University of Memphis Athletics
Photo by: Joe Murphy
Mike Norvell Weekly Press Conference Highlights
Oct 30, 2017 | Football
Opening Statement…
I'm really excited about the way our guys played last Friday against Tulane. We came out and had a complete team effort. We talked about the importance of starting fast, coming off of a couple of emotional wins with Navy and Houston. Getting to come back home, I thought our guys prepared in a phenomenal way, I thought they had a real purpose. I could tell it even in pregame, the sense of urgency and the excitement they had to play in that game was pretty awesome. So weather conditions, whatever, there were no distractions. That made me pleased to see, just the approach the guys had. Defensively, phenomenal game. You go back and you watch film, the defense was playing so extremely hard. They held the 12th ranked rushing offense in the country to 52 carries for 122 yards; they did a great job in that regard. Being able to create all of the TFL's, the seven sacks, throughout the game, I thought that the guys played at an extremely high level. Offensively, you got to see a lot of the explosiveness, especially there early in the game when we balanced the run and pass. We have to eliminate some of the three and outs, that kind of hurt us in the second half. We just need to make sure we consistently execute at a high level. Our guys responded there late in the fourth quarter. Special teams, once again, played a big role. There was a big hit by J.J. Russell, the blocked punt, all of those things, and then having the kickoff return team like we've had, forces them into some decisions that give us great field position. We want to continue to impact the game. That's something that our kids are working extremely hard at. I came out today, after another off Saturday, so today was a work day for us, and I thought the kids had a phenomenal approach to coming out and working to get better. That is our sole focus, we're not worried about anything else that's out there other than today, and the opportunity we have to go to work, and I thought our kids did a great job.
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How do you address your name coming up in coaching searches?
Any time you have success throughout a season, individual players, coaches, the people nationally are going to talk about what you're doing, and that is a positive thing for our program. But like I told the players this morning, we had a quick team meeting, there are no distractions. There are no distractions from anything on the outside, the only thing that matters to us is that every individual, player, coach, whatever, is 100% focused on being 1-0 this week. The only way we can get that done is by maximizing today. We address it, I'm open about it with our team, but we also address that we have more players doing interviews, people talking about top-25. That is a positive thing for our program. I sure don't want to see it the other way. Our guys know that they've got to come out and do work, and if you don't take care of business, you're not going to worry about being in the top-25. We've got to go and get better each and every week. If we can do that, and our players can maintain humility and focus on what we're doing today, regardless of how many interviews you do, regardless of what people are saying about you, you've got to work. I think Genard Avery was named AAC Defensive Player of the Week. Three-straight weeks, we've had a Defensive Player of the Week, and two of the last three were National Players of the Week. That's something that is great for our program. But at the end of the day, if you don't bring it this week, none of that matters. That's the approach we're taking as a football team. No distractions, focus on what we can control right here in front of us.
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What does it mean to be getting these individual awards?
It's huge. I want the country to know the players we have. For them to get recognition, nobody can do it individually, but collectively as a group, if everybody can do their job, and an individual can be recognized, that's a compliment to everybody that we have working here. That's what's been impressive. We believe in recruiting, we believe in developing our players, we believe in those players having an opportunity to be showcased. When I first got here, we talked about offense, defense, and special teams. This program is built for playmakers. Now our playmakers are being showcased at a high level, and I'm proud of each young man that has gotten that recognition, just as much for the young man that's not getting recognition, but doing their job to allow that to happen.
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Talk about Genard, because that's the second time he's kind of moved to the end there?
Genard has been extremely unselfish throughout this year, and he's played at such a high level. His versatility allows for a lot of different things. We can play him on the edge, we can play him as a linebacker, in coverage, blitzing the quarterback, he can really do it all. Because of the intelligence that he has, and his openness to be able to do different things, he's been able to shine in a variety of different ways. That was huge for us this last week, he came down off the edge, was able to impact the quarterback. He had a lot of fun doing it, but some of the pressures that he got allowed other guys to be able to make plays in their own capacity. It's fun to see how hard he's playing. I recognized him to the team the other day because of the effort that he's giving play in and play out is phenomenal. That's something that has to continue, and I know he's excited about it.
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How has your relationship with Genard grown over the last year and a half?
Well, to be honest, that was the very first meeting I had when I was here. All I did was ask Genard for an opportunity. I couldn't promise him anything, because he didn't know who I was and I only knew of him, I didn't know him as a young man or an individual. One thing I'll be forever grateful for is that he gave me a chance. He gave our staff a chance. You go through what he's been able to go through the last couple of years, the recognition, the First-Team All-Conference, on pace to have a phenomenal year this year. Genard Avery is going to have his picture hanging up in this building for the rest of his life. What he's done and the commitment he's made to this program, he'll always be remembered. I'm grateful for the opportunity to coach him, I love the young man. We've got a very special relationship, and it's funny because he didn't have to give us a chance, but he did. He loves this team, he loves this community, and now he's going to leave a legacy here because of the work that he's done.
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Is this your first time going back to Tulsa? What are your memories from you first job?
It is. I'm grateful for every single day I had there. I started as a GA there with Coach (Todd) Graham and Coach (Gus) Malzahn. That's really where I started to develop and grow as a young coach. The players, the people there were phenomenal. There's always a special place in our hearts for the time that we spent there. It was something that we put everything we had into the program over there, and now Coach (Philip) Montgomery has done a great job continuing the progression of that program. So we know that we've got a great challenge in front of us, and we're excited about the opportunity.
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Talk about your one-two punch in Henderson and Patrick Taylor…
When you look at the guys we've been able to recruit, and been able to add to this stable of running backs, it's been a lot of fun because of the diverse skills that they have. Patrick Taylor is a big powerful back that can run, he can catch the ball out of the backfield. Darrell Henderson is a homerun hitting back, anytime he steps on the field. He has great ball skills. Tony Pollard, what he's been able to do. With Tony, you're able to put him in the slot, you're able to put him in the backfield, we're trying to showcase all of his abilities. Then when you get Doroland (Dorceus), he's such a phenomenal all-around back. As an inside runner, great ability to make people miss, and he's a tough, hardnosed player. So when you have a core of guys that bring that skillset, it's a lot of fun to be able to call the offense and see those guys go out there and make plays.
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What about Tulsa makes you stay up at night?
This is a good football team. They've had a couple of close games that haven't gone their way. They're just coming off of one where they made a couple of mistakes. That game, they were up late in the game, going into the fourth quarter, and they played against a really good SMU squad, and lost by one possession. But then you look at the weeks before, they've been very competitive in just about every game. They've played really well at home, their last home game they beat Houston 45-17. They can run the football, they've got an athletic quarterback. We know what they're capable of throwing the football, with those receivers, the unique presentation of their offense and what they do. They probably have the best offensive line in our league, it's a good group. They've got explosive backs. Defensively, they've kind of switched it up as the season's gone, really bringing a lot more pressure here as of late. They've played really well, SMU's hard to defend, so they gave up a couple of big plays, but they held UConn to 20 points, they held Houston to 17. So this defense is playing at a high level, so it's going to take a great effort from us, especially going on the road.
I'm really excited about the way our guys played last Friday against Tulane. We came out and had a complete team effort. We talked about the importance of starting fast, coming off of a couple of emotional wins with Navy and Houston. Getting to come back home, I thought our guys prepared in a phenomenal way, I thought they had a real purpose. I could tell it even in pregame, the sense of urgency and the excitement they had to play in that game was pretty awesome. So weather conditions, whatever, there were no distractions. That made me pleased to see, just the approach the guys had. Defensively, phenomenal game. You go back and you watch film, the defense was playing so extremely hard. They held the 12th ranked rushing offense in the country to 52 carries for 122 yards; they did a great job in that regard. Being able to create all of the TFL's, the seven sacks, throughout the game, I thought that the guys played at an extremely high level. Offensively, you got to see a lot of the explosiveness, especially there early in the game when we balanced the run and pass. We have to eliminate some of the three and outs, that kind of hurt us in the second half. We just need to make sure we consistently execute at a high level. Our guys responded there late in the fourth quarter. Special teams, once again, played a big role. There was a big hit by J.J. Russell, the blocked punt, all of those things, and then having the kickoff return team like we've had, forces them into some decisions that give us great field position. We want to continue to impact the game. That's something that our kids are working extremely hard at. I came out today, after another off Saturday, so today was a work day for us, and I thought the kids had a phenomenal approach to coming out and working to get better. That is our sole focus, we're not worried about anything else that's out there other than today, and the opportunity we have to go to work, and I thought our kids did a great job.
Â
How do you address your name coming up in coaching searches?
Any time you have success throughout a season, individual players, coaches, the people nationally are going to talk about what you're doing, and that is a positive thing for our program. But like I told the players this morning, we had a quick team meeting, there are no distractions. There are no distractions from anything on the outside, the only thing that matters to us is that every individual, player, coach, whatever, is 100% focused on being 1-0 this week. The only way we can get that done is by maximizing today. We address it, I'm open about it with our team, but we also address that we have more players doing interviews, people talking about top-25. That is a positive thing for our program. I sure don't want to see it the other way. Our guys know that they've got to come out and do work, and if you don't take care of business, you're not going to worry about being in the top-25. We've got to go and get better each and every week. If we can do that, and our players can maintain humility and focus on what we're doing today, regardless of how many interviews you do, regardless of what people are saying about you, you've got to work. I think Genard Avery was named AAC Defensive Player of the Week. Three-straight weeks, we've had a Defensive Player of the Week, and two of the last three were National Players of the Week. That's something that is great for our program. But at the end of the day, if you don't bring it this week, none of that matters. That's the approach we're taking as a football team. No distractions, focus on what we can control right here in front of us.
Â
What does it mean to be getting these individual awards?
It's huge. I want the country to know the players we have. For them to get recognition, nobody can do it individually, but collectively as a group, if everybody can do their job, and an individual can be recognized, that's a compliment to everybody that we have working here. That's what's been impressive. We believe in recruiting, we believe in developing our players, we believe in those players having an opportunity to be showcased. When I first got here, we talked about offense, defense, and special teams. This program is built for playmakers. Now our playmakers are being showcased at a high level, and I'm proud of each young man that has gotten that recognition, just as much for the young man that's not getting recognition, but doing their job to allow that to happen.
Â
Talk about Genard, because that's the second time he's kind of moved to the end there?
Genard has been extremely unselfish throughout this year, and he's played at such a high level. His versatility allows for a lot of different things. We can play him on the edge, we can play him as a linebacker, in coverage, blitzing the quarterback, he can really do it all. Because of the intelligence that he has, and his openness to be able to do different things, he's been able to shine in a variety of different ways. That was huge for us this last week, he came down off the edge, was able to impact the quarterback. He had a lot of fun doing it, but some of the pressures that he got allowed other guys to be able to make plays in their own capacity. It's fun to see how hard he's playing. I recognized him to the team the other day because of the effort that he's giving play in and play out is phenomenal. That's something that has to continue, and I know he's excited about it.
Â
How has your relationship with Genard grown over the last year and a half?
Well, to be honest, that was the very first meeting I had when I was here. All I did was ask Genard for an opportunity. I couldn't promise him anything, because he didn't know who I was and I only knew of him, I didn't know him as a young man or an individual. One thing I'll be forever grateful for is that he gave me a chance. He gave our staff a chance. You go through what he's been able to go through the last couple of years, the recognition, the First-Team All-Conference, on pace to have a phenomenal year this year. Genard Avery is going to have his picture hanging up in this building for the rest of his life. What he's done and the commitment he's made to this program, he'll always be remembered. I'm grateful for the opportunity to coach him, I love the young man. We've got a very special relationship, and it's funny because he didn't have to give us a chance, but he did. He loves this team, he loves this community, and now he's going to leave a legacy here because of the work that he's done.
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Is this your first time going back to Tulsa? What are your memories from you first job?
It is. I'm grateful for every single day I had there. I started as a GA there with Coach (Todd) Graham and Coach (Gus) Malzahn. That's really where I started to develop and grow as a young coach. The players, the people there were phenomenal. There's always a special place in our hearts for the time that we spent there. It was something that we put everything we had into the program over there, and now Coach (Philip) Montgomery has done a great job continuing the progression of that program. So we know that we've got a great challenge in front of us, and we're excited about the opportunity.
Â
Talk about your one-two punch in Henderson and Patrick Taylor…
When you look at the guys we've been able to recruit, and been able to add to this stable of running backs, it's been a lot of fun because of the diverse skills that they have. Patrick Taylor is a big powerful back that can run, he can catch the ball out of the backfield. Darrell Henderson is a homerun hitting back, anytime he steps on the field. He has great ball skills. Tony Pollard, what he's been able to do. With Tony, you're able to put him in the slot, you're able to put him in the backfield, we're trying to showcase all of his abilities. Then when you get Doroland (Dorceus), he's such a phenomenal all-around back. As an inside runner, great ability to make people miss, and he's a tough, hardnosed player. So when you have a core of guys that bring that skillset, it's a lot of fun to be able to call the offense and see those guys go out there and make plays.
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What about Tulsa makes you stay up at night?
This is a good football team. They've had a couple of close games that haven't gone their way. They're just coming off of one where they made a couple of mistakes. That game, they were up late in the game, going into the fourth quarter, and they played against a really good SMU squad, and lost by one possession. But then you look at the weeks before, they've been very competitive in just about every game. They've played really well at home, their last home game they beat Houston 45-17. They can run the football, they've got an athletic quarterback. We know what they're capable of throwing the football, with those receivers, the unique presentation of their offense and what they do. They probably have the best offensive line in our league, it's a good group. They've got explosive backs. Defensively, they've kind of switched it up as the season's gone, really bringing a lot more pressure here as of late. They've played really well, SMU's hard to defend, so they gave up a couple of big plays, but they held UConn to 20 points, they held Houston to 17. So this defense is playing at a high level, so it's going to take a great effort from us, especially going on the road.
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