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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 31, 2011

Al Golden

THE MODERATOR: We now welcome Miami head football coach Al Golden. We'll bring on coach, ask for a brief opening statement, then go to questions.
COACH GOLDEN: We're excited. We had our first game-week practice today as a standard Monday practice this morning. Had a chance to watch the film. Now we're getting ready for obviously an excellent opportunity against a Maryland ACC team in a tremendous environment. Clearly we've got quite a challenge in front of us.
But we're excited about the opportunity to play on Monday night.
THE MODERATOR: We'll go ahead and take questions for Coach Golden.

Q. Coach, since ACC media day, the firestorm with Nevin Shapiro, what has the mood been like with the players in the locker room? Have they been galvanized because of this whole situation?
COACH GOLDEN: I don't know. If we need adversity like this to come closer as a team and to be unified, we're asking for trouble.
I think from our standpoint we've had a good approach. We've been focused. I think the kids came in in good condition. I think they prepared well. I think they came closer together during camp. Now we're ready to put that part of it behind us and look forward to the Maryland game now.

Q. With the quarterback position, Stephen Morris starting against Maryland, pending his performance, if he comes out and has an exceptional performance, will he automatically be the starter for the Ohio State game or will you open that up when Jacory Harris is eligible to come back?
COACH GOLDEN: We have two or three practices during the bye week there. We'll let them compete. Again, the competition was really close, obviously got skewed towards the stretch. It looked like one was going to be ineligible. We didn't know if he was going to be reinstated. That competition abruptly ended. We'll continue it after this game.

Q. Al, what do you think about the NCAA penalties, if the punishment fit the rule violation?
COACH GOLDEN: Again, I've said it all along. I support the NCAA. I've supported the investigation. I thought our kids did a tremendous job being open and honest. That was the feedback we got from them.
In terms of how I feel about the penalties they got, I have no idea what the young people said. I have no idea what actually transpired. The NCAA felt that was just. They reinstated five of our young people. Seven others have to serve a game or multiple games. Obviously, they have to make repayment.
Again, I support that. I'm glad we have a chance to move on. But I am proud of the way our young people handled the situation with their honesty. I know the NCAA has said that as well.

Q. As far as your defense, Al, you're going to be missing quite a few starters because of that. Can you talk about that. Might your rotation change because you have so many young guys?
COACH GOLDEN: No, we've always had the philosophy that you bring your two-deep and you rotate. So we'll continue to rotate throughout the game. It's a great opportunity. I mean, I'm disappointed for some of our guys because they're seniors and they're suspended for this game. But at the same time there's a lot of younger guys, a lot of guys that are getting an incredible opportunity. I know they're going to make the most of it.

Q. Are there going to be any appeals as far as the individual players who have been suspended?
COACH GOLDEN: Yeah, again, that's up to the individual players. Right now the university is not seeking an appeal for anybody. We're not currently working on an appeal with anybody. Again, that's up to the individual and their family.

Q. Coach, can you talk about what you saw from Stephen Morris throughout camp, particularly in the final few practices? What would your decision have been had Jacory not been suspended?
COACH GOLDEN: Well, it's impossible to answer your last question. It's impossible to answer because we hadn't even had the second scrimmage and news started breaking and Jacory's name was mentioned. At that point we basically had to abort the competition, if you will, and make sure that Stephen was ready.
Stephen was certainly up to the challenge. I think they were competing. They were neck-and-neck. I think anybody on the team would tell you that. The players themselves felt that whoever the selection was we could win with.
I think the bottom line was that Stephen really came on strong last four or five practices, certainly the last scrimmage, then really we turned the reins over to him last week and early this morning once the news came down.

Q. Can you give me your thoughts on Spence Whipple as a top backup? How much of a concern is it to you to only have two quarterbacks going into the Maryland game?
COACH GOLDEN: Well, we'll have three. A.J. has played quarterback for two years. A.J. is a bright kid, can move his feet. Obviously he's played the position for two years. We'll make sure we'll have three ready and we'll have three at the game.
But, Whip is steady. He's smart. A coach's son. Really bright. He carries it over to the game. He's the kind of guy who, even though he doesn't get as many reps during the pre-season, he's been getting a lot of reps over the last five or six practices.
He can operate the offense despite not getting the reps because he knows it so well. He is a quick learner, and he is smart.

Q. Are you more concerned about your defense going into this game than the offense?
COACH GOLDEN: I didn't understand the first part.

Q. Regarding the suspension.
COACH GOLDEN: There's losses on both sides.
Going into the first game, you're concerned about it all. The kicking game generally can be the big difference in openers. We've been concerned about that. Clearly we have more guys missing from the defensive side than the offense. But the guys that are missing on the offense are key guys, too.
Again, it's not going to change our approach or what we've been doing; it's just going to give guys an opportunity to step up.

Q. Little sigh of relief with so many guys will have a one-game suspension?
COACH GOLDEN: I think that's fair. I think that's absolutely a correct assumption, that we had five guys that were reinstated, and five others that are just serving one game.
Again, I don't know the extent of the conversations or what the NCAA garnered from their conversations with our young people. But it appears from the results that what these young people did is something that is clearly a reinstatement case, so it's restitution of payment, serve a game, then be reinstated. From that standpoint, it's clear-cut.

Q. Leaves you more hopeful for your season?
COACH GOLDEN: I've always been hopeful for our season. I'm excited. Like I said, we have great kids on this team. We have a great opportunity on Monday night. We have a no-excuse mentality. We're not going to start feeling sorry for ourselves. Nobody else is. We got to get up, get working, make sure we play the way we're capable of playing on Monday night.

Q. Have you spoken to the eight players who are facing suspension now? How are their spirits? What was your message to them?
COACH GOLDEN: We met with them individually. We had gotten word that the NCAA was going to release. Everybody thinks we had prior notification. We literally had 15 minutes to get everybody together. All I knew all day yesterday, right up until about 5:00, we had 12 that were declared ineligible. At 5:00 we got the reading. We had to hurry up and turn it around.
We met with everybody associated, whether they were reinstated or whether they had to serve a suspension. We met with them independently. The athletic director made sure he talked to them collectively.

Q. Will A.J. play safety at all?
COACH GOLDEN: Correct. Yeah, A.J. has been doing a great job as a safety, on special teams. He also is prepared to play backup quarterback for us.

Q. Shawn Eichorst came out with a statement that said eight student-athletes were declared ineligible by UM last week. When you talk about 12, you're talking about the extra four?
COACH GOLDEN: Everybody keeps confusing this because somebody leaked or presented a story. All I'm going to tell you is what I've been privy to.
We had to declare 12 student-athletes ineligible. That was the way it's been for however many days now. At 5:00 last night it came back that eight were suspended and four or five were reinstated, however it shook out.

Q. I just saw something that eight were declared ineligible. I was trying to clear it up.
COACH GOLDEN: You have to speak to Shawn on that. Shawn and the president know more than I do. I don't know anything that transpired in any of the interviews. I'm not privy to that. All I set out to do was to cooperate with the NCAA.

Q. You talked about Stephen's performance in training camp. Talk about his character, having to lead the team, tough environment, with all the lights on and the TV cameras rolling against Maryland.
COACH GOLDEN: Again, I said it all spring. There's a lot of coaches that would love to have the situation that we have at quarterback going into this year. We have two guys that are starters, two guys with experience. Again, this isn't his first game. He played in many games last year and obviously played in a bowl game in front of a national audience and played pretty well.
So he has confidence, as he should. I'm always comfortable with the offense. He's really done a good job not just in the spring but on his own in the summer of developing.
The kids around him believe in him. I think he's done a nice job. These last three practices, he needs to be sharp, he knows that. He's got a good approach and good attitude right now. He's got more command of the huddle than he did at any point in the spring.

Q. Sorry to belabor all this. Heard bits and pieces from Randy earlier about a conversation you had with him. Did you call him? Can you sum that up?
COACH GOLDEN: Again, it was getting on the same page. Their depth chart was ready to be released, was released. Ours was not. I told Randy it would be disingenuous if I released a depth chart at 12 noon yesterday and then we were hoping to hear back from the NCAA. We didn't know if it was going to happen yesterday. We were surprised as anybody when we got a call at 4:15. By 5:00, we sat the student-athletes down and I returned a call and a text to Randy and said that what we release here in the next 90 minutes is going to be for real.
I just wanted to make sure he knew we weren't playing any games but we were clearly going to be releasing a depth chart that was completely inaccurate and I thought that would be disingenuous. We're two ACC opponents. Randy and I have played a lot against each other the last four years. As a courtesy, I reached out to him.

Q. You're required to do that by noon on Monday?
COACH GOLDEN: I don't know. I don't know. I have no idea.

Q. There's a requirements for coaches.
COACH GOLDEN: It's a requirement on Monday to do that, is that what you're saying?

Q. I don't know.
THE MODERATOR: This is no requirement there. Our schools are usually in agreement of exchanging depth charts on Sunday night for a Saturday game, but there's not a requirement or rule.
With that, coach, thanks for being with us. Good luck this weekend.
COACH GOLDEN: Thank you.
THE MODERATOR: This concludes today's edition of the ACC football coaches teleconference. Thanks for being with us. Join us next Wednesday at 10:30 for next week's teleconference.

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