Northwestern University Athletics
Transcript of Coach Fitzgerald's Weekly News Conference
8/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 28, 2007
Northwestern Football Monday News Conference
Aug. 27, 2007
Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Opening Statement...
"It is great to be back, it is football season. I will echo the sentiments of every football coach around the nation when I say this is the most exciting time of the year. The anticipation for the opener is great as you walk out of camp and have the opportunity to play another team. We are very excited to face a Northeastern team that obviously showed great improvement throughout all of last year, and we understand and fully anticipate the game we are going to play at 11:07 a.m. this Saturday. As you read in the release, Trevor Rees will not play in the opener. He will be back to play against Nevada. We will be very excited to get him back. Adam Crum will now move over to the center position for us against Northeastern. Our football team is hungry, we had a great practice last night. Our focus is as good as it has been coming into the season. I was very impressed with our focus going into the opener last year with Miami obviously during some difficult times, but I thought the ownership and the way our players have taken over from a leadership standpoint has been outstanding. It has been that way all throughout pre season and camp, and then happened again last night.
On Brendan Smith's status for Saturday...
"Brendan will be a game-time decision. He was out at practice Saturday and practiced late last week and we will make some decisions as the week goes along. We did not have any contact yesterday so he did not do any. He will be in red all week."
On last season's loss to FCS (I-AA) New Hampshire as motivation...
"When you look back, you talk about your experiences and you learn from failures and from experiences. You never go back and talk about last year as far as specifics for motivation. We have really focused since after the Illinois game on improving Northwestern football and getting us back to where we belong and how we need to play. That will be our focus all week long and was our focus all throughout camp. I am happy with the progress we have made, but it will be critical that we start fast. We understand the opponent that we are going to play this weekend, we have a great feel for them. You always have that anticipation in the opener for what you are going to see new because you have no film or empirical data. We definitely anticipate some new wrinkles from them, and we will adjust accordingly. "
On Adam Crum's game experience at center...
"He is always repping at center for us, and he repped there all year last year. Obviously he has done it a lot during two-a-days and during camp. Keegan (Grant) and Dez (Desmond Taylor) will move over to guard, and then Joel Belding -- who does have game experience at center -- will be our backup center for the opener. Keegan is a guy who was a walk-on and still is currently. He has done a great job early in his career; he has great strength. He was a tremendous athlete in high school, participating in track and shot and things of that nature in addition to being a very strong wrestler if I recall correctly. He is a very powerful young man who can play multiple positions, can play both guard positions and center, but this week he will focus on the guard positions."
On what unit of the team he is most curious to see play Saturday...
"That is a great question. I am most curious to see our football team come out and play. I want to see the entire football team take the next step. As we talked about during camp, what we need to focus on are ourselves, the style of football we play and how we go about our business. I am most focused on watching our team get into game week today and take the next step. I want to see how we deal with adversity and with the highs and the lows that we will have to deal with all season."
On which unit he would like to see on the field first Saturday in terms of a quick start...
"I think as a football team we just need to start fast. With playing at home, you don't control that coin flip so we will see the way things go. Obviously, with the experience we have on both sides of the ball, it will be critical that we go out and get lined up. For our defense, Northeastern has multiple formations and shifts, so we need to get lined up and play accordingly and play fast. For our offense, we are going against a 3-4 defense that gives you multiple looks and styles of pressure. We will need to go out and execute to get our offense moving the football. Regardless of which unit is out there, we need to start fast. With our kickoff team, obviously moving the ball back to the 30 is going to make that an important play."
On who he expects to see taking on an expanded leadership role during game week...
"Our captains have really done a great job. Tonjua Jones is a young man who has throughout his career not only given back to the receiving corps, but also the Northwestern community. He is obviously a very respected member of the team. Also, Trevor (Rees) will have a very big role on Saturday. He will have a big role this week getting the offensive line prepared and then will have a big role on the sideline come Saturday. On defense, Adam Kadela has played a lot of football for us, he will have a couple of guys out there like Mike Dinard and Prince Kwateng who have played but not necessarily been starters in the past. Reggie McPherson played multiple positions for us, so from a captains standpoint I feel great. When I look at our wide receiver corps and our special teams, Eric Peterman has played a lot of football for us. When we get into game situations and out there at practice, you hear Eric all the time talking about situations and what part of the game it is. Up front, Dylan Thiry fills that role also. I have really been impressed with the job that C.J. (Bachér) has done. He has been the glue since he got healthy last year and I thought he really took our offense where it needed to go. He has taken the next step in his career here, and Northeastern will present some tough challenges with the pressure they run and the style of defense that they play. On defense, the guy who I like a lot, and he is involved in special teams too, is Sherrick McManis. He is a guy who was not very heavily recruited, but he is as vocal a corner as I have ever seen. We have quite a bit of leadership, I have probably left a lot of guys out. Up front, we have a bunch of lunch-pail guys who love to play hard on defense. We will need to do that, it is going to be warm on Saturday and we will have to do that to keep those guys fresh.
On whether there is a Pat Fitzgerald (the player) in this group...
"I hope not. I was pretty stiff and slow (laughs). When I look at our offense, I look at a guy like Tyrell Sutton who is vocal and passionate. When he is out there, he makes a difference in the huddle. Guys raise up to his level. On defense, the guy who plays with a lot of passion and who is very vocal is Reggie McPherson. I think those two guys really stand out as guys who are passionate. We have a lot of guys who are passionate and who have leadership roles that may be behind the scenes, but those are two guys who play a lot of football for us and who are better athletes than I could ever wish I'd been."
On guys in the two-deep he did not expect to be there...
"I thought Prince Kwateng had a great spring and continued that progress throughout Camp Kenosha. Eddie Simpson, when we get into our three down packages, he will play a lot for us. Eddie might as well be our fourth starter at linebacker and he will play a lot. I was pleasantly surprised with the job that Prince had done throughout camp and the entire off-season. I have been very pleasantly surprised with our entire receiving corps. Rasheed Ward had a great camp, Ross Lane has always made big plays for us, Eric Peterman continues to grow in that position, and then over at the X receiver, T.J. (Jones) and Kim Thompson did a good job throughout camp, so I am excited about those groups."
On Eddie Simpson and where he can play...
"Eddie can play all three (linebacker) positions, and he can put his hand on the ground and rush the passer on third down. He is a guy who plays multiple positions and knows a lot of stuff about special teams as well."
On Kim Thompson's health...
"Kim came into camp in great shape, he blew the conditioning test away, which he has done in the past. This year he really pushed himself, and he caught the ball well throughout camp. He had a little setback from a minor ding in camp, but he has practiced full-go late last week and yesterday. He is poised to take the next step in his career, and we need him. With some of the injuries and setbacks we have had at wide receiver, it is his time. He is a fifth-year senior, and I believe he is going to have a great season."
On Northeastern's strengths...
"When you look at their offense, it starts with Mo Murray. He is a big tailback, he is a physical tailback, he weights 220 pounds. They do not hide what they do, they are a power team and they are going to going to run a little of the split flow zone. When you look at Alex Broomfield, a lot of things go through Alex No. 9. They move him to wide receiver, they throw the ball to him on screens. They get him involved in their trick packages, he throws the ball well. He is also their punt returner. They return four offensive linemen that are starters from a year ago and they also have a two-quarterback system with two guys who are very athletic and have played a lot of snaps. We will see both quarterbacks. They do a nice job of rotating those guys through. At wide receiver, what I noticed is they play full speed and they are very active in the run game. They are unselfish players. They graduated a very good tight end. On defense, they are a 3-4 that is very aggressive. They are going to bring a pressure package with multiple guys from multiple directions. They are going to get their linebackers very involved. No. 47 is a guy who is an Illinois transfer who is a very active, downhill player. He is a captain and I like the way he plays up front. They will get into some four down and passing situations, change up their coverage concept a little bit. They are an unselfish group in the secondary that plays quite a bit of 3-deep, but they break well on the ball and get their safeties involved in the run game. They are a very well coached team and they play very hard. On special teams, they play a lot of their starters. We are going to have our hands full. Always in the opener, too, is the factor of the unknown and what you will have to adjust to. The anticipation of adjusting is what is important."
On how important it is to get a quick start into the season...
"We are not going to look ahead at all, our team is very focused on this opener. We have learned from the lessons in the past and we are going to focus on game No. 1 and practiced No. 1, which is today. As we move forward and finalize our game plan, we are going to control what we can control, and that is us. We are going to play Northwestern football. It is great that we have three games at home in a row, but all that matters is 11:07 a.m. and how we play between that and the final whistle this Saturday."
On Andrew Brewer's role following his injury and Rees' role on the sideline Saturday...
"Andrew is a very spiritual person and he has a very deep role spiritually on our football team. He will be not only involved on the sideline, but he will also be involved that way. Andrew is a very well-respected player on our team who always has a smile on his face and who understand that what happened to him is beyond his control and what he can control now is his attitude and how he impacts his teammates. He will do that now in a positive light. With Trevor Rees, he was voted a captain by his teammates for a reason. He was not appointed by me, he was not appointed by the coaches, he was voted on by his teammates. That is because he is respected because of the adversity he has overcome, and because of how he goes about his business. Our football team has known since day one of camp that Trevor was not going to play in the opener, but he has worked diligently and you would not know that he is not the starter. Some of you guys have been out to practice and watched our scrimmages. He has practiced like he is our captain every day, and he will be on the sideline making sure he is helping coach Ingalls and coach Cushing with our line and with adjusting our protections and our blocking schemes."
On the talent at the wide receiving position...
"We have great talent at the wide receiving position. There is absolutely no doubt about that. What I am most excited about is how unselfish they are. Those guys go after their blocking assignments, not just when they are running down the field to catch that ball. That is easy, everybody likes to catch the ball down the field and make big plays. When I look at Ross (Lane), and the speed that Eric (Peterman) and Rasheed Ward bring to the table, and obviously on the weak side with Kim (Thompson) and Tonjua (Jones), those are guys who can really run. I have not even mentioned Sid Stewart, a young man who can run and Jeffrey Yarbrough. Jeff is a guy who has battled injuries, but he will have a big role. We will play a lot of those guys and keep them fresh, we have always rolled our wide receivers through. We will play probably eight of them if not more on Saturday, and we will continue to do that if they remain healthy."
On David Ngene and the depth of the defensive line...
"Keeping David on the field is critical. David when he has been healthy has been as productive a defensive end as we have had in this program. Obviously with Barry (Cofield) and Luis (Castillo) playing in the NFL right now, those are some great comparisons. David is a very competitive player, he has battled through some adversity starting early in his career. He ran our conditioning test this year and is just in great shape. He has the opportunity to go against a very good player in practice every day in Dylan Thiry, so obviously our success and the success David has will go hand in hand on the defensive line. He is pushed everyday by Mark Koehn and Kevin Mims, and I haven't even mentioned Corbin Bryant, so we have very good depth at the defensive end position. I am going to hopefully redshirt some guys who are awful talented to, so we will see. David being productive can definitely help us on third down, and I don't want to put too many expectations on him, but he is a guy who I think should be very productive in rushing the passer."
On there being enough minutes in a game for eight guys to rotate...
"When we have been really good on defense, and I think back to when I played, we played a lot of guys. We rotated guys through. Matt Rice might have played 60 to 80 plays, but he rotated out. We played a lot of players in the past. Typically when we have been really good on defense, we have played a lot of players up front. It is time now to walk the walk, to step up and make things happen. They are poised and prepared to make things happen."
On comparing the defensive line from his playing days to the one of today...
"From a talent standpoint, I think Matt Rice would love to have their athleticism. From their experience and having to go in and perform time in and time out, I think time will tell. Obviously the potential is there and the opportunity is there. Those guys will get a lot of snaps. From a depth standpoint, I feel great about it, and we are going to need them to be great for us to achieve our goals, I like the fact they have taken ownership in the fact that they know they need to be good for us to be good. They work that way, they have that attitude every day in practice. Eric Washington does a great job of putting that kind of pressure on them each day. They have the opportunity to go against a great line every day in practice, so I am excited to watch them play this Saturday."
On having a settled quarterback race after last year's uncertainty...
"I love the job C.J. (Bachér) has done in camp, but more importantly in the off-season with adding 10 pounds and taking over the leadership role. He is going to do it his way, and I like that. I like him being genuine and being true to who he is. C.J. is a confident player who goes out and makes things happen on game day. When I look behind him in Mike (Kakfa) and Joe (Mauro) and Dan (Persa), those are three guys who are very competitive too and bring a lot to the table. C.J. is our starter and he solidified that in the last half of the season last year and then with what he did in the off-season and through Camp Kenosha. Now it is time to go out and make it happen. Talking is over in this program, and now it is time to go out and get us back to where we feel we belong. What we can control is this opener, and we will be ready for Northeastern."
On the difference between the FBS (I-A) and FCS (I-AA)...
"There is no difference. Division I football is Division I football. The opportunity that Northeastern has, that Northwestern has, that James Madison has, that UMass has, that Ohio State has, it is all the same. On any given Saturday, anybody can play with and beat anybody that they play. The parity is what is great about college football these days. Regardless of what conference you play in or what might come after your name as far as the level, that is irrelevant when it comes to Saturdays and that is what I love about college football. Probably moreso now than in any time in college football, anybody can win on any given Saturday. This coming Saturday will be a very exciting game and we know the challenge we have, and we are excited to play."
On playing three home games before the students arrive...
"I am excited to play at home. I am excited that in the next couple of years, we will get the opportunity to play seven home games. Being able to be at home in your controlled environment takes a lot of the travel variables off your plate. Starting the season off with three-straight home games is a great advantage to have. I would love to have our students out, and our Chicagoland students will be here, but we will also be creative from a marketing standpoint and will get our heroes out and we'll have our Salute to Midwest Football. I can keep going on and on from a marketing standpoint to try and get fans out to watch us play. We will be successful and our fans will come out. Our marketing department and our athletic department does a great job of attracting our fans to come out. We are looking forward to getting as many of our purple-clad people out there and cheering loud and having a good time. We go 11:07 this Saturday and then next Saturday and then 7 p.m. against Duke, and that will help and give our fans a great opportunity to tailgate. There is no better place to see a college football game than Ryan Field, especially on a Saturday afternoon when they are calling for 80 degrees and sun. We are looking forward to it, we cannot control that the students won't be back yet, but we will be there on time. We have a great escort from the University Police and we'll come out of the tunnel ready for 11:07 a.m."
