Football: Head Coach Bill Stewart Quotes
October 28, 2008 05:37 PM | General
October 28, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.- West Virginia football Head Coach Bill Stewart's quotes from Tuesday afternoon's press conference.
On Thursday night’s win
We were very pleased with our last football game against Auburn. It’s amazing what a healthy football team can do. It’s amazing what a healthy football team can accomplish and it’s fun to see after 10-12 days of preparation play like we’re capable of playing. Again, I emphasize the word, healthy, and I hope we continue to be healthy.
It was a nice showing for our guys, this great University and the state of West Virginia. Most importantly, it was a great showing for the BIG EAST and I am proud that we could represent the BIG EAST in that football game. It’s a great league.
I’m at a loss right now because I’m having a hard time trying to figure this football team out as we grow together, as we grow as a staff, with the players and the players with us. I’m just hoping that that win last year, a good win and a very convincing win over Connecticut, 66-21, will not be detrimental to our squad this year. That game last year has no iota to this year’s game. It’s 2008, it’s a different team and a different year; but yet, it does. The underlying part - the blocking, the tackling, the special teams play – all of that is different but yet the underlying part kind of has me wondering because our Mountaineer football team beat a very good UConn team last year, 66-21, to win a share of the BIG EAST. Then the following week, as a 28-point favorite, we lose a big one here at home. I couldn’t figure that out, but that is last year. With the football team this year, to keep the scenario going, we beat a team from East Carolina last year here, 48-7, then we go down to Greenville and get embarrassed, 24-3. Our players were embarrassed, our coaches were embarrassed, your head football coach was embarrassed, this school was embarrassed and this state was embarrassed. Anyone involved with the Old Gold and Blue was embarrassed, and I don’t understand how you can beat someone one year, 48-7, and then get beat, 24-3, the next year. Now I’m trying to figure out how to not make that happen again. We beat the co-champs of this league, 66-21, last year and I’m just so afraid of what could happen Saturday if we’re not ready to go.
We better be ready to play at 12 o’clock high in Connecticut or No. 34, Donald Brown, is going to run through us like you’ve never seen. Their defense is going to get after us like we’ve never seen. That is how much I respect Randy Edsall, Dave McMichael, who I coached here with, Hank Hughes who I have known since 1981. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the UConn Huskies.
We’re going to face the best running back in our league. He has close to 1,400 yards in eight games – are you kidding me? We better be ready.
I don’t know which quarterback is going to start up there but I do know with their coaching staff and their style of play, it doesn’t matter. They will be ready to play the game of their season.
I want to say that we can beat UConn at home or away or on some asphalt parking lot in Philly. I can’t say that but I wish I could say that. I know this, if we don’t take our ‘A’ game, we have to be ready to play and we just can’t turn the ball over. If we turn the ball over against UConn, it will be a long day. We can’t do it.
We’re going to practice hard today in a full-padded practice. We’re going to get after it today Mountaineer style and we’re going to do the best we can. We’re going to hit, block, tackle, and run the ball because we’re going to go up to UConn and we’re going to be in a very physical football game.
On Ellis Lankster
He’s a thrill a minute, and he’ll be ok. We changed something Sunday night and we’re doing something different with his approach. David Lockwood is working very hard with him and I trust Ellis Lankster. If I didn’t trust him, then I’d tell him first. He’s going to take one back someday here soon.
On kickoff teams
They have better players than us I guess. I’m so frustrated right now with our kickoff coverage. Our punt teams and kickoff teams have been our pride and joy here for the past seven years. We’re just not getting off blocks and we’re going to work on that this week. We have to get off blocks and go make plays.
On the Connecticut offense
We have looked at film and it seems like we do better when I stay away from the defensive guys. We’ll have a plan but again, UConn is going to hang in there, run the ball, get field position and use their kicking game to see if we make mistakes. That’s exactly what I would do if I were playing us.
We had one penalty on Thursday. Last week we were poised under pressure and I’m so proud of our football team. Will that be the same West Virginia on Saturday? Will we get out of bed? I don’t know. I hope. I wish I knew this football team well enough to tell you that we’ll be ready to go, kicking the doors in, but I don’t know. We’re going to do what we need to do to win that football game. We’re going to have to.
Cincinnati had six turnovers. If you turn the ball over, you’re going to lose. Last year they turned the ball over three times. We had one turnover and they had three. We jumped on the ball on the end zone. Turnovers are going to be colossal.
They have a good football team. We’re going to practice so hard today, I may not even run them today. We ran hard Sunday. This is a Mountaineer practice today. It’s going to be tough and we’re going to get after it.
On Scooter Berry
Scooter got treatment this past week, they took an MRI and he’s good to go. He’s going to practice today and we’re just going to watch how much we bang him. We know what Scooter can do.
On the WVU defense
I think it was accountability. I think guys finally realized they have to step up and they had to play harder when they put the Old Gold and Blue on. Seven guys are gone and I never talk to the team about their age or class rank or say that we don’t have Steve (Slaton) or Owen (Schmitt). And, Reed Williams wasn’t there early. I think Reed brought our defense alive. I don’t think, I know he did, out in Colorado. We have to get off the field. We cannot keep surviving on 50 plays a game.
Well we threw an interception in the first drive of the game. That’s like a punt because it’s so far back. But you throw the ball in front of Alric Alrett and then you take an on-side kick? You’re giving them positions offensively. We can’t do that. If we do that to UConn, they will run us right out of the stadium and we’ll be down in Philly looking for a bus ride before we know it. We won’t have a chance if we don’t get up, get ready to get out of bed, and play football. Now what Mountaineer team is going to show up? I hope it’s not the one that showed up down in Greenville. I hope it’s the one that played hard at Colorado and I hope it’s the one that played Thursday night. I want to challenge our seniors like they have never been challenged. Everyone was saying (after Thursday night’s win) ‘well, you’re back - the team’s back’. Well, they’ll get knocked right in the teeth; get their legs knocked out from under them, and have a lot of could have, would have and should haves. I don’t want to hear that. I saw that down in Greenville.
On the passing game against Auburn
Pat was on. The first interception, a guy was supposed to get cut and he didn’t get cut and that happens. When Alric Arnett got bumped and bullied and there was no penalty, I walked over and told him that we were going to keep throwing to him but that he better start fighting for the football. Then he took that ball out of the air. Pat got hit right in the teeth and he threw that ball to Alric. I thought he had overthrown it but from that point on, I knew we were hot. We were on and Pat was on. We threw the ball to Wes (Lyons), he threw the crossing routes, and he really only made one bad throw - the throw to Dorrell Jalloh when he threw behind him - but it was the same play Dorrell scored on.
On Jarrett Brown
He practiced on Sunday and he’s doing very well. We want to start using him again and we have to get him back in the lineup. He’ll have the same role. As soon as he’s running full speed he’ll be back in the lineup.
On Josh Jenkins
Josh will practice. He went Sunday night, and we’ll watch him in pads today. We’ll get him in and out and hopefully he’ll be ready to play Saturday. Hopefully, because we need to get him in there.
