March 15, 2017
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Football News Conference Quotes
SDSU Football head coach Rocky Long
Opening Statement
"We're excited about the spring scrimmage on Saturday. We're going to try to time it like a game but it'll just be offense versus defense. But it's a chance for us to see them play actually in more of a game-type setting than before. And then I think our whole team is excited about visiting Italy next week. That's an interesting deal since I read about Michigan actually going to Italy and I don't know how much that's going to cost but obviously it's going to cost a lot of money. One more thing those Power 5 schools can do that the rest of us can't. Then we're supposed to be able to compete against them all of the time. It's an interesting scenario. I felt bad about our players not being able to experience that same thing and since we don't have those kinds of resources, we came up with maybe a better idea than they had. We're excited about going down to Little Italy on Tuesday."
On if the team will split into two squads at the scrimmage on Saturday:
"We used to do that when we actually divided them into two teams. We're not going to divide them into two teams this time around because we have some depth issues at certain positions on offense that would make the two teams completely unequal. It would give one team a huge advantage over another team. There are certain guys who aren't going to play in the scrimmage who are veteran guys that have played a lot so you can't really get a feel for an equal match if you start dividing them up."
On who will play in the scrimmage:
"There are some guys that will play less than others but everyone else will play in the scrimmage that's healthy. Some of them won't play very much but everyone will play a little bit. (Rising senior running back) Rashaad Penny won't play at all. He won't carry the ball any time it's live."
On what he'll look for at the scrimmage this Saturday:
"Looking on how well the offensive line plays and how well the safeties play. That is totally going to determine how good of a football team we are next year. If our offensive line plays well, we have a chance to be good on offense and if our safeties play well, we have a chance to be good on defense. If those two positions on our football team don't play well, we're going to struggle next year. They're going to be good eventually. They just have to be good faster than they probably should be.
"During the scrimmage, all I worry about is their effort and how hard they're trying. Then when we get to watch the film, I watch certain positions and guys to see if they're improving."
On how much improvement he feels the team has made during spring practice:
"I knew we had a long way to go when we started and we still have a long way to go. That doesn't mean I'm disappointed because I think they've made some improvement. You don't know if they've made enough improvement until you actually play somebody else but we still have a long way to go until we'll be any good. I think if you look to the future, and I'm not just talking about early next season, I think we're going to be really good over the next couple years. I'm just noticing we're not going to be very good at the beginning of next season."
On Michigan football's trip to Italy as a recruiting advantage:
"I think we have a lot to sell with the kind of community San Diego is. I think that really helps. But do I think it's a huge recruiting advantage when someone can take an entire football staff and gear to Italy for a week? Do I think that's a recruiting advantage? It's a huge advantage. And then you play it off as an educational experience, and it is, and there are probably only 15 schools in the country that could do that. There are the haves and the have-nots. That's just the way it's going. You can think about it in a rational manner and you live with it and try to do the best you can."
On SDSU Men's Basketball:
"Our basketball program sets the standards around here. All of us are trying to catch up to their standard. In a normal situation, our basketball team had a heck of a year. If people were upset about that, they've been spoiled because they played better basketball than most people did. They just didn't get into the tournament which everybody is disappointed about but that's because of the great success they've had leading up to this season.
"I think that (head men's basketball) Coach (Steve) Fisher is one of the greatest coaches that's ever coached basketball. The longer he wants to coach, the better off we are. I learn stuff from him all the way: the way he handles himself on the sidelines, the way he talks to the media. Obviously, we have different personalities. He seems positive all the time no matter what happens. Obviously, I'm not that way. But that doesn't mean we don't respect each other's personalities. I like how it looks bad but he makes it sound like it looks good. After I hear him, I figure we won."
On how he thinks his view of the team early on influences the fans' perspective:
"Every year, I look at the team where it is. I decide where our strengths and weaknesses are. I have a preconceived idea how where we're going to be. Right now, I have a preconceived idea on where we're going to be at the end of next year; We're going to be really good by the end of next year. I have a preconceived idea that we're going to struggle early. Last year, I didn't have that same feeling because we had a veteran football team. I thought we'd be really good right from the start last year and we weren't really good at the start but last year we had a much more veteran team that we have this year. I take it year to year."
"I want the fans to be there because I think it makes a difference and I want people to be involved because I think it makes a difference for everyone. I think it makes a difference in our program. It helps us be more successful. I think it's fun. It's a social event and it's fun for the people who come. But when you're developing a team you can't think about what the fans think.
On increased season ticket sales for the upcoming season:
"I think that's a good sign, how things have started in terms of ticket sales. I think that's a really good sign. I hope it continues all the way until our first game and then after our first game, I hope a whole bunch of them go running in there because they saw how we played in the first game that they join up."