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VIZIO FIESTA BOWL: BOISE STATE v ARIZONADecember 27, 2014Mike SanfordGLENDALE, ARIZONA THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. How does it feel to be here? COACH SANFORD: It feels great. Yesterday was a fun time to get here and travel. Obviously it's fun for us to have a reunion of sorts with the players, all the coaches, catch up on how everybody's Christmas was. Honestly, being here, I was ready to be back. It was a great time away. It's time to get back to work. The one thing I feel so far is this is the most prepared I ever felt as a coach and as a player in the nine times I've been to bowl games. I contribute that 100% to Coach Harsin. From the time we got in Boise leading up to this point was outstanding. These players, the way they competed in practice was extremely spirited, they were fast. We were ready to play a game really the morning of the 23rd. I felt like we could have played a game on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The game plan was in. Obviously now the big challenge, most important thing now, is what we do here. We have an opportunity to capitalize on some good preparation leading up to this point. We're looking for this crescendo moment to the 2014 season. If we continue the preparation, that's our goal, what we're here for. Q. What type of challenge is it after three weeks? COACH SANFORD: The biggest thing is the way we practiced. We practiced like we were getting ready to play another game to keep that rhythm. I thought that was a really good idea and kind of a mindset and theme that Coach Harsin laid out for us. We treated that last week in particular as if it truly were a game week, obviously withstanding the actual game, we didn't have one. Our game was opening Christmas gifts, which in a sense is mentally similar to playing a football game (laughter). It's the weekend reward for the work you put in. I think for us just getting back today, fast practice, guys flying around, going to have a chance to see the retention, knowledge. We have some really good stuff in, had a chance to get creative with some of our game plan. At the end of the day we're going to do what's gotten us to this point, that's having a physical rushing attack, going against one of the better fronts in the country, certainly one of the best linebackers in the country, also doing a good job with taking care of the football. That's going to be our goal like it is every week. We have a chance to do that against a really good team. Q. (Question about Jay.) COACH SANFORD: I first want to make it know I'm so proud of Jay, not only what he accomplished on the field, but off the field. When I come to work every day, he puts a smile on my face, I put a smile on his face. That's the first thing, is he's a tremendous young man, a tremendous, high‑character individual that's grown a ton throughout the course of this year and throughout the course of his career at Boise State. In terms of his legacy, we still got one more. I think that's the thing he's most excited about. He had his best week of practice leading up to the 23rd. He has a little something to prove himself. We'll be able to hopefully recap an unbelievable career with a great finish. That's what we're looking for for him and us as a football team. In terms of where I see him, he's one of the more physically gifted, his size, his stature, his ability to extend runs, create after maybe what the play was designed to get, is one of the best I've ever been around. I think he's a starting NFL tailback, I really do believe that. I think he's a guy, within his first two years, he's intelligent, I don't think people realize that, we ask him to do a whole heck of a lot in the pass, protection and run game. We line him up in different spots. We ask him to do a lot, and he never has any problems. I don't think he's missed an assignment or had a mental error this whole season. You know how many reps he's played. I think he's a starting NFL tailback, I really do. He's got the body time. He's shown he's versatile enough to stay throughout the course of the year. Q. (No microphone.) COACH SANFORD: The nature of that position, your film is your résumé, what you do on tape is your résumé. I don't think Jay could have put together a better résumé. I don't know if there's ever been a more versatile season as a pass protector, runningback, than what Jay has done this year. I think it's underappreciated, to be honest. I think as much as his name is talked about on the national landscape, he's underestimated. He's gotten better playing without the ball. So I'm really proud of what he's been able to accomplish to this point. Like I said, the most important thing going forward is what we do on the 31st. That's the big moment we're looking for. Q. To see him get a chance to finish his career on this type of stage, with Grant, how do you feel about that? COACH SANFORD: It's been nothing short of an incredible turnaround. I have always known that Grant was a physically and intellectually gifted quarterback. I've been impressed with his ability to have the ball go where he wants it to go, take off and run, make things happen when things aren't perfect. The only two games we've had, it's been the turnover issue. He's done such an incredible job of taking that to heart. We told him, If you turn the ball over multiple times in the game, we're not going to win, you're not going to play. We ask that of our quarterback position. He's taken that to heart. He's practiced that way and played that way. The other thing about Grant, what we're trying to instill at the quarterback position, we talk about the characteristics of our Boise State quarterback. He truly personifies all five of those characteristics. It's one thing to have characteristics and traits on a wall, it's another thing for young quarterbacks like Alex Ogle and Ryan Finley to be see it personified, to see it lived out. He's shown all five of those characteristics and I couldn't be more proud of the growth he's had this year. Q. Is this the right thing to keep him in there? COACH SANFORD: He absolutely needed to take care of the football in the next few games. That's what we told him. Coach Harsin and myself, we had a great sit‑down. It was very much a serious sit‑down. We said, If we turn the ball over in the quarterback position four, five, six times in the next couple weeks, we're going to move on. That was the challenge that was laid. The thing that Grant took to heart is he needs to throw every ball in practice like it's covered by Richard Sherman. A lot of times you get a scout team look, stuff is wide open, you get complacent with your ball placement. He took that to heart. Every rep he took was highly contested. Q. (No microphone.) COACH SANFORD: Their scheme frees him up a lot, 30‑stack type scheme. He's a tackle machine, a turnover machine, a tackle‑for‑loss machine. We have to do a good job within our schemes and techniques of getting to the second level. He really is a special player. If you don't climb to the second level, he's going to have his run‑of‑the‑mill 17 to 25 tackles per game. That would be about on pace for what he's done this season. The thing I respect most about him is his effort. You look at a big‑name player, you say, That guy is lazy, or, He's really talented, but he doesn't play hard. But everything he's gotten this year, he has earned. He plays whistle to whistle. If he misses a tackle, he always finds himself back in on the fray. That's the thing I respect about him and the way he plays. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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