October 19, 2012

Strong: We cannot lose our focus




On USF:
"We know that South Florida (USF) is going to be another challenge for us because they are a team that is extremely talented with a lot of seniors. We cannot lose our focus, we have to execute, and we have to finish. We know each game is going to be like this in this league.

This league is very competitive with three undefeated teams including us, Cincinnati, and Rutgers. Temple is also playing well with their win over Connecticut.

We cannot worry about what is in front of us and we know we have to take each game at a time and this week we have to focus on South Florida."

On Senorise Perry's move from special teams to offense:
"Two years ago, we put Senorise in at defensive back after Johnny Patrick went down against Cincinnati and we could not get him to get up on the wide receiver. When he came off the field, he said, 'Coach I would like to go play running back.' So, we decided to give him a shot there because we were looking for help at running back after Bilal (Powell) left.

Jeremy Wright had gotten an injury in the spring, so we decided to put Senorise back there and he ran the ball very well against our defense. To see him go there with a four-touchdown performance and break off that 59-yard run was great. He is so fast that, if he gets a step on someone, he can out run them, plus he runs behind his pads and runs through defenders. He and Jeremy Wright are playing so well for us."

On Senorise Perry's vision and running ability:
"At practice, we remind him that he is faking when he does not need to because he sometimes fakes himself back into a defender.

That being said, he is a guy who can put his foot into the ground and get from point A to point B very quickly. If you look at his 59-yard run, the seam was not really there and he kept following the blocker and all of a sudden he gets a crease and is down the sideline.

I told him to tell the offensive line they were doing such a good job, because on three of those touchdowns, he never got touched at the point of attack. We were able to move defenders away and with the line opening up the holes."

On the performance of the offensive line:
"Coach Borbes (Dave Borbely) has done a great job. We started with Jamon (Brown), Jake Smith, Mario (Benavides), (John) Miller, and Kup (Alex Kupper). We lose Miller in one game and try to piece the line together by putting Kamran Joyer in there, who has played extremely well. We continue to put different guys in because we have 7-8 offensive linemen.

Coach Borbes gets them prepared and we just take it game by game. Our system is not that complicated and our guys know just to get a hat on a defender and move them out of the way."

If the running game is the key to the offense regardless of how well Teddy Bridgewater is playing:
"The running game is so critical to our offense, which is run and pass. We are a play-action bootleg team when we try to get the ball down the field.

In order for Teddy to have the games that he is having, we have to be able to run the football. As I said earlier, we are playing well on the offensive line and with our two running backs.

If you look at the start of the third quarter, we had such a good play-action with Teddy hiding the ball; they thought we were coming with the Iso (Isolation), and DeVante double-moves the defensive back and he is off to the races."

On South Florida's recent struggles:
"If you look at South Florida, they have anywhere from 20-23 seniors and a lot of those seniors are fifth-year guys, so the talent is there. It is all about them playing together.

Their quarterback, B.J. Daniels, runs and throws the ball very well, but what is key for them is playing and coming together. I have not been able to look at a lot of film and watch them, but it is hard to look a team and point out their issues. I would rather look at our own issues."

On his plan and conversations with Dominique Brown:
"I told him with the running back situation the way it is, we do not really need him because the other two (Senorise Perry and Jeremy Wright) are playing so well. If we can get through the season without playing him, then we can redshirt him."

On his halftime speech at Pitt:
"You do not want to hear the halftime speech. I told them that we have not played well and we can play better than we have. I told them that we cannot lose our focus and what we have to do is get back on track offensively and defensively. We have to get stops and get the ball back to our offense. That is not what we were doing in the first half.

On Pittsburgh's first drive, we had them to third down and their quarterback scrambles and we get beat on a corner route. That is just not acceptable.

On offense, we wasted two timeouts and we were not in tempo. Let's get the call and get to the line and run the play. There was no energy, and I told them we have to get it going here in the second half."

On their bowl eligibility:
"It feels good, because the last few years it has taken us to one of the last games to get bowl eligible. It feels good that we are playing so well. We are not even talking about just being bowl eligible; we are focused on the games we have remaining, and we know everything else will take care of itself."


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