Head Coach Greg Robinson Press Conference Transcript (Nov. 28, 2006)
You came in here today with a big smile. What is there to be smiling about with regard to your program?
“I am disappointed in our record. I wish we could have won some more games, obviously. I haven’t been able to assess every part of the season. That takes a good month to knock out. I am encouraged about where we are heading and what is getting done. It is unfortunate that the last game came out the way that it did. Even in watching that film, it is one of those should of, would of and could of type things. I saw a lot of good things the game, and I saw some things that were not good, obviously. Sometimes, there are games like that. I would think that even Rutgers would look at the week before against Cincinnati and it just kind of happened. That is what this game (for us at Rutgers) was. It was one that just went boom, boom, boom. Before you knew it, you had yourself in a mess. Really, we were unable to work our way out of it.
“I saw some things in the offensive running game that I really thought were good and at times, our protection was improved against a team that can put pressure on you. On the defensive side, I thought that there were a lot of good plays. We give up two touchdown throws that we shouldn’t give up. That is just the bottom line. It happened. It doesn’t happen very often in throwing game like that, but it did. I was a little concerned at the end game that maybe we got manhandled. I didn’t feel that way after watching the film. I think that on that last drive, it still came down to two fourth downs for them to get that drive in there. It wasn’t like they had reserves in there, and we had a number of reserves in there. That is how I see it.
“I am looking forward to getting going again. Like I said, I went on the road yesterday. I will tell you that, just being on the road yesterday, I like the perception that people have of where our program is going. I am getting good feedback. I like that. These are people who are out there in the football world. That is encouraging to me.”
What is it about the season that you are encouraged about?
“I think that offensively, we are light years ahead of where we were at the start of the season. Statistics can’t always prove that out, but I know where we are. Now it is building off of it. I think that defensively, in a lot of ways, there are a lot of encouraging things. We have to replace a linebacking corps, but we do have players who have been in the program and getting reps for two years and have been a part of special teams. I can see where we can go from this point.”
Can you give some specifics of where you are light years ahead on the offense?
“I think, first of all, our offense was challenged well. I think Wake Forest is a good football team and a very good defensive football team. I think Iowa is a very good defensive football team. I think in the Pittsburgh game, I didn’t think that we did anything very well in that game. I didn’t think we played well as a football team in that game. In the West Virginia game, good things happened. In the Louisville game, good things happened. We hurt ourselves but there were good things happening. I think Rutgers has a good defense. I think Cincinnati has a good defense. I think that receiving corps and the tight end corps are returning. I think we have a group coming in to blend in with this offensive line that will make it very competitive. I saw it during the season as I watched these young players. I told you that. I am looking forward to infusing that into the competitive environment in the line and I think that is going to be helpful.”
What do you think about your skill positions being young?
“Taj (Smith) will be a senior next year and we will have Taj back. The receiving corps is young other than Taj. I think there is talent there. They are so much further along than last year at this time. We lose Tim (Lane), but we have Rice (Moss), Taj, Mike Williams, Donte Davis, Lavar (Lobdell) and Jeremy (Horne). These are good football players. I was glad that we got (quarterback) Andrew (Robinson) in. He has been tinkering around and getting his chance to get in there. I think that it is going to help him. I can’t pin it all down on statistics but I do know this, if you get a first down or you don’t get a penalty in some of those situations, it gives you more of a chance statistically. We fought that a little this year.”
Is this job and The BIG EAST Conference a little more challenging than you thought two years ago?
“When I walked in here, I really didn’t know the circumstances. I also didn’t really know the league. I did tell you after the first year, I was impressed. After coming from the Big XII, I don’t think that anybody wanted to hear it at the end of last year and then all of a sudden West Virginia pulls off a big game against Georgia (in the 2006 Sugar Bowl) and people begin to think ‘wow, maybe.’ I see the talent level and I think that it is a good, strong league. I didn’t really know where any of these teams stood going in and I really didn’t know where we were with the Syracuse football team. It is a battle. I like where we are progressing. I like last year’s recruiting class and what we are building right now in this year’s recruiting class. It still comes down to players. I like our coaching staff. We just have to keep going. It isn’t going to be just a miracle. I have learned that. As hard as I have tried, I want today what looks like is going to be tomorrow. I am not discouraged.”
(Athletics Director Dr.) Daryl Gross talked about national championship football prior to your first year. Do you wish he didn’t say that?
“Not at all. I don’t because I know where he was coming from and I know what he was thinking. I don’t think it is that easy in this day and age to just flip it over. I think that at Southern Cal is a little different because I think that you can get your hands on the talent a little quicker. I am never going to say you can’t do this or that because all I do know is that you win the league and you happen to put it all together in a year, you can be playing in that game. I don’t know all the stats of other teams in the league, but I know that there has been a building process in front of them. I would like to believe we can do it quicker. I want to believe that. I know we can coach it. I believe that and I think that is just a matter of getting the right pieces in the puzzle.”
Do you not have that (the pieces to the puzzle) now when you say it all comes down to players?
“We all have to be realistic. We have won five games in two years. Some of that is transition, trust me. That plays a part in it. I think there are good players here. I think that there are some who have really developed and improved. You have to keep getting them. I talk about recruiting all the time and that I am a believer that it is not the four or five outstanding recruits, it is from top to bottom. You are only as good as your weakest link and you have to have depth on your football team. There are certain areas that I think that is starting to happen.”
Is there more pressure next year because these are your guys?
“Pressure is what you put on yourself. There is always pressure. There is pressure every game. That isn’t what you focus on. I don’t worry about the pressure. I worry about getting better. I think that next year I expect to see more improvement than this year. I will know more at the end of Spring ball. I think that it is a building process. I don’t know if we can all of a sudden go ‘phoomph’ and there we are. As each year comes, there is more responsibility because now you have had a couple of shots. That is really how I look at it. Last year was our first real year. There were three kids from the year before who we basically got to recruit. That is not to take anything from the guys that we got. A number of them aren’t here anymore. I just think that it is the next year. I have expectations for myself to continue to improve. I think that there has been improvement. I think that our players believe that and I think that they know in their hearts that there were three or four games that if you do this or do that, who know what happens. That is how you get over that hump and you make that turn.”
Where are the areas you need players?
“I am a believer that the hardest thing to build and what takes the longest amount of time is the offensive line. So that was an immediate focus. Obviously, getting a young quarterback into the program was paramount. Then, the offensive line was critical. I think that we have helped ourselves in that area. I believe that in January, we will have some residual effect of that group from last year who will be joining us. I can’t get into all that, as you know, but I think that we are going to gain some more help that was recruited in that offensive line. I think the receiving corps is a different group. Taj (Smith), he jumped out, and then Mike (Williams) started coming on. I think the tight end position is the most critical position for this year to infuse into the system. We haven’t recruited a tight end. I like the group, but they are getting ready to get old. The running back position is one that we are going to keep turning. You don’t need to bring in five of them, but you need to get a back or two every year. You need to keep that always moving.
“On the defensive side of it, that is where our emphasis is this year. We are continuing to rebuild the secondary. We have the linebacking corps and I think we are headed in the right direction there and the same thing on the defensive line. We have some young players who have gained experience. We have some who are in the wings and are ready to jump in and I think that they are going to make their presence felt. Most of the emphasis is on the defensive side this year. There are still some spots on the offense that we are going to continue to build on. We went more on the offensive side last year and it is leaning more toward the defensive side this year.”
Would you consider any changes in your staff?
“Just like I said last year, I think it will take me a month to really just sit down and weigh everything. How are we doing this and how are we doing that? What about this and do we need to improve this? I mean in every way – recruiting, coaching, motivation and relationships. That is the same thing with players, too. It is what is needed to continue to grow and develop. We will take an assessment of everything, facilities and all of those things. I have a second year under my belt and I think that I have a better feel for what this is all about. I like the challenge here because I think it can get done. It is just one that you have to stay after. Once you can get it rolling, I think it has some special qualities about it that will really help pull things in.”
Would you consider stepping away from coordinating the defense to oversee the entire team?
“I don’t want to make statements. You are thinking way ahead of me. I am willing to do whatever I think is the right thing to do to direct the program. In fairness to the four guys who work with me over on the defensive side, I like what they are doing. They do a good job and I give them a lot of responsibility, trust me, so that I have hours in the day to do some of that. I don’t want to say something right now that really isn’t what I thought through. I am not afraid to do the right things.”
How much of a disadvantage is it not being able to practice for a bowl?
“I believe that a bowl game is an advantage. It is almost like having another spring practice. That is one of the misfortunes of not being in it. Just in my experiences in the past, what you can do with your young players and how much growth can be made, you are at a disadvantage. At the same time, recruiting is paramount for what we are doing. It does give a set opportunity to be out and to keep pounding away. Not that a bowl game can’t help you in recruiting, too. One day out, it is not to say that I haven’t had communication with recruits and their coaches throughout the season, I like what I am feeling and the perception of our program and what is going to bloom.”
Is there one thing you would say to the seniors who are leaving the program?
“I got to them in the locker room after the ball game and then I talked to them again on Sunday afternoon and we are going to see them at the banquet, too. There are good people and they have invested a lot. It is a hard thing to say goodbye to them and see them move out. I wish I could have given them more where the results were, where they could walk away and say ‘hey.’ At the same time, I think that, to a man, they have really made a difference and I think that they believe that things are heading in the right direction and that they were a part of it.”
Are there any postseason surgeries?
“We had (defensive tackle) Tony (Jenkins). I think that we are fine.”
During the season, after an interception or some other play that did not go your team’s way, you were always the first to applaud the team. How did you maintain that excitement and did you ever think of holding it back a little?
“I see you only see certain parts (smiling). There are times when I see that this is not the time to hang your head over that. I can go to the Iowa game. Wait a minute, we are in the fight. Even on that sideline, there is a time or two where I have to get them off their tails where they are kind of waiting for doom and gloom. There have been times that I have shared my displeasure with things. That is part of football. I am a believer that no matter what it is, that the game is 60 minutes. It is not an easy thing to keep that focus and to maintain it and just keep going. I think that our team understands that. If we can get better, all of a sudden that can turn and explode, too. Again I say it, disappointed, frustrated but not discouraged. You can’t be. You just can’t. You can’t in sports or really anything. You have to be able to stick it out and fight it through and overcome it. That is why sometimes I say it to (Syracuse Post-Standard writer) Donnie (Webb), no that play wasn’t the turning point in my mind. It just put us in a more adverse situation and can we still overcome it. There were sometimes that we overcame some things and overcame the adversity. Then there were other times we built it up to an extent to where we couldn’t get it back, but that one play wasn’t the turning point. It only sets us back. Just like after the interception against Wake Forest and Marvin (McCall) couldn’t snap that ball back to Perry (Patterson) and we fumbled that ball, it wasn’t the turning point in the game. My point to you is that there were two more plays where we had our hands on those fumbles, such as when the (Wake Forest quarterback) broke his arm, and we didn’t get them. The game was still tied. We put the momentum back on their side by fumbling the ball, but it was still a tie football game. Then we had a couple of situation where we could have but we didn’t get the ball. That is what I am trying to say. You just keep playing.”
You went form one win last year to four wins this year. How reasonable is it to expect three more wins next year?
“The expectations – I don’t have a problem with the expectations. I really don’t and I don’t know what they should be. A bowl game is one of the things that we want. We want all of that. It is really about improving. The expectations are beginning to get better and better. Win more, yes. I told you last year. I am not going to do what (Texas head coach) Mack (Brown) did at North Carolina and say ‘I am going to win twice as many’ and he didn’t.
“I have expectations, too. I want us to be better and I want us to win more. I can find you examples of young quarterbacks winning. It still comes down to the guys around him, too. (South Florida quarterback Matt) Grothe had never played. He redshirted, but had never played. He has done a real fine job. How much had (Southern Cal quarterback John David) Booty played. He had been around a lot. He hadn’t played much. He had to overcome a surgery and he looked pretty good to me the other night (against Notre Dame). I am not going to put a negative that we have a young quarterback playing. It doesn’t necessarily have to that way?”
Is (freshman quarterback) Andrew Robinson ready?
“Your guess is as good as mine. We will find out in September. I know this, he is going to accept the challenge. He is a good young man who is highly motivated and very intelligent. He has physical skills. Those are good combinations. The thing that I told you on Saturday that I really liked was the enthusiasm that his teammates showed for him and that is a good thing.”
