Coach Stewart and Player Quotes-Day Three
August 04, 2008 08:15 PM | General
Head Coach Bill Stewart
On special teams
Pat McAfee punted the ball today better than I have ever seen him. I’m talking about the boom shots that we’ve let him do here and there, and he nailed them today. It was great to see. He hit drivers today!
Scott Kozlowski weel punted today also. Our punters are doing a tremendous job. Pat is in the zone, and it’s really special. Thank God we have a great trainer here, Dave Kerns, and a great strength coach in Mike Joseph, because they have created a sport-specific lifting plan for those guys and have worked hand-in-hand with those kickers. I don’t want to wear Pat’s legs out like we did a couple years ago, and I over kicked him a little bit last year and that’s my fault, but we’re getting smarter. That’s nice to see- I’m tickled about that.
On the defense
Sidney Glover made a big time pick, and it was good to see that. Our freshman back there, Robert Sands, had a couple double whammy’s, did motion and was all over the place making adjustments and that was great to see. I saw Coach Dunlap, Coach Lockwood and Coach Casteel smiling and we said, 'he’s coming pretty well'. Some kids got ‘it’, whatever ‘it’ is, and we’re hoping Robert Sands has ‘it’.
Big plays from Kent Richardson today, some big hits. He made some open field tackles on No. 7 (Noel Devine) that nobody makes, and that was nice to see.
On the offense
I thought Pat (White) had a nice day, and Jarrett (Brown) did some nice things. Alric Arnett just keeps stepping up and today, Wes Lyons made some big catches. And the guy we keep talking about, Will Johnson made a big-time catch down the sideline, down the middle and in the flat. One time Pat took his read to an ‘x’ and he ran an option route as pretty as I’ve ever seen, and threw it out to Wes Lyons, who made the catch. But just to see Will Johnson make that option route was an absolute thing of beauty and it was very nice.
We missed Ryan Stanchek today. You don’t take a warrior out of there; we had a little break down on the left side. He didn’t go today, but he probably could have gone. We need one more test but we’ll see. I’m very cautious. He might wait until doubles just to make sure. We missed him today. I can see that and I can sense that.
On the camp’s schedule
We had a nice lift this morning and we will lift again tomorrow morning and have another sharp practice in our shells. On Wednesday, I might shorten the periods a bit in order to just hit and bang. We will be in full pads on Wednesday and play some Mountaineer football. We’ll start two-a-days Thursday.
On D.J. Thomas
He didn’t join us today. We’re waiting on the classes to be recorded and then we will get him up here.
On the progress of the defense
The defense is way ahead of the offense. Our defense won so many games last year, because they stepped up to the plate. The defense needs to carry us early in the season, until we get all of the motion and movement. Our defense has to carry this football team, and there are only 42 of them. We’re thin, because we have good players, but we need more players because the defensive line hits so hard they might get hurt.
Brandon Hogan made some fine plays today. Kent Richardson made a big tackle today. I saw two great open field tackles today and I thought, ‘wow, that’s special’.
On the BIG EAST and training schedule
We’ve thrown everything at them the last couple days. On Wednesday, we’re going to put a hold on all plays and not have any more installation and just let them go for a couple days and just play and get it on. The BIG EAST is a black and blue league. BIG EAST Champs last year were 5-2, co-champs, UConn and West Virginia. It’s a tough league.
On the players who missed spring ball
If you don’t have spring ball and try to come to Division I football, that’s a tough road. I like the plan of throwing everything at them and then going back and re-teach. It’s neat to see, because I screamed at Noel (Devine) to get out there and teach the new guys. Patrick comes up, and Coley comes up and tries to coach. You learn subject matter better by teaching. I thought I was a good student but when I became a teacher, I learned the subject matter much better, so I try to get the older guys to coach the younger guys.
Linebacker Pat Lazear
On camp so far
It’s all excitement, and it seems like this team is extremely prolific and that we’re doing big things. It’s really impressive seeing everyone out there like that.
On preseason talk
It can’t be that much of a surprise with our backfield but with the defense, I think we should surprise people. We lost a lot of guys but a lot of guys are stepping in.
On Reed’s injury
If he is here, I’m happy to take the No. 2 spot and if he can’t go then I’m happy to take the No. 1 spot, but I hope he’s here, because he is a great asset to the team in every way.
On the defense as a whole
Coach Casteel really explains the defense to us so well. We’re in there every day, and we all have a good grasp on what he wants. We understand the defense.
Punter Pat McAfee
On surprise players
I think Will Johnson is going to have a huge year. Everyone saw Bradley Starks in the spring, and Ellis Lankster is going to be an all-star. Those three guys are really going have a break-out year.
I want us to win big games. I want to win the BIG EAST first and then win the big game. I want to do better than last year.
I’m looking forward to the first game, I have to bounce back. I’m excited about that game. Obviously I have to focus on our first game but Pitt, this year, is going to be a whole new ball game for me this year.
This summer I was out at kicking camps. I learned how to punt for real now, and I got better at kicking. Mike Joseph understands that a kicker’s legs need to be fresh to kick. He’s been working on flexibility with me, explosive drills, and I feel a lot better. I’m icing for pre-cautionary reasons, not because I’m hurting. I’m working on my flexibility a lot, and he stretches me out everyday. He’s a great guy and he knows what he’s talking about.
Quarterback Pat White
On Starks and Arnett
Arnett and Sparks bring a deep-ball threat as well as a big-play threat. I can throw them a short five-yard pass, and they can take it to the house.
My passing game has come a long way. I’m enjoying everything that Coach Mullen is teaching me, and I’m soaking it in. He is a young, great mind with a lot of great ideas. What he brings to the table will help us out a lot this year.
He is teaching us a lot of technique everyday, and he has a little bit of a different philosophy. We work a lot on my footwork and the passing is more sophisticated with more options and more routes. We’re getting more people involved.
