With preseason set to open next week, UCF coach/interim AD George O'Leary fielded a variety of questions during a media session on Tuesday.
On the "main focus" for the players during the offseason:
"Same as every summer. Having a great weight program, a great conditioning program. Accept the coaching the strength coaches are giving them and getting themselves ready to participate when we open up next week."
On his "second job" as AD:
"I'm keeping both busy right now. I spent the one week entirely on the athletic director job making sure the flow chart was where it belongs. Just getting everybody ready to go with school starting up again and making sure they have their command lists as far as things they have to be concerned with, immediate concerns and things we need to get accomplished before the students get back."
On budgeting his time:
"I've been coming in an hour early in the office. We'll practice in the afternoon in the preseason, so I'll spend a couple hours over at the other building getting things done there. Then once the season starts, I'll be involved with pretty much athletic director work in the afternoon and practice in the morning."
On delegating tasks:
"Our program has been together for 11 years here at football. Over at the administration end, I've appointed Brad Stricklin Executive Senior Associate Athletic Director, so he's second in charge over there. I'll lean on him a lot when I'm busy to get things done and having everybody understand what needs to be accomplished."
On running the ball this season:
"That depends what the defense is giving us. I've been a big believer don't run uphill and don't throw downhill. I think the big thing is you want to do what the defense gives you. We go into every season 60-40, 60 percent run and 40 percent pass. If the defense is putting eight, nine guys on the line on the scrimmage, it'll be flipped the other way. It depends what the defense gives us."
On Chris Williams, who was shot recently:
"He came out of the hospital Monday. I put him on a medical withdrawal for summer school and then I'll evaluate it next week as far as where we're at."
On his football status:
"The injury alone is eight week, 10 week injury. I would say, again I'm leaning more towards medical withdrawal and stuff with his eligibility so he doesn't have this year count and then bring him back in January. The police are involved now with what took place there, so it's really their response now and not mine as far as what's transpired."
On Thomas Niles and Jordan Akins going to American media day:
"Thomas is a fourth-year player for us and has played every year. He's up for some awards. I think from a maturity standpoint it's time for him to step up and be the leader I think he can be. As far as Jordan, he's only a sophomore but age wise he's older than some of you people here taking film right now. He's been a pro for four years in baseball. He's a kid that I think would represent us very well on offense as far as answering the questions he'll have to answer from a maturity standpoint."
On his "gut feeling" about the season:
"I always write a note to myself after preseason about where we're going to be. It's amazing. It's pretty accurate. I think we're going to be a very solid football team. We have some growing pains at certain positions, but that's why you get paid to coach. That's why you have practice. We just might have to keep it fairly simple early for some of the players. But we only average about six or seven freshmen that help us every year. That's probably five too many if you're in a program that has players. I think right now obviously the receiver corps and the secondary are probably where some of the freshmen may help us the most."
On WR Taylor Oldham:
"Taylor Oldham probably is out and won't be back until October."
On his "biggest area of concern" on the team:
"The biggest area of concern is the media, how they show up to practice, when they're allowed and then what they take from practice. I don't like people that write things or take film that don't know what they're doing. That's something I'll address. I don't have any concerns. I go into the season and football is a game that you go out and practice every day. You come off the field and make corrections. I don't see a situation where there's any immediate concerns at all regarding what we're going to do. Everybody has their marching orders. The full staff is back tomorrow. That's the full staff with support people for football and the coaches. Pretty much that's it. Vacation has ended. It's back to work. The coaches have had some time off back and forth. I split it up a little bit this season. Looking forward to getting going there and then handling the double duties as best I can."
On the off-the-field issues at other schools, such as punching women in bars:
"I'll address the one that's not here any longer with the medical withdrawal, being out where you don't belong and stuff. I've addressed that all the time. The seniors are responsible for taking care of the football team, whether on the field or off the field. I always address them first. It's their team. You're as good as your senior class. That's usually what it's about. I think every time I've had less seniors, like this year, we've been very successful as far as the Fiesta Bowl year, 2010. We had about the same amount of seniors. You like to have a lot of juniors and sophomore and not a lot of seniors as far as the program is concerned. I think they have a job to do and they've done a good job this summer just controlling what they need to control as far as getting things done there."
On Joey Grant returning as a center or guard:
"That's still up to debate, just where we are at the guard position, center. It's good to get him back and have that depth that you want with the line coming back."
On the freshmen who enrolled this summer:
"I don't talk about freshmen. I let them prove it on the field. I think there's some talented athletes there. It gets a little different when you put them out in the team scheme, from a contact speed, from just how well they can pick up the scheme of offense and defense. They've only been involved in weights right now and running, conditioning and some skelly without the coaches there. I think under the coaches' eye, some kids are going to improve, some will be redshirted. But right now I think it would be hard to say. I'm not shy. As soon as I see a kid that's good enough to help us win, then he's going to elevate on the two-deep or whatever we have to do to get him more reps."
On seeing Perriman or other guys trying to make it on NFL teams:
"I saw Geathers who came in to see me. He's doing very well. From what I understand, Plummer, they're all doing well. The NFL is what it means, not for long. I've coached there. A lot of it will be in the preseason, where they were drafted, what their needs are. We've had an awful good track record of players that were free agents making teams and doing what they need to get done because they have great practice habits. I think that will show up again. I think the kids that were drafted have a great opportunity to make the teams. I haven't spoken to any of them except for Geathers."
On scheduling games and the vacancy for 2016:
"I always look at the schedule this year: You've got four non-conference games, I'd like to go to nine conference games if we could. I think the big thing there is that you always play one or two bell ringers that if you win those games you get national headlines, national news. The third game is one that's competitive that you have an opportunity to win and one other you should win. That's how I look at the schedule. I'm always trying to improve the schedule and getting a better home schedule of games. That's the key right now. Next year's schedule, we have Michigan, Maryland...
"I worry about one year at a time. I'll sit down with David Hansen who is involved in that. We have a couple teams we're looking at right now, seeing if we can get a home-and-home. I don't like one-and-dones."
On being excited about the season:
"Even when I was just a football coach, I loved the practice field and hated the office. That's when everybody is waiting for me in that lobby to ask questions. I love the coaching field. It's relaxing out there sometimes. But for the most part, that's what I enjoy doing. I enjoy coaching. Right now I'll attack both jobs the same way I always have, football wise and the athletic director job. Again, I'm not just keeping it afloat. I am making changes there I think are better for us as an athletic program. I think the key is making sure everybody is on the same page."
On playing a game at the Citrus Bowl:
"I think under contract we have to play six in the stadium for the suite holders and all that. I'd be willing to take a seventh game over there. That's real doable. I think taking a sixth game as a home game over there, I think it would be tough on the contracts we have written with the suite holders and stuff like that."
On prospective home-and-home opponents maybe preferring to play a return game at the Citrus Bowl and whether that's a "slippery slope" they'd prefer not to face:
"It's not a slippery slope to me. I'll play at your place, you play at my place and that's how we do it. I think some of these people, their egos are a little bit bigger than the teams they're bringing in."
On the cost of attendance issue:
"We're just finalizing the numbers right now. We're not getting the big checks that the Power Five are getting, so we're going to do what we can for all athletes, not just the revenue sports. But all athletes. Give what we can give this year based on sustaining what we have for expenses. Everybody will get a piece of cost of attendance this year. Obviously the revenue sports will get more."
On whether players ask about COA:
"No. That's my problem with autonomy. I think the athletes are getting money, some money, I just hope the athletes are the ones getting it and not their parents. I think the big thing is that we're going to try to do what we can do to keep up with the Power Five. I think in our situation, and we're one of the top Group of Five schools, it's just going to be very hard to sustain it without that big check the other Power Five conferences are getting."
On other schools touting the dollar amount:
"I'm sure it'll be a recruiting tool. Right now as I look at full cost of attendance coming to school here, it'll be around $5,000 a year... that's a pretty good chunk of change as far as free cash with tuition and books. Plus a lot get the Pell Grant too. That's not bad take-home pay. I don't know how people are going to sustain that. I think it will get worse before it gets any better. I do believe you should take care of the student-athletes, but the way we're going about it is it's going to knock a lot of people out of the box in how you can afford it."
On Brent Key as offensive coordinator:
"I think Brent is Brent. I don't think Brent is copying anybody. If you look at the staff, I always like a staff that if somebody got injured or went down, there's always a coordinator sitting in the room, offense and defense. That's why we send a lot of guys off that leave as coordinators elsewhere because I think they work at the game and do what they have to do. They sort of learn the trade and not the tricks of the trade. That's how I've always looked at it. When you look at coaches, you look for good people, guys that are intelligent and can communicate which is key for recruiting, and then know their position skills as far as what's going on and can put it all together. Some coaches have two of the four, some have four of the four. You want guys with four of the four working for you. I think communication is the big skill, especially with recruiting. You've got to have a personality and know how to talk to kids. Then you've got to be able to close. You have to have some salesmanship too."
