Mark Richt: Quotes & Reaction
Director of Athletics Blake James
“Good morning. Thank you President Frenk for your words, but more importantly, your support and great counsel during this process. If you didn’t know how passionate Hurricane fans are, you certainly [learned] how passionate they are over the last few weeks. Thank you all for coming this morning. I wanted to recognize Chairman of the Board of Trustees Stuart Miller and Chairman of the Athletics Committee and Board of Trustees member David Epstein. I also want to thank so many of our current and former student-athletes, our coaches, staff and supporters who are with us, and I want to thank my wife who lives with me, every day trying to make our program the very best in the country.”
“Additionally, there are a few more thank-you’s that need to be said before I introduce our new head coach. I want to thank the members of our football team, who despite midseason transition, represented The U the right way and led us to an incredible 8-4 season. I also want to thank interim head coach Larry Scott. Larry was a true leader the past seven weeks, and his future is bright in this profession. Thank you to our assistant coaches and support staff, who kept their eye where it should be – on the students in our football program.
“I relied on a small group of advisors during the search process, and I want to thank former Hurricane greats Vinny Testaverde and Jon Vilma, my Deputy Director of Athletics Jenn Strawley and board members David Epstein, Steve Saiontz and Hilarie Bass. They provided great counsel, feedback, and a lot of questions throughout the process, and were very instrumental in helping us bring Mark Richt home.
“Finally, thank you to every fan, alumni, season ticket holder, donor, student, parent, and – yes – members of the media, for your solicited and unsolicited input and advice on what we should be looking for in a new coach, and who that should be.”
“With that said, today is a great day for the University of Miami, as we welcome home one of our own. Mark was raised in South Florida, played for Howard Schnellenberger at The U, honed his coaching skills under one of the greatest coaches of all time in that city up in North Florida, led Georgia to SEC titles and BCS bowl games, and did it with integrity, class, dignity and true appreciation for the student-athletes.”
“His accomplishments are well known, and his character even more so. But he is our coach today because I believe that Mark will put us win position to win ACC and national championships, he will have a lasting impact on our students, and he will be a tremendous mentor of young men. As all of you will soon learn, nothing is more important to Mark than his family. We welcome Katharyn, his wife, and Jonathan, David, Zach and Anya, his children, all new members of the Hurricane family. We are #BuildingChampions at The U, and today we are a great deal closer to our goal. Please join me in welcoming the 24th head coach at the University of Miami, Mark Richt.”
Head Football Coach Mark Richt
“I’m shocked that the media didn’t stand up. I’m hurt. At least I know who you are now. I’m just kidding. [laughter] Talking about my family, Katharyn my wife would have loved to be here, but she was not able to come. She’s a nursing student back home – what used to be home. She has got an exam today, as we speak. It started at 10 o’clock. She also had an exam Monday. She’s really looking to getting here, and starting looking for a home and all of those things.”
“I’m very excited. First I would like to thank Dr. Frenk. I really appreciate the opportunity to be here. Blake [James], thank you so much. Stuart [Miller], David [Epstein], and the rest of the Board of Trustees, I’m so thankful for you to having the confidence in me to allow me to be here. I also want to thank all the lettermen that are here today. I’m really looking forward to spending time with the lettermen, getting a chance to get everybody together and have a good time.
“I’m just very excited to be home. This is home. I’m just very thankful. I understand the proud traditions at the University of Miami – academically and athletically, football in particular. I know what it’s about. I came close to being on a national championship team. I left in 1982 and that 1983 season obviously was the one. It was Don Bailey who made it happen, quite frankly [laughter].
“I know some of the guys that I came through [Miami] with, we felt like we were at least a part of building the program to the point where it was able to win that national championship that year, in 1983. What an exciting game that was. I do understand what is expected, and really I don’t want to make a lot of promises, other than I want to promise we’re going to get to work. We’re going to try to earn the right to victory. It’s a process. It does take a lot of work. It takes a lot of people doing things the right way. There will be a lot of people that will have jobs to do, that if they do it excellent, and take care of their piece of the pie, we’ll have the greatest chance of victory. I’m going to ask our players to take care of business academically. I want them to behave socially. And I want them to do their very best in every area of their life and represent this university the right way, but also set themselves up for the future by growing into men that can become wonderful husbands and fathers, and leaders in their communities where they choose to live in when it’s all done.
“I do believe that football coaching at the collegiate level is more than coaching football. It’s about educating young men, it’s about preparing these young men for life, when it’s all said and done when football is over. There will be programs implemented for that as well, during their time here and post-eligibility. I’m very interested in helping all the lettermen, when their playing days are over, if they need help getting things going in their business life or whatever it may be, I want to be there to help in that regard too.”
“I don’t want to say too much other than my wife and I can tell you this: this is our home. We love it. This is where we’re going to finish our coaching career. I say ‘our’ because it’s a team effort no doubt. My goal is to finish my coaching career at The U. I’m very excited about the possibility of that. I’m very excited about my work these young men and future young men who will be a part of this program for years to come.”
On how and what changed in his mind for him to realize he still wanted to coach…
“Two things happened, quite frankly. One was just the outpouring from former players that were wishing me well, that were thanking me for being an influence in their life – a positive influence. Just incredible. Text messages, phone calls, even [from] guys that I dismissed from the team just thanking me for loving them enough to discipline them and help them change the bad course they were going on – a lot of that. That was big, just to know that in this position, you have an opportunity to affect lives in a very positive way. That’s a big part of why I coach. That got me.”
“The other thing happened was, The U. It was the University of Miami. The fact that it’s my home, it’s my alma mater, and it’s a team that wen you coach, you want to go to a team that has a chance to do big things. By virtue of the fact that it’s been done here before, that’s a good indicator. By virtue of the fact that it’s one of the most fertile recruiting areas in the United States of America, that’s another factor. The fact that high school coaches in this state and down here in the south in the Miami area and nearby are some of the greatest high school coaches in the country, so you know you have a chance if you do it right, to bring in tremendous talent…not only tremendously talented guys, but guys that are really fine people. And I knew this job wouldn’t be open next year. [laughter]
On the timeline of being hired and process of reaching out to gauge interest…
“Just process of it, I believe at the time that Coach [Al] Golden was let go, relatively soon after that, there was some contact to gauge interest. But I have never had interest in anybody but the university that I was at, which was the University of Georgia. Because I made a commitment to Georgia. When I took [that] job, I said the same thing I said right here: my goal is to retire at this university. I do not want to walk in a team meeting room and say, ‘hey fellas, I really appreciate you helping me where I really, really want to be.’ That’s not going to happen. I’m going to be at the University of Georgia…excuse me, I was trying to say I would never say that today, but fifteen years is a long habit – my goal and my wife’s goal is to be at the University of Miami until I retire, or until the they throw me out the door, one of the two. I want to be committed to the young men who I recruit. I don’t want to tell them one thing and be gone a month later. It was hurtful enough as it was with the class I was recruiting at Georgia, even though it wasn’t my choice.”
“But the plan is to make this home. It already is home. My wife and I love Miami. We’re excited. We’re excited about doing excellent things, doing great things, but also doing them in such a way that everyone would be proud of it. We also can’t wait to get to know the players and try to find ways to bless them – not only current players, former players, former lettermen. I just think that we have an obligation to network, to help, to bless them anyway we can. I’m looking forward to that.”
“As far as the timeline – they spoke to me, and I said no. [laughter] I said, ‘No, I’m not interested.’ And then after the mutual agreement, we got asked again, ‘are you interested?’ You know what, I’ve been saying ‘no’ for 15 years. It’s time to say, ‘Yeah, I’m interested, I want to hear what everybody has to say.’ That’s when the ball began to roll, and at that time, talking to people, talking to Blake [James], talking to members of the board, former players and all that kind of thing, and also my wife and I began to pray and asked the Lord what He wants us to do. That’s the bottom line for me – to do what I think he has in store for me, and for us. We had peace that this is what we needed to do, so we did it.”
On what he expects from his team, and what it will take to reach championship levels…
“Like I said before, I think you have to start working. You have to start working with excellence. You have to have a plan. I’ve been blessed to be a part of a couple of tremendously fine universities that were highly successful, and being around a lot of men and a lot of universities across the country that have had tremendous success. I’m better prepared to be a head coach today than I was 15 years ago. I’m better prepared to know what I think is important, and what needs to be done in a lot of areas – not just football, but there are so many others factors that make a program great: the recruiting, the academics, the athletic training, the nutrition, everybody in the athletic family, all sports. There are so many things… obviously the fan base. There are a lot of factors that go into having a chance, because it’s highly, highly competitive.
“I’m convinced that through the board, through the president and through our athletics director that Miami is committed and will continue to be committed to excellence. I have all the faith and confidence that we will be given what we need to get it done, the proper tools to get it done. It doesn’t happen because you want it to happen – there’s a process of getting it done. We have to make sure we focus on the process more than the end result. Everybody can say they want to win, but are you willing to put in the work and work properly to get it done?”
On the last time he visited Miami before the coaching search began…
“I have not been here for a long time. The biggest reason was I became a Seminole. When you’re a Seminole, you’re really not welcome around here, and I understand that. For those first 15 years I coached – I was at East Carolina one year in the middle of all of that – it wasn’t like I would be a great guy to have at a lettermen’s event, being a coach at Florida State. And it would be hard to talk freely about anything if you’ve got the enemy right there within your midst.
“When I became head coach at Georgia – when you’re head coach anywhere – you really don’t have a lot of time to go socialize, so I never got the opportunity. I guess I was in the habit of not coming back to lettermen’s events, so I didn’t do it. At times I thought about it, but there’s always something going on that just didn’t allow me to do it. I have not been here in a long time. I’ve only seen a little bit so far, but what I’ve seen is really beautiful. I didn’t know if the landscaping just got phenomenal or I just never noticed it when I was 18 years old. [laughter] But it’s a beautiful place. There will be a lot to sell when it comes to recruiting.”
On his potential coaching staff, including which former assistants he plans on adding to the staff…
“That’s a huge question. Hiring a staff is probably the greatest and most important decision that I’ll make because these men will be in charge of our players. The job is too big for one man. I cannot connect with every guy. I will try to connect with every guy, but I’m only one person and one personality. You need a lot of coaches, a lot of different personalities, you need diversity in that area – in style, in personality so to speak. You need a united staff as far as the mission and how we’re going to go about our business, but you need different kind of people, and more than just one man to do it.
“Hiring a staff is huge, and I’m going to be deliberate. I’m going to take my time. I’m going to be careful that I do the right thing. What I’ve told the staff at Georgia, and what I would tell the staff here, is that my goal is to assess everything that I can possibly assess in trying to determine what’s going to be the best for this football team and for this University. I have not made any promises to anybody, in that regard, and I’ve got a little time to do it. I’d rather be right than fast. Sometimes people want fast. Sometimes people want to win on the day that you announce something. Sometimes that’s great for the moment, but in the end you have to get in the trenches, go to work and get the job done.
“I’m going to hire men that I believe are very competent at what they do, and I want to hire men that are men of character because I want them to be the right example for our young men. I want them to truly care about our players and treat them as if they were their own sons. In regards to their expectations, the expectations is to graduate. The expectation is to graduate. The expectation is to behave. The expectations are to grow into the man that God intended them to be. Those are the kind of men I want to hire. There is a massive amount of people that want to come here right now, I can tell you that. I’ve been averaging at least 250 text messages per day, literally, and probably 50 phone calls per day. Half of them are either guys that want to work, or somebody trying to help them get an opportunity…so there’s no lack of interest in wanting to be on this staff and be a part of what’s going to happen next.”
On the process of recruiting players to Miami that he was originally recruiting to Georgia…
“First of all, recruiting is not over until it’s over. If it’s a midyear player, then it’s over when he enrolls in school. If he’s going to sign on National Signing Day in February, then it’s over then – and sometimes it’s not even over that day, right? That’s part of the assessment of what’s going on. I want to assess the class that’s committed. I want to assess the team as it exists. I want to assess who’s on the recruiting board, who’s coming for visits, where we are, and try to make decisions as to where to go next. I’m not going to keep a young man from calling me and say, ‘I’m interested. I want to visit.’ I’m not going to try to steal the board and all that, but obviously there are lot of great players, it’s public knowledge that these guys are great players, and the goal is to get the great players within your program. The goal really, truly, is for young men to find the best place for them. If the best place for them is the University of Miami, I’m not going to talk them out of it.”
On if his decision to return to coaching was due to wanting to leave on his own terms…
“No, it wasn’t about that at all. I mentioned why. I love strategy, and I love competition. I love winning. There’s no doubt about that. But I really do love coaching at the collegiate level, because [age] 18 to 22 is probably one of the most important times of growth for a young man. What happens is when you leave, you’re supposed to be ready for life. The goal is to get them ready for life, regardless of whether they’re playing in the league or not playing in the league. And just because you’re playing in the league doesn’t mean you’re ready for life – we’ve seen that. Sooner or later, football is going to end. And when it ends, then what? Hopefully you’ve been prepared at the University of Miami for that moment. If you haven’t been, I want us to still be here to help them. That’s what makes me tick.”
On his meeting with the Hurricanes earlier in the morning and his impressions…
“I got the chance to meet with the team this morning at 8 o’clock, and I was talking to Blake and said, ‘You’re having all these meetings at 8 or 9 o’clock, do you guys even go to class around here?’ [laughter] Then I realized that the morning time is the football time, and afternoon time is the class time. That was kind of exciting as it was for me. I’ve always wanted to try it to see if it was better than waiting until the afternoon.
“I got a chance to meet with the young men at 8 o’clock, and I didn’t want to take too long with them, really. I wanted to tell them how excited I was to have this opportunity. I also wanted to let them know that I was very proud of what I’ve seen, of how they’ve handled the adversity of the season. And it’s over. They need to keep focus on school, they need to keep focus on this season, they need to focus on honoring their seniors that are about to leave, and have them leave with a smile on their face with that ninth victory. I know Coach Larry Scott has done a wonderful job as interim head coach, and the players have responded to that leadership. I didn’t want to get in the way of that.
“I gave them a little bit of my background and I just let them know that my expectation for them was for them to do their best and be their best. Everything we are going to implement and have them be held accountable for was to help them get their degree, or help them become a better player, or help them become a better person. I was going to expect them to buy in and join the program, as far as believing that what we’re doing is for their best interest…knowing sometimes you feel a certain way, you might not feel like waking up and going to a class, you may not feel like giving your best on that rep in the weight room or like having a great practice that day, but sometimes we have to act a certain way rather than act how we feel. Sometimes you don’t feel like doing it, but you know? You still have to do it, because it’s in your best interest. I told them, we’re not going to start bragging about what we’re going to do, we’ll talk about the process of winning – and that’s work.”
On if he had ever thought about leading the Hurricanes after leaving as a player…
“I’ll say this. I had been contacted at different times over the last 15 years, so that idea came up from time to time. 15 years ago when I took the Georgia job, even that year was a year where there was change. There was even a possibility of an interview, and it never did materialize, because Georgia happened first. It was one that Katharyn and I had peace about. Since that time, there have been a few conversations here and there. We’ve thought about it.
“When I was offered the job at the University of Pittsburgh five years prior to taking Georgia job, it wasn’t official that I was hired, but at the end of the visit, the AD said, ‘If you spent the night, I’ll introduce you to the fans at the basketball game as our new head coach.’ I took that as if I was being offered the job. I talked to Katharyn and said, ‘Do you want to live in Pittsburgh for the rest of your life?’ I have nothing against Pittsburgh, I love Pittsburgh, I love the Iron City…but I said, ‘Is this where you want to live, for good?’ She said, ‘Why do you ask?’ I said, ‘Because I don’t want to take a job knowing I’m looking for another job.’ I can see assistant coaches moving, but when you’re the head coach, everything rises and falls on you and so many people are counting on you. What I didn’t want to do was go to Pittsburgh or anywhere else and then, three years down the road, say, ‘I got a better job. I got a better opportunity. I’ll see you all later. Thanks for helping me get to where I want to be.’ If we were going to become head coach, I want it to be at a place where I feel like I could finish my career. That’s how we felt about Georgia at the time, and that’s exactly how we feel about the University of Miami.”
On recruiting South Florida and his potential messages to high school coaches in the area…
“We absolutely want to recruit Miami, want to recruit this state, want to recruit this local area, there’s no question about it. The problem is that there are too many for one school to have. It’s very similar to where I was at. You can’t get every kid in the city of Atlanta. You can’t get them all. There are too many. Same thing in Miami, you can’t get them all. There are probably 150 in this city alone that are major Division I players. So we have to find the ones that fit our program the best, and sometimes it’s timing. Sometimes, this year, we don’t really need a lot of this or that, as much was we might another year. I want everybody to know that we’re absolutely committed to recruiting Miami and nearby, for sure, because we know how great the players are and how great the coaching is, and what we’re getting.
“But you have to do your due diligence and make sure you’re on the right guys, but it’s a process. There are so many, as you know. I can’t imagine having a camp here, and all of the local young men show up within 20 miles. 30 miles, 50 miles and then try to sort it out…it would just be a massive amount of unbelievable talent. We’ll have to get very organized and do our job.”
On how he has changed as player to coach, and what it felt like to wear the U lapel pin…
“It feels awesome. It feels great. I’m just really humbled and overwhelmed at the opportunity, and that it’s here.
“In a nutshell, in 1986, I became a born again believer of Jesus Christ. I went from a really self-centered guy to an other-centered guy. My goal became to try to live a life that God would be pleased with, on a daily basis. Just start walking. ‘God, you’ve got my career, you’ve got my family, you’ve got my everything, and I trust you with everything. I’m just going to start walking and I’m going to try to be obedient to you and your word, and that’s what changed everything. I’m not perfect by any means, believe me. My wife knows, my players know, and anybody around me knows – I’m not saying that [I’m perfect]. I’m saying that I’m forgiven, and I have peace, and I’m thankful for that.”
On his plans and strategy to recruit South Florida…
“No doubt we’re going to recruit this area. You probably can’t find every single guy, every single year within 50 miles, but I can believe you find 90-percent of it. There’s a very good chance of that. The other thing too is that you learn there are some other great players in other areas in the state, and other areas of the country, that have a tremendous desire to go to Miami. What if Vinny Testaverde didn’t go to Miami because he wasn’t from Miami? How many guys outside the city of Miami were some of the greatest players Miami ever had? Yes, we want the great players from this area, without question. But if there’s another Vinny Testaverde, or Jim Kelly, or Bernie Kosar, who wants to come, we’re going to take him.”
Former QB Vincent Testaverde
Opening Statement…
“It’s been a long process but at the end of the day we feel like we have the right coach. It’s amazing how the timing of what has taken place with Mark leaving Georgia has benefited the University of Miami.”
On what kind of input he had in the process…
“Well as a former player myself, we had our say. We listened to the board and the committee, and they listened to us and we all had some say in what was going to take place. When we went through the list on Mark Richt, it was hard to pass him up.”
On if he called Mark Richt personally or if there was much contact over the last few days…
“Not really, not much. Once we knew he was available and once he interviewed I put in a call to him to say hello, but prior to that I did not have any contact with him.
On his thoughts about Georgia parting ways with Mark Richt…
“It’s hard to believe that. All I can say is that their loss is our gain. Selfishly, I am glad they did it. The reasons why they did it I don’t know, and frankly at this point, it really doesn’t matter and I don’t care. “
On the biggest challenges facing Mark Richt moving forward…
“Everyone wants the program to be back to the way it was when we were winning national championships, and that alone is hard to do on a yearly basis. For Mark to come in and change the culture back to a winning culture is a big task. We haven’t won a national championship in fifteen years, I believe. We haven’t had a double-digit win season in probably seven or eight or nine or even ten years. So it’s a big undertaking, but Mark has the experience, has the knowledge, he has the energy, he has the respect to be able to accomplish what we know and a lot of people think he’ll be able to do it.”
On if expectations at Miami are different than expectations at Georgia…
“You have to look at our past history, where we were at our darkest times to where we are today- but still have a little ways to go yet. I think Mark is going to clean the rest of what we need cleaned up for us and get that done. Asides from that, I can tell you that as a parent of a son who is currently on the football team, I think Mark is going to be a great role model, a great person and a great teacher for my son. So as a parent, I feel great that he’s here. Because I know him a little bit from when we played here together at Miami. I followed his career and a lot of people that know him, that have coached with him and played for him, they have nothing but good things to say.
On what he remembers about Mark Richt after coming to Miami…
“I don’t think he’s changed that much. I’ll give you a specific reason. When I was a freshman Mark was a senior, Jim Kelly was the starting quarterback so every day out at practice Jim would be running the offense and Mark and I and the other quarterbacks would stand behind the huddle to watch. As we watched the plays unfold and going through practice, I would sit there and ask Mark questions and he would be patient enough to sit there, like he was a coach, and explain everything to me as a young freshman who didn’t know anything about football yet. On a daily basis he would do that. Thinking back now, the writing was on the wall for him that he was going to be a great head coach because he was doing it back then. But I didn’t know if he thought I was a pain in the neck asking questions all day, but he never showed it. He always gave me the attention to feel comfortable enough to ask him every day.
On if he had to separate Mark Richt’s candidacy as a football coach from the person he knows personally…
“Yes, absolutely. For me it was different being in that room because [number] one, when Mark’s name came up, it was, ‘OK, he’s a former teammate of mine.’ Another scenario is that I am a parent of a player on the football team. And then I am being asked to evaluate the coaches that are presented in front of us and give my opinions – through the experience that I’ve had over the years with being around great coaches, being around not-so-great coaches. I say that, but it gives me a gauge on what a great coach looks like and what a mediocre coach would look like. So I felt like I was comfortable in being able to express that to our committee.”
On the debate among search committee members…
“I don’t want to get too into the process too much. But basically it was everybody gives their opinions and really I think at the end of the day, Blake James is the one that made the call. He was more interested in what we thought and had to say based on our opinions and experiences over the years. I think the more information that he had on each candidate the better, and easier the decision he would be able to make.”
Former LB Jonathan Vilma
On if he thinks everyone will rally around a coach like Mark Richt …
“I think so. He is an alum. He understands what it means to be a part of the university. He understands the culture; he helped build the culture. I wouldn’t see any reason why the alumni wouldn’t welcome him. He is ready to embrace them as we are ready to embrace him as a coach.”
On winning as a coach at the University of Miami…
“I don’t think it’s that hard to win here. When he came back in the 70s, it was almost the same culture then, where we were looking for toughness. We were looking for discipline. We were looking for more talent to help us get to that next level. It only took about three to four years before [Howard] Schnellenberger got it done. You look at what we have now, the guys went 4-1, hopefully 5-1 under Larry Scott, an interim coach, so we have the talent and we need to continue to cultivate that talent and develop that talent. I don’t think we are that far off.”
On having stability and moving the program forward…
“We expect that because of what he’s done at Georgia and at Florida State. Everywhere he has been, he’s been successful. We expect to have nothing but success again moving forward but it’s not guaranteed. We know that. As he mentioned, guys are going to have to work. Guys are going to have to get in the trenches and really consciously make an effort to get back to our winning ways.
Sophomore QB Brad Kaaya
General thoughts on the hiring of Mark Richt…
“It’s a great hire. I think he’s the best possible candidate that we could’ve gotten. He’s a good dude. The team really responds well to him, so I’m looking forward to working with him.”
On his first impression of Coach Richt when he met with the team…
“Just talked about his background, his foundation, just what he expects from us. He expects guys to do the right things, guys to buy in, which I think our guys will. He just gave a lot of his background just what he’s done as a player and a coach.”
On Coach Richt’s work with quarterbacks…
“Of course, I watched them a lot when I was young, in middle school. I watched his teams. He had some really good teams at Georgia [with quarterbacks such as] Matt Stafford and Aaron Murray. I used to always watch Matt Stafford. So, [there are many] good quarterbacks who he’s developed. I’m just looking forward to talking ball with him, talking plays and concepts with him.”
On if he feels he is a good fit for Coach Richt’s offense…
“Yeah, he’s an offensive-minded guy. He told us this morning, he’s not trying to come in here and make it Georgia. He’s adapted to his players as well and his biggest thing is making sure the players can play fast.”
On if Coach Richt’s calmness and confidence…
“Yeah, real calm dude. His biggest thing is just earning our respect, that’s what he said. He knows that we’ve been through a lot as a team, he realizes that. He’s also been through a lot himself, so right now, at this point, it’s just earning our respect.”
On if Coach Richt had the team’s respect from the start…
“Yeah, all the guys responded very well so far. It was real positive feedback from the guys. I’m just looking forward to getting to know him better.”
On how excited the team was when they found out Coach Richt was being hired…
“A lot of guys were excited. I know all the running backs were. He’s had some good running backs at Georgia. I was excited, my parents were excited, my quarterback coach, Rudy Carpenter, was. It’s just great for everybody in the building.”
On if this gives the team a sense of stability going forward…
“Yeah, no doubt. He’s a good dude. Mark is a really good guy. At this point, our team doesn’t have to worry about who our coach is going to be. We’re about playing this bowl game and finishing strong for our seniors.”
Sophomore K Michael Badgley
On his first impressions of Coach Richt…
“He’s an awesome coach. You bring in a guy like that who’s got winning capabilities like that, everyone gets excited and the way he presented himself to the team this morning was awesome.”
On his reaction when Coach Richt was first introduced to the team today…
“We were all excited. He comes in with a certain type of swagger that we all really appreciated and we were definitely—even the seniors who are leaving—very happy with the decision. Everyone is ready to see what he can do.”
On having someone who played at Miami now leading the team…
“It’s awesome. Going back to the ’78 days, you get that kind of tradition back in a program like this, it definitely tends to carry over and everyone is very excited about what is going to happen. But, we’re going to finish out this year strong.”
