Bowling Green State University Athletics
Urban Meyer Press Conference
November 13, 2001 | Football
"The seniors are playing the best football of their career. Those guys are all grading winning efforts. I'm not sure, but guys like Karl Rose and Ryan Wingrove and Chris Glantzis and the two safeties, Sergio Lund and Chad Long, and Malcolm Robinson, John Gibson, they are playing the best football of their career. It is a tribute to those guys."
"I like the chemistry of our coaching staff and the players. There are no egos, there is no selfishness, the goal is just to win number six and they did that and the best thing about getting number six is it gives you an opportunity to try and get number seven."
What is the formula to get all those guys on the same page at the same time?
"I think I am very proud of the decision to keep Tim Beckman as defensive coordinator. It was one of the best things I have done. Here comes a new coach in, and obviously loyalty is a concern of mine. I didn't really know Tim, but I made a million calls and did a lot of homework. That was a big decision. I did not want to come into a situation where there are motives other than playing the best defense in the conference. I actually need to thank Tim Beckman's dad more than Tim because I know what type of family he came from and that made the decision a little easier. I was convinced after visiting with Tim on the phone several times and doing my homework that this is what this program needed."
"Ryan Wingrove played a lot of football here, Khary Campbell played a lot a football, and to come in and completely change everything, when it really wasn't built that bad. The big mistake I would have made would be to come in here and completely change the defense when you have 7-8 starters coming back. I think its worked out very well, I think Tim has done a super job. When you recruit good players you have to also develop them. Brandon Hicks, Ryan Wingrove, Chris Glantzis, I am not sure we would beat Penn State and Florida State on them, but they have been developed over the past three or four years and they look the way they are supposed to look. "
How pleased were you about getting a team of this caliber (Northwestern) on your schedule?
"I had mixed emotions when we found out because they were ranked in the top 20 and Rose Bowl favorites and had just beaten Michigan State. I have so much respect for programs when they do things the right way. Northwestern is going to graduate their players, I know who they recruit, I know the way their coaches are, and that is a program that everyone in the country respects. You aren't playing a team with 48 non-qualifiers, you are playing student-athletes."
"I love their offense. We actually talked to their coaches in the pre-season. There is a lot of respect for what Northwestern does and what they did last year. Personally, I was excited about getting the opportunity and it gives our guys a chance to get known not just throughout the state of Ohio, because people have already forgotten about Missouri. If we can get this one, we will see a bunch of guys get a little recognition. And finally, when we move to the west, we will have to recruit Chicago a little harder now because we will play some of those teams in that direction...so, this will help our recruiting also."
"I think Paul (Krebs) did a great job (of arranging this game). We aren't looking to play Nebraska, but we don't want to play a slew of 1-AA's either and have the 108th, 110th, 114th-ranked schedule. I think you need balance, but you also want to play teams you can compete with. So, if you win, if you are playing 1-AA teams, you won't get recognition and I think we are playing a team we can compete with, even though they are a Big Ten opponent."
What has happened to Northwestern in the last month or so?
"We know a lot about them. Gregg (Brandon) coached there for a long time and it is so easy to follow, we have so much film on them and I know people that have played against them. You see a team a lot like Ohio U. that has lost some close games and injuries have got them. If you lose a player, a legit Heisman candidate in Damian Anderson, they start pressuring you to throw the ball. The last two ballgames the score has been out of hand in the first half which is very uncharacteristic of Northwestern. I think this has been a long year for their staff and the players and with the tragedy this summer, things begin to wear on you. Like Ohio U, they have lost five or six close games, eventually, how much more can you take. It is hard to keep a team focused right now, day to day, with everything going on."
Is the quarterback position open again or is Josh Harris going to start?
"As of now Josh is the leading candidate. He had a good practice yesterday, but the quarterback position is still open."
After the Ohio game what else can you add about Josh's performance?
"The good thing is that if Josh gets the ball in his hands he can make plays, and he did that in the game. The negative is that he has to be the coach on the field and that is his job regardless if we get the play on the field or not. We burned three time outs and there are some significant concerns there that we need to address. In my mind, though Josh Harris is a redshirt freshmen, that was his first legitimate game where we said here go run it and I thought he did a very good job. He just has to learn to not burn the timeouts because we cannot afford those mistakes . The good thing is that he is still learning and he is also a fast learner. He made some exceptional plays in that game. Ohio blitzed a lot and sometimes our protection would fail, but Josh would step up and avoid the pressure and our protection would fail, but Josh would step up and avoid the pressure and complete a first down pass to Robert Redd and that's what we need and he did a nice job of that.
In regards to the quarterback situation in the next game will you just go with one quarterback or will you rotate them again?
"I think we will be prepared to play both quarterbacks. But I am leaning towards letting one guy play more of the time. I just love the excitement that we have created, I wish we had a first team all-conference or a first team all-American but we don't so the quarterback job is still up for grabs. Josh won the job during practice and obviously kept it during the game."
