Head Coach Paul Pasqualoni's Comments from Media Day
On how it feels to have everyone back:
"It feels good to back here. I don't remember another time in preseason where we didn't start until August 10. It's really a late start but it's also going to be a late finish going to the first weekend in December. So the season will be as long as it has been, it's just that we've never started this late. It's good to be back. It's a lot of fun. We are very excited to be around this group of kids. They reported back in really good physical condition. We've never had a practice prior to media day before. We had one this morning. I'm here to report we had a really good morning. So far, so good. We're really looking forward to the next two weeks."
On what he wants to accomplish in preseason camp:
"The last week of preseason camp begins on Monday, August 25, we are in class, so one week technically of preseason preparation and we're in class which is a little bit unique. The next three weeks, what we would like to do, is pick up exactly where we left off in the spring. We're not into game plans. We're not into worrying about opponents at this point. We would like to pick up exactly where we stopped in the spring and go back and work on fundamentals and tools. We would like to go back to the philosophy of building the team, working on the things we feel we have to work on to be good on offense, defense and special teams. Then start coaching the game plan aspect of it the week prior to the North Carolina game."
On whether there is anything about the start of this year's preseason camp that is different from other years:
"I don't know if there's anything that makes it any different. We didn't have the kind of season we would have liked to last year. The fact that the last game that we played was in November makes this a long awaited. It seems like it took a long time for camp to get here. We're probably as excited to be preparing for a season as we've ever been."
On how to eliminate the mistakes that cost the team in close games last year:
"You have to go back to building the team and building the team in college football is preseason camp. Mistakes, whether it is the first quarter or the fourth quarter, are going to beat you. Part of what you're trying to do in preseason camp is learn the system and eliminate those mistakes – whether it is an assignment mistake on a basic play or a technique or fundamental mistake. A mental mistake will beat you, a fundamental, skill mistake will beat you. That's the goal right now, this time of year. That is not unique to Syracuse University. That's the way football is, most especially college football."
On goals for this season:
"Right now the only goal we are talking about is preseason camp. We're not talking about anything but trying to improve as much as we can. We won't get into goals for the season until we've had the final scrimmage of the year and we're headed down that road of the week prior to North Carolina."
On whether he senses the players feel a sense of urgency this season:
"I sense a sense of urgency on the part of the kids to do things well, do them right. They appear to be a very focused group after just one meeting and one morning practice. I think their level of concentration is very good. If that continues throughout preseason camp, we are going to have a chance to eliminate some of those mistakes. One play in this game will beat you. Last year we were in some games where one play beat us. If we eliminate those, we have a chance to be good. I do think there is a sense of urgency with this group."
On what he expects from team captains R.J. Anderson, Rich Scanlon and Thump Belton:
"We only have three (captains): Rich Scanlon on defense, who we expect to be an outstanding leader. He has some outstanding seniors to help him lead in along with some outstanding seniors in Christian Ferrara, Louis Gachelin and Josh Thomas. We expect Robin (R.J.) and Thump to do the same. They've been excellent throughout the offseason program. We would expect them to set the tone, make sure kids are doing what they are supposed to do, that we don't have off-the field problems, behavioral problems. We have a group of guys who understand the importance of the team concept and doing what's best for the team. Those are all things that seniors have to establish and set the tone for the team."
On whether the discussions with the Atlantic Coast Conference earlier this summer is a distraction for the student-athletes:
"I don't believe it has been. There won't be one meeting or one day that we talk about the ACC. Much was written, much was asked, much was discussed over the last how many months? So I don't see any need, nor do I see where it could possibly help us, so we're not going there. We're in the BIG EAST, and our goal is have a great preseason camp and get ready for the season."
On what it would mean to play well against Miami and Virginia Tech this season:
"It means an awful lot. Syracuse was an established program when the BIG EAST started. Here, as we see the BIG EAST change, hopefully we can regain the status of when this thing started."
On the how the changes in the NCAA legislation will affect the team:
"I don't know whether I like the new legislation yet or not because we haven't been through it yet, so we're going to find out this week a great deal more about it. The fact that we do have 29 practice opportunities and we had 29 practice opportunities under the old legislation will give us the same number of practices. I'm not so sure that we haven't shortchanged the freshmen in regard to that two- or three-day orientation period. We always were able to have a Sunday off. Right now, in order to get in the 29 practices we can't give the kids Sunday off. "
On how new cornerbacks coach Todd Littlejohn has affected the secondary:
"Todd has done a really nice job with the corners. We have separated the corners and the safeties so now Coach (Chris) Rippon has the safeties. So we've doubled the coaching back there with Todd Littlejohn, who has a tremendous background and is an outstanding coach. We've brought some new players in. We have a couple of young freshman players who I'm excited to see this week like Marcus Clayton and Tanard Jackson. I'm kind of excited to see exactly how far Terrell Lemon, Diamond Ferri, Troy Swittenburg and Modibo Sidibe have come since the spring. I think you are going to see a very different secondary."
On Diamond Ferri's move to defense:
"He has really taken to being on the defensive side of the ball. He's been very positive. Can he learn all of the details of what he has to learn in the next two or three weeks? That's what we have to wait and see."
On whether he has a sense of urgency about this season:
"As a coach, you are always anticipating and excited about the start of a new season. When you go through the kind of year we had you look back and try to assess exactly how you did things. Maybe will you do things differently. From my standpoint and from the staff's standpoint, we've tried to pay attention as much as we can to all of the little things. I think if we set the tempo and we pay attention to the little things, the kids will. So we've tried to pick up the tempo a little bit."
On status of quarterback Perry Patterson:
"Perry practiced this morning and he did everything anybody else did this morning. We didn't scrimmage. If we had scrimmaged, he would not have scrimmaged, but he did everything that everybody else did. After practice he said his knee felt fine. We'll go one day at a time and keep an eye on him, especially this week. We won't go crazy this week."
On expectations of Josh Thomas and the seniors on the defense:
"I'm looking for Josh, Christian (Ferrara), along with Jameel Dumas and Rich Scanlon and Louis Gachelin, to be the foundation of the defense. Those guys have been in a lot of football games. They've played a lot of reps around here. They know what it is about. They need to set the tempo. I think they are excited about doing it."
On whether the group of seniors on the defense took last year's struggles personally:
"I think they all did. Those kids have worked so hard. They all have lost weight. They are all stronger. They are all faster, lighter. They are in great physical condition. As a coach, I don't know how many times in the years I've been here that in the front seven we've had five fifth-year seniors. That's pretty significant. That's fun to be around. When you've got guys who have been through the wars with you, you enjoy being around those guys every single day. I don't take that for granted."
On expectations of Johnnie Morant this season:
"Johnnie had a really good spring and he's had a really good summer. Johnnie has been where he needs to be when he needs to be there during the last six months. If Johnnie can continue doing that, being in the right place at the right time, doing what he is supposed to do, he'll have a chance to have that breakout year."
On how comfortable he is with R.J. Anderson at quarterback:
"I feel really comfortable with R.J. He's another one of those guys that you've been through it with every single day for four years. Robin is a solid guy. Robin knows what he is doing. There's nobody who wants Robin to have a great year more than the coaching staff. He deserves to have a great year because he has worked hard. We're going to do everything we can do to make sure that happens."
On what improvements Walter Reyes and Damien Rhodes can make this season:
"I would like to see them get better at things like the recognition of what they are seeing in front of them, recognizing defenses, picking up blitzes, the fundamentals of blocking and even running the ball, where the cuts need to be made, maybe a little bit better vision, maybe a little bit better feel for where the linebacker is. Just like anybody else, whether it is Emmitt Smith or the back in this program, I think you can get better every single day. I just want to see improvement, I don't want to see anybody flatten out. In life, each day you get better or you get worse. I don’t think things stay the same two days in a row. I want to see the focus and determination to get better and learn something more each day. If we see that, then I think we're going in the right direction."
On whether he will alter the way he does things this season:
"I'm not going to do that. Last year, coming off of a 10-win season, maybe I took a few things for granted. In this game, when you do that you get knocked down. Last year I think I took things for granted, still coached the way we coached. Personally, I'm not going to alter my style, etc. We're just going to really focus and pay attention to details, and we're not going to get all caught up and wrapped up in the schedule and who we are playing, and Notre Dame is the last game and it's the last time for Miami and Virginia Tech. We're not going in any of those directions. We're going to come in here with purpose and that's being a good football team and doing what we need to do to win games. That's it. Anything else is not really important."
