Charlotte 49ers College Football Pregame Quote, 11/19/2019

Welcome back. I’m glad to be off from an off week. We probably managed this one a lot better than the last one. I think it’s rare to have two off weeks in a season. We didn’t play good after the first one and felt like we were trying to get too much in. We’re a little fresher than we were before. I think we managed the week very well. Our guys responded very well. The attention to detail has been really good the last two days. It seems like they have a little different energy about them, which they should. You’re playing for something in November, so that’s a big deal. Obviously, playing a good football team in Marshall that doesn’t have a lot of weaknesses. They’re in the driver seat to win the league. We were fortunate enough to have an opportunity to play them at home. I think there are a lot of distractions going on right now. Whether it’s talk about a bowl game, Brad Lambert’s return or whatever it may be. I think our guys have done a great job at zeroing in on the process, finding ways to get better and playing our best football here at the end of the year.

What’s the conversation in the locker room going into the weekend amongst the players?

Our meeting yesterday (Monday) morning was, what have you heard? Let’s talk about the distractions that are at-hand. Let’s talk about what people were saying from the outside. We were trying to not ignore the elephant in the room; let’s talk about these things. Let’s get them all out there and let’s talk about how we’re going to answer them. Let’s talk about what’s important. I think the focus has been good. We had a good practice this morning. I think there are a lot of positives that coincide with what we’re talking about. Talking about getting the sixth win; our first bowl game ever. Having an opportunity to play at home against the team that’s winning the conference. Filling the stadium. Whatever it may be. Those are great conversations to have. I’m not running away from those. What I do want to make sure that’s in the front of our minds is, if we don’t get better, we won’t have a shot on Saturday. We got to make sure to take care of us. That gives us a chance.

How can you characterize Chris’ (Reynolds) evolution in the offense?

It’s crazy. You think, you’re 10 games into it now and we were erasing the ‚Äúor‚Äù on the depth chart between him and Brett. He is much more comfortable in our offense. He is leading much better and taking control of our offense. He has not put the ball in jeopardy, knock on wood. He’s made a good decision and has been a threat to run the football. He’s running it well, which I think makes it hard to defend us. He seems to elevate everyone around him. He’s a really good picture of what I think our football team needs to look like. Tough, durable, handles his business, prepared all the time and he’s very competitive, giving us a shot. You take Benny (LeMay) out of the equation and now Chris had to step up against Middle Tennessee and UTEP. The second half of the North Texas game until now, he’s picked his level of play up for sure.

Does he use the underdog, chip on his shoulder, not recruited mantra?

Not publicly. I’m sure it fuels him. Sometimes when guys use that to fuel them, they don’t have great confidence. He has great confidence. He’s not cocky; he’s just confident in his ability. I think that’s why he’s responded so well when we’ve yanked him or started somebody else. He’s confident when he gets an opportunity and he’ll prove somebody wrong. That’s what he’s done his whole life. He uses this in a very positive way.

You’ve been here for almost a year now and have inherited a group of seniors on the team. What have you seen from them?

Usually, those are the toughest to buy-in. But they were the best ones for me. I know they were extremely well-coached. I know they had great relationships with the last staff. I know they made a tremendous leap in their success in the last two years. It was a special year, last year. But they’ve been the bell cows for the change of culture around here. Not that one was right and one was wrong. Just to believing and they’re the first ones who I believed fully believed in and brought others along with them. Not only do we have great players in the senior class but we also have some great leaders and excellent young men. They mean a lot to me because they welcomed me, my family and my staff with open arms and haven’t questioned anything we’ve done. You make sure to work hard so they can have success before they leave. And I told them whenever I took the job, I want to win now. I think the seniors deserve the opportunity to win now. I’m not going to make a short-term decision that’s negatively going to affect me in the long-term. But I want to win now. I want to do things now that this group can come out and go to their first bowl game and win it. Beating some of the upper-echelon teams in our league. Hopefully, we’ll be able to do that.

How do you see Coach (Brad) Lambert’s legacy or impact on this program?

I think he did an excellent job. Going from one to five wins, similar to what I did at Austin Peay. I know how hard it is to win games in this league. We learned that the hard way this year. If anything, I don’t think he has any regrets because he developed true relationships with these guys and players. They respect him; they loved playing for him. I think he did a tremendous job of starting a program. Our job is to try and take it to the next level. But we’ve inherited a really good program and he deserves all the credit for that. I’ve never met him but everyone around this community that knew him says excellent things about him and what type of person he is. Our players say the same thing. I’m sure it will be a different experience for him coming back but he deserves a lot of credit for where we are right now. He deserves a lot of credit into what this place has turned into. What this building is; what this stadium is. What type of players we have on this roster. We were fortunate to inherit a program with a very stable foundation. He built it.

What would it mean to the program to get that sixth win at home in front of a sellout crowd?

It would be huge. It’ll get you to four wins in a row and it would take the pressure off having to get your sixth win on the road, next week. I think all of our players in the locker room know how good this team is coming in this weekend. It’s going to be a tall task. They are playing at a very high level and it’ll mean a lot to do it at home, on senior day. It’s always more fun celebrating at home instead of on the road. I’m sure Club Lit will be exciting as can be if we get it done.

Have you allowed yourself that vision as far as what it might be? Or are you tucking that away?

Kind of tucking it away. At the beginning of the week, I’m a worry wart. You turn on the film and say, what in the world are you going to do to have success against these guys? Usually, as you get forward into the week and you have a couple of practices, and you see how you guys are responding, you calm down a little bit. You see at least some light at the end of the tunnel. I’m not there now, hopefully by Thursday or Friday. I’ll let you know when I do.

When you were at Austin Peay, or maybe Chattanooga, did you know about Chris Reynolds as a high school quarterback?

We had signed a high school quarterback from Nashville that we were on for a long time. He was the guy who we put all of our eggs in one basket. At Austin Peay we didn’t recruit this area. There wasn’t a lot of North and South Carolina on our roster. I’ve never watched his high school film but I can imagine what it looks like. He’s tough, will run over you some point in time. He’ll run by you some point in time. It’s never going to be the Elite 11, Joe Montana out there throwing the football. But he finds ways to be accurate and pushes the ball down the field. He’s got some intangibles that you can’t coach and teach. He’s a winner and a self-made high-level quarterback right now.

Have you thought about your old school at all? They’re on the verge of winning their conference.

I watch them every week. Speaking of a guy who has done an excellent job, Mark Hudspeth. All they had to do was get rid of me and now they’re winning. He’s 8-3 with an opportunity to go 7-1 in the conference for the second time ever. He’s done a terrific job and the guys are out there are playing for him. I’m very, very proud of what they’re doing. It has nothing to do with me. He has done an excellent job. I’ll be pulling for them this week. First conference championship, as well. I texted my old boss, Gerald (Harrison), and said, you had done this a long time ago if you’d known it’ll get you to a conference championship.