Mike Houston’s Weekly Press Conference Quotes

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Sixth-year East Carolina Head Football Coach Mike Houston addressed members of the media Monday afternoon prior to Saturday's season opener against Norfolk State. The following are selected comments:

Opening Statement
"Exciting time. It's finally game week. You could tell yesterday at practice that the older players have just a little bit of different energy in their step, their motions and in their focus. There's been guys around the facility that have been watching tape and getting some treatment in. You can just tell there's a lot more urgency right now. Just excited to be at home, looking forward to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday night. Looking forward to being back in front of our fans and having Pirate Nation back in the stands. It's been little bit of a tough time since the last time we were in the stadium, but I'm excited about where we are. I feel like we have had a really good preseason camp. I think we have a roster that is prepared to be highly competitive this fall. I'm just ready to see us get on the field and do it. You have all the preseason predictions and everybody's saying this or that, but you don't really know until it's 'go time'. You don't know until you get out there and you're actually doing it. It's that way for every program in the country and we saw it this past weekend. The kickoff game over in Ireland. That one didn't go the way all the experts thought it would. Watching Norfolk State and Florida A&M on Saturday night. It was good to see them in prime time. I was very impressed with the way Norfolk State played. I think they're improved over last year. I think they certainly have a definite identity and excited to have them coming in here for our home opener Saturday night."

On What Stands Out With Norfolk State
"I think the things that stood out is that they're big and physical up front, on both sides of the ball. Impressed with both running backs. In particular, Kevon King, he broke the 82-yard run on the counter early in the ball game and does a great job getting downhill. They've got a new offensive coordinator from Alcorn State, and we had heard rumors that you're going to see a lot of 12 personnel and downhill run game and certainly that's what they came out and did. They ran for well over 200 yards against Florida A&M. They did a good job with power counter, same side zone, and a lot of different variations of inside zone run game. I thought they definitely wanted to come out and be that style of team and did a great job with it."

On Getting Ready For The Season Opener
"I think we're all just ready to go out there and play. We've all been working on this stuff in practice and the fans have gotten to see glimpses in the spring game. The media has seen glimpses in some of the scrimmages in the preseason. It's been every day during the spring, all summer, and all preseason camp. Watching things evolve and watching everything come together. I'm just ready to see it all out there on the field on game day and us putting all three phases together. We've got a lot of changes on offense, and we've got a lot of changes on special teams too. There are some things that we're doing defensively that is going to be different than what we've done in the past. I'm excited about that. I just want to see us out there on game day in a real setting, in front of fans, playing an opponent, and see us put it all together. I think everybody's excited.

On What A Season-Opening Win Would Do For The Confidence Of The Team
"I think starting off on a positive note this season would do a lot. I think it'd do a lot for everybody, players, coaches, fans. We were in our leadership council meeting last night and the players, that's what they're talking about. Finding a way to get a win at home to start the year. I think they're very focused. I think that they understand that we've got to go out and play really well and execute for the first game. Sometimes you see sloppiness and jitters, but we don't want to do that. We want to go out and play at the level we know we can. That's the focus this week. Just focusing on being the best version of ECU that we can be."

On Making Sure Jake Garcia Is Comfortable And In A Rhythm As The Starting Quarterback
"I really want to keep things relaxed with him this week. I talked to Coach Baker about that. I don't want us uptight at all. I think that Jake is in a very good spot. He's practiced really well. He was good last week. He was sharp last night. He and Katin (Houser), I think since we named a definitive starter, they both have been better. I think they both are prepared to play at a high level this fall. I just want Jake to go out there and do what we've watched in practice and all preseason."

On Facing A Team That Has Already Played A Game
"I think there's pluses and minuses. The positive for us is we've seen what they're going to do. They have a new offensive coordinator. We'd heard that they're going to do some things different defensively. They've got a new special teams coordinator. Until you see them go out and play, you don't truly know what they're doing. So at least we got to see a live look at them on Saturday night. They have not had that luxury from us. The negative is they've had a game to go out and make some mistakes. They had a botched field goal and they had a missed two- point conversion. They had two turnovers. They did some things that, if they correct those mistakes, they win that ballgame Saturday night. That would have been a huge upset for them. Florida A&M is one of the top teams in the FCS. I think there's pluses and minuses, but I like the fact that we've been able to see them on tape."

On The Team Rallying Around Jake Garcia
"I think he's done a good job of being the kind of guy that they can rally around, just with his demeanor and the way he's carried himself. His interactions with the offensive lineman, the receivers, the running backs. I think he's just a good communicator. I think that we all believe in him. Coaches and players. We've watched him do it and he's earned this opportunity. Now we just all want to go out there and see it altogether on the field."

On Running Out In Front Of The Crowd At Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
"I think we all need it, at least I do. I just want to get a lot of the negativity out of me from last year. I don't want to ever go through something like that again. I don't like the feeling I've had for the last 10 months, and I'm excited to get back out on the field and get things right. I appreciate the way that our fans have stuck with us and the way that they're rallying around this group this year. I appreciate all the hard work that the players have put in. They've worked their tails off. They've been very driven all off season. We've had a very good preseason camp. We haven't had bunch of junk. They've been very focused in practice. I expect us to have a very sharp practice tomorrow morning. I'm just excited to get out there on the field in front of our fans. I just want us to go out there and play the way I know we can. I think that this is a team that our fan base will be very excited about."

On The Returning Players Mindset Going Into This Season
"They feel very much the same way I do. They want to go out and play the kind of ball that we know we can. They want to go out and show everybody who they are. This is a veteran group for the most part. We do have some transfers, and we have some young kids, but the bulk of our roster is a veteran group that went to back-to-back bowl games. That's who they want to be. They want to be a team that's one of the better teams in The American and have a shot at a conference title and to go to a bowl game."

On How The Defense Can Continue To Get Better
"I've challenged them that I think we should be better this year, and we've got a lot of the same personnel. We lost Jeremy (Lewis), Julius (Wood) and Jack (Powers). We lost some really good players, but the core is back, and they've worked very hard. I expect us to be better this year than we were a year ago. I think we've practiced that way during the preseason camp. Now we've got to go out there and play at a higher level on game day. I think that they know that we're going to have the support of a high-powered offense. We'll see how fast we get to clicking on that side of the ball. I've challenged the defense, and they've challenged themselves. They expect us to be a very strong unit this year."

Players Mentioned

Jake Garcia

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