2009 Southland Conference Football Media Day Quotes
Central Arkansas Head Coach Clint Conque
On Momentum from the 10-2 Season
“We certainly carried a lot of momentum and a lot of energy into recruiting and the offseason. We feel like we recruited as well athletically as we have. The offseason went very smoothly and in the summer program, we feel like we hit a home run, as far as attitude, participation and work ethic.”
On Strength of Defense
“On paper, we have nine starters back, plus our nose guard (Uriah Perry) who started 11 games in 2007. We have a lot of depth, a lot of athleticism and a lot of experience. I think we have a chance over there. Of course, the offenses in this league are extremely prolific and productive, so if you’re going to compete for championships, you have to play defense. It’s going to be very important that we compete at a high level on the defensive side, create short fields, more scoring opportunities, while our offense can get some continuity and confidence. Our defense is going to need to be a cornerstone for us to have success, from the beginning to the end.
On Offensive Holes to Fill
“Experience up front is hard to come by and starters Brad Gordon and Jeremy Ford started a bunch of games for us. And Boomer Cunningham played an awful lot all along the offensive line. We have some questions to answer, some holes to fill in that area, but we think we have some guys who can come in and compete and fill those holes.”
Senior Defensive End Larry Hart
“We have great chemistry and great experience on the defensive side and we’re expecting big things again. We have a lot of senior leadership on defense and a lot of competition. We have a lot of good players so expectations are high. We have had a great offseason and are excited about what we can do this year.”
“We will definitely step up and help take some pressure off the offense early since they are not quite as experienced as we are on defense. But regardless, our expectations won’t change. We feel like if teams don’t score, they can’t win, so we’re definitely going to try to put the clamps down. Whether the offense is scoring or not, we still have to do our job. We don’t have any problem doing that.”
“We’re excited about what we did last year and it’s definitely carried over. We have 95 percent of our team here for summer workouts and our guys are really excited and pumped up. We have high expectations to come out and do just as well as we did last year.”
Senior Offensive Tackle Lane Freiwald
“We’re a little less experienced (on offense) but we’re still excited going into the season. We have three senior offensive linemen, three senior running backs, some great skill players with experience. We lost a lot of guys on offense but we still have the quality players for us to still have a great offense.”
“I hope the defense can be as dominant as we think it can be. For them to be able to take a couple of points off the board for us would be great.”
“I think winning last year has motivated us even more for this season. We’ve been there before and we know what it’s like to be winners. It kind of fuels you going into the next season, to try to repeat and try to be there at the end again.”
“It’s all about hard work and dedication, those are always the keys. Our experience will help, but the hard work and dedication will be what makes it another great season.”
Lamar Head coach Ray Woodard
On what process he has taken in building the personnel for the 2010 season
“We didn’t feel like we could play our first year with a team full of freshmen and redshirt freshmen so we are probably hitting the junior colleges a little harder than we might five years from now. We signed 11 junior college players and got two (FBS) transfers in so if we do that again next year we will take the field with 20-25 ‘older’ players to go along with what we hope to be a good freshman and redshirt freshman class.”
On the selling points he has presented to prospective student-athletes
“Being part of the building process, part of the history of bringing football back and being able to tell their kids that they were part of the first team, the first win and the first graduating class. I think being part of making history is something that has appealed to the young kids. ”
On selling the Southland Conference and its success on the Football Championship Subdivision stage
“Our student-athletes are all very familiar with every team in the league and they know the competition level will be very strong. A lot of them have aspirations of playing in the NFL and they know that the NFL teams will be evaluating talent from this league. We are fortunate with where we are in the middle of the Southland Conference.”
On the progress of the facilities at Lamar
“Well, it’s very exciting. Everything we have going on (on campus) is a work in progress. We are building like crazy and every day you see something different whether it be the field turf, the stadium or the athletic complex. “The first thing is the artificial surface. It will be done within a month as our guys report in mid-August. They have gutted all of the bleachers in the stadium and the new 44,000-square foot athletic complex has gotten underway with the removal of Higgins Field House (at the south end of the stadium). And we are transforming our one existing practice field into two fields with the excavated dirt from the playing surface below the turf. And all of this is going on at the same time. So it’s almost a $30 million commitment from the university so that is a very big deal for our athletic department and football program.”
On the excitement from campus and the community
“We will have anywhere from 30-35 walk-ons from the student body be part of the first team which will only add to the student involvement. All around town the excitement level had been through the roof. If one-tenth of the people that say they will purchase season tickets do, we will be sold out in no time because they have been waiting for this for so long.”
McNeese State Head coach Matt Viator
Commenting on keys to the upcoming season for the Cowboys to return to championship play
“To start with we have to stay healthy and that’s something that we really haven’t had the last couple of years. Then the development of our offensive line. We’re talented there but we are young. We need to have more consistency in the kicking game. The last thing that we’re looking at is to develop an identity on defense. We played some good games on defense last year and some games not so good.”
Senior Tight End Wes Mangan
“I really like catching the ball because I played wide receiver in high school. But, I was only about 200 pounds in high school. I came here, gained weight and moved to tight end. Now, I like to block as much as I like to catch a pass.”
Senior Linebacker Deron Minor
“Defensively, we have to have more consistency with our play. We are all going to have to step up. I think that my role will be to play as good as I can and lead by example.”
Nicholls Head Coach Jay Thomas
About the upcoming season
“I think there is a lot of excitement surrounding our program this year. A lot of our young men have the potential to accomplish some great things as individuals and most importantly as a team. We will just need the experience and game time action and scenarios that we cannot teach in practice. We have a lot to look forward to, and I know our coaching staff and team is looking forward to 2009.”
About last season
“We had to deal with a lot of adversity last year with back-to-back hurricanes that caused problems for our schedule, ultimately cancelling the first two games. Having to overcome that to start the season was hard, very tough on our players and coaching staff. But, as you seen once we got some actual game time in, we rattled off consecutive wins over Top-25 ranked teams. That is just the character of our team, and our never give up attitude.”
About the offense
“The offense will feature a lot of fresh faces, especially at quarterback, and we will rely heavily on our offensive line and running backs for leadership. Heading into this season, our experience in those two areas is what we will use to guide us into our opening game at Air Force.”
About the defense
“It will be different without Lardarius Webb back there, but I really feel as a core that our defensive backs will be stout. We have three seniors with a tremendous amount of game time experience, and overall have a lot of seasoned players on the defensive side of the ball. I expect a learning curve, but not too much of one.”
About special teams
“We are very fortunate to have, in my opinion, one of the best punters in the nation in Patrick Dolan. He was named a preseason All-American, but it doesn’t stop there. Ross Schexnayder had a great junior year last year, and we are confident in him this season. Our return game will be without the homerun threat Lardarius Webb, but I think we will surprise some people this season with our speed in that area.”
Senior Defensive Back Dominique Daniels
“The team is very anxious to get on the field. The past two seasons, I have had the opportunity to play with two NFL players (Kareem Moore/WAS and Lardarius Webb/BAL) and learn from them. I think that our entire secondary has learned something from each of them in regards to the game. We were very fortunate to have those guys in our program.”
“I think that on defense we have a lot of potential. From our safeties to the defensive line, I really do feel that we have the capability to cause problems for our opponents. We are looking forward to opening at Air Force; it can’t some soon enough.”
Senior Offensive Lineman Aric Flowers
“It is nice to hear coach (Jay Thomas) say that the strength of the offense this season will be the offensive line, but we know that we win and lose as a team. I believe our strength is in our unity. This offseason, almost all of the team attended voluntary workouts, which was awesome to see. Our guys are focused, poised and ready for the season.”
“We are very fortunate to have a very stout running back core, and will have an extreme amount of talent at wide receiver if we choose to throw the ball. We do have a young crop of quarterbacks, but as a team we are confident that all they need is some game action, and we should not skip a beat.”
Northwestern State Head Coach Bradley Dale Peveto
“First of all, it’s great to be back in a place that feels like home, the Southland Conference. With my three years at Northwestern and four before that at SFA, I have been on the sideline coaching in this league for a good portion of my 22 seasons. Coming from the SEC and a national championship program at LSU, I have no reservations saying there are a lot of tremendous football players in the Southland Conference and there are some really outstanding coaches in our league. I love the fact that we have great relationships with each other. Hey, on game day, you look across the field and try to beat the other guy, and we battle in recruiting, but it’s never negative, it’s always done in the right spirit, and personally, I have some very good friends coaching and working in the Southland Conference. I have always taken a lot of pride in my involvement in the Southland and now I’m excited to be competing as a head coach in the Southland. It’s incredibly competitive, very much in that respect like the SEC. You bring your A-game or you don’t win. There isn’t an easy game. You have to play great to win on the road and anybody can beat you at your place. There are great players in this league year after year and just looking around this room today, there are some war daddies here with us.”
“It’s been really good (being a first-year head coach) so far. Hey, we’re undefeated! But really, it’s been a very fun process, first and foremost working with the young men in our program. They are focused and determined to become a championship football team and they’re putting in the work to get into that position. We had a terrific spring practice, actually got more installed in all three phases than we could have hoped to accomplish. We have a good core of experienced players and good leaders back, and it was a good, very well coached football team that was here. We’re adding in some newcomers who will get the chance to make the kind of immediate impact which will make us a more exciting team to watch and a more formidable team to play.
“I’m not caught up in the number of wins. Sure, that’s a measuring stick, but right now and going forward, I’m more a process guy. I want to be sure we’re doing it right and we are making progress each day. We’ve gotten buy-in from the players, we’ve gotten buy-in from the administration, we continue to get more interest and support from not only our fans but people who haven’t been involved in the past. It’s a really exciting time to be around Demon football. We have a beautiful new turf, our football offices are being completely renovated, the enhancements to our stadium are just magnificent, and we have a very positive mindset going into fall camp.”
Senior Linebacker Blake Delcambre
On converting the Purple Swarm defense from the 4-2-5 to the 4-3-4 scheme
“We have nine returning starters on defense and the two guys stepping in have a lot of playing experience so we ought to know how to handle our business. I feel good about the guys next to me at linebacker, Ike (Isaiah Greenhouse) and Rogers (Loche), because they’re seniors who have been out there a lot even if they haven’t started. Now they get the chance and it’s going to be awesome to have all three of us on the field at the same time. The 4-2 let us linebackers go get it, and now in the 4-3 we have to read more and not react so quickly so we’ve had to make that adjustment. It’s been fun, the way the coaches have taught it. As a linebacker, I really am excited about playing in a 4-3 next to those guys.
(Overall) “We think this is our year. We were one game away from going to the playoffs last year and that hurt. For a lot of us, this is the last time football will be at the center of our lives, and we want to end it on a high note. I do know that this group of seniors has been through a lot together, a lot of real life experiences, death and tragedy and challenges like families losing homes in the hurricanes, and some happiness like having children and relationships and bonding. These guys are like brothers to me and it’s going to be fun going through this season with them.”
Senior Center Marcus Washington
On last year’s very inexperienced O-line evolving into this year’s seasoned group
“All of our starters have experience that will make us that much better. We had two true freshmen, (Jesse) Hernandez and (Zach) Case, who had to learn on the job last fall and they competed very well and got better each week. Now they know the ropes and they are going to be very good players in the Southland Conference. (Jace) Prescott has moved in to guard, and Michael Booker is there, and having those two big guys on either side of me, that’s a lot of talent, that’s a lot of size, and honestly when I have a double team, I’m really looking forward to that!”
(On the new Purple Strike offensive scheme) “As far as the plays we run, it’s not a wholesale change. We’re going to run a lot of the same basic plays. The terminology is different and some of the philosophy is different, but it’s not like we started from scratch. Probably just learning the terminology is the biggest change for us at this point. We’ll be attacking, going downhill and trying to light up the scoreboard. You’ll see more screens and a lot more passing, but we are still very committed to being a physical offense. We will strike you. That’s why I think the nickname they gave us, Purple Strike, is great. We’ve been proud of the Purple Swarm defense and now we have an identity to live up to on offense.”
Sam Houston State Head Coach Todd Whitten
“Going into preseason camp next week, we have two areas of concern. The first is defense. Last year, we were No. 5 in NCAA FCS football in total offense and No. 105 in total defense. We have to stop people. We made some changes defensively in spring ball and were pleased with the intensity of our young players. “The second area of concern is at quarterback. Rhett Bomar, who became Sam Houston’s all-time total offense leader in just two years, is gone to the NFL. Bryan Richmond, Rhett’s backup last year, did a good job in the spring. We look for him to provide leadership on offense. “This is going to be another exciting season in the Southland. You don’t have to remind us how competitive this league is top to bottom. Three of our losses last year were by a field goal or less. “We return 10 starters this year and have a strong senior class who we will look to for leadership. We have a lot of young players who saw action in backup roles last year and look to have some good competition for starting jobs going into camp.”
Senior Offensive Guard Hunter Schmidt
“We return almost everybody on offense except for our quarterback and have strong senior leadership. I think that will help our new quarterback be a lot more comfortable in the system. With two 1,000-yard rushers in the back field, we’ll have a more balanced offense and that is going to be good.
“With the exception of Travis Watson, the offensive line is all seniors. I’ve been around all these guys for a long time and we all know what to expect from each other. The coaching staff has done a great job pushing us to do more and we’re excited about the coming season.”
Southeastern Louisiana Head Coach Mike Lucas
“With 13 seniors and 28 juniors on our roster, we can’t say anymore that we’re a young football team. We’re excited about what we have coming back and we think we have all the pieces to the puzzle. We’re excited to have (fifth-year senior) Brian Babin as our quarterback. We feel like we have six wide receivers that can play for any team in the Southland Conference. We have some real weapons on offense. We feel that we are also very deep at running back despite losing Jay Lucas.
“We’ve got some spots, defensively, where we are going to be young. We’ll be very athletic, very hungry, but unproven is the word. This is my 20th year associated with the Southland Conference and this league has always been, from top to bottom, a very competitive league. There is never an easy game, whether you’re playing at home or on the road. You have to be ready to play. The Southland Conference is a very well-coached league. There’s not going to be any teams that are doing anything unsound. It’s always interesting to see who’s going to come out on top in the league. There’s always a few upsets during the year. “
Senior Quarterback Brian Babin
“We feel really good about what we have returning and we’re excited about the upcoming season. Offensively, we have all of our top receivers returning and we should be even better in that area with the return of (senior wide receiver) Merrick (Lanaux) and (junior tight end) Luis (Sobalvarro) from injury.”
“Our offensive linemen have done a lot of good things in the weight room with our new strength coach Scott Reeves and that’s an area where we feel like we’re going to be much better. We’re replacing a great player in (three-time All-Southland running back) Jay Lucas, but we have a great one-two punch at running back with (senior) Jasper (Ducksworth) and (redshirt freshman) Zeke (Jones).”
“The Southland Conference is known for excellent quarterback play, so I am proud that I am able to compete in this league. I had a good season as a junior, but I hope to continue to become more consistent. We have the things in place at Southeastern to be successful and it’s our time to take the next step.”
Senior Defensive Back Tommy Connors
“We did a great job last season of creating turnovers, which we believe is the number one factor in being successful defensively. We have to continue to concentrate on making plays and turning the ball over.”
“We showed how good of a defense we could be in spurts last season, but we have the ability to be better this season. The one area we have to get better in is short yardage. We let some people convert on some key third-and-short situations last year and we can’t have that happen if we want to be successful this season.”
“We really feel we’re better all over the field, both offensively and defensively, than we were a season ago. We can’t wait to get out there.”
Stephen F. Austin Head Coach J.C. Harper
“I think we’re pretty solid with our first and second teams on both sides of the ball. The good thing about this year’s team is that we are not to relying on freshman or newcomers to play significant roles on either side of the ball. Our experience level is higher this season compared to the previous two years returning nine starters on offense, as well as our whole defense.”
“During my time in the Southland Conference, I never really knew what the SFA offense was based on. I never really thought we had our own niche. If you look at Nicholls or McNeese State you know what they want to do and where they hang their hat offensively. Part of the reason we went to the spread of offense is because guys like Jeremy Moses, Dominique Edison and some of the other skill players we have on our roster. I thought (offensive coordinator) Shannon Dawson and his staff did a great job implementing the offense last season. All the credit goes to those guys for the job they did. I expect them to continue to make the same strides this season.”
“I was pleased with the strides our defense made coming out of the spring. We really cut down on the mental mistakes. We return two very talented players in Tim Knicky and Jabara Williams, and any time you have players like that on the field they are going to give you a chance to win. I was also really pleased with the addition of Andre Banks, Sean Warren and Jacob Fincher. I really believe the addition of these guys bring added confidence to the team that we may not have had in the past.”
Senior Wide Receiver Duane Brooks
“We return a talented senior class that has a ton of depth and experience. We have younger guys that I believe are ready to step into a more dominant role. Although we lost Dominique (Edison) to the NFL draft, I think we have plenty of playmakers on this team. I don’t think it is anyone players responsibility to pick up all the slack. We have enough talented players where we can spread out the responsibility and each pick up the slack.”
“Last season was unique because there were a lot of questions of how well we were going to be able to pick up the new offense. We struggled at times, but I think as the season wore on we got better. Our run game wasn’t very effective early in the season, but as the year went along we proved that we have playmakers in the backfield as well. I think with our experience and the players we have returning we have more potential to put up big numbers this season.”
Senior Defensive End Tim Knicky
“I believe we are light years ahead of where we were not only three year ago, but also last season. We made positive steps forward last season, and we have continued to make positive steps forward during the offseason. We were a better team in the spring than we were last season, and I feel we are better now than we were during the spring.”
“We struggled at times with the new defense. When you’re inserting new schemes players will struggle with the new terminology and it showed at times last year with some mental mistakes. I believe we are a more experienced team this year with improved talent. I believe that we now have the confidence in ourselves that we can be the best defense in the league. Now we have to step out on the field and get the job done.”
Texas State Defensive End Travis Houston
On being picked first in the SLC preseason polls
“I just saw the polls, but the first-place votes go all the way down to the fourth or fifth-place teams. That is what is good about the Southland Conference. Each week, you know that you are going to play against another quality team. It’s good to be noticed by others, but you still have to win the games on the field to win the league.”
Thoughts on the 2009 Southland race
“It is going to be good race this year. You can go down the list and find reasons each team will win it. There isn’t one that couldn’t. It will probably be decided much like last year with overtime games and so-called upsets.”
Texas State Head Coach Brad Wright
On being picked to win the Southland in preseason polls
“Obviously that is one-half of the goal each year. You want to win championships and be picked to win. Half of the goal has been achieved, but that is not the most important half the goal. When you look at the polls, we received two votes, and everyone else received two votes or one vote. We just happened to be listed at the top. It is a fun thing for the media and fans to talk about when heading into a season, but it doesn’t matter until December. We have to show up each week and earn those prognostications.
“It is good to have a ring in your pocket and something to build on because it hasn’t happened much around (Texas State). We took a step in the right direction last year. Now, it just depends on how the 11 guys we put on the field react in a positive way and see that it means nothing this year. They have to go out and handle success.”
Thoughts on Texas State’s 2009 team heading into fall practice
“Offensively, we have to fill a few holes at center, fullback and replace Cameron Luke at wide receiver. Defensively, we need to build on what we learned last year. We were putting things in during the week heading into each game so we could stop someone. Now, it is part of our foundation.”
“On special teams, we need to find a kicker to replace Andrew Ireland, who was very accurate from 40 yards or less. We have Ryan Batchelor back from last year and Justin Garrelick from Pflugerville as a true freshman coming into this season. It is just a case that we have to keep getting better each week and improve as a team.”
Senior Quarterback Bradley George
“We are going to be dangerous on offense. We lost some talented players in Cameron Luke, Stan Zwinggi, John Gilley and Blake Burton. But, we have some talented ones returning. Our wide receiver corps is young, but they may be the fastest unit since I have been here. Karrington Bush returns at running back and I look for him to put up the same type of production. The offensive line has four returning starters is nice for any quarterback. Alex Luna and Calvin Gore have a lot of experience at the tackles so that will help as well. Everything starts up front, so I am looking for them to lead the way. We just have to produce once the season starts.”
UTSA Head Coach Larry Coker
“It has been and will continue to be a challenge to build a program from the ground up. However, we have outstanding leadership at UTSA in our president Dr. Ricardo Romo and our athletic director Lynn Hickey. Most of what we’re doing right now besides beginning our recruiting processes is fundraising. We have plans for a multi-million dollar athletic complex, so we’ve been out in the community speaking about what we’re building at UTSA.
“It is different building something from scratch. Everywhere I’ve been before, the program was already established, but it’s been a fun challenge. It’s neat in that you can do things how you want to. One of our assistant coaches, David Ross, has built two programs from scratch before, including Bacone College in Oklahoma. He’s been through this before, so he’s obviously been a valuable member of our staff.
“We’re going to build this the right way. We’ve visited with other startup programs like Florida Atlantic and South Florida and I have good relationships with Howard Schnellenberger and Jim Leavitt. Those schools had a good plan in place and have been successful. We’ve modeled some of our plans after them.
“We also have a great recruiting base right on our front porch in San Antonio. There are some great high school football programs in that area and I think it’s been under-recruited. We have a fantastic stadium in the Alamodome that is in a great location in downtown San Antonio. With all that and our great leadership, I really feel like UTSA can be a very successful program.”