Green Wave Football Team Prepares for Trip to UAB
Nov 4, 2003 | Football
Nov. 4, 2003
NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Tulane Green Wave (3-6, 1-4) head to Birmingham, Ala. this weekend to take on Conference USA foe UAB at Legion Field in the second of three straight November road games. Tulane is coming off a 35-17 loss at Navy while UAB defeated Army, 24-9. Still battling an injury plaque which has downed 24 players for 127 games this year, the Green Wave received some bad news when star running back Mewelde Moore suffered a broken hand late in the game versus Navy.
Most of head coach Chris Scelfo's Tuesday morning weekly press conference focused on Moore's injury, as well as on the upcoming opponent, UAB.
Chris Scelfo Opening Statement
"Saturday's game obviously was a disappointing loss for us, as they all have been. Any time you go out there and play as hard as you can, it's tough. The players came in Sunday ready to put the game behind them and get ready for this week against UAB. We knew going into the game against Navy we were going to have trouble stopping their option and that was evident. I thought we'd be able to score more points than we did, but you've got to credit Navy, they kept everything in front of them. We didn't hit any big plays on them, so we have to bury that game and get ready for a completely different offensive and defensive look than we saw last week. UAB's going to spread it out, and they do a nice job of operating their offense. Defensively, I think they're one of the better teams in the league. The really play well on defense; it's kept them in every game. When you do that you've got an opportunity to win and that's what they've been able to do.
"In the fourth quarter of the game Saturday, Mewelde [senior running back Mewelde Moore] broke his left hand. He's going to get re-evaluated tomorrow; I don't know what his status is but we'll see how that plays out."
Q: Can a running back play with that injury?
CS: He's going to get re-evaluated tomorrow. I've said this many times, I never put a player out there for the benefit of the team if it would jeopardize his health. If he can't go, he's not going to go. Right now we don't know though.
Q: With a special player like Mewelde Moore who has a future in football, do you look beyond the present and think about his future when deciding to play him?
CS: If he's released to play now, then that's not jeopardizing his future. It's his health, whether it's Mewelde or anyone else. That's how we operate around here.
Q: After looking at film, can you tell how he broke his hand?
CS: He fell on it.
Q: The offense has struggled, and without Mewelde do you think it will become even tougher?
CS: Offensively, we've been very disappointing. You're not going to score every time you touch the ball, but we haven't been maintaining drives, coming up with key plays in situations. It's really hindered us the last four or five weeks. There are a lot of different reasons for it. When you have a chance to convert and move the chains, we've got to be able to do it and we haven't.
Q: With all the injuries already this season, is Mewelde's injury just icing on the cake?
CS: I think it's icing on the candles.
Q: What does it do to your offense without one of your best receivers?
CS: We can't worry about what we don't have. If he can't play on Saturday, we've got to keep going and prepare. We have to run our offense and hope that we can be consistent against a really good defense.
Q: When do you expect to hear whether Mewelde will be able to play?
CS: He's going to be re-evaluated tomorrow. He'll probably be a game time decision. I don't know.
Q: How tough has this year been for you?
CS: Obviously, there's a big disappointment in not winning. I wouldn't call it tough though, I'd call it frustrating. I've never been associated with a football team that has had this much adversity hit it in the period of time it's hit. I feel for the players, we've got players that would love to be out there...Daniel Nevil, Bamm Mateen, Wesley Heath, Michael Roberts, and Joey Dawson. You really feel bad for those guys that worked hard all spring and all summer. That's been the thing, it's more frustrating for those guys.
Q: How do you try and change things? Do you try to change up things in practice, try and talk to the players more, is there anything you can do?
CS: The biggest thing we're trying to stress is that you've got to learn from it, and grow and get better and get closer as a team. Hopefully we'll become a closer football team. Does it pay off for us down the road? I don't know. I know several years ago we went through adversity and it paid off for us the next year. If you stay together; adversity causes some to break and others to break records. That's been our motto here; we've been trying to get better each day. Hopefully it will pay off for us, when that time comes, I don't know.
Q: How are Mewelde's spirits?
CS: We're going to wait and see. I had a good talk with him yesterday and we're going to wait on the doctors. He really trusts the doctors as do I. We'll wait and see what they say.
Q: How's [sophomore linebacker] Anthony Cannon doing?
CS: He's doing better. He's off the crutches now, and walking around. Hopefully he can get some practice time in today.
Q: Any thoughts on the Conference USA realignment?
CS: No, my only thoughts are on UAB and putting out a team that's going to be competitive and fight. That's something that's out of our control. It's something good for the media to give you more work to do and more time. It's not going to affect us this week or the next week or the week after.
Q: As a former coach at Marshall, what are your thoughts on them joining the conference?
CS: Marshall has a good name. They've won a lot of games since 1991, so I guess that's a good thing. I'll be honest though, we've got bigger fish to fry right now than what's going on out there in the realignment. That's about athletic directors and presidents, and I trust ours to do the best for our situation.
Q: With Mewelde's injury, is [sophomore running back] Jovon Jackson going to be able and contribute to the offense?
CS: I had a talk with Jovon about a month ago. Jovon was taking it for granted he wasn't going to play this year, and was practicing that way. I brought him in and explained to him that he's one play away from being a starter, and you've got to prepare yourself that way. I don't know when that day's going to come, it could be 2004. When that day comes you better be ready, and if you haven't prepared for it then you've missed a lot of time. The last several weeks he's worked really hard, and has been really consistent. If he has to play, I have the utmost confidence in him.
Q: UAB has kept close in games against Georgia and TCU, could you talk about them?
CS: They're playing outstanding defense. If you look at their scores, they're not giving up many points. They really do a nice job defensively. They're healthy this year, unlike last year where they had a run like we're having. They're healthy and playing well. If you get the game close in the fourth quarter, it's usually decided by three or four plays and that's sort of what they're doing right now. They beat a good Memphis football team, and had an opportunity against Georgia and TCU. They're playing really well.
-- THINK GREEN! --
