Transcript of Players Meeting With Media Following Bowl Practice
December 22, 2014 | Football
(On bowl preparation) “It's going pretty well. Today we actually started getting towards the game plan. Last week we got to really work on our system, learning our schemes and everything. Now we're starting to really get focused on Georgia.”
(Preparing for Georgia) They've got big guys up front. They've got some big pass rushers, so we up front, the o-line, we're going to have to pass-protect. They've got some decent linebackers that can come down-hill and make some plays. We're really just going to have to play Cardinal football. That's really our goal. Let's run the ball, and let's get open and make the throws.”
(On being away for Christmas) “Most definitely, and it's good to have another opportunity for the post-season. It's good to be home for Christmas, but it's also good to have another opportunity to play a game and continue to play.”
(On if being away on Christmas is routine for him) “Yeah, it's pretty routine for me and a lot of guys who are on this team. We have a lot of older guys that have been to bowl games pretty much the whole time we've been here, so we've gotten accustomed to how we do things. So we try to bring the young guys along and make sure they know the ropes. It's been pretty good so far.”
(On preparing for his final collegiate game) “It's very surreal. Coach K, our offensive line coach, he does a good job of reminding us seniors in the room that our opportunities are running down. I think we have eight days before the game, so with that in mind we know we have to take advantage of every opportunity that we have, and maximize the practice times and the meeting times and everything that we're doing to get ready for this game.”
(Difference between this coaching staff and the prior staff in terms of bowl game prep)“When you go to the bowl, it kind of becomes like camp practice again. You're here all day, and all you do is eat, sleep, and breathe football. It's been really similar with both the coaches. The formats are a little different, Coach Strong did a lot of hard-nosed, back-to-fundamentals practices, and Coach Petrino is doing the daily game-week preparation practices. So, like today was a Wednesday practice. We do certain things on certain days. Saturday was a Tuesday, tomorrow is going to be a Thursday, and then we'll have days off in between. There's a method to the madness. They kind of break you down a little bit and then build you back up, so you can reestablish that toughness and get yourself re-acclimated to the speed of the game.”
(On playing an SEC opponent) “It's a great opportunity for us. For me personally, it's my fifth bowl game. I don't know if anyone at Louisville can say that besides this senior class that we have now, the fifth-year seniors. Georgia, they're a great opponent. They've got a lot of really great players. It's a great opportunity for us to go out against another SEC opponent and prove that we belong in the national ranks as one of the better teams in the country.”
(On how the Louisville quarterbacks have looked in practice thus far) “Quarterbacks have looked really good. You wouldn't know it by the way Coach Petrino talks to them during practice, but they're doing really well out there. Reggie's moving around really well, Kyle's tossing them around really well, so we're excited about both our options at quarterback for the bowl game.”
(On bowl preparation) “Bowl preparation has been very high-tempo, very high-intensity. Everybody is playing with their heads loose, and trying to prepare and go out an execute.” (On the key to beating Georgia) “Just to come out high-tempo and be focused and ready. Just follow Coach Petrino's game plan.”
(On playing another SEC team in Gerogia) “We just look at it as another game. Every team is the same, you just have to come out and play like we play. We feel that against any team we just have to execute, no matter what the conference is or who we're playing against.”
(On playing Georgia in the bowl, then opening with Auburn next season) “No added motivation. Like I said, we just have to come prepared every week, every team is different, so we'll prepare for them how we would any other team. Next year is next year, so we're all just focused on this week right now, and trying to execute what our game plan is.”
(On the Georgia defense) “They come out high-tempo. They're going to stack the box some times, so we just have to get down-hill, get our pads low, break arm tackles and try to get loose.”
(On the confidence of Kyle Bolin) “I feel that he has confidence. He's been going out and practicing hard, just ready to practice. He can quarterback at any time, get the job done. Coach Petrino is coaching both of them up as well as he can.”
(On the development of the Louisville offensive line) “I know it's our first year really together with the coaches and the players all joined together, so I feel like it was just a matter of time. Now we're together and on the right track, and we're moving now.”
(On his expanded role this season) “Yeah, it's really crazy. It's just football. You have to wait until it's your turn. When your time is called, you just have to capitalize. Football is always up and down, so you have to be able to face adversity.”
(On playing an SEC opponent in Georgia) “It's pretty exciting. They do have hype, so we just want to go out there and perform well. It's just another game to me. We just have to go out there and try to perform every week, because every team, you don't know how it's going to happen.”
(On Petrino-led bowl prep) “We just have to stay safe, get everybody to the game, but still practice hard and physical. You just have to have a good mindset of getting out there every day and practicing hard. You know you're going to be tired, we've practiced six or seven days already, but we just have to get ready to get to North Carolina and practice as well as we did here.”
