Nov. 5, 2001
KENTUCKY VS. VANDERBILT
FOOTBALL PRESS CONFERENCE
NOVEMBER 5, 2001
WILDCAT DEN
Head Coach Guy Morriss
On WR Derek Abney:
“Friday night he was pretty sick. He was on IV an hour before the game and then goes out and plays the game of his life with 12 catches. He’s a competitor and coming into his own from a leadership standpoint. He comes to practice every day and practices as hard as anyone we have – pound for pound, he’s probably the toughest kid on our football team right now. He’s a fine individual and a fine student, he comes to work every day and gives a great effort.”
On keeping motivation high:
“I don’t think it gets hard to get the kids up because of the kind of kids that we have. The thing that we have to do a better job of is getting through to them about consistent play. We’re making some of the same mistakes over and over again. We have spurts where we play really good and good things happen to us and then for whatever reason, we’ll shoot ourselves in the foot and not play well and that’s when bad things happen to us. The have to understand in this league, all three phases must be playing together at the same time and play for 60 minutes and not have those kind of lapses.”
On Vanderbilt:
“We are going to have to get ourselves ready to go down there and play a heck of a game. I think they are similar to us as they’ve struggled a little bit but they feel like Kentucky is a team that they can beat, especially playing at home. They’ve had some better performances at home. This is a game that we need to win. We’re going to do everything on our part as coaches that to make sure that they’re ready to play.”
On VU players to watch:
“I think you always have to worry about (Greg) Zolman, he’s having a heck of a year again this year and he has two great receivers, big-play guys. I know that we are going to have to deal with some blitzes again this week from Woody (Widenhofer) and his staff. They do a great job and he understands the blitz package, we have to be prepared for that.”
On injuries:
“We came out of the game with one person nicked up a little bit and that was Quentus Cumby with a thigh bruise but they tell me that he’ll be fine. Matt Brown is doubtful again. For some reason he’s having problems with his shoulder. The plan was to send him to the doctor today and do a MRI on him to find out if there was any further damage or find out a little more specifically what the problem is.”
On play of young offensive line:
“It does make me feel better. They’re going to make some freshman mistakes but for the most part (Jason) Rollins and (Nick) Seitze, who have now started a whopping three games apiece, have given a good account of themselves. I also thought that Matt Huff played pretty well on Saturday making his first start. There are some things that he can clean up but the thing I like about those three kids is that they are playing extremely hard and very aggressively. It’s that old clich? of if they’re not going to bite as pups they’re not going to bite as dogs so I think they are on the right track there.”
On running game:
We are always going to try stay in that balance of 60-40 (pass-run). Again, it’s something where we get down there and see what happens on game day and we’ll have to take what they give us.”
On positives from Saturday’s 17-14 loss to Mississippi State:
“I thought our defense hung in there pretty tough and kept us in the ball game and gave us a chance to win the game late. They made some good plays, but again we had a couple mental lapses. The opening drive of the second half we had chances to get ourselves off the field. We had two sacks but both times we were offsides. Any time you can hang in there that tough and put your offense in position to win the football game, we’re pleased with that. Offensively, the guy that stands out is (Derek) Abney and he continues to get better. (Aaron) Boone made a nice catch in the end zone for the touchdown and he’s still coming on. The three young kids on the offensive line played pretty good.”
On indication if players are writing the season off:
“No, absolutely not and I don’t think they’re going to this week. I think they’ll be excited for about the opportunity to go to Vanderbilt. They see the tapes, they see that they’re making some progress and they see some missed opportunities on things that we can do better, we just have to get those things corrected and move forward. I just think it’s a credit to their character and the kind of kids that they are. They like playing and they’re desperate for a win like all of us are. I think there is some motivation in that. They are understanding that you have to play hard every week and the one thing I feel good about this football team is I never had to question there effort, not once.”
On responsibility of head coach:
“To me, right now, I’m the guy who’s in position to keep this football team up. If I go around here moping that we didn’t win on Saturday and we didn’t get the calls or the breaks, if I have that kind of attitude then everyone will go in the tank, especially the players. That’s part of my job and I have to keep them all up.”
On QB Jared Lorenzen:
“He’ll start again this week. I think he’s done a really incredible job under pressure. We’ve had some breakdowns up front. It’s just not the offensive line, he’s got to make reads, receivers have to get open, that all runs together and overall he’s done a good job. He’s got to understand what defenses are giving him and understand the weapons we’ve given him to counter that and get us through some of those things. I think that is where he will make his biggest improvement, I feel like he’s close on getting a really good grasp of the offense and what we’re doing. He has to continue to grow, learn those things and make the adjustments.”
Wide Receiver Aaron Boone
On teammate Derek Abney:
“He’s a tough kid for weighing 165 pounds, 170 on a good day. He really takes a beating out there some days. Sometimes I wonder how he gets up, but he does pop up every time.”
On his touchdown success:
“Last year I averaged two touchdowns a game, and I like to get in there. When I see the goal line, I just dig down and tell myself I have to get in there. You can’t settle for getting tackled at the five- or ten-yard line.”
On his on-field relationship with the quarterbacks:
“Confidence is something that quarterbacks look for in their receivers. When I was a quarterback, I looked for someone who I had confidence in and I knew could hold onto the ball. Fortunately, Jared has fortunately been looking my way when we get down towards the goal line. Most of my touchdowns have been between 15 and 30 yards.”
On his speed:
“I feel I have the speed to play at this level, despite what some people might think. Surprisingly, for three of my touchdowns I think I have been behind a guy when I caught it.”
On the teams confidence:
“I think we are hanging tough. These last three have been nail biters right down to the end. I think we have been bruised but not broken. I think if we can get these next three, it will help us going into the off-season and then going into next year.”
RB Martez Johnson
On learning from the blitzes played by Mississippi State:
“Blitzes may seem physical, but they are more mental because you have to see them and know when and where to pick them up. Seeing that this weekend should help us against Vandy.”
On how the losses are affecting the players
“This is definitely testing the guys’ characters. I feel like as a player you can’t give up. We have to keep going out there and playing as hard as we can. There is no room to let up or quit.”
DT DeWayne Robertson
On loss to Mississippi State:
“It was a frustrating loss. We were so close to winning. We played well enough to win, Mississippi State was just a better team.”
On injury:
“Before the game, I thought my knee would bother me, but it didn’t. It was a little sore after the game but I expect to be 100% for this weekend.”
On just having one win:
“It would be easy for people to point fingers and blame others. But no one’s doing that. That says a lot for what kind of guys these are.”
