Head Coach Doug Marrone (August 9, 2010)
2010 Media Day Transcript
Opening Statement:
“I’d like to welcome everyone back. (smiling) It looks like most of you have done a good job of getting in shape for this upcoming season, so good job in your offseason program. It is always an exciting time for us as coaches here starting this second season. We have 30 new scholarship players joining us for this preseason. There are a lot of questions and that is what this preseason is about.
“We have three starters returning for offense. We’re looking for help on that side of the ball. As we go through this preseason we’ll know more about new players, where they fit in and what their roles are on this team will be. That is an exciting time for us as coaches and also a tremendous challenge.
“Defensively we return 10 starters. It is always a good thing to have experience on that side of the ball. We’re looking for improvement in both offense and defense and we’re looking for major improvement in our special teams. We think we’ll be able to get that improvement with some of our new players we have brought into this program . That is what we’ll find out during this preseason.
“Our team goal is, obviously, to go to a Bowl game, which we haven’t done since 2004, and to have a winning season, which we haven’t done since 2002. That is the expectation and the goal of this football team and this staff as we approach this 2010 season.
“I have some other news to share of which I’ve recently been informed. Obviously, I love this University. We have a great administration starting with our Chancellor all the way down to our Athletic Director, Dr. Daryl Gross. I believe in the judicial process here at this school. I support them 110 percent. I recently learned that (running back) Delone Carter will be reinstated back into school. We expect him to be traveling tomorrow. I do not know exactly what time he will arrive, but as more information comes out we’ll get that to the media.”
On whether Carter will face disciplinary action from the football program:
“We look forward to (Delone Carter) coming back and being a part of this team. One of the things that has happened is that we have taken disciplinary action internally as a football program and Judicial Affairs has had its part in that. As far as our football program goes, we have punished Delone and that punishment has been carried out. Now it is time for us to move forward.”
On whether Carter will be suspended for games
“Delone was punished prior to departing campus (in the Spring).”
On when he was informed of Carter’s reinstatement:
“I was informed by Delone’s father first and then Delone himself. Not more than an hour and a half ago.”
On whether Carter will play against Akron:
“For me to judge whether he is playing or not, I haven’t seen him for a long period of time. I’m not going to make any statements until I see him when he returns to campus – his physical shape and how he is.”
On whether Carter will be eligible to play against Akron pending disciplinary action:
“I believe I’ve answered the question before. We took action right away, which is the way our program is. We took action immediately, internally, right off the bat, prior to him leaving campus and that punishment was fulfilled. He has been punished by the football program and has gone through the process with Judicial Affairs, therefore, I don’t know how many times you punish a player.”
On which positions will have the most competition during preseason camp:
“It is all competition. It is going to be interesting to see what comes out of the wide receivers, the skill group. We’ll have competition for who the third quarterback will be and there will be competition for who the third running back will be. There will be a lot of competition within the offensive line, making sure they’re in the right position.
“Defensively, our tackles will be in competition. We have some young linebackers we have to look at. In the defensive back unit we have a lot of players returning who have a lot of experience and we just need to make sure that we find the best positions for them. If you’re looking for the biggest area of competition it will be special teams, for everyone on this football team.”
On whether he is happy with the progression in his second season:
“Going back to last year I was disappointed in the win total, obviously. Going back and looking at some of the things that we’re doing, to use some key words –changing the culture and creating the structure, discipline and leadership – we have won a lot of those battles from when last season ended until now. Now our goal is to make sure that carries onto the field in wins. That is the one thing we’ve talked about, we understand our job and we understand we have to win. That is what we’re putting all our effort into.”
On whether he is relieved that having Carter will shore up the running back position:
“It’s like anything else, we can go out there today and injuries can occur on this field. People have to look forward to step up. I look at that situation knowing that someone would have to step up. When I first started looking at the (running back) position and thought we were looking thin there, we made the move to bring (former cornerback) Dorian Graham over to offense. That was a good move and one that we had discussed before and then we moved (former wide receiver) Steve Rene back to running back. When you look into what the BIG EAST has done, and around the country, there are a lot of freshmen just reporting to campus who are doing a good job at that running back position. I’ve said this from the beginning, my philosophy has always been the further you are away from the ball, the earlier you are able to play and start. I think that holds true.”
On when there will be a final status for Averin Collier and when Carter will return to practice:
“(We will know about) Averin the day that school starts. There has already been one day for sure, which was the reporting date, he is not here, so as of right now he is not eligible. With Delone, we’re talking about something that just happened an hour ago. There are NCAA rules about how a player transitions into practice. He has to have at least two practices without shoulder pads and just a helmet, like our players will be today and tomorrow, so he’ll have to go through that. Then obviously a lot depends on the medical evaluation. All of our players have to pass a physical before they go on the field. There is a process between our medical staff and the NCAA about what we have to do before a player can get on that field.”
On the process of moving Dorian Graham to receiver from cornerback:
“I’ve always admired Dorian’s speed and we have a lot of players back with a lot of experience at the defensive back position. When you’re able to bring someone over to the offensive side of the ball who has speed and can get behind a defense, that creates an advantage for us. Dorian was great, he was excited about it. The only question he asked was if something happens on defense with injuries if we would transition him back there and if something happens where putting him at defensive back would best position us to win, we would make that switch. We’re planning on him really contributing quite a bit, putting him into the plan and seeing how he can execute it this preseason. We’re hoping to get good production out of him at receiver.”
On what he is trying to improve on coming into his second preseason camp:
“We have to get better and that starts with me. I have to get better at everything that we do. I’ve talked to the assistant coaches and told them we need them to be better. We need our trainers, our administration and our (strength & conditioning) coaches to be better. We need our players to be better. I’m expecting us to be better and be a more competitive football team.”
On the depth of the team:
“With the walk-ons, which we’ve increased the number – and I think we have some good quality walk-ons who could potentially earn a scholarship down that road, which happened last spring – I’m assuming we’ll be at 95, which is 10 short of the NCAA limit. I’ll know more about the depth when I see where our young players are. Right now I would say, yes, I do have a concern from where maybe a starter to the next level or the second player who comes in. There is still a major concern for the depth.”
On how confident he is about the team winning six games to make a Bowl game with teams like Maine and Colgate on the schedule:
“The level of confidence will rise throughout preseason camp, seeing how we improve as a football team. We’ll let our play judge that when we get on the football field, but it is hard to say, there are a lot of things that need to happen for us to be successful. We have to stay healthy, that is the number one thing. Then, obviously, we have to be able to get out there, execute and play and be able to push ourselves through adverse situations. Maybe the ball gets turned over – which we’re trying to prevent – maybe the opposing team has a big play downfield, what kind of team are we going to be then? I know we’re not going to be the kind of team that hangs our head, we’re going to get back in there and fight through it, that is what we’ve been stressing with our players. Maine and Colgate are both good football teams, they really are. We saw that last year in their play and obviously I have all the respect in the world for Colgate and Coach Biddel, someone who I’ve looked up to as a young coach. What he has done with that program has been a great credit to him and the people at Colgate.”
On Doug Hogue and Derrell Smith leading the young linebacker corps:
“Obviously it is expected of them and that will be big for us. Both those players are coming off very good years for us last year playing that position and again we expect them to be better for us. They’ve taken the younger players under their wing and I’m very proud of the job they do. They handle themselves very well.”
On offensive linemen Michael Hay and Andrew Tiller:
“Andrew, I think you’ll notice today, has done a great job changing his body around. You’ll see Andrew at about 338 pounds which is a big drop off. He had to work hard to do that, he had an injury where he wasn’t able to run and get out there. He has really come a long way. He is a big body guy who can move a lot better than what people think when they first see him. Michael brings a toughness to our offensive line that we need from all of our players. We’re excited about how he has transitioned, coming from Nassau (Community College) to Syracuse University and we’re looking for him to play well for us at that position. He did a nice job in the Spring, really came on at the end. He had a good summer and really increased his speed, so we’re excited about that. Justin Pugh at left tackle will be another player who will surprise some people.”
On the support for the team from the surrounding communities, such as Utica, N.Y.:
“That very important. The good thing about it is that every time I go out to these events and am around those people I feel like I’m home and I fit right in. The Boilermaker wasn’t a marketing ploy, it was the wife, who I love very much, saying ‘Hey, you better get in shape and we’re going to run this Boilermaker.’ To go out there and be able to be around people who care about the program, obviously we appreciate that. I also think it’s very important that people are able to express their points of view of the program and the direction that we’re going, that is very important at this stage of our program.”
On singling out two or three impact players in the incoming class:
“I hope that we have 30 impact players and I mean that. It is unfair right now to put that on three players and not the other 27, so we put that on all 30. We expect that all 30 new players will have an impact somewhere in our program.”
On quarterback Ryan Nassib returning with experience:
“He got more than a little bit (of experience) because of the situations that he was put in (last season). We’re excited. He performed well for us last year, he had a great Spring and has a great knowledge of what we’re trying to get done. We’re going to see great game management from him and you’re going to see a leader. I don’t think there is a player we put on the field who we don’t expect great things from.”
On the importance of getting off to a good start:
“When you look at our record we haven’t been good at opening games in the past few years. We mentioned that to the players, we’ve talked about it with them and then we just prepare them to give us their best at that time. We talk about hostile environments or tough situations to play in but we explain the situation, give them the facts, we go to the stadium, we line up and we play. We don’t put too much more into it. Someone asked me the other day how important it was to get off to a good start. Because we only play 12 games so it is always important to get off to a good start. Getting off to a good start can help us a lot of ways, and I’ve told the players this. It would create a confidence that we need and we have to do that. We prepare them all the time from our leadership program to life skills to what we do with them in the classroom and getting off to a good start is what we need to do to be successful.”
On how far along he is in changing the culture:
“I think it’s very far along, but I leave that up to the people outside the program that touch it. When you go today and talk to our players, when you go out in the community and talk to people who run into our players (you see it). I was at a store the other day and was told that our players had been in there and that there is a difference in them. That is what is exciting, that is when you know what you’re doing is really hitting home with them and you have a trust factor and a belief from them. I leave that judgment up to the people who are around our players.”
On the base defense:
“Everyone knows we’ve run our defense out of a four down package with three linebackers and four secondary defenders and I think you’ve seen in our nickel package that we’ve had three down lineman. It can really be nickel or dime with a lot of people fitting into those roles, whether its five defensive backs or six defensive backs, whatever it may be you could see a lot of different people on the field.”
