Skip Holtz Press Conference Quotes
December 15, 2006 | Football
Dec. 15, 2006
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina University Head Football Coach Skip Holtz addressed members of the media Friday afternoon to discuss the upcoming Papajohns.com Bowl against USF at historic Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday, Dec. 23. The following are selected comments:
On Bowl Preparation:
"We have had six practices in the last two weeks. Most of our practices have been on the weekends in order to give the players an opportunity to finish up with school. We've had six very spirited and very lively practices. It is great to be practicing in December. For those players that have been here for 4-5 years, it is great opportunity to finally accomplish that feeling. We start today with a real easy focus on South Florida. We will practice Friday, Saturday and Sunday in full pads. Then we will practice Monday and Tuesday in shells. While in Birmingham, we will practice Tuesday and Wednesday in shorts, with most of the game preparation being done this weekend.
"It has been a balancing act for the staff. We have been trying to go through the heat of recruiting right now. For the last three weeks we have had or contact period where we can get into peoples homes, visit with them and at the same time get back here and watch film on South Florida. It has been a busy time but it is also not something that anyone of us is going to complain about.
"This has been a fun year and a great ride that these players have taken us on in the 2006 season. It has been a rewarding season for me. It is great that the players get to have this opportunity to go a bowl game. It is also a great time to start practicing our younger players for the 2007 season. As much as this is a reward for your seniors it is also a kickoff for our underclassman to start getting ready for next season."
On South Florida Defense:
"I have great respect for Coach Leavitt. He is really building something special in Tampa. When you look at South Florida, I think that their strength is on the defensive side of the ball. They are giving up 17 points a game and under 300 yards. Their linebackers are their top three tacklers. The defense is centered on these linebackers. They are big, athletic, they can run and they are physical. I think their front seven is one of the better front sevens that we've played all year. They also have two great corners in the secondary."
On South Florida Offense:
"On the offensive side of the ball, I think that everything is focused on their quarterback. That is where it all starts with playing a young quarterback. He is a competitor and a winner. He is the focal point. He has about 100 more carries than anyone else on the field. He is quite an athlete. The other thing that makes him a real strength is the stable receivers that they are throwing the ball to. Their offensive line is very athletic. They have a very good football team and they are very dangerous. It is going to be a heck of a challenge for us but we are excited to go to the PapaJohns.com bowl and to represent East Carolina and C-USA."
On Injuries:
"From and injury standpoint Bobby Good should play and Shauntae Hunt will be available to play. Eric Graham will be back for the bowl game. Durwin Lamb and Jay Sonnhalter are both out."
On Having an Early Bowl Game:
"I've never had and early bowl game in my coaching career. This is the first time I've played before Christmas. It gives you the chance to stay in some kind of rhythm. A lot teams play really well towards the end of the season because of all the practice, but then you have all the lay off time with a late December and January game."
On Graduating Players:
"Three of our guys will be graduating at the mid-year. Shauntae Hunt, Kort Shankweiler and Thomas Wingenbach are all walking today."
On The Going 1-0 Mentality:
"It helps the team focus. One of the things that you try and avoid during the course of the season is people looking ahead at the schedule. There is no looking ahead here. The seniors are not going to want this to end. They are going to be really focused on this game. If anything they are going to want it to go into overtime and last a couple of extra quarters. I don't know that the focus is going to be a problem and that is one of the reason that we keep the 1-0 mentality, so that we stay focused on the task at hand."
On James Pinkney's Last Game:
"He (James Pinkney) has definitely been one of the building blocks on offense. I probably will get real emotional about James at our end of the year banquet. He has been a blessing for this football team and me. Not just for the way he plays, but the way he handles adversity and the way he overcame it. I will get a chance to sit down and look at everything they (seniors) have brought to this program and what thy have brought to me as a person and a coach. This has been a very rewarding team for me. I have had fun coaching this team. I keep saying that this is the story of a senior class that was tired of losing."
On Maintaining Focus:
"In a way you want them to get caught up in the bowl hype because they've earned that. You want them to enjoy their experience. We do have to draw a line and say here are our concerns. We have to make sure we stay focused on our three hours a day when we are working football. Then enjoy the functions and the festivities that the bowl has put together."
On Recruiting:
"Having the opportunity to play in a bowl game is huge from a recruiting standpoint. It is going to be television exposure where they are going to see us compete. A lot of the athletes that we are recruiting are from eastern North Carolina, which gives them the opportunity to come to bowl practice. There are rewarding things about it from a recruiting standpoint."
