|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEAugust 31, 2015Mike BercoviciTodd GrahamTempe, Arizona Q. Coach, it's been a long time coming. The excitement is here finally. So much expectations for this team. Now it's about going out and showing what this team is capable of doing on Saturday. Your thoughts? TODD GRAHAM: I tell you what, it seems like it's been really fast. It doesn't seem long to me. It seems like it's been really fast. I'm really excited. This is going to be the best atmosphere I think on the road that we've probably played against. It's going to be a big-time atmosphere. Obviously, games like you think in the recent histories, the UCLA game over there in 2013, USC last year, I mean, these are the kind of big games you want to play in. Scheduling this game first has been really an interesting experience because I don't know if I've ever -- I think maybe one year at Tulsa we played BYU to open the season, and it really impacted our summer. So we're excited and ready to load up. I still am glad we've got a few more days of practice because I like to practice and prepare. But I really love this team. We've got a great team, great group of guys, and I've got a big challenge ahead of us and looking forward to it, man. I keep saying that. I mean, this is the kind of game you want to coach in. The kind of game you want to play in. It's the kind of game our fans want to see. I'm excited and looking forward to to it. Q. A couple dynamic pass rushers, but Myles Garrett particularly seems like he's one of the best in the nation. What's he look like on film? TODD GRAHAM: He'll be one of the best. You won't play any better. He's arguably the best pass rusher in their conference, and would have to be the best in the country that I've seen on film. I haven't seen everybody, but he's as good as it gets. But obviously we've got to do things to neutralize that the best you can. You're never going to -- in any great player, you're always going to make plays. You've just got to neutralize them the best you can and focus on what we do being fundamentally sound. The big thing in this game is not -- this is a big game, big-time atmosphere, everybody in the country watching. You've got to come out of the gate strong. I'm glad we have this game because when we start conference play, it's going to be the same thing. You can't come out of the gate any tougher than what we're going to in conference play. So you find out in a hurry where you're at. The key for us is don't beat yourself. Play Sun Devil, disciplined football. Obviously be physical on the line of scrimmage and not give up cheap plays. They've got great skill players on special teams and on offense, so that's going to be the key of the game. Obviously, the big advantage they have, obviously, is the crowd, and you've got to keep the crowd out of it by winning the explosives. Long, sustained drives on offense. Q. I know you've gone back to Texas before, but is this special given the connection to this program? TODD GRAHAM: Well, yeah, yeah. I was born and raised there, and I played Texas high school football and coached Texas high school football. Obviously the person that I respect the most that I looked up to the most immediately are guys like Tom Landry, guys that were growing up in Dallas he was like an icon for who he was as a person. But R.C. was a person that I really studied under and admired. So I spent a lot of time around that program. It's always good to go back to Texas. You know, I'll have family there and stuff at the game, and it's neat for me personally. But I'll be pretty focused on the job at hand and helping put these guys in position to figure out a way to win. Q. Just to follow up on that. Is there a little bit extra swell of pride when you go back to Texas in your position? TODD GRAHAM: I don't know. I think probably people around me know I want to win every day, every game. I'm not a very -- I don't respond very good when I don't win. But, yeah, I mean, I can't tell you. I just think a lot of people -- I'll tell you exactly how I feel. Of course, I'm a native Texan and proud of it, so going back there and competing, that's the reason why we took the games. You look at our future schedule, we'll be going back there quite a bit. It also has to do with our job here, and we have quite a few kids from the state of Texas here, and we're going to recruit there, so it helps to play there. It's hard to recruit in an area you don't play in. So I love doing that. My mom's not been doing that good, so she's not going to be able to come. So that's a little disappointing in that. But she'll be watching on TV. Q. Coach, can you address Coach Slocum's stamp on special teams and maybe how you've evolved from the standpoint of red zone and short yardage? TODD GRAHAM: Yeah, I mean, he's just as a football coach, he's one of the best football coaches I've ever worked with. One of the things we try to pride ourselves in and I think one of the things that really has helped us as far as the teacher model and what we believe is to be a consummate learner. And he has really -- I mean, it's been great to be around him because he has brought -- I knew he was a really, really good football coach, and he's exceeded my expectations. Not just from a special teams standpoint, from an organizational standpoint, just from perspective being around the organization he was for ten years. Obviously his background with his dad, he's really brought a lot to our program, and I think he's going to have a big impact on the special teams. In all of my years I've been coaching, there is not a better coach that I've worked with day-to-day than him. And I knew that because we've obviously everything we had done in the past, we had studied with him, and whether it was -- I first started bringing him in, I paid him to bring him in when I was at Allen High School to teach us special teams, so it's been a long relationship. On the same hand, it's not going to be magic overnight either. But I can tell you this: It's night and day the preparation for the special teams and the meetings and the teaching and the progression that he's brought has been phenomenal. And then situationally we're just farther ahead. Time management and game-day operations and how, you know, even from play-calling and sequencing and all those things that happen in the game, he worked directly with the head coach there, and I think he really brought a lot of expertise in that area of just being proactive. So there are some things like, for instance, we're going to have just one person in the box that is working instant replay for us. Even though they review every play, we're watching those critical plays like, for instance, they can be missed. The obvious plays they're going to get because they review every play. But like a spot. Sometimes they won't stop it for a spot and things like that. So we have a person working that. Then we're going to have a person just the last two minutes who takes over that is in charge of time management and managing the clock. So do that from the box as well as myself and Coach Norvell and Coach Patterson from the field. But Coach Slocum will oversee all of that. So he's brought a lot of things like that. I love it, because I love learning and I've learned an awful lot from him here in a short period of time. Q. You touched on it a little bit, but obviously there are a few players on Texas A&M who are local kids who chose to go there instead of staying in state. What type of impact does this game have on recruiting for the future? TODD GRAHAM: I tell you, like I say all the time, I think the best thing we can do for recruiting is win 15 games. That is all you have to do. So, yeah, I think just the fact of winning and being successful and doing it the way we've done it in the past has helped with that. You know, there's been a lot mentioned about a couple of kids that are going there and playing. Hey, you know what? I wish every kid would end up where he's supposed to end up. They're not all going to end up in one spot, but does it have any impact on us for the game? No. This is Arizona State Sun Devils going and competing, and we chose to play this game. Chose to play it where we're playing it. Chose to play it on the road because we have that kind of belief in our players and our team. So I think too you reap kind of what you sow in recruiting. You can tell. Anybody that's been around our program, you can go out to practice and tell the level of player that we have on the field out there is dramatically gotten better. So we've got a great system to offer. Obviously our first priority is here in this valley, then the state, obviously then we move over to the takeaway, Southern California, then we have areas of strength. We've gone all over the nation. The best and the brightest and the best character that fit us, that's the ones that we're going to recruit. So we're not one mention of any kid. We're evaluating Kyle Allen, and we're evaluating him as an opposing quarterback and looking at the things he does well and maybe the things that we can take advantage of. We don't worry about all that because, you know, there is too much about getting your team prepared to play than worry about that. Does this game impact recruiting? Well, sure. You win every big game you're in, you do pretty good in recruiting. I'm a firm believer in all that in recruiting. I'm not big into the, you know, there is too much made of Cracker Jack recruiters and all this stuff. I just don't see it. I think that perception is reality with young people. If their perception is that you're a big-time program, then you have a good chance to get big-time recruits. But we're interested in signing young people that have character. That means they have a service of sacrifice mentality, that they're smart, they have value. So we're not really interested in somebody that wants to come here because of our uniforms. We're interested in guys that want to work and have a passion, and then if you do those things you can have discipline. It's a great disservice for us to say that everybody that plays here in the valley fits in here. That's not going to be the case. There are a whole bunch of them that do, and we're going to give them first priority. I can tell you this: When D.J. Foster runs out of the tunnel here, it's pretty special, big D.J. Foster. You only have one hometown, and we have a big-time program right here in this town. He could have run out of the tunnel at Notre Dame. It wouldn't have been the same. So every person is different, and you wish them, you know -- I'm from Texas, and I'm coaching at Arizona State, and it's the best opportunity I've ever had and perfect fit for me. I think it has a little bit of impact when it comes to recruiting, but absolutely winning is the number one thing for recruiting. Q. Kirk Herbstreit has you guys making the College Football Playoff. TODD GRAHAM: Smart guy (laughing). Q. What, if anything, do you think could get in the way of that? TODD GRAHAM: Oh, about 15 opponents, probably. No, my deal is, see, most people think, golly, you're focused on all these lofty goals. Look up here at that wall. That's what we're focused on. That's every rep, every day in what we're doing. I'm not going to lie to you. Somebody asked me the other day. Is that a big deal to you? Man, yeah. Man, it's gratifying. We've worked our tail off to put ourselves in position that obviously someone of Kirk's knowledge and prestige would pick us in the top 5. We liked it. Our kids liked it. It doesn't mean anything. We appreciate it. It's a show of respect. This is like preseason rankings, do they matter? Yeah, if you ain't in them, you weren't very good the year before. So we just can't get distracted. Our big thing has been really coach, coach, teach, teach, and be ready. That's one of the reasons we scheduled this game. This puts us right out of the gate in a hurry in that kind of pressure cooker, and we're hoping this will be the first of many big ones we get to play in. The biggest thing is just not thinking too far ahead. The reality is the truth of the matter is you've got to win a whole bunch of close football games, and I believe that this team can do that. So the challenges ahead of us is obviously staying healthy. You know and doing a great job of keeping your energy and your focus each week. I think it's mental maturity, being able to handle that. It's like when you first haven't had that experience, that's why I think those games, like Wisconsin and the two Notre Dame games and all those games, it's easier once you've been there. And we haven't won a championship yet, but we're getting where I think we can compete and do that. I think the biggest obstacle when it comes to being -- to reaching that goal and being there is just, you know, getting better every day and staying healthy. Q. I want to get your thoughts on Michael Bercovici who has shown so much patience and perseverance and now he's being rewarded. He'll be the starting quarterback for the team this year. What do you think that will mean to him after waiting so long? TODD GRAHAM: I think, one, you look at what that says about his character, and, I mean, I think just being honest with you, I thought he would probably transfer, just being honest with you. Everybody was like, hey, he's such a talented player. Obviously we didn't want him to, but that speaks volumes about his character. Also, too, the other side of that is how much he believes in our program and how much it means for him to be a Sun Devil. I always say that's a great teaching moment because everybody would have said, you know what, hey, that guy graduated. He can go somewhere else. But he would have missed out on a pretty special evening over at the Coliseum there in his hometown. Then, I think it's you're kind of a product of the challenges that you've had and when you serve and you invest and you sacrifice the way he has, man, it means a lot to him. I don't know I've ever coached a kid that I think it means more to him than to Mike. So he's a guy that, again, just keep your eye focused on the job at hand and the next play, and he's going to be a great one. But I think that's -- I know one thing, if I was an NFL coach, that's the kind of quarterback I'd look for is a guy that's not just talked about character but has demonstrated it by his walk. So Mike's getting better every day. He's like having a coach on the field. All the things that Taylor did, he's at that level and expanded on that level. I think Taylor's the best I've ever coached and I think that Mike's got a chance to be better. Q. Wondering how the experience Mike got last year will help him this season? TODD GRAHAM: Oh, I think there's no substitute for experience, man. I mean especially in the games he got that experience in and especially the things he faced. It didn't all go well. To go into your senior year and already have experience playing against USC, UCLA and Stanford is big experience for you. Again, nothing we did last year guarantees us anything. So that's what's great about this. You've got to go and earn it this year. But I do think that experience is very valuable to him. I think he'll have less of an edge less of a nervousness because he's been in those situations before. Q. You got here around the time Kyle Allen was going into his junior year. How have you seen him progress from that standpoint and what's put him in the position to succeed? TODD GRAHAM: Well, he's exactly what I thought he was when we were recruiting him. I mean, you can tell he's a high-character kid, very much in command, very smart quarterback, makes all the throws, executes their offense. Being able to play as a freshman is pretty impressive, and I thought he did a remarkable job. He improves every single game he's out there and solid. He's a really solid quarterback. I was trying to find someone to compare him to whose style he would be like. It would be more like he's more of a drop-back-type of guy. In our league, maybe Kessler from USC. But he's really good. I think he makes really good decisions. The things I'm impressed with is how well he throws the vertical ball. He does a great job of locating the ball in the vertical passing game. There are a lot of guys that have strong arms and he can make all the throws, but he's really accurate down the field and makes quick decisions and is a guy that is able to buy time in the pocket. He's not a guy that can't move. He moves really well. He's hurt people running quarterback draw. He's hurt people scrambling and extending plays. So he's a solid quarterback. I've been really impressed with him. Q. You talked about how Mike has persevered through all of this. How has he changed as a player, as a man, from that guy that lost the position battle seemingly so long ago? TODD GRAHAM: His mental maturity. Mike seems, I guess he's been here a long time, but he seems a lot older than everybody else. Just kind of more his mental maturity in how he operates. I think that he has -- I think he definitely has the respect of everybody in the room. But how he's different is just his mental maturity. He really is. He's a guy, obviously we've got Taylor going into coaching. I'm trying to talk him into doing the same thing, but I think we might lose them both to being lawyers. But I hope we keep -- I think we have a chance to keep Taylor. But Mike, how Mike's different than he was before? Mike has always been a great talent, and he's just really matured. He's really matured mentally. I think the strength of Mike Bercovici is not his physical talents, it's the intangibles. It's his character. It's his ability to handle adversity. It's how hard he studies the game and how smart he is. He walks the walk. That's how he's earned the respect of our players. So mental maturity would be how just really mature in how he approaches every day. Q. You've always known he's had a dynamic arm. How much did that game against Stanford last year where he managed everything really well kind of convince you that after Taylor was going to leave that Mike would be able to continue keeping the program at a championship level? TODD GRAHAM: I tell you, I told you guys this, I think my first year I wasn't worried about the quarterback position, and I haven't been until now. When you had Taylor and Mike, I never worried about it. Even last year when he got hurt, it was not like -- we had so much confidence. I never even hesitated. As soon as the season was over, as a matter of fact, in bowl preparation I told Mike this is your team. I means, there's not -- obviously we have competition, but there was no -- there was not anybody close to where he's at. So this is definitely his team. I'm a little worried we've got to make sure we get somebody behind there that -- we've got great talent. We've just got to get it ready. It's just very, very young. There is a lot of youth behind him, but we had a lot of experience at that position with the two guys we've had there. So, oh, I knew. I labored over that, labored over that decision because Mike did so well. Does that make sense? Obviously, Taylor Kelly in who he was was the reason why we went the way we went. But we went that way because we thought it gave us the best chance to win. But, man, that was very difficult. From the time Mike got in the game and after we've seen him in the heat of the battle, I knew there was no doubt in my mind where our future would be this year. This would be Mike Bercovici's team, no doubt in my mind. And that was how good he was. And I think you really look at that when Taylor won the job, we didn't tell you guys this, that was for the week. That was for the week. They were just this close. Then obviously Taylor never -- nothing ever -- he never gave him a chance, and he was still right there. You wouldn't believe this guy. This guy would prepare every week like this was his team, every week. That's what we're telling the guys now you've got to prepare like this is your team, right? So then when Taylor got hurt and Mike came in, I wasn't surprised how well he did so there was not any doubt in my mind. I was struggling on what decision to make then, but when you've got a guy with Taylor, there was so much there. It was so different in the people there were as far as how their skill sets and us having to turn and go this direction as opposed to it was not an easy decision because of how good Mike was and because they were so similar in the intangibles and how they went about running the team. Q. Given Coach Slocum's history with the Texas A&M program and the fact that this is going to be his first game as a coach for ASU, how do you think he's approaching this game? TODD GRAHAM: Oh, like a professional. We've got Coach Cassidy, I think spent over 20 years there, obviously, Shawn's dad and himself spent a lot of time at A&M. So, yeah, I think that makes it special for them. Going back there, I think they all have a tremendous respect for the very tradition of that program. So on the same hand, we have a job to do for these players and we're all standing on the sideline. Our job is to get these guys prepared and get them a chance to win. Q. I know week one you play an opponent usually much inferior than you and you don't really tip your hand when it comes to game planning what you show on game film. How much of a challenge is it when you play a team like Texas A&M, there is only so much you can hold back because of the caliber of opponent? TODD GRAHAM: Yeah, there won't be any holding back, I can tell you that. I've said this a lot to you guys. I wish that we would have a national scheduling policy for the fans, because, man, this is the way you ought to start it every year. I can tell you this, I like it. I like how it affected our summer. Is it easy? No, it's not easy, especially going on the road like that and not having a return game. Not many people do that, but we'll do it. So I don't -- I think it's made our team better. I think our team has had a sense of urgency and preparation. I think our team is going to be tested in a big way, and I'm a firm believer that we're ready for that test. I mean, this is a really good football team we're playing. Two really good football teams. Two very explosive football teams that are very capable of scoring a lot of points very fast, so this is exciting. But I like it. I like having this game there. I think when you play better people, it makes you better. It's like you can't win big games and never play in a big game. You know what I'm saying? When you play in a big game every once in a blue moon, it doesn't help you. So I like that we're starting off this way in the season, and then when you start conference, you're going to start off in a big way as well. So I like that. I think our fans are excited about that. So there's nothing about this I don't like. I just wish that we could do more of it and not hurt our ability to get in the playoff, you know what I'm saying? Because in reality, in any season, like when we played Wisconsin and Notre Dame, we split with them. We wind up, I guess, winning the Pac-12 South and if we would have won the conference championship and the playoff was intact, we might not have been in the final because we scheduled a hard preseason which should not affect you. Conference champions should be in that playoff, so that's what I hope they look at in the future, and I hope they look at it as they move forward because at the end of the day we should give the fans what they want too. I'm just like that. I tell people all the time. I'm a fan too. I started off in my career coaching 7th grade football, man. I want to play in the best places. I want to play in the biggest games, so that's why we're playing it, and I think it's a smart thing. But we'll see. MIKE BERCOVICI Q. Michael, game week's finally here, and I want to get your thoughts. You've put in so much time, effort, patience, perseverance, and now you finally become the starting quarterback for ASU. What will this game mean to you? MIKE BERCOVICI: This game means everything to us. As a program, I feel like we deserve this opportunity to go into such an incredible environment and play a great SEC opponent. We feel we're prepared. In Coach Graham's fourth year of leading this football team, we know what it means to be smart, disciplined, tough, and go in. And our advantage is that at Arizona State we play with discipline. We're a hard-nosed team. We've been through adversity every single day at practice, so we're excited to go out there and show these fans what we've been working for since January. Q. Obviously there's a big difference in this week one with the caliber of opponent, but also since you're the starter now this week one, what are some of the biggest differences in preparation this week as opposed to the previous three years? MIKE BERCOVICI: Not much has been different. I think that obviously the team believes in this team. I think that's what is unique about this group. I think the people that sit in this room, when Coach Graham comes in to talk there is no doubt what our goals are, what our intentions are. So when we go out there and practice, we have an extremely veteran-led group, a lot of leaders that start, a lot of seniors that start, and that is our advantage right now. And our preparation is that we're confident. We have guys that are seeing things versus just reacting to them. So playing with your eyes, hands and feet are something that coach stresses a lot, and we have a lot of guys doing that right now on both sides of the ball and special teams. Q. Mike, knowing that you're a thrower before you're a runner, how do you look at the perspective of balance of run and pass when you work with Coach Norvell? And I know he wants things done a certain way, but give me your insight on that? MIKE BERCOVICI: I consider myself a manager as a quarterback of this football team. Coach calls it a lot of different terms, operator, surgeon, anything that you can do, and that involves your arm and your legs. One of the biggest things I've learned working with Coach Norvell is when an opportunity calls to run, that's how you can make this offense go. Whatever the situation calls for, we have an incredible offensive line, and receivers that can make plays and running backs that can block and catch. So it's been an exciting camp to see how this offense has been rolling. As long as we get first downs, this offense is exciting to throw and running, passing, whatever the case may be. Q. I know you've watched a lot of LSU film because their coordinator that's there at A&M now. What type of a defense are they, and how would you kind of describe their approach and expectations in that regard? MIKE BERCOVICI: I mean, they're very, you know, he's obviously a very confident defensive coordinator. They do a lot of the same things. We see tendencies in what they see. They're a big man team what they're excited about. It comes down to match-ups. It comes down to winning one-on-ones. That could be at left tackle, it could be the right slot receiver, it could be the running back in space. So what we see on film, we're excited. It's been a while. We've been watching the same film since January, so it's time to get going on the field. But we're excited about our group right now. We have a team that's prepared more than we've ever been, and beyond any talent that we have, we have intelligence, especially on the offensive side of the ball. And the way Coach Graham runs that defense, you've got to be smart to play on this football team, so it's going be to be exciting to see how our preparation comes together on Saturday. Q. During Kyle Allen's recruiting process, did you get to know him at all while he was still here locally? I know you're focusing on the defensive side of the ball, but how have you seen him progress just as a young quarterback coming up the ranks? MIKE BERCOVICI: I didn't really get to know him that well. I know he's a kid from Arizona. Obviously a talented kid. It was unfortunate. You don't always get all the best players of Arizona, but I know he made a good decision where he wanted to go. But I think our defense is excited about playing an opportunity where they have a very athletic group. You don't get a lot of opportunities like this in college football, especially Arizona State, to come out with an opponent like this. It's been four years we've opened up at home, so it's pretty exciting to go on the road and go against a great quarterback, great offensive group, great program. And this is a statement that we need to make for our program and we're excited. Q. Where have you shown the most growth as a quarterback over the last year? MIKE BERCOVICI: Something that Coach Graham talked to me about is every single day you step on that practice field you get better, and he says if I can continuously get better every single day, this football team will achieve the goals that we want to achieve. I've really tried to go out there in fall camp right now and whether it's encouraging offensive linemen if they go offsides, whether it's talking to Gump and making sure he knows what he's doing, talking to D.J., making him more of a leader. When we're on seven on seven putting my two cents into those linebackers to get them to toughen it up and get more competitive, I think that's where I've grown the most in one year is that this team builds off each other. I've got Jordan Simone telling me get louder, be more of a leader, and I think that's what's exciting about this football team because it hasn't been like that in year's past. We had coaches trying to set the energy, and it's completely different right now. When I've got a young guy like Christian Sam telling me step it up, let's go, that's all the difference in the world, and that's from coach. Q. I'm curious to get your observation on the young quarterbacks behind you. I know you work closely together, but give us a brief comment on Manny, Bryce and Brady? MIKE BERCOVICI: I'd love to. Those three kids, they're special. They really are. I've taken a certain approach to each one of those guys as their development as back-up quarterbacks because they're all so talented and they've come in here at different times. Obviously extremely close with Manny Wilkins because he's been here the longest, and what he can do with his feet is so natural when plays break down, and that's what makes him unique. He's a kids that's still learning. He's still learning the basic part of football, and that's what makes him such a great football player is he can do what he can do, and he has so much more room to grow. Brady came in here during the spring. Our heads were turning with how much he knew from the offense, and someone that comes in for two weeks isn't supposed to know what he knew. He's obviously got an incredible arm, incredible feel for moving in the pocket, and he's going to be a pretty dynamic quarterback. What Bryce did this fall camp was unlike any freshman quarterback that I've ever seen come through here. His detail-oriented approach every single day when he comes out to practice. If Coach Norvell made a change in his stance, the next day you wouldn't have to ask him to change his stance. The little things that he took from day-to-day during camp extremely impressive for a freshman. It's obviously going to be a pretty heated quarterback competition in the next couple years. But what's exciting about them is they all love each other just like I love them, and that's why they get better every single day. Q. You've been very excited about what Gump Hayes provides this offense. We've talked about that a lot. He's obviously going to be the slot guy in the two-back formation. But does he have an opportunity to have an expanded role beyond that that we haven't seen from a guy like that? MIKE BERCOVICI: Absolutely. What you're going to see with Gump is you're going to see him giving defenses what they don't want to do. You got to make sure you're conditioned when you play against Gump because every play he's going 150% it feels like. He has that type of motor which makes him exciting. Obviously, Coach is going to have an incredible plan for him week to week. What he does best is the most basic things. Getting him on the perimeter in space, and he's pretty special with the ball in his hands. As a quarterback you love guys that can take two-yard routes 95 yards, and so does the offensive line. But when I come in here Mondays, I'm just as excited as everybody else is with what the plan is for number one. Q. Can you talk about your confidence level and the offensive line, specifically Evan Goodman protecting your blind side? MIKE BERCOVICI: Our three interior guys, Nick, Vi and Christian are the three guys returning. Those are the best three guys in the entire country as a core inside group. What Evan Goodman and Billy McGehee have been able to do starting from spring and moving on to fall camp has been amazing. They're the two most athletic tackles I've ever seen since I've been here. And I have the utmost confidence in both of those guys, especially going against the opponent we have in game 1. There is no better way these tackles, they're not young tackles. We have a red-shirt junior and red-shirt senior, so they've got experience. They're really excited about the opponent coming into game 1. What Evan has done as far as athletic position at that left tackle is pretty amazing. He's going to be a guy that you hope stays back for his fifth-year because he's that type of talent. Q. (No Microphone) and how high the expectations are here, would you say right out of the gate, a lot can change in the course of a college football season, but to start the season game 1 is this a must-win for the program to get the season going in the right direction? MIKE BERCOVICI: Every one is a must win here. You can see on the walls it says 1-0. It says National Championship. That's our mindset every single day. Whether it be January and it's your final set of power clean, if you don't win that rep, it's an issue if you play at Arizona State. So we wouldn't say it's a must win, it's just an opportunity for us to go 1-0. Whether it's pregame, if we go out pregame, we're going to go 1-0 in the pregame. The coin toss, 1-0 in the coin toss, and so on and so on. So what we have to do is control ourselves and that's what Coach Graham has done an amazing job of establishing that mindset is the only people that are going to stop Arizona State is us. We really believe that. We have that type of capability on all three phases of the game, and it's not a must-win. It's just another Saturday. It's another Saturday to be in the Sun Devil uniform. Q. For a lot of your career you've been a program that's been on its way up. And now a lot of people are picking you guys to possibly win the Pac-12 and make a playoff run. In some ways you're the hunted now. Does that feel any different going into this season? MIKE BERCOVICI: We've had a lot of people come up to us and talk to us throughout the -- whether it be spring ball, fall camp, motivated people. We've had leadership meetings where we're excited and we know what the capability of this football team is, and that's why we created that mindset of going 1-0, where what we can control is our attitude and effort every single day to beat Texas A&M on Saturday. Obviously there are great accolades that are coming out about this football team, but we're not really worried about that. I think what's awesome is that the mindset that we have going into big games like this is that we feel we're ready to take on this game. It's not a situation where, oh, whatever the case is, it was a good game. We know what we have to do going into Saturday. We have that type of mindset we feel we're going to be the aggressor on every play. That's what's exciting. As week nine, ten, and 11 come around, it will only get harder with more distractions. But like I keep saying, we have a senior-led group, veteran group, where we can help these young guys about when you're sitting there in a great situation, just keep your head down and go 1-0. Q. What are your thoughts of basically playing this game in their backyard? They say it's a neutral site game, but let's be for real, it's not a neutral site game? MIKE BERCOVICI: Yeah, I think what I've learned about being in college football is that's what you play for. There is no greater environment than walking out of the tunnel and getting booed or whatever the case may be. That's what you love. That's what you signed up for. Obviously it's going to be an incredible environment being at Texas Stadium, and we know Sun Devil Nation will show up. All you have to see is a little maroon and gold, and that will get you fired up more than anything on game day. Whatever the situation is, if we're overpowered by fans, that doesn't matter. We know Sun Devil Nation is there, and that's all we need to go 1-0 on that day. Q. How much does your experience in the three games that you had last year help you going into the season? MIKE BERCOVICI: I mean, it's been great. It's been great for our program. It's been great for recruiting. It's been great for this senior-led group just knowing that I guess you could say I've been in the highs and lows of what a football game is, and it's just been a blessing to me since January the way the team has been able to rally behind me as a quarterback or as a captain of this football team. I've been here a long time, and just the type of respect that I've been able to get, it's only right for me to give that respect to every single person, whether it be janitors in this building or Coach Graham. That's the approach I've been able to take since January. And we as a team, it's been pretty special to see what this 2015 team has been able to accomplish on and off the field in the community. It's just been exciting to know that last year we scratched the surface of something that could be amazing this year. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
