What Army is saying

[Zipmeister]

source: goarmysports.comWeekly Press Conference Quotes (8-28-07)The following quotes have been excerpted from Army head football coach Stan Brock’s press conference, held Tuesday, August 28, 2007, in the Randall Hall auditorium.Army Head Coach Stan Brock“We had 25 practices, basically our training camp and we feel very comfortable with where we are and what we have been doing.”(Ref.: starting quarterback)“We felt like that competition was something that we carried through the spring and into training camp and it happened like we hoped it would. David Pevoto won the job; it wasn’t that Carson (Williams) lost it. We feel very comfortable with that decision and feel very comfortable with both of those quarterbacks.”(Ref.: Akron)“I don’t think Akron is much unlike us. They just named their starting quarterback and they have two that were competing. From that standpoint, there are a lot of similarities. Offensively, they are looking at some new things as well as we are. Defensively, they run a 3-5-3 defense. They are talented. They have great motors, in other words they don’t stop. They work very hard all the time. We have seen that evident in all the film we have watched. Special teams, I think they have some question marks similar to what we have. It’s going to be two teams playing against each other in that first game when you don’t have a lot of information. We are going to have to go in and figure it out while we’re out there.”(Ref.: installation of new offense)“Right now, against Army, it works OK. We still have to see. We started working on that last spring and have worked very hard to get some of the things installed. We installed some additional things during the training camp period. Now, probably for the last week or so, we have been trying to polish those things. It’s not like anything else. We don’t get a preseason game to try it out, see where we are. We’re going to have to base everything off of how we look against each other. Right now, we’re pleased with where we are.”(Ref.: quarterback situation)“I don’t want to have anyone playing this game feeling like they are on a short leash or have a gun to their head. You have to go out there and play and play with a lot of confidence. A lot of things happen for different reasons. To people in the stands, the quarterback gets the worst of it. If a quarterback throws an interception everyone thinks it was a bad pass. A lot of different things can go into it why a position doesn’t look like they are playing well. We’ll evaluate the players and if they are struggling and I don’t think they can come out of it, I will substitute for them. David is our starting quarterback and we feel very confident in him.”(Ref.: quarterback competition)“Really what it came down to was a consistency level. It is something we look for, something we chart. The fact that he (David) had a better training camp than Carson was the biggest reason we made this decision.”(Ref.: running backs)“We’ll start Wesley McMahand as our running back but like I said all along, we are going to attack by committee. It just depends how the game flows. If we have the opportunity to continue to run the ball and do things we want, I would like for them all to get a lot of carries. If one back is doing a great job and everything is rolling, I will leave him in the game. Right now, our running backs are five-foot-seven and you could bring them in here and they are all cut out of the same mold. They all have great motors, work very hard and take a lot of pride in what they do. I’m happy with them and can’t predict how many carries they will get, it just depends on how the game goes.”(Ref.: first game as head coach)“It will never be another game. This is the first game for a lot of us. It is what it is. It’s our opening game. We probably won’t realize the magnitude of being there until we arrive in Cleveland. We are all anxious. We are all ready to get on a plane and get off post and go play a game and see where we stand. Once we get there and get into the stadium and the kids settle down, it will be special. It will be special for a lot of us.”(Ref.: emotions in first game)“By Saturday, I will be fine. Right now, my emotions are kind of weird. I’m ready to play a game now. I’m keeping those emotions in check. I have a great coaching staff and I have talked to them about it. I’m getting ready just like I’m playing a game. Once we get there and get into it, I will be fine. I’m pretty jacked up now.”(Ref.: wide receivers and use of tight end)“Jeremy (Trimble) is a big part of what we do. Damion Hunter, a sophomore, has some speed and we feel good with the things he does. Michael Wright has some size. We have some different looks from our offense, from our receivers, and we’re excited about that. Our tight end in this offense is invaluable. We’ll use two tight ends, three tight ends at times. We really feel comfortable that our tight ends are pretty good and I’m happy we have them. We’ll use them as an extra linemen, we’ll use them as receivers as well.”(Ref.: special teams and new rule changes)“It’s going to have some affect in that more balls will be returned. There aren’t too many kickers who can kick it out of the end zone. Something you have to be aware of then is if the ball is kicked out of bounds, where the spot is. That will be a big thing; you have to keep that ball in bounds. You could have to re-kick and back them up to the 25 and have them re-kick. I think it will have a positive influence. I don’t think there are a lot of guys in the NCAA who can kick it out of the end zone without it being wind-aided. We feel very comfortable with Owen Tolson. He will get it down there deep and give us certain hang time so we can cover it.”(Ref.: punt team)“(Owen) has the ability to do all three. His punting is outstanding. He has great hang time, he can keep that thing in the air for over five seconds and get good distance. We are very happy. We have talked about doing a lot of different things and having a guy like that allows us to do a lot of things that maybe we couldn’t have done in the past Adam DeMarco will be our extra point and field goal kicker and we feel very good comfortable with that as well. ”(Ref.: Caleb Campbell)“I don’t know when you’re a hundred percent but he’s good to go. We’ve kind of kept him in check all through training camp and kept him in a blue jersey, mostly to protect against himself. He is one of those high motor guys and he likes to stick his nose in there. He had a good camp and we feel good with where he is and his progress through his rehabilitation.”(Ref.: injuries)“Right now, we feel good. I don’t think we’re any worse or better than 90% of the teams playing football. I have always said the first day of camp is the best you will feel for the rest of the season. You will have little nicks and bruises everywhere. We don’t have anything we haven’t planned for and anyone we don’t think won’t be ready for the season.”(Ref.: state of Army football)“I feel very confident in the fact that (Superintendent) Lt. Gen. Hagenbeck and the whole leadership team we have here at West Point are all on board with this. From faculty to the Corps of Cadets, I think they have done a great job with all the information they have brought in and all the changes they talked about making and the ones they have made.”(Ref.: recruiting at a service academy)“In my opinion, the academic standards we have at West Point are the first thing we go over. We are the United States Military Academy and we will not change our academic standards. We’re very proud of that. We know the group of kids we are going after academically are probably more narrow that some of the other schools. As far as the other academies go, we compete against those. I am very proud of the kids that do come here. They tend to stand “boots on the ground”. Those are the kinds of kids that I like coaching and I like being around. I think that is a very positive thing. The kids that we have here, I wouldn’t swap them for anybody.”(Ref.: return to the wishbone offense)“It was at one time (a wishbone offense) and I have seen coaches get fired for running the wishbone from here. I think the offense you run needs to be an offense that doesn’t turn the ball over. You have to execute. I don’t care what you call them. Call them west coast offense, run and gun, any of those things, you just have to execute.”(Ref.: team speed)“You can always be faster, always want to be bigger, stronger, faster. I think we’re better than where we’ve been in the past. I think we’ll continue to get better. Our prep school has some speed down there and I think some of our freshman will be much faster than some of are seniors. I feel like we’re heading in the right direction.”(Ref.: Akron)“I think we’ll be 50-50. They have three down lineman, three linebackers and one other guy who plays in a linebacker position who is a safety and then three deep cover guys. They move people around, bring a lot of pressure. They are very well coached and play with a great deal of intensity. From a defensive standpoint, they are solid. We’ve seen this kind of defense. Air Force used to run this kind of defense, so we have seen a little bit of it but it’s not the normal defense you see everyday. Offensively, we’re not sure what they are going to do. They have a new coordinator there. One of the position coaches has taken over the coordinating job and they were talking about making some changes, doing some things different. We’re not really sure what we’re going to see. We’ll go in with our basic defense plan and line up and get ready to play.”(Ref.: Army defense)“The defensive line I think is really solid. We knew coming in our defense was going to be the strength of this team. They are returning the most starters and really, they are the group that has played together the longest. We had some questions at linebacker but I think we got those answered in the spring time. We’re very happy with our linebacking corps. Defensive line, we’re probably as deep as we’ve ever been. We’re two, quite possible three deep across the defensive line and we’ve never had that before, with kids who can really play. Our corners are doing a great job, have some speed and can cover. Our safeties, I couldn’t be happier. They are hard-hitting guys who can play the run and cover when they need to. We’re very excited about our defense.”(Ref.: David Pevoto)“When you look at what David has been through: he came in here and backed up Zac Dahman for a couple of years. Then he was a starter, struggled and a freshman was put in in front of him. He continued to work hard and support Carson. The opportunity to play against Notre Dame and Navy passed him by. Then losing his head coach and bringing in a new guy, he has to trust you. I told him I would let him compete and they did. It speaks volumes about David and the way he was raised and his attitude and how he is. The fact that he continued to work, even though Carson took all the snaps with the first group in the spring, says a lot. He fought his way through it and studied and worked hard in the spring. Not only on the field but in the classroom, in the weight room and running and all those necessary places he had to work. He kept working and it paid off. He was a very consistent quarterback through all of training camp and he actually went out and got the job, took it away.”FB Collin Mooney(Ref.: entering the season opener)“I feel really prepared and ready to go. I think we match up personnel wise really well with Akron. Our game plan looks really good and the new stuff in our playbook works even better than the old stuff. We’re ready to hit some people other than our own guys.”DB Caleb Campbell(Ref.: entering the season opener)“This is exciting. This is what we work so hard for all off-season and in the preseason. (Ref.: his knee injury)“I was anxious to get back on the field. The coaches kept me out of things initially but my knee feels great now and I think it is because of the slow process. I’ll be honest with my knee because I don’t want to hurt anything else. You have to differentiate between being injured and just being in pain and I think I’m doing pretty good with that now.”(Ref.: Akron receiving corps)“Akron has some tall receivers that run really well so our safeties are going to have to be on the top of our game.”(Ref.: playing in an NFL stadium) “I’ve never been to a NFL game but I love the atmosphere. It’s just another stadium to me though.”WR Jeremy Trimble(Ref.: preseason camp)“We’ve had a strong preseason camp and I think we just need to tighten some things up and well be ready to go.”(Ref.: QB David Pevoto)“I’m not surprised about David. I feel good about him. We worked really well all summer.”(Ref.: keys for opener)“We have to minimize turnovers and play hard for 60 minutes.”FB Mike Viti(Ref.: entering the season opener)“Of course I’m excited. It’s been a buildup since after Navy last season and hiring coach Brock. I’m excited about the new offense. First games always come down to how well you can execute fundamentals and I think we are ready to do that.”QB David Pevoto(Ref.: being named the starter)“I feel good. I think were all ready to go forward this week. We had a meeting on Sunday. Basically, I went into it having no idea who was going to be the starter. I felt we made it a tough call for the coaches. They basically told me I was starting and to start acting like a starter.”(Ref.: Why do you think you were named the starting quarterback?)“I played really well in the spring and in the fall camp and I think I did a lot of things the coaches wanted me to do. I’m not forcing the ball anymore. I’m really taking control of the ball, making sure I know where I’m throwing it.(Ref.: coaches vs. team confidence)“Having the teammates’ confidence is almost more important than having the coaches’ confidence because they are the ones out there on the field with me.” (Ref.: Akron defense)“Akron will be tough. They have very athletic linebackers and a very good secondary all returning and the defensive line is big and strong, but I think we have a good game plan going in and I think we can come out with the win.”RB Wesley McMahand(Ref.: being the starting running back)“It feels good to be the first one of the backs out on the field. It’s an honor. I want to set the tone for the rest of the team. My role as the starter is to be with one to make plays. I’m confident that if I get tired or hurt we have a solid group of guys that can step in.”(Ref: Pevoto named the starter)“Both quarterbacks are great, you can’t go wrong. Dave brings leadership and experience and a comfort level we like to play with. I think he’ll do a great job.”(Ref.: season opener)“I’m real excited for the first game just to see how the offense is going to progress. I think this offense really takes advantage of our strengths as a group.” (Ref.: preseason camp)“Camp was very positive. We got a lot of good work done and I feel very confident because we have a lot of great players and a lot of depth. It feels like there is a new energy here.”