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Graham Sits Down With Local Media Members
11/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 2, 2010
TULSA, Okla. - The University of Tulsa football coach Todd Graham addresses the local media at his weekly press conference Monday morning. Coach Graham answers questions following the team's 28-27 victory over Notre Dame, while also previewing TU's upcoming Conference USA clash with Rice.
Opening statement
Saturday was pretty special for our program, the city of Tulsa and our university, for all of our former players and alumni and our team. It was a part of making history. The setting, how our guys fought and battled, it was something that I will remember for the rest of my life and these kids will be talking about many years from now. I'm really appreciative to many people. As I stood on that field I reflected on these past eight years where I have been associated with this program and trying to resurrect the tradition of Tulsa football. It was truly special to see where we came from, and to be able to get to a point where we can go to Notre Dame and win. A lot of people have made the difference and without them, we wouldn't have had that opportunity. As a program, we're excited but we've already moved on to the second part. We've divided things up. The Notre Dame part was a one-shot deal and now we're basically in a single-elimination tournament the rest of the way. We have Rice coming, and that team is coming off a huge win over the University of Houston a couple of weeks ago. You have to come ready to play every single week in Conference USA, there's no question about that. We're back to work and focused on doing that. I wanted to say how proud I am of our team, our staff and our program. We need everyone out at 1 p.m. Saturday to pack this stadium for our team. We really need that as we go down the home stretch in Conference USA.
On the atmosphere with the team following the win over Notre Dame:
Words can't express the atmosphere. Being at a place awhile makes it more special. All the relationships that I think about and the people that made a difference in this program, I couldn't help but think about all that as those ticks went off the clock. I came from West Virginia, which is a pretty good program, and I knew the challenge here would be great. To go from that to having the opportunity to be there ... There's so many people from our fans and our city. We won a conference championship in 2005 and competed in that game in `07 and `08, but it doesn't get more special than beating Notre Dame in South Bend. I slept three hours when I got back. I couldn't go to sleep because I wanted to watch the film again. I got up, went to church and tried to sleep again. I couldn't do it because my heart was racing and I watched the film again. I am excited to move forward and excited about where our team is at. We've had some tough misfortune. We've had the ball bounce the wrong way. I told our kids to keep their heads up and keep persevering and something great is going to happen. Beating Notre Dame is pretty awesome. Everybody is going to start asking how do you avoid the letdown. Are you kidding me? There's absolutely nothing negative about going into Notre Dame and winning. I've sat in these press conferences and said the next step in our program is to beat a BCS program. We were 0-20 and to get your first BCS win against Notre Dame was pretty spectacular. The key for us now is still the goal that we still have on the board. We go into our last four games with three at home. Our home crowd is going to be critical. I reiterate how important it is for this place to be packed for Rice. We have three of the last four at home and we're very much still in this conference championship race. We have to win out to have an opportunity and it starts with Rice. You can't look past anybody in this conference and this league.
On being a faster team than Notre Dame:
We're a fast football team. What was remarkable to me is we have an incredible group of seniors. Damaris Johnson? There's nobody I'm going to pick over that kid. He just passed LaDainian Tomlinson for career all-purpose yards. That's pretty special. We have tremendous athletes and speed and potential as a team. We all came together in a tremendous way. It wasn't about one area or the other. I think there were great plays made in special teams, on offense and on defense. We had a great plan going in and the preparation that we had was very good. It was the best defensive football team that we played. Michael Floyd was really special at receiver for them. They had a lot of very good players as well. I think they might have been surprised with how good our players were and how hard our guys played. We had a lot of adversity. We're eighth in the country for fewest penalties going into this game and to have that many penalties in the game was tough. We had a couple roughing the passer penalties and got beat on a fake punt during their scoring drives. We should have been off the field in those series. I was really proud of our defense. I'm proud of how they played. It may be as good a game defensively as we played around here in that type of atmosphere and in that environment. The last thing I want to point out is to be standing at Notre Dame and standing in South Bend, Ind., and hear the Tulsa fans. That left side of the end zone was roaring. At times, I'd stop and turn around and pinch myself. The way they cheered and how it came down to the last play was just awesome. It was really gratifying for our kids. As a program, we finished the fourth quarter with four true freshmen starting on defense and three true freshmen starting on offense. To have seven true freshmen on the field that I can trust to go out and beat Notre Dame, I like that for the future. That was an invaluable experience for them. It was just a great, great day.
On the next step now that Tulsa finally defeated a BCS opponent:
You hope getting that monkey off your back propels you to achieve a higher level of success at a more consistent level. I don't know how many times I've sat in here and you've asked me that question over and over and over about beating a BCS team. You get to the point where you start making excuses. We've played very good BCS teams, I've used that one. All the things that you talk about, but that win, to get a win against a BCS opponent on national television ... I don't think I could have scripted it better. It's already impacted recruiting. It impacts everything that you do. That's what our program has lacked. Now we have to compete for that conference championship. Even if you win the conference championship, you still need wins over BCS programs to get credibility as a program. That was a tremendous step for us as a program. We've talked a lot about that. That was one big goal for us going into the season. Now we have to push forward and win a single-elimination tournament to win a conference championship.
On the upcoming month with the last four games of the season:
The Notre Dame game was very physical, and we have a lot of bumps and bruises. Each year is different. You always feel like you're getting better. If you were there, the people that were at the game could feel the synergy at the game. We played at a different level. This is a close football team coming together. But even with that win, our backs are against the wall. We have to win out to reach the goals we set out to do. We're playing our best football right now and that's something I'm excited about.
On if he was surprised Notre Dame did not attempt a field goal on the final drive:
I'm not going to second-guess someone else. I don't think we denied Floyd all day long. After seeing him in person, he was better than I thought he was. He's a tremendous, tremendous athlete. It's one of those plays where, if you call that play and he catches that ball ... You don't want him to put the ball where he put it, and John had great coverage on him. We had a great plan to mix it up with him. If you hit that play, you're a hero. If you don't, you're going to get criticized. I think Coach (Brian) Kelly's comment was he was 6-4 and the cornerback was 5-9. Many times, we have been aggressive in that way. I think it's part of your personality. Any time it doesn't work, you want it back. There are a lot of other plays. We had a lot of plays called back. We had the ball on the 14-yard line and got zero points after missing a field goal. It was just one of those games where it was our day. Our guys seized their destiny.
On if he preferred a larger margin of victory:
I really don't care. I felt good the whole time. It was pretty special to win that way. It was hard on the old heart. Winning by one point was probably the best script.
On the defensive effort:
What's so hard about today is that it's so different. Everything is so public and so reported on and perception is reality. If people are telling your kids that they're no good, it makes a big impact on them. We know this is where we have the biggest amount of work to do. It's steadily gotten better defensively and it's had everything to do with the emotion and the heart that these kids are playing with. It's the first game that we've had all of our defensive backs playing healthy like Charles Davis. We have so many young guys out there. What it says is we've gotten better and progressed as a program. Someone asked me how we were able to win this one? Because we played defense. You're not going to be able to win games if you can't play defense. We played defense and had an opportunity to win. Curnelius Arnick bats that ball and Shawn Jackson takes it to the house. Right when he caught it, our guys thought he was going to get tackled. That guy was a high school quarterback, so I knew he was going to take it all the way. There were some incredible plays. Curnelius blocked the extra point and Cory Dorris gave great effort. You just don't know when those things will happen. Those guys have taken a blue collar mentality. People just look at the scores. We have played really good defense up front all year long. We're in the top 20 in rush defense, we've just been maligned by the big play. A lot of that has to do with my involvement. I don't like sitting back. I like going up and pressing. You know what? We probably made a lot of mistakes early with me being stubborn. I wanted to press coverage and do things like that. I think our kids feed off that. They know I want to be aggressive. We've gotten better defensively. Where we're at as a program offensively, defensively and in the kicking game, we have a chance to be special.
On the go-ahead field goal by Kevin Fitzpatrick:
I think it was really big. At times he has been inconsistent. Michael Such was the hero on the three field goals because all three snaps were bad. He was unbelievable in getting all three down or we wouldn't have made two of the three. I was proud of Fitz. He's done a tremendous job kicking off as well. That was a big field goal and one he should make as well.
On Rice:
I'm very familiar with them. They will get up to play us. This game has been close every year since I've left there. They play extremely hard. I really think Houston, with the talent they have, is the team that we look to beat in the West and they knocked them off and beat them. You have to be prepared. Rice will play very hard and fast on defense. They're much improved. Sam McGuffie is a tremendous running back. They've had a lot of injuries and had a tough time where they've lost a lot of people. They should have all their guys back. I'm looking for a typical Conference USA game and a typical Tulsa-Rice game. It will be a hard-fought contest. I know our kids have to come in here and play with tremendous focus and confidence.
On the recruitment of linebacker Shawn Jackson:
You could write a book on Shawn's life and what he has overcome because of his incredible story. I can't tell you during the recruiting process how many people in the Tulsa community reached out to me saying what a great kid this guy is, and every single thing they told me was true. He's just getting started. He's just now starting to get a general understanding of our defense. He's going to be a great player and an even better person. One of the best things that our staff is doing is competing for the best players in our city. After having an incredible win, how is that going to impact this city? We've been able to compete for the best players in Tulsa. That's how we've been able to improve the personnel and we have to continue to do that.
On if he knew prior to Notre Dame that Jackson was prime for a big game:
He's played really good, but hasn't played a lot. We spend a lot of time looking at performance and guys making plays. The guy doesn't start but is 10th in tackles for loss and he is in the top 15 in sacks in the conference. We thought maybe this guy should play some more. Maybe we were slow learners on that deal, I guess. I was not surprised by his play. He's very gifted with great instinct.
On if he has changed positions recently:
No ... he basically plays the weakside/outside linebacker position. Sometimes he's in the line, sometimes he's inside and sometimes he's outside. Sometimes he's in pass coverage, sometimes he's blitzing. He's played middle linebacker when we got to our stack, our 3-3 look. He's really matured and developing. Cody Wilson came off the bench and did some good things, as well. We have a lot of young guys playing well. DeWitt Jennings had a good game and so did Marco Nelson
On Damaris Johnson, who is nearing the C-USA career record for kickoff-return yards:
He is a real quiet guy. I don't mention him anymore because I'm used to him playing every week. We quit giving him game balls because we could give him one every week. He does everything we ask him to do. He lines up at quarterback, he plays wide receiver, he returns kicks and he returns punts. I've even thought of putting him in on third down and making a pass rusher out of him. I don't think anyone could block the guy. He's an unbelievable playmaker. He gives you every single drop that he has and he has a huge heart. A lot of people don't know that about him. Someone is always telling you that you're too small, and he's just not listening to that. No one is putting parameters on him. You can't be 5-foot-7 and not be the hardest worker. He's the hardest-working guy in our program. If you come out in the summer, you can see him working. He is a competitor and probably one of the best that I've seen.
