Football: Head Coach Bill Stewart Press Conference
September 30, 2008 04:38 PM | General
September 30, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia University football Head Coach Bill Stewart quotes from Tuesday afternoon's press conference.
Opening Statement
We had a nice win over Marshall and I talked about that on Sunday. It was good to play against our in-state rivals as well as we did in a lot of the phases of the game. We still have things that have to get better and that we are going to work on this week. We’re going to continue to try to keep improving as a football team; every week is an adventure, as you saw last weekend in many of the games and scores. We’re pleased with that win.
We had a great Sunday practice and we are back on track. We’ll practice today for two and a half hours, full pads and it will be a good one, and I know the Mountaineers are ready to get back to work.
On Rutgers' defense
Rutgers has a veteran football team coming in. I spent most of my time looking at the defensive side of the ball and all of the special teams. Rutgers’ defense is very impressive. They have veterans up front. No. 90 Jamaal Westerman, who is a fifth year senior that will go in there and play well. The two backers are very good, they are veterans and the secondary has a couple seniors and veterans. They have played against our guys and they have had a lot of experience in the BIG EAST. They are a good, solid defense who is going to give us some problems, I’m sure. We’re going to have to be ready to go and try to move the ball around.
I see a group, in my opinion, that is a lot like East Carolina and Colorado. They have a veteran front four lead by Westerman - he’s tough. They have another junior and senior in there too and they just come after you. We beat them last year at their place with some big plays; we didn’t have a lot of drives. We are really going to have to stay patient, stay in the game, chip away here and there and use some creativity like we did last week.
On Rutgers' offense
There are three guys that jumped out at me right away. Quarterback Mike Teel - I’m a big fan of. He is a fifth year man and I’ve seen him make some great throws and he has played very well against us in the past. I saw the tight end and they have two big time receivers with Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood. They have a veteran offensive line. I’m sure they miss Ray Rice much like we miss a couple of our running backs.
Their fifth year tight end Kevin Brock can make plays and can kill us. He worries me. They have three skill positions and just because they don’t have a marquee running back doesn’t mean the other guys are out there reading. I’m trying to be very careful what comes out of my mouth. I’m trying to be very articulate because I don’t want anything on a poster board that has my name on it saying something in their locker room. He is good. We have college football players that are good. They are both just not up to the level that those guys were at before them. With their receiver, tightend and Teel at quarterback, we’re going to have our hands full. I pray that we can get him out of the rhythm. If we can’t get Teel out of the rhythm then we will not get off the field.
On special teams
On special teams, they lost one of the best kickers/punters that we’ve had in our league in years this season but they have some nice young men back. Still, the special teams return their ace, No. 7, Tiquan Underwood and he is going to be a big challenge, especially on kick off returns. He has been a thorn in our side in the past and we have spent a lot of time trying to defend him. He does a great job. Dennis Campbell, I’ve also watched him, and he has come into his own.
We look forward to an exciting match-up and I hope the weather is good. We’re ready to play at Noon on Saturday.
On Pat White
Pat is ok. He’s practiced and has taken snaps which is good. He threw the ball around on Sunday where he threw some short and long throws. He’s doing ok. I saw him this morning when he came in for treatment and he has a big smile on his face. He’s ready to go. We’re very blessed there.
On the loss of Jim Lewis on kickoff returns
It hurt us. This football team has given up 20 plays of 20 yards or more in four ball games. Eleven of those 20, I hate to tell you, came from kickoff return, so it’s a big factor. Our defense has given up two in one quarter. That is 2.25% of 20 yard plays a game and that’s not bad. Our kick off team has given up almost three and that’s real bad. Our punt team is second in the country. Our punter is fourth in the country. Our punt return team is 15th in the country and what was once the pride and joy of WVU, the kickoff team is now 117th. I can promise you that we’re going to spend a lot of time on that. Jimmy Lewis was a big loss. I would say he would be back in about five weeks. I didn’t know he broke the bone is his foot because he didn’t tell anybody. He played two quarters out in Colorado and played like a true warrior. He didn’t want to come out and didn’t want to tell anyone that he had a broken bone. We saw him hobbling.
On Pat Liebig
He’s getting better every day. I hope he plays this week. I thought Doug Slavonic game in and did a good job for Pat Liebig. We’re going to make sure he’s OK but we are counting on him to play.
On the scheme
I made four changes, starting with me first. I was here all day Sunday and Monday and just had a couple distractions here and there. I went back to 2005 looking at stuff. That is our pride and joy. That has led us in the WAC, the ACC and we’ve done a great job here and we just kind of fell apart of Saturday. You have to give credit to those guys in the green jerseys. They had a lot to do with that. They were smoking. They really got us and I’m not very pleased about that. Most of my attention is going to be on getting that straight. Rutgers does a tremendous job on special teams and people don’t give them enough credit. Greg (Schiano) has always done a tremendous job on special teams and I am more worried about special teams because that is what I’m dealing with directly. I’m afraid of their No. 7 (Underwood) running to the house on us. They run reverses and they trap you and ambush you. They have a good scheme and it’s going to be a real challenge for our guys.
On freshman Lawrence Smith
The kid came off the scout team. I tell them if they show up on the scout team and they do well, then I’m going to throw them into the arena. We have a young man named Lawrence Smith, a freshman, and we’re going to put him back there. I like competition and we’re going to move some people around and challenge some guys at the three, four and five positions. They better pick it up. Smith is a slasher, and he’s never done it so we have to teach him real quick this week.
On Noel’s improvised play
I asked him if he ever saw the surfers on TV and I told him stay in the wave. When the tidal wave comes off the line of scrimmage and we have a guy as a tight end and in motion, we come off that wave and try to knock those guys off. It’s just like a wave and he sees a crack and he jumps at it. That works sometimes but we want him to stay in the wave and have patience. The biggest thing Steve (Slaton) did here and all of the other great players had was that they had patience to the hole, speed through the hole. Patience to the hole, speed through the hole. I want to see the wave crest and then he can take off. He did a good job but sometimes you have to ride the crest.
On WVU’s defensive line
I think Chris Neild has really stepped up, according to Coach Kirelawich, he has really come along well and we’re really pleased about how he has played. We’re also very excited about Scooter Berry. He’s just a sophomore, just a young guy, but he has done so well. And Doug Slavonic, I’m really proud and pleased of him. He’s a fifth-year guy that has played and hanged in the program. He’s a great guy and he’s playing very well. We’re excited about our defensive line right now.
We’ve talked about mental toughness. You have to be mentally tough. There are going to be highs and lows but you have to keep your mental toughness.
On Rutgers’ loss of Ray Rice
They are trying to pitch it around. We have to change the way we prep for them without Ray Rice. I know the great job Greg and his staff does. We all have to establish the run because there are too many bad weather games or cold weather games - we want to be able to pitch and catch the ball as I’ve indicated all season long. Right now, I would imagine that he’s going to put the ball in No. 14’s hands. I would put the ball in Mike Teel’s hands.
Undefeated teams
Football is getting better, just look at our league. It’s not just in the BIG EAST, it’s everywhere. People know how to knock people off. Coaches are better, players are better and they know how to play football. The number of scholarships is better. It’s a different game. The game is balancing out.
On Thursday night games
We here at West Virginia should always be greatful to ESPN. Our Thursday night games have made our program the past three years. Our identity has just soared throughout the country. Someone in Kansas wanted his jersey signed - Kansas. That’s nice and that’s ESPN. That’s not his local network, so Thursday night games have helped us. It’s an identity thing.
On how the team is getting better
I saw it at Boulder. I knew at Boulder that we had a chance to be a good football team, I saw it. A great football team? No. No. 8 in the country? No. Not yet. I saw that chance in Boulder and I’ve seen our guys practice their hearts out, hit hard and play Mountaineer football in practice. I saw guys get after it on the road and I saw that again Saturday. Are we back? No. Are we on our way back? Yes. I don’t think we ever lost, I just think we weren’t good early. We got beat and tagged, but I hope that’s all rectified. Are we going to get beat again? We could, but I hope not.
Those two games, East Carolina and Boulder, I think our football team grew. Did it grow for the better? We’ll see. We gelled a little bit offensively, and against Colorado we grew defensively and we came of age on special teams that night. That was big. That was a big special teams’ effort.
We’re not doing everything we should be doing, but we’re getting closer and we’re gaining on it. What I’m still trying to do, and what I’m telling the offensive coaches, is that No. 5 and No. 7 need help. That’s why we’re trying to get the ball out to No. 21, hit No. 9, the wide receivers, and that’s why No. 16 came in the game. Somebody needs to give us another dimension. You cannot win consistently in this league with two players. It doesn’t work that way.
On using both Jarrett Brown and Pat White
If I were the defensive coach at Rutgers, I would think that, wow, No. 16 and No. 5 back there, what else are they doing? It gives them something to work on. We ran a reverse, we ran a counter, we threw the ball to Jarrett (Brown), and he threw the ball. There are a few more things that we can do and that we will do. You have not seen enough of those two (No. 16 and No. 5) and they are going to get in there and have fun. They feed off each other.
On Bradley Starks
He could come in and be a third guy and we still have Coley (White). We’re very blessed, and I really don’t like to see guys get hurt, at any school. I hate to see young guys get hurt. I know it could happen to us and I would just be sick. It can happen, hopefully it doesn’t happen. I’ve coached with some guys who think about wrenching a guy’s arm down in the ground or slam him to the ground - are you kidding me? That’s not me.
Bradley Starks can play quarterback. He can play with this offense to win. He can’t play as well or as fast as Jarrett Brown or Pat White, but he is a good enough quarterback to win with this offense.
On Reed Williams’ shoulder recovery
He’s questionable. We’re going to watch him and see how he does. Last Saturday he was good, but he’s hurting. He has played hurt in the past and I want to make sure he doesn’t get hurt. We’ll have to see how he does. He’s playing though. You have to practice. I was telling Sidney Glover and Quinton Andrews that they have to practice. This isn’t high school ball. I’ve seen these guys sit out all week and you know what they play like? Like they’ve sat out all week. Reed is his own best doctor. You can take MRIs, x-rays, see doctors, but you’re your own best doctor. Every guy that is sick, I tell them that I want them to be honest with me. How is this? How is that? Then we make a calculated decision. I see things that some people might not see. He is hurting.
