University of Tennessee Athletics
Head Coaches' Press Conference Transcript
September 19, 2000 | Football
Comments from Tennessee Head Coach Phillip Fulmer:
"I was really proud of our football team yesterday for bouncing back and having energy on the practice field. They had their heads up and seemingly were in the mood to go and get better as a team. Theres no way in the world to replace a lost opportunity or chance to get a win. At the same time, our kids believed they had played hard and played up to our abilities at this point and just did not get the win. They understand that life is not always perfect, the way you want it to be. Adversity is a way to learn and grow and get better, whether in football or life. I think theyve taken that to heart. If yesterday is any example, theyre ready for our next challenge.
"Louisiana-Monroe is that challenge. We look at this game and our intent is to continue to play aggressively and with excitement, and hopefully improve in the areas we need to improve in. We need to be smarter in some of the things we need to get better. We need to grow on both sides of the ball with our offense and defense, with the youth we have in the offensive line, at quarterback and in the secondary. We look forward to this challenge and the challenge of the rest of the season.
"Weve been a good team before and I think this team is on track to being a good team. Were certainly not there yet. Im appreciative of the attitudes of a couple of guys who are moving around to help us. With Neil Johnson being out and being one snap away if John Finlayson were to get hurt, were looking at Jason Witten at tight end. He was willing to go over there and help, whether it be short-term or long-term. Right now, were talking shortterm. Its the same with Mark Jones. Mark jumped right over there in the secondary and well get him in the mix, mostly thinking nickel back, but hell also play some corner for us. Hell give us a little more flexibility in what were looking at doing.
"As you look at Louisiana-Monroe, they are not an outstanding team, but not a bad team either. They have some good people in front and at linebacker. Their scheme will present some different challenges to our offensive team and particularly to the quarterback and the offensive line. We got a good start on that yesterday and hope to continue to get a good plan in place coming up for this coming week.
"Offensively, they present you a number of different problems. They run from open sets and have a very athletic quarterback whos tough as can be. They have a tough running back and a couple of wide receivers who can make plays. They have a good-sized and physical offensive line. There are challenges there to be met. Their scheme is going to require a lot of work and discipline on our part to be able to get ourselves in positions where we can make plays. They have the ability to spread you out and then run the football. Were going to have to do a really good job of lining up and adjusting to the formations and motions they give you.
"Before Im asked, I talked with Bobby Gaston this morning and Bobby and I disagree on the management of some of those situations which came up in the Florida game. We handled it procedurally and theres nothing we can do about it anyway. Its all behind us. Its unfortunate you have things like that that come up. I appreciate the professional approach they take and the job the officials do, for the most part. Sometimes things like this happen."
Comments from Louisiana-Monroe Head Coach Bobby Keasler:
- Comment on your teams performance last week.
"We came back and played well in the second half. I thought we were a little flat in the first half. We got in the red zone several times and came away with nothing and that concerns me. Being 0-2, we needed a victory. It was good to have that." - Comment on the young talent on your team.
"When we took over the program a year ago, the problem we had was depth. We started with the young guys and brought them in here. We were a little late trying to start recruiting out of junior college to give us some immediate help. These young guys are very talented and will be good for us down the road. At this point, we are players 38 sophomores or young on this team. The future looks good, but right now were awfully young." - Comment on your improvement in the first
games to now.
"We played Minnesota and scored first. We must have made them mad. We were playing them pretty good and all of a sudden in the second half we give away 24 points in the kicking game. Were awfully young in those areas, but we did make some improvements. The same thing happened to us in Memphis. We got a punt blocked because of some youth in some areas. Were getting better each week, but were kicking with a true freshman punter. We have some growing pains with some young people." - Comment on your quarterback situation.
"Andy was a redshirt freshman last year for us. I thought he played very well last week. Hes going to be our trigger guy. Hes playing well. Hes taken a lot of beatings. I think hes going to be good for us in the future. Hes a real tough kid. Hes a sophomore now and has 13 games under his belt. We need to build up the talent level around him. We feel good about him." - Comment on your defense.
"Weve lost two linebackers the last couple of weeks and moved up two freshmen there. Were still going to try to protect them if we possibly can. They need the year of growth. Well get one of the linebackers back next week and that will give us five to finish up the season. That has been a chore, losing some good football players to injuries." - What are your thoughts about Tennessee?
"Tennessee has an excellent team and an excellent program. Its been known for many, many years as a tough place to go play. Its quite a crowd. Its a shame that somebody had to lose that game last week. They fought so darn hard. Were looking forward to the trip. It will be a great experience for our players, our coaching staff and the fans we bring with us. We want to see if we can improve as a team, realizing who Tennessee is. Theyre a super football team and we know who we are. We want to make sure we come out of there and dont lose anybody else. Its a great experience for our football program especially our young kids. Were looking forward to playing Tennessee."
