Charlotte 49ers College Football Pregame Quote, 10/08/2019

Having to sit on a loss for an extra week is not a whole lot of fun but I think the hunger for getting back out there for another opportunity is extremely real. We know what kind of test we have for us this weekend. This will be a different test for us this weekend as we are getting on a flight as a team for the first time and our first opportunity to play a conference road game. Every experience is a new one for me and you lean on these guys for what it’s like. We are ready for a great test and a great football team this weekend in Miami. I have a lot of respect for coach Butch Davis. Growing up a football fan, I got to see his success at Miami (Fla.) and North Carolina. I have so much respect for him and what he has been able to do at programs and what he is doing at FIU. And our team understands the test at hand.

Coming off of two losses, how do you treat having the week off? Is it something where you reset things?

I think it’s different in every situation. Last week was about us getting healthy. There’s a time when you are down to four or five offensive linemen and you are just trying to survive a practice and figure out creative ways to make sure you get something out of the bye week. We handled it a little differently this week, both offensively and defensively, but our goal was to get the guys back and let’s be at full strength heading into FIU this weekend.

Do you feel like you got off track defensively those first few games? Was it because of injuries?

For me, I never want to use injuries as an excuse but we have used a lot of guys at different positions. And I think that has helped us create depth and put some guys in some critical situations at critical times to see who is ready and can perform when needed. I’ve always had tons of confidence in our staff and our defensive coordinators. I’ve watched this defense work for a long time but these guys (players) have had four different coordinators in five years, so every game is a new experience. And every game, teams figure out new ways to attack you and where your weaknesses are. Our guys, on the run, are learning where teams are going to attack us and sometimes learning the hard way where our weaknesses are. This defense is going to be great. I think the biggest deal is we have to get better week in and week out. We’ve shuffled the lineup each and every direction but I’ve lost no confidence in our ability to win championships based off our defense.

First conference game on the road, taking a trip down to Miami. Talk a little bit about what we can expect from FIU:

Well it starts with their quarterback (James Morgan); he is a next-level player and I know he’s been banged up a little bit to start the year. And so, they have played two of them but James Morgan can sling it. They have great playmakers on the perimeter. They make explosive plays in the passing game. Defensively, they are led by Sage Lewis, who was picked as the preseason conference player of the year. So they play extremely hard up front, have a great secondary and they rally to the football. They are a great team and I am excited to see how much we have improved and what we have learned from weeks one through five.‚Äù