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University of Minnesota Athletics
Press Conference Quotes 9.23.08
9/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Weekly Press Conference
Game Week: Ohio State
Sept. 23, 2008
Head coach Tim Brewster
“Very pleased to be here. Our football team is 4-0, coming off what we felt like was an excellent victory over a strong Florida Atlantic football team. Again, I couldn’t be more pleased about where we are at as a football team right now, finishing our first four games.
“Talking about the Florida Atlantic game, the player of the week on offense was Jason Meinke and the defensive the player of the game was Simoni Lawrence. Obviously, [Lawrence] had a couple of very big plays in the game. Again, I am very pleased with Jason Meinke to come in and play well like he did and stepped up and really accepted the challenge of having to be a starter and come out and play well. Our special forces player of the game against Florida Atlantic was Nate Triplett. It was obvious to anybody who watched the game what a great job he did covering kicks. He set the tempo for the game on the opening kickoff going down and making a great play like he did and he does it week in and week out. Our “Lunch Pail” player of the game was Jeff Tow-Arnett. Obviously, he is doing a great job playing - he got nicked up earlier in the year but he came back and played very well when he stepped in for Trey Davis the other day and did a nice job. Our Hard Hat Hit of the Week went to Deon Hightower. He did a great job on the interception, hitting the tight end for Florida Atlantic and it really was a great effort and hit by Deon. Our xtra effort player of the week against Florida Atlantic was Eric Decker. He could probably be that guy for us every single week. The plays that we’re particularly talking about was a block that he made downfield with a great individual effort. We’ve really challenged the receivers to be great blockers down the field to help us with explosive plays and Eric Decker did that in a big way. Our great teammate award goes to Kyle Theret. He is a very unsung guy. There are a lot of people that say that he can’t do this or that but each and every week Kyle Theret plays to a high level. He plays very well, he picks up a pass and he is an excellent tackler and an excellent football player and he is a great teammate particularly to our young players from the secondary. He has done a great job back there. Our scout team players of the week which we all know are so essential and important to us and our success, going into each game, on offense is Xzavian Brandon, freshman wide receiver and on defense we’ve got a guy that’s been around a while and is always working hard and that’s Steve Moore. They both did a great job in getting us prepared for the Florida Atlantic team.
“I feel good about where we are at this point, being a 4-0 football team, but I certainly know what we have before us. We’ve got eight Big Ten teams left to play with the first one being Ohio State on Saturday. It’s a tremendous challenge for our football team. I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking about Ohio State. They’re a great football team, an extremely well-coached football team. They are who we thought they were [coming into the season]. They are a great football team from top to bottom. They just announced that Beanie Wells is going to be their starting tailback against us Saturday, we knew that, we knew he’d be ready to go. Terrelle Pryor is their quarterback. Defensively, I think they’ve got the best defensive player in football in James Laurinaitis. With our young football team, it’s an extremely daunting task for us to face a team like that in their back yard at Ohio State in the Horseshoe. We’re going to continue to do what we do we’re going to continue to prepare extremely hard, we know how to prepare, we’re just going to do the things necessary to give ourselves a chance to win on Saturday.”
On Pryor:
“He’s a very talented guy. I saw him play at the U.S. Army All-Star game and he reminds me so much of Vince Young. He looks like Vince, he runs, he’s an extremely dynamic player. He’s very much a cause for concern for us.”
On opening the Big Ten schedule against OSU:
“I like it. I think it’ll certainly be a barometer for our football team to see where we are. I think they’re as good a team as there is in the Big Ten. It’s a tremendous challenge for our football team with the youth that we have to take our football team on the road into a hostile environment like that will give us a chance to see what we’ve got. It’s a very exciting challenge for us.”
On Trey Davis:
“He’s fine. Trey Davis is going to play in the game Saturday. He’s got a crack a fracture in his hand, but it’s not something [that’s going to keep him out]. I think they’re going to soft cast it. We’ll anticipate him playing Saturday.”
On the strengths of the team thus far:
“The strengths of our team have been ball security on offense and taking the ball away on defense. I think that’s been a great recipe for success for us taking care of the football and causing turnovers; being very opportunistic defensively. We’ve given up some plays, some explosive plays, but then we’ve been able to turn the ball over and get some great field position for the offense. Again, I think we’re doing a lot of the things good football teams do to win football games. Possessing the ball, we’re doing a great job in the red zone of scoring touchdowns, we’re not being forced to kick a lot of field goals. Again, I’m particularly pleased that we haven’t been turning the ball over a lot on offense.”
On where the team can improve:
“I just think we have to continue to develop as a team across the board. I think our special forces have been pretty solid, but that unit has to continue to grow. I think you’ve seen our defense gain more confidence as the season has gone on. Like I said, this week will be a tremendous challenge for us to go into a place like Ohio State and see where we’re at. Hopefully, we’ll be up to the challenge of going in there and competing.”
On committing to a single running back:
“I think we’re in the same situation we were in a week ago. DeLeon [Eskridge] is going to play, Shady [Salamon] is going to play, Jay Thomas is going to play. We’re very comfortable with those three guys sharing the position, but obviously the hot guy is going to be on the field. He all know that; there’s no secret to that. Who ever is going to give us the most at the position is going to play. I don’t think we’re hung up on naming a single the starter as much as I thought we wanted to initially.”
On Eskridge:
“He really did a few nice things [on Saturday]. I think we saw some really hard runs; we saw some really good things.”
On whether the Gophers match up favorably with Ohio State:
“I don’t know about that. I think it’s pretty optimistic to say we match up well’ with them. We’re starting two redshirt freshmen and three redshirt sophomores on the offensive line I think Ohio State might have the best defensive front I’ve seen. They’re extremely active and tough and physical. I’m not ready to say we match up well with Ohio State.”
On whether he would attribute Eric Decker’s success to Decker’s talent or work ethic:
“He is a very talented kid and he matches great talent with a tremendous sense of pride. A tremendous sense of work ethic. He epitomizes maybe what Minnesota is all about. Hard working, doesn’t say a whole lot, just goes about his business and is very successful. Like I’ve said, I wouldn’t trade Eric Decker for any receiver in the country. I think it’s exciting for him to have the opportunity to match himself up with the great defensive backs that Ohio State has. He’s a kid that accepts the challenge [of playing a physical OSU defensive backfield] and he likes to play physical. That won’t be a concern for Eric at all.”
On increased intensity at practice with the beginning of the Big Ten schedule:
“I think so. I think the Big Ten schedule is exciting for our players. Particularly when you open up the Big Ten schedule with Ohio State at Ohio State. I don’t think it gets any more exciting than that.”
On preparing for OSU:
“We won’t do anything special. We’re going to do what we do. We may bring in a little crowd noise this week that may help us a little. For the most part, I think everyone’s been in big stadiums and I don’t think that’s going to be a big issue for us. I think we’ve just got to do a good job managing the crowd noise and a good way to do that is to have success because that quiets the crowd.”
On Laurinaitis:
“I’ve got tremendous respect for him. I love how we plays. He loves football and on every snap we plays with great passion and energy. It’s great for college football that he decided to stay at Ohio State. If he’s not the best, he’s as good as any defensive player that I’ve seen. Again, I think it’s good for college football that he decided to stay. Probably not good for me, but good for college football.”
On the defense:
“I’m extremely proud of the defense and I’m extremely proud of our coaches. Our coaching staff have put together really good plans so far, but we’ve got a pretty good challenge this week, obviously. For that group, they’ve been under a lot of scrutiny. We were not a good defense last year. Matter of fact, we were a poor defense last year. We’ve taken the steps necessary to become a better defense although we’re nowhere near where we need to be. We’re down the road from the progress we really want to make, but it’s exciting for me to see the progress we’ve made and taking the steps to becoming a better defense. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times: we’re going to play great defense here at the University of Minnesota.”
On parody in college football:
“I think there’s a certain level of parity, but I think when you look at Ohio State, it’s a little different. There haven’t been too many valleys for them. They’ve been riding a peak for quite a long time, as a matter of fact, I can’t remember the last time Ohio State didn’t have a great football team. Rightfully so, they are a great football team now. As far as the other teams in the country are concerned, there is some parody, there are some scholarship limitations that contribute to that type of thing. Most of it has to do with preparation and how the head coach prepares his football team each and every week to win. And recruiting is a huge part of it you’ve got to be successful year in and year out recruiting to build a successful program. You can’t have one down year in recruiting and expect to sustain success.”
Senior WR Ben Kuznia
On the importance of the Ohio State game:
“One game isn’t going to make or break our season, but this game would really put us off to a great start in the conference play. We’re just going to go out and expect to get the win and go from there.”
On changes in practice leading up to this game.
“The coaches have preached that when you reach the Big Ten schedule, everything bumps up a notch, the intensity from the coaches and everything else. At the same time, we’re not going to change anything. We’re going to take this like every other game and not treat it any differently.”
On other receivers stepping up to play a role this week.
“I think it’s very important. The way Eric (Decker) has been playing is huge and he’s going to continue that but it’s imperative that the other receivers develop confidence to give Adam (Weber) a little piece of mind so if Decker isn’t open, he can go to other options.”
Senior TE Jack Simmons
On fan support for the team:
“I think we’re very lucky to have the fans that have been sticking with us and hopefully we’ll get some more people coming out. What’s exciting for us is we’re starting to play very good football. We beat a good Florida Atlantic team, who gave Michigan State a tough time two weeks ago. What’s exciting for us is that it’s given us some momentum and the program is heading in the right direction.”
On matchup issues against Ohio State:
“When you play Ohio State, you’re going to play the best team in the Big Ten, talent wise. They have terrific talent across the board on offense and defense. We know Terrell (Pryor) is going to bring a new dynamic for our defense to face. As far as us facing their defense, they’re as fast and physical as you’re going to see in the Big Ten. It’ll be exciting and it will be a great gauge to see where we are as a football team.”
Junior LB Simoni Lawrence
On expectations for the Ohio State game:
“I expect a lot of people. That’s why I came to the University of Minnesota, to play in front of big crowds like this. I just cannot wait. I’m going to enjoy this because there will be so many people watching, it just makes the game more exciting. I’m just going to have a whole lot of fun. I’ll practice hard this week and prepare for the game.”
On changes in practice leading up to Ohio State:
“I think we’ll keep practicing the way we’ve been practicing. We always play at a high intensity so it’s just another game for us.”
Junior CB Traye Simmons
On playing for the first time at Ohio State:
“When it all boils down to it, you just have to feel like you’re playing in the back yard. You just have to try to block out the other 100,000 fans in the stadium screaming. We’re all just playing football, 11 on 11. This is just a dream to play in front of this many people.”
On what to expect from Ohio State:
“A lot of speed and athleticism. It’s going to be a really good game and we have to just go in and execute each play and each assignment. We cannot take plays of and hopefully we’ll have enough in us to win.”
Sophomore QB Adam Weber
On starting 4-0:
“It feels good. Obviously it’s the start we wanted to have and we were able to accomplish that goal. Now it’s about carrying all that momentum into the Big Ten and keeping this going.”
On changes in practice leading up to Ohio State
“I don’t know if we’re going to change what we do, but we know the competition is going to step up. It’s going to be a long couple games ahead of us. The Big Ten is more physical, but I don’t think we’re really going to change our practices.”
On attitude heading into the Big Ten season this year compared to last year:
“These games help you get ready and prepared for the conference, but right now I think everyone just pictures themselves at 0-0. Now it’s about making a big impact on the Big Ten, and that’s been our goal from the start. We knew that would be improved and have a good start but now it’s about carrying that into the Big Ten. That’s going to be our mission this year, to turn things around in how we play in the Big Ten this year.”
