Weekly Press Luncheon Quotes
September 10, 2007 | Football
Sept. 10, 2007
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina University Head Football Coach Skip Holtz addressed members of the media prior to this week's game against Southern Miss. The following are selected comments:
Opening Comments:
"It was a big weekend in terms of the win against North Carolina with the in-state rivalry and everything. It means a lot to our players, fans and alumni who work with graduates of [UNC]. It also means a lot to our entire program and student body. I tell our players all the time that we are trying to build a program that is big-time college football and it was evidenced by the events that transpired Saturday with the television, tailgating and enthusiasm of the student body. It was great seeing the student section filling up two hours before kickoff because two years ago, they would all tailgate but never make it into the stadium.
"[The game] was hard-fought and back and forth. I think North Carolina has a very good football team. When you look at preseason rankings, they are misleading. That is why they hand the bowl invitations out at the end of the season because you find out who the better teams are. I think that [UNC] team is going to win an awful lot of games. I was impressed with Yates, as he had a lot of poise and composure for a young quarterback. From a defensive standpoint, [the Tar Heels] were a lot more physical than I expected. Coach Davis has an awful lot of talent in Chapel Hill and he will do a great job of putting the pieces together so I am glad we had the opportunity to play [UNC] early.
"Offensively, I was encouraged by what I saw in many aspects. I thought we protected the ball very well and that Patrick Pinkney did a good job of throwing the ball 31 times and finding open receivers with poise and composure. It was nice to see Chris Johnson get into space and have breakout game where he was able to utilize his speed. We tried to get him the ball to where he could be at the linebacker level and then do some things with it. I want to play Jonathan Williams and Norman Whitley, but with the games as close as they are, it's hard to make yourself play them. However, when you see how [Williams] returned the ball when they kicked it away from Chris Johnson, I think everyone caught a glimpse of just how special he will be. As [Williams and Whitley] get more playing time on special teams and get more comfortable, they will be on the field. The tight ends got involved this week as we were able to play all four of them. The wide receivers also stepped up. As I talked about in preseason, we have to disperse our catches due to the loss of Aundrae Allison. Everyone has to play their roles and they did a nice job with it. On the offensive line, the younger players played well and they continue to improve.
"There are some things that we have to correct because it wasn't a perfect performance. We will have to address the penalties. We had too many procedure penalties and we had to use a timeout when we had trouble getting personnel groups on and off the field. Many times that happens when you have young players. We need to find a way with some of these young offensive linemen to get a running game going. We have faced two great defenses so that has had something to do with it. Patrick Pinkney cannot be expected to do what he did Saturday all season.
"From a defensive standpoint, we are improving. I was encouraged with many of the things I saw. [UNC] ran the ball 30 times and someone asked me why I let them run the ball. When I look at some of the past numbers of our rush defense, it is much better now. Our defensive front line is playing well right now. Mark Robinson had two sacks in the game and Khalif Mitchell played out of his mind due to competing against his former school. I thought the linebackers were solid and steady but we didn't see a game like Quentin Cotton had last week because they did a lot of things to try to take him off the ball. They traded tight ends and shifted in motion to isolate him on one side. He was frustrated because he wants to turn and make plays. When you look at the secondary, there is improvement there. Last week, we had three uncontested deep balls but this week we had deep balls that were contested. We were able to contest them, now we have to get to the point to where we can cover them. I think Jerek Hewett had a good game for a young guy who hasn't started much. He caused a fumble and had his first-career interception. Our safeties were not as solid so we have to keep working on seeing the ball and contesting the deep ball. Travis Williams and Herman Best are going to have to hold down the other corner.
"As for negatives on defense, I think our focus was not where it needs to be. We have too many self-inflicted wounds and we self-destruct a little too much. We also had too many missed assignments on things we have worked on since day one. Greg Hudson made a good call sending the ends upfield on the first play but we gave up a 53-yard play right off the bat that should have been a sack. We have to make sure our emotions are under control because we have played in two emotional games to start the season but have more of them left to play.
"I think our return team showed up. We have been getting Dwayne Harris some work back there and he is getting more comfortable. Our two young kickers show flashes of being really good from the punting and kickoff standpoint. We do not yet have the consistency that we need yet. There are many starters on special teams so when you ask them to run downfield on kickoffs and punts, it's almost not being fair to them because they have to go play 50 plays afterwards.
On Southern Miss:
"Things don't get any easier this week for us. We have played two quality programs to start the season in very emotional games. The celebration on Saturday ended on 10 a.m. Sunday when we put on the Southern Miss film. I think [the Golden Eagles] are a talented football team with a ton of athleticism and speed. I would compare their talent very favorably with the two teams we just played. Their front four is big and physical. If you watch what the offensive line did to Tennessee's defensive line, it is quite impressive. All three of their linebackers run extremely well and they have made their name on defense. The one word I would use to sum up their defense is "aggressive". They have nine returning starters with seven on defense so it will be a challenge for our offense to move the ball this week.
"Offensively their tight end and tailback are the best in the league. They have been all-conference players ever since I have been here. On the offensive line, they have both of their tackles back so we will have to challenge our defensive front four to turn and have a great game. Southern Miss compares to the Yankees in terms of Conference USA. They have dominated and have held the top spot for a while. Coach Bower has done an incredible job of building that program with tough and physical athletes. They have that title right now that we have been looking for. I know they will come in here extremely motivated because of our win against North Carolina and also our overtime win down there last season. There aren't many teams that go into Rock and get a win, so we look at it as the top two teams in the East Division kicking off conference play. I hope the atmosphere and excitement are present this week as they were on Saturday.
On ECU's Kicking Game:
"Ben has to battle the six inches between his ears. With him, it is a mental issue and not a talent issue. He was kicking well in practice but it didn't translate to the pregame warmup. He needs to put the ball higher instead of kicking line drives in order to give our cover teams a chance to get downfield. I think he just got into a battle with himself mentally. On the last field goal, I told him to forget everything that has happened to this point and go kick like it is the first kick of the game. With Matt Dodge, it's all about the way he drops the ball to his foot. Right now he is very inconsistent with this and he just needs to work on kicking the flat part of the ball every time."
On Damian Fletcher:
"He has great vision and he is a slasher. We talked about Brandon Ore as more of a power back that can run and he looks to hit you. Fletcher does not need much of a crease because he has great balance. Because of that balance, along with his great downfield vision, he is so hard to tackle. Any time you play a great back like him, you have to run to the ball and stampede like buffalo. We can't sit there and watch the play develop like spectators."
On the Importance of an Early Win:
"Obviously it is important because losing takes the wind out of your sails. Our players have worked and committed themselves to this program. They want to win and if we miss that kick at the end of the game, we sit here 0-2 and feel completely different. Losing doesn't change their commitment or talent but it does alter our mental approach. I said before the season that we have a better football team this year, but it probably wouldn't show because of the toughness of our schedule. There is a reason Rivals ranked our schedule the fourth-hardest in the nation. So, to get a win like we did Saturday gives us a little more confidence. This schedule will give us a chance to see how mentally tough we are as a football team. We have to guard against the emotional letdowns that can happen from week-to-week. We have to play the schedule that was given to us so we can't sit here and complain because that will not change anything."
On a Potential Letdown Against Southern Miss:
"You can have as much a letdown at home than on the road. It's easier on the road because you don't have the expectations of playing in front of 43,000 of your fans. However, it is great having the support of your fans and students. It motivates the team seeing the student section full a whole two hours before the game. The players make a beeline to the students after we win because they know how much the support helps them. The students are the heartbeat of the stadium and they set the tone for motivation and enthusiasm. With the game this week, we have to keep on an even keel. Coaches can't put in new plays because at this point we are sensitive mentally. We have to keep getting better at the things that we know how to do like pass protection and deep ball coverage. We know we will have the support of our fans again this week so we have to go out there and work that much harder."
On Southern Miss's Advantage in the Series:
"I told the team last week that the 2007 version of the North Carolina Tar Heels hasn't played the 2007 version of East Carolina. What has happened in the past is irrelevant. No matter what the series advantage is, it only matters what happens on that field Saturday. I always like to say that every football team has a life expectancy of one year. However, it is fun to talk about from a media standpoint and also to educate your players about the history of a series. Ultimately, everything will be determined out here on the field Saturday at 6 p.m."
