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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Coach David Cutcliffe's Preseason Press Conference Transcript
8/2/1999 | Football
August 9, 1999
Good Afternoon, It's great such a large turnout. It's good to see you guys.
First thing I want to say is that as we're getting ready to get started I'm extremely proud of our staff. I'm excited to going to work with these men. I think our staff has done a tremendous job up to this point of preparing ourselves and our team for August. These guys go back to December of 98. They came in here flying from all different directions and really haven't stopped since they've been here, so that 's a group of guys I'm extremely ready to go to war with.
I'm extremely proud of the seniors on this team. I had breakfast with our seniors this morning. There were 19 seniors in there counting scholarship and walk-on players. I enjoyed that breakfast and looking at those guys and the contributions they've made to this program and the contributions they've made to this team. The preparation they've gone through as a group preparing for this season has been outstanding.
I'm also extremely proud of the captains. Our five captains have taken their roles very seriously. Our two captains and three tri-captains. Our two captains, Armegis Spearman and Todd Wade, have certainly led by example and have taken their responsibilities very seriously. I wanted to set the table with that.
One of the things that makes me feel good to begin with is that there are a lot of players that have played a lot of snaps in the Southeastern Conference on our team. In all the years I've been coaching, I know that that's a good sign for a squad. I'm talking about guys that have played the entire game, and been starters. That's a real plus for us, and that's an exciting part of this team without question.
Some things in general, I've talked about attitude a lot with this team. Our attitude has been outstanding from January coming right back after the bowl game, and going back to work all the way through this summer.
The work ethic and conditioning is good. Our squad has reported back in shape. Talking to our trainer and our strength staff, our conditioning tests have been outstanding and as good as I've ever been around. So that's been a real positive. They've shown a willingness to work.
We won't know until tomorrow morning where we are in our mental preparation and what they've done on their own. I've said all along, it's extremely important with his team to have accomplished a lot not only physically but mentally over the summer. How we start tomorrow is very important because we can't afford to have another spring practice. We need to move ahead, and I think, I don't know yet, but I think that our team has done that and done that well.
We need a strong August. I really feel that. I don't think we're there yet. I think we're much improved over where we started in spring practice. I think we're a stronger, faster football team, because of all our work, we put in during the offseason. Now we need to add a strong August to prepare us for what is always a challenging schedule when you play in the Southeastern Conference.
Let's start with the kicking game. Our kickers have a competitive August. Les Binkley and Carlisle McGee have been competitive to this point. It's been good to see that. We were much improved in the spring. I know those guys have done a lot on their own. They've told me about all the work they've put into it. So we're going to have to get settled in with the place kicking game and the kickoff game. But we need those two areas to be much improved.
Reagan King is our punter. He had a really good spring. I think he can be a weapon in this league. Reagan is a good athlete, a guy who can do a lot of things, and he got better and better as spring went on.
Bobby Killion and A.J. Kiamie are competing in the snapping areas. Bobby Killion is our punt snapper and A.J. Kiamie is competing with him for the long-snapping and the field goals. Ben Craddock will be our holder. And our snapping and holding have to become as consistent as our place kicking game will be.
In general about our personel, we spent a lot of time this spring and a lot of time this summer studying, putting people in the right places in our kicking game. Our emphasis on the practice schedule and the meeting room is going to reflect an inordinate amount of time trying to becoming the best kicking game we can become. Rich Bisaccia coordinates the special teams to work with the entire staff. Everyone will have a part in it. But he's going to coordinate the kicking game with a lot of careful planning, and I'm excited about what that can bring to us.
On the defensive front, I'm anxious to see where Derrick Burgess and Antoine Scott are from a health standpoint when we start tomorrow. We will work them on a limited basis, and at times may have them alternate practices. We may work them in the morning, take the afternoon off, come back and work the next morning or vice versa. So we're going to work them into a schedule that we hope is beneficial to both them and us getting them ready to play.
I've said all along, Kenderick Clancy in the interior is an all-star player. He's a disruptor. And he has really had a good summer. He's strong, he 's quick, and I really look for Kendrick to have an outstanding year.
Comone Fisher right now looks like the other starting tackle. But we're going to have other people who play there. If we get Derrick and Antoine back, and some young people come on, I think one of the strengths we can have is the ability to play eight to 10 people up front, playing at the kind of tempo we expect, and rotate a lot of people and stay fresh there. It's one of the things we have in goal of doing.
Our linebacking core is coming back intact. We're going to kind of tweek some things around there and look at some things. We're going to ask Ronnie Heard to work some at safety, which he's played in the past, as well as at linebacker.
Armegis Spearmen has had a tremendous summer. Eddie Strong is bigger, faster and stronger. Shawn Johnson is going to be a factor at linebacker. I thought he really got stronger as the spring went on. He's a very physical football player. So we're going to move some things around there. We'll also adjust some of our personnel packages and move some people around. So I'm excited about our defensive front being a little bit more multiple and allowing our guys to use their abilities whether it's in coverage or rushing the passer. We're excited about that.
We've need some other young people. Chad Cook had a good spring, so that gives us a little flexibility. We need some young people to step up and give us some depth. But it's going to be interesting to see how it's it unfolds up front.
Our secondary is not as deep as we would like, but Tim Strickland is a very experienced cornerback. Tim had a limited spring. We were trying to help him graduate, which he did. We're extremely proud of Tim graduating, but he missed some of the practice time due to some academic committments. So he's going to need a good August, and I expect him to do so. He's a very good athlete and a very good young man, and I think he'll have a solid season.
Ken Lucas is an exciting player at corner. No question he has all the skills and tools to be a tremendous player. He just needs more reps and more practice time and continue to grow.
Desmon Johnson and Justin Coleman will have to provide some depth there. We're really looking at going in it with four corners, and maybe some freshmen help if it works itself out.
At the safety position, Ronnie (Heard) is going to work there along with Kenny Woods, Anthony Magee, Syniker Taylor, and Darius Tate. We're going to go through it out there and see what happens from a standpoint of who the two starters are, but I want to be able to play some different groups back there, and play three and hopefully four people at safety. That's a very physical position at this day and time, particulary in the scheme that we use. You need develop some depth there.
Offensively, starting at quarterback. I think our quarterbacks have improved a great deal over the spring. I'm excited about the guys there. Romaro really got better as the spring went on. And I think Romaro Miller can be as good a player as there is in this league at that position. He is a playmaker. He has all the tools it takes. He got more and more comfortable with our offense as the spring went on, and I know he's put a lot of time in this summer getting himself ready.
David Morris had a good spring. I'm excited about David and what David brings to the table. And he is a very committed young man. He's got a good arm, he's got an accurate arm, and David is a really good athlete. He runs real well. He's a guy who can do some things for you athletically.
Eli Manning has come in and gotten off to a good start. And it will be interesting to see how fast he goes now that we're jumping into the whole realm of things. He has a real solid basis. He would be where you would want a freshman or beyond going into this point.
Jake Hill is going to work as the fourth quarterback. He's a guy who could work some at receiver, and there's no telling where Jake might end up. Jake's a versatile player, but we're going to need to have somebody ready at the fourth quarterback position. That's all we have on the team. That's a unique situation. Generally we would have more people than that.
I've said all along running backs were the strength of our team in the spring as a group, and I still believe that. I thought they set the tempo. They practiced well. They were productive. Deuce McAllister is a more powerful, faster product than he was a year ago. He weighed in right at 220, and he has really worked hard to put himself together and had a good summer.
Joe Gunn is a very strong young man. He's a shifty, quick back. Joe had a great summer in the weight room. I don't know exactly what his bench is, but he's coming back with a 400-plus pound benchpress. He's moved in the right direction, and I think Joe's had a really good spring. He'll have some good competition there, which is a plus.
I think we can get some freshmen help there. Robert Williams and Tremaine Turner both had really good workouts to start the summer off for freshmen.
Charles Stackhouse is really what we're looking for physically as a fullback. He's a vicious hitter, which makes him an outstanding blocker. And he catches the ball very well and runs well. I'm excited about what Charles brings to us. Charles loves to practice and puts a lot into it, and sets a good tempo on the field.
Toward Sanford, moving from tailback to fullback, got better as the spring wore on. He's got to become more physical. There's no question that will help him, but Toward is a good runner and catches the ball, and is a playmaker, which helps us a great deal as far as versatility.
Ian Bass has got off to a good start in the freshmen workouts, and is going to be in the depths at fullback. Chico Chandler could end up being in the depth at fullback or tailback. He's a big back that has versatility. There's some depth there and we're excited about what that position can bring as the season rolls on.
With Grant Heard coming off knee surgery, it'll be interesting to see. He's run routes. He's been at times full speed. When you're coming off knee surgery, they'll be up and downs. We'll see what happens with him in August. We may need to alternate some workouts with him. I'm going to be real anxious to see where he is.
Cory Peterson is in the best condition of his life. He's faster. He really ran good times. I'm excited about Cory. Cory is certainly a playmaker as well as Grant, proven playmakers. After that, we're going to have to have some people step up. There's group here: Jamie Armstrong, Maurice Flournoy, Todd Campbell, who put himself in a position to compete in spring practice. Any of you that saw spring practice saw that. Potentially, again, some freshmen help there. I think we can have a really good group at wide receiver. I'm not ready to say which one of those young guys, or L.J. Taylor. You can mention people, but its going to be important to see in August how much they've learned. There's a lot of learning to do in our system at receiver, a lot of coverage reading, and a lot of things that they're going to be very challenged with. How fast some of those guys catch on will be critical in how much they can step in and play for us.
At the tight end position, I didn't have real concerns going into spring practices, but there's still concerns when you lose an All-American player at tight end. But Adam Bettis and Doug Ziegler and Mitch Skrmetta all had good springs. And we've signed some people there. Kevin McKenzie, a junior college transfer, is a big, strong youngster. Justin Sawyer is a big, powerful freshman tight end, so I think we're going to have some good competition at tight end, which is going to make the position better. And I'm going to be anxious to see how that unfolds as we start practice.
On the offensive line, I think we've got six people who can play in this league. There's no question in my mind. The thing we've got to do is we've got to grow to seven, eight, nine, people who are ready early. We've got to settle the center position. Ben Claxton and Charlie Perkins are going to work there, but we're going to have Shane Grice and Tutan Reyes waiting in the wings also and ready to play, if necessary. Terrence Metcalf when we get out there he's got to push around on some other 300-pounders. We'll truly find out about his health, when we see that. That will answer some questions. We're using some different combination. I think that could be a big plus for our offensive team.
Todd Wade has a chance to be as dominating a lineman as there is in our conference. He has come back at 330 lb. He's faster, stronger. I think when he tested coming in, he was 6-8, 330 in his physicals.
Keydrick Vincent is in the best condition of his career. Keydrick looks like a different guys and yet he is still 300-plus. He just blew through his conditioning tests. He had the best summer he's had. He's really worked hard. I'm pleased at where he's at.
Tutan is another guy who has played a lot of snaps. Tutan has really picked up his weight where he's right at 300 pounds. So we have a chance to have a real tough offensive line that is in real good shape.
We need some of the guys, Matt Koon, German Bello, Augustus Carwell, John Keith, and some of those young guys have got to step up and early in fall practice. I'm going to be interested in where those guys are.
We obviously have some concerns about depth at most positions. We do have a challenging schedule, but we're excited about the opportunities this team has. I've said all along that this is a very balanced division in the Southeastern Conference. You'd be hard pressed to pick a winner and not change a couple or three days later. I think it is that type of situation, not because there's not quality, because I think there is a lot of quality in the West. It's going to be an exciting year. I think there's going to be a lot of competitive, close games. I think the teams that are consistent and poised to play four quarters of football will have the opportunity to come out on top.
Q: With Terrance and Grant trying to come back from injuries, how big is the mental part of trying to come back and play after an injury?
A: I think it's a huge part of it. Obviously there are different situations at times. Physically there's something there that just doesn't allow a player to come back. I don't think players never feel quite the same, so that difference is hard to get used to. That's why I'm anxious to get them on the field, let them get out there, and we'll gage it along with them. Terrence assures me he feels fine. With Grant, we're kind of anxious to see. When you're doing all that footing and all that planting with your foot on the ground. I think he's anxious to see over a period of time what it's going to feel like. Again, with defensive linemen, somewhat like Terrence, they're going to have to hit and lean against some other big boats. I'd suspect that after they've hit Todd Wade a few times, they know how they'll feel over on defense.
Q: What do you need each of the centers to do to take the job away from the other?
A: Well the first thing you want is a consistent snap that lets the timing of the play. It sounds like a real elementary thing, but that was part of spring practice. I didn't think we were getting it away from center to quarterback as well as we need to. Its different. You can put a guy on the offensive line and he can play real well. You suddenly put a ball in his hands and he has a difficult time snapping and doing his job. So I think that they committed this summer like they should have, at least I hope they have, to snapping, drills and working with the quarterback on an individual basis. Then after that, we're going to have consistency there that plays along the level as the rest of those guys. I think we have a chance to be good at the guard and tackle positions. The center gets everything started. We don't have to have him making all the calls and doing everything that a lot of people associate with the center position. If they're young, we can manage without that. But also understanding the effort and intensity it's going to take to play 70 snaps in a ball game. And that has to be displayed. And not any one of them has been asked to do that for an extended period of time.
Q: How has the attitude of winning that you are looking for developed?
A: We practiced in spring practice like a team that was intending to win. I think the leadership of our team has taken that approach. Thinking back to our offseason program back in January, they tried to take that approach. I think that's an area where we started to take strides in that direction. And now, when it's hot and it's two-a-days, we're going to find out how we managed this final phase. But I sure do think from an attitude standpoint, it's part of that deal where you've got a number of players that have played enough SEC snaps that they understand how big a challenge it is to be a consistent winner in this league. They're preparing themselves to do just that.
I think that's a tribute to our seniors, our leaders. You hear about the receivers, the DBs and the quarterbacks, all throwing it around, but they went out as a offensive and defensive unit and did their drills and their inside work. They did their pass protection drills and their running game drills all on their own, and they were very intense about it. That's bound to pay dividends. And you hope that in the morning when we start, we're not reteaching a bunch of things that we taught in spring. You hope they've worked themselves past that over the summer.
Q: Is there a different offensive philosophy in the SEC West?
A: We've played all the teams that are in the West during the time I was in Tennessee, and obviously we played some on an annual basis. So for me, familiarity is not really a problem. I don't know if it's any different. Obviously there have been some good running teams in the West. You've seen Mississippi State and LSU run it. Arkansas is a physical team. I think there have been some good teams that have been physical over the last few years and set the pace from a running game standpoint in the West, but not many differences in defensive philosophy. It's still the Southeastern Conference both ways.
Q: How have you adjusted to taking on head coaching duties?
A: I'm having a great deal of fun with all of it. It's been fun with the staff. Offensively, there have been a lot of meetings to do. We've hashed out a lot of football. Some of it is tedious, but you grow from it and benefit so much from that experience, so that's been fun. With the other responsibilities and things that come from being a head coach, there are a lot of different hats you wear. I'm learning in some instances, no question. But I'm having a good time with it. When you have good people around you, which I do, there are a lot of things administratively that I get a lot of help on. That's a real positive. It hasn't been a hindrance at all. It's been an enjoyable experience. I'm doing what I love to do.
Q: Have you had a chance to recharge your battery?
A: Mine's on automatic recharge all the time. I haven't had any need for recharging. But the whole staff has had some time, and I've had some time. It's been fun to me and recharging to me is to just be in Oxford and to be home with my family getting involved with more things in Oxford. Also it's been fun just being around our players this summer, when you're not talking football. You're just relaxing and getting to know each other better. It's not an agenda. That's been a rejuvenating factor to me. That's been a lot of fun.
Q: What about Syniker Taylor?
A: The situation with Syniker is right now we're not going to have an answer until some time late in August. We will know something at that time. Until that time, I've told Syniker, and he's approached it this way, all he can do is get himself ready, which he has approached fall practice as he should. He's a member of this team who needs to get himself ready everyday to go play football. We don't have anything conclusive, and there's no date set. It may be right up until game week before we actually know. It's been an issue that has been talked about a lot, probably rightfully so. But it's an issue that you really can't give an answer to. To get into the details of it, he shouldn't and neither should we. His grades are his business, and that's the law. Beyond that, I you really can't say anything else.
He'll be at practice and going at it like everybody else.
Q: Have you made a decision on who will be redshirted?
A: No, we haven't really haven't made any decision on any redshirting at this point. I don't think you can until you get into practice to see how everybody is responding and to see just what your injury situation may or may not be. And that's true with your freshmen as well. I told our staff nobody is redshirted until that point in time when we sit down with them about it, and at this stage, I don't want anyone one on this team thinking they're redshirting. I want them to be the best football player in 1999 that they can be. There are some people that if you look at the squad, whether its freshmen or an upper classman that for whatever reason you want to redshirt. It has to be what's in their best interest and the team's best interest. But that hasn't been decided.
Q: What would have to be the situation for Eli Manning to play?
A: From a depth standpoint, obviously we feel great about where Romaro is. We would look at David Morris whether he is responding like we think and doing well, which I think he will, or if he has an injury. There are so many factors. I will tell you this, we are preparing him all year as if he were going to play. I'm a big believer in contingency planning. Having three quarterbacks ready is always a challenge because of the reps, but you'll see us when you watch us practice, we're going to have people spread out all over the field getting reps. It's not going to take long for them to get tired, because there's going to be people moving around and there's going to be a lot of people getting reps. That's something I really believe in on both sides of the ball.
