Football: WVU Coach Bill Stewart Quotes
August 31, 2010 03:34 PM | General
August 31, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University football coach Bill Stewart quotes from Tuesday, August 31.
Opening Statement
First of all, we are encouraging all West Virginia fans to wear their gold and blue this Friday and every Friday throughout the season. We are going to call it the Mountaineers’ Friday. It will help kick off National College Colors day, which is Sept. 3.
I am glad you are here and I am glad this day is here. We need to play a football game. We have been practicing very hard all preseason. I don’t know what the temperature is today, I just know it is hot and we are going to go out in full pads today and get at it.
It had been a physical camp, it has been a tough camp and it has been a demanding camp, and yet it has been fun. We found some young players to add to the older guys and I feel good that our team has bonded in a positive manner. They are hopefully becoming a band of brothers.
We have a tough opponent in Coastal Carolina, coming to Morgantown on Saturday. I know their coach and he has done a great job with them in the last few years. They will be physical and they will play hard, because that is how they play ball. It is going to be a good test for us and we hopefully will get to see some young guys mature, particularly a quarterback and some receivers.
On the offensive line
The right side is still a battle and it will probably be a battle throughout much of the season. Cole Bowers, whether he starts at right guard or right tackle, or plays a lot at both, is one of our top three on that side.
Joe Madsen is our center, but I want to work Eric Jobe in there as well. There are about eight or nine linemen we feel very comfortable with and hopefully we can bring some of the young guys along so we have nine or 10 guys.
On linebacker injuries
Medically, J.T. Thomas needs to play this weekend to see how he reacts. That has been told to me by our medical staff, so we are going to play him Saturday. He is going to get in there and bang around and do what linebackers are supposed to do. At that point, we will see what is going on. He has been cleared and had an MRI, and he is medically sound. He would not play if he were not.
Pat Lazear is still nursing that kick in the leg. It was not surgical. We are waiting on that bone bruise to heal and I will know more on Thursday.
On playing teams such as Liberty and Coastal Carolina
We learned last season that you need to finish the deal and that I-AA football, where I coached, is not bad football. We have 85 scholarships and they have 63 – that is 22 less. I also miss the Citadel beating Arkansas a few years back, so I don’t take any game for granted. We play them all one at a time.
I think it is great for the game and great that those young men get to play against so-called I-A teams. If you guys can just think back a few years ago when that bunch out of Boone, N.C., went up north. They had a pretty good day up there if I remember correctly.
On season opening games
They are all special. Each and every opener is special. I have had a headache for a month, not because I am sick, but I am always thinking about what is next and what I can do. That is every year. When I quit having that excitement and those butterflies, then I don’t need to coach and they don’t need to play. You need to be prepared and you don’t want to have that word ‘upset’ creep into your vocabulary if you are the ‘favored’ team.
It is a great time for our team. Can you imagine being a young man and you start in January with conditioning drills? Then you go to spring practice. You don’t go to spring break either; you rest or lift because you have to impress your coaches. During the summer, when everyone is at the beach, you are here. All of this for 12 opportunities a year – that doesn’t equate much. Do the math and tell me what the dividends are.
For the fans, I can’t wait. I can only imagine what it is like. When I come out of the tunnel, it is all business. It is fun, but it is business as well. I want to see how tough, explosive and fast the Mountaineers play. I also want to see us bond and fight fair as a family.
On what to tell Geno Smith before the game
I am going to tell him to go get seven points and not three. Are we going to play reckless? No, we can’t do that. I want Geno to play, and I want Geno to lead and our team to follow him.
When you are a back-up, you have to do a super job in mental preparation. I know because I was one in my career. You have to prepare very, very diligently and be very sharp. With that being said, at the same time, you don’t want anything to happen to your No. 1 quarterback out there playing. You want him to have success.
This year, now Jarrett Brown is gone and it is his team. Whoever our quarterback is, it is his team to guide. That is the kind of mindset Geno needs to get. This is his team.
I want Geno to play fearless and I want him to lead. I want him to get in that huddle and command that respect. That is what all great quarterbacks do – they commanded that presence.
On Stedman Bailey
I think Stedman Bailey has had a fun and explosive camp. He has made catches and he has competed. He has done a nice job, as all of my guys have done. It is time to play and for young guys like Stedman Bailey and Geno Smith, it is time for them to step up and become a Mountaineer. That is what is so exciting about this time of year.
On getting your mind off football
I was able to watch my son play last week. David Johnson and I went up and watched, and I also got to see him play a little bit last night in the JV game. That is my outlet. I don’t have much time or many hobbies, but I like to watch him.
I also like the fellowship with the coaches on Friday night. I like to sit around in a team meeting and watch a band of brothers bond.
On a press conference that has not yet mentioned Noel Devine
What do you say about No. 7? When he and Jock Sanders decided to come back, it spoke volumes about this program. There is a trust in the Mountaineer family. I don’t say that for hype or sensationalism I know what is going on in this program. I know we are bonding and I know we have young guys that are bonding.
