urban meyer q&a
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 3:43 pm
August 27, 2007
Guerry Smith
GatorBait.net Assistant Editor
Coach Urban Meyer was on his game Monday when he talked at his first weekly media session, offering several nuggets you have not heard before. Read on to find out why the Gators train for four-to-six-second bursts of energy, where Cameron Newton has to improve to get on the field and why Florida will have a surprise starter at cornerback this Saturday. Meyer reserved his highest praise for quarterback Tim Tebow and wide receiver Andre Caldwell.
How many times since the end of last year have you been asked if Tebow can throw?
"The answer I gave at Media Day was he can't throw at all. We get asked that quite often, but that's probably our fault. We did what we had to do to move the ball last year, but he can throw fine."
Can you talk about what Cameron Newton did to win the backup quarterback job?
"First of all, Cameron Newton's not a good person, he's a great person. He comes from a great family and he has a very similar game plan as Tim (Tebow). That came into the decision-making process. If we are putting together an offense, you don't want drastic (differences between the two quarterbacks). Chris Leak ran a little different offense than we're going to run this year. Johnny Brantley is going to be a great quarterback, so we're developing him. Those quarterbacks should be starters at Florida. They are both very talented guys. You don't want to just waste a year, but you have to have two on call and really a third one on call as well. But back to Cameron Newton. He went through spring practice, so he as a little more knowledge of the offense. He's a little more mature physically than Johnny. Johnny's still growing up. I hope Cameron doesn't grow much more or he'll be playing defensive tackle. The real reason was he's been through spring practice and the game plan won't have to change drastically."
Can you talk more about him as a person?
"He's a phenomenal person. Not a great leader yet. He's still young. He needs to show up on hard days, and that's the major concern. He's a great person, but he's not a great leader. He's not what Tim was at this time of the year, but Tim, when he was in sixth grade he could have gone and led. Cameron's come a long way, and he's got still a good ways to go."
How do you keep the young guys' feet on the ground in the week before the first game?
"We went through our practice schedules, and our kids have been in many more game situations during practice than they were a year ago. We didn't need to teach Ray McDonald how to handle pre-game and all that. We've gone through the pre-game with much greater detail than we ever have so they can focus on going as hard as they can for four to six seconds. That's our whole thing. Four to six seconds as hard as you can go. If they can do that, then they'll be fine. If they are worried about whether their second uncle came and got his tickets and is sitting in the right place, all the things that come on with game day around here, I really worry about that. There has been no discussion about things that go on in college football other than going as hard as we can on each play for four to six seconds."
With the kickoff being moved back to the 30, do you foresee a lot more big plays?
"Yes. I don't quite understand why people keep changing the game of college football. You've got the greatest thing going and you're the most popular sport in the world, but by the way let's change this. Why? I don't understand that. I guess there have been some changes for good, but who's making those changes? Just let it go. But we've spent a lot of time on kick return. We have some excellent playmakers. I want to see some rewards with all the time we've spent on it."
Will you use more of your best checkers on kickoff coverage now?
"Here's the concern on kickoffs. Watch this closely this year. If a kid jumps offside, that's a 70-yard sprint, and then you go back and do it again. I don't know if you guys are aware of this, but they are still saying the ball (on out of bounds kicks) goes to the 35-yard line. So if a team kicks it out against us, we're making them kick it again. Kickoff return is much easier than kickoff. You drop back about 25 yards and go. Kickoff you sprint down 70 yards, and it's tough to come right back and do it again. You don't have the same juice running down the field the second time. If a team kicked the ball out of bounds against us with the old rule, we're taking the ball at the 35 and going. If it happens, we're making them go back five yards and re-kick that thing. If we kick the ball out of bounds, we've got a flaw. We've got a problem. I'm anxious to see how it works out. Obviously we're going to take the ball (if UF wins the coin toss). Let's go play. I think it's going to have an impact on scoring, especially on that first series. Usually on that first series you pin them down in there and then you pounce on field position. Starting the game now, that scoring drive is going to be much easier."
Are you concerned about more injuries on kickoffs?
"Yeah. It's the only play in college football where you ask guys to run 60 yards and run into each other. It's a major concern. I'm sure that committee thought about all that when they made that decision (sarcasm)."
You told the guys to shove their (championship) rings in the drawers and you didn't want to see them. Can you talk about that?
"It's not fair to say forget it, it never happened. We used to have all that stuff around here, the videos going all the time, that's all been gone, but I want our kids to remember that. To say just forget it, that never happened, they're like, 'yeah, right coach. These girls still are talking to me because I've got these national championship rings.' But let's just get back and do it again. Like Tigers Woods said, the great programs and great players want to repeat, they want to do it again and again and again. I go back to four to six seconds as hard as you can go, and we'll have a chance to be successful."
Tim has played a lot, but do you worry about having to calm him down?
"I bet we will. I worry about that a little bit. Tim had a bad day about three days ago. Normal things he wasn't getting done – motions or checks and things like that. Usually he's right on it. If he does (need to be calmed down), he'll get it straightened out real fast. But the human element, being a starting a quarterback at Florida (he's wanted that) ever since he was a little boy. Now it's here. It's five days away. He'll be fine. The best thing about Tim is if he has a bad play he's strong enough mentally to jump right back in. It won't affect him for play after play."
Billy Donovan talked about his situation trying to repeat and used the word "poison." Has that word popped up when you talk to the team?
"He actually used that with our team. Don't buy the poison, don't drink the poison. I use the words "human element," he uses the word "poison." They are both very strong and they both say the same thing. With everything going on, (just go) four to six seconds as hard as you can go. That's what college football is. I love singing "We are the Boys" and I love the whole deal and shaking hands with the band director afterwards, but four to six seconds as hard as you can. Our kids are so young, they are buying into that now. We started that about a week ago. We've always used that, but not to the extreme we're using it now. The defensive coaches, at every huddle break they are saying "four to six seconds." Then you have to regroup and do it again. College football is that. It's a series of bursts. Your mind starts to go and your body goes because you're fatigued."
Why four to six seconds?
"It's a play. A typical play takes about four to six seconds, and then you've got to recharge your body. You get back to that huddle and then you go again. That's why I hate when you go run 53-second gassers. What is that? It's nothing to do with football. I guess it's cardio, getting yourself in shape, but our objective all training camp has been (preparing to go four to six seconds). Think about that. If you're trained to go 12 to 15 seconds or 1 to 2 seconds, you're not playing football. Football's a four to six second burst, regroup and go again. That's hard. That's what makes football so hard."
What would tell fans is fair to expect from Tim Tebow this year? He can't walk on water and win two Heismans?
"This is my third year, and what I say doesn't matter. I've got high expectations of Tim. He's the quarterback at Florida. Shane Matthews started it and coach Spurrier started it, when you play quarterback at Florida, you better be really good. 'The last guy happened to win a national championship, Tim.' I put it on him all the time like that, too. He's fine. What do I say to the fans? Have fun and watch a great quarterback play."
Can you comment on Emmanuel Moody's status?
"I can't. He's not here yet. Or he's not here. Oops."
Is the plan still to play two quarterbacks like last year, and is Cameron ready to do that?
"No he's not. Our plan is (to play two quarterbacks), but it's still early. We didn't know what we had in Tebow, but we kind of had an idea and that's' why we put him in that Tennessee game. Our plan is to play two. He's not there yet."
What does he have to do to get to that point?
"Mental toughness and maturity. That's got to happen real fast. Obviously he'll play Saturday. How much, that depends on his week of practice. We have a hard day today and a hard day tomorrow and then we'll back off. He's got to have a really good two days, and that will determine it. Tim, believe it or not, was week to week. There were some weeks he didn't play as much because he didn't practice great."
Do you feel like you've mellowed going into your third year? You criticized a lot of players your first year and you aren't doing it as much anymore.
"If I had to do that over, I'd take it back. I don't think that's fair, but it is what it is. The only time you'll hear that is when it's an attitude issue or an effort issue. We had many, many, many, many, many of those problems (in the first year). The reason you don't hear that is guys aren't leaving camp, guys aren't resisting. I remember one day I was so upset at the running backs and then I came here and somebody asked me about it. I don't have that problem right now. Kestahn Moore is all set and because of that everyone else understands the value of protecting the quarterback. If a young guy can't perform at a certain level, that's probably our fault for recruiting him or we just have to put him in a better position. If you have an attitude issue or a lack of effort, that's not the coaches' fault. That's what really bothers me. We haven't had those issues (this year). We're going to have some mistakes, but it's not going to because of attitude."
Where does Wondy Pierre-Louis fit in at cornerback, and how vital is he on special teams?
"He's top three. I'm not going to start him on kickoff. He's going to be a starting corner, and to ask him to run 70 yards down the field and come back and line up at corner, I don't think that's fair. He's still involved in special teams, but he is going to play a lot of football. If he doesn't start (at corner), he's one the top three. He's a talented guy. He's a little like Cameron. Very talented, but he has to mature."
Do you have the talent level across the board where you would like it to be?
"What I do is constantly evaluate. Is our secondary better than it was two years ago? I don't see Ray McDonald out there yet (on the defensive line). We have some excellent players. Our receiver position is elevated. Our quarterback position is elevated, not because of Chris – Chris is a great player – but we didn't have four of them. Certain positions it's not even close, but there are other positions we haven't upgraded. We have six (true freshman) D linemen, and they better develop because we just lost some really good ones. USC kind of has the corner on that right now where every year they just plug guys in. We're not there. We still have a two classes void – the transition year and then our first year. That was not a quality time of recruiting at Florida. The numbers point that out."
Did you say Pierre-Louis will start?
"I should probably tell you Markihe (Anderson) does have a sprained (right) knee right now. I didn't know how bad it was and I still don't know. It just happened the other day (Saturday) and there's a chance he's going to play this week. He's got an MCL. They say for sure (he'll be ready to play against Troy) and there's a chance he'll play this week. Markihe for sure was a starter and Joe (Haden) was the next. I'll know probably Wednesday on Markihe. We're still hoping. It's an MCL sprain, first degree."
Can you talk about the special relationship between a quarterback and his wide receivers in timing and how Tim has developed that?
"The strength of our team is what you just said. Wait until you guys see Bubba Caldwell play. You have not seen him play like this. I might eat my words there, but I usually don't when I see a kid perform, practice and take his game (to another level). He was a fast guy that happened to play receiver. Now he's a wide receiver. His top ends of routes (are perfect), he's stemming, he's understanding coverages, he's blocking, he's doing everything you ask him to do. You want to feel good? Come out and watch our guys throw the ball around a little bit. We feel really good about where the program is in that area. That's the strength of our team right now."
Guerry Smith
GatorBait.net Assistant Editor
Coach Urban Meyer was on his game Monday when he talked at his first weekly media session, offering several nuggets you have not heard before. Read on to find out why the Gators train for four-to-six-second bursts of energy, where Cameron Newton has to improve to get on the field and why Florida will have a surprise starter at cornerback this Saturday. Meyer reserved his highest praise for quarterback Tim Tebow and wide receiver Andre Caldwell.
How many times since the end of last year have you been asked if Tebow can throw?
"The answer I gave at Media Day was he can't throw at all. We get asked that quite often, but that's probably our fault. We did what we had to do to move the ball last year, but he can throw fine."
Can you talk about what Cameron Newton did to win the backup quarterback job?
"First of all, Cameron Newton's not a good person, he's a great person. He comes from a great family and he has a very similar game plan as Tim (Tebow). That came into the decision-making process. If we are putting together an offense, you don't want drastic (differences between the two quarterbacks). Chris Leak ran a little different offense than we're going to run this year. Johnny Brantley is going to be a great quarterback, so we're developing him. Those quarterbacks should be starters at Florida. They are both very talented guys. You don't want to just waste a year, but you have to have two on call and really a third one on call as well. But back to Cameron Newton. He went through spring practice, so he as a little more knowledge of the offense. He's a little more mature physically than Johnny. Johnny's still growing up. I hope Cameron doesn't grow much more or he'll be playing defensive tackle. The real reason was he's been through spring practice and the game plan won't have to change drastically."
Can you talk more about him as a person?
"He's a phenomenal person. Not a great leader yet. He's still young. He needs to show up on hard days, and that's the major concern. He's a great person, but he's not a great leader. He's not what Tim was at this time of the year, but Tim, when he was in sixth grade he could have gone and led. Cameron's come a long way, and he's got still a good ways to go."
How do you keep the young guys' feet on the ground in the week before the first game?
"We went through our practice schedules, and our kids have been in many more game situations during practice than they were a year ago. We didn't need to teach Ray McDonald how to handle pre-game and all that. We've gone through the pre-game with much greater detail than we ever have so they can focus on going as hard as they can for four to six seconds. That's our whole thing. Four to six seconds as hard as you can go. If they can do that, then they'll be fine. If they are worried about whether their second uncle came and got his tickets and is sitting in the right place, all the things that come on with game day around here, I really worry about that. There has been no discussion about things that go on in college football other than going as hard as we can on each play for four to six seconds."
With the kickoff being moved back to the 30, do you foresee a lot more big plays?
"Yes. I don't quite understand why people keep changing the game of college football. You've got the greatest thing going and you're the most popular sport in the world, but by the way let's change this. Why? I don't understand that. I guess there have been some changes for good, but who's making those changes? Just let it go. But we've spent a lot of time on kick return. We have some excellent playmakers. I want to see some rewards with all the time we've spent on it."
Will you use more of your best checkers on kickoff coverage now?
"Here's the concern on kickoffs. Watch this closely this year. If a kid jumps offside, that's a 70-yard sprint, and then you go back and do it again. I don't know if you guys are aware of this, but they are still saying the ball (on out of bounds kicks) goes to the 35-yard line. So if a team kicks it out against us, we're making them kick it again. Kickoff return is much easier than kickoff. You drop back about 25 yards and go. Kickoff you sprint down 70 yards, and it's tough to come right back and do it again. You don't have the same juice running down the field the second time. If a team kicked the ball out of bounds against us with the old rule, we're taking the ball at the 35 and going. If it happens, we're making them go back five yards and re-kick that thing. If we kick the ball out of bounds, we've got a flaw. We've got a problem. I'm anxious to see how it works out. Obviously we're going to take the ball (if UF wins the coin toss). Let's go play. I think it's going to have an impact on scoring, especially on that first series. Usually on that first series you pin them down in there and then you pounce on field position. Starting the game now, that scoring drive is going to be much easier."
Are you concerned about more injuries on kickoffs?
"Yeah. It's the only play in college football where you ask guys to run 60 yards and run into each other. It's a major concern. I'm sure that committee thought about all that when they made that decision (sarcasm)."
You told the guys to shove their (championship) rings in the drawers and you didn't want to see them. Can you talk about that?
"It's not fair to say forget it, it never happened. We used to have all that stuff around here, the videos going all the time, that's all been gone, but I want our kids to remember that. To say just forget it, that never happened, they're like, 'yeah, right coach. These girls still are talking to me because I've got these national championship rings.' But let's just get back and do it again. Like Tigers Woods said, the great programs and great players want to repeat, they want to do it again and again and again. I go back to four to six seconds as hard as you can go, and we'll have a chance to be successful."
Tim has played a lot, but do you worry about having to calm him down?
"I bet we will. I worry about that a little bit. Tim had a bad day about three days ago. Normal things he wasn't getting done – motions or checks and things like that. Usually he's right on it. If he does (need to be calmed down), he'll get it straightened out real fast. But the human element, being a starting a quarterback at Florida (he's wanted that) ever since he was a little boy. Now it's here. It's five days away. He'll be fine. The best thing about Tim is if he has a bad play he's strong enough mentally to jump right back in. It won't affect him for play after play."
Billy Donovan talked about his situation trying to repeat and used the word "poison." Has that word popped up when you talk to the team?
"He actually used that with our team. Don't buy the poison, don't drink the poison. I use the words "human element," he uses the word "poison." They are both very strong and they both say the same thing. With everything going on, (just go) four to six seconds as hard as you can go. That's what college football is. I love singing "We are the Boys" and I love the whole deal and shaking hands with the band director afterwards, but four to six seconds as hard as you can. Our kids are so young, they are buying into that now. We started that about a week ago. We've always used that, but not to the extreme we're using it now. The defensive coaches, at every huddle break they are saying "four to six seconds." Then you have to regroup and do it again. College football is that. It's a series of bursts. Your mind starts to go and your body goes because you're fatigued."
Why four to six seconds?
"It's a play. A typical play takes about four to six seconds, and then you've got to recharge your body. You get back to that huddle and then you go again. That's why I hate when you go run 53-second gassers. What is that? It's nothing to do with football. I guess it's cardio, getting yourself in shape, but our objective all training camp has been (preparing to go four to six seconds). Think about that. If you're trained to go 12 to 15 seconds or 1 to 2 seconds, you're not playing football. Football's a four to six second burst, regroup and go again. That's hard. That's what makes football so hard."
What would tell fans is fair to expect from Tim Tebow this year? He can't walk on water and win two Heismans?
"This is my third year, and what I say doesn't matter. I've got high expectations of Tim. He's the quarterback at Florida. Shane Matthews started it and coach Spurrier started it, when you play quarterback at Florida, you better be really good. 'The last guy happened to win a national championship, Tim.' I put it on him all the time like that, too. He's fine. What do I say to the fans? Have fun and watch a great quarterback play."
Can you comment on Emmanuel Moody's status?
"I can't. He's not here yet. Or he's not here. Oops."
Is the plan still to play two quarterbacks like last year, and is Cameron ready to do that?
"No he's not. Our plan is (to play two quarterbacks), but it's still early. We didn't know what we had in Tebow, but we kind of had an idea and that's' why we put him in that Tennessee game. Our plan is to play two. He's not there yet."
What does he have to do to get to that point?
"Mental toughness and maturity. That's got to happen real fast. Obviously he'll play Saturday. How much, that depends on his week of practice. We have a hard day today and a hard day tomorrow and then we'll back off. He's got to have a really good two days, and that will determine it. Tim, believe it or not, was week to week. There were some weeks he didn't play as much because he didn't practice great."
Do you feel like you've mellowed going into your third year? You criticized a lot of players your first year and you aren't doing it as much anymore.
"If I had to do that over, I'd take it back. I don't think that's fair, but it is what it is. The only time you'll hear that is when it's an attitude issue or an effort issue. We had many, many, many, many, many of those problems (in the first year). The reason you don't hear that is guys aren't leaving camp, guys aren't resisting. I remember one day I was so upset at the running backs and then I came here and somebody asked me about it. I don't have that problem right now. Kestahn Moore is all set and because of that everyone else understands the value of protecting the quarterback. If a young guy can't perform at a certain level, that's probably our fault for recruiting him or we just have to put him in a better position. If you have an attitude issue or a lack of effort, that's not the coaches' fault. That's what really bothers me. We haven't had those issues (this year). We're going to have some mistakes, but it's not going to because of attitude."
Where does Wondy Pierre-Louis fit in at cornerback, and how vital is he on special teams?
"He's top three. I'm not going to start him on kickoff. He's going to be a starting corner, and to ask him to run 70 yards down the field and come back and line up at corner, I don't think that's fair. He's still involved in special teams, but he is going to play a lot of football. If he doesn't start (at corner), he's one the top three. He's a talented guy. He's a little like Cameron. Very talented, but he has to mature."
Do you have the talent level across the board where you would like it to be?
"What I do is constantly evaluate. Is our secondary better than it was two years ago? I don't see Ray McDonald out there yet (on the defensive line). We have some excellent players. Our receiver position is elevated. Our quarterback position is elevated, not because of Chris – Chris is a great player – but we didn't have four of them. Certain positions it's not even close, but there are other positions we haven't upgraded. We have six (true freshman) D linemen, and they better develop because we just lost some really good ones. USC kind of has the corner on that right now where every year they just plug guys in. We're not there. We still have a two classes void – the transition year and then our first year. That was not a quality time of recruiting at Florida. The numbers point that out."
Did you say Pierre-Louis will start?
"I should probably tell you Markihe (Anderson) does have a sprained (right) knee right now. I didn't know how bad it was and I still don't know. It just happened the other day (Saturday) and there's a chance he's going to play this week. He's got an MCL. They say for sure (he'll be ready to play against Troy) and there's a chance he'll play this week. Markihe for sure was a starter and Joe (Haden) was the next. I'll know probably Wednesday on Markihe. We're still hoping. It's an MCL sprain, first degree."
Can you talk about the special relationship between a quarterback and his wide receivers in timing and how Tim has developed that?
"The strength of our team is what you just said. Wait until you guys see Bubba Caldwell play. You have not seen him play like this. I might eat my words there, but I usually don't when I see a kid perform, practice and take his game (to another level). He was a fast guy that happened to play receiver. Now he's a wide receiver. His top ends of routes (are perfect), he's stemming, he's understanding coverages, he's blocking, he's doing everything you ask him to do. You want to feel good? Come out and watch our guys throw the ball around a little bit. We feel really good about where the program is in that area. That's the strength of our team right now."