Cincinnati Bearcats College Football Pregame Quote, 11/22/2022

I do want to recognize last week I thought our guys did a really good job of handling the entire week and not just because they knew what was ahead of them and what was coming up this week with playing for all the marbles and things like that, but I thought that they kind of walked into an environment that was going to be tough. I thought they did a really good job in the preparation, preparing themselves for not the weather because that’s just a part of the game, but that environment as a whole with playing in a pro stadium and there’s not being a lot of people. I don’t think it affected them. They came out did what they needed to do, played the way we expected them to play, and obviously we got out of town with a victory. I thought Evan [Prater] stepped up and did a really good job [filling in for injured Ben Bryant]. I thought he did a good job at managing the situation that we were in. Not saying the game was under control, but I thought, as you walk in there with your defense is playing really well, you are in a situation that we talked all week about, we got to make sure we take care of the football. He walked into a situation in the game right before half where you have to decide if you are going to [throw it long] or are you going to try to be smart. We have done a better job in some of those situations and the end of the half and keeping yourself in a really good position. I thought he did a really good job of managing the second half with where we were at and what we needed to do moving forward. So, obviously this week is huge for everything and for all the marbles. This is the start of the championship. This is what we prepare for, this is what we envision. This is the one goal that we talk about that we have when we start camp and its Senior Day. I don’t think you can slight that in any way. These guys whether it’s their fourth year, fifth year or their sixth year, whether it’s their first senior day or maybe even their second senior day for some of them. What they’ve done for us, what they’ve done for our program is something that you can never completely put a value on. Yes, it’s for the opportunity to play for championship but it’s also for these guys that have meant so much to me and to this entire program.

On injuries and preparing for Senior Day on Friday:

I don’t have a whole lot of injury updates, it is a little later in the week and I don’t know that there’s going to be a whole lot of reps this week for Ben [Bryant], but he’s played a lot of ball and if we get to the gametime situation and he’s able to play, then we could go that direction. We have got to have preparations in both ways. Not that that makes it a whole lot different for us. That’s why it was a good situation last week that Evan [Prater] got an opportunity to get in there and play a lot more ball. We are optimistic, but we got to continue to push and see and we will have to make some decisions as we get closer to gametime.

On Evan Prater getting more reps this week in practice:

It helps Evan’s [Prater] mindset and his preparation. We kind of were in this situation three or four years ago when Ben Bryant played in that game at Memphis, we didn’t make a decision on who was going to play it until the night before to be honest with you. Maybe that was a tougher thing on Ben [Bryant] because he didn’t know ahead of time or maybe it was an easier thing on him, but nonetheless, it was what the situation was. It will be a little bit different because in the preparation this week we will give him some more opportunities, but I think even that week we didn’t know exactly which direction we were going to go, so we have to prepare for both.

On the importance of winning the games in Nippert Stadium:

We make a big deal in the summer. That’s the reason why we run the stadium. That’s the reason why we are in the stadium and in those situations. For the spring game we go in the stadium, and we make a big deal of it. It’s about protecting your home. To be honest with you, I don’t need to know what the win streak is at; I don’t pay any attention to it. It wouldn’t matter if it was the last game of the year or if there’s any streak involved at all, and we don’t look at the negatives of things. It is another opportunity for our guys to play in front of the home crowd, in particular for the seniors to play, but for the fans to say thank you to them as well. That’s what we really got to push for. I know it’s noon on Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, but these guys deserve the very best and they deserve an opportunity to go out and play in front of that same kind of crowd we had two weeks ago.

On being at this point in the season with the ups and down:

It means our kids have done a phenomenal job and our coaches have done a phenomenal job at managing and handling all the things that we have had to go through. Not always the outside can tell, but we have seen some of the games and what it’s had to come down to and the ways we have had to win football games. You grow from a lot from those things. I think that’s where we see ourselves right now. We have grown an incredible amount from a lot of these really tough games and tough situations and playing on the road. As you get to the end of the year, you always have things happen. You always have injuries, you always have things that you have to adapt and adjust to whether it’s a quarterback situation, whether it’s a defensive line situation, it doesn’t matter. I think that in the long run, the way you go through the season and the adversity that you had, the ups and downs only make you stronger.

On having similarities with Tulane in the types of seasons both teams have had:

I see a lot of consistency and I don’t know how many times we played him, but it feels like we played him almost every year and I’ve seen Coach Fritz and how they have consistently grown. I said the same thing when we went to play East Carolina. You could just see how they have developed and the consistency, not just offensively, defensively, and special teams-wise but the whole team and program. It’s not a surprise to me that they are where they are and the situation that they are at with a lot of older guys. Whether they were pick very high the start of the year and not, it’s a really good football team that does it the right way.

On his first conference win being against Tulane and if it feels like very long time ago:

I never thought about it like that. I don’t know that I think back to a lot of those things, but that you bring that up that I do remember that they missed about a 25-yard field goal to go ahead with, maybe 45 seconds or a 1:20 left in the game at their place. We capitalized, I think we actually had a break in a run with a minute to go in the game and I am screaming and hollering not that they could hear me for I don’t know if it was Mike Warren II, Mike Boone or somebody to go down and not get into the endzone just for the sheer fact that who knows what could happen if they get the ball back with 30 seconds. I don’t know that I remember anything else about that game, but if you didn’t bring that up, I wouldn’t have known that.

On the growth and impact of veteran leadership like Jabari Taylor and other fifth or sixth years:

Incredible impact. That is what is so special about this weekend. It is that those guys have been here through the ups and the downs. They have been here through a lot of different things, and they are the reason this program is where it’s at. Whether they had the utmost success in their first two, three or four years. It’s the consistency, it’s the stability that has really taken us where we are. There is a lot of praise that should be had for those guys and a lot of others that have done what it takes to get us to this position right here. I don’t just mean this year plan for the opportunity to play for a championship, but even those guys have come before.

On if he wants his players to embrace everything that comes with this game:

You want them to embrace it. They have earned that. I don’t think it applies any more pressure; the pressure is applied from within. It Is not that you are playing and that this is an opportunity, if you win, that you are in the championship game. No, you don’t put any more pressure upon yourself, but I do want to embrace the opportunities that they have created and enjoy it. I always try to remind them as well as I try to remind myself to enjoy these things that we have created. It doesn’t always happen like this. You don’t always get to the end of November, and all of a sudden, you are playing for the championship in the last game. So, if you have the good fortune to put yourself in those positions then yes there is some pressure that goes along with it. It isn’t anything that wasn’t on us the week before and that wasn’t on us on week one. They have done this and created this, and they deserve to enjoy it.

On watching players from his first big recruiting class graduate:

You do because of how many guys you have spent all six years with. It was harder in the first two years because I can’t sit here and tell you that I really knew those guys really, really well and I don’t know that they really knew me. It’s tough when you are trying to build that trust in those in those first couple of years. There is a little bit of a difference, but I don’t know that being different than it was last year or the year before. Every one of these guys you have got some different times and moments with, and they are all special to you and maybe sometimes in different ways. I’m not a big Senior Day guy because I think it’s hard. I think it’s hard because I hate saying bye and thank you and things like that at that moment, but it’s right and they deserve it, so I think it’s a good thing.

On how the players from 2017-2018 have shaped this current team:

They did everything. That first group, from what we knew, was probably going to be a little bit tougher. Throughout the entire year, and then especially at the end of the year, I always said to them that your leadership will be evaluated on how this thing goes moving forward. It’s not just on what you did in that first year, where we struggled, but the example that you set and the way you do things will set the tone for the years to come. I always try to say that to those guys that are leaving like the Desmond Ridder’s and players like that, their leadership is really measured by what the guys look like the following year. That’s because of the example that they’ve set and how they’ve done it. They’ve been really good players that’s given you the opportunity to win. So then sometimes you look back at their leadership and say, how good was that leadership. There’s a lot of great players, but when they leave, and you don’t take a drop off and you see the things in the way it’s created, you look back at that and say, that leadership was really strong. They’ve set the example, they’ve paid attention to those younger guys, and they’ve helped develop them. That’s what gives you a chance to continue to grow the program.

On scouting Tulane’s offense:

They’ve done a great job. I think that when you look across the board, you see all the older guys that they’ve got. It’s not hard to figure out why they’ve been successful or why they’re really successful right now. They’ve got a guy at the helm that’s a winner in every sense of the measure. I remember we didn’t play them last year, but pregame I told Coach [Willie] Fritz. I said I don’t know if I’ve ever been more impressed watching the guy on film and how tough he is and how physical he is. He can get up and keep taking the punishment that he did. I see the same thing, obviously he’s a year wiser and smarter and he’s avoided some of those shots but he’s a winner. He’s a competitor and it’s not hard to tell it. So, I think the combination of all those things, their ability to run the football and create some things along with our consistency across the board. It’s not a surprise to me, when you watch them play, that they’re in a situation they’re in.

On QB Evan Prater:

I think he’s ready. I think that it’s hard because, you’re always prepared and when that opportunity comes, you’ve got to seize the moment. It’s not going be too big if he has to go in there. I think it’s tougher last week, when all of a sudden, you’re just thrown into some of those situations, and it was actually probably pretty good that the score was 14-3 and it wasn’t like you’re up 21 or 28 points. You’re on the road. It’s a really tough environment, meaning you’ve got to be self-motivated. So, I think it was a great opportunity for him to step into that position last week and really have to take charge and show the control you have to have. Sometimes you go in and you just want to let loose, but you also have to understand what’s the situation of the game. I don’t think it’s ever going to be too big for him. I think that’s the unique thing with a guy like Evan. His mindset, personality, and just who he is makes these moments not too big for him. So, if and when, I think he’ll play under control. He’ll do the things he needs to do, and he’ll surprise himself in the way that he’s able to handle it as well.

On the creation of the NIL Collective, Cincy Reigns:

It’s the new age. It’s the way of the world and sometimes you can kind of shut it off and say, I don’t know if I believe in this, but the reality is, it’s for our kids, and anything that’s for our kids is a good thing in my mind. Some people might not believe that, but this is where we’re moving towards and finding new and other ways to take care of our kids. It’s not making them softer, it’s not to baby and it’s not giving them something they don’t deserve. It’s just an opportunity for us to take care of them a little bit more. It’s really awesome that we’ve got the bigger vision with the whole entire athletic program to be able to do something like this and show that we want to help every one of our guys and girls in some way, shape or form. We have to make sure that people around here understand that regardless of what the rules had been in the past and what you believe, this is the way of the future. It’s awesome that John [Cunningham] recognizes that and sees that and is able to encompass the whole athletic department.