Sept. 9, 2008
New Orleans -
Tulane head coach Bob Toledo met with the local media day during his weekly press luncheon at the Wilson Center. The Green Wave dropped a 20-6 decision to No. 13 Alabama last week but looks to rebound against No. 14 East Carolina in its home opener at the Louisiana Superdome this Saturday at 2 p.m.
On Team effort
First of all, with a 20-6 loss obviously we're disappointed we lost the football game. I don't believe in moral victories. I don't think they're worth a darn. I think someone once said it's like kissing your sister and it's probably true. Even though my sister's a little older than me, I've never kissed her. Anyway the point is we were glad that we played the game and played it well, but disappointed that we lost. But I tell you what, I was really proud of our effort. Our effort was outstanding from start to finish. We never gave in, we never quit. It would've been very easy after those first two kick situations in the first quarter to cash it in and we didn't. I don't want to get caught up too much in how good we are either because there was two possessions that they didn't have because they returned the punt for a touchdown and blocked the punt for a touchdown...so that's two less possessions they had, which means they would've had the ball more and hopefully we would've stopped them both of those occasions. It also means we wouldn't have had the ball as much, okay, so again, I don't want to throw water on the fire and put up a big ole smoke screen, but on the other hand I don't want to get carried away with all of the great things we did. We have a long way to go yet.
On gaining confidence and playing better football
But the one thing is I really believe we're gaining confidence. We played physical. We played fast. We are a much improved football team. And I said that earlier and a lot of people don't realize what I'm trying to say. I'm trying to say that we are better than a year ago at this time and I also said I don't know if that means more victories, but it means we're getting better. The program is improving. And that's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to build a program back up to get us so we're very competitive. We actually played 16 freshmen. They played in the game. Two of them were actually walk-ons. Two of them were special teams and one of them actually played a little wide receiver at the end.
On missing opportunities
The thing that was kind of disappointing I think is that we didn't capitalize on the opportunities we had. We had several opportunities to make some plays and we didn't. Two times we were inside the five-yard line. We didn't get any touchdowns and I know one of the things that happened was we got the ball first and goal on the four and we weren't running the ball very well, you know, they were very good against the run. And my thinking was let's take three shots to the goal line, complete 1 out of the 3 and we got a touchdown. Well, we were 0-for-3 and had to kick a field goal, so that was disappointing for me. We recovered a fumble, you know we call it sudden change, we practice it, we scrimmage that situation in practice...sudden change. We get the ball a couple plays and its third and one and we run the fullback, we get knocked back for a loss. Now, if we were to make a yard or a foot or whatever, and it was fourth and inches, I probably would have gone for it, but it was fourth and two, we kicked a field goal and missed. So we missed a lot of opportunities. We need to run the ball better. And some of that is just giving credit to Alabama. Their front seven was very good. They were very big, very physical and they prevented us from running the ball as well as we wanted to but we got to run it better.
On Special Teams
The whole key though was special teams. I really believe that our special teams let us down in this football game and it's not that we didn't practice it, believe me, we've got a lot of meeting time, we practice it, I even scrimmaged the kicking game and I normally don't scrimmage the kicking game. We scrimmage kick off, kick-off return, punt, and punt return in full speed, live, game-type situations. A lot of coaches won't do that and I did it because we've got a lot of young guys and I want them to do it under pressure, but it hurt us in the game. We missed a block on the punt; we had a guy that didn't play in the game that was supposed to be in that position. We put a sophomore in there and his effort wasn't very good. He missed a tackle. We did a poor job and we've got to improve on special teams so we're going to look at some other people in some of those situations and we're going to continue to work it very hard.
On this Coming Week:
Skip Holtz has done a great job there. We ended the season with them last year and I remember going on the field and I believe we only had fifty-three players. It was the day after thanksgiving. And I looked at their guys running out of their little pirate ship over there and they had 130 football players. And I'll never forget Skip coming up to me before the game and saying, "When's the rest of your guys coming out" and I said, "This is it baby! This is all we got!" So it's kind of funny. He looked at me like, you know...as I counted 130 of those purple helmets. Anyway, right now, obviously they're two and 0. They beat a really good Virginia tech team. Beat them at their own game, blocking a punt. And they beat a really good West Virginia team this last week. They have not surprised me. When we started the season I told a lot of people that in my mind they were the best team returning this year. I think they've got probably the most players returning and they've got the best group of players as a whole returning. So it doesn't surprise me that right now they're ranked 14th in the nation. If I were a betting man, I would've told you they were going to probably win those first two games and they have. They're experienced. They're extremely physical. They're very athletic. I just think they're outstanding. I've said to one person, I think they might be better than Alabama. And the reason I say that is because Alabama is a young football team. They've got some excellent players, but they played a lot of young guys. These guys are an experienced football team, unlike Alabama was. So, I think they're really good. Their quarterback, Pat Pinkney, you guys are in for a treat if you watch the game. He is really outstanding and very accurate. He's completed 80 percent of his passes. Can make big plays and beat you with his legs as well as his arm. Dwayne Harris, their wide receiver and kick returner, they put him in a lot of different positions to get him the ball. Their running backs (Jonathan) Williams and (Brandon) Simmons are outstanding. They've got a couple really good lineman and (Doug) Palmer. Defensive linemen are really big and physical. You've got guys that have transferred back from other schools, guys that are really good football players...(Zach) Slate and (Van) Eskridge and (Matt) Dodge. Those guys are really good.
On Players of the Week
For this week, our players of the week, obviously our quarterback Kevin Moore. We picked him as the player of the week and you know his stats. He really did a great job for his first start he was really poised. He knew exactly what was going on the field. He came off the field and if I asked him to recap the series he knew exactly what the defense was doing. And that's impressive to me. A lot of times guys don't see what's going on they just snap the ball and they play. He saw exactly what was going on and he never got rattled. He got the heck knocked out of him. He did not lose us the football game and that's what I told him this year. I said, hey let's go in the game, don't worry about winning the football game for us, and just try not to lose it for us. And he did a good job. We didn't turn the ball over and I think we only had four penalties. We really did a good job.
Defensively, Josh Lumar was our defensive player of the game. He's a senior. He came on a corner blitz one time and really made a big play when he knocked the heck out of (John Parker) Wilson, their quarterback.
And special team wise, Jordan Ellis. He really did a nice job, knocked their guy out of the game who had been returning punts on us.
On Injuries
Injury wise, Travis Olexa is out for the season. He's been out for the last few weeks. He had knee surgery. He hurt it actually lifting weights in the off-season squatting. So he had knee surgery and he's out for the season. Tyler Rice on the 11th play of the game pulled his hamstring. And I don't know how a big guy that slow can pull a hamstring, but anyway, he did. So he's out probably for at least a couple weeks. That's what they're telling me. So he was our starting guard so Joey Ray went in and really did a nice job. We're going to put Joey at left guard and leave Andrew Nierman at the right guard position. And kind of go that route. Tyler Echols, our wide receiver, he's actually our 6th receiver, sprained his ankle yesterday. It looks like he's going to be a while now. And Mike Batiste has a little bit of a hamstring pull as well. So he's very questionable for the game.
On if he's been able to pass on the belief of `no moral victories' to his team
Yeah, I think so. I tell you what; we've changed the habits and the attitudes of this football program. I really believe that. They've bought in to what we're trying to say. They trust the coaching staff and they bought into the program and I've told them, I've said hey, you know, you guys played good enough to win but you didn't. And the important thing is you win football games, not you win by moral victories because that doesn't matter. You either win or you lose. And they feel the same way. They agree that there are no moral victories. You know, you go out and you go to win the football game. So I think they bought into that.
On what it would mean for Tulane to get a win over a ranked team, which hasn't happened in 26 years
Well, that'd be huge for our program obviously. Not only are they a ranked team, but they're also a conference team and it would be huge to win a game like that...that's a conference game, a ranked team, and our home opener. So if we could do that, it would really be unbelievable for our football program. We've struggled in the past and we have not arrived yet. We are getting better and that's why you play the game. I know Friday night when I got up in front of the team I put up on the board `Arkansas State and A&M' and I put `Bowling Green and Pittsburgh' and I put all the games, I put `Louisiana Monroe and Alabama' last year. `Appalachian State/Michigan.' So, it's possible. With an 85 scholarship limit and a game you could see it in West Virginia and Virginia Tech, they are probably not the same program were a couple of years ago. It's a trickle down effect. And what's happening is there's teams across the country that are getting better players they wouldn't have had without the 85 scholarship limit. And I think there's much more parity in college football and I believe, like I said, that we are capable of beating anybody on our schedule if we play well and don't beat ourselves.
On what Nick Saban said to him after the game
After the game, he said, you have to be real proud of your football team. He said you played extremely hard and extremely well. And then, I mean, I've got the utmost respect for Nick, they served us after the game. We went up and they gave us a hot meal in their letterman's club before we took off. And Mal Moore, their AD was there. And we were eating and at a little after eleven Nick Saban came back up and he talked to our entire team and he said I've got nothing but the utmost respect for you and your program and your coaching staff. He said I only wish that we could play like that all the time. He said you've got to be proud of the way you performed tonight. He said you played with great passion; great intensity, great effort and you had us on the ropes. And it was nice of him to come and say that to our football team.
On Tulane developing a more physical style of play
I talked about it when I first got here. People told me `you can't run the football at Tulane, you just cannot run the football.' Well, we had a 2,000-yard rusher. And our defense was the number one rush defense in the conference last year. That had not happened in a long time. And part of that is because of the offense. The offense keeps the defense off of the field. And we have drills in practice that are very demanding. Today, on Tuesday, we have a five-minute, what we call an alley drill. One against one and it has nothing to do with football...its how tough you are. Its two rams batting heads and just seeing how physical you can be and so we're trying to preach being physical. If you run the ball you become more physical. I'm watching Virginia Tech and West Virginia. They're going with all this spread stuff too and they're not as physical as they used to be. It's all spread them out, try to create mismatches. It's like basketball on grass, but I tell you what, they're not as physical as they used to be. We were very physical against Alabama. They're a physical football team. Their offense is very similar to ours. But I really believe that you have got to run the football. And you've got to stop the run if you want to be successful.
I think we can wear people down eventually. I think we can ultimately score some points and I think we can keep our defense off the field, which means their offense is not on the field. We had eighty something plays to their forty nine. You've got to keep the football and keep it away from your opponent.
On if Tulane's football team has come out of the Alabama game with a higher confidence level, despite the loss
No question. And what makes you feel good is to realize what could've happened if we don't get the punt return for a touchdown and the punt block for a touchdown and miss two field goals. They had one drive the whole game. And they scored a touchdown. They had one touchdown. Now they have not had a touchdown scored against them on offense. Against Clemson there was a punt return. So they're very good on defense. And they're really good on offense too. We played them really well ourselves. But yes, it gives us confidence that we can play with anybody.
On if he's talked with special teams
Yes, I have. I started with the coaches and that trickled down to the players. And today I'm going to have another meeting with special teams. And we singled some players out yesterday and I'm going to single some more out today. And we're actually not going to start some people because they didn't play well on special teams. They think that they're just here to play offense or defense. And they think that `I can take a break on special teams.' Well they showed that by not playing special teams well you can get beat. And I've been preaching that and preaching it and it happened. And after the game our team got together in the locker room and guys were challenging each other to step up and be on special teams. But there's a couple guys who wont start because they performed extremely poorly on special teams this week.
On if he's talked to his kickers/punters
Our punter is going to be Thevenot. Darren deRochemont is not punting the ball well. He's not punted in practice well. He's inconsistent. And I don't care about kicking the ball sixty yards. You've got a strong leg and can kick sixty yards, doesn't matter. I want it high; I want them to fair catch it/. A net punt is important to me. If we can net punt 38 yards, that's super. But we net punted 7 yards. And that's probably 119th in the nation right now.
On confronting players in front of the team about their play
Yes, I did. We have a guy on the kickoff team. We've been practicing live kickoffs all camp. Did it in spring practice. And our front line is supposed to back up, four lines, turn around and block a particular person. We had one guy the ball is kicked and he went straight ahead. He tried to knock a guy out and he missed him anyway. We got an offside penalty after a big return. We don't teach that. So yea, I chewed some fannies yesterday because they're supposed to do what they're taught to do. And if they do what we tell them to do, they'll be successful. But when they go do their own thing they only put us in harms way.
On playing younger players to build the experience level
That's what we're doing right now. We're building it. We had three true freshman offensive linemen play the last drive. A true freshman tight end. A true fullback. True tailback. Fourth and one, I've got Kasey Stelly at fullback and Nathan Austin at tailback. True freshman. One from Saint Thomas (high school), one from Barb (high school). They make the first down. And that's what you do. We need to build some quality depth and that's what we're trying to do with young guys and I'm playing all those young guys. As many young guys as I can play I'm going to play. And eventually we will get to the point where we're going to play experienced people. I really believe we're probably a year away from being a really good football team. And that's not to concede anything this year. But we're going to have a lot of guys returning next year and if we continue to have the recruiting class that I think we can have, I think eventually we will be very, very competitive in this conference.
On if any more true freshman are going to play this year
I see a couple more playing. I knew they were a step behind us, like (Emmanuel) Aluko. He missed a lot of camp, but eventually I see him playing and he didn't play in this game. There are some other guys that didn't play. We will have several more freshmen play before the season's up. (Alex) Lauricella. We wanted him to play more. He had a hip flexor injury all camp and missed camp. And now he's got a little staph infection on his leg. So he played a few plays on special teams, but we would eventually like to play him as a nickel back and maybe even as a corner. But he's just not ready because he missed so much practice.
On the quarterbacks
One of the reasons I played Kevin Moore last year after the first quarter of the season, I felt that Anthony Scelfo could possibly sign a pro baseball contract if he had the type of year that we all thought he could have. And that's why I split time with them in order to prepare for this year. And we took a little hit because of it. But it was important for the future of the program. In spring, I told Anthony to concentrate solely on baseball. He knew the system, he didn't have to come out and prove anything to me football-wise. I wanted to get Kevin Moore and Joe Kemp more reps. And then of course, Anthony had a great season. I think he just made the all-star team out in the baseball league and he signed. So it worked out great. Kevin Moore got playing time experience and it wasn't mop up time. it was playing time. And then of course he had a good spring because he got a chance to get a lot of reps because Anthony wasn't playing. He worked extremely hard this summer. He got those guys together for throwing in the summer. And his understanding of the offense is really good. That's the one thing that's holding Joe Kemp back right now. Joe Kemp probably has more physical ability than Kevin Moore, but he doesn't have the knowledge of the offense right now. He's too far behind. Having been a scout team guy all last year and really missing the spring the year before like Kevin had. So, he's behind, but he has a lot of talent.
On if he's ever, in his career, started 16 freshman like he did this past weekend against Alabama
No. I've played freshman, but I would venture to say maybe a half a dozen of them. I don't ever recall playing that many freshmen in the first game. Now eventually, like at UCLA in my last year, we ended up playing 22 freshman and red shirt freshman. I had two quarterbacks that played. One ended up transferring to Oregon State and now he's playing pro football, but I had a bunch of young guys my last year at UCLA. And then as they were seniors they won ten games, but I wasn't there.
