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University of Minnesota Athletics
Golden Gopher Players Preview Florida Atlantic Game
9/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Linebacker Lee Campbell
On playing in front of his family in his home state this week
“It’s huge because I’ve always wanted to play in the Big Ten. To come back and play in front of your family is awesome. I’ve got family, friends, supporters, all the people that helped me get here coming to the game.”
On preparing for the heat in Fort Lauderdale
“I don’t think they do [have any idea how hot it will be.] I will be good because Coach Brewster will have us prepared for it. Hopefully I haven’t forgotten my roots and what it’s like to play in that weather. This is definitely a chance to show off our program because there is a lot of talent, a lot of speed and a lot of guys that just love to play football down there. I think that if we go down there and play well, it will definitely say something about Minnesota.”
On coming to Minnesota from Florida
People ask why I went up here where it’s cold. Everybody said that, but I wanted to get out and play Big Ten football, so it’s been a good decision for me so far.
Offense lineman Dom Alford
On preparing for Florida Atlantic and the heat in south Florida
“It was 92 degrees there last week, so we’re getting the field house ready to get warm and practice today and practice hard to get ready for this weekend. It’s about 90 degrees in the field house right now, but it’s going to be good for us because up here it’s been in the 60’s this week.”
On the offense’s strides from Week 1 to Week 2
“Our offense is doing great. Adam Weber is starting to do a great job learning the offense. Amir Pinnix, Duane Bennett are running well and Adam was able to make a bunch of plays with his feet. Amir brings consistency to the table every week and Duane is a great young guy who runs really hard.”
Quarterback Adam Weber
On the offense’s progress
“I think the offense is learning on every single play and even though we’re still making some mistakes, every practice we clean up those mistakes so that we’re not making the same mistakes the next time we play. It’s really starting to come together.”
On preparing for the heat
“We’re not thinking about it too much, but the coaches are a little bit because they are concerned that it could affect us a little bit. We have practiced indoors with all the doors closed and this week we will be doing the same with the heaters on just so we get a feel for what it might be like down there, but I don’t think you can really fully prepare for Florida heat. We just have to drink fluids early on and stay hydrated throughout the game. That’s all you can do.”
On the team’s identity
“I don’t think we have an identity yet, that’s going to be an ongoing process. Our coaches continue to say that you’re either getting better or you’re getting worse, and you can’t stay in the same spot, so every week we try to get better. I think we’ll be a different team each week and until the end of the season we won’t really know who we are.”
On his chemistry with wideout Eric Decker
“We get along really well and he’s the type of athlete that you look for when he’s on the field. We have a lot of guys that are “go-to” and depending on what the defense does, there’s going to be a lot of targets out there, but Decker one of the guys that’s easy to see.
“I met [Decker] at the football camp when I was a sophomore and he was a junior in high school. From there, we were able to become friends but our relationship on and off the field are two different things. When we’re on the field we try to make each other better and we try to make plays for each other, but off the field we’re friends. On the field, its all business.”
On playing at Dolphin Stadium
“Its going to be fun, you focus more on the stadium when you’re warming up. Once the game starts, you don’t really focus on it. It’ll be cool when we’re out there warming up and everything, but as soon as the first play comes, it won’t make a difference.”
Cornerback Jamal Harris
On his big game Saturday against Miami (Ohio)
“It really helps your confidence when you’re able to make plays like that. I’m not saying I wasn’t confident before, but it boosts confidence for the team and for the players around me. When someone makes a play, it makes everyone else want to make one, too.”
On the heat
“It’s a different type of humidity than we’re used to, but I don’t think it will be that big of a deal once we get down there because the coaches are really preparing us for that this week. The sun is the sun. It is Florida, but it won’t make a huge difference once we get down there.”
On going back to Florida to play in front of family and friends
“I’ve got 50-some tickets that I need to get for people that are coming to the game. Its going to be a big coming-home party for me because it’s my last senior game in Florida, so I’m looking forward to going home and seeing all my friends.”
On the progress of the defense
“There are a lot of things to work on, as far as tackling and things like that. There’s always something that you can improve on. We had a good game plan defensively, but it was not as good a game as we could’ve had. You can never play a perfect game; there are always things that you can work on.”
Wide receiver Tray Herndon
On going to Florida to play in front of family and friends
“I’m from about 4 or 5 hours from where we play. It feels good to go back to anywhere in that state of Florida.”
On playing in the heat
“Its much more of a mind set than actually playing in the heat. If you’re ready to play, you’re going to perform.”
On what the team has learned from its first two games
“We learned a lot about heart. I think we’ve got a lot of that and it’s going to take a lot to go down there and play four quarters in that type of heat, but our team has proven that we have that heart.”
On Florida Atlantic
“This is a much-improved FAU team. Being from Florida, we have what they call the big three in Florida, Florida State and Miami and nobody really concerns themselves with FAU, but any team from down there with that south Florida talent is going to be good.”
Wide receiver/Kick returner Harold Howell
On Florida Atlantic
“They’re athletic, they’re going to be fast. All the teams that I played in high school in the southern part of the state had a lot of speed. They’ve got a lot of speed down south.”
