Urban Meyer and Seniors Discuss the 2009 Senior Class and Florida State
Monday, November 23, 2009 | Football
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Head Coach Urban Meyer
On the senior class:
“I know it's well-documented, but I would like to list some of their accomplishments: Three All-Americans; five All-SEC; 12 Academic All-SEC honors; their record is 46-6, more wins than any class in the history of the Southeastern Conference; they are 27-5 in the SEC; 25-2 at home; 24-3 against ranked opponents; 11-1 against traditional rivals; a Heisman Trophy winner and a national Defensive Player of the Year; so I guess that's a decent recruiting class. I love these guys. It's going to be a tough week because we are facing a talented team and we have to do what we do. Our thing around here is we have to do what we do, and that is work extremely hard on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, prepare and exhibit competitive excellence on the field. That's our goal. We want to win this game, but we have to practice well. That's been proven here and around college football.”
On the '06 recruiting class:
“Who do you want to take out of that class? That's something I am very conscious about. There are two guys that are visible for us, deservedly so; but if you take Coop [Riley Cooper], [Jermaine] Cunningham or [Ryan] Stamper out of there, it just doesn't happen. I assure you if you take Ryan Stamper out of the recruiting class, then their accomplishments don't occur.”
On Ryan Stamper and David Nelson:
“Imagine being a parent of Ryan Stamper or David's family and looking back on their career. … They are going to graduate from Florida. They've got a great reputation here, and they got to experience a lot of things most people never get the chance to. I can't say it's been perfect, but I don't know if there's anything better than what those guys have done because they fought for it. Some guys walk in as starters, very rarely, but to see those guys fight through it with the right attitudes, the contributions on special teams and the big wins. David Nelson and Ryan Stamper are great testimonies to what college football, not just Florida, is all about.”
On Major Wright:
“Each guy has his own story, and we are not sitting here today with our record without them. That's what makes this team so special. Everyone is counting on each other. Major Wright is one of the top five players on this team. We can count on him in a lot of ways: special teams, motivation, leadership and character. He will be one the greatest Gators of all time.”
Senior DE Jermaine Cunningham
On the most memorable parts of the past 4 years:
“There are a lot of things that happened in my four years here but the most memorable part is probably my last year and graduating on December 18th.”
On the relationship with the team and Coach Meyer:
“We have a pretty good team and everybody loves Coach Meyer. I feel like this is the only place that I would want to be, and I couldn't think about being anywhere else. We have a saying here that the coach-player relationship should be second to none, and that really is the way that it is here. You've got great coaches and a great group of guys.”
Senior Athlete Brandon James
On his four years here at Florida:
“This has been a really great experience, just coming in my first year and being able to win a National Championship and now just playing with these guys for a chance to be undefeated in The Swamp has been a great experience.”
On the senior class and what they've accomplished:
“Coach Meyer actually just came up to me and said we were the winningest class in SEC history or something like that. That's big, and all the work we put in and everything we've been through just to come out and see it all put together like this and all the wins and all the accolades and all the championships and stuff is real big, and I feel like our class is real blessed.”
Senior WR David Nelson
On his relationship with Ryan Stamper and Jonathan Phillips:
“We definitely have a special bond going through all the things we've been through. We thought we had a solid class coming in as Coach Meyer's first class. We were a unique group of people. Coach Meyer wanted to keep the guys who he thought would last in this program and take it to new levels. We joke around about myself, Stamper and Phillips being the last guys from the class. It's kind of a special feeling to be one of a few guys remaining. It shows who we are and what we have been through to stick it out and get the program to where it is now. It really means a lot to us.”
On Saturday's emotions as his last day in The Swamp:
“It's going to be an emotional day for all the seniors involved. I'm sure it will be emotional for all the fans, a lot of tears in the stands. I'm sure Coach Meyer will be tearing up. We always take great pride playing in The Swamp. We've had a great record here. It is a beautiful stadium with great fans, a great environment, and it's our last opportunity to play in this great stadium.”
Senior LB Ryan Stamper
On the end of an era:
“I really don't think that it's going to be a totally different look. There are going to be a lot of big-time players leaving, but Florida recruits really well. Coach Meyer has recruited a lot of great players. Even though there are a lot of players leaving on defense and offense, next year we're still going to have a lot of the team still here like [Justin] Trattou, Lawrence Marsh, Terron Sanders, Brandon Hicks, Lorenzo Edwards, AJ Jones - three senior linebackers are still going to be here - Major Wright, Ahmad Black. There are still going to be a lot of veterans on the defense and offense so there are still going to be a lot of good times ahead of us.”
On how the time passed:
“It flew by. Sometimes I get emotional just thinking about that. I've been here five years and it's almost over. I've given five years of my life. It's all I know, Florida football. I just have to move on with my life. It's going to be sad, and I'm sure that a lot of other players feel the same way. But it happens every year, and every team has a senior class that they have to go through and move on, and we just have to remember that we have accomplished a lot of things while we were here.”
Senior QB Tim Tebow
On redshirt seniors Ryan Stamper and David Nelson:
“Everyone calls Stamper 'Dad.' Those guys, more so than even what they do on the field, those guys are so special to us for their leadership. Just their positive attitude, they're ones that every day go out and work with a good attitude, keeping guys' spirits up. Those are two guys who never complain, never bicker, never say anything negative, just absolutely have great attitudes and they lead other guys. When it's hot during two-a-days, during training, whenever we're running, they just always have great attitudes and they're making guys better because of their leadership, because they've been around for a while and they know how important it is, they know how much it means. That's the biggest thing that they bring to the team. And obviously they're playmakers, they step up, they make big plays for us and sometimes they go under the radar. But then you realize Stamper makes a play on fourth-and-two or third-and-two versus LSU, David Nelson comes up with a big pass touchdown versus Oklahoma. They come up with big plays because they're accountable and when their number's called they step up and make the big plays. They're not the most flashy guys, but when they have an opportunity in any situation, they always make the play. They're accountable, dependable guys, the guys you just have to have on your team to be able to succeed and win championships.”
On preparing for the emotions of Saturday's game:
“I'll try to prepare myself. I'm not going to think about it too much to be honest with you. It'll probably just happen. It will probably be pretty emotional, pretty exciting, overwhelming to say the least. I'm excited about it. Kind of sad it's my last opportunity, but also excited that it'll be that special of a moment, too.”
-UF-
