Sept. 8, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. - UCF football held its weekly press conference on Tuesday afternoon at the Bright House Networks Stadium's Steve & Brenda Sloan Media Room. Knights head coach George O'Leary discussed a wide range of topics, including a look back at Saturday night's win over Samford and a look ahead to this Saturday night's Conference USA opener against Southern Miss in Hattiesburg. Some comments from O'Leary are below.
Opening Statement:
"Obviously this is a very important first conference game coming up with Southern Miss at their place. As I told our football team, I think every game is important, but when you get to conference play it is extremely important that we come out and get things done the way we need to get it done. I think watching tape on them from last year they are a good football team that basically can run it and throw the ball. Defensively, they can run around and hit and they can play a lot of different coverages. I told our players to be prepared for a very physical game and, obviously, we have to execute a lot better than we did in last week's game."
On the quarterback situation:
"I spoke to Charlie [Taaffe] about it and both quarterbacks will play. That is where I will leave it. Until one really takes it and runs with it, I think that is the way we will do it in fairness to both players. I was disappointed in Rob [Calabrese] only because I think he practiced so well and then he went out and sort of zoned out. I am not sure what it was, but he made some mistakes he doesn't normally make. Give credit to Brett [Hodges]. He went in and took the opportunity and ran with it. I was happy for him. But again, both of them are going to have to help us until we can settle in on just one. They know the situation and we rotate them in practice."
On defending Southern Miss:
"I tell you I am concerned about the passing game a little bit. I think the running game and [Damion Fletcher] is something that we have faced for three years now. I think the key to the whole football team is their quarterback. I think he does a good job checking to the right play and getting it to someone's hands so they can do something with it when they catch it. I have been impressed with them. Their yards after the catch have been impressive. We have to tackle very well in the secondary. We have to play our line of scrimmage game the way we can play it."
On the play of both the offensive and defensive lines Saturday:
"I think defensively, I expect them to play better. I think they played alright, but I expect them to play better. They missed about four or five opportunities they should have had a sack I thought, leaving their feet instead of running with their feet. The offensive line I thought was a little bit high and soft at times, but I thought they protected better. I think the one thing I was encouraged by with them is they never left the game. When I looked at the tape we probably left about 20 points on the field as I saw it. With the fumble, missed field goals and a holding call on the nine-yard line. You can't do that against teams, but I thought momentum-wise the kids kept coming back and that was an encouraging sign. We kept fighting back."
On Brynn Harvey's 31-carry workload:
"That was probably too many and I thought he showed it in the fourth quarter. I want more of a rotation on those running backs. The kid is a good football player, but he can't go through the whole season that way. I think he played 50 plays, and that is too many for a kid like him."