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POINSETTIA BOWL: BOISE STATE VS NORTHERN ILLINOIS

December 16, 2015

Bryan Harsin

San Diego, California

THE MODERATOR: He just completed his second full season of the Boise State Broncos. Here is Head Coach Bryan Harsin.

COACH HARSIN: Thank you, Bruce. I actually had the privilege of playing in the Poinsettia Bowl in 2008, and the Holiday Bowl in 2011, so this has been nothing but a great experience. We're excited to be here. We finished our San Jose State game, and there was a representative from the Poinsettia Bowl right there, before I went to do the media, and he was asking me, "Would you be interested in the bowl game," and that's never happened. I was like, "Absolutely. We would love to go there!"

Our team is fired up to be here. This is obviously an area we talk about recruiting, big for us, so to have our family, friends, people that we go after in this area is also big, but more important, it's about the experience for our players, and these guys have worked really hard.

We haven't quite had the season in some ways that we have had in the past, but we are excited about where we are now. We've had a few of the injuries, as well, but couldn't be more excited to be here. Playing against NIU, Coach Carey said that, you know, you watch these guys in November and what a tremendous job they do, because they're always on TV. So I've always been a fan and watched them, didn't know much about them.

When we obviously got the opponent of who we were playing we started watching the tape and if you pop the tape on, what you see is a blue collar team that goes out there and does exactly what he says, hard-working, run the ball, physical, get after you, play great defense, and we're trying to find a weakness in there right now as we game plan, and they've got very good players.

What a great match-up. I know this: Our team's attention on our opponent, they've got it! We're going through finals right now, and guys are trying to do both things and watch tape and prepare, but that hasn't been hard for them to pop that tape on there and know what we're getting into. So we couldn't be more excited to play in this game, we're looking forward to getting here and getting to practice and then hopefully going out there on the 23rd and putting a good product out there and watching our guys play hard. With that, open it up for questions.

Q. Coach, you mentioned the recruiting angle and obviously establishing a pipeline in Southern California, having been here in '08 and also experiences like the Fiesta Bowl and going into Phoenix. How much do you notice bowl games impacting how you are able to kind of extend the brand for recruits?
COACH HARSIN: It's huge. You know, you're on that stage, and everybody in bowl season, especially in a bowl game like this, everybody is watching, your brand is out there. Where it's placed on the 23rd at 1:30, you're going to get a lot of people viewing that game. We will also travel well, too. We will have quite a few fans here, we have always done that, and Bronco Nation will be strong, but anytime you have a chance, especially playing the type of opponent that we're playing, there is going to be a lot of eyes on that game.

That's an opportunity for your brand, that's an opportunity to go out there and hopefully put together a good performance, and then all those guys that you are talking about recruiting, especially in this area, they're going to have a chance to see that firsthand, probably have quite a few guys at the game.

Q. I think the count on your team is 44 Californians. You just kind of referenced Southern California, San Diego --
COACH HARSIN: Right.

Q. And you kind of chuckled about it. Why have you guys been so successful in this state given the competition you have here?
COACH HARSIN: Well, I think this. You know, Boise is a place if you haven't been there, I think the first thing, we joke about this, I think it's a blue field with a bunch of potato farms around it, okay? So when we get 'em on campus, when we get 'em to Boise, Idaho, I think they see that environment, not just the football facilities and the school itself but Boise, Idaho and the people.

There is quite a few people from California that have moved into Boise, Idaho as well, so I just think they feel like this is a place they can come there and thrive. And for us, locationwise, too, where families can see us, the games we play, our opponents, it just makes sense, and obviously population is big as well.

Being in the west has been very good for us. We're also in Texas; we have some connections there as well, but California has been our area. So to be here, to be in this game, it's huge for us, and it's something that we also look at not just who we are playing and what we're doing in the bowl game but where we're going, and this is big.

Q. -- so many teams would love to be in that situation to build up, and I guess that's probably the answer is because you recruit well, and you can get 'em to Boise when in fact probably earlier it was harder?
COACH HARSIN: Right, well, yeah, we have been in this area for a while. So from that standpoint, I think we're just building on that, but, you know, more importantly, the recruiting is obviously big, but the focus is about this game, and I want to make that very clear. The focus is about trying to prepare ourselves to play a very good football team, a team that's been to six straight conference games, and however you want to compare and say, you know, with the group of five and all that, I know this: I know Northern Illinois, and watching those guys, and how they have prepared, and what they have done over the years. We're looking forward to the competition and looking forward to going out there and playing.

That's the most important thing. Recruiting and all that, that is big, but the number one factor for our guys is to go in there and prepare for this game and try to play their very best.

Q. How much did it help that Heather was doing ads for the potato van?
COACH HARSIN: What's that?

Q. One of our reporters, who lives in Boise now, is doing ads now for the potato van, Boise potatoes? You don't have a clue what I'm talking about, do you?
COACH HARSIN: I'm trying to figure out where you're going with that, but potatoes and Idaho, that's big, so thumbs up!

Q. I will find you a link.
COACH HARSIN: Okay.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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