2010 Coaches Quick Hits

Wednesday August 4, 2010

Quoting Ron Zook: (on a 9-game conference schedule in the Big Ten) "It's going to cost (the conference) bowl berths. It's going to knock teams out of the postseason. And it could cost somebody their job."

"This is why they don't let coaches have a say in this. I understand the desire to keep more of our revenues inside the conference, and the fans' preference for conference games instead of lesser opponents. But you're adding six more losses to our records -- that hurts the league. I don't know of many coaches who will be in favor of this."

Quoting Tim Brewster: (on a 9-game conference schedule in the Big Ten) "I'm definitely in favor. I think competition brings out the best in everybody. For us to elevate the status of Minnesota football, we want to play teams that bring value to us. Beating Towson State, to me, that doesn't elevate your program. The goal here is not to win six games and go to a bowl -- the goal is to win a championship. And to do that, you've got to focus on beating your peers."

"To me, it's all about recruiting. Kids get excited to play big games, good teams. I know we may lose some money by having an extra road game some years, but those games bring value to us. Play someone that gets kids enthused -- 'Hey coach, who you playing?' "

Quoting Randy Shannon: "When you're 32 years old it doesn't matter if you get a chance to go to that next level, you're done. "Is your Facebook or your Twitter account going to prevent from where you need to be? They look at me and I say ‘Fellas that's happening. What you put your stamp on today, that's what you're going to get when you're 32 or 37.' "

Quoting Nick Saban: "There will be no update - it will be a decision, that will be it. And when it comes, we'll announce it."

"We won't know anything about Marcell until the NCAA makes a decision whether he violated rules, whether he took something from somebody, whether he needs to pay it back and whether it's going to cost him any games. I don't know any of that."

Quoting Dennis Erickson: (on his QB situation)"It's going to boil down to who takes control of the offense and who's the most accurate."

(on Noel Mazzone) "I have to watch so he doesn't get too carried away. He's like a mad scientist."

Quoting Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun: "You've just got to see how much guys change over the summer. And it's not just by texting them and they say ‘I've been working out. I've been throwing a bunch of balls. I did a bunch of cone work.' It would be different if they were right near you."

"Sometimes a player you don't identify as ‘He's going to be the guy next year' shows up, he's not out of basic training, he's fresh, and he's faster, and he's thicker. We keep our eyes open each and every day to who our best players are."

Quoting Southern Miss DC Todd Bradford: "It's been 228 days since we last played. I've been counting every day since we played in that game. We certainly didn't end the season anywhere like we find as acceptable at Southern Miss for our players, our program and our fans."

"We're anxious to get back on the field and show what kind of defense we have in our third year in the program. That's the year when it should be clicking and you know what to do. We should be back to playing Southern Miss type of football."