UAB Blazers College Football Pregame Quote, 11/25/2019

We had a team meeting this morning. It was just great to come in and see our guys after such a big win. What a great way to finish off the career for our seniors at home. Undefeated three straight years against a really good Louisiana Tech team. It was a battle, a really physical game that came down to the wire like we thought it would. You got to see a lot of things in that game. You got to see a lot of good defensive play. You got to see some explosive offensive plays and special teams play. All in all, just a really good game. It was probably better from a fan’s standpoint than a coach’s standpoint, but I’m really proud of our guys and how they fought, played together and played for each other. I’m really excited to be sitting right here. That’s been our thing. Just stay the course and keep working and believing in each other, and we’ll have a chance at the end. Here we are this last week with a chance to maybe play in the championship game, which is how we break it down every day – on champs. That’s our ultimate goal. Obviously the bowl eligibility in confirming that eighth win is a big deal, but having a chance to play in that championship is huge. North Texas is a team that was picked to maybe win it this year. Obviously, with Mason Fine and Coach Littrell, what a great job they’ve done. I know they’re disappointed in their season this year, which I told the players, ‘This will be their bowl game, their seniors’ last game and their last home game.’ Every emotion we had last week, they’re probably going to have that and more. We’re going to expect every bit of their best. We’re talking about a team that’s scoring about 33 points a game with what I think is a good defense. They’ve had some situations throughout the year where their quarterback has gotten hurt. We know what that’s like and how it affects you, so we’re going to play a good team. They lost a tough one last week to a Rice team who I’ve said all year is good, but have now won two in a row. We have a battle ahead of us.

On the use of six offensive lineman sets:

I told Coach Vincent I wanted to do that this summer. We were planning on doing it. That was something we were really saving for week two. We had worked on it. It was ready, and then we lose (David) Galten. All of a sudden, it throws everything. Then Lee (Dufour) gets hurt, so now all of a sudden, we’re scrambling. Now we’re just starting to get our O-line back together. As I told you before, the worst thing sometimes becomes the best thing because now we’ve actually got depth there. We get to play guys who are having a good week. It gets to be some competition in there. Being able to take an extra lineman and put him in there as a tight end is really good for the run game as you know.

On having a deep offensive line:

I think it’s one of those things where you really want a good run surface and can still have three receivers, so there are a lot of things you can do with it. It’s just another way to run the ball. We did some things where we’d protect with him and release our back out, so you can get very creative with it.

On focusing on the current game:

I think you saw that last week. I know I didn’t really know what was going on. That’s exactly what we have to do. All we can take care of is what we’ve got in front of us. If the thing ends up in a three-way tie, we’ll just have to look at that when it happens. All we can do is go play our best, win this game and see what happens.

On extra preparation for North Texas’ approach to the game:

If we have complacency playing for a championship, something is wrong with us. I know that sounds like an understatement, but it really is. I think our guys are really understanding. I think you have to factor in 18-22 year-old men and Thanksgiving week and a chance to sleep in, but I saw nothing but our guys ready to go. That’s what I’m going to expect out of North Texas. I know I’ve said this every week, but we are literally playing for a championship this week. It’s their Senior Day and their last day, but it’s a championship game to us. How do you get bigger? It’s hard to get much bigger, but it all goes back to how you prepared during the week. If those allow us to have a better practice, that’s what we’re looking for because that’s how we’re going to play.

On how the team has handled adversity:

I think once again, until you know what that looks like ‚Äì sometimes it takes a loss. When you now have groups that have never been in that situation to some of our younger guys, to a young quarterback, we have to live in this moment. That’s why I always say, ‘Right here, here it is.’ Sometimes you need a little negativity. Like I said, there are a lot of things to learn from a loss. It’s hard. They think they do, but I don’t think people really understand the volume of time and work from not just coaches, but all the players and support people. Of course, the team we’re playing is doing the same thing, but I think that really makes those losses that much harder. You don’t play again two days later like these other sports to get that taste out of your mouth knowing you’ll see them at home and in the tournament. It makes the wins and the losses bigger. I think for us, how did we handle that? That’s really the mark of a team. That’s the mark of a person. How do you overcome adversity? We talk about that all the time, but until you see real adversity, you don’t know. That’s what I’m proud of this group for. Here we go again.

On the outlook of the team’s recent success:

I told the coaches yesterday that to stay humble and not forget where we came from is number one. At the same time, you have to enjoy this moment. To be undefeated at home for three years is hard to put into words. The fact we lost 35 guys or whatever we lost and to be here fighting for a championship ‚Äì I know at the coaches’ conference deal, nobody said it to my face, but I know that’s what everybody was saying. They’d see what we’d do having lost all those guys. I think it just says everything about the staff and the players that believe in what we’re doing and have worked hard to give us a chance to go. It’s a very big deal.

On the degree of satisfaction this season:

I think so. I said this last year. We had the adversity. We lost our quarterback, but we had kind of a more experienced guy waiting, and we probably had a bit of a better running game to go with it. I think that group because of their age could handle things a little bit better. It was just different. Obviously, getting that championship was huge. Now to have this group who didn’t have the expectations or really to not be very good maybe. It’s so satisfying in a different way. To see them grow ‚Äì it’s exciting to know that we get them back for the future. Having almost your whole team back is exciting.

On junior linebacker Kristopher Moll:

It’s really hard to put into words what he’s really meant. We kept talking about we had to put some weight on this guy during the offseason because he’s going against these 300-pound guys. Now, I think he has both shoulders banged up. His hands were hurt. The guy just keeps playing. He probably won’t have any contact this week. He’s just such a football player. I can brag on this guy. He’s humble. He works. He’s becoming a good leader for a quiet guy. I’m just really proud of him.

On balancing preparation during Thanksgiving week:

I think we really just talk about being thankful all the time. I that’s one of the hardest things for all of us to realize how blessed we are. I talk to them every day about how many people would just want to play this game. Sometimes when they’re having those Tuesday and Wednesday padded practices, they’re surviving. I think when we understand how blessed we are to be here and how blessed we are to be in this country. I think that’s just part of the job I have to remind them. I kind of have to be a dad to a bunch of these guys. We’re very thankful. That’s what this week is all about. They get to sleep in a little bit this week unless they have study hall because it always starts with academic. Then we feed them really well Thursday. Some of them will go home with the coaches. Then we get up Friday and travel. I hear from recruits a lot that this group isn’t like a team. It’s more like a family. That’s what we want. We want these guys to really try to play for each other first. I think just being thankful this week is a big deal.