Bowling Green State University Athletics
Urban Meyer Press Conference
September 04, 2001 | Football
Sept. 4, 2001
(On the win at Missouri):
"I'm just proud of these guys, and I wouldn't say that unless I was very proud of them. There's been a lot of hard work, and many issues had to be overcome. We traveled (to Missouri) with 63 guys, and right now, I'm not sure how many more guys we have than 63. I'm just so proud of the guys that played in that game, because that was a hostile environment.
"During the course of the game, I felt that it was a sloppily-played game. After studying the film, that was not the case at all. It was a group of kids playing hard. And, give Missouri credit, they played hard. It was not a sloppy, poor-effort game, or we wouldn't have had the guys graded out with winning efforts that we had. It was a group of offensive and defensive linemen that took coaching. Offensive and defensive line coaches Mike Ward and "Stud" (Greg Studrawa) and John Hevesy have done a great job.
"My biggest concern with this program right now is the depth. We have no 'twos' (second-stringers). We had three of the four defensive linemen graded at a winning effort, and the fourth - Alex Glantzis - played very well. Chris Glantzis played a phenomenal game, Brandon Hicks played a great game and Ryan Wingrove played a great game. But the problem is they played 60-70 plays. With our schedule, they're sunk (if they have to play that many plays each week). It's gonna take time, we have to get some quality depth in here, and right now, we don't have that."
Is that problem especially evident on the offensive line?
"Yes. The injury to Andrew Hart is just a devastating injury. There's certain kids that are absolutely into everything you're doing. We're talking about a young man that bought into what we were doing, a great kid who has worked very hard to earn that starting spot. To see him go down, and the way it did - 25 yards behind the play after the extra point was blocked - it bothers you. There were so many great things on Saturday night, and I don't want to dwell on the negatives all the time, but that was just a devastating loss to our program."
Will Greg Kupke take over at Hart's spot?
"Yes. Kupke will start at right guard, and there's another story. I've told him it's time to move away from that story, because that story's over now. He and Kurt (Gerling) - yeah, those are fabulous stories, but it's over. Kurt had a knee injury in April and came back to play 60 or 70 plays (at Missouri). Greg Kupke, I love you like a son, but let's not worry about your knee. Let's move on and prepare, and try to win our next game."
After looking at tape on the penalties in the Missouri game, what do you think?
"Obviously, we take responsibility. One of the things we talk about is 'it is your fault.' Say you're in a situation where you shouldn't be, but your friend does something wrong and you get caught, absolutely your fault. You're a backup, it's not because the coach doesn't like you. It's your fault, you're not good enough, or you're not working hard enough, or whatever. It's our fault we had nine penalties. . . . We've got to correct that."
How have you felt about a two-quarterback system in the past, and how do you feel about a two-quarterback system now?
"I think everyone's a fan of a starting quarterback, when you have a first-round (NFL) draft choice, or a guy who's going to set every record in college football, then I'd probably go with him. When you've got two very good quarterbacks that really complement each other and really cause defenses problems - and, that deserve to play - then I'm a fan of a two-quarterback system. So, to stand here and say, 'I hope we have two quarterbacks for the next 10 years," I don't know that. It depends who they are and it depends on the system. It's like when you've got two good tailbacks. You might not have a 1,000-yard rusher, but you might have two with 800 yards."
You graded all of the players after the game. What grade did Urban Meyer get?
"Oh, boy . . . I don't know. There were a couple of things I would do differently, some game-management things that I've got to keep control of. I thought the communication was good between the coordinators and myself. I think when you develop trust in your coaches, I'm finding out that you can spend a lot of time on things that need to be done. If I didn't trust Gregg Brandon, then all my time would be spent with the offense. If I didn't trust Tim Beckman, then my time would be spent with defense. And I really trust them. I really like their work ethic, I believe they're very knowledgeable of the game. We've got a fine coaching staff."
So, would you give them an A?
"I'd probably give them a good, solid B. There are no A's handed out yet."
Is Janssen Patton one of those players that just has a nose for the ball, or an instinct to make plays?
"Let me tell you something. First of all, the interceptions basically hit him in the chest. I give Janssen a hard time because I love him. He's a great player, he could play anywhere. I was talking to (Notre Dame coach) Bob Davie the other day, and I said 'I've got a cornerback that could play at that place.' I mean, he's that good. But, two plays prior to the interception that really gave us the lead, Chris Glantzis hit the quarterback right square in the face mask. Two plays later, he gets hurried and just kind of throws it out there. So, yes, it was a great play (by Patton), but in my mind, Chris Glantzis is the reason that interception occurred. Because, if you watch the quarterback on film, he's throwing off of his back foot. He's probably wondering if he's gonna get whacked again. The whole thing we've been preaching is team defense. Janssen Patton did a good job, and is MAC Defensive Player of the Week and all, but you'd better turn around and hug those guys up front. Chris Glantzis had three pressures, and so did Ryan Wingrove. And, you'd better double-team Brandon Hicks like they did, or he's going to have pressures. All four of those guys played hard, and I credit the interceptions to the pressure placed on the quarterback."
In addition to Andrew Hart, are there any other injuries?
"Well, (Jason) Van Dam's probably still out with the concussion. Godfrey Lewis is close, he might play this week. D'Monn Baker wasn't full speed last week, he'll be full speed this week. We're getting healthy. Hart will have surgery today (Tuesday) or tomorrow."
What are your thoughts on Buffalo?
"They played Rutgers very close. There were some mistakes on both sides. But (UB coach Jim) Hofher put it best when he said that they won the second half, 15 to 11. And they did, they competed with Rutgers right to the wire. I think they're a good football team. They ran for something like 194 yards against us last year, and have pretty much the same players back. I think they had seven sacks, and the guy who had four of them is back. So, Buffalo's a very good football team, as far as I'm concerned. And, to sit here and think that the people wearing orange shirts are just going to show up . . . that's not gonna happen. You'd better prepare with the same fever and passion that we prepared with last week. And, I think we will. In fact, I know we will."
