Murray State University Athletics
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Head Football Coach Matt Griffin Addresses Media At Weekly Press Conference
8/29/2006 5:00:00 AM | Football
Murray State University Head Football Coach
Murray State opens its 82nd season of college football on Saturday (Sept. 2) when the team travels to Columbia, Mo., to face the University of Missouri at 6 p.m.The Racers first home game of the
ON THE DECISION TO START RYNE SALYER AT QUARTERBACK: “Ryne has really done a great job from spring practice to fall camp. Game experience makes a difference, it really does. I think what has shown most is his poise and confidence in the offensive system. We don't ask those guys to win football games for us. We simply ask them to be the distributor on offense, get the ball to the guys around them and let them do the work. Ryne has been as steady at that versus pressure and static defenses as we've seen.”
ON INJURY SITUATION: “[Tight end] Ben Rush won't play. We play three or four of those guys, we're very fortunate to have guys to fill in. We won't have him this week, we should have him back for
ON HAVING 16 FRESHMEN LISTED ON THE TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART: “That's accurate. The best player plays. That's the way we've always looked at it. That's where the gray hairs pop in for me. I'm confident in those guys, our coaches are confident in those guys and really those spots have been earned. Naturally, we'd like to have a few more guys on the offensive and defensive lines. I think we recruited some guys that are going to be real good, we just have to see them under the lights for the first time.”
ON OTHER QUARTERBACKS SEEING ACTION ON SATURDAY: “I think if the situation warrants we will. The one thing Ryan has over Zach is game experience. I'd rather give Zach some game experience this week and next week and every chance possible. The only way for him to progress as a quarterback is to get game experience so we have to manage a way to get him that.
ON TRUE FRESHMEN QUARTERBACKS JEFF EHRHARDT AND CHRIS FRANKLIN: “I'd like to redshirt them both. They're both talented guys. I've been impressed with Chris Franklin, how quickly he's picked up the offense. Jeff is a real talented athlete. The one thing about Jeff Ehrhardt, a kid that is 6-4, nearly 6-5, he can run. I don't want a straight drop back, stand in the pocket quarterback, I'd rather have an athlete first.”
ON THE MOOD OF PRACTICE AFTER ANNOUNCING THE STARTING QUARTERBACK: “To be honest with you the kids probably knew, just like Ryne and Zach weren't really surprised when we told them. You can't fool the kids in any way, shape or form. They saw the improvements we saw from Ryne. Zach did a great job, Zach only lacks game experience. I think what put him back a little bit physically is not having the off season conditioning. We've got to improve Zach's foot speed, and that's going to happen. He's a tremendous athlete. He's a guy that right now weighs in at 210, a year from now I see him at 225 and faster. Practice mood this week is going to be hard to gauge because everything is still new. Yesterday was our first Monday game prep practice, so they had no idea what to expect. I expect the same today and tomorrow.”
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ON SPECIAL TEAMS: “Our kickers have really come on, especially the last week. Timmy Wright has punted the ball extremely well. As far as the place kicking duty we still have a little bit of a battle these next couple of days between Gary Crass and Sean O'Brien, a true freshman, they both have improved significantly. We'll see how that plays out. Kick off duties will go to Sean, he has a pretty potent leg. This one area where you don't want to give them anything, if anything you try to gain some sort of advantage by field position in the kicking game.
ON TAKING THE TEAM INTO AN ENVIRONMENT LIKE MISSOURI'S MEMORIAL STADIUM: “The biggest thing is we've never coached our guys under the lights. We've coached them now for nine months and we've had a spring game, we've had scrimmages in camp, but we haven't the crowd, the bright lights, we haven't had the experience of travel. There are some guys we probably think are going to be great ones that we're not sure how they are going to react to adverse situations. There are going to be other guys, on the flip side, that really respond far better than we expected to those situations. They haven't been with us in a live game either. The ultimate one is just come out of this thing healthy, we have a conference match-up a week later so we want all of our guns ready to go.”
ON PLAYING IN FRONT OF SUCH A LARGE CROWD: “Our seniors are good football players. In my discussions with them, they like this challenge. They talk with such enthusiasm about their experience at
ON PLAYING AN NCAA DIVISION I-A OPPONENT: “You've got to do it. If we have to do it lets play it in the first game, let's get it out of the way. It meets financial needs for us as a university and an athletic department. I have not complaints about it. I think it's a good way to gauge where your team is at.”
ON JUNIOR TRANSFER LEFT TACKLE CODY MOREHEAD: “He's done a nice job. I really like Cody, I like his mentality. He's a real tough, hard nosed kid. He's added some depth, and really taken over a spot these last few days. He's been well coached.”
ON JUNIOR CORNERBACK DERRICK PARROTT: “That kid's a champion, in all aspects of his life, socially, academically and on the field. You see things in the weight room that maybe he can, and can't do, and people say he's not that good. Then you put him in a competitive situation, let me tell you I'd take him over anybody I've coached in a long time because he's such a winner.”
ON BEING PLEASED WITH WHERE THE TEAM IS AT: “Certainly we're pleased that we've gotten better in a lot of areas. There's certainly some things we need to keep addressing. I think we have a great staff of recruiters and I think our guys all understand that if you miss a day in recruiting then you miss the boat, so everyday is an opportunity to improve your program. The thing I like about our young kids right now is they've come in physically ready to play. I've been real pleased with the leadership our seniors have shown. We're going to need those guys because we are a fairly young outfit.
ON THE TEAM'S RUNNING BACKS: “We've got a few running backs you're going to see. You'll see Dante, you'll see Charlie Jordan, you're going to see Josh Jones. These guys are young, I wish I could redshirt those two, like I want to redshirt the quarterbacks, but they'll probably play."
