Opening statement:
"Thank you guys for coming out today. A tough outing up at Cincinnati. Played against a good football team that's well coached. Came out and made some big plays on us early. I didn't think that we defended well against the big play. That was really the start of everything. Trying to play catch up the rest of the way. We have to do a better job of defending the big play and offensively find a way to get the ball in the end zone when we need to, especially at the end of that first half to get some momentum, and also hit the field goals. On our second drive, putting the ball through the uprights gives this team some momentum which we really need at this stage of the year. Again, they were a good team. We knew that going in. We have to defend better early in games to give ourselves a chance."
On the process of taking over last week as interim head coach:
"Being in this position before as a head coach, you really have to oversee all three phases of your game. Allow the coordinators to put together game plans which I thought they did a great job of doing. I really focused in on the special teams last week to help out Coach Buscemi in that regard. Make sure that we didn't give up any cheap touchdowns in the special teams. Those are the situations that get you out of ballgames, whether it's a blocked punt or blocked kick. That was the course of action I took. I thought our coordinators did a great job of getting our players a game plan that we all felt confident we could execute. We just didn't execute."
On the strength of the AAC this year:
"Explosive play. This conference from top to bottom has the ability to make explosive plays. When we first got into this conference we were a more experienced team and now the teams that are in the conference now have been doing well and their players are juniors and seniors. A lot of returning starters on both sides of the ball up and down this conference. Those guys are starting to show what they're really made up. The other thing too is we've developed some good head coaches that have brought in good assistants. This American Conference is tough from top to bottom. It's an unfortunate year for us that we're not as competitive as we have been in the past. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened at the end of the year, who would be playing in that championship game."
On trying to spark the offense:
"That's what we did last week, putting in an up-tempo deal. What it really came down to was fundamentals and running the football and focusing in on that. When you're playing a good skill set on the opposition teams that are explosive and can make plays, you have to find a way to play keep away. Our running game kicked in, but wasn't as consistent enough to keep them off the football field. We're going to continue to do that. This program has been built on that. We'll continue to do those base fundamental things to give ourselves a chance at the end of the day."
On the health of the RBs:
"C.J. got a lot of reps because of the injuries to Dontravious and Will (Stanback) leaving the football program. He's done a good job and has really starting to show, I really saw the other day, his confidence level and being able to break tackles on a 50-yard run. We hadn't seen that all year. I think Dontravious is starting to get healthy. Willett and Taj are coming into their own. More importantly, this offensive line this past game put to their mind that they really wanted to get in people's face, get their pad level down and move people off the ball. That was encouraging to see."
On Justin Holman wearing the glove again:
"Colder weather. I walked around before the game trying to get my own hands to feel warm. That's what it really came down to, being able to hold a football in those conditions."
On his evaluation of Holman since returning from the injury:
"Up and down. Up and down. Up and down. He's making some great plays and making some not-so-good plays. It really comes down to decision making. The other day, the one interception, which was our only turnover of the game. He was trying to make a play when it really wasn't there. He had the right play called, he just needed to execute it. He needs to quite pressing. The other thing too, we may start to see some of those younger guys on the field as well, to help him maybe come off the football field and see for a little bit on the side so it's not all on his shoulders all the time."
On potential changes in the secondary:
"No, because we don't have those players. That's the thing about it. If we did, we sure would. We're going to help the guys we have to find the right mix, moving guys around more than anything else. We have some bodies that can play. Now it's a matter of where do they fit into the puzzle here? Trying to get the right combination of guys that's going to compete and make tackles and get the ball down, not knock it down. Too many easy completions the other day and we had a break down in communication which is the first time that's happened this year on routine stuff. We'll get that stuff ironed out. If we don't, we don't give ourselves a chance."
On Holman being a shorter leash if he continues to underperform:
"It's possible. I've been there before myself. You understand you need to get it done in a certain amount of time. You pick your game up. That may be something that we'll look at again. We've got to see where he's at health wise as well. He took a few shots the other day. He's running a little bit more now so he's going to get a few more shots. We'll see how it goes. I've always believed that you go into the game with the mindset that he's going to get the job done. If we're struggling early, we may decide to go to one of the younger guys to give him a chance to step back out, not to say he wouldn't go back in."
On how Taaffe used to show Holman an inconsistency chart:
"I can tell him every day. Every game. I can point out to him, now being his position coach, where he's struggling. The deep ball is one. Whether it's left, right or center. We had opportunities the other day. That was one of his strong suits before. I don't know if since the injury, that's played a part in it. But the deep ball and then the shorter passes as well. His intermediate passing game is on point. The deep ball and the short passing game really needs to improve. As an offense, not just for himself, but receivers as well."
On whether there's a clear cut backup QB behind Holman:
"It's a question. We'll see how they go each and every week. Everybody has had a chance to start but Harris. It's something in the back of my mind as we proceed along the way. He showed the last time out throwing the football that he was sharp making good decisions. We'll see where we're at this week in the next couple days."
On Tulsa:
"Offensively, they've a good offensive skill set. Evans, I believe he has 28 starts. 25 to 28 starts. A young quarterback, now you can start to see his level of confidence and experience starting to show up. He's hanging on to the football until the last second at the line of scrimmage and finding guys down the football field. He's been very accurate as well. They've got big receivers. Again, we've got our work cut out for us defensively. We've got to find a way to challenge them. Defensively, they've got eight returning starters back. Nothing flashy, we've got to be able to capitalize from an offensive standpoint."
On kicker Matt Wright struggling with the field goals:
"We're going to let them compete in practice just like we did last week with the kickoff situation, the punting situation between Loudermilk and Houston. Houston came through. Got to open back up the competition. Those are important points. Big points. Especially early in the game. It's about momentum, especially on the road. We'll see which way we go. He's lacking right now. He came out in previous, missed that first one as well. we need that first one to go through the pipes."
On what sort of offense he would like implement, if he could start from scratch:
"I think over time you look at your personnel more than anything else. I always believe you look at your personnel. It has to fit your personnel and not your offense. You don't want to be in a spread offense if you don't have spread personnel. You don't want to be in a two-back offense when you have spread personnel. My philosophy coming from a CFL background is you only have three downs to get a first down and so I believe in moving the chains. However way you do it, by running, spreading them. You have to move the chains and move them efficiently. If you get enough first downs, eventually you're going to get a touchdown. No matter how you get it done. Playing three down football made it a little bit easier coming back to the states. Hopefully that opportunity comes sooner than later."
On whether there's an area UCF matches up well vs. Tulsa:
"I think up front, both offensive line and defensive line is a pretty even match there, which is probably the first time this year. We have such a young offensive line, but I think it's a good matchup for our offensive line. They have returning starters, but I think our guys match up well with them. I think our defensive line should match up well with their offensive line. That's going to be key, the battle in the trenches. Again, getting pressure on the quarterback and protecting the quarterback from our standpoint, opening up holes for the run game. I think it's up to the back end skill guys, the defensive backs, and our receivers to step up and make plays. That's the one thing I challenged them today in the team meeting, our playmakers need to step up and make plays in key situations."
On keeping everyone motivated:
"You're pitching a no-hitter and nobody wants to go on record at any time as being that team that couldn't get it done. That's the motivation. It's not to be that guy, not to be that team. That's what we're working, one day at a time to get better. That's the motivation right now. We need to get better and we know that as players. It's our job as coaches, every day we come in to work, put in the idea that we're going to get better today."
On how he deals with players not giving full effort:
"You keep going up and down the sideline challenging guys to step up. You can't relax. We're young. A lot of times you lose confidence when you get behind early. Let's give ourselves a chance. Each and every play, give yourself a chance. As opposed to winning a game, let's just win a quarter. If we can do that, break it down, simply the game. Again, it helps a young guy to understand. He's not looking at just the big picture, but parts of the picture. We can simplify things. That's where the motivation comes in. They're buying in that we need to continue to work hard every day and push each other at practice, competing, to see who wants to go out there and get the job done."
On his memories of the 2012 C-USA Championship game at Tulsa, which had the controversial punt with the whistle blowing, and Tulsa scoring to win:
"You really don't want to know (what I think) because it cost us a championship to say the least. It's unfortunate that things like that happen in the field of play. You saw it happen the other day with the Miami-Duke game at the end. The main thing is just get it right. No matter how long it takes. Get it right. At the end of the day it affects the players more than anybody else. It's their future. And what they were able to accomplish for that season. Did they get it right that day? Here at UCF, we felt no. The conference headquarters felt they did. We're not going back building on that, we're going back trying to win a football game. That's the bottom line right now... Apologies don't do any good. They're holding the trophy over there. We have just an Eastern Division Championship banner up as opposed to a conference banner."
On which younger players have emerged as leaders:
"Again, you always start with your quarterback. I think Justin has done a great job of stepping up and being a leader. Even when he wasn't playing, I think he's done that. The guys up front, Rae has done a good job for us as well, stepping up and being a leader. Aaron Evans is starting to come out and be more of a leader. We're young in the receiver position. Nick Patti has done a good job. Defensively with Niles being a senior and everything, Jamiyus Pittman. Quiet leader. Goes by example. Wants to get the job done. On the back end, none of those guys have said anything because they need to step up their play. They've been pretty much getting their confidence right now. But just to name a few guys."
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