Football: Coach Bill Stewart Quotes
October 06, 2009 03:32 PM | General
By Kelly Tuckwiller for MSNsportsNET.com
October 6, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - West Virginia University football coach Bill Stewart quotes from Tuesday's news conference.
Opening statements
Colorado is over and behind us. It was a good win. Some wouldn’t call it a great win, but I can’t ever be discouraged with any kind of win. We have to build on that like we have done since the inception of our program.
We are healthy. I think Scooter Berry will be ready to go this weekend, and we are counting on that. Reed Williams ran very fleetingly against Colorado, and Jarrett Brown is doing well. We have some bumps and bruises like everyone in America does after you’ve played four football games, but we are healthy.
We learned a lot from the Colorado game. I learned a little bit our football team, and I learned a little bit about our football team’s resolve. We get better and better around here as we have done in the past, and I hope history repeats itself this year.
That ball game is behind us and we have round one (BIG EAST) coming up this weekend, preseason is over. It was a tough preseason but we came out with a 75 percent winning record. We have one more preseason game to go after Saturday’s battle with Syracuse. The seven most important games are soon to be upon us. We start Saturday in Syracuse, N.Y., with the first of those seven, and that is how we are approaching it.
On Syracuse’s Mike Williams (WR)
He is a big target. He is from Buffalo, N.Y., and he is a go-to guy. He is 6-foot-2, 211 pounds, and I know a lot of teams around the country that would like to have him. I do not know how we are going to stop him; I only hope we can contain him at this time. We are going to have to get some double help.
On what is different about Syracuse this season
It is all attitude, I agree with Jim Levitt. What I have seen on film from where they have played Minnesota, Northwestern, Maine and Penn State, is young men who are straining, playing hard, running to the ball and staying on blocks. I don’t know how many holding calls I saw Maine acquire trying to block them on special teams. That is when I know people are straining. I don’t just watch film, I evaluate and devour film and the holding calls against Maine, tells me that Syracuse is really straining and our guys need to see that.
On Syracuse Coaching Staff
If you look at our roster of coaches, you will see West Virginia natives and you will see men that love the Old Gold and Blue. You will see men that went to school here, are from here or had an affiliation somewhere with WVU. That is exactly what I see with Doug (Marrone). I have known Doug a long time, he is a great coach and he has a great staff. He has people that really want to be at Syracuse, and he has the players believing.
It is a lot easier (to take over a team) when you have bullets in your holster like I did. But is probably a lot more fun and less stress when you are not supposed to do well but you are doing well.
On Syracuse’s Run Defense
They play a lot of that two-gap defense, like the great Iowa and Penn State teams did, and then they blitz you. We have to be ready for everything. This is going to be a real challenge for our guys. They attack you. They bend sometimes and don’t break, sometimes they come after you and win the battle and then sometimes they come after you and get burnt.
On Max Suter
I have always been impressed with Max, because he is a local guy from nearby Greensburg, Pa. I like the way he hits you, and I like the way he competes. He reminds me of Troy Polamalu. He just makes plays, and they rally around him. He is the heart of that secondary. Look at their secondary and their defense; they are all seniors and juniors. This is a veteran team with some youngsters blended in.
We had a battle with them here last year when it was 10-6 and Noel (Devine) broke through for a 92-yard run. I had the punt team called up, and he ran 92 yards to the house.
On the leaders of WVU’s team
I rely on our seniors for that. This season, if I want to know something I go see No. 47 (Reed Williams), No. 90 (Chris Neild) or No. 93 (Scooter Berry). I also trust Sidney Glover. On offense, last year I talked to Patrick (White). This year our quarterback No. 16 (Jarrett Brown) is a pretty good man to talk to, and No. 7 (Noel Devine) wasn’t bad to talk to this week either.
On Greg Paulus
He is a tenacious player. He thinks he can get it done, which every quarterback should think, and he is doing a good job. I see a four-year basketball player from Duke and that is pretty special.
Greg Paulus is a winner, and it is so good for the game of football. I just wish he would have waited till about their seventh game to come back.
On what WVU is going to attack
We are not going to change. I don’t care if we are playing Syracuse, Colorado or Liberty, whoever. We are going to throw the ball deep and we are going to stretch the field vertically. I hope their defensive staff gets into a fight and says we aren’t blitzing, and we need to stay back. Then I am going to throw the ball out in the flat. When No. 7 (Noel Devine) gets that ball, I want people to spread out and let him do his thing. We are who we are and I like what we are doing. I don’t like some of the results of our plays, but we are trying to establish our identity. We aren’t there yet, but we are close. When people play the Mountaineers I want people to know that you have to defend 100 yards of turf.
On what playing on national television does for WVU
I am so thankful toward Dave Brown and ESPN. What that has done for our program, our university and our state, you can’t put billboards up across American for what television has done for us. We are 7-0 on Thursday night home games and that is wonderful advertisement. That is a great venue for WVU and the BIG EAST. Look at the Eastern seaboard and the media market that we have, it is very powerful and I love it. I am very thankful that we have been the Thursday night “Darling” of ESPN.
On how to defend Syracuse and Paulus
How do you stop a playmaker, you don’t. You try to defend the guys around him. Greg Paulus is very good, and he believes that he is good.
It tells you that the game is not that hard. If you block them, if you tackle them and if you play hard and strain and take care of the football, good things will happen. Greg Paulus and Rob Spence, his coordinator, have a handle on things. Doug Marrone has had success wherever he has been and these guys know how to coach football. All the magic is starting to click for them.
On WVU’s offensive line
They (defenses) are so good in today’s game, you are not going to block those guys, even with a four-man rush. When you start blitzing, then that creates havoc. I was frustrated with some of our answers when Colorado started blitzing.
On WVU’s turnovers
Let’s start with the first problem we had; missed assignments. We got that corrected after Liberty. Then we couldn’t catch punts in game two. We got that corrected. Game three we couldn’t help but throw interceptions. I didn’t like that, and we got that corrected. Last week it was fumbles. I am not going to tell young men to quit straining and I am not going to tell young men to quit trying. I am going to tell them to be more accountable, more dependable and more responsible, and to just play hard and have fun.
On where WVU is in the season
I am glad we are 3-1 and not worse. I wish we were 4-0, but you learn from that. We have played hard and physical, and I am proud of that. I am proud of our defensive coaches for how they have rallied and adjusted to turnovers. I am proud of our offensive coaches and how aggressive they have been. My plan when I took this job was to attack the entire field, and we have done that. We are tough to defend when we are in sync. There is a whole lot of room for improvement, but I am really proud of our leadership and they way we have played.
