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TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL: CENTRAL FLORIDA v BAYLORDecember 30, 2013George O'LearyGLENDALE, ARIZONA THE MODERATOR: We'll start with Coach O'Leary. Questions, please. Q. With two days till game day, what is the perception for your kids knowing you're about to be playing in your first BCS bowl game? COACH O'LEARY: Well, they've been excited since we got the invitation to the BCS bowl. It hasn't changed. I think we have a young enough team, they're like wild ponies out there wanting to get into the game. Again, I can't say enough about the Fiesta Bowl, the committees, just the outstanding job they've done as hosts. Again, just everything has been really outstanding as far as the organization and what's taken place. We've practiced each day for a couple of hours. We'll be back to practice today. The kids are looking forward to competition. That's one thing about this team, they're great competitors. They're going to need to be against this great Baylor squad. Q. Was there a specific point in this season when you knew you had something special and that this team was capable of making it to this point? COACH O'LEARY: Well, each year I write myself a note and put what I think our record could be if we play the way we're supposed to play. I'll be honest, we surpassed it as far as when I broke the envelope open at the end of the year. I think probably the turning point in the season was the Louisville game where we came back on a Friday night, away game against the No.6 ranked team in the country, and did what we had to get done as far as winning the football game. I think from that point we played our ups and downs. We played a lot of good games. We have games we'd like to have back. We won games, but we needed to play better. Obviously, January 1st we need to play really well against this great Baylor squad. Q. You talked about when you first took the job, you came back to campus and told Dr.Hitt, you wanted to change the name of the university to University of Orlando so you didn't have to explain where it was. How much do you think this type of stage has changed what the perception of UCF is, where it is, what you've been doing? COACH O'LEARY: I think no question on the East Coast they know where UCF is. I think anytime you play in a BCS game, it's national exposure. Obviously, looking at the press today, it's very important to a lot of people. Obviously I think when you look at UCF, what we've accomplished as a program, I think the notoriety the school gets is outstanding. You can't buy that exposure if you're marketing or anything else. I think it's a great season. It affects a lot more than just your football program. It affects the whole school, the admissions. A lot of things are very upbeat. A lot of people of walking around, proud of UCF and what they've accomplished. Q. With Blake weighing this decision of whether to go into the NFL, how do you think he's handled the increased attention? COACH O'LEARY: Blake who? Q. Your quarterback. COACH O'LEARY: The quarterback for us (smiling)? I don't know anything about the NFL. I can tell you about UCF. I think Blake has handled it outstanding. I think the media has tried to prong him a little bit. But he's kept his focus where it needs to be, on his college career. We'll sit down after the last game with his folks and give him the information I have. I've been in the pros. I have an idea what has to take place there. I'll gather as much credible information as possible, not just what talking heads say, but go to the real people that do the draft thing, and we'll go from there. I want to do whatever is best for Blake Bortles. Whatever decision he comes up with with his family, I'll do nothing but wish him well. But I will tell him the positives and the negatives. Q. It was 10 years to the day that you got your BCS bid from when you were hired. Look back and tell us how far things have come. COACH O'LEARY: I think the big thing is when you take a job, you take a job, you have a philosophy, and you stay with that philosophy. There's a lot of ways to do things. I think a lot of coaches learn the tricks of the trade rather than the trade. I think as long as you stay in the trade, you continue on the same path that you started with, eventually you're going to have the culture and program that you want. I think that's what we have right now. We have the culture. We do well academically. We win at football. What's amazing is last three out of four years we've won 10 games, just nobody knew it. Now with the BCS game, an 11‑win season, it's more out there nationally. I think the big thing is that it's a culture that we formed. The student‑athletes are here to get a degree, to play the best football they can play. Each year it's gotten a little better to the point now where I think you're only as good as your senior class. I think they set the tone in the locker room, on the athletic field. They know right from wrong. It's an experience watching them coach up the young freshmen coming in, the way we do things at UCF, the culture that's been formed there. But it's a process. It just don't happen. I think each year we've gotten better in recruiting. I think each year facility‑wise the administration has done an outstanding job of making sure we have what we need to win with. Again, I think the players have gone out and understand that, which I'm very proud, that we're basically in the top 10 in the country in APR. We've done just a good job not only on the football field, but overall as far as the student‑athletes are concerned. Q. I know you have a good offense, Baylor has a good defense. It seems like the focus, you're a defensive‑minded coach. Briles is an offensive guy. Is that the fun matchup, your strength taken on Briles' offensive strength? COACH O'LEARY: Neither of us have taken a snap. I don't think we have a problem there (laughter). I've known Art for a number of years. They have a very explosive offense. I don't think anybody is going to stop them. I think you have to slow them down and get off the field. That's the big thing when you play Baylor. Three‑and‑outs are a premium as far as your defense is concerned. I think the big thing is going to be, I always looked at big games as they come down to special teams, penalties and turnovers. Eventually they are a factor in the game. But I would say both defenses will have their hands full. I know ours will, all right? Hopefully Baylor's will. Q. You talked about the process of 10 years getting to this point. What happens now? You said it's the difficult job staying at this point. Are there things you institute at this point to maintain? What's the challenge at this point? COACH O'LEARY: No, I think basically it's hard to get to this level. I think the key is to stay at this level. That's where everybody falls off a little bit. But I don't think you change a lot. I said earlier I think the program's culture is there. Obviously recruiting has to, again, each year get better and better. I think the key is obviously the administration understands what you need to do to win with as far as the program is concerned, and stability. I think that's the key to college football, is stability, keeping the coaches around, not letting them go to another school because of more money or whatever. I think that's the job of the administration and myself as far as keeping the good coaches here and not losing coaches. We've lost one already to a head job this year. But again, I think stability in the program, stability in the players, the type of players you're recruiting, increasing the talent level of the players you're recruiting. Q. A couple years ago UCF tried to get away from, Central Florida. Do you think a win in this BCS bowl game can get to ESPN to stop putting Central Florida and give UCF a little recognition? COACH O'LEARY: Every time they interview me, it's UCF. That's how we want to be known as. I think most people in the media deal with it that way. I think the brand right now is the one I wear on my chest, it's known throughout the whole country. I couldn't say that when I first arrived. You get off a plane, wherever you're traveling, they know the brand as far as the stacked logo. That takes time. I was talking about developing the culture for the program. I think the school has done a great job of not having a lot of different brands, having one brand, and selling it. Q. You have shuffled in a lot of guys in and out on defense, young guys. You've had the same two safeties all season. How important has it been for the defense to have Clayton and Brandon back there? COACH O'LEARY: Any sport you play, you have to be strong up the middle, no matter what sport it is. In college football, you don't have a quarterback, you're in trouble. You don't have a center that can make checks, you're in trouble. You don't have those middle linebackers and safeties, you're going to struggle. I think it's been critical they've stayed healthy. They're involved in a lot of plays. I wish probably sometimes a little less plays as far as in the run game of the. I think they're people that consistently get the job done as far as each game day. Q. You talked about losing your defensive coordinator. How much do you believe that's going to affect the defense coming into this big game? COACH O'LEARY: I'm always one that I'm happy for the coach that took a head job. You take a head job, I think there's too much going on in the other program for you to have your mind where it should be. Head job, you got to hire a staff, get rid of a staff, hire support people. Again, anytime a guy takes a job within my program, they move on, all right? I wish them well and all this, I'm happy for them. But I want people that are 100% devoted to our program, not the one they just was hired for. Effect‑wise, I'm enjoying myself. I'm on the field now myself coaching, which I love to do. I'm right in the middle of the whole deal as far as on defense. I'll help where I have to help on the sidelines as far as game day. Q. You talked about expanding the brand the UCF, how much it's grown. Does recruiting the local area in Florida, are you seeing now kids who have grown up as fans of UCF? COACH O'LEARY: Well, obviously you're seeing a lot more UCF shirts around, UCF people involved. It's amazing the amount of alumni that work in the schools currently around. You had 150,000 alumni in the seven counties of Orlando. We're seeing a lot more interest. It's like every town. Local kids want to go away. The selling point is keeping them home. I think the assistant coaches do a great job of selling the program. There's some kids that just want to leave the state. A year later, they're calling and wanting to come back because it's too far. Again, I think there's no question, the season, overall collectively the seasons we've had, there's a lot more interest locally as far as the program is concerned. Q. You talked about facing Art. You faced Phil Bennett. Does this look like Art Briles' offense and Phil Bennett's defense? COACH O'LEARY: Art is putting those wide receivers out too far. I told him yesterday to put them in a little more, help is out (laughter). They know how to attack defense, they know how to attack an offense. I have the greatest respect for both those fellows. They were both head coaches in the conference when I was there. They've done a tremendous job. But if Art could just move those receivers in a little bit, it would really help. If you see Art, ask him if he could do me a favor, move them in a little bit, we'll be all set (smiling). Q. The players mentioned you have a T‑shirt, Stay humble. Is that underdog mentality something you have sort of carried throughout this season? COACH O'LEARY: Are we an underdog (smiling)? Q. I think so. COACH O'LEARY: Where you from? Q. Waco. COACH O'LEARY: What the hell (smiling). I don't look at those things. That's what is great about college football, you tee it up on any given day, both teams had better bring their A game. Both teams are talented enough to win games. Obviously they have this year. But we're young. We only have the seven seniors on the team, so we're young. I thought next year would be a real dominant year for us. But Baylor's explosive. Normally you look at some of the teams, they have a great passing attack, run attack, Baylor has both. They make you defend the field. Again, you got to be able to tackle in space. You don't tackle in space, you have a long night. That's critical. Defensively Phil Bennett has been around a long time, seen a lot of offenses. We'll expect a lot of different looks from him. Again, our offense is going to have to be sharp and move the chains as far as that game is concerned. Q. You mentioned it's the first BCS bowl game for your program. Have you gotten the impression from the players they're not just happy to be here, they're out to come out a winning football team? COACH O'LEARY: We've been to a lot of bowls now. This is the first BCS game ‑ same as Baylor if I read right. But, no, they're happy to be here and represent the school. They've had a great season. They're great competitors. That's what I can say about the team. We're young in a lot of areas, but I think they compete. They're looking forward to it. They've watched a ton of Baylor tape. They have great respect for what they've done, and they should. Again, I think we have to go out and be who we are come January 1st. That's what my expectations are from the team. Q. Besides winning games, what do you think the job of a college coach is? How seriously do you take that mission? COACH O'LEARY: I think number one job, when you give a scholarship, it says 'student‑athlete' on it. Number one, you want to make sure that they're graduating, which is why they're in college, and they grow up to be men. I always say, when you bring freshmen in, when they leave their senior year, you bring in young boys and you want to leave as men. I think that's what we've tried to push in our program. Guys that are responsible, accountable, they understand what life is about. I think that's just part of football. But it's also part of your college growing up type thing, get a degree and get ready for the outside world. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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