Head Coach Greg Robinson Press Conference Transcript (Sept. 16, 2008)
Opening Comments
“Our honorary captain for this week is Chris Gedney. Obviously, he was an outstanding football player for our program and went on for a number of years to play in professional football. I have first-hand knowledge of Chris, having coached against him, but I've also gotten to know him very well since he's been part of the program working with the athletics department. I think that this is a great person to bring back and to honor. He spends a lot of time with our team already. He does a great job spending time with our players at different times. He'll go into study table at night and visit with them. He really is committed to just being a part of the overall program. So, it's great to have him as our honorary captain.
“In getting ready for Northeastern, this is a very important game for us. We know that. We're at home again and there's just so much at stake. We need to gain momentum. We need to play well. We need to win. All of those things make this a very, very meaningful football game as we get ready to go into the BIG EAST next week.”
On Delone Carter's MRI:
“It showed that it's a strained hamstring. He injured it, but it's not a tear, and that's a positive.”
What is the quarterback situation for this Saturday?
“I think right now we're going to go with Cam. I'm glad we got Andrew (Robinson) in for a few plays the other day. I know he's prepared to be ready to go at any time.”
Would you ever go back into playing two quarterbacks?
“I haven't really given it a lot of thought right now. At the quarterback position, it's not really what I believe is the right thing to do at this time.”
You're playing a team in a lower division. Do you mention that to your team or does it enter your mind at all or do you look at it as just another team?
“I look at it as another team. Lower division, upper division or whatever it is – they're a football team. It's the team we're playing this week. It's no different than when I said it's not about Penn State – it's about us. I said it wasn't about Akron. It's about us. I said the same thing about Northwestern. It isn't about Northeastern. It's about us and how much are we going to improve from last week. That's the name of the game. Every week, it's about us and how we perform. It's not about the opponent.”
What did you think of them (Northeastern) against Georgia Southern?
“They were a more explosive offensive team. They did a lot more offensively in that game than they did in the week before against Ball State. I thought on the defensive side of the ball, they played tough. I think at Ball State, it just got away from them early.”
On true freshman receiver Marcus Sales:
“He still has a lot of growing to do. Marcus is a good football player and his physical skills are very good. He's just learning the tempo and the demands of college football. I think he'd be the first to tell you that it's different. That's the biggest challenge for him –to play at the tempo of what college football's all about, consistently.”
Will Randy McKinnon be back this week?
“I think so. We'll see today (at practice). From every indication, even on Sunday, I think he'll be back.”
Are you at the point where you feel like the team is at a point where it needs to win?
“I think every team is that way. Yes. We need to have success. I don't care if it's this year or last year, baseball or basketball, a team needs to have success and needs to play well, too. I think that's all part of it. Confidence is doing the right things consistently and feeling good about it. Winning helps, too, but you want to win in a way that you feel like you've performed well. I'd like to see our offense, defense and special teams all play well together.”
Does anyone jump out at you on this Northeastern team?
“The quarterback is a very good player. You can tell he's a leader. He runs their offense well, throws the ball well and he ran the ball a number of times the other day. He's big and physical. They list him at 240 lbs. I don't know if he's that big, but he's good-sized. Their tailback played well. I thought they did a good job up front. They utilized a lot of people in their offense.”
