Aug. 30, 2005

Football Coaches Luncheon

August 30, 2005

Head Coach, Guy Morriss

"We're excited about getting started. We've had a good summer and training camp. Our main focus was to stay healthy and come out fresh."

"The key for us is to get out of the gate fast and in order to do that we wanted to make sure that they are fresh and ready to go. I think we've accomplished everything we started up in camp this year. We just need to take it to the field Saturday night."

On SMU:

"I think the tempo will be there during the course of Saturday night. I don't know if you'd call us a veteran team; but, we've some guys who have played enough football to know what the tempo is going to be. The thing that worries me, as a defensive coach, is tackling, wrapping folks up and getting them to the ground."

On getting the first win:

"It's huge looking back at the past few years. In the past, openers and especially openers on the road, we haven't had a lot of success. For us to do the things we've set goals to do this year, it's going to be imperative that we get this one Saturday night.

On Colin Allred:

"He's the guy that will speak at the right time. When he does raise his voice, people know he's got something to say and he means what he says. He not only backs it up from a physical stand point but with his work ethic and the type of person that he is. He has all the intangibles that go with being a leader."

On Shawn Bell and quarterback race:

"Shawn has the edge and is a comfortable starter. We can win with Shawn Bell. No question."

Offensive Coordinator, Brent Pease

"As we go into this game against SMU I think the first thing you're going to see is we've got a lot more veterans involved in the offense. I think our consistency is going to be a lot better. For us to be successful, we put a big emphasis in ball security."

"I would expect to see a lot more big plays from our kids this year. We've tried to put an emphasis in explosive plays with the guys we've labeled as playmakers. And we are going to use them in that fashion with Dominique [Zeigler] and Trent [Shelton], Brandon Whitaker and Paul Mosely. They've got to make some big plays for us, catches or runs or just getting the ball in their hands and getting the ball in the end zone. Or getting what we determine as explosive plays, twelve or fifteen yard plays."

On SMU:

"SMU's defense does not take a lot of big risks. They're going to play their base defense and see if we make mistakes. They are going to put their kids in position to make plays and be successful."

Defensive Coordinator, Bill Bradley

"Defensively speaking, we had a good spring. I think we worked very hard on trying to stop the run. We really emphasized and paid special attention to gap assignments. I think we've made a lot of progress in that area."

"We've got good depth now on the defensive line. We've got some veteran players and we've got some good team leadership. I was telling Colin [Allred] and Jamaal Harper and Montez [Murphy] that they've got some big shoes to fill because we had three guys that were very productive in those positions last year. But, we feel like we've got extremely good athletes, maybe a little better athletes than we have had in the past."

On SMU:

"We feel like we have a good game plan against them. All we have to do is execute. Our emphasis this past spring and this fall has been on assignment, alignment, and execution. The thing defensively that we've been emphasizing to our players is the fact that we've got to understand that this Saturday is going to be a faster tempo."