Aug. 19, 2006

General
"Thanks for everyone coming today. We slugged it out this morning in a scrimmage. We're very excited about this upcoming season. As a coaching staff, we have some high expectations for our players, and they have high expectations for themselves. We're looking forward to competing in the Big Sky."

"We hope we can do some good things on the field. We've some things to address right now, but I see our team getting better with each practice. For us to have success this season, we've got to do two things. We have to play hard all the way through every game and we have to avoid shooting ourselves in the foot with penalties and turnovers. If we can do that, we'll have to opportunity to be in it every game. If we're in it in the fourth quarter, then it's a matter of who wants it the most."

"I think our coaches have done a tremendous job installing our offense, defense and special teams. We've been putting in the basics of what we want to do, and as we approach the season on Sept. 2, we'll start honing in and getting our game plan together."

On The Schedule
"It provides a big challenge for us because five of our 11 teams are currently ranked in the I-AA Top 25, and eight have received votes. It's something our guys have been preparing for."

On The Status of Andy Birkel's Injury Sustained In The Morning Scrimmage
"Right now we're still going to have a physician look at it. He had a little tweak this morning on his knee. Our medical staff doesn't think it's anything serious, but we're going to have someone look at it. Right now we are expecting him to be fully healthy for the first game."

On The Progress of Fall Camp From Spring Practice
"We came out of spring ball feeling like one of our team strengths was our linebackers. We also felt like our running backs were a big strength. But I've seen some of our other positions start to come together."

On The Quarterback Battle
"I really feel like we've got a good competition going at quarterback. T.J. Swanson and Dominic Breazeale have stepped ahead of the class. An injury to Brian Wiedeman has held him back. In the spring, these guys were more of play runners, where they'll get the play and try to run it without thinking about the situation. Now, Brian and T.J. have started to become playmakers. We've seen our quarterbacks grow in awareness. That's big for us because a lot of times the offense takes on the quarterback's personality. We'd really like to settle on one guy, but they're making it really hard. I've seen Dominic and T.J. start to up their game. Competition makes us better though. Right now I can tell you Dominic and T.J. are neck-and-neck."

On The Defensive Line
"I've really been pleased with our defensive line. They had some injuries last year that held them back, but I think we're developing some depth this year. We plan on rolling different defensive linemen in and out. We've got some experienced guys like Vinny Pallone, Jacob Carlson and Matt West, but we've also got some young talent that can step in."

On The Offensive Philosophy
"If you look at our offense, you'd see that we have a lot of different one-back and two-back sets, but when it comes down to it, we're going to be a one-back team. We're to put one back out there and spread the field reminiscent of my days at Wyoming and Purdue. You'll see a mixture of the NFL West Coast Offense in there. For us offensively, it's all about personnel match ups. If we can take advantage of our personnel versus yours, then we're going to devise a scheme for that. That's what makes this offense so flexible."

On The Defensive Philosophy
"We're going to base ourselves out of a 4-3. We'll play a lot of zone and mix in some occasional blitzes, but we want a defense that will attack. We want our players to pin their ears back and come after people."

On Position Realignment
"Bill Callahan used to tell us that when you come in, it's a fresh set of eyes. We have a lot of personnel meetings, and we try to put a player where he fits in athletically. We're trying to get the best 11 players on the field. Why have a two guys backed up at a wide receiver position, when one guy may be better as an outside receiver and another guy is better as an inside receiver. We've moved quite a few guys around, and I think we're reaping the benefits of that."

On How The Team Stacks Up Against The Big Sky
"I think we have the capability of being very competitive in the Big Sky. Our veterans have been involved in games against Big Sky opponents, so they know what to expect. The big difference for us is how fast we can catch our younger players up to our veterans who understand what it takes to play at that level. Make no doubt about it, the Big Sky is one of the top conferences in I-AA."

On How The Big Sky Compares To Downing's Past Conferences
"I'd say the Big Sky as a I-AA conference emphasizes speed. One of the differences between the Big Ten and Big 12 is the Big Ten is a power conference and the Big 12 is a speed conference. The Big Sky a little more like the Big 12. The offenses like to spread you out and put you in bad situations. The teams in this league play better defense than you think they do, but there is a misconception of that because the Big Sky is known for the 51-49 shootouts."

On Recruiting Philosophy
"We are definitely trying to add more team speed. If you make a mistake in recruiting, you either make it big or fast. So I'll make it fast."

On Rematches With UC Davis and Portland State
"We haven't thought about those games yet. Our players have been very focused on developing their individual abilities. As we get closer to it, we'll talk about that. We'll start figuring out what we'll do schematically, and we'll give more reps to the guys that are No. 1 and No. 2 at their position. But we won't start mentioning Portland State until it's game week. With UC Davis, I don't want to start too far out, because by the time you get to the game, it's boring. We want to keep it fresh in their minds."

On Coaching With Joe Tiller
"One thing I carry from Joe Tiller is to be patient. We all have to remember that as fast as we want our players to develop, they're still young men. Another thing is these players have a lot of responsibilities - not only on the football field, but also away from it. I'd like them to go back to their room and watch game film all night, but doggone it they have a chemistry test tomorrow they have to study for. Another thing he taught me is to be honest with the kids. If you have something you want them to work on, tell them. If they don't know, they won't have a chance to work on it. Sometimes it hurts to be honest, but in the long run, you'll be a stronger team for it."

On Coaching With Bill Callahan
"Coach Callahan taught me you have to have a great organization in terms of people knowing expectations. You have to surround yourself with good people. He taught me it's the organization that can win us ballgames. We're trying to let people know this is the way we do things at Northern Colorado."

On The Season's Biggest Challenge
"Right now it's the unknown. I'm still getting to know our players, and they're still getting to know me. Also, we'll go into a lot of venues this year where we won't know what to expect."

On The Stable of Running Backs
"We see them all as having unique abilities. I see Andre Wilson as an every down guy. He can run, catch and block. I've also called him an ugly runner as a compliment, meaning no one knows where he's going to go. He doesn't go down easy. Jahir Waterman is more of a pro-type running back. He can go out on the split back and block or take the lateral and run it up the field. He's also a tough inside runner. Both Andre and Jahir bring great experience and maturity. Patrick Ealy is young and unbridled. With him, maybe the hole is to the right, but he'll decide to go to the left. He can make a lot of people miss. For us to be successful this year, we've got to get all three of these guys involved in a game. How are we going to do that? We'll let you watch the first game."