Football Media Day Quotes and Video
Tuesday, August 11, 2009 | Football
The Florida football team held its annual media day on Tuesday. Below are selected videos and quotes from various interviews that took place at the event.
GatorVision Videos- Urban Meyer
- Tim Tebow
- Brandon Spikes
- Steve Addazio
- Charlie Strong
- Chris Rainey
- Major Wright
- Ryan Stamper
- Dorian Munroe
- Aaron Hernandez
- Janoris Jenkins
Head Coach Urban Meyer
Opening Statement:
“Thanks for coming. We have our two non-padded [practices] out of the way, now we have our two with shoulder pads, defense as well as offense. We have some really good players whose attitudes are tremendous. We were not pleased with yesterday's practice. We're taking it one practice at a time. We've always done that just not quite with the same intensity as we have with this fall camp.”
On the expectations with so many defensive players coming back:
“We gave up a lot of yards last year. Relatively, I guess it's not that much, but I just think we all know we could do much better. Scoring [is] one thing our defense did very well. The National Championship game was a perfect example. We gave up some yards within the first half, but then we stopped. So our goal is to give a little bit more [and] not [be] so much [of a] 'Bend-but-don't-break' defense. I love the coaches. We have four coordinator-type coaches in the meeting room every day. I think that that unit can be really good, but it depends on who we're playing. If you look on our schedule, you'll see some really good offenses. I think they can be the best defense we've had in the past three years.”
On if his job is getting easier as head coach:
“I like my job a little better. Pat Dooley [of the Gainesville Sun] wrote a good article that came from my heart that was about comfort level and how the games go. With my boss, the University of Florida, with the players who we've all recruited now and we know their families and who they are – in that respect it's night and day. The comfort level of knowing where you live and that your family's going to take care of you. That's off the charts. With that comes the ridiculous expectations that we always have to deal with. I like my job a lot better than I did when I first got here. If your question is if it's easier the better players you have, I guess it is. Our job is to win games; the better your players are the more you win games.”
On if the team has reached a perpetual re-load point:
“I don't know about perpetual re-load. That's a pretty strong statement. We have a pretty good team coming back, and I can see the depth coming up through the ranks. But there's health, there's eligibility, there are all these things that we have to work to maintain. If we can stay healthy and do things the right way, we could have a good football team coming up in the next few years. If you look at the offensive line and the defensive line, you can see the depth that we didn't have before around here. Justin Trattou could sprain his foot at practice and there is another guy ready to jump in his place. This year, we are going to see a pretty big exit and we are going to lose some really valuable players. Last year, we only lost a small number of those kinds of players. We will find out even more next year as we keep going.”
On if he worries with the expectations of coming off National Championship:
“Absolutely, the expectations worry me, but people's expectations are not the pride of the program. The pride of the program is our players.”
On his increased notoriety as a head coach:
“I'll never forget my first year at Bowling Green in 2001, and I flipped through the pre-season magazines and there was Bowling Green ranked 110th in the nation. We went to Media Day, and I would sit there for a while and no one was too interested. Do I miss those days? Sometimes. I'm very humbled by where we are at now but it really makes you think.”
On going undefeated:
“I'm hoping you don't hear them talk about it very much. I think sometimes what happens is that these young guys get baited into making comments like that. That is certainly not one of our goals. Absolutely not. Our goal is to get to Atlanta, and that's it.”
On believing the players' commitment to leadership:
“I think that there are two ways to believe in something. One is to witness it and the other is to have faith in it. I've witnessed the leadership on this team. I saw it in the fourth quarter against Alabama. So what makes me think those kids can lead this team? I've seen it. I experienced halftime at the National Championship game, where I saw a lot of things that you guys didn't see. That was behind-the-scenes leadership. I saw Brandon Spikes today at practice, so I've witnessed it. I've seen young guys like Justin Trattou, Joe Haden and Major Wright take their leadership to the next level this summer. I have faith that many of them will do it and I've witnessed it in some other players. Those young juniors that are coming up are ready to be great players and great people.”
On if the season would be a failure without a National Championship title:
“At this point, I can't say it would. I don't know about injuries and I don't yet know everything about this team. I think I have an idea, but it's early yet. I can't answer that right now, but I can tell you that I have extremely high expectations of this team.”
On QB John Brantley and his potential:
“Johnny Brantley did very well at practice today. At this point in time, he will play meaningful minutes in games. He is starting to earn that right. Unless he starts to hit reverse on the practice field, in which case we would back off. Johnny has to be ready to go and he's starting to really impress people.”
On the learning experience of winning the National Championship in 2006:
“I learned a lot following that one. But that was an entirely different team with an entirely different makeup. I think that it's just so completely different. We learned a lot of lessons that year about coaching. I did find a big difference in the offseason following the championship. It was just completely crazy around here after the 2006 win. We lost focus, and I take a lot of blame for that. With all these things going on and staff members doing different things, we just tried to keep it very basic this time around. Just keeping people focused on what they need to be doing and not all those other things that come with a National Championship win. If I could do 2007 again, I would. But so far I'm very pleased with our approach in 2009.”
Offensive Coordinator Steve Addazio
On the offensive line:
“Yesterday and today were particularly good days. Like anything, once you get started it's a process. We want them to gel together more, but we saw some signs of life, and that is encouraging. It's hard to get five guys you can feel great about all the time. I think they will all be great football players. Xavier Nixon is strong, physical, athletic, and he has a great presence. Jon Harrison came in as a powerful and explosive guy. When he plays fast, he can be quite dynamic. Kyle Koehne plays hard and has the power he needs. He is doing a great job at center. Jon Halapio is a thick and raw powerful guy. I love Nick Alajajian's demeanor and the way he attacks football. He comes in and works hard. They are all very smart people. When you're smart, you can absorb faster and play better football.”
On QB John Brantley:
“Johnny is ready to go. He really is. Training camp is all about getting reps, working on your toolbox, and being ready to go. We have great confidence in him. He's got a swagger. He can run our playbook. We will adjust and tweak things for what our guys do best. John is a really good athlete. He's buffed up and has got speed. He's a guy that plays the game the way you want people to play it. We will definitely have the ability to utilize everyone with John.”
On CB Joe Haden possibly taking some snaps:
“You never know. We will get the ball to guys who are dynamic. Joe is dynamic, for sure. He's got a great change in direction, great acceleration, great speed, and he throws the ball well. He did all of those things in high school. He is no stranger to those things.”
On TE Aaron Hernandez:
“They all have to be good early. We saw that last year. Football is a fast-paced game. Aaron is a dynamic player and we saw what he could do as we moved through the season. He can make the hard catches as a wide receiver, you can get the ball in his hands as a tailback, and he can block at the point. It's hard to find guys like that throughout the country. He's a unique guy. He's athletic and powerful.”
On losing Percy Harvin:
“We have recruited well and have dynamic guys to fill roles. We have the fastest guys in the country. Brandon James has proven he is very dynamic. He can play at the receiver or he can take handoffs. Jeff Demps also can move around and do lots of things with the ball. We have the dynamic personnel at key positions, but we also have them throughout our lineup. Our guys have 'Wow' factor.”
On becoming a head coach one day:
“I am the luckiest guy in the country to be the offensive coordinator at the University of Florida. I work for the best coach in America. I am happy and grateful to be here. What's meant to happen will happen. All of my energy and focus every day is trying to be the very best. I really love what I'm doing and don't want to let anyone down. I feel that responsibility to The Gator Nation.”
Defensive Coordinator Charlie Strong
On the defense's impressive depth:
“Having depth is always a good thing. I was talking with Chuck Heater, Dan McCarney and Vance Bedford and even with all of our coaching experience, none of us have ever had a team with this type of depth. The main thing at this point is to continue to work hard. Even though we have all of our guys back from last year, we have to continue to get better with each day. Our players understand this, and they understand the expectations that they will face this year.”
On how this year's defense can improve from last year's performance:
“Last year, I don't think we were a dominating defense. We would let some teams drive the ball on us, but somehow we would find a way to make the big play by forcing a turnover or making a key stop. We want to get better at preventing those long drives and becoming a more dominating defense.”
On the linebackers:
“What's great about the linebacker position is that you have them all back with a leader in Brandon Spikes. We have Ryan Stamper back. We have A.J. Jones and Brandon Hicks, who should be battling for a position. We have a young Jelani Jenkins and Jon Bostic. It will be key for them to watch the upperclassmen and learn from them. Their opportunity will come. When Spikes was a freshman, we had Brandon Siler who he could learn and work with. When it was Spikes' turn, he was able to step in and help us. Everyone understands that the best players are going to play.”
On using competition for playing time to defeat complacency:
“What is great is that the players understand that if they don't prepare well, they don't practice well, then they aren't going to play. We have recruited well over the last few years and have managed to get some really good football players. Our staff has done a really good job at developing these players as well. If you look at our team a year ago, we got ridiculed for our game against Michigan. Then, at the start of last year we had Terron Sanders show up, Lawrence Marsh show up and Ahmad Black show up. All of those guys were developed and they became really good football players and key members of our improved defense last season. What we can't allow happen is to look back to last season and not fully coach up our players just because they have made plays in games in the past. It is our duty as coaches to make sure that each day our players are getting better.”
On S Ahmad Black:
“He played as a freshman on special teams. He might not have been the first one down on kickoff coverage, but he made every tackle. We felt that he was a player, but we were not sure about what position he would play. At first we had him at corner, then Dorian [Munroe] gets hurt and we were able to plug him in there at safety.”
On expectations:
“I'd be very disappointed if the defense this year is not better than last year. With what we have coming back, I think that we would all be disappointed. I think our team understands that, our football players understand that. They know exactly what the expectations are for them.”
On being ranked No. 1:
“Our guys realize where we were voted. That doesn't change much as far as we are concerned. If we were voted number five, we would work just as hard as we are going to now. If we were five, we would work hard to get up to number one. Since we are number one, we have to go out and work to maintain our ranking. That is the thing about our guys, they want to be good, and when you want to be good then you are going to work hard to maintain your level.”
On DE Carlos Dunlap:
Carlos is a very good player. The expectations for him are the same as for everyone else. We expect everyone to play well, no matter who it is. We don't as a staff target one player to play well. We make sure the defense is playing well as a complete unit.”
On LB Jelani Jenkins:
“He's a freshman, and what we do with freshman right now is throw it all at them. With a veteran group coming back, we can install a lot of different things. With the young kids, we've been at it for three or four days now and their heads are spinning from trying to take it all in.”
On LB Ryan Stamper:
“What makes him so special is that the players respect him so much. If you were to ask anyone on our football team, 'Who is the one person on this team that you respect?' it would be Ryan Stamper. He's a guy that cares about the rest of the guys on this team. He's a very special player.”
On leadership:
“Leadership is when a player inspires the players around him to play above their abilities. Brandon Spikes can do that. Ryan Stamper is the same way. Both are leaders of our defense. When a player like Brandon Spikes tells other member of our defense 'It's time to go play' or 'It's time to roll,' guys understand that and respond positively to it. Spikes is a vocal leader, while Stamper is not. He is more of a lead-by-example type of guy. That's what is important to remember, leadership is not always about being vocal. Major Wright leads by example. Joe Haden is another example of a player that is not particularly vocal, but leads by example.”
Junior Safety Ahmad Black
On his goal with this team:
“The same as any other safety, to be a reliable guy back there, get the trust in our linebackers and defensive line and the rest of the team and head coach to get out there and perform.”
On whether or not other comments motivate him:
“I just go out and play football. I'm going to go out there and play my hardest. Being out there keeps me motivated, being around the guys and being a competitor.”
Sophomore Running Back Jeff Demps
On being a two-sport athlete:
“Anyone can get out on the field as long as they go hard and take this seriously. I made it tougher on myself in the weight room. I needed to gain weight after track season. I've been eating more to put on some weight for football. Track made me more explosive.”
On the competition the team will face this year:
“We know we have a target on our backs. The coaches have kept us working hard. Anyone can get better. Every day I step on the practice field, I do whatever the coaches ask me to do.”
Junior Cornerback Joe Haden
On the possibility of playing a few plays at quarterback:
“I definitely expect it to happen now. I've been practicing at it every day after practice with Coach [Scot] Loeffler. We practice run plays, pass plays and going through my drops. We usually do this after practice is over when everyone else has gone in. They are making sure to keep everything real simple for me.”
On what he can still learn about defense:
“As far as learning the defenses go, not too much. It's still just learning and improving my techniques.”
On becoming a leader:
“I took a leadership position last year as a sophomore since we were really young, especially in the secondary. Major [Wright] and I really tried to lead by example for the other guys. I had to take on the leadership role a little earlier than most players. Now, we are just trying to teach the young guys as much as we can. My style is to lead by example, so I show that by giving a lot of effort, and so far they have been following pretty well.”
Junior Tight End Aaron Hernandez
On practice against the defense:
“During practice, we run the shovel pass play a few times against the defense and we get them on it here and there. The defense knows all of our plays, and it makes us work that much harder to beat them. I can't miss one block against them because they know the play and know how to stop it. The competition makes us a much better offense.”
On his relationship with Coach Meyer:
“Urban helped me get through [losing my father], and that is one of the main reasons that I decided on coming here. He is a great guy and has helped me get through a lot of things in my life. My papa always told me to be the best ever, and Coach tells me all the time, 'Go get that dream your dad wanted.' He always keeps me motivated, and I look up to him like a father figure.”
Junior Offensive Lineman Maurkice Pouncey
On becoming a leader:
“We had senior leaders leave. They would come out every day and motivate us. It's our job to take the next step. We need to be those guys to come out and show the young guys the ropes, motivate them and get them ready to play. We just want to go out every day and be the best players we can be.”
On Tim Tebow being talked about among the greatest college football players ever:
“We've seen Tebow live and in person. His field play is outstanding. He lives the right life. In any situation that goes down, he's always there for you and will talk to you. Everyone has seen him play, but he's a great guy, too.”
Junior Offensive Lineman Mike Pouncey
On becoming a leader:
“The more you play, the more the younger guys will look up to you. We have big shoes to fill. The harder we play, the more they will follow you. We lifted throughout the spring and have been working every day to get better.”
Senior Linebacker Brandon Spikes
On the possibility of a third national championship:
“It is a dream come true. Lots of college kids come to school dreaming of championships. I am a fortunate guy; things have been good. We can't get complacent. We have the chance to win three national championships and rewrite history. Not too many guys can say they won even one. We have a lot of things in front of us. We have to take it one game at a time.”
On returning for his senior season:
“The chance to rewrite history and be remembered forever – to go out and do it, to go down in history as one of the greatest teams ever. Tim [Tebow] coming back was big for me. I knew he was going get the offensive guys ready to do their part. He's the captain of the offense, and I'm the captain of the defense.”
On team chemistry:
“Being around the guys all the time, I look at them as brothers. We kid around a lot. Coach Meyer always says, 'Look around. It won't always be like this everywhere you go.' It may not be like this at the next level. I'm thankful the guys came back ready to work. The offseason was the hardest we've been through. The older guys came back ready to work, stayed level-headed, and were just ready to get better.”
Senior Quarterback Tim Tebow
On improving this offseason:
“Our goals for the offseason were to get bigger, faster, and stronger, but also to build chemistry. The strengths of our team right now are chemistry and the leadership. The attitude of guys improving, spending time together, and training has been great.”
On who motivates and leads the team leaders:
“Our position coaches, Coach [Charlie] Strong and Coach [Vance] Bedford, lead us. Coach [Urban] Meyer is the number one leader for me. We talk several times a day. His attitude towards the game, improving, and making a difference every day is why I think he's a good leader.”
On desiring to become a great team:
“Absolutely! There is a huge desire by everyone on this team to be great. Not only to be great, but to have a standard of excellence that everyone lives up to is our goal. Every year we want to be great, but I think this year everyone really means and believes it with everyone deep down in their heart.”
On QB John Brantley:
“I have a really strong relationship with Johnny B. He's one of my closest friends on the team. We hang out all the time. I try to encourage him overall with his leadership, being more out-spoken. He works hard and does all the right things. I'm very excited for him and the things he will do here. I'm a big fan.”
