"It's a very intense rivalry and a very intense game because most of these young players know each other and were recruited by both schools. When it really became a great rivalry in my understanding was the 1990s, when the two programs were always competing for national championships. Obviously that's not happening this year. It was happening last year with us. We're anxious to get this thing going. I know there is going to be a little bit different step around this facility as we get ready for a big rivalry game."
Is there anything new on the injuries?
"Joe Haden's questionable with an ankle sprain. Mike Pouncey is probable and Lawrence Marsh is questionable. Sprained toe, hyperextended knee and then an ankle sprain."
How important was the win in 2005 for generating momentum for the program in general?
"That was a program changer. It set us on a nice little run obviously in recruiting. We brought in an '06 class that was very instrumental in winning the national championship. It was an unbelievable day for Florida football."
Did you ever think you'd have a quarterback run for more touchdowns than Herschel Walker?
"I didn't follow Herschel Walker very much because I was playing high school football. I thought he was a fun guy to watch. Somebody told me that stat. It's hard to imagine."
What do think of Preston Parker as a running back, and what does he bring to FSU's offense?
"He's a great player. It's a little bit like what we do with Percy Harvin. It's a speed differential, although their running back is 10.5 100-meter guy, too, Antone Smith, but he's injured. He (Parker) is an elusive guy, he runs the stretch and he also can run inside. Speed creates issues, and he has that speed. He's also a very reckless player. He does a good job."
Would you describe the atmosphere in the locker room when you had all those recruits in there a couple years ago after beating FSU?
"It seems like 46 years ago, but it was a great atmosphere. I remember walking around with my hands in my pocket because people started trying to commit and shake our hand at the moment. We needed it, actually. That year, at that point in time, that needed to happen. Our players stepped up and made some great things happen that day on the field, and the atmosphere in the locker room was tremendous."
Bobby Bowden got his 300th win at FSU on Saturday. Can you envision the day when you do the same (at Florida)?
"No. That won't happen. I'm going to say this about coach Bowden, and I've become friends with him – I don't see that happening in college football, I really don't. I've become very good friends with Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden, and we talked about that. It's a whole different animal right now than it was. Three hundred. What do I have? I don't see that one happening."
With Percy Harvin having missed so much time, how much do you see him being a part of the offense this week?
"He did good yesterday. He was out running on the field. The medication that they gave him was a success. I think they tried three different ones because I wanted to know. The one they hit, they hit it good, and he was out running yesterday and was here this morning for meeting. He's got that Percy Harvin look again. It was not there for several days. As far as his involvement in the offense, if there's anyone who can get right back into it, he's it. There's not a whole lot of body fat there. It's all going to be stamina, conditioning and knowledge of the offense, so we've got to have a good day today."
How much of a concern is those jump balls FSU likes to throw, with their big receivers against your little guys?
"Very. It's as big a concern as we have. We will spend a lot of time and plus we need to know what personnel is going to be available for that game, so we're looking right now at Wondy-Pierre (Louis), looking at Jacques Rickerson, Moses Jenkins. We're just thinned out right now. Markihe Anderson and Joe Haden are still questionable, so I'll know more in the next couple days."
Can you compare Cornelius Ingram to anyone professionally, and can you elaborate on what makes him a special player?
"CI has got enormous size and great hands and great body control. I don't watch enough pro football to compare him to anybody, but he's a match-up issue. He's not the fastest guy in the world, but he's very elusive. He can separate from defenders, and obviously at 6-4, that catch he made (for a touchdown late in the first half against FAU) was the same one he didn't make the week before, the same exact play. He was a little more healthy and went up and made a great play. That was big. It was 28-20 at that time when he made that catch with 10 seconds left in the first half."
Is it hard for you to go a week without saying the other school (FSU)'s name?
Have you ever slipped up?
"I don't know. Not in front of you, obviously."
The Heisman talk has never been bigger than this week. Have you addressed that with Tim Tebow?
"No I haven't. We've had three players break really humbling records when you think about it. To think Percy Harvin became – and you're talking about Florida, think about the great football players – the first one to have 100-100 (rushing and receiving yards) in a game, whatever that was three weeks ago. You have Bubba Caldwell who's name is above all these other great receivers. I did the interview after the game and I actually sat in the receiver room, and I started reading off the names of the receivers and the players. To think Bubba Caldwell after those two injuries he had. And then obviously Tim with his 20-20, it proves there's zero chance it could happen without a collective group.
"The best thing is all of them appreciate that. Percy, when he broke the 100-100, the first thing he mentioned was the offensive line. Bubba Caldwell talked about the other guys. I think we have seven receivers with at least two touchdown receptions, so there's some wealth there that some of these other great quarterbacks don't have. Seven games out of 11 we have not allowed a sack. One time around here about three years ago (actually two), we had some ridiculous number of sacks. We were awful. It's a collective group and they all understand that, too. That's the best thing we got going with these guys."
Why is stability at quarterback so much more important than stability at the other positions?
"I don't think you can win without stability at quarterback. It depends on what kind of offense I guess. If you have the old-fashioned offense where you take the snap, turn around and hand it to a 230-pound tailback like they did years ago, I guess anybody could do that and throw 12 times a game and if you don't complete them, just hand the ball off. Defenses are far too complicated now. The quarterback position is absolutely critical. It's kind of a silly statement, but I don't believe you can win without quarterbacks these days. I mean like a premium quarterback."
What is your opinion on Lloyd Carr?
"I admire him. He's a great football coach. I talked to him when I became the head football coach at Bowling Green, but I do not know him very well. I got to know Bo Schembechler fairly well during my time up north, and obviously Earl Bruce. They were rivals, but there was mutual respect. I don't know coach Carr very well, but he's great for college football."
When you came here, a lot of people wondered if the spread would work in the SEC. Last year they said the team was carried by the defense. What has this year said that you've had Bubba, Percy and Tim break phenomenal records?
"I've made the comment that there's no such thing. Whatever our offense is, it's dictated by who our personnel is. The adaptation that you saw first year midseason compared to all of last season to the transfer this year, it's all about who your checkers are. Coaches make errors when they don't adapt to their personal, and that's something we'll never do. If it's spread, if it's I formation, if you remember in the national championship game we operated probably 15 to 17 snaps underneath center and ran a couple of power passes to our fullback because Chris (Leak) is pretty decent at that and we always protected Chris. Tim Tebow is more of a guy that you want to spread the field, so the ability to adapt (is key). Also, you have a couple of injuries out wide and see what happens to that spread offense. It's not so much the offense as it is that personnel."
This is a small senior class, but can you talk about what they've accomplished?
"It is a small senior class. Someone said we have more true freshmen starting than seniors (actually, it's five and five). There are two numbers out on those walls out in the stadium, two national championships in 101 years of Florida football, and you think of the seniors that had a major impact in that year. They will always be part of that. We just missed short on adding another SEC (championship) or at least being able to compete for one. They are tremendous. Several made a major impact in this program, and they are all good people."
Everybody likes to talk about the playmakers. Can you talk about the value of Eric Rutledge and the offensive line and the role they play behind the big numbers?
"Rutledge is probably our most improved player. He's a guy that we actually tried to throw a ball to the other day at South Carolina. He's one of our most improved players. He kind of sat in the shadow of Billy Latsko, and that part of our offense, just the adaptation of our spread offense, we never had a fullback in all the years we were coaching and running this style of offense. Billy Latkso kind of started it and gave us a lot of opportunities to be multiple in protection and also in the run game. Eric's done a great job. I'd have to put him up there as one of the top two or three most improved players on our team."
And what about the offensive line?
"They are doing very well. Maurkice Pouncey should get back. Marcus Gilbert was very close to grading a champion, another freshman making his first start, and he did a tremendous job. We're getting a little bit of depth, although we had some major injuries, obviously Phil Trautwein going down. They've done very well. This is going to be their No. 1 challenge this week."
Are you surprised that no underclassmen have won the Heisman?
"I am surprised. What's happened is it's turned into, although Paul Hurnung won it when Notre Dame had a losing season, but it's turned into now the team with the best record, usually one of their players wins it, and they usually give it to an older program. Am I surprised? I haven't given it much thought."
Is there any chance Tony Joiner will be reinstated as a captain for this final home game?
"There's a chance."
What has he done to re-establish himself there?
"He's just been accountable. He's been performing. He didn't great Saturday, but his two games before that, we got back on a nice roll. You see there are some teams in the country that lost a couple games and imploded, losing four in a row or five in a row or whatever it is. Our guys had every opportunity to do that. You go up to Kentucky to play a top-10 team that just beat LSU, and we're reeling, after a bye week to go up there and win that game, especially the way we did, and then come back and play one of our best games against a good Vanderbilt team. Tony's done a very good job. His best two games were the two after those losses. He's getting close."
Have you ever seen in the 20 years you've been around college football a player who's had as dominant a season and made the impact on his team as Tebow has this year?
"That's a great question. I can't give you an answer because you caught me off guard. I can't think of anybody that's had more of an impact. Alex Smith was phenomenal, but 20-20. That's a heck of an impact. I'm not sure I've seen that."