University of Memphis Athletics
Photo by: Matthew A. Smith
Mike Norvell Weekly Press Conference Highlights - August 26
Aug 26, 2019 | Football
Memphis Head Coach Mike Norvell quotes // Week 1 – Aug. 26 // Ole Miss
Opening Statement…
"Welcome. I appreciate everyone being here. I'm excited about the kickoff to the season. There has been a lot of work that has gone into our preparation, going all the way back to January. I'm really pleased with our football team and the approach they have taken throughout not only fall camp, but what they have done since winter conditioning. I really like this football team. I like the work they have put in. I'm impressed with the leadership we have. That was a challenge for us at times in the past. I think the culture has been established. Our guys understand the expectation. We see more and more players holding themselves accountable and helping hold the team accountable to what the expectations are. I'm pleased with what I've seen. I think we are a bigger, stronger and faster football team at all positions. We've had a couple dynamic players that have departed and moved on to the National Football League. I like the guys that have stepped up and established themselves as go-to guys and playmakers for this team. We're excited about this Saturday. Any time you get the opportunity to host an SEC opponent there is going to be a great deal of buzz and excitement. That's definitely the case here in Memphis. Everywhere I go in the community you can tell all Memphians are excited about some Tiger football. We're excited about kicking off the season here at home."
On Ole Miss offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez…
"I have a lot of respect of Coach Rodriguez. We've competed against each other in the past when he was the head coach at Arizona and I was at Arizona State. I've gotten a chance to see his offenses first hand. I know he is unique in what he does. They are going to play extremely fast. They are going to try and showcase their playmakers and get them in space. The number one key is to stop the run when you play them. Yes, they can throw the ball all over. He was very multiple in what they do and how they present it, but he's going to try and establish the running game. It's going to be a heck of a matchup."
On Ole Miss' running game…
"Not only the running back Scottie (Phillips), but the two freshmen backs they have (Jerrion Ealy and Snoop Conner). We know Snoop very well. He was committed here for a while. We got a chance to see him a little bit in their spring game. The Ealy kid was a five-star top recruit in the country. They have recruited at a high level. They are big up front. That will be a great challenge. They have two big tight ends. They can use multiple personnel groups. You look at Corral, he's a freshman but has played in some big games. He is a very talented player. He was one of the top quarterbacks in the country coming out. I think when you watch his skill set, there isn't much he can't do. He can run the football and make every throw there is. It's going to be a heck of a challenge for our guys in what we need to do to put ourselves in a position to be successful. Then you look at their receiver position – they've had some great players that went to the National Football League, but they return some guys that are capable and they have recruited at an extremely high level. We know we're going to have our hands full with those matchups as well."
On continuing a series with Ole Miss…
"I'd love for it to continue. I think these regional games – whether it's Ole Miss, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Missouri – those are all games we'd love to play in. It brings our fan base to a new level of excitement. I think it's great even for their fan base to have a great place to travel to and play in front of a great atmosphere with two quality teams squaring off. These are the games you want to play in. I'm excited we get the opportunity in Game 1 at the Liberty Bowl to play Ole Miss."
On Ole Miss defense…
"They have a talented defensive front. These guys are big, strong and powerful. You look at last year, they had to replace some guys that maybe didn't have as much experience but the talent shows up on film. We're expecting to see eight or nine different defensive linemen in the game. They have moved some of their defensive ends to outside linebacker. They will show a variety of different looks. That's probably one of the strengths of their football team is their core. I think when you look at their defense it is similar to ours in a sense that they return a lot of starters, but there have been guys that were starters on the team last year who are no longer starter. They will have more depth and experience, and that has happened here as well. We're expecting a heck of a matchup. We're going to have to play at a high level."
On watching miscues in Florida vs. Miami game to open college football season…
"It all worries you. I keep watching mistake after mistake, it makes you sick as a coach. You understand some of those things are going to happen, but you want to limit the number of times you do shoot yourself in the foot. That's going to be a big part of this game. Can we go out and play a disciplined game? Can we execute the plan we have in place? Can we make the adjustments that are necessary? We're going into a game with two new coordinators we're facing. You can watch all the film you want to watch over the last couple years to get a sense of what you will see, but in reality this game will be a game of adjustments. We're going to try and put our guys in the best position to be successful, but we're going to have to do a great job as a staff in adapting and continuing with that regardless of what we see."
On the expectations laid on the team…
"I think every year you go into the season, you want to maximize the potential you have. I really like the guys we have on the offensive side of the ball, from the offensive lines, skill positions, tight ends and quarterback. At the end of the day, a showing of a good coach is putting guys in position to be successful. If that means we have to throw the ball all over the field to do that, great. If that means we have to run every single play, great, we'll do it. That's where the versatility of our offense compliments the playmakers we have. There isn't anybody outside this building that has higher expectations for us than we have for ourselves in here. We know it takes work and execution. You can wish for it to happen, but you have to go make it happen. You've got to prepare every single day, prepare at a high level to show that on game day. I think these kids are looking forward to the challenge."
On the opposing coaching staff…
"It's challenging. Coach (Mike) MacIntyre, you can look back at his last three years, what he was able to do as head coach at Colorado, but he had defensive coordinators that were manning that role, I'm sure he's going to have his own wrinkles of what he wants to do. That's why we're looking at a lot of different films from over the years. Coach Rodriguez is a great offensive mind. He's so versatile in what he does. You look back at his years at West Virginia, you can look at his time at Arizona, here at Ole Miss. He plays to the strengths of his talent. He's so multiple in what he can do. Our focus has to be on ourselves. We can't try to be too ahead of what they're doing, because we really don't know. We're going to have to go adjust and adapt once the game starts."
Opening Statement…
"Welcome. I appreciate everyone being here. I'm excited about the kickoff to the season. There has been a lot of work that has gone into our preparation, going all the way back to January. I'm really pleased with our football team and the approach they have taken throughout not only fall camp, but what they have done since winter conditioning. I really like this football team. I like the work they have put in. I'm impressed with the leadership we have. That was a challenge for us at times in the past. I think the culture has been established. Our guys understand the expectation. We see more and more players holding themselves accountable and helping hold the team accountable to what the expectations are. I'm pleased with what I've seen. I think we are a bigger, stronger and faster football team at all positions. We've had a couple dynamic players that have departed and moved on to the National Football League. I like the guys that have stepped up and established themselves as go-to guys and playmakers for this team. We're excited about this Saturday. Any time you get the opportunity to host an SEC opponent there is going to be a great deal of buzz and excitement. That's definitely the case here in Memphis. Everywhere I go in the community you can tell all Memphians are excited about some Tiger football. We're excited about kicking off the season here at home."
On Ole Miss offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez…
"I have a lot of respect of Coach Rodriguez. We've competed against each other in the past when he was the head coach at Arizona and I was at Arizona State. I've gotten a chance to see his offenses first hand. I know he is unique in what he does. They are going to play extremely fast. They are going to try and showcase their playmakers and get them in space. The number one key is to stop the run when you play them. Yes, they can throw the ball all over. He was very multiple in what they do and how they present it, but he's going to try and establish the running game. It's going to be a heck of a matchup."
On Ole Miss' running game…
"Not only the running back Scottie (Phillips), but the two freshmen backs they have (Jerrion Ealy and Snoop Conner). We know Snoop very well. He was committed here for a while. We got a chance to see him a little bit in their spring game. The Ealy kid was a five-star top recruit in the country. They have recruited at a high level. They are big up front. That will be a great challenge. They have two big tight ends. They can use multiple personnel groups. You look at Corral, he's a freshman but has played in some big games. He is a very talented player. He was one of the top quarterbacks in the country coming out. I think when you watch his skill set, there isn't much he can't do. He can run the football and make every throw there is. It's going to be a heck of a challenge for our guys in what we need to do to put ourselves in a position to be successful. Then you look at their receiver position – they've had some great players that went to the National Football League, but they return some guys that are capable and they have recruited at an extremely high level. We know we're going to have our hands full with those matchups as well."
On continuing a series with Ole Miss…
"I'd love for it to continue. I think these regional games – whether it's Ole Miss, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Missouri – those are all games we'd love to play in. It brings our fan base to a new level of excitement. I think it's great even for their fan base to have a great place to travel to and play in front of a great atmosphere with two quality teams squaring off. These are the games you want to play in. I'm excited we get the opportunity in Game 1 at the Liberty Bowl to play Ole Miss."
On Ole Miss defense…
"They have a talented defensive front. These guys are big, strong and powerful. You look at last year, they had to replace some guys that maybe didn't have as much experience but the talent shows up on film. We're expecting to see eight or nine different defensive linemen in the game. They have moved some of their defensive ends to outside linebacker. They will show a variety of different looks. That's probably one of the strengths of their football team is their core. I think when you look at their defense it is similar to ours in a sense that they return a lot of starters, but there have been guys that were starters on the team last year who are no longer starter. They will have more depth and experience, and that has happened here as well. We're expecting a heck of a matchup. We're going to have to play at a high level."
On watching miscues in Florida vs. Miami game to open college football season…
"It all worries you. I keep watching mistake after mistake, it makes you sick as a coach. You understand some of those things are going to happen, but you want to limit the number of times you do shoot yourself in the foot. That's going to be a big part of this game. Can we go out and play a disciplined game? Can we execute the plan we have in place? Can we make the adjustments that are necessary? We're going into a game with two new coordinators we're facing. You can watch all the film you want to watch over the last couple years to get a sense of what you will see, but in reality this game will be a game of adjustments. We're going to try and put our guys in the best position to be successful, but we're going to have to do a great job as a staff in adapting and continuing with that regardless of what we see."
On the expectations laid on the team…
"I think every year you go into the season, you want to maximize the potential you have. I really like the guys we have on the offensive side of the ball, from the offensive lines, skill positions, tight ends and quarterback. At the end of the day, a showing of a good coach is putting guys in position to be successful. If that means we have to throw the ball all over the field to do that, great. If that means we have to run every single play, great, we'll do it. That's where the versatility of our offense compliments the playmakers we have. There isn't anybody outside this building that has higher expectations for us than we have for ourselves in here. We know it takes work and execution. You can wish for it to happen, but you have to go make it happen. You've got to prepare every single day, prepare at a high level to show that on game day. I think these kids are looking forward to the challenge."
On the opposing coaching staff…
"It's challenging. Coach (Mike) MacIntyre, you can look back at his last three years, what he was able to do as head coach at Colorado, but he had defensive coordinators that were manning that role, I'm sure he's going to have his own wrinkles of what he wants to do. That's why we're looking at a lot of different films from over the years. Coach Rodriguez is a great offensive mind. He's so versatile in what he does. You look back at his years at West Virginia, you can look at his time at Arizona, here at Ole Miss. He plays to the strengths of his talent. He's so multiple in what he can do. Our focus has to be on ourselves. We can't try to be too ahead of what they're doing, because we really don't know. We're going to have to go adjust and adapt once the game starts."
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