Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Hosts 2008 Football Media Day
8/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 7, 2008
Media Day Video
Watch Fitzgerald's full press conference on NUsports.com All-Access
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern held its annual football media day Thursday, inviting media members to attend practice and a luncheon with head coach Pat Fitzgerald afterwards.
The Wildcats held their fourth practice of the preseason in the morning, donning helmets and shells for the workout. Following the practice, the assembled media chatted with Northwestern players and coaches before meeting with Fitzgerald for lunch.
Northwestern will practice once more in Evanston Friday morning before heading to Camp Kenosha on Friday afternoon. The Wildcats will be at Camp from August 8-19, practicing 12 times in addition to the annual preseason scrimmage at 3 p.m. on August 16 at Carthage College.
Transcript of today's news conference with Pat Fitzgerald:
Opening Statement...
"I'd like to thank everyone for being here today. You couldn't ask for a better weather day. Thank you so much for your support of Northwestern athletics and Northwestern football. I think we enter 2008 as a hungry football team and we took some positive steps through the off-season. First, with the development of our leadership with the way our guys competed on a daily basis prepared us for a solid spring practice where we learned to work together with our new offensive and defensive coordinators and our new defensive line coach. As a coach, summer is a critical time. You don't have any time to work with your guys. It's about trust, and our guys came back understanding that. Ninety-six percent of our guys passed our conditioning test so I'm encouraged by that because it's the highest we've had since I've been the head coach. It's a credit to our strength coaches Larry Lilja and Nick Zostautas. The amount of experience we have coming back -- 19 total starters -- is encouraging to start camp. Now as I evaluate our first four days of practice, it's important that we continue to grow. We've installed a lot and there are a lot of new schemes going on in our first days of practice, so I think soon we can start playing faster.
From an injury standpoint, as we look forward to the opener, three guys will be out for sure: Kevin Frymire, Scott Lilja and Niko Mafuli. Doubtful for the game are Chris Jeske and Scott Concannon, and probable for the game is Lee Coleman. We're relatively healthy, just a few guys dinged up, but we hope to get those guys back sooner rather than later.
I'm excited about this senior class. They've been through a lot and they have obviously invested themselves as I said about the way they came back in shape. I know that they will stay together and keep the ship moving in the right direction. They came in as freshmen and enjoyed a great Sun Bowl run and I look forward to seeing those guys go out in a very positive fashion.
Today is obviously the eve of our last practice in Evanston and then comes the critical time for our football team to come together as we take our camp up to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside for 10 days. I like the attitude we have right now, and now it's just improving one day at a time while we put our focus on Syracuse."
On his memories of camp in Kenosha, Wis., as a player at Northwestern...
"Well that depends on the year. As a freshman, I thought, "Where am I? Is this Canada?" You arrive on campus (in Evanston), you get on a bus and all of a sudden you are somewhere where I don't even know. You see this beautiful campus and great hospitality where the people are extremely nice. You have a great Friday night meal and then, bam, you have two-a-days the next day. Then, when you are a senior, you can't wait to go. You're excited for the opportunity to get together with your teammates in a football-only environment where you can prepare for the season. That is the great thing about being a student-athlete at Northwestern, you don't go to class until four games into the year. You have the opportunity to get off campus and spend time with your teammates."
On filling in for defensive tackle John Gill for the first game...
" We were excited with the way Corbin Bryant stepped up in spring practice and we thought Vince Browne had a good spring. We get Kevin Mims and Adam Hahn back from spring injuries coupled with the performances from Corey Wootton, and we have pretty solid depth and competition for the opener. We should have about eight to nine guys we can rotate up front. Is it going to be Corbin inside and Marshall (Thomas) outside, or Marshall inside and Corbin outside? We'll keep looking at combinations as we get closer."
On the influence of new defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz...
"Mike's run just about every scheme you can possibly think of so it's a matter of finding out what our players do best. He brought an attitude. He brought an attitude that we're going to be a good defense and it's not going to happen overnight. It's going to take time, and it's going to take focusing on improving one practice, one rep, one day at a time, and never being satisfied. We've been improving since Mike came on board. We're going to attack people and we're going to adjust accordingly to what our opponents do but in the end it's really more about what the players do on the field than the coaches."
On Brendan Smith's return to the secondary...
"Brendan early in his career has shown great ball skills with his ability to return punts and intercept the ball, and now with his shoulder being fully healed, today was as physical as I've seen him this week. Watching him perform these last few practices I'm encouraged. It just adds depth. To lose a player like that last year was a big blow to our secondary."
On the progress he has seen from quarterback C.J. Bachér over the years...
"Well it's about managing the game and making great decisions, simple things that after we watch tape together he is trying really hard to correct: pocket awareness, carrying the ball, throwing the ball on time. He's done a great job on the technical side and he's done a great job managing our football team. He reported in great shape and I'm excited about him."
On how the offensive line is shaping up...
"We're not fixed yet, we're not ready to go out and get into a street fight, and that's what you need up front. We have guys working hard. I'm really excited about our two young players that no one knows about: Al Netter, our left tackle, who may be light on experience but he was competing for one of our jobs this spring and had a good start to camp, and Ben Burkett, who I'm really excited about. He's a very athletic young man from Toledo. He has great size and has really done a great job over the course of the summer. We have great competition there, too. Ramon Diaz and Mike Boyle are pushing themselves. Is Keegan Kennedy going to be our right guard? Is Desmond Taylor going to move to the right side? We've got Kurt Mattes who started 12 games for us and he's being pushed every day. I'm encouraged with that group. We'll come together but I think we will have about six, seven, or eight guys who I feel really good about."
On the main contenders at the linebacker position...
"In the middle will be Malcolm Arrington. He's played a lot of football for us in his career. He started a few games last year and was a great special teams player for us for four years. Prince (Kwateng) will be primarily on the outside and I'm excited about him, and on the other side is a guy we got a little glimpse of last year, Quentin Davie. Throughout spring practice his confidence just grew and grew and grew, and he came in great shape. He's up to 220 pounds, which isn't bad for a guy who came to us at about 190. I'm excited about that group."
On opportunities for true freshmen to play this year...
"It's way too early for me to make that assessment. We're only practicing in helmets and shoulder pads right now. I would think by next Sunday, after our Carthage scrimmage, I would have a pretty good idea, at least going into the opener, who we project to be competing at their position or on special teams. I'm encouraged by the freshman class. They came in in great shape and we had a solid group of guys pass the conditioning test, including two offensive linemen who passed the conditioning test as freshmen, which I'm impressed by at over 300 pounds. We thought we recruited well but we don't really know until now, when they report."
On the freshmen who come from families of professional football players...
"They're freshmen and they're excited to be here. They're worried about buckling their chin strap right and being on time. You can tell the guys that have been around the game a long time because they have a confidence about them. Hunter Bates is back there taking punts and there's arguably no better special teams player in the history of the NFL than Bill Bates. It's such a huge adjustment (to college football) and that's why I think it's an asset that we have that schedule where they don't have to take a class for 10 weeks after they get here. They get acclimated to their teammates, to college football, to expectations of Northwestern University, and then they get up to speed on their study routines."
On adjusting to the new play clock and timing rules in college football...
"It's going to be a huge change for everyone. We've gone back to the no-huddle offense philosophically. Does that mean we'll snap the ball with 32 seconds on the play clock? I don't know. But we can snap it fast and pick up the tempo. Two out of the last three years we've had changes to the timing rules and I'm not a big fan of it. I know fans want to see players play and I know players want to execute plays but we're going to play by the books. Especially toward the end of games with a 40-second play clock, we're going to see a lot of teams eating some clock and taking delay-of-game penalties, so it changes quite a bit. Then when you run out of bounds, the clock is going to continue to run until the final two minutes of each half without a two-minute warning, that's a big change."
On the role of the superback position in the offense...
"The superback position is intended to be a hybrid of a running back, wide receiver, and fullback. In the offense, we're going to put our men in positions where we can execute and have success. Drake (Dunsmore) is 6'3" and 235 pounds who can really run with good ball skills, and Josh Rooks, as big as he is, runs well, catches the ball well. It's encouraging when you see a guy like Mark Woodsum -- he's my kind of player, only guy with a neck-roll which has really disappeared from college football -- so we have a lot of things we can do come Saturdays."
On center Ben Burkett being next in a tradition of great centers at Northwestern...
"I don't want to put those kinds of expectations on him. He's got the ball in his hand right now and he has that opportunity in front of him to stay healthy and grow. He has the functional strength and the attitude to be a great offensive player. He understands the importance of having the ball in his hand and the attitude it takes."
On this team's camaraderie...
"The team I have needs to be the team. They have to understand roles and team concepts, and that's what we've got. We all reflected on 2007 and there is a reason why we stayed home. We have a hungry team. We've had great lines of communication open between our players and our staff, we have guys working, and we have a great chemistry on the field and in the locker room. That goes back to the leadership we have had. We'll see what happens in the face of adversity, because it's easy on a 70-degree day with a cool breeze blowing out of the north during a well-executed practice to feel good about yourself. Adversity is part of the game and we'll see how we stick together then."
On the improved lines of communication within the team...
"Well, from my position I want people to know that the head coach's office isn't the principal's office. My door is always open and I want people to communicate. I think the players and the coaches have really bought into that. It takes time to build that trust but it's important."
On what he learned from last season...
"This is my 10th year coaching and third as head coach, and I know our school has the best our country has to offer in terms of college football players. Guys are extremely giving of their time. They aren't just going to the best university that plays major college football but they are also asked to have a full-time job, which is play college football. To see them manage their time and give back to the community, that's one thing that impresses me and excites me about being the leader of the ball club. Number two, I've learned to trust those around you. We have great people in our program, and you have to trust them and their vision in order to be successful."
On the importance of C.J. Bachér's consistent play...
"I think it's a theme for our whole team. In six wins last year he had 15 touchdowns and four interceptions, that's an all-Big Ten year. The other six games, obviously consistency was critical. It's managing the game, taking care of the ball. Ninety-eight percent of the time last year he did a great job, it's just the other two percent he's working on. He strives every day to improve. It's not just about having an 85 percent completion percentage; sometimes it's about the throw that lands in the first row so it's not intercepted. I don't want to take away the gun-slinging mentality he has because I love that. He has really matured and I think he'll take the necessary steps.
On the team's goals for the season...
"One is to consistently prepare. We thought last year, from our coaches to our players, we failed to be truly consistent in our preparation. It starts with me creating a vision and an action plan so we know exactly what we need to do. Number two, down the road, it's our goal to win a bowl game. It's something that hasn't happened here in a long, long time. We needed to change the expectations, and now it's time to take that step. When you get to that point, you can reassess and start to name a bowl game, and that's a byproduct of consistently preparing."
On whether he would try a mohawk like several of his players...
"Oh well, they will cut that before the opener. We have some pretty exotic hairstyles in between when we get our pictures done and the first game. When we come back from Kenosha we'll look like Wildcats and we'll be ready to go. No, I'm high and tight but I'm not going to the mohawk."
On whether reaching the Rose Bowl remains a goal...
"You can't always control that. They do these rankings preseason and we haven't played a game yet, so that's out of our control. You get six wins and don't go to a bowl even though you are bowl eligible, that's out of your control. We need to take care of what's in our control. I think that's a great expectation, and hopefully we give ourselves an opportunity for that. Last year it only took nine wins to go to the Rose Bowl, that's not a perfect year although it's something special. Hopefully we'll put ourselves in a position for something like that."
