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TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL MEDIA CONFERENCEDecember 5, 2010Randy EdsallBob StoopsTONY ALBA: Coach Edsall, if you'll make an opening statement for us? COACH EDSALL: I would just like to thank the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and John Junker for inviting us and giving us the opportunity to play against an outstanding football team and a great coaching staff at Oklahoma. Bob has done a tremendous job there. You watch his teams play and they play hard. They're very athletic. They've got a lot of speed. Had a really good year. We know that it's going to be a tremendous challenge for us. But we're looking forward to the opportunity, and we're looking forward to coming out and joining the festivities that the Fiesta Bowl has in store. It's just been a great accomplishment for our team and for our kids and our assistant coaches to win the Big East and get an opportunity to go to our first BCS Bowl, really, seven years into our conference. Again, our kids are excited. Very happy that they earned the right to represent the Big East in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. TONY ALBA: Thank you, Coach. Coach Stoops? COACH STOOPS: A lot of what Randy said, I would first start with as well, thanking the Fiesta Bowl, all the people involved. John Junker, his whole staff are class people, people who do it the right way. We're honored to come out and be part of the Fiesta Bowl. We're excited about it. It's the Big 12's Bowl, which, as we take a lot of pride in trying to represent the Big 12. We recognize the challenge playing the Big East champions in Connecticut. Randy, Coach Edsall and his staff have done an amazing job there at Connecticut. They play hard, have overcome adversity, and have really had a great year. I've been a big fan of Randy's for a long time and how he coaches and how he does things the right way. So we're excited about the challenge as well. We know any time you're playing a champion of the conference, you know the team has a lot of character toughness and discipline in how they play. So it will be exciting getting ready for the game. I know once you're out in Arizona, it's always a special place to be and a great atmosphere, so we're excited to be in it as well. Q. Last night's game in mind, would you talk about how your defense has contributed to this late season surge? COACH STOOPS: Our defense has really come together in the last month. More than anything, mental preparation, not having mental breakdowns. When we're in place and we're in position, we've had guys make plays like they're capable of. It's been a big boost, definitely, in these tight games here down the stretch, we've had some key defensive stops, lot of turnovers the other night. And you shut somebody out ranked 13th in the country the whole second half, as we did the other night in the championship game, you're doing a lot of things right. So it's been a big factor. Q. Can you talk about your turn around? At three-four, you win your last five. Obviously, Jordan Todman is the key for you guys offensively. But it can't be just him. You must are had some kind of amazing attitude turn around or something happened in the middle of the year, what was it? COACH EDSALL: Well, what it was is we had some distractions early on before we even started during preseason camp. Then we had some issues a little bit in the first part of the season, then we had some bigger issues as we got to the week of the Louisville game. Once we really eliminated those distractions or the young men eliminated themselves, our players after getting slapped in the face losing to Louisville 26-0, we talked to them. I told them here are the things that we need to do. They had had enough, and they said, hey, here's what we're going to do. And went out and started doing it ever since the West Virginia game. A lot of it was just those guys, you know, making sure that they went out and did the thing that's we needed to do to be successful. Our special teams have been very good for us. Our kicker Dave Teggart, and our punter, Cole Wagner, have really come along. And we think we have some excellent return people in Robbie Frey and Nick Williams as kick off returners who have given us a big boost in the games. Also Nick Williams is our punt returner. So we've been able to do things on special teams. Then defensively we've been able to create turnovers. That's been one of the biggest things in the five-game winning streak. We're a plus 12 in the turnover battle for the year, and we were able to do that. We didn't turn the ball over offensively. We were able to really manage the game. Jordan did a good job for us, and we were able to throw the ball effectively enough to allow us to do the things we needed to do. So we've really had a change in the attitude and a change in how we approached practice and we practiced better. But then we got contributions from all three phases. Q. Can you talk about Todman and what kind of a bonus or benefit he is for you and the way you like to play and have a back that can move the chains and carry it up to 37 times a game, which I think he's done twice this year? COACH EDSALL: Well, Jordan is a tremendous competitor. He's a guy that wants to win very badly. He's a team guy. It's not about him as an individual and how many yards he gets. It's him that he's the guy that's got to go out there and just compete very, very hard on every play and do whatever he has to do to make our offense move the chains and control the football. He's a guy that can run inside; he can run outside. He's been banged up this year. He hurt his elbow in the second game of the season, and third game of the season played with a brace on it all year long. Never complained. He's just gone out there, and the more work we give him, I think the better that he gets. Like I said, the biggest thing about him, he's a competitor. And he has a heart that is just so big and just wants to do whatever he can to help his teammates win. Q. Can you talk about your running back Murray and how effective he's been, also his ability to catch the ball out of the back field? COACH STOOPS: Well, I think DeMarco's really signature is just his versatility. He can run outside. He's got great speed. He can pound it inside. He's very strong, very tough, very physical. He's got great hands. He's got receiver hands. We put him out in the slot. He can run routes. He catches the ball. He's just very versatile. He's a great protector in pass protection. So his biggest asset is just that, that he's able to do everything really well. So he does multiple things for us, all purpose yards for us. He's off the charts, and we use him that guy. He's a multiple threat guy, and that's his biggest asset. Q. I wonder if you could talk about how you think your fan base will mobilize the travel for this game? And Bob, if you could just comment on maybe how you're going to approach this game based on what happened here your last two trips? Thank you. COACH EDSALL: Well, I think we'll have a tremendous following going out there, just from the feedback and text messages and emails that I think our fans will travel very well. They're excited. This is something new for Connecticut. This has never happened before. I think our fans have really embraced our move to Division 1. In terms of the sellouts that we've had at Rentschler Field, and now, like I said, they want to be able to experience the bowl game at the highest level. So I think our fans will travel very, very well. COACH STOOPS: Our guys are excited to play in the game. We realize the last two games out there we have not been successful and have lost the game, so it's motivation, definitely. We'll approach it like we always do. We'll approach all our bowl games with a very serious demeanor in how we prepare in practice. Hopefully, when we get in the game, we'll have a chance to play better and maintain the focus throughout the month leading up to it, and prepare well to give ourselves a great chance to win the game. Q. You alluded to the seventh year in the Big East, but it is only your 11th year in the FBS-1A. Could you have envisioned being on that stage in that short a time. Especially you're a season removed from the emotional blow that you had a year ago. COACH EDSALL: When I got here I wanted to build a program that would stand the test of time and do it the right way. Sometimes you do that, and you envision and you have goals and aspirations that you want to accomplish. Having the opportunity to take a look at some of the things that we've accomplished, I mean, there were a lot of things that we really accomplished in the short time that we've been in the Big East in seven years. Then in the time that we've been an FBS school, and there is not a lot left to accomplish in terms of what we set out to do. I think it's hard to look at that when you're in the season. After the season, you can take a step back. But I think the things that we've accomplished here in that time were things that maybe only as a coach that you feel that this is what you want to do. But I really think it is hard to comprehend all the thing that's we've accomplished in such a short period of time with this program and this program not having a deep history as a 1AA program knowing where we were. But it's just I think what happens is if you just do things the right way, and you work hard and you surround yourself with the right people, when it comes to the type of players that you have and the coaches you have, support people, anything can be accomplished. So we're very proud of that. Again, I think it says a lot about the young people in our program to overcome the adversity that we had this year. But also the adversity of what happened a year ago with the death of Jasper during the season. I think our young men have learned a lot of lessons in really just a little bit over a year, which has made them mentally tougher and has made them understand how precious life is and how important life is and how important it is to be a team and understand how working together can bring out the best in everybody involved. Q. Can you talk about Zach Frazer, a kid who has persevered not only through transferring, a lot of kids get lost in the shuffle when they do that, but losing his job this year and getting his job back and playing the way he has for you down the stretch? COACH EDSALL: I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Zach. Coming out of high school he was a highly recruited young man who went to Notre Dame, and it didn't work out the way that he envisioned there and transferred to us. Came in and kind of had some ups and downs while he's been here as our starting quarterback. But the thing that I think that you take a look at in November and December, he's a 9-1 as a starting quarterback. I think what he's done is been able to go in there and able to manage the game for us. The kid works extremely hard. He's a tremendous competitor. Manages the game for us and hasn't turned the ball over. He's gone out and been able to run the offense the way that we've needed him to do it. Like I said, he's a young man who has a tremendous amount of mental toughness, and the thing that I look at is when he started this year and he got demoted to second team, then even down to third team. He came into my office and asked what he could do to move back up. I told him what he needs to do is continue to work hard. I said continue to prepare like you're a starter. You've been around here. We have had a lot of injuries with quarterbacks over the last couple of years. I said, Zach, I can't guarantee you anything. But I said you've been around here long enough to know that you're probably going to end up getting another opportunity. When that opportunity comes, just make sure that you're ready to embrace it and go out and do the best job that you can. Through that whole period all he did was work as hard as he could and prepare himself the right way. When that opportunity came, he's led us to five straight victories. Q. Can you talk about what you've seen in your quarterback's improvement from first year to second year, what he's doing differently? COACH STOOPS: Well, it's like night and day. He's just so much more comfortable, sure of himself, his decision making. The other night playing a great defense, different times throwing the ball away when he needed to. Just his poise, he throws a great ball. He's playing really confidently now, really throughout the season. He's had a great year for us. In the last four weeks against good football teams, he's really stepped up. I'm most proud of how he has played in the second half in the last two games that we've really needed. He's played incredibly well. So he's a special player, and I think everybody's starting to see it. When you throw for I think he threw for 364 or so yards against Nebraska's defense, who I think is one of the better ones in the country and for sure secondary, you're having a good day. And he's really playing well right now. Q. Can you talk about Travis Lewis said last night this is the sweetest Big 12 Championship. He talked about how gratifying it is to make it back to a BCS bowl game. Can you comment on not just what you guy his to deal with this season, but going back to last year? COACH STOOPS: Well, I'm not much on going back to last year. Everybody loves to bring in other years. You can bring in the previous three years to last year, and we won three straight Big 12 Championships. So I don't know. If you're bringing back one year, bring back four of them. In the end every year is different. I'm proud of these kids and what they've done this year. Of Course, they've been awesome. Their attitude, their work habits, everything about them. Their character. Their character really showed the other night, last night, in how they played in the second half and being down 17-0. Maybe that's why it's so sweet. We weren't maybe as some years an overwhelming team when you're winning by big victories or by big margins. So in the end to be down, to come back in a hard-fought, tough fought game against another physical, well-coached, very good football team, I think that's why it was so sweet. So it is special. I'm proud of our players making the big plays that they did throughout the game. The players deserve the credit. They really made the play when's they had opportunities, especially in the second half to win the game. Q. You look back a couple years ago with the Boise State team at the Fiesta Bowl. How do you guard against your team being too confident against a big underdog? COACH STOOPS: I don't believe that was our factor that year. Everybody wants to say that. Let me tell you, Boise State was undefeated in that game with 26, 27, 28 seniors. We knew they were a very good football team. If you remember that year 2006, we kicked our quarterback off the football team to start the season. Our starting quarterback was removed the day we started practice. Everybody wrote us off that year. Nobody expected us to win the Big 12 Championship. So we fought, scratched, tooth and nail for everything we got that year to have a chance to win that game. So there was no one in our program. Media can talk what they want. We knew it was going to be a tough game. In the end we gave ourselves a chance to win the game, and they made a play or two at the end of the game to win it. But it had nothing to do with us thinking that they weren't a very good football team. So if you watch our scores that year, we fought tooth and nail for a whole bunch of wins. So I'm proud of our team to be a Big 12 Champs that year when no one thought we could. In the end, Boise made some excellent plays and they -- listen, they were undefeated. They had a bunch of seniors. Now everybody sees the quality program that they are. We knew it. That won't be the case. That won't be a factor in the way we prepare. Our players know Connecticut's -- any time you win your conference championship, you have character, you're a good football team. They've just won five games in a row. We get all that. When you have to compete, you respect that. End of FastScripts |
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