Jim Leavitt Quotes from Media Luncheon

[Brad]

Courtesy USF SID Office

Head Coach Jim Leavitt Press Luncheon Quotes

Tuesday November 22, 2005

BIG EAST Room

Opening Statements:

“We had a real good practice last night and our guys worked hard. We got underneath the light, which is good because this game is a 3:30 game. We’ll play half the game in the sun and the other half in the lights. It was really good to do that with our kick and punt return team. They practiced well and they are pretty focused. Hopefully today we will have a good practice. Connecticut is a pretty good football team. It will be a great challenge. It will be one of those games that come down to the end. One team will obviously have more points then the other and win. It’s going to be a physical 60-minute ball game. A real tough challenge for us.”

On preparation for playing in cold weather:

“I don’t know exactly what you would do when you think about it. The fact that we are having cold weather here helps a little bit psychologically. It’s obviously going to be much colder than this. You can at least get your mind prepared for it. Last time we were up there it was very cold. We played in some cold games and this one will be cold. There isn’t a whole lot more you can do. If you play in a loud stadium you can play noise and things, but there isn’t much you can do for the cold. I think we are fortunate to have the weather we are having this week, just a little bit.”

On whether or not playing in cold weather is more physical then mental:

“I wouldn’t say that, there is both factors involved. I’m not concerned with that. Our guys go out and play. There are other factors. Holding on to the ball, catching it and throwing it. There are some other things involved. You just go out there and play”

On if Coach Leavitt ever played football in snow:

“I have, in fact, Lee Roy Selmon was at Oklahoma. We were playing and the snow was coming down. I remember returning kickoffs and doing that kind of stuff. I’ve played a number of times in the snow. I’ve coached in Minnesota; that was cold. I’ve been around this stuff.”

On if a strong running game is important towards the end of the season:

“Do I feel that way? I don’t know. I don’t have any idea. I haven’t looked at the other teams in the country; I guess I would have to do a whole study on that. I wouldn’t know where to start. I would have to look at percentages of pass and throws and how they do in November. You got me. I have no idea.”

On the status of (offensive tackle) Thed Watson:

“Better then I thought. Unsure. I don’t know for sure. Today and tomorrow will be important to see if he can do some things. He won’t be effective unless he can really play. It was good that he didn’t play against Cincinnati. The other guys will do better then him if he can’t do what he does. It was good the other guys (Marc Dile and Walter Walker) played the last game. They got used to it.”

On what it is going to take to win at Connecticut:

“There is a lot to think about. You need to be able to stop the running game. Special teams are going to be very big. Turnovers are always big. That doesn’t really change much. There are a lot of factors. It’s going to be a hard fought contest. It’s going to be a challenge.”

On Connecticut’s greatest strength:

“Defense. They had the No. 1 defense in the country for a while. They are strong. They run well. Offensively they are all back and going. Tight ends are good, receivers are good, and their backs are outstanding. Their quarterbacks can do some good things. They are a pretty good football team. Their problem is that they had injuries. Their number one and two quarterback went down. It’s hard to play your number three quarterback and be successful all the time.”

On the buzz being generated by USF being bowl eligible:

“I really haven’t been paying attention, there might be one. I’m cooped up in my office watching film. I go down to the training room, weight room, locker room to say hi to a few guys. I say hi, you look great today, I can’t wait for practice and I go upstairs and put the film on. I’m always concerned about distractions.”

On Amarri Jackson wearing the skunk hat:

“That’s my hat, he’s borrowing it. It’s my hat; some really nice people gave it to me. I don’t know. It probably keeps his head warm. People talk about things, but I don’t mess with it. It’s all about how you execute on the field. Everything else is all fun. You write articles and put this up and all that kind of stuff but it doesn’t have much to do with how you play football.”

On the Kansas State rumors being a distraction:

“No. I’m focused on Connecticut.”

On if the team has any Thanksgiving plans:

“We’re going to practice earlier that day. A lot of the players are from around here. We recruit them because of Thanksgiving holidays so they can just go right home (laughter). A lot of them will take other players with them. We’ll go at 10-12 in the morning. If there are some guys who don’t have anywhere to go, they will go with me and we’ll have a turkey sandwich and sit around and talk. We will all have plans.”

On what Coach Leavitt is thankful for:

I’m thankful for my health and the opportunity to be sitting here and talking to all of you. We are all very fortunate and take things for granted way too much. I’m not going to speak for all of us in here but it’s probably human nature. Just the fact that we can live another day and do what we do is really pretty powerful. The opportunity to do what I do and coach these guys; it can’t get a whole lot better then that. That’s probably the biggest things.”

[Ricky the Bull]

Ahhh... so it's CJL's hat!

I think I like the porcupine hat he normally wears better... wait a minute, he's not wearing a hat.    

[E.T.]

Thed Watson, he probably won't start ... just rest him and see how things go.

[Zonald]

I don't even know why I read these comments anymore.  I'm waiting for something interesting to come from Jim's mouth.  But no, same thing week after week.  He has mastered the art of "Coach Talk."

[SANJAY]

What do you hope for during the weekly comments?

-We're going to kick this team's behind because we're better at every position.

-Their coach is a moron, we should win easy.

-They're 1-8 for a reason; they suck.

-Their front 4 couldn't tackle an 85 year old St. Pete resident, Andre should get 300 yards on the ground.

Just what do you expect him to say that wouldn't either give motivation to the other team or tip off the other team as to what we might want to do (I admit running the ball on first down is not hard to figure out, but hear me out.)

[bulls96go]

just win jim!