April 21, 2011
The following is a transcript of head coach Rocky Long's teleconference with members of the media from Tuesday, April. 19.
Opening Statement:
"We finished spring ball about three weeks ago, so it seems like a long, long time ago, but we made some progress. We have a few holes; most people know that we lost two very good wide receivers and don't have anybody coming back that played a significant amount of time. We are trying to develop some young people at wide receiver, some young people on the defensive line, and those are our two key spots (to improve on) if we want to be anywhere close to where we were last year."
On Hawaii coming into conference:
"I think Hawaii adds to our league, just like all the teams coming into our conference. The travel back and forth on to the mainland makes it harder on them, and when you have to play in Hawaii (the travel) makes it a little bit harder on you. So, the travel is a concern of mine, especially when we have to go there. They have shown in the past that they can be one of the top teams in the country, playing in the Sugar Bowl not too long ago, and I think they are a big addition to our league."
On which young players had good springs and may be able to help fill some of the team's holes:
"I think we have good tight ends in our program--guys that have proven in the past that they can play, that can actually run out there, lose somebody and catch the ball. Alston Umuolo is back--got another year after his injury--and we expect him to be at one hundred percent come fall. Gavin Escobar had a great year last year as a young guy and he's back, and D.J. Shields has started for us at tight end and he's back. As far as the wide receivers go, I'm not going to mention any of those guys. They were hot and cold during spring practice; one day you thought you had found the guy and the next day it didn't even seem like the same guy. So, we have a lot of work to do there and hopefully by our first game someone will have stepped up. Ryan Lindley is an experienced guy and he has gotten better and better the whole time we've been here. He is undoubtedly the leader of this team, especially on offense. I think at times he has been hard on those wide receivers, been frustrated with them some, but having a veteran quarterback should make their development much faster, and we expect that out of Ryan and we expect that out of the receivers."
On if he missed being a head coach more than he thought he would:
"I don't think so. I missed some of the job when I was offered this one. I missed part of being a head coach, but I also enjoyed my last two seasons as being just the defensive coordinator. There were several reasons why I took the job, mainly because I like it here, I really enjoy the players and I think things are going in the right direction and I hope this program will keep getting better and better. It wasn't so much that I missed being a head coach. I like being a head coach again, but I really had fun being just the defensive coordinator, too."
On the addition of new San Diego State offensive coordinator Andy Ludwick:
"He is exactly what I was looking for. I didn't want to change the offense that we ran last year, and he is very skilled in that kind of offense. He also came in and learned our terminology so that the players didn't have to learn a new terminology. He's good at using the better players that you have in the program and adjusting the offense to them. I first knew about Andy when he was at Utah and we used to play against one another. I have great confidence in him."
On what's different about being a head coach this time around:
"The first time I did it I had no idea what it entailed; this time around I knew what to expect. Every school is a little bit different, but for the most part I knew what to expect. Nothing so far has shocked me. When you first become a head coach, everything shocks you."
On how he projects the Mountain West Conference race playing out at this point:
"We have just started into breaking down all the teams in the league, so I would just be guessing. With the changes of Utah and BYU leaving and Boise State coming in, I haven't broken Boise State down yet. Obviously, they are going to be one of the better teams in the league. Obviously, TCU is going to be one of the better teams in the league, and if I was picking someone to fight with those two teams for being the top team in the league, I would pick Air Force. We have a quarterback, but we've got a lot of holes, too. I don't know where I would pick us. Hopefully, we'll figure that out as we go."
On what Boise State and their fans should expect to see from the Mountain West Conference:
"First of all, I think it's a great deal that Boise State is joining the MWC, I think they add a lot to our league. I think that what they have done the last few years up there is impressive. I think that they are walking into our league being one of the top teams in our league, and that it is a very competitive league from top to bottom--every week they are going to have to play their best, but they've had to do that in the past. What they are going to see from this league is more of the same of what they've seen up to this point."
On how heightened expectations will make this season different than the last for San Diego State:
"It will be interesting to see how our players handle that. I would have to agree with you, last year people didn't know what to expect and as the season went along we got better and better and played pretty good football towards the end of the year. Didn't start out that good, but we played pretty good football at the end of the year. I think that there are higher expectations. I don't know (outside of San Diego) if there are or not--here in San Diego there are a lot higher expectations. It's more about how our players are going to handle it, whether they are going to embrace it or if it's going to make them nervous and uptight. Hopefully, they embrace the idea and we carry on with what started last year."
On Ronnie Hillman's development this spring:
"Ronnie had a great year last year. He has worked hard in the offseason and has gotten a little bit bigger and stronger. He is not a very big guy, anyways, but last year he played at about 180 pounds. By the time we started spring practice we had four weeks of offseason and he was almost up to 190 pounds. Hopefully, we can get him up to 190 pounds and he doesn't lose any of his quickness and speed. If the big guys up front block as well as they did last year then he'll have a good year. Ronnie is a talented guy, but I haven't seen a talented running back have a good year if the guys up front don't block very well."
On the defensive line rotation:
"We actually have four veterans coming back. Jerome Long will stay at nose-guard, I think he got better and better as we went on last year and he has had a good spring. Neil Spencer is a backup nose-tackle and we've experimented in the spring with him at defensive end. We (also) have Larry Gibbs and J.J. Autele, veterans coming back at defensive end. So we're experimenting with Neil a little bit. Now, the younger guys, we moved them all around (during the spring.) We put them in at nose-guard some, they played defensive end some--we are trying to figure out where they fit best."