Head Coach Greg Robinson Press Conference (November 6, 2007)
Opening Statement:
"I've had a chance to look at South Florida. They're a good football team. In all phases they've really excelled – offense, defense and in the kicking game, at times. We have a lot to prepare for and I'm really looking forward to getting into the meat of it today.
"I also announce that on Saturday our honorary captain will be Reggie Terry. He'll be returning for the first time since he left us and went to Arizona (Cardinals). Reggie has been a captain for a long time around here for a whole lot of years. He's done a great job in player development, football operation – all those things. He was very involved with these young people and I know the football team will be excited and proud to have him come back. I think the University feels the same way. He's had so many great relationships with so many people on campus and in the community, as well. I know Reggie is excited to come back. It will be a good thing."
On quarterback Andrew Robinson's MRI results:
"They found a slight crack in one of his ribs and that's really were the discomfort is coming from. It really wasn't even identified in an x-ray. It was an MRI that had to really find it. With that being said, it's a matter of him just working to see where we are with him as the week progresses."
On when he sustained the injury:
"That part of it has not been determined and I don't think Andrew really knows."
On if the injury was sustained because of physical contact:
"I don't know. At one time he thought it was in his muscle. (smiling) Like I say, my children used to call me a second-string doctor, they were very impressed with what I knew when I was home. (seriously) What I learned is when you have a little injury like that your muscles really work to contract and shield that area. That's where spasming occurs. So I think what he was feeling was the muscles, but was created by a crack in the ribs."
On if Andrew Robinson will be held out of practice:
"I want to wait and see what he's comfortable with. That's really what the name of the game is and I think it's really about a comfort level. We'll work through that and in the meantime, we know, just like last week, Cameron (Dantley) had just about all the reps on Wednesday and all the reps on Thursday and the little bit that we did on Friday and it helped him. I know we'll have Cam ready to go and we'll go from there."
On if there is a concern with Andrew Robinson facing South Florida's strong defensive line:
"Andrew's not going to play if we think he's in jeopardy of getting injured in a way that would really affect him – that isn't the plan. If he's playing it's because he's feeling good and he can go. I think that's really what it is and I don't think you talk about 'oh it's this guy or it's that guy.' No, it's about Andrew."
On if he'll have freshman Cody Catalina ready at quarterback or have senior Joe Fields preparing as the third-string quarterback:
"All of the above."
On if he's confident with Dantley as quarterback:
"I think we all feel good about Cam. I felt good about Cam going into the game. I felt good about Cam all this fall. He's grown and developed and worked very hard. I talked about it a few weeks ago about the two of them. They are side-by-side and they work together, study together and the two of them have helped each other grow. They were under Perry Patterson's wing for a year. The two of them have really worked well, so I feel very good about Cam."
On Dantley's confidence level:
"I think he feels really good about himself."
On if the goal of playing younger guys with just three games remaining in the season:
"I don't think that way – I really don't. Our goal is to win. Our goal is to win and if playing the young guys is working to help us win, then yes. I promise you that there are not young players in the game who don't deserve to be in there – in my opinion. I say go back to the other players who they might be playing for and talk to them because I've talked to most of those guys and they understand why those young guys are in there – they do. And they are still competing to still get their playing time. That's a good thing. In the meantime, our goal is to win. We want to beat South Florida. That's a good football team. If we beat South Florida that's a good statement to everybody."
On if he will continue to use redshirt freshman Parker Cantey at linebacker:
"I would say that Parker is going to be playing."
On sophomore defensive tackle Arthur Jones' maturation:
"He really has improved and really he's more comfortable in everything we're doing. He's beginning to look like an experienced football player. We always loved the way Arthur was such a physical player in the interior, but it was really a matter of mastering some techniques and really understanding the scheme of things. I think he's growing more and more comfortable so he's less inhibited and he cuts loose. He's a good football player and he's a physical football player."
On junior Patrick Shadle's kickoffs:
"I tell Pat not to try so hard. I can relate it with something I experience in my golf game. The harder I swing, the less distance it goes. Really when he stays rhythmic and just lets it go, he can pop that ball. Sometimes he can really get grooved for a long period of time. The one thing I do feel about Pat and (punter) Rob Long is that they self-correct very well. They know themselves and a little piece here or there and I'll say to them, 'hold it; you're pulling out of there.' Just like the golf swing, it really is. You're trying so hard that you jerk out of there and all of a sudden you pull it and you don't get what you want into it. I think Pat's good, he's a good kicker and I think he feels he didn't kick it well. As I tell him, 'let your teammates go to work for you. Just kick it down there.' When he's kicking right, it's going to be somewhere between the eight- and three-yard line consistently. Sometimes when he tries too hard, he'll get under a ball and might pop it up a little bit or he'll get through it too much and he'll pull it a little bit or he doesn't get any height. He has a good stroke and he can hit that ball and I'm not overly concerned about that."
On wide receiver Mike Williams' performance and his consistency:
"I think Mike is pretty consistent catching the ball. He's had his moments. I've never met a receiver who didn't drop a pass. I think we count on Mike to catch the football and I don't think we go into it thinking, 'Oh I wonder if Mike's going to catch this.' He's made some catches that are pretty darn special. All-in-all, I don't worry about Mike in that regard."
On if the defensive pieces are falling into place:
"If you remember back to Rutgers, we blitzed and had some success the first time. The second time we got misaligned – a couple of young guys out of position. We really had an opportunity to get a sack and it turned into a 44-yard touchdown pass. I thought we did a nice job the other day. Does that mean we feel a little more confident in the way our people understand what they are doing? Yes, I think so. I think that's fair to say."
On if he expects the defense to force some more turnovers:
"That part of it you just have to stay after. The thing I will tell you is that I haven't seen the officials report, but there was one (fumble) that was close. The ball came out and was he down or was he not. The point I make is the way we were getting around the football the other day that’s when the turnovers were coming. If we can keep swarming the football like that and get around the quarterback more, that’s when you get the errant throw and the interception. We had the interception, but we had a pass interference call that really it was and we didn't need to. We were in good position, so we had an interception taken away from us."
On South Florida quarterback Matt Grothe:
"This guy, at times, can be magic. He can come out the back door on the left side, where he drops back to pass and boom he comes right and breaks your contain down. He can throw it. He breaks it out to the right side and throws it down the field. He fit one in there against Florida Atlantic – about a 40-yard ball in between two guys and it's a great throw. He does things like that. He scrambles, he runs around, and he breaks tackles. He has a (Doug) Flutie-like way about him, where he's all over that field. He's not very big, but he takes a hit. He ran the ball 22 times – he's credited with 22 carries, now some of those might have been scrambles – but the point is he's a very difficult player to defend."
On what has gone wrong for South Florida during the past three games:
"The turnover factor has come into play. Against UConn it's an interception for a touchdown that was really the difference in the ball game. In the Rutgers game, it's a little bit of some bad luck. They had a couple of situations that were tough on them. The other day the turnovers, I think, really were a factor. That's what I would say and I suspect in their own mind it's more about them than it is their opponent. You have to give the opponent credit, too."
On if besides West Virginia, anyone in the BIG EAST has better personnel than South Florida:
"No. I would say this, their personnel is right up there with West Virginia. I don't mean that in a slight to them. I give credit to these other teams that done a good job, but they're good. That defensive line is good. That line backing corps is full of experienced football players. The secondary is good. The offensive line is good. The quarterback is good. That tough hard-nose running back and a good group of receivers. They're a good football team."
