University of Memphis Athletics
Photo by: Joe Murphy
Mike Norvell Weekly Press Conference Highlights – November 12
Nov 12, 2018 | Football
Opening Statement…
"Wrapping everything up from last week, I was really pleased with our football team and how they came out. I thought we played probably our most complete game up to this point. Offense, defense, special teams all had explosive plays and did the things necessary according to the game plan of what we wanted to execute. I thought our guys played really hard and with a lot of energy. It was a great performance by our football team.
With that being said, our focus is now 100-percent moving forward. We have a short week going back on the road going down to Dallas to play a very talented and impressive SMU team. It is going to take our best effort for sure. This is a team that has played at a high level. Right now, they are first in our division so our guys are looking forward to the challenge on national TV. We have to have a great week of preparation."
On SMU…
"You see a team that has improved each and every week. They have a first-year coaching staff that at the beginning of the year you could tell that they were all kind of getting on the same page. But they have improved every week. They have been in close games and they have been battle tested. It's a team that is playing at a high level. We know that we have to go down there and there will be adversity. They are going to make their plays but we have to truly focus on ourselves, make sure that we are playing the best brand of ball that we can and continue to improve each and every week."
On Brady White's movement in the pocket…
"I think that is something that has shown up the last couple of weeks. Coming off of a bye week, I think he is definitely moving better. He has been able to avoid some contact at times and been able to extend plays. That is something that I have been pleased to see. He is also getting the ball out quick. Even when there has been a little bit of pressure, usually he has made the quick decision to get the ball out of his hand and is being very efficient."
On Sonny Dykes…
"Coach (Sonny) Dykes is an incredible offensive mind. I think you have seen that throughout his entire career. He is somebody that I have always kind of looked up to, being very innovative in his approach. He has a great offensive coordinator, Rhett Lashlee. Rhett is somebody that I've known for a long time and have a great deal of respect for what he does as well. You can kind of see the combination of thoughts and it makes them very difficult to have to defend. Then when you are doing that with very good personnel, it's a challenge. It's an impressive team."
How you approach this game…
"We are going to come out and attack this game just like every other one. We are going to try to focus on being the best version of ourselves that we possibly can. We know this is a team that has played at a high level. They are coming off scoring 60 points this last game. We have to make sure we are in the right position, we are playing with relentless effort and pursuit and when we get an opportunity to make a play, we have to make the play. It doesn't matter to me what it looks like. I want us to go out there and play to the best of our ability, play with relentless effort and if we do that I really like our football team."
On playing on a short week…
"I think we are at a different place. Our guys have prepared at a high level these last few weeks. As we have challenged our football team, the thing that I'm most proud of is the response. You want to see growth, you want to see accountability, you want to see guys that are truly taking care of themselves first but then inspiring others with their actions. That is showing up. The guys that have played at a high level, are practicing at a high level. They are pushing themselves and that is showing up during the game. We have to continue to do that and if we do, its going to continue to be contagious on our football team."
On late-season success…
"It is something that I take a great deal of pride in. I want to be a part of a football team that knows how to finish. As you get to the end of the season, your team is going to go one direction or the other. When the bye week was timed up, it really was good for us because we were able to refocus, make sure that all the attention was on ourselves and not on anything on the outside. We have performed better. We have performed better in practice, we have had a great sense of urgency in our personal improvement, players, coaches and everybody involved. Our guys are all competitors. They know how important each and every opportunity is. Friday night is going to be another huge one for us and that's where all of our focus is going."
On possibly competing for a west division championship…
"Our sole focus is being the best Memphis Tiger football team that we can be on Friday night. I really don't care about anything on the outside. I know we are playing a very talented team. I don't need any extra motivation or any extra thought. It really doesn't matter. If we go out there and play to the best of our ability and we compete at a high level with relentless pursuit, I'm going to be proud of this football team. That's what I want to see. That's what we are pushing for."
"Wrapping everything up from last week, I was really pleased with our football team and how they came out. I thought we played probably our most complete game up to this point. Offense, defense, special teams all had explosive plays and did the things necessary according to the game plan of what we wanted to execute. I thought our guys played really hard and with a lot of energy. It was a great performance by our football team.
With that being said, our focus is now 100-percent moving forward. We have a short week going back on the road going down to Dallas to play a very talented and impressive SMU team. It is going to take our best effort for sure. This is a team that has played at a high level. Right now, they are first in our division so our guys are looking forward to the challenge on national TV. We have to have a great week of preparation."
On SMU…
"You see a team that has improved each and every week. They have a first-year coaching staff that at the beginning of the year you could tell that they were all kind of getting on the same page. But they have improved every week. They have been in close games and they have been battle tested. It's a team that is playing at a high level. We know that we have to go down there and there will be adversity. They are going to make their plays but we have to truly focus on ourselves, make sure that we are playing the best brand of ball that we can and continue to improve each and every week."
On Brady White's movement in the pocket…
"I think that is something that has shown up the last couple of weeks. Coming off of a bye week, I think he is definitely moving better. He has been able to avoid some contact at times and been able to extend plays. That is something that I have been pleased to see. He is also getting the ball out quick. Even when there has been a little bit of pressure, usually he has made the quick decision to get the ball out of his hand and is being very efficient."
On Sonny Dykes…
"Coach (Sonny) Dykes is an incredible offensive mind. I think you have seen that throughout his entire career. He is somebody that I have always kind of looked up to, being very innovative in his approach. He has a great offensive coordinator, Rhett Lashlee. Rhett is somebody that I've known for a long time and have a great deal of respect for what he does as well. You can kind of see the combination of thoughts and it makes them very difficult to have to defend. Then when you are doing that with very good personnel, it's a challenge. It's an impressive team."
How you approach this game…
"We are going to come out and attack this game just like every other one. We are going to try to focus on being the best version of ourselves that we possibly can. We know this is a team that has played at a high level. They are coming off scoring 60 points this last game. We have to make sure we are in the right position, we are playing with relentless effort and pursuit and when we get an opportunity to make a play, we have to make the play. It doesn't matter to me what it looks like. I want us to go out there and play to the best of our ability, play with relentless effort and if we do that I really like our football team."
On playing on a short week…
"I think we are at a different place. Our guys have prepared at a high level these last few weeks. As we have challenged our football team, the thing that I'm most proud of is the response. You want to see growth, you want to see accountability, you want to see guys that are truly taking care of themselves first but then inspiring others with their actions. That is showing up. The guys that have played at a high level, are practicing at a high level. They are pushing themselves and that is showing up during the game. We have to continue to do that and if we do, its going to continue to be contagious on our football team."
On late-season success…
"It is something that I take a great deal of pride in. I want to be a part of a football team that knows how to finish. As you get to the end of the season, your team is going to go one direction or the other. When the bye week was timed up, it really was good for us because we were able to refocus, make sure that all the attention was on ourselves and not on anything on the outside. We have performed better. We have performed better in practice, we have had a great sense of urgency in our personal improvement, players, coaches and everybody involved. Our guys are all competitors. They know how important each and every opportunity is. Friday night is going to be another huge one for us and that's where all of our focus is going."
On possibly competing for a west division championship…
"Our sole focus is being the best Memphis Tiger football team that we can be on Friday night. I really don't care about anything on the outside. I know we are playing a very talented team. I don't need any extra motivation or any extra thought. It really doesn't matter. If we go out there and play to the best of our ability and we compete at a high level with relentless pursuit, I'm going to be proud of this football team. That's what I want to see. That's what we are pushing for."
Players Mentioned
QB
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