Coach Pasqualoni 2004 Media Day Quotes

[Apis Bull]

Coach Pasqualoni 2004 Media Day Quotes

"I would like to welcome you all to Media Day 2004. We are looking forward to preseason camp. We are in our second year of the format of the acclimation period. The first five days of camp will be one practice per day for each player. After the first five days, we will then go into two practices, then the following day of walk through in the A.M. and practice in the afternoon followed by two full-padded practices and then the next day is walk through in the morning and a full practice in the afternoon. We have four scrimmages scheduled this preseason. That is our format when we are in transition at the quarterback position. We do that to give the quarterbacks maximum opportunity to show the team what they can do. We know we have a big challenge ahead of us, especially in our conference, with West Virginia being rated as high as No. 11, which is great for the BIG EAST, and our non-conference opponents. We are anxious go get going. We have already had one good practice this morning. We are looking forward to getting back out there this afternoon for the second half of the day."

How do a new quarterback, new players on defense and a tough schedule impacts his expectations for the season?

"If you mean how do we expect to do, we expect to do very well. Our expectations, from the players and the coaches, are always very high. I don't they have changed. Obviously, there a few challenges for the coaches. On offense, it is obviously the quarterback first, and then it is the role of the quarterback/wide receiver. We are fortunate to have five of our top seven offensive lineman back. The good news, offensively is that it starts with the guys up front. We have a good nucleus up front led by Matt Tarullo and Adam Terry. Steven Franklin is really starting to come on as an offensive guard. Quinn Ojinnaka is still young after playing as a true freshman. He has a lot of talent. Jason Greene has talent. I like Justin Outten and Carroll Madison who are getting things done. We have some young guys starting to show a little bit.

“I'm excited about the development of the tight ends. Obviously, we are very pleased to have the backs we have. Greg Hanoian will be an outstanding starting fullback. So, we have to get the quarterback selected and move on. We are very optimistic.

“Defensively, the biggest concern is the middle linebacker. At inside tackle, I like the young guys we have, we're just going to have to work hard. The other concern I have is that the corners have to play with great consistency. Our safeties, outside linebackers and defensive ends will be strong. We have a great nucleus there.

“We have a fifth-year senior in Collin Barber and an experienced punter in Brendan Carney, who is capable of being the best punter in our league. We brought in a long-snapper, Joe Neumann, who we signed from junior college specifically for the long-snapping responsibilities. He didn't disappoint anybody this morning. From a special teams standpoint, I think we have a chance to be a really good unit."

How long will you wait to decide on a starting quarterback?

"You would like to make the decision tomorrow. Having said that, my sense is that it is going to take longer than that. We want to give the kids opportunity. I don't think it is a decision you rush into. If it becomes very clear, we will make a decision. But my sense tells me it is going to take preseason camp. Realize that we are not in preseason camp that long. We have 29 practice opportunities, including five for game-week. When you consider, the National Football League is in its third week of preseason camp and they don't open until a week after us, we don't have very many practices with a bunch of young guys.â€Â

Are the three quarterbacks ranked in any order right now?

"No. The order would be, in seniority, Xzavier (Gaines), Perry (Patterson) and Joe (Fields). Matt Hale will spend another year in development. They are the three and they are all in thick of it. I could not, right now, put one ahead of another. I wouldn't do that."

Would there be any hesitation to starting a true freshman at Purdue?

"If he is the best guy, based on production, then he would be the guy."

How much did enrolling early affect Joe Fields' development?

"There is no comparison to where Joe Fields is right now, having graduated in December and having enrolled and been through the winter program, spring ball and the summer, and where he would be walking in here cold yesterday. There is absolutely no comparison. It is a big advantage."

How important is it to settle the middle linebacker position to the defense?

"It is important. We are fortunate in the fact that we have Kellen Pruitt, who has played a lot of football, and KJ (Kelvin) Smith, who has played a lot of football. We are going to put a little bit more of the responsibility on those two. Last year we put it all on Rich Scanlon. Rich was a fifth-year student. He was a great student of the game, a tremendous leader. He could handle it. We are not going to take a first-year player and put the same responsibility on that guy that we did on Rich Scanlon. So we are going to put a little bit more on Kellen and little bit more on KJ. They will do it. Then we will be able to develop that guy who plays in the middle."

How will that change how the defenses are called?

"The thing that might change is that Kellen or KJ might call the defense. There were years where (outside linebacker) Morlon Greenwood called the defenses. We have certainly have the flexibility to do that and that is something we will probably do."

Is it overstated how important the quarterback is to the offense?

"I think it starts up front with the offensive line. You have to have that and the backs who can break tackles and block. I think we have that. The other thing you have to have are wide receivers who can make a any catch, including the difficult catch. You have to have a quarterback with leadership ability who is a great skill guy, a great passer and just a great flat-out quarterback. But he has to have great leadership. To a certain degree, at times there is too much put on the quarterback and not enough put on the supporting cast as to what is going on. In a way, maybe it is a little overstated."

If Perry Patterson is named the starting quarterback, does that limit the types of plays that can be called due to his past knee injury?

“Perry's knees looked good this morning. I think he is confident. He has been through the full cycle now. He has had a full year after his surgery. If Perry ends up being the guy who is the quarterback, he will be healthy. We wouldn't play someone is not 100 percent. He is very quick and he is hard to get your hands on. We would select from our offensive playbook what we felt he could do best, and there would a couple of option plays he could run. Whoever it is (at quarterback), the challenge that we have is the development of the offense around the quarterback and wide receivers. We know what we have at tailback and I think we know what we have a tight end. So the development of what we can do at the quarterback position and the wide receiver position is really the challenge.â€Â

How do you feel about opening the season at Purdue?

"Purdue is a quality team with so many offensive players back, rated somewhere in the top 25. The benefit of that is it pushes you hard every single day. As a player and as a coach, when you have that sort of challenge in the first game, maybe you pay a little bit more attention to the little things every single day. The players in our program chose to come to Syracuse because one of the traditions, from a non-conference standpoint, is that we play some pretty good teams. Purdue fits into that tradition."

What would you say to those who question why Steven Gregory was moved to offense since he was one of the most successful players on defense the past two seasons?

"One of things as head coach that you are always trying to do, and it may be the hardest part of your job, is to put every player in a position where he will have the greatest impact on the team. That is not to say that a couple of these guys couldn't have an impact at a couple of positions. What you try to do is put them in a position where they will absolutely have the greatest impact on the team. My approach is that I have to take care of the team first, individuals second. You can go back to Tebucky Jones. The guy was a pretty good tailback. He was a phenomenal athlete. There was something there that we felt he could do to have a greater impact to help the team win on defense. Steven has had a positive impact on our team. I just think he can help us win games more by catching the ball. If that doesn't work out, that doesn't mean we can't bring him back (to the defense). Everything I have seen so far is pretty positive."

Is the same reason that Diamond Ferri was moved to safety?

"We played him as a freshman (at tailback). We redshirted Walter (Reyes) and played Diamond. In high school Diamond always was a guy who ran to the ball hard on defense. He made a lot of tackles. Diamond is in a position where he can be a top flight strong safety."

What do you expect from Walter Reyes this season?

"I expect Walter to be a very tough inside and outside runner. I expect him to be an excellent back in pass protections and blocking and to catch the ball and make plays when we throw it to him. I expect him to be a great leader and do what he has to do to win games."

How does the Heisman hype for Walter Reyes affect the team?

"Who wouldn't want Walter Reyes to win the Heisman Trophy? I would love for him to win the Heisman Trophy. I think the key is when you ask Walter that question is what his response is. The most important thing for Walter is that the team wins and has great success. With team success then what happens happens. If you ask the kids on the team, are you rooting for Walter to have a great year, they would say yes. I don't think the hype will bother us at all. It is a lot of fun. We are not going to get carried away with it giving it more priority than we should."

How does the Diamond Ferri court date affect the team and the decisions you will make in the next couple of weeks?

"My only concern is that the judicial process works its way through. Diamond is ready to do what he has to do to be accountable for what happened. We won't sidestep the issue. He made a bad decision unfortunately."

How hard has the past two seasons been for you?

"Certainly we are not happy with the number of wins that we have had the last two years. Our expectations are much higher. Last year was a tough year because there were a lot of games we could have won. A play here or a play there got us. The margin of error is very slim at this level of football. In some ways, I was proud of the way the kids hung in there and came back every single week. We had a very disappointing Saturday at Rutgers and then come back here and I don't know if anybody would have beat us on the Saturday in this facility that we played Notre Dame. We played a pretty good football game. Outside of the Diamond Ferri incident this spring, I'm very proud of what they have done in school and very proud of what they have done off the field. We have to get back to the number of wins. This thing isn't about me. It's about the team and Syracuse football. Like the kids, you have to persevere, hang in there and keep working. I feel positive about it."

How can a guy like Joe Fields exude leadership after being on campus for such a short time with an offense that has people like Matt Tarullo, Walter Reyes and Adam Terry?

"At that position, whether you are on campus six months or six days, there is a certain demeanor in the huddle and at the line of scrimmage. The quarterback has to demonstrate that and the coaches have to put him in atmosphere where he is given the chance to compete. In preseason camp, you try to make it as tough as you can on him. You like to see him get tired and see him under stress to see how he performs. I think that is where you really evaluate the leadership of any member of your team. Every quarterback will be in that situation."

Do you believe Joe has that leadership ability?

"I have seen enough to say to you that he is right in the thick of it."

Is there anyone who you expect to have a breakout season this year?

"I am hoping very much that Damien Rhodes can be healthy. Everybody keeps talking about Walter (Reyes) and we're rooting for Walter, but we're rooting for Damien, too. The fact that Walter is a high-profile guy is not going to detract from the kind of season we want Damien to have. I just want him to be healthy. I think he can make a big contribution.

“I keep saying the tight ends have been a pretty good surprise. I'm just anxious to see what our tight ends can do in a game. I think Greg Hanoian, a fifth-year fullback, is going to help us win games. It is not going to be fancy or flashy, but the guy is a solid guy and he will contribute.

“Defensively, we're hoping that James Wyche and Ryan LaCasse, two very fast guys, can really come on and that Julian Pollard will have a great year."

How do you plan to use both Walter Reyes and Damien Rhodes?

"We are going to play both at the tailback position. Everybody here knows you have to a minimum of three (tailbacks) because people get bumped up and tired. When you have two guys and you can be at full speed on every snap, it is tough on the defense, especially in the third and fourth quarter. That is what we want to happen."

What does it mean that there is no offensive coordinator?

"The head coach will be responsible for everything that is done offensively, defensively and from a special teams standpoint. That's the way it is and always been. The greatest challenge we have is not so much is what play is called, but what plays are best for our team. The greatest challenges are what the quarterback capable of, who are the wide receivers and what are they capable of, and then to develop a package around that. That's the biggest challenge we have. I am responsible for us."

What was the process for play calling before this year?

"The plays come from upstairs, through me. There's not one guy who just says okay, here is what we are doing and that is it. It doesn't work that way. We have guys assigned to short-yardage and goal line. We have guys assigned to third down. We have guys assigned to inside the 20. We have guys assigned to back-to-the-wall who spend their week studying that stuff. So why, as the head coach, would you go through all of that and get in the game and not ask them?"

How excited are you to finally have the team here to start preseason camp?

"As a coach, you are almost like a parent. When they are all under one roof, you feel a lot better, not worrying about all of the things that can happen with the kids. We feel great to have them all here. They are a group of kids we really love to be around. To get camp started and practicing is terrific. It's what we do and we are lucky to have the opportunity to do it."

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