University of Memphis Athletics
Justin Fuente Weekly Press Conference Highlights
Sep 14, 2015 | Football
Opening Statement:
"We were happy to win last week. We talked about this after the game, but we did not start very well but our kids did not panic and found a way to win. We still have plenty of room for improvement."
"We are taking a pretty significant step up in competition this week. We are going to play at Bowling Green, who went to Maryland and won. They have a very veteran team. Defensively their two deep is filled with juniors and seniors. Offensively they deserve every bit of credit they have gotten so far. They can run the ball and throw the ball with equal effectiveness. Their quarterback is a fantastic player. It says a lot about their team that last year when he got injured in the first game of the season and they still had an enough around them to go to the MAC Conference Championship and win their bowl game."
"We are going to play a bunch of very good teams in the next several weeks. We have to make sure we are ready and continue to try and drive those points home. Some of things we done this past couple weeks when you start playing the teams we are about to play can manifest itself much bigger ways. We are looking forward preparing for this week and getting our guys ready for the game. I know it will be a great atmosphere up there. It is their first home game and I can imagine it will be an exciting event."
Facing Bowling Green's offensive tempo:
"It's hard to slow somebody down because of how the rules are. They can continue to push the tempo. If you can win first down hopefully you can put them in second and long. It is a little bit harder to go as fast when you're behind the chains. If they did not run the ball so well, then it would be a different dynamic. But they really are a balanced team. They want to run the ball, do a lot of play action, and throw the ball over your head. So there's no real strategy to try to slow them down other than playing good defense."
The importance of liminating the turnovers:
"It did not take long to break the turnover streak. It happened on the first play. I think our guys understand the importance of not creating turnovers. Jamarius was almost inconsolable about it. He is a young guy playing his tail off and knows how important it is. We are going to continue to teach the technique. We will continue to work on it this week. They understand the importance of not creating turnovers. Mose Frazier was distraught and he did not need me to say anything, other than 'we going to put you back in the game and keep going.' He knew how important it was."
Having tape of Bowling Green:
"We have two good games on them and they have played two really good teams and they were in both games. Tennessee is a very talented group so it is good quality film. At least you have the feeling they were doing whatever they could do to try to win the game and they were not out of hand any periods of the game."
Rushing the passer against Bowling Green:
"The 50 defense is what we have played since we have been here. It is more diverse in what you try to do and we will give them different looks like we have done every week and see if we can find our way in to make a few plays on that side of the ball. Finding a way to put pressure on him will be important. At times Maryland was able to get back to the quarterback and they have good pass rushers. It was only a few times though."
Comparing the two offenses:
"Nobody really knows how the game is going to go. I try to stay away from the hypothetical and try to get us prepared for the best way to win the game. Hopefully offensively we can score more than they can do. What that number is, I do not know. Our defense and staff have taken pride with how our defense is going. I am happy with some aspect of it and not happy with others. We can play better and do things better. We can be more efficient. Yes, in the first two games we scored some points. We won two ball games and we still have plenty of work to do."
On Paxton Lynch:
"He has continued to work to get better and he has added weight. You can tell by the way he moves and I think it has helped his delivery. He continues to work on refining his game and understand what we are trying to accomplish out there. So, he is giving us a chance to be more productive out there."
On Mose Frazier:
"Mose has done a great job and is a leader. He is a highly intelligent person. He can play all three wide receiver positions. He is really sharp and he worked incredibly hard the last two years on his body to continue improve his strength. I think it has helped him. I think it is obviously that he is more of an explosive player than what he was two years ago. I think he had some self-awareness that he needed to be a bigger, stronger player. He is somebody that is not afraid to voice his opinion to the younger wide receiver and what is going on offensively. He is also that guy that when you asked what's happened on this play he can tell you."
The walk-ons at the U of M:
"When you think about our program and what we said when we got here, this is a large public university program and we have to actively seek walk-ons that help with our numbers up. They can help win football games. When you start talking about Phillip Mayhue, Tevin Jones is a walk-on, Mose Frazier is a walk-on, and I'm sure there are plenty that are escaping my mind. We have been able to build this thing up and Mose is a fantastic example of that. He has continued to work hard and did the right thing. When he was put on scholarship he did not slide to the back of the room. I felt like he had arrived, stayed hungry, and worked hard."
PAXTON LYNCH NAMED ONE OF EIGHT MANNING AWARD STARS OF THE WEEK
The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, named eight quarterbacks as its "Stars of the Week." College football fans can now go to the Allstate Sugar Bowl Facebook page to vote for what they think was the best performance from this past weekend. To vote for Paxton Lynch fans can click here. Lynch registered his fifth career 300-yard game and tossed two touchdowns to lead the Tigers to a 55-23 win on the road over Kansas.
"We were happy to win last week. We talked about this after the game, but we did not start very well but our kids did not panic and found a way to win. We still have plenty of room for improvement."
"We are taking a pretty significant step up in competition this week. We are going to play at Bowling Green, who went to Maryland and won. They have a very veteran team. Defensively their two deep is filled with juniors and seniors. Offensively they deserve every bit of credit they have gotten so far. They can run the ball and throw the ball with equal effectiveness. Their quarterback is a fantastic player. It says a lot about their team that last year when he got injured in the first game of the season and they still had an enough around them to go to the MAC Conference Championship and win their bowl game."
"We are going to play a bunch of very good teams in the next several weeks. We have to make sure we are ready and continue to try and drive those points home. Some of things we done this past couple weeks when you start playing the teams we are about to play can manifest itself much bigger ways. We are looking forward preparing for this week and getting our guys ready for the game. I know it will be a great atmosphere up there. It is their first home game and I can imagine it will be an exciting event."
Facing Bowling Green's offensive tempo:
"It's hard to slow somebody down because of how the rules are. They can continue to push the tempo. If you can win first down hopefully you can put them in second and long. It is a little bit harder to go as fast when you're behind the chains. If they did not run the ball so well, then it would be a different dynamic. But they really are a balanced team. They want to run the ball, do a lot of play action, and throw the ball over your head. So there's no real strategy to try to slow them down other than playing good defense."
The importance of liminating the turnovers:
"It did not take long to break the turnover streak. It happened on the first play. I think our guys understand the importance of not creating turnovers. Jamarius was almost inconsolable about it. He is a young guy playing his tail off and knows how important it is. We are going to continue to teach the technique. We will continue to work on it this week. They understand the importance of not creating turnovers. Mose Frazier was distraught and he did not need me to say anything, other than 'we going to put you back in the game and keep going.' He knew how important it was."
Having tape of Bowling Green:
"We have two good games on them and they have played two really good teams and they were in both games. Tennessee is a very talented group so it is good quality film. At least you have the feeling they were doing whatever they could do to try to win the game and they were not out of hand any periods of the game."
Rushing the passer against Bowling Green:
"The 50 defense is what we have played since we have been here. It is more diverse in what you try to do and we will give them different looks like we have done every week and see if we can find our way in to make a few plays on that side of the ball. Finding a way to put pressure on him will be important. At times Maryland was able to get back to the quarterback and they have good pass rushers. It was only a few times though."
Comparing the two offenses:
"Nobody really knows how the game is going to go. I try to stay away from the hypothetical and try to get us prepared for the best way to win the game. Hopefully offensively we can score more than they can do. What that number is, I do not know. Our defense and staff have taken pride with how our defense is going. I am happy with some aspect of it and not happy with others. We can play better and do things better. We can be more efficient. Yes, in the first two games we scored some points. We won two ball games and we still have plenty of work to do."
On Paxton Lynch:
"He has continued to work to get better and he has added weight. You can tell by the way he moves and I think it has helped his delivery. He continues to work on refining his game and understand what we are trying to accomplish out there. So, he is giving us a chance to be more productive out there."
On Mose Frazier:
"Mose has done a great job and is a leader. He is a highly intelligent person. He can play all three wide receiver positions. He is really sharp and he worked incredibly hard the last two years on his body to continue improve his strength. I think it has helped him. I think it is obviously that he is more of an explosive player than what he was two years ago. I think he had some self-awareness that he needed to be a bigger, stronger player. He is somebody that is not afraid to voice his opinion to the younger wide receiver and what is going on offensively. He is also that guy that when you asked what's happened on this play he can tell you."
The walk-ons at the U of M:
"When you think about our program and what we said when we got here, this is a large public university program and we have to actively seek walk-ons that help with our numbers up. They can help win football games. When you start talking about Phillip Mayhue, Tevin Jones is a walk-on, Mose Frazier is a walk-on, and I'm sure there are plenty that are escaping my mind. We have been able to build this thing up and Mose is a fantastic example of that. He has continued to work hard and did the right thing. When he was put on scholarship he did not slide to the back of the room. I felt like he had arrived, stayed hungry, and worked hard."
PAXTON LYNCH NAMED ONE OF EIGHT MANNING AWARD STARS OF THE WEEK
The Manning Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, named eight quarterbacks as its "Stars of the Week." College football fans can now go to the Allstate Sugar Bowl Facebook page to vote for what they think was the best performance from this past weekend. To vote for Paxton Lynch fans can click here. Lynch registered his fifth career 300-yard game and tossed two touchdowns to lead the Tigers to a 55-23 win on the road over Kansas.
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