University of Memphis Athletics
Mike Norvell Weekly Press Conference Highlights – August 27
Aug 27, 2018 | Football
Opening Statement…
"A lot of excitement about to kick off the 2018 football season. We have had a great camp. I have really been proud of this football team, coaches, all the personnel and what has gone into our preparation of getting here to game week. I can tell you that our football team has prepared. We are bigger, stronger, faster. The understanding of expectation going into year three is something that has been a positive in this camp. Our guys have worked extremely hard to put themselves in position to play at a high level. We haven't done anything yet and we have to have a great week of preparation. We are excited about being able to kick off the season at the Liberty Bowl against a very good opponent in Mercer. It is going to be an exciting day for our fan base and for the community. It will be our first opportunity to showcase the 2018 football team and what we are going to be about. We are looking forward to a great week of preparation and excited about the kickoff.
How things have gone since naming a starting quarterback…
"I feel good about where we are. Brady (White) has done a great job this last week and been highly productive in what he has been able to do throughout practice. Guys are starting to get a pretty good sense of the game plan of what we are going to want to accomplish. We are going to fine tune some things as we get into this week and continue to get repetition versus various looks that we could see. That is one thing about game one is that you never really know. You can study all the film from the past season or years prior, but at the end of the day each team is going to have its own unique look. We are trying to throw as much at our guys as possible so regardless of what we see they will be prepared to execute."
Brady White's first start at Memphis…
"I think everyone will have nerves. We have guys that have started 30-40 games in their careers and they get nervous before any kickoff. The biggest thing is that you make sure as you are going into the game that you play within yourself and control the things that you can control. I can tell that Brady (White) in how he prepares for everything, whether it's practice, workouts, the treatment and rehab that he does. That preparation gives you confidence. That's what I want to see from our team this week. To think back since January, everything that we have done, all the weights that have been lifted, all the sprints that have been run, all of the meeting time and practice reps, should give you a great deal of confidence about going out there and responding to whatever you could see. I think Brady will have nerves, I will have nerves and everybody a part of the program. There is an excitement that comes with playing this game, so as long as we go out and play within ourselves and put our best foot forward, I feel very confident in what these guys can do."
Positives and negatives of starting the season against and FCS opponent…
"I don't really get too carried away with what division or conference teams are in. I try to look at every opponent the same. I turn on film and evaluate the players and the schemes and then try to put ourselves in the best position to be successful. I can tell you that the Mercer team that is coming in is one that is a team that is on the rise. It's been a young football team and a program that just restarted a few years back. Coach (Bobby) Lamb does an incredible job, you can see the determination and the culture that has been established there. They play relentless. You look at this last season, they went through some growing pains. They had four games that came down to less than a touchdown determining the outcome. You turn on the Auburn game from last year and its 17-10 with four minutes left in the game and they were right there with them. One of the things I always do when I start evaluating an opponent is I turn on the kickoff coverage unit because I believe that unit more than any other will tell you the heart and drive within a football team. They had the No. 1 kickoff coverage unit in FCS Football last year. This is a team that has a lot of experience returning. They are very capable and so our guys don't care what conference they are coming from. We have a good football team coming here."
On Tyrez Lindsey's development…
"Tyrez has really grown at a high level in how he communicates. Last year, he was coming off of a shoulder injury, and that helped him play more cautiously than he wanted to. Really, from spring football on, he's been playing at a high level. Josh (Perry) was banged up during camp, he missed a few days, and Tyrez has really maximized that opportunity. You look at our defensive depth chart, and you've got to put starters in, guys in that first role, but I look at it like we have a three or four man rotation at safety. I basically view us as having four starting inside linebackers with Curtis Akins, Tim Hart, JJ (Russell) and Keith (Brown). That defensive front, we're going to be able to roll a good number of guys up front, and keep guys fresh. That's something you're hopeful for as a coach. I do believe our depth is as good as it's ever been, but it's also good that guys have elevated their level of game to where I believe they'll be able to help us on Saturday."
On preparing for game one…
"Starting the season, there's so much excitement, there's such a build up to the first kickoff, but I don't really like first games. There are so many unknowns, you hope that you don't put too much in, or put too much on your players. On one hand, they have to be able to execute, they have to play fast, but there is such a variety of schemes you could see. You don't really know what the identity of the opponent is going to be because there are new pieces, they had a couple transfers come in. They're probably feeling the same way about us, not knowing fully what our identity is going to be, with the people that are going to start on both sides of the ball. So the biggest thing we do is focus on ourselves, we try to show them different looks that could come up, and make sure we're as good as we can be in executing against a variety of looks before Saturday."
On the city's excitement for football…
"I think the excitement around the University of Memphis, and Tiger football specifically, is at an all-time high. It's very humbling for us, to be able to go out at Fan-Fest and see between 800-1,000 people enduring the weather, sitting on a practice field. That was incredible. You go to Jackson, and we had a scrimmage there that was open, and the number of people that are there to support what this team is about, it's a wonderful compliment. I think everyone is ready for football season to begin, everybody's ready to get in the Liberty Bowl. We need a big crowd on Saturday; it is a celebration of Memphis, come Saturday at 6 p.m. We understand that we represent not only this university, but we represent this city. Our guys are ready to run out of that tunnel and show what this football team is going to be."
"A lot of excitement about to kick off the 2018 football season. We have had a great camp. I have really been proud of this football team, coaches, all the personnel and what has gone into our preparation of getting here to game week. I can tell you that our football team has prepared. We are bigger, stronger, faster. The understanding of expectation going into year three is something that has been a positive in this camp. Our guys have worked extremely hard to put themselves in position to play at a high level. We haven't done anything yet and we have to have a great week of preparation. We are excited about being able to kick off the season at the Liberty Bowl against a very good opponent in Mercer. It is going to be an exciting day for our fan base and for the community. It will be our first opportunity to showcase the 2018 football team and what we are going to be about. We are looking forward to a great week of preparation and excited about the kickoff.
How things have gone since naming a starting quarterback…
"I feel good about where we are. Brady (White) has done a great job this last week and been highly productive in what he has been able to do throughout practice. Guys are starting to get a pretty good sense of the game plan of what we are going to want to accomplish. We are going to fine tune some things as we get into this week and continue to get repetition versus various looks that we could see. That is one thing about game one is that you never really know. You can study all the film from the past season or years prior, but at the end of the day each team is going to have its own unique look. We are trying to throw as much at our guys as possible so regardless of what we see they will be prepared to execute."
Brady White's first start at Memphis…
"I think everyone will have nerves. We have guys that have started 30-40 games in their careers and they get nervous before any kickoff. The biggest thing is that you make sure as you are going into the game that you play within yourself and control the things that you can control. I can tell that Brady (White) in how he prepares for everything, whether it's practice, workouts, the treatment and rehab that he does. That preparation gives you confidence. That's what I want to see from our team this week. To think back since January, everything that we have done, all the weights that have been lifted, all the sprints that have been run, all of the meeting time and practice reps, should give you a great deal of confidence about going out there and responding to whatever you could see. I think Brady will have nerves, I will have nerves and everybody a part of the program. There is an excitement that comes with playing this game, so as long as we go out and play within ourselves and put our best foot forward, I feel very confident in what these guys can do."
Positives and negatives of starting the season against and FCS opponent…
"I don't really get too carried away with what division or conference teams are in. I try to look at every opponent the same. I turn on film and evaluate the players and the schemes and then try to put ourselves in the best position to be successful. I can tell you that the Mercer team that is coming in is one that is a team that is on the rise. It's been a young football team and a program that just restarted a few years back. Coach (Bobby) Lamb does an incredible job, you can see the determination and the culture that has been established there. They play relentless. You look at this last season, they went through some growing pains. They had four games that came down to less than a touchdown determining the outcome. You turn on the Auburn game from last year and its 17-10 with four minutes left in the game and they were right there with them. One of the things I always do when I start evaluating an opponent is I turn on the kickoff coverage unit because I believe that unit more than any other will tell you the heart and drive within a football team. They had the No. 1 kickoff coverage unit in FCS Football last year. This is a team that has a lot of experience returning. They are very capable and so our guys don't care what conference they are coming from. We have a good football team coming here."
On Tyrez Lindsey's development…
"Tyrez has really grown at a high level in how he communicates. Last year, he was coming off of a shoulder injury, and that helped him play more cautiously than he wanted to. Really, from spring football on, he's been playing at a high level. Josh (Perry) was banged up during camp, he missed a few days, and Tyrez has really maximized that opportunity. You look at our defensive depth chart, and you've got to put starters in, guys in that first role, but I look at it like we have a three or four man rotation at safety. I basically view us as having four starting inside linebackers with Curtis Akins, Tim Hart, JJ (Russell) and Keith (Brown). That defensive front, we're going to be able to roll a good number of guys up front, and keep guys fresh. That's something you're hopeful for as a coach. I do believe our depth is as good as it's ever been, but it's also good that guys have elevated their level of game to where I believe they'll be able to help us on Saturday."
On preparing for game one…
"Starting the season, there's so much excitement, there's such a build up to the first kickoff, but I don't really like first games. There are so many unknowns, you hope that you don't put too much in, or put too much on your players. On one hand, they have to be able to execute, they have to play fast, but there is such a variety of schemes you could see. You don't really know what the identity of the opponent is going to be because there are new pieces, they had a couple transfers come in. They're probably feeling the same way about us, not knowing fully what our identity is going to be, with the people that are going to start on both sides of the ball. So the biggest thing we do is focus on ourselves, we try to show them different looks that could come up, and make sure we're as good as we can be in executing against a variety of looks before Saturday."
On the city's excitement for football…
"I think the excitement around the University of Memphis, and Tiger football specifically, is at an all-time high. It's very humbling for us, to be able to go out at Fan-Fest and see between 800-1,000 people enduring the weather, sitting on a practice field. That was incredible. You go to Jackson, and we had a scrimmage there that was open, and the number of people that are there to support what this team is about, it's a wonderful compliment. I think everyone is ready for football season to begin, everybody's ready to get in the Liberty Bowl. We need a big crowd on Saturday; it is a celebration of Memphis, come Saturday at 6 p.m. We understand that we represent not only this university, but we represent this city. Our guys are ready to run out of that tunnel and show what this football team is going to be."
Players Mentioned
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