Notes and Quotes from American Athletic Conference Football Media Kickoff

WHO'S HERE … Tulsa head coach Philip Montgomery was joined by defensive players – end Trevis Gipson and linebacker Cooper Edmiston – and offensive players – tackle Chris Ivy Jr. and running back Corey Taylor II – at the annual American Athletic Conference Football Media Day, Monday and Tuesday.

THE DISTANCE … the annual kickoff event took place again in Newport, Rhode Island … the distance between Tulsa and Gurney's Resort on Boat Island in Newport, where the two-day event took place, is 1,548 miles.

THE POLL … the league announced Tuesday morning the preseason poll, as picked by The American coaches … Tulsa was picked 6^th in the West Division … the West Division preseason lineup looks like this – Memphis, Houston, Tulane, SMU, Navy, Tulsa … on the East side, the picks were UCF, Cincinnati, USF, Temple, ECU and UConn.

COACH MONTGOMERY ON … DOES A PRESEASON POLL GIVE A TEAM ANY ADDED CHIP ON THE SHOULDER BEING PICKED LOW? "I don't think so. Every year I've been here we've been picked low, and that's fine. Preseason polls in my opinion – no one across the country knows what your teams going to be. Every year there are surprises. Every year you have teams picked at the top that don't have the kind of season people expected them to have and vice versa. It's too early to tell what teams are going to be. We'll get into the season, get to work and take it week-by-week."

COACH MONTY ON THE ATTENDEES …
On Cooper Edmiston … "Silent. He has become more vocal. His production speaks for itself. He just goes out and does his job every time he steps on the field. He's had 100 tackles in each of the last two years. I don't expect anything different. Probably from a stats standpoint, he had an incredible season last year."

On Trevis Gipson … "Leadership. He's really dedicated himself to our football team. He's unselfish. He's explosive and plays with a lot of passion."

On Chris Ivy … "Some of the same traits as Trevis because he is the only senior upfront. He's been very vocal. He's worked his tail off. He has improved so much at the left tackle position. He has to be an anchor for us. With all the guys upfront, he's the centerpiece and he needs to set the tone for the younger players."

On Corey Taylor II … "He's solid. He's physical. Downhill. He has a great burst. He has a dense-ness about him when you hit him. He's just very productive."

FUTURE BOWL LINEUP … today the American Athletic Conference announced its bowl lineup that will span the six-year cycle from 2020-25 … the American is guaranteed seven bowl appearances in each of year of the new cycle … Annual Appearances: Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman (Annapolis, Maryland), Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas)/SoFi Hawaii Bowl – alternating years (Honolulu, Hawaii) Bowl game to be named – (Boston, Massachusetts) … Four Selections Annually From the Following: Birmingham Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.), Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, Fla.), SERVPRO First Responder Bowl (Dallas, Texas), Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl (Boca Raton, Fla.), Frisco Bowl (Frisco, Texas), AutoNation Cure Bowl (Orlando, Fla.), Myrtle Beach Bowl (Myrtle Beach, SC), New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, NM).

150^th … this year is the 150^th anniversary of college football (1969-2019) … the first game was played on Nov. 6, 1869 between Rutgers and Princeton in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

BY THE NUMBERS … here's some interesting numbers surrounding the game of football … 775 colleges and universities play football at all levels … 69 colleges and universities have added football programs from 2008-2018 … there are 81,000+ college football players at all levels … FBS student-athletes have a graduation success rate of 79%, as compared to a 66% rate for the general student body … thanks to the National Football Foundation for providing this information.

COMING UP FOR TULSA … Tulsa players will report on to fall camp on July 31 with the first day of practice set for August 1 … the annual Golden Hurricane Football Kickoff Luncheon presented by ONEOK and One Gas is scheduled for Tuesday, August 13 … tickets are priced at $40 per person … fans can RSVP at 918.631.2651 by Tuesday, July 30.

Notes and Quotes from American Athletic Conference Football Media Kickoff

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Players Mentioned

Cooper Edmiston

Trevis Gipson

Chris Ivy Jr.

Corey Taylor II

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