Dec. 7, 2010
SDSU Football Weekly Press Conference Quotes
Aztec Athletics Center
Head Coach Brady Hoke
Opening Statement:
"We're excited about this next phase of our program and where we're going. We're excited as heck to be playing in the Poinsettia Bowl against a team in Navy that's won eight games or more for the last eight years. Our kids are excited and looking forward to playing in front of Aztec Warrior Nation. We had two practices last week and that was kind of a skeleton crew with most of the coaches out on the road. Part of this is the game planning of Navy, but it's also in regards to developing the young players on our football team. That's a big part of being in bowl games, getting those extra days of work. We'll continue to do that with the young guys until about game week. We'll get those kids a lot of reps, snaps, teaching, fundamentals and techniques. It's all part of the excitement of playing a 13th game."
On the chance to develop young players:
"We have a lot of young, talented guys that have been playing off a card most of the year. Their opportunity to get out and react, that's huge for us as a program. There are lots of guys we're going to need. You look at Ezell Ruffin and Jay Waddell, the two receivers. I'll mention them because we lost DeMarco and VJ (Vincent Brown). Those two guys are really talented. When you look at the maturity level from a physical and mental standpoint, I think that it's imperative they get acclimated to division one football."
On Navy:
"What makes them so effective and efficient, they're third in the country in rush offense, is that they believe in the option game. They recruit to it and do a great job. They're different than Air Force, who has those elements but will also be more conventional in what they do with some two-back stuff and the passing game. Air Force had 163 formations that we had to look at, Navy has eight or nine. They're more committed to the triple option series, so they've gotten better at it. Their kids are disciplined in what they're doing; they're the least penalized team in the country."
On preparing for the triple option:
"Our kids have done a great job with preparation all year. A guy like Ernie Lawson has been in every day watching film. He's a football junkie. He does a great job, and a lot of the other guys are the same way. They just work hard."
On the seniors ending their career with a bowl game:
"They should be proud of what they've done and what their legacy will be. Going to a bowl game is great because of the development, but it's no fun if you lose. Our preparation is to win the bowl game and do everything we can to make sure that when we play on the 23rd, we're going to play our best football."
Junior Quarterback Ryan Lindley
"It's been nice. We've gotten to see the young guys play at the end of the practice, and you always get excited, especially for the guys at your position. At the same time, it's great because we're getting out there and going quick and maintaining our timing. It's been a good week, and we'll continue to go hard this week."
On getting to see the young players develop:
On Ezell Ruffin and Jay Waddell:
"There's some talent. With the redshirts, this offseason will be crucial with developing in the weight room and learning the playbook. It's fun to see the guys out there competing.
On how extra practices would have benefitted him:
"It's like another spring ball. With the opportunity they're getting to have game-like situations, they're going pretty hard. It's good to see them get extra reps to get an early jump on things.
Senior Defensive Lineman Ernie Lawson
"They're a lot more athletic, no disrespect to Air Force. Navy has a lot of talented players, starting with Ricky Dobbs. He's a hell of a football player that runs that offense to a tee. Their fullbacks are very tough, athletic and physical. It's a physical group that runs their stuff. They don't run a lot of stuff, but they run their stuff to a tee. They're a very impressive football team."
On Navy:
On preparing for the triple option:
"It is pretty different, but I think playing Air Force does help to a certain extent even though they run some different stuff. We still have to prepare a lot because of how well they run their offense. They don't mess up too much, if at all. That takes a lot of preparation with the scout guys attempting to mimic their tempo."
On the young defensive linemen:
"The future of the defensive line is pretty bright. Dontrell Onuahu, Everett Beed, Jordan Thomas and Cody Galea are all guys that have potential to be really good football players. Physically, they're way ahead of where our class was coming in. With them having two, three or four years of Coach Wellman, it's going to help exponentially. With them, it's going to be about getting the game mentally. If they can get it down, they'll be very bright players."