Coach Quotes
Head Coach Greg Robinson
On the fans:
“We really, really did appreciate the crowd out here today and the support we have had all spring. We are going to keep working and I promise you that we are going to have a heck of a football team come this fall.”
On the offense in the second half:
“He (Landel Bembo) had a couple of passes, he got the bootleg out and I thought Joe (Fields) did a good job when he kept the ball that one time. I just thought that they started to get their rhythm going a little bit and all of a sudden made a few plays and got right back into it. I just think you can see right now that we have a lot of experience on defense and it showed up a little bit early in the scrimmage, but I am liking what we are doing on both sides of the ball.”
On how tough it is for the offense to play the defense:
“I like to think that we had some limitations on both sides of the ball. With that in mind, I just liked the effort. I like that our guys are working. We could have done some things better on both sides of the ball, but I think all in all, we are flying around and working hard and that good things are going to come.”
On today’s crowd:
“It was great. I know the team really appreciates it.”
On what he is going to do now that spring practice is complete:
“Recruiting, got to get it going. Spring recruiting and getting ready for next year’s crop.”
On if he accomplished what he hoped today:
“I believe we did. Again, I have to see the film. I thought that in the first half I really felt that the defense was tough. They got that one breakout on us, Damien (Rhodes) got out, but I thought we played the run very well and I think we created some problems in the passing game. I think that the receivers helped us a little bit in the first half, we had a few drops and that is why we talk about precise passing, but all in all, I thought that there was a lot accomplished with the guys that stayed in during the second half and kept battling out there and working hard.”
On the excitement surrounding the program right now:
“I am just proud to be here and be a part of this thing. I can see with the community and the school working together, its powerful stuff.”
On what he hopes the fans took away from the game:
“What I really hope to believe is that they can feel the energy from our football team. They know we are working hard and they can see some talent out there, and they know that good things are ahead for us.”
On how it felt to roam the sideline:
“I was enjoying it. I was flipping the switches from offense to defense. It was good. I was really more just observing today and taking it all in and really kind of just seeing how we were growing. I like being in the Dome because you can tell now what’s going to be like now. I don’t know how many people were here, but you can still feel and hear them, and that is pretty impressive.”
On the play of the quarterbacks today:
“Again I would have to look. Sometimes it was guys in the second offense versus the one defense, and we have to take all that into consideration. To tell you that I really have a feel for it, I would be kidding you if I told you I did. We will assess all that next week and try to get a feel for exactly where we are at.”
On the competition between the two quarterbacks and when he wants to have a decision made:
“Definitely before the season starts, obviously. I really haven’t spent time with the coaching staff talking much about it. I have really just tried to watch these guys develop and that’s what it’s been. I think now we have to start talking more about the strategy of our upcoming season and how we have to deal with all that.”
On the competition between players:
“I think that Damien (Rhodes) is a heck of a running back, but I will tell you what, there are a number of running backs in this group that I see life in these guys that I think is pretty impressive. On the defensive side there are some battles going on, and I will be real interested to see how it looks. You can feel that they are still competing.”
On how the offense and defense looked:
“It’s hard for me to really tell how often it was one’s against one’s, but I felt our pass rush at times, and that doesn’t surprise me because I thought all spring in our first unit, and even at times in our second unit, we have been able to apply pressure and I think our first offensive line, is a good offensive line.”
Offensive Coordinator Brian Pariani
On the shape of the new offensive system:
“We are in good shape. We have things in and we will put some more things in during the summer time when we come back. We are going to allow our players to work on a lot of things between now and the summer.”
On if the current players are able to fit into his system of offense:
“Yeah, they can do it. The players can do what we want them to do. They are doing a good job of learning and understanding what we want to get done.”
On his first impressive of the offense today:
“I thought early we started out a little slow and then we picked it up as we went along. They competed and they played hard and did the things that you want to get done in the spring game. The competed with each other and the played hard and they had fun and a good time out there. They were enthusiastic, there weren’t a lot of penalties or a lot of things that we want to get working on in spring practice, communication-wise, those things were positive.”
Quarterback coach Major Applewhite on what he saw from his quarterbacks:
“There were some times that I thought they played really well. There were some times where we had some lapses; times where we could have made some mental decisions on our own to keep the ball, run the ball, get yardage, keep our drives alive. Overall I thought they did a good job of taking care of the football. We took a shot on a deep ball and had a turnover on that. But overall, I thought they did well. Kept us in the right plays. Some of that stuff we’ll keep, some of that stuff we won’t. But we tried to stay very basic today. We stayed extremely basic. When you limit yourself like that, the main thing you’re really worried about is the team functioning in and out of the huddle? Are they getting the signals? Are they handling the mechanics of the game? And are they managing it? And I thought they did a good job of that at the quarterback position.”
Major Applewhite on today’s offensive plan:
“As far as the players, the blocks are the same. The zone scheme was here before we got here. There were many of the same passing cuts, some of the same routes. A lot of carry over between last year’s style and this style. We didn’t want to show a lot today. We knew that we were holding back defensively and offensively. And the quarterbacks knew that. My main thing with them was because we’re not going to show a lot, let’s make sure that we have the mechanics of the game down, make sure that we’re taking care of the football, and that we’re managing the game well. As far as that’s concerned, I feel good about that. When we get into game-like situations, then we’ll start game playing people. We’ll have plays we don’t care what we show. But today, we put them behind the a ball a little bit, I thought they responded well.”
