunity to take this team past this week, really dig in with them and go to a bowl game, and experience all those things. I could keep going, but that’s enough for today.”

On being on the road for the holidays due to football commitments…
“That comes with the territory, but my wife knows better. She understands that. If I’m around, then it’s great, but generally I’m not. I will tell you that we are excited about not being around for the holidays -around Christmas and New Year’s and that area, finally. We’ll enjoy that experience with our team and coaches and staff. It goes with the territory. It is what it is. You have to make sure the team has enough leadership and everyone is focused on what we have to do. I’m sure Coach Chryst is telling his guys the same thing. We have to stay focused on the task at hand.”

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