University of Minnesota Athletics
Coach Brewster Press Conference Transcript
9/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Tim Brewster Press Conference Highlights
Opening statement:
“I would like to announce our MVPs from the game against Miami of Ohio: On offense, it was Adam Weber. He was also named the co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. Adam is playing extremely well; his numbers from the game were outstanding. His leadership and decision-making (ability) are way beyond schedule, as far as I’m concerned, and I couldn’t be more excited about the way Adam Weber is playing.”
“Our defensive player of the game was Jamal Harris. Obviously he made a couple of big, big plays at opportune times for us. Two interceptions, nine tackles, a fumble recovery Jamal Harris just played with great leadership, and as everybody knows, we’ve got a couple of young guys in the secondary, and we need his leadership in a big way. Defensively, it was nice to get some turnovers. The first week, we didn’t get a turnover. Our defense is predicated on getting turnovers, and it was nice to see Jamal play like he did.”
“On special forces, our player of the week was Nick Tow-Arnett. He just did some really great things. On quick six, on kickoff return, he did an outstanding job blocking... Really his recovery of the onside kick towards the end of the game was just an outstanding football play. It was a very aggressive play he played the ball, he didn’t let the ball play him, and at that particular point in the game it was a very, very huge play. I just want to emphasize has been playing great football.”
On the potential recruiting impact of Saturday’s game against Florida Atlantic:
“For non-conference scheduling, I want to play games in areas that we’re going to recruit. We’re very excited about the opportunity to play in South Florida. There’s a tremendous amount of football players in South Florida... It’s kinda like Texas. It’s just amazing the amount of football players that are in that area. We have a number of those South Florida football players that are on our team right now. We’ll continue to recruit South Florida. We’re going to try to make our presence felt down there. So this is a tremendous opportunity for us to bring the Golden Gophers into Florida and do a good job.”
On changes in kicking personnel:
“The other change that we’ve made is that Jason Giannini will no longer kick for us. We will have an open competition between Joel Monroe and Eric Ellestad for the starting field goal kicker and PAT kicker. We’ll begin that competition today, and that competition will go throughout the week and we’ll try to make a decision at the end of the week who’ll kick field goals and PATs for us.”
On the team’s ability to run the ball so far this season:
“I couldn’t be more excited about the way we’re running the football. It’s turning out exactly the way we wanted. With the spread, we’ve told people that the misnomer about the spread was that you’re going to throw the ball and not run it. We’ve been very physical running the ball; we’ve been very pleased ... We’ve taken a very physical approach to running the football. We lead the Big Ten... Our offensive numbers are outstanding.”
On his recollections of Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger:
“I’ve got tremendous respect for the coaches of this game. Howard Schnellenberger has been around for a long time and has won a lot of football games. When you think about a guy who’s won national championships and has been a head football coach in the National Football League... All the experiences he brings to the plate are just tremendous.”
On the young freshmen in the secondary:
“I just see us continuing to get better. Last week, Ryan Collado gets beat by a double move, they bring in a new quarterback and throw a pass over his head. He comes off the field and I just hug his neck and say, You know what Ryan? It’s going to be alright. You’re going to learn from that mistake you just made and you’re going to be a great football player.’
“Curtis Thomas is the same way. Last week he wasn’t quite ready to play. I told him, your time’s up I think he’s going to step on the field and play extremely well for us. Kyle Theret too three true freshmen in the secondary have played a lot of minutes. That’s exciting and it makes your heart beat a little bit too.”
On wideout Eric Decker:
“Eric Decker is just a really good football player. He’s very fundamental in what he does. He catches the ball consistently... Number one thing is his preparation for the game is outstanding. He studies the game, he’s a student of the game. He goes into the game very confident about how he’s prepared. And then he’s got physical tools he’s got speed, he’s got size, he’s got strength. He’s got some unique qualities for a wide receiver. A guy who catches the ball against a zero-coverage blitz and then can take it to the house, that’s exciting. He showed great speed in that situation. We’ve just got to lean on Eric Decker more and more each week.”
Opening statement:
“I would like to announce our MVPs from the game against Miami of Ohio: On offense, it was Adam Weber. He was also named the co-Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. Adam is playing extremely well; his numbers from the game were outstanding. His leadership and decision-making (ability) are way beyond schedule, as far as I’m concerned, and I couldn’t be more excited about the way Adam Weber is playing.”
“Our defensive player of the game was Jamal Harris. Obviously he made a couple of big, big plays at opportune times for us. Two interceptions, nine tackles, a fumble recovery Jamal Harris just played with great leadership, and as everybody knows, we’ve got a couple of young guys in the secondary, and we need his leadership in a big way. Defensively, it was nice to get some turnovers. The first week, we didn’t get a turnover. Our defense is predicated on getting turnovers, and it was nice to see Jamal play like he did.”
“On special forces, our player of the week was Nick Tow-Arnett. He just did some really great things. On quick six, on kickoff return, he did an outstanding job blocking... Really his recovery of the onside kick towards the end of the game was just an outstanding football play. It was a very aggressive play he played the ball, he didn’t let the ball play him, and at that particular point in the game it was a very, very huge play. I just want to emphasize has been playing great football.”
On the potential recruiting impact of Saturday’s game against Florida Atlantic:
“For non-conference scheduling, I want to play games in areas that we’re going to recruit. We’re very excited about the opportunity to play in South Florida. There’s a tremendous amount of football players in South Florida... It’s kinda like Texas. It’s just amazing the amount of football players that are in that area. We have a number of those South Florida football players that are on our team right now. We’ll continue to recruit South Florida. We’re going to try to make our presence felt down there. So this is a tremendous opportunity for us to bring the Golden Gophers into Florida and do a good job.”
On changes in kicking personnel:
“The other change that we’ve made is that Jason Giannini will no longer kick for us. We will have an open competition between Joel Monroe and Eric Ellestad for the starting field goal kicker and PAT kicker. We’ll begin that competition today, and that competition will go throughout the week and we’ll try to make a decision at the end of the week who’ll kick field goals and PATs for us.”
On the team’s ability to run the ball so far this season:
“I couldn’t be more excited about the way we’re running the football. It’s turning out exactly the way we wanted. With the spread, we’ve told people that the misnomer about the spread was that you’re going to throw the ball and not run it. We’ve been very physical running the ball; we’ve been very pleased ... We’ve taken a very physical approach to running the football. We lead the Big Ten... Our offensive numbers are outstanding.”
On his recollections of Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger:
“I’ve got tremendous respect for the coaches of this game. Howard Schnellenberger has been around for a long time and has won a lot of football games. When you think about a guy who’s won national championships and has been a head football coach in the National Football League... All the experiences he brings to the plate are just tremendous.”
On the young freshmen in the secondary:
“I just see us continuing to get better. Last week, Ryan Collado gets beat by a double move, they bring in a new quarterback and throw a pass over his head. He comes off the field and I just hug his neck and say, You know what Ryan? It’s going to be alright. You’re going to learn from that mistake you just made and you’re going to be a great football player.’
“Curtis Thomas is the same way. Last week he wasn’t quite ready to play. I told him, your time’s up I think he’s going to step on the field and play extremely well for us. Kyle Theret too three true freshmen in the secondary have played a lot of minutes. That’s exciting and it makes your heart beat a little bit too.”
On wideout Eric Decker:
“Eric Decker is just a really good football player. He’s very fundamental in what he does. He catches the ball consistently... Number one thing is his preparation for the game is outstanding. He studies the game, he’s a student of the game. He goes into the game very confident about how he’s prepared. And then he’s got physical tools he’s got speed, he’s got size, he’s got strength. He’s got some unique qualities for a wide receiver. A guy who catches the ball against a zero-coverage blitz and then can take it to the house, that’s exciting. He showed great speed in that situation. We’ve just got to lean on Eric Decker more and more each week.”
Players Mentioned
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QB
/ FootballFleck Postgame Locker Room
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