Miami Postgame Quotes
11/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 24, 2010
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Temple at Miami Football
Nov. 23, 2010 ** Yager Stadium ** Oxford, Ohio
Miami Postgame QuotesMiami Head Coach Mike Haywood
On addressing the crowd after the 23-3 victory: "I told the crowd that we really appreciate all of the support they have given us, through all the adversity in which we have overcome, from a 1-11 team to an 8-4 team and we truly appreciate the efforts. At the same time, I wanted to give thanks to the seniors because the seniors have done such a tremendous job for all that they have done and for sticking with the program and believing in the message in what we have been giving. Talking about the leaderships, the integrity, and the values that you have to have when you're building a team from a 1-11 team to a winning team, and they did a really good job in believing, delivering, and enforcing the message. We talked about how the seniors are building the bridge for all of these young men to follow."
On the coaching staff: "The coaches are instilling more discipline into their players. The assistant coaches are becoming better leaders and expecting more out of their players as we become a better football team. I think that with the leadership and guidance of the assistant coaches, we are able to get more discipline. We talked about all of the dreams, but the dreams only get you started discipline keeps you going and if we want to continue, we have to instill more in our football team."
On the team's progress: "I think that we are getting better each and every day. We're getting better as a football team because we are practicing better as a team. We are not where we should be at this point in time but the players understand what the vision is and they understand where we have to go before we can become a complete football team. Our players are getting better and believe in their coaches and in the system."
Freshman Quarterback Austin Boucher
"I was very pleased, I thank God a million times for how I played this evening. The team was unbelievable, the defense came up with some great stops when we needed stops, special teams held them inside of the 30 yardline which they were supposed to. On offense we drove the ball well. Overall, it was a great team effort and we just kept going after it for 60 minutes and they ended up just giving in; great team effort."
On the 96 yard touchdown run by Thomas Merriweather: "It's the same play that we have been running, just a read on the defense; I read the defensive end and if he comes down then I pull it and if he stays out, I get it. The offensive line did a great job of blocking and Merriweather just emptied out the tank on that one. We needed that, it was huge."
Senior Right Guard Nate Williams
On the dynamics of the team: "This year the team has been a big family, we've been relying on each other this entire season to make sure that everyone does what they are supposed to do and stays out of trouble and is accountable for their actions both on the field and in the classroom. Guys have really stepped into their roles and really have taken responsibility. Everyone just knew what their role was and everyone understood that we had to go out and play for Miami. We really had that team idea going for us and it worked."
On senior night: "We have gone through so much in five years, we have gone through a coaching change, numerous losing seasons, and we weren't good enough to do what we wanted to do. This year it's unbelievable how hard we've worked and how well we have stayed a team. To go out like this on senior night is an amazing feeling."
Senior Right End William Diaz On preparing the defense for tonight's game: "We worked a lot on zone pressure, knowing where we should go, and which gap each person had and I think tonight we tried to play as tight as possible and tried not to make as least mistakes as possible."
Sophomore Linebacker C.J. Marck On the focus of the defense: "We let up a big play on the first down but we knew that we would come back, we just have to play the next play which is all you can do; forget about that one and just focus on what you can do. After those big plays, the next play was either a no yard gain or resulted in negative yards so that set us up in better field positions to play, putting them in third and longs and we did a good job putting them into those positions."
