Memphis Tigers College Football Pregame Quote, 12/06/2019

Obviously, we’re excited to be back in the American Athletic Conference Championship game. This has been a great year, I’ve been really pleased with our football team and the development we’ve seen, the maturity that we’ve shown. This is a team that’s definitely grown from week one to where we are now. We’ve had some adversity, some key players go down throughout this year, but it provided an opportunity for new faces to showcase the heart and character that they have. Being able to host the conference championship is big, not only for this program, but also for this city. We’re looking forward to the matchup, it is definitely unique coming off back-to-back weeks, playing the same opponent. But it reiterated the respect that we have for the Cincinnati program and the talent that they have. We know it’s going to be one heck of a matchup tomorrow. I’m proud of our team, it’s something special to be here once again three-straight years in a row representing the West Division. It’s a feat in itself, and we’re looking forward to tomorrow, hopefully doing the things necessary to find a way to be successful and accomplishing our goal and our objective and win a conference championship.

On the progression in Norvell’s career at Memphis:

It’s been a special journey. From the first day that I got the job to where we’ve been able to build and progress to, there have been so many highlights. This year has probably been the most rewarding of all of them, just with the circumstances that have shown up. Looking at our football team, and staff, we’ve had to replace all three coordinators, lost a couple of outstanding playmakers, All-Americans, to the NFL Draft early, like I said, all the injuries, all the circumstances. But this team has shown the heart and character that they have, the work they’ve put into it since January. Some of the new faces have come in and done remarkable things, we’ve recruited at a high level, it’s been special. Not only what we’ve been able to do on the field, but the impact we’ve had off of it. The GameDay experience, that weekend, that’s something I’ll never forget. That was special for the city of Memphis, being able to host GameDay, to feel the energy and the excitement, everybody coming together to celebrate this program, celebrate this city as a whole. To walk on that field and see 59,000 people dressed in blue, that has been a pipedream for this program for much of our history. We’ve had sellouts before, but I don’t know if we’ve had sellouts that have looked like that, where it’s been all about Memphis. To be a part of it, it’s been a tremendous honor, and to coach the young men that I get to, to impact a community, something bigger than just a football team, it’s been special. Now to host the conference championship, it’s all a part of our progression as a program, and we’re definitely looking forward to taking that next step.

On keeping players focused for the same opponent two weeks in a row:

Coming off of last week, it is a challenge to play an opponent back-to-back. You learn things about the personnel, the different matchups, schematically, but the thing that came out of last week was a great respect for our opponent. That was a game that, if a handful of plays go the other way, it could have been a much different outcome. For us our focus is the same that it’s been since January, ourselves. It hasn’t mattered who we played this season, whether it was opening the season against an SEC opponent, a nationally-ranked opponent, a primetime game, it’s all been about us and our growth and our development as a team, as individuals and as coaches. That’s what our message has been, and was once again this week, I’ve been proud of how our guys prepared. We’re looking forward to this game, it’s special. You get to play in a championship game; it’s something you should be commended for and be proud of. But we didn’t plan on just getting here, we want to come here, put ourselves in the best position to be successful, and if we play to the best of our abilities, I’ll be able to live with whatever outcome shows up.

On preparing for multiple quarterbacks:

Last two weeks, we’ve been preparing for Desmond Ridder. We expected him to play last week, with (Ben) Bryant playing, he had an impressive performance. The young guy, with the talent he has, on a big stage and in a big game, I thought he did a lot of great things. We expect Ridder to play tomorrow, that’s what we’ve prepared for this week. Obviously, if Bryant does play, we’ll adapt and adjust to that, but it shows the talent and depth that they have within their program, and our guys fully understand and respect that.

On the difference in the team from the first conference championship game to now:

Probably not just within the week, but the season. This offseason, I spent a lot of time looking back at the championship games over the last couple of years. We had leads in both games, obviously lost both of those late on the road, really succumbed to the momentum swings, and things that were disappointing for me and the program. We try to plan everything from January forward to prepare for this moment, and there were a lot of things that showed up through the season, how we responded in games, how we finished games. Some of the adversity that showed up, and our guys always responded. I think it’s about how we train, and the maturity of the guys that we have. It’s really been the same focus, we are excited to practice and play on Championship Week. To say that there’s been some big change, it’s been the same expectation from the first practice to this morning, our last regular season practice, we’re just trying to get better in every aspect.

On having the experience from the previous championship games:

I think the experiences that we’ve been able to build on from this year. There have been games, like Navy, early in the season, where we were down at half, things weren’t going our way, you saw a great response from all three phases in that game. You go through a variety of games, I think in the last five games, we’ve had times where we played well, there have been times where we’ve been behind and had to respond. This team plays such complimentary football. All three phases have had to make an impact in specific games to allow us to be victorious, and they’ve answered the call. As for tomorrow, I don’t know what it’s going to look like, but I know there are going to be adjustments to be made from last week, there are going to be new schemes, new plans of attack, it’s all going to come down to the responses. These are two top-25 football programs going against each other, I have a great deal of respect for their coaching staff we’re competing against, it’s going to be a heavy-weight battle. We’re excited that we’ve put ourselves in this opportunity, we’ve just got to be ready for the response and whatever shows up throughout the game, and that maturity and experiences we’re going to have to rely on.

On overcoming adversity and outside noise:

There’s always going to be the outside noise. There are always things trying to distract you. Our focus is on this game, on this opportunity. Honestly, the last three years, there have been all of these things, and we talk about it at various times. At the end of the day, we can control what we can control. We don’t have any influence on what’s written, what’s said on the outside. Our players don’t have any impact on when somebody gets injured, or how we have to respond. All of our energy, all of our focus has been on this week, it will take our best effort, individually and as a group, to put ourselves in a position to be successful. We’re excited about the opportunity to play tomorrow.

On Brady White:

Brady’s been a great quarterback for us the last two years. He’s played at a high level this year, I think he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the country. You look at what he’s done to lead this team, the way he’s developed in the consistency, the way he’s been able to push the ball down the field, making the right decisions, protecting the football. On the flip side, one of the best things he’s done, most fans don’t realize it, is the way he’s prepared for games, the understanding, the volume of schematic things we have him look at, that’s what makes him special. He takes ownership of this program, and it’s my job to make sure he’s in a good position to showcase all his skills.

On accolades motivating players and coaches:

At the end of the day, you’re always working to earn respect. What you do on the field is going to provide everybody that tunes in and everybody that you compete against a new impression. We’ve had plenty of guys on award watch lists, we’ve had a lot of recognition for our coaches and players, but I tell my guys you are what you see on the field come Saturday. I can tell you, we’re going to go out and play to the best of our abilities, and if that’s worthy of being all-conference, individual awards are great, but we want to be conference champions. If we want to do that, we’ve got to show it come Saturday.