Transcript From Tulane's Weekly Football Press Conference
Aug 30, 2011 | Football
Aug. 30, 2011
Video of Tulane Football's Recent Trip To The Children's Cancer Center
NEW ORLEANS -
MELANIE CROSS
Manager of Communications at the Tulane Cancer Center
"Thank you so much for giving us some time to talk about the Green Dream Initiative. It's an exciting partnership between Tulane Green Wave football and the Tulane Cancer Center's Pediatric Oncology Patient Relief Fund. It started with a labor of love from one of our Tulane football moms. Her name is Maggie Edwards. She is the mom of junior long snapper John Edwards and she is also a breast cancer survivor. She shared with us her story of how her son was so instrumental to her journey toward getting well. What she wanted to do was help raise money for kids with cancer but also, being the Tulane Green Wave fanatic that she is, combine that with inspiring the Tulane football team to take ownership of this as well. She is personally pledging throughout the Tulane football season $10 for every Tulane touchdown, $5 for every field goal and $10 for every interception as a personal donation to our Pediatric Oncology Relief Fund. She is going to carry a poster with her to the home games and it's going to display a running total of what her pledges are adding up to to date. She's also going to bring a football to all the home games. She's going to write that total on the football and pass it down the sideline so the football players know that what they're doing on the field is equating to assistance to kids fighting cancer.
"To kick this off last week, we were thrilled when a large number of Green Wave players visited Tulane Hospital For Children. They interacted with kids there, they signed autographs, they handed out pompoms, hats and posters, and the kids were thrilled. The players, I think, enjoyed it. And we certainly enjoyed having them there."
"I want to introduce to you Dr. Tami Singleton. She's the head of our section of pediatric oncology and hematology at Tulane. She's going to tell you a little more about what these funds are going to mean to the families of our cancer patients."
DR. TAMI SINGLETON, MD
Section Chief of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Tulane Hospital for Children
"Thanks again so much for having us here today. Each year in the state of Louisiana, approximately 160-175 children are diagnosed with cancer. Overwhelmingly, most of those children are treated here in the city of New Orleans and here at our Tulane Medical Center and Tulane Hospital for Children. We are absolutely thrilled to have this partnership here in our Tulane family. To give you an example of some of the things we use funds for, just this morning I did a bone marrow spinal tap on two small cancer patients and we actually need to help some of the families because they have to travel back and forth. It's very expensive, obviously, as we all know. To have to come so frequently to spend weeks on end in the hospital can be a huge burden on some of the families. These funds help to relieve some of the families of those kinds of needs. We actually go into our own pockets sometimes...to bring parents of those who are unfortunately not doing so well and very suddenly need to come in to the medical center.
"We are very thrilled to have this partnership and this initiative happen. I think it's a wonderful thing to serve the children here in New Orleans who have cancer. Thank you so much."
Bob Toledo
Tulane University Head Coach
On the Green Dream Initiative
"How great is that. That's really neat. Our kids went down there last week. What a great experience to go to something like that. Normally you do that for bowl games or something, but this is a real tribute to our players to go down there and express their interest. And then for Mrs. Edwards to do what she's going to do to give money for scoring touchdowns and field goals. I hope she goes broke. All kidding aside, it's a great cause and I hope she does have to put in a lot of money. I hope we can score a lot of points and I hope it really helps that cause."
Opening statement
"Let's get on with football. I know all of you are looking forward to college football. Believe me, no one more so than me. I'm anxious to get going with the season. I'm anxious to see the progress we've made as a football program. I for one am really looking forward to it. We had a very productive fall football camp. Obviously, we're tired of hitting each other just like every other team in the country is. We feel that we're ready to play at this point. We can't wait for Saturday, and I hope the fans, the boosters and the people feel the same as we do.
On the state of Tulane recruiting
"We obviously feel that we've recruited well the last few years. We've developed a lot of quality depth at numerous positions. There are still some positions that we have to continue to work at, but I feel very good about where we are as a football program."
On the Green Wave special teams
"Special teams wise, I hired John Hendrick in the offseason and he's done a great job with what we consider our Achilles heel. We've had very poor special teams the last few years, but John has worked really hard with the football team to improve and get better. We feel that we have more athletes, and that in itself should help us as special teams. Our long snapper returns, John Edwards - whose mom is going to contribute, and hopefully more people will, to the cause. He's done a great job and he will also be one of our captains for this first game as well. We also have our punter, Jonathan Ginsburgh, returning. He was a true freshman last year. He's got a great leg. He just has to become more consistent punting the football. Cairo Santos is our kicker. Ryan Rome also kicks, a young man from Destrehan, and Ryan is also going to assume the duty of holding for extra points and field goals. Cairo wanted him to do that. I get a little nervous when the back-up (kicker) is holding for PATs and field goals. Cairo has had a great camp. He's gotten stronger. He went home to Brazil this summer and kicked between two pineapple trees or whatever he said he was doing. All kidding aside, he did a lot of kicking back home, got a lot stronger and has done a good job in camp. As far as our returners, our punt returner is going to be Derrick Strozier. He is a young man who started it last year and got injured, and we never really got a grip on that thing. But right now, he's our returner and he's done a nice job. Our kickoff return people will be two freshmen from the New Orleans area. Robert Kelley will be one of the returners - of course he's out of O. Perry Walker - and Danté Butler from Brother Martin will be the other. One of them hopefully will start the season, a New Orleans product carrying the football on our first kickoff return."
On the Green Wave defense
"Defensively, Steve Stanard returns as our coordinator. After three years, we feel we have very good continuity there. Our players understand the system and they've helped teach some of the youngers guys what to do. That has been very good for us. Obviously we've got to get better at stopping the run. We had a great pass defense, one of the top teams in the country passing wise, but one of the reasons was we didn't stop the run very well. We've got to stop the run and we've got to give up less explosive plays. They cost us some football games last year. We feel that we've got a really good front seven. We've got a lot of depth in the front seven, probably more depth than we've ever had. We're stronger than we ever have and we're more athletic than we've ever been. So we feel good about that."
On the Green Wave offense
"Offensively, I hired Rickey Bustle to be the quarterback coach. He's from Louisiana-Lafayette. You know about Rickey. He was there for nine years and coached at Virginia Tech. He's got a lot of experience and knowledge. Greg Davis, Jr., will be the pass-game coordinator, Mark Hutson will be the run-game coordinator, and I will once again the duties of calling the plays. I haven't done it for the last couple of years. If nothing else, it's energized me. When you get into coaching, you get into it because you love to coach. I'm helping Rickey a little bit with the quarterbacks and coaching some other positions. I'm also game planning and scheming, and then I'm calling plays. That's what I love to do, so I'm back doing what I really want to do.
"We are going to run a pro-spread offense. A lot of people ask me what the change is. We will no longer just be in the shotgun and run the spread. We will run a pro-spread very similar to the New Orleans Saints. I wish we were as effective as they are sometimes. Also kind of like Boise State. You all see Boise State running out three or four guys on every play. We'll do a lot of substitution and situational-type things. We'll be under center. We'll be in the shotgun. We'll do multiple groupings, have multiple formations, and try to get more people involved in the offense. Obviously, we need more explosive plays on offense as our defense needs to eliminate them. We need to score more points and we've got to be better in the red zone. Those are things that we have addressed and hopefully we will improve on this year."
On opening the 2011 season with Southeastern Louisiana
"Mike Lucas has done a nice job at Southeastern Louisiana. Like myself, he started five years ago and he's tried to build that program. The last two times we played them, the first game I ever (won) here was against them and we won 35-27. It was a really close ballgame. And then last year, the first game of the season, we won 27-21. They've given us everything we can handle. We have to show up and are ready to play. It's the first game of the season, it's at home, and obviously we need to get off to a good start."
On how the Green Wave will play the Lions
"They have a lot of new faces. I know they've got a good safety, they've got a good quarterback, they've got two good running backs and two good receivers. But they have a lot of new faces. They got a transfer from Memphis. They got a transfer from Texas. They got a transfer from Ole Miss. They've got some guys that are going to play that we're not that familiar with. We are really going to take the approach that we are going to worry about schemes more so than personnel for this first game. We're going to attack schemes and see what goes on from there."
On the team captains
"The captains for the season, Ryan Griffin is the offensive captain and Cedric Wilson will be the defensive captain. As I've mentioned, John Edwards will be a captain for this game, and the game captain will be the game captain."
On Tulane's injury status
"Marc Edwards, unfortunately, is out for the season. During our first scrimmage in the dome, he blew out his ACL and was operated on and will be redshirted. He had a lot of ability and a lot of potential, and we're going to miss him. Out for this game but may return for this season...Casey Blum with an Achilles surgery. He's trying to recover from that. Cameron DeJean had knee surgery and he's recovering from that. And Josh Drum with foot surgery and he's recovering from that. I believe all three of them will be back by the end of the season. As far as those doubtful for this game, Taylor Echols still has a concussion and is probably not going to be able to play. Ray Oppman has a pinched nerve in his neck. He probably will not play. Dominique Robertson has a knee problem."
On any team suspensions
"One note that I don't enjoy doing - we have suspended Shane Delery for the first game of the season. That's from a violation that happened in the spring. It's an athletic department policy, so he'll miss the first game. He's had a great camp, he learned from his mistake and he'll do well."
On if the air quality due to the marsh fires is affecting practice
"We're having some headaches already. We're having a hard time breathing. We've got three guys with asthma problems. We've been trying to look for some places, but the Dome is now painting for our game on Saturday. We can't get in the Dome or any other facility. We're going to have to go out, maybe reduce the amount of time we're out there and maybe not run around as hard. It's definitely been a problem. Yesterday, it was a problem, but as we went out there the wind came out. Like the Santa Anna winds in California, it blew that smog away. Hopefully that'll happen today. We just have to tone it down a little bit. We'll have to not run them as hard, but we're going to practice."
On the differences he thinks opponents will see in the offense this year
"We did a lot of things last year offensively that we're still continuing to do. Let's just say that we'll probably be a little more under center and a little less in the shotgun. And we'll be a little more two backs as opposed to just one back. My thing is to utilize players. I think all of them have special talents, and part of coaching is using players in what they do best. One of the things that I'll do is I'll have little packages for certain players and try to utilize their talents. As the season goes on, we'll expand the packages."
On which true freshmen he expects to have an immediate impact on the team
"The two running backs - Kelley and Butler. I'd say Brandon LeBeau at wide receiver is a guy. And two other freshman who are not from this area - Xavier Rush and Justyn Shackelford will also see playing time on offense. Defensively, Matthew Bailey out of Karr is a possible starter. If not, he'll play quite a bit. Sam Scofield at strong safety may have an opportunity to get in a little bit. Corey Redwine, defensive tackle, is coming off an ankle injury but he's starting to practice. And Michael Pierce, Jr. Michael's dad played running back here. He's a defensive end and is a lot bigger than his dad. He's about 6-3, 280 and runs really well. He'll see time this year as well. Those are the incoming freshman that we think will have an impact this year."
On who will start if Echols cannot play
"Kyle Davis will be the starting strong safety if Taylor Echols is out. That's where Sam Scofield comes into play. He's backing up Kyle. Kyle was a freshman last year who came to us from San Antonio and played as a true freshman. That shows you about his athleticism. He's worked extremely hard in the offseason and has done a nice job. We feel that he is a very capable player. He was pushing Echols as it was for a starting position. And it gives Sam Scofield, a young man out of St. Thomas More, a chance to play as well. He's had more interceptions in fall camp than our team had all year. He's a ballhawk, he's a good tackler, and he's a guy who is always around the football. I see him playing in the very near future."
On the emergence of receiver Carlos Wilson
"Carlos Wilson is a walk-on, a player from Louisiana, and a lot of people were recruiting him as a running back coming out of high school. We were too, and then he hurt his ankle, didn't get a scholarship and decided to come here anyway. Now he's moving up the ranks and before long he's going to get a scholarship here at Tulane. He is at least a back-up at the flanker and slot position. He will be on special teams and he will make some plays in Saturday's game. He's a good football player. He's a great kid. He's got a great personality and a lot of charisma. A very bright guy. To get into Tulane, you've got to be pretty bright. He's a sharp kid. You'll hear about him in the future and he will get a scholarship here at Tulane."
On his expectations for the season
"We have a heck of a non-league schedule and we have a great home schedule, too. We play two of the top teams in the Western Division at home - that Tulsa in our second game and then we play Houston on a Thursday night on TV. We've got a great schedule. It is 13 games without a bye. When I approved our schedule with our athletics director, Rick Dickson, I didn't realize that we need seven wins to get to a bowl. But as I say, `Bring them on, let's play and we'll see what happens.' I feel much more comfortable this year than at any time during my time here. All of these players that are on this football team are players we recruited to these systems. We have developed quality depth at a lot of positions. I think we've had some really good recruiting years. We've got more kids from Louisiana than we've ever had and more guys playing from Louisiana than we've ever had. The one thing that we've got to do is we've got to be smart in how we practice. We are going to come back on Sunday, have a light workout on Sunday and show some video. We're going to give them Monday off like a lot of people do. Hopefully, that'll give them a chance to recover a little bit more as well. One of the things is just the practice routine and then what we do in practice. There are some drills obviously that we're not going to do as many of in the future because they are physical-type things that could possibly get you hurt. We don't need anybody getting hurt at this point. I feel good about it. Obviously, our goal is to win a championship and go to a bowl game. I'll be perfectly honest with you - I'll be disappointed if we don't get to a bowl game this year."
On his offensive philosophy
"The thing about this offense is it's a tailback-oriented offense. Of course, Albert Williams will start because Orleans had a toe problem - turf toe. Orleans will play. How much he plays will depend on what he does. But those other guys are going to play, too, because I'm going to do some things substitution wise. I think we've got some guys who can make some play. Ryan Grant, obviously, is a guy that can make some plays. He's up for the Biletnikoff Award. I think Joe Kemp has come on pretty good. I think the two freshmen wide receivers at split end - Rush and Shackelford - have a lot of talent. And then there's Brandon LeBeau. Jeremy Williams, who played for us a couple of years ago, was here yesterday and he reminds me of Jeremy. I had Jeremy talk to him and say hi, and I told him, `You've got to be like this guy.' I think he's a big-time player. We've got Matt Marfisi at tight end. We redshirted him last year. He's 6-6 and almost 260 right now. He's a good-looking athlete. You look at the wide receivers, the running backs, a couple of those tight ends, and you couple that with the fact that we've got an outstanding quarterback in Ryan Griffin. I think we've got some weapons to take advantage of. The last thing I want to say is like those Bill Walsh teams and the West Coast teams, we will run the ball and set up play-action passes to hit the home runs so to speak."
On the importance of being able to take shots deep offensively
"I think the big thing is you've got to try to threaten deep. You've got to make them respect the field vertically and I don't think we did a very good job of that last year. We were more of a nickel, dime type of passing game and trying to make guys run after the catch. We didn't run very well after the catch, to be perfectly honest with you. My philosophy is to run the ball, run the ball, get people in the box, and then we'll take advantage of single coverage. We're going to go deep. You're going to see us take four or five shots at least deep during the course of the game. If nothing else, it serves a purpose that you better back off on us or otherwise you're going to give up a big one. Then that helps you for the rest of the game, too."
On if Southeastern Louisiana's offense will present a challenge defensively
"(Simmie Yarborough) is a hybrid guy. He's a tight end/wide receiver, and (Brandon) Collins. They've got three people that caught almost 100 balls or whatever. They've got a threat. They've got a quarterback who played about half the season, and they got a transfer in from Ole Miss. We're not sure if he's going to play. I think the big thing is our front seven is as good as it's ever been. Our secondary needs to develop. We need to be good there. We have a couple of guys who have some experience, but we're relatively young back there. They have talent. They're physically capable of doing it. The pressure is going to be on them and the pressure is going to be on our front seven to attack the quarterback and not give him time to throw the football."
On Tulane changing its offense
"I think you'll see more of that but not quite the same my first year. My first two years, I really ran the offense. The first year, Matt (Forté) rushed for over 2,000 yards. We didn't feel that we could throw the ball very well. We can throw the ball a lot better. The next year, we had 17 season-ending injuries so it didn't matter what plays I called. They weren't going to be very good. I'm not that good of a coach. The next year, we went to the spread and I didn't call any plays. I think we're getting back to kind of a combination of what I did earlier and what I did at UCLA and some other places I've been as a head coach and coordinator. We're going to get back to what I know best. I want to be more involved. I want to enjoy it. I want to be able to create some more enthusiasm for the kids. That's why I'm doing it."
On the status of Orleans Darkwa
"Orleans Darkwa had a ligament problem in his big toe. We rested him quite a bit during camp. The last few days, he's gotten a little bit of work and got a little bit of contact. He hasn't been tackled yet. But he says he's feeling a lot better. He's going to have to play with a little bit of pain. I know he's not going to start already, but I'm not sure how much he's going to play. He is going to play. How much remains to be seen.
On what Darkwa's injury is and who will play if he can't
"It's similar to turf toe. It's a ligament on the outside of his toe and his toe is kind of pulling in. They tried to pull it back and let the ligament heal a little bit. The doctors can probably tell you more about that than me. It's just a nagging type of injury so we've tried to rest him as much as we can and get him as healthy as we can. It's a long season. Albert Williams is going to be the starting tailback. We'll see Darkwa in there probably soon. Stephen Barnett played for us last year until he pulled a ham(string) and was doing well. He's going to play. Jamar Thomas, a young man from Baton Rouge, you'll see him play. He's a good receiver, he can block and so some things. When we go with two backs in the backfield, he'll be in there. And the two freshmen (Kelley and Butler) are both going to play. We feel they are both capable of giving us some quality depth and play. I would venture to say that you'll probably see all six of them in the game. I don't have enough footballs. That's my problem."
On the status of the offensive line
"I'm a big believer that in stuff like kick returns. If you get a great kick returner, it makes your special teams good. I believe the same offensively. When you get a great running back, it makes your offensive line look good, too. Hopefully our backs are good enough to make some plays on their own. We do have a starter in Harris Howard who is going to start his fourth year at left guard. Joey Ray has not played a lot. He backed up Andrew Nierman at center, but he has started at center against LSU. He started at right guard against Alabama a few years ago, so he's got some experience. Eric (Jones) has played three years now - redshirting one - but he's got plenty of time at right tackle. The right guard is a real question mark for us right now. (Emmanuel) Aluko is there and of course Zach Morgan is coming off an ankle (injury), but we think they're both competing pretty well. Pat Husain is a freshman who played a little last year so he's a sophomore eligibility wise. He's got to come on a little bit and we'll have to help him with certain things."
On if he feels pressure to win this year
"There's always pressure. Most of the pressure you put on yourself. It's obvious. We've been here five years now and we've been trying to lay a solid foundation for this football program. I believe we've done that and that's why I say that if we don't get to a bowl I'd be disappointed. We have to stay healthy. We have to play well. We have to win some games. Last year, we only won four games and we very easily could have won three or four more. I think with this football team, we've got a good chance to win seven or more football games which will get us into a bowl."
