Head Coach Doug Marrone Press Conference Transcript (August 5, 2011)
Coach Marrone's Opening Remarks At Syracuse Football Media Day:
"Welcome. We're looking forward to an exciting season. We have some orders of business that we have to take care of first. (Wide receiver) Marcus Sales and (quarterback) Jonny Miller at this point are suspended from the football program. When there is further information, I will definitely let you know. I've always done that. That's been my policy. I really can't speak about it. We have a legal process that everything has to go through, as well as a judicial process.
"A couple other orders of business to address. (Running back) Prince-Tyson Gulley, we are excited that he is healing from his injuries. He will be out for approximately 7-10 days. He'll be on the field doing everything with us, but as far as his full availability, it'll be within 7-10 days, so we look forward to him returning to the field and him being very productive for us as a player.
"(Offensive line) coach Greg Adkins has a medical situation that he is out with. It is not life-threatening, and obviously we look forward to his return. The responsibility of coaching the offensive line is now with me until Greg's return, which we do not know right now but we will update you when that situation presents itself.
"(Running back) Steve Rene currently has an infection. He's been excused and it is being taken care of at his home. We are expecting him to be released on Sunday, and I'll have more information after that.
"(Nose tackle) Ollie Haney will not be involved with contact until August 12, and (fullback) Carl Cutler is out with an ACL. So that puts everyone up to date with exactly where we're at with our roster.
"Now getting into the order of business with what we're here for. First off, I want everyone to know, and the players will tell you this, we talked to the players and we have signed onto our goals, and our goal as a football team, make no mistake about it, is to be able to compete for a BIG EAST Championship. That's what we're expected to do. Now that we're in camp, it's very important to understand that we have a philosophy that we never start where we left off. We always have to start from the beginning. So what we're going to try to create is this work ethic, this foundation that will give us the ability to attain our goals. Not only attain our goal for this year, but for every year to be a competitive football team in this conference.
"Offensively, we're excited. We return more starters on that side of the ball. So we look forward to our offensive line, four of five starters return. Nick Provo returns for us at the tight end position. We have more skill players than we've had before at the wide receiver position, which will help us.
"We have a quarterback in Ryan Nassib, who will be our starter. He's been in the system for a while, and we look forward to (running back) Antwon Bailey being back there to carry the load, even though we will miss Delone Carter and what we did for our football team from leadership and also what he did from a productivity standpoint.
"At fullback we have Adam Harris and Tom Trendowski, which we're excited about. And again, make no mistake about it, the problem offensively, and it was said publicly before the bowl game, was that we did not make enough big plays. So obviously that's a point of emphasis on what we have to do. Not just Syracuse University's offense, but every offense that has a goal to be successful and to be in the top five or the top ten, you have to make those big plays. We were able to do it in the last game of the season, now we have to create a foundation for ourselves and be able to do it on a consistent basis. And that's our challenge.
"Special teams-wise, I think we've taken for granted the job that Rob Long has done here. We're excited that Rob has recovered from his tumor. We're excited that he is given an opportunity to try out with Cleveland. I wish everyone could have been on that phone to hear Rob's voice when that opportunity presented itself, so we're very excited about that. But again, with Shane Raupers coming in, and we have a freshman whom we've awarded a scholarship to compete for that position. The punting position is probably one of the most crucial competitions that will occur during this preseason period.
"Ross Krautman returns as our kicker. We're excited about that. He's proven, even as a freshman, which he received honors for, that he can handle the pressure and those type of duties.
"Obviously we return our short snapper in Macky MacPherson. Our long snapper, and again is another situation that we have to pay attention to as we go. It's funny, and I've done a lot of talks about this, when we talk about long snappers, short snappers and holders, they tend to get overlooked and taken for granted. I think in this camp you'll see that we'll have a high level of competition for all of those positions as we go forward.
"Defensively, we've lost some very good football players. I'm excited about where our players were last year and where they are in camp. We return two defensive ends who have a lot of playing experience, so we're excited about their leadership and what they bring to the team, as well as their experience. Inside, we feel comfortable about a rotation with defensive linemen. They will be competing for repetitions. We feel that we don't know if anyone will emerge as a solid starter. That will be a one person thing. We feel that right now it's a four or five man rotation inside. We hope that people emerge there.
"Linebacker is a critical position for us. We lost Derrell Smith and Doug Hogue. Not only were they two good football players, they were better people and great leaders for us in the locker room and off the field. That’s probably our number one concern on the defensive side of the ball is leadership.
"We return two safeties, Shamarko and Phillip Thomas, whom we're excited about. We replaced two corners. Keon Lyn is a starter, and Kevyn Scott, who has played for us before as a starter. We have some young people and competition behind it that we're excited about.
"Really that's where we are. I'm excited about getting this thing started. We have a lot of work in front of us to get to where we need to be to be able compete for the goals that we have in front of us."
We understand that (running back) Prince Tyson-Gulley had a strong offseason. How much will this set him back missing 7-10 days?
"Well we're excited, and I do believe that he had a strong offseason. When you see him, you can see the physical changes in him. As far as a setback or where that's going to put him, I don't expect that. I think he's shown us a lot in the spring, so I can't really make that statement until when I see him come onto the field in 7-10 days."
With these off-the-field issues, how you can turn negatives into positives in these situations and how you can move forward?
"It started for me as a child with my parents and my grandmother. When things happen around you in negative situations, you have to turn it into an educational experience for everyone else, so we'll try to do that. When I met with the team earlier, I informed them that any questions that they get about those situations to refer them to me. No matter how far outside the realm they may be. So that comes from me. So if our players do that, I've told them to do it."
"The reason why we have to do it is we have to learn from situations like this, whatever they may be. But we also have to understand that we need all the focus and attention on our team for what we do on the football field and for the players who are here. In doing so, we have an opportunity to create a good experience for our football players, win football games, and accomplish those goals. And the more distractions we have, the more it takes away from us being a good football team."
Can you talk about your wide receiving core and getting more big plays?
"When you look at Alec Lemon, Jarrod West, Dorian Graham, Jeremiah Kobena and Adrian Flemming, you're looking at receivers who can get down the field vertically and get them open to make big plays. We have a quarterback who can get them the ball; we have a line that can protect long enough. All this stuff goes hand in hand.
"But never lose sight of not only the skill positions in the wideouts, but of Nick Provo, Beckett Wales and Louis Addazio and what we can do from the tight end position to stretch the field vertically through the middle. Especially the two-safety teams that we try to split the coverage and single-high safety teams that we try to get down the seams. And the other fact that I think you have to remember is that we have a running back (Antwon Bailey) who is pretty special about catching the ball. We have had him lined up outside to attack defenses that way. But now it will be interesting having him coming out of the backfield. So we feel that we have some people to make those big plays."
Given that (running back) Prince-Tyson Gulley is going to miss a week and a half, does he hold on to his back up spot or does it become more of a competition?
"It's competition for everybody in what they do. I don’t see anyone losing their spot because of injury. You have to lose your spot because of competition or someone beats you out."
What is the difference of being a team that isn't going to sneak up on people after what you did last year?
"We go out there and do the best we can do. The perception of someone sneaking up on someone, I don’t know if that necessarily the case in this conference. Maybe when I was in the ACC or SEC maybe that could happen, but not in the BIG EAST. There are so many games that are so close and it's such a competitive conference, that you have to be ready every week. We as coaches in the BIG EAST know each other quite well and respect each other. I think everyone knows that we're going to field teams that have the potential to beat us if we're not ready. I really don't think that we address that issue of sneaking up on teams or how people perceive Syracuse University Football. What we talk about is who we are and what we're going to do."
What will you be looking for during the first two weeks of practice?
"When we talk about building this foundation, we haven't been around these players since the spring. So from a standpoint of making sure that they learn what we want them to do is our goal. (We want to be) able to put them in situations where they know how to do it, and that starts in the classroom, walkthroughs, one-on-one, two-on-two, three-on-three, halfline, skelly, and then put them in a game situation so they're able to do it.
"In the meantime, we're looking at how far we can push ourselves offensively and defensively and the knowledge of those schemes that we're doing. And then, basically, it comes down to the same thing for me in competition and speed. We want a football team where I or the coaches have to go in there and say 'Hey guys, hold back. Hold up a little bit." The great football teams that I've been around, we've always been concerned with, 'We need to slow these guys down.' That's what we need to do and that's how we have to be. That's the mentality. Speed, speed, speed, make plays, and then we have to be physical.
"There aren't many teams that win if they're not physical. I think we've down a good job here with our tackling, a good job of our blocking. And we need to start over, build on that, and make sure that from a fundamental standpoint we have the skills so that we can be successful once we start getting into the game planning, which will occur about 10 days prior to the Wake Forest game."
What is the impact of having more nationally televised games on this season and recruiting?
"I think it helps in recruiting. For people to be able to see us and really get back to where we were before. We had been on TV quite a few years ago when we were very successful. One of the things I like is that we are not afraid to play anyone. This year, when you look at the schedule, two years ago Wake Forest was a top ACC team. They were down last year, but they'll be back this year. We're playing a potential MAC champion in Toledo. We're playing a school like USC from the west coast.
"When you look around our conference, and not to speak for the other schools, but they are playing tough opponents. So from a national standpoint, we put ourselves out there as a conference. Secondly, we put our school out there of that we've always had the reputation that we'll play anyone, which I get excited about.
And from a recruiting standpoint, you can get out there and show them what you're doing on the field, and hopefully have some highlights in between of people like Ryan Nassib, who is a 3.7 student, and Adam Harris who is a potential Academic All-American. There are a lot of great stories that you can put out there and show the people what Syracuse University is about. Not just Syracuse University, but Syracuse as a community.
Can you talk about the capabilities of the linebackers this season?
"We have Dan Vaughan, Marquis Spruill and Dyshawn Davis starting for us right now. We're excited about the young kids. Siriki Diabate we'll put in the middle and we have Lewellyn Coker in the middle. We also have two freshmen coming in Oliver Vigille and Cameron Lynch. What we've seen from Cameron and Oliver is that we have two linebackers coming in who are faster than what we've recruited before. When you look at that, our linebackers have gotten faster, and our defensive tackles have gotten bigger. That's a good combination. This way our big guys up front can keep the offensive linemen off the linebackers, and the linebackers can run, make plays and hit. That's what we're looking for in our defense."
What makes this season successful in your eyes?
"What makes this season successful in my eyes is playing to the best of our ability and playing smart football. That's how I evaluate the success of our season."
What is the next step for this program after winning the bowl game last year?
"Competing for a BIG EAST Championship would be successful. When you create a goal and attain a goal, that's what success is. But that's not where we stop. We're looking to be a team that competes year in and year out. Everyone has to remember, 2004 was the last time we went to a bowl game and 2001 was the last winning season. (Last year) we went to a bowl game, we had a winning season, so we accomplished that. But we want to make sure that we have a team year in and year out that can be consistent with competing for the title in this conference. That's our goal.
"Obviously we haven’t established that because we've only done it for one year. But we want to make sure that we get that year in and year out from this football team. Because once we have that, then we're ready to take it to the next step, and now we can talk about things that are greater than the BIG EAST title.
What do you expect from (quarterback) Ryan Nassib as a leader going into his senior season?
"I think it starts with the character first. I think anyone who knows about Ryan and his character, it's outstanding. Not only that, I think it starts with his leadership in the classroom. He's a 3.7 student-athlete in the Whitman School. He's a dual major in marketing and accounting, I believe. As far as his knowledge of the offense, I don't think I've been around anyone as young who has a knowledge of this offense that he does."
Can you talk about how building a foundation and winning at home go together?
"We talked to our players about that the other night. When we talked about our overall goal to compete for a BIG EAST Championship, we also talked that we have these other goals that we have to get us there. And one of those other goals is to have a winning record in the BIG EAST at home, which we haven't done. And we talked to our players quite a bit about those wins on the road last year, and how the people of Syracuse and our fans weren't able to enjoy that. That's a responsibility that we have.
"We want to share those experiences with the people here because they've gone through those tough years also. That's a very important thing for us. We're trying to build this football team and make our home so much of an advantage for us that the 12th man doesn’t become just a cliché, just a marketing term, but it’s the truth, that opponents do not look forward to coming and playing here and this game in this stadium can make a difference.
"But it starts with us first. I'm not putting that on the fans. It starts with us first. We have to put a product out there that's good enough to win."
Are you concerned that the off the field issue will be a distraction for the team?
" I think a lot of times in life, as long as you know that you're doing everything possible to do the right thing, then we're OK. There's no need to defend ourselves. I truly believe that in my heart. But I have the philosophy of distractions. I think that distractions can take away from your focus and your energy to win football games, and that is a concern."
"Welcome. We're looking forward to an exciting season. We have some orders of business that we have to take care of first. (Wide receiver) Marcus Sales and (quarterback) Jonny Miller at this point are suspended from the football program. When there is further information, I will definitely let you know. I've always done that. That's been my policy. I really can't speak about it. We have a legal process that everything has to go through, as well as a judicial process.
"A couple other orders of business to address. (Running back) Prince-Tyson Gulley, we are excited that he is healing from his injuries. He will be out for approximately 7-10 days. He'll be on the field doing everything with us, but as far as his full availability, it'll be within 7-10 days, so we look forward to him returning to the field and him being very productive for us as a player.
"(Offensive line) coach Greg Adkins has a medical situation that he is out with. It is not life-threatening, and obviously we look forward to his return. The responsibility of coaching the offensive line is now with me until Greg's return, which we do not know right now but we will update you when that situation presents itself.
"(Running back) Steve Rene currently has an infection. He's been excused and it is being taken care of at his home. We are expecting him to be released on Sunday, and I'll have more information after that.
"(Nose tackle) Ollie Haney will not be involved with contact until August 12, and (fullback) Carl Cutler is out with an ACL. So that puts everyone up to date with exactly where we're at with our roster.
"Now getting into the order of business with what we're here for. First off, I want everyone to know, and the players will tell you this, we talked to the players and we have signed onto our goals, and our goal as a football team, make no mistake about it, is to be able to compete for a BIG EAST Championship. That's what we're expected to do. Now that we're in camp, it's very important to understand that we have a philosophy that we never start where we left off. We always have to start from the beginning. So what we're going to try to create is this work ethic, this foundation that will give us the ability to attain our goals. Not only attain our goal for this year, but for every year to be a competitive football team in this conference.
"Offensively, we're excited. We return more starters on that side of the ball. So we look forward to our offensive line, four of five starters return. Nick Provo returns for us at the tight end position. We have more skill players than we've had before at the wide receiver position, which will help us.
"We have a quarterback in Ryan Nassib, who will be our starter. He's been in the system for a while, and we look forward to (running back) Antwon Bailey being back there to carry the load, even though we will miss Delone Carter and what we did for our football team from leadership and also what he did from a productivity standpoint.
"At fullback we have Adam Harris and Tom Trendowski, which we're excited about. And again, make no mistake about it, the problem offensively, and it was said publicly before the bowl game, was that we did not make enough big plays. So obviously that's a point of emphasis on what we have to do. Not just Syracuse University's offense, but every offense that has a goal to be successful and to be in the top five or the top ten, you have to make those big plays. We were able to do it in the last game of the season, now we have to create a foundation for ourselves and be able to do it on a consistent basis. And that's our challenge.
"Special teams-wise, I think we've taken for granted the job that Rob Long has done here. We're excited that Rob has recovered from his tumor. We're excited that he is given an opportunity to try out with Cleveland. I wish everyone could have been on that phone to hear Rob's voice when that opportunity presented itself, so we're very excited about that. But again, with Shane Raupers coming in, and we have a freshman whom we've awarded a scholarship to compete for that position. The punting position is probably one of the most crucial competitions that will occur during this preseason period.
"Ross Krautman returns as our kicker. We're excited about that. He's proven, even as a freshman, which he received honors for, that he can handle the pressure and those type of duties.
"Obviously we return our short snapper in Macky MacPherson. Our long snapper, and again is another situation that we have to pay attention to as we go. It's funny, and I've done a lot of talks about this, when we talk about long snappers, short snappers and holders, they tend to get overlooked and taken for granted. I think in this camp you'll see that we'll have a high level of competition for all of those positions as we go forward.
"Defensively, we've lost some very good football players. I'm excited about where our players were last year and where they are in camp. We return two defensive ends who have a lot of playing experience, so we're excited about their leadership and what they bring to the team, as well as their experience. Inside, we feel comfortable about a rotation with defensive linemen. They will be competing for repetitions. We feel that we don't know if anyone will emerge as a solid starter. That will be a one person thing. We feel that right now it's a four or five man rotation inside. We hope that people emerge there.
"Linebacker is a critical position for us. We lost Derrell Smith and Doug Hogue. Not only were they two good football players, they were better people and great leaders for us in the locker room and off the field. That’s probably our number one concern on the defensive side of the ball is leadership.
"We return two safeties, Shamarko and Phillip Thomas, whom we're excited about. We replaced two corners. Keon Lyn is a starter, and Kevyn Scott, who has played for us before as a starter. We have some young people and competition behind it that we're excited about.
"Really that's where we are. I'm excited about getting this thing started. We have a lot of work in front of us to get to where we need to be to be able compete for the goals that we have in front of us."
We understand that (running back) Prince Tyson-Gulley had a strong offseason. How much will this set him back missing 7-10 days?
"Well we're excited, and I do believe that he had a strong offseason. When you see him, you can see the physical changes in him. As far as a setback or where that's going to put him, I don't expect that. I think he's shown us a lot in the spring, so I can't really make that statement until when I see him come onto the field in 7-10 days."
With these off-the-field issues, how you can turn negatives into positives in these situations and how you can move forward?
"It started for me as a child with my parents and my grandmother. When things happen around you in negative situations, you have to turn it into an educational experience for everyone else, so we'll try to do that. When I met with the team earlier, I informed them that any questions that they get about those situations to refer them to me. No matter how far outside the realm they may be. So that comes from me. So if our players do that, I've told them to do it."
"The reason why we have to do it is we have to learn from situations like this, whatever they may be. But we also have to understand that we need all the focus and attention on our team for what we do on the football field and for the players who are here. In doing so, we have an opportunity to create a good experience for our football players, win football games, and accomplish those goals. And the more distractions we have, the more it takes away from us being a good football team."
Can you talk about your wide receiving core and getting more big plays?
"When you look at Alec Lemon, Jarrod West, Dorian Graham, Jeremiah Kobena and Adrian Flemming, you're looking at receivers who can get down the field vertically and get them open to make big plays. We have a quarterback who can get them the ball; we have a line that can protect long enough. All this stuff goes hand in hand.
"But never lose sight of not only the skill positions in the wideouts, but of Nick Provo, Beckett Wales and Louis Addazio and what we can do from the tight end position to stretch the field vertically through the middle. Especially the two-safety teams that we try to split the coverage and single-high safety teams that we try to get down the seams. And the other fact that I think you have to remember is that we have a running back (Antwon Bailey) who is pretty special about catching the ball. We have had him lined up outside to attack defenses that way. But now it will be interesting having him coming out of the backfield. So we feel that we have some people to make those big plays."
Given that (running back) Prince-Tyson Gulley is going to miss a week and a half, does he hold on to his back up spot or does it become more of a competition?
"It's competition for everybody in what they do. I don’t see anyone losing their spot because of injury. You have to lose your spot because of competition or someone beats you out."
What is the difference of being a team that isn't going to sneak up on people after what you did last year?
"We go out there and do the best we can do. The perception of someone sneaking up on someone, I don’t know if that necessarily the case in this conference. Maybe when I was in the ACC or SEC maybe that could happen, but not in the BIG EAST. There are so many games that are so close and it's such a competitive conference, that you have to be ready every week. We as coaches in the BIG EAST know each other quite well and respect each other. I think everyone knows that we're going to field teams that have the potential to beat us if we're not ready. I really don't think that we address that issue of sneaking up on teams or how people perceive Syracuse University Football. What we talk about is who we are and what we're going to do."
What will you be looking for during the first two weeks of practice?
"When we talk about building this foundation, we haven't been around these players since the spring. So from a standpoint of making sure that they learn what we want them to do is our goal. (We want to be) able to put them in situations where they know how to do it, and that starts in the classroom, walkthroughs, one-on-one, two-on-two, three-on-three, halfline, skelly, and then put them in a game situation so they're able to do it.
"In the meantime, we're looking at how far we can push ourselves offensively and defensively and the knowledge of those schemes that we're doing. And then, basically, it comes down to the same thing for me in competition and speed. We want a football team where I or the coaches have to go in there and say 'Hey guys, hold back. Hold up a little bit." The great football teams that I've been around, we've always been concerned with, 'We need to slow these guys down.' That's what we need to do and that's how we have to be. That's the mentality. Speed, speed, speed, make plays, and then we have to be physical.
"There aren't many teams that win if they're not physical. I think we've down a good job here with our tackling, a good job of our blocking. And we need to start over, build on that, and make sure that from a fundamental standpoint we have the skills so that we can be successful once we start getting into the game planning, which will occur about 10 days prior to the Wake Forest game."
What is the impact of having more nationally televised games on this season and recruiting?
"I think it helps in recruiting. For people to be able to see us and really get back to where we were before. We had been on TV quite a few years ago when we were very successful. One of the things I like is that we are not afraid to play anyone. This year, when you look at the schedule, two years ago Wake Forest was a top ACC team. They were down last year, but they'll be back this year. We're playing a potential MAC champion in Toledo. We're playing a school like USC from the west coast.
"When you look around our conference, and not to speak for the other schools, but they are playing tough opponents. So from a national standpoint, we put ourselves out there as a conference. Secondly, we put our school out there of that we've always had the reputation that we'll play anyone, which I get excited about.
And from a recruiting standpoint, you can get out there and show them what you're doing on the field, and hopefully have some highlights in between of people like Ryan Nassib, who is a 3.7 student, and Adam Harris who is a potential Academic All-American. There are a lot of great stories that you can put out there and show the people what Syracuse University is about. Not just Syracuse University, but Syracuse as a community.
Can you talk about the capabilities of the linebackers this season?
"We have Dan Vaughan, Marquis Spruill and Dyshawn Davis starting for us right now. We're excited about the young kids. Siriki Diabate we'll put in the middle and we have Lewellyn Coker in the middle. We also have two freshmen coming in Oliver Vigille and Cameron Lynch. What we've seen from Cameron and Oliver is that we have two linebackers coming in who are faster than what we've recruited before. When you look at that, our linebackers have gotten faster, and our defensive tackles have gotten bigger. That's a good combination. This way our big guys up front can keep the offensive linemen off the linebackers, and the linebackers can run, make plays and hit. That's what we're looking for in our defense."
What makes this season successful in your eyes?
"What makes this season successful in my eyes is playing to the best of our ability and playing smart football. That's how I evaluate the success of our season."
What is the next step for this program after winning the bowl game last year?
"Competing for a BIG EAST Championship would be successful. When you create a goal and attain a goal, that's what success is. But that's not where we stop. We're looking to be a team that competes year in and year out. Everyone has to remember, 2004 was the last time we went to a bowl game and 2001 was the last winning season. (Last year) we went to a bowl game, we had a winning season, so we accomplished that. But we want to make sure that we have a team year in and year out that can be consistent with competing for the title in this conference. That's our goal.
"Obviously we haven’t established that because we've only done it for one year. But we want to make sure that we get that year in and year out from this football team. Because once we have that, then we're ready to take it to the next step, and now we can talk about things that are greater than the BIG EAST title.
What do you expect from (quarterback) Ryan Nassib as a leader going into his senior season?
"I think it starts with the character first. I think anyone who knows about Ryan and his character, it's outstanding. Not only that, I think it starts with his leadership in the classroom. He's a 3.7 student-athlete in the Whitman School. He's a dual major in marketing and accounting, I believe. As far as his knowledge of the offense, I don't think I've been around anyone as young who has a knowledge of this offense that he does."
Can you talk about how building a foundation and winning at home go together?
"We talked to our players about that the other night. When we talked about our overall goal to compete for a BIG EAST Championship, we also talked that we have these other goals that we have to get us there. And one of those other goals is to have a winning record in the BIG EAST at home, which we haven't done. And we talked to our players quite a bit about those wins on the road last year, and how the people of Syracuse and our fans weren't able to enjoy that. That's a responsibility that we have.
"We want to share those experiences with the people here because they've gone through those tough years also. That's a very important thing for us. We're trying to build this football team and make our home so much of an advantage for us that the 12th man doesn’t become just a cliché, just a marketing term, but it’s the truth, that opponents do not look forward to coming and playing here and this game in this stadium can make a difference.
"But it starts with us first. I'm not putting that on the fans. It starts with us first. We have to put a product out there that's good enough to win."
Are you concerned that the off the field issue will be a distraction for the team?
" I think a lot of times in life, as long as you know that you're doing everything possible to do the right thing, then we're OK. There's no need to defend ourselves. I truly believe that in my heart. But I have the philosophy of distractions. I think that distractions can take away from your focus and your energy to win football games, and that is a concern."
