Head Coach Pasqualoni’s Press Conference – November 1, 2004
Head Coach Pasqualoni’s Press Conference – November 1, 2004
On senior tailback Walter Reyes’ 50-yard touch down run as the first play of the game:
“That play is scripted. It’s scripted and rehearsed, then discussed before the game. It was well blocked. Breyonne Evans (redshirt freshman, fullback) had a nice block, Jared Jones (senior, wide receiver) helped and got in the way. Walter kept his balance and made a great run. It was nice to know that Walter was healthy. That play was a pretty good sign. He looked fast on the play, and I thought we looked fast on the play. I think we were up to speed.”
On how the first touchdown run impacted the team:
“It obviously energizes the team. I think as a coach when you see that type of execution and that kind of focus on the very first play, what went through my mind was that we were going to have a chance to have a good day running the ball and on offense.”
On the upcoming game against Pittsburgh:
“I think things have clicked for them. They are back to playing Pittsburgh-style football. They’re very aggressive, on defense they got after Boston College and Rutgers. They’re playing well offensively. Tyler Palko (junior, quarterback) is really settling in. You can see why he was so highly touted, and highly regarded in high school. He’s very talented throwing the ball. He competes very hard. Their defense is really coming on in terms of their aggressiveness, and I think their offense is really coming on in regards to the confidence level of the quarterback and the wide receivers. It’s very hard to replace a kid like Larry Fitzgerald, but Greg Lee (sophomore wide receiver), and Joe DelSardo (sophomore, wide receiver) have stepped up. DelSardo had a phenomenal high school career. He’s not a tall guy, but he’s extremely quick. I think they have a pretty good group of wide receivers led by Lee and DelSardo. The offensive line may be the biggest one we’ve seen and that’s saying something when you consider that we’ve played Purdue, Virginia and Florida State. They’ve had to kind of reorganize and retool it (the offensive line) because of losses from last year, but they’ve done a nice job. Mike McGlynn (sophomore, offensive lineman) the right tackle is a huge kid who compliments the left tackle. They’re really a fine looking offensive line.”
On how Pittsburgh’s season has improved:
“I think that the turning point was the fact that they lost to the University of Connecticut, and then came back the next week and beat Boston College at home. Since then they’ve gotten back the aggressiveness in how they play. They’re blitzing a great deal again. Pittsburgh has been a team that has really stunted and blitzed in their defensive package.
On the defense causing turnovers:
“The bounce of the ball is always a little bit of luck, but we have practice a series of things that we do to stripping the ball. Those things are practiced, and rehearsed. I think the key to becoming a good defensive team is to get the kids to focus on turnovers, and the emotion of that moment. You want the kids to stop and think ‘I should try to strip the ball here.’ Ferri has that on his mind, and he’s got himself almost to the point where Dwight Freeney was and every time he sees the ball he’s after it. Diamond has become that kind of guy for us. He had a tremendous strip on Saturday. He knocked the ball out of the receiver’s hand. He intentionally went after the ball. You hope that you can get more than one guy in on that, but it’s not an easy thing. As coaches you’re always coaching it, drilling it, and talking about it because the number one factor in winning and losing is turnovers. We won the game on Saturday because we caused five turnovers, and they caused zero.”
On senior safety Diamond Ferri’s interception:
“It was unbelievable. I haven’t seen many interceptions like that. He actually caught it with one hand. He was kind of directing traffic with one hand and catching with the other. It was a really good play. He’s just being an athlete at that point.”
On the play of junior defensive end Ryan LaCasse:
“Ryan is a rush the passer guy. Fortunately, Ryan was around as a young guy when Dwight Freeney was here. Ryan has a great burst off the ball, and he’s trying hard to get turnovers.”
On senior wide receiver Andre Fontenette’s touchdown reception:
“I don’t think Andre will stop smiling for a while. That was great focus and concentration on the ball. He made it look like an easy catch, and I am not sure that it was. The ball was tipped and spinning, but he was in the right spot and the ball bounced our way.”
On the play of redshirt freshman fullback Breyonne Evans:
“Breyonne played pretty well for his first start as a collegiate player. There was a four play series where he had two outstanding blocks and outstanding run. He was involved and really did a nice job. He has something to build on now.”
On the status of junior cornerback DeAndre LaCaille:
“I think I would put it in the category of optimistic. We’ll see how he plays today. He expects to go out and practice today. We’ll have to see as the week goes on, particularly when we get to the contact phase of the week we’ll see how he does.”
On sophomore kicker Brendan Carney’s performance:
“I thought he hit the PATs real solid with no hesitation and, he kicked with confidence. Unfortunately, we missed the one field goal, but Brendan will start again this week. Collin is also preparing because at any moment he may get an opportunity. He wants to be ready to go and have the right attitude. I would love for Collin to win the job back and be a great kicker. We need consistency in that department and we need to score those points inside the red zone so. Brendan is a player and I think he’ll handle the field goals the same way he handles punts and kick offs. That’s just the way he is, and we’re lucky to have him.”
On how bowl eligibility motivates the team:
“It’s big, having a chance to have a winning season and go to a bowl game. Everybody in America is striving for that so we’re not unique or different than anybody else. Everyone we play right now is doing the same thing so it will be two teams going after the same goal on Saturday.”
On the play of sophomore quarterback Perry Patterson:
“We’re working hard on the deep ball. We’ll do the same thing this week. We’re trying to improve on those long passes. Perry gets a little frustrated because the guys are open. He has to keep his poise and keep the timing of the route consistent. I was happy to see him run. The thing I was happiest about was that when he ran the ball he ran straight, he didn’t try to go east and west. The thing he needs to learn how to do is take care of the ball because he’s not used to running down the field with the ball in his hand.”
On the progress the team has made:
“We hoped that we’d be a little better than we are right now. We were optimistic against Purdue, Virginia and Florida State. The thing that we are pleased with is the effort and the focus of the kids. We won a tough game on Saturday against a great quarterback. The preparation and approach that our players had last week was fun to be around. The kids were dead serious and had a great week of practice. We hope that we can another good week of practice.”
On UConn quarterback Dan Orlovsky:
“We knew exactly what we were getting into with Danny Orlovsky. The kid is a great player and he’s going to be a heck of an NFL player. Anytime you get a fourth year senior who’s played as much football as that kid has played you have to be prepared. I was hoping that we could rush the passer and get a couple of sacks. He passed for a lot of yards, but at the end we played the game very conservatively. We came out in the second half and we weren’t going to take a lot of chances and it worked out for us.”
On the significance of Senior Day:
“I think it plays in a lot. It’s a big day for the seniors and their parents. The commitment and work that they have put into their careers makes it a special day. We just hope and pray that it can be a successful day for them. This group of seniors has persevered. They are an outstanding group of kids. More importantly they are all going to leave with their degree.”
On having one more home game:
“I wish we had more home games. With parody the way it is in college football I do not minimize the home field advantage. There’s no question to me that when you’re constructing your schedule that there has to be consideration to these non-conference opponents and where you’re playing. You’ve got to have a chance to play at home. ”
On the importance of winning the rest of the games this season:
“I think that looking at the big picture is a distraction and you’re not focusing on the issues that you’ve got to focus on to win one of these games. I can’t tell you how hard it is and how much you have to prepare to play any of the teams we play. You have to put every ounce of what you have into getting ready to play and if you don’t do that you’re in trouble.”
On a turning point in the season:
“We had to come back from the FSU thing and the West Virginia games and get a win. I don’t know how you can say the UConn game was bigger than the Pittsburgh game because for me it’s not. I’m not into saying we turned our season around on one particular day. We have to play our season one game at a time.”
SU Players – Press Conference November 1, 2004
Senior safety O’Neil Scott
Opening statement:
“Pittsburgh has a really physical offense. They have a good quarterback, and wide receivers who go up and catch the ball. They will probably try to throw the ball down field and run it because they have a balanced attack.”
On Pittsburgh losing key players from last season:
“They have receivers that have the ability to go up and catch the ball. Yeah, they’re missing Larry Fitzgerald, but they still have great players at the wide receiver spot.”
On the emotions of Senior Day:
“This is my last game in the Dome, so I’m going to play my heart out. It is always tough to make a change in your life. I’m going to fight through it and play as hard as I can because it’s my last game.”
On the defensive line:
“It’s really encouraging to get turnovers. The defensive line always helps us play better because we don’t have to cover as long. I’m sure that they’re going to be able to carry that momentum over to this game. They are working hard and they know what’s at stake right now.”
On the defense creating turnovers:
“Every day we work causing turnovers. Our coaches constantly push us to improve on that and we have certain drills that are focused on getting the ball whether it’s intercepting it or going for a strip. There’s a little bit of luck involved as far as where the ball bounces, but we are focused on going to get the ball.”
Junior tailback Damien Rhodes
Opening statement:
“Defensively plays an eight-man front so it will be harder to run the ball. If we take the same approach we did last week then we’ll be alright. They are going to be after us and we expect a lot of pressure. They have good athletes and it is going to be a tough challenge for us, but I think we can handle it.”
On similarities between SU and Pittsburgh:
“We both have young quarterbacks, but I wouldn’t call us a young team. I think we’ve been through a lot this year and that we’ve grown up. I think we’re a much more mature team than we were when the season started.”
