Mike Norvell Weekly Press Conference Highlights

Opening statement:
"I am really pleased with our football team and how we treated the bye week. Our guys did a great job. We had three practices last week and had a lot of good-on-good work together to try to keep the speed of the game and make sure that we are focusing on ourselves. It was nice to be able to get an early jump start on SMU. We know we have a very talented football team coming in. You look at this SMU team, its one that has been in a lot of close games. They have had great success. Coach (Chad) Morris has them playing at a high level. It is one of the most explosive offenses in the country. I think they are ranked in the top-10 in scoring. Defensively, it's a team that is built a lot of the same ways that we are. They thrive at creating takeaways and explosive plays on that side of the ball. They are doing it with a lot of top quality players. Special teams will be a big focus for this week. Any time you have a championship game, one that has big implications, you have to be good in all three phases. I'm excited about this opportunity. All season long, our sole focus has been going 1-0 every week. You have to do that by being 1-0 in how you prepare with each day of practice. Our football team has really bought into that. Their focus throughout this season, throughout each week is continuing to get better.

It is going to take our best effort this week. But knowing we get to come home at the Liberty Bowl and play in a game. For us is the first time that we have been able to mention the word 'championship,' because that is there in front of us. To be the western division champions, that is a goal that we set out at the beginning of the year. If we can find a way to be successful, that's something that is there for us to achieve. To be able to play in front of your home crowd, that is a big thing. We need great support from Tiger Nation. I'm looking forward to seeing all Memphians come out and be a part of this to make sure that the atmosphere is what we have shown to be able to have. I know its going to be an exciting day."

Getting back to playing on Saturday…
"It has been difficult to get into a routine this year. Even with coming back to a Saturday, coming off a bye week, there are slight schedule modifications that you have. It was good for our guys. We gave them off Friday and Saturday of this past weekend. We came back last night and probably did a little more than we do on a Sunday. We got in pads and were able to pop around a little bit. It was still good for our guys to have that experience and to be able to rest up. I could sense a great energy and purpose with our practice last night. Today is their normal off day and now we are getting into our normal work week. Our guys understand what is in front of them. We haven't really had a routine to get used to so they have done a nice job all season long of preparing for the day they have in front of them and trying to maximize that."

The pros and cons of the bye week…
"That's one of the biggest concerns from a coach, because you see your team progressing. You see that each week they are building off of the experience and so with the bye week being so late in the season that is one of my biggest fears. Are we staying in that rhythm? Are we continuing to progress? That is what I challenged our football team with last week going into it. I thought they responded at a very high level. We went more good-on-good work last week than what I probably initially had planned. But it was so important that we kept that edge about us and that all of the focus was on us and our personal improvement and our group improvement on all sides of the ball. I thought our kids really bought in to that mentality and we had a great week of practice."

Staying focused during the bye week…
"We challenge our guys every day. We challenge our coaches and our players, everybody has got to be accountable. Each opportunity you get to walk on the practice field, what is your purpose? What are you doing it for? Everybody is going to practice this time of year but what is your intent? Is the intensity level, the focus, and the discipline showing up? If you are not maximizing that day, there is no way you are going to be able to play your best when the lights come on. Come 11 a.m. Saturday, we have to be at our best because we have a great football team that is coming in. They have been in a lot of close games this year. This is a football team that is progressing as a program so we have to be prepared for their best shot. We have to give them everything that we have at the highest level."

On the high stakes…
"That is something I talked to the team about. They have made the stakes high. We focus on each game and we focus on each opportunity. But when you win each of those, you have those experiences and that success, then every opportunity is greater. That trip to Tulsa last week, was the biggest step that we have had because you have to go on the road in conference and our kids went out and had a close game but were able to finish it and do it in dominant fashion. So now it makes this one even that much bigger, knowing that you are playing for something late in the season. All the goals that are up on our board that we started back in January are still attainable. That is a compliment to these players. That is a compliment to these coaches and to everybody that is involved with it. This opportunity, Saturday at 11 a.m. is the greatest challenge that we have had but it is also one of the greatest opportunities this program has had since I've been here and our kids feel it and our city feels it. We talk about showcase games. This is a showcase game. If we can find a way to have success, everybody around this community is going to be able to celebrate that because we are checking off one of our goals."

Tuning out the distractions…
"The great is that you do say the same things. The message never changes. If the only time you are talking about no distractions as at the end of the season, then you have wasted opportunities at the front end. We came into the season with the highest number of players on watch lists of any team that we have ever had. We were picked preseason to be the western division champion. Those are all distractions. You see a lot of teams that have early season expectations that don't ever live up to it. You see teams that have midseason success, you win a big game, you beat a power five opponent and you get ranked for the first time. And then you see a lot of teams that fade off into disappointment. Well the message never changes because that's how we operate 365 days a year. I don't care if you have a setback in Orlando, you respond by no distractions. Don't worry about what anybody on the outside is saying about. All you control is what's going on in the inside. So our message doesn't change. Our focus doesn't change. The thing that I have been pleased with is the application to the message has been phenomenal by our young men and by our coaching staff. That is not going to change, its just the opportunity in front of us becomes a little bigger."

University of Memphis Athletics

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