Greg Schiano Press Conference Quotes - Nov. 23
Nov 23 | Football
Opening Statement:
“We have two practices under our belt and a game coming on Friday. I know our team is very excited about it and I know I am. It is an opportunity to play our last home game of the season at Rutgers Stadium so all good stuff.”
Can you comment on Eric LeGrand’s progress with regards to the press release just issued?
“Eric continues to make some progress. He is, as you all know, a fighter through and through. He has continued to push the envelope with the doctors and everybody. What he can do, he wants to keep doing. It is just going to be a long road back. I think it is a great milestone for him right now in his recovery. He has a lot of work ahead of him, he knows that. We are all here to support him. I just ask for the continued prayers of everyone because our prayers are being answered.”
How is Eric’s spirit and emotions?
“I think his spirits are good. He is an incredible person. Without going into too many specifics, he amazes me day after day with his outlook and his attitude. Until you are put into a position like that, no one knows how they would respond. Eric has been amazing.”
What stands out from this senior class and what do you think it means for them to play their last game at home?
“I’m sure it is bittersweet to play their last game. They are excited about playing. It is kind of sad when you are a senior and this is your last game and it really starts to become a reality. I have always encouraged our players to not get too caught up in the sentimental part of it. That is for after the season. What happens is, if you get too caught up in the ‘my last game and my last time at Rutgers Stadium’ it ends up being a bad memory in your last time at Rutgers Stadium and you don’t want that to be the case. You really want to go out there and play your best and to do that, you need full focus. Anything that takes your focus off the job at hand is only going to hurt you. We do a little introduction at the beginning of the game but that is really all we do and then it is right to work. We have a great banquet where we recognize the seniors and then we usually have a little get together in the spring time where we get to reminisce a little bit. I am so proud of the traditions that we have built here in 10 years. After a tough night like Saturday, the number I have gotten from ex-players ‘Coach we are with you, we know how hard it is’ … when Eric’s injury occurred, the number of text messages… that is what family does. I know these guys that are seniors that are playing their last game. I know that they are fully aware that this is something for life. This isn’t just four or five years, it is a brotherhood and a family here that is for life. That is something special about Rutgers football I do believe.”
How does the defense bounce back?
“We have to improve in every area because we just didn’t execute. We didn’t execute in technique. We didn’t execute in assignments. We didn’t execute in actually doing what we do. It is unfortunate because we had a meltdown against the best offense in the league and the ensuing point total was what it was. It is not the end of the world though. I think sometimes you have overreactions. You are never as good as you think you are when you win and you are never as bad as you think you are when you lose. That is something that you have to keep in mind. After that game, certainly I was down but as soon as I got on the plane with the video and started watching it and you started saying ‘what are we doing, this is silly.’ We will bounce back. We are playing a good football team that’s the issue. We can bounce back all we want, they are a good football team and they are playing with confidence right now. It will be a challenge. They have a great running back… one of the best in the nation. Their defense is playing extremely well. They are a top-15 defense in the country right now. We certainly have our hands full. We are going to have to be at our best in every area and every phase of the game to have the opportunity to compete. I think we will be.”
What do you notice about Louisville that is different with their new staff?
“I don’t know, I don’t even think about the difference, I know what I see on tape. Their defense is drastically different. They are playing with great emotion; great energy and they are playing precise. They are a blitz package; they are a blitz scheme, a pressure scheme. They are a precise pressure scheme. They are not half-hazard. You can tell they are well coached. Offensively, they are not losing games, especially when their running back is healthy. You all remember Victor Anderson. He was as good as there was a young back in the league and now for this guy to come out and have the kind of year he has, they have a pretty good stable of running backs there. When you can run the football, it gives you a lot of hope, a lot of chance. That is a big part of the game.”
Where did this running back for Louisville come from?
“That is a question for Coach Strong. We don’t recruit that area at all. I wasn’t aware of the young man. You watch the tape and you know he is real. He is special.”
Can you talk about the challenge that Louisville’s tall tight ends will present?
“They play with multiple tight end sets and they definitely have personalities depending on who those tight ends are. [Josh] Chichester, the big tall guy you talked about, he was a wide receiver going back a couple years. He is a big man. They put him in as a tight end but they also play him a lot as a wide receiver. When you get that personnel grouping you are just as likely or more likely to have a three wide receiver set as you are a two tight end set, but they do get in two tight ends as well. It makes you be honest. It is all good stuff… all things they do for a schematic advantage. You have to have that kind of body and that kind of athlete to do it. He brings that to the table for sure.”
What do you tell the corner backs on playing Louisville?
“You have to play technique. At the end of the day, there are certain plays that a guy can make on you if you are not smart about your technique. Eventually, generally they bring the ball down at some point. Sometimes that can catch the ball and leave it up there but eventually it will come down. He is a better athlete than the kid at Army a couple years ago, but if you remember, David Rowe had that 6-10 guy and he knocked balls out all night. This fellow is a better athlete though, that is what makes it harder.”
Has it been fun watching the Lowery brothers interact during their time here together?
“They a really are really good kids and now young men. We recruited Antonio and everything wasn’t a smooth path to where he is now. He has had his ups and downs, but Antonio believes in what we do here. When his brother was being recruited here, a very highly recruited guy, his grandmother I think trusted us to take care of Antwan after seeing the development of Antonio. I remember being in the home trying to get Antwan to say he is coming north and coming to Rutgers. That was a two-hour wrestling match. He didn’t want to leave his grandmother and his mother down there alone. They are really a special family because they know what is best for both their sons and they are willing, although however hard it was to do, to let them come 1,500 miles away and do it. I think Antonio’s career is coming to a close and I think Antwan’s is just starting to take off. One will pass the torch to the other.”
Can Mohamed Sanu do a little more this week?
“He has done a little more in practice. I think a big thing is going to be how well he heals and continues to heal now until game time. He is definitely better than he was last week though so we will get more out of him. You know what happens when you have that kind of injury he does is fatigue sets in. When it does, now you jeopardize of really injuring it worse and we are not going to do that.”
How is Teddy Dellaganna doing?
“Teddy is on the road back. He is not 100 percent yet. I don’t know who will punt yet. [Kyle] Sullivan is doing a good job. He has punted well in two games. I am certainly comfortable with him. We will just try and figure it out as we go.”
How is D.C. Jefferson doing, is he still not right with his ankle?
“That is not going to be better until the season is over. He has got a lot of pain there but he is a tough guy and he is going to play through it.”
What did you see in Marcus Cooper to make the switch to defense?
“You just saw a guy who was athletic and can flip his hips with ease. He is one those guys whether it is on a basketball court or playing something in the player’s lounge, he is a very good athlete. You like a guy that has the kind of ball skills that he does to put him at corner. Now you have interception opportunities that maybe come and go with other guys he is going to make those plays. The thing that most excites you is a guy that can flip his hips like and he is 6-1 and some change. That helps you when you are going against those bigger receivers.”
Marcus Cooper said tackling is the biggest thing he needs to work on, how is his tackling?
“He doesn’t stick out as anything different than the other DBs. He has worked very hard at it. He is a very tough kid. Eighty percent of tackling is willingness.”
Did you ever think Kordell Young was going to make it this far in five years after everything that has happened to him with the injuries?
“You can’t do it, you can’t live in the past. He was as good as there was. If you think back to 2006, we were finding ways on the field which meant taking Ray Rice off the field. That’s how good he was coming out of high school. I mean explosive as they came. Three knee surgeries later, he is still a very solid player but he is not the guy he once was. The fact that he is still playing and gutting it out shows what kind of person he is. We need him, we need him in his role to perform. I know he would like to do more. I would like him to do more, but I just don’t know if that is the best thing for him.”
