SWC75
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The coach’s show is on TK99, (FM 99.5) in the Syracuse area and can also be heard through Orange All-Access on the SU Athletic website. This year it’s 7PM Thursdays- or two days before each game, when they are not on Saturday. They have a link to their “Radio Mailbox” for submitting E-Mail questions on the SU Athletic website. You also can call in questions at 1-888-746-2873 or locally at 315-424-8599. The show is broadcast from the Red Robin in Fayetteville.
It can take a while but pod casts of the show are eventually posted here:
http://www.suathletics.com/podcasts.aspx
MY QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
Coach, after last year’s opening comeback win against Wake Forest, you attributed the comeback to your off the field activities in trying to develop the maturity of your players, including your ‘leadership’ program. The next week, after we beat Rhode Island, you ere critical of the press for failing to attribute the win to that program. It brings up the following questions: What exactly is the desired impact of the leadership program on the way the team plays? Has there been a difference in the was players you recruited “bought in” to the program and the way players you inherited from Greg Robinson have reacted to it? Was the five game losing streak that ended the season a failure of the leadership program? Finally, has this team, which is mostly your recruits, bought into it more than last year’s team did?
COACH MARRONE
Coach said that they had started working on this season when last season ended, “trying to make sure we covered everything”. We have a challenging schedule which gives us an opportunity for success. “We don’t want to do what some schools do and guarantee three wins in four games out of conference so they only have to win three games in the conference to become bowl eligible. Our schedule is the best way to get better.”
He’s concerned about the heat in the Dome. They’ve spent less time there this preseason than in the past and when they practiced there on Tuesday some players were become dehydrated. “It was a wake-up call. Better on Tuesday than Saturday”.
He said we’d see a lot of freshmen in the line-up Saturday.
Richard in North Syracuse wanted to “see a defense that scares people”. Coach said that “We will be very aggressive this year. We were not happy at the end of last year.” He liked the fact that we were returning three cornerbacks and with their experience, we can use press coverage more and get more pressure up front.
“But you have to be able to score, too and we’ve made some changes on offense to be more explosive with Coach Hackett.”
Kevin of Little Falls wants special teams to “rock the house”. Coach said “That’s why I’ve taken over that unit. We will be aggressive and try to make things happen. We’ve made some changes. I like our 8 core guys.” Matt Park went over who those were: Ross Krautman and the place kicker, Jonathan Fisher and Riley Dixon as punters, Sam Rogers as the long snapper, Eric Morris as the short snapper. Ryan Norton will kick off. Prince Tyson Gulley and Jeremiah Kobena will return kicks. Wayne Morgan, “who can flat out run” may see some action as well. Ritchy Desir, “who is very sure handed” will fill in for Steve Rene while he is hurt. He considers both Fisher and Dixon to be good punters. “Each can so some things the other can’t”. He’s excited about the ability of Norton to get the ball to the end zone on kick-offs and is hopeful of pinning the other team down in front of their goal line.
I called in my question(s) about the leadership program. Coach said “How you are in life determines how you will be as a player. Structure and discipline affect both of them. Early on, I was comfortable with the way things were last year. Parents and coaches have similar challenges. You need to teach your children or you players to do the right thing. That’s one reason we went to Fort Drum. You need good leaders and good followers as well. I didn’t do a good job of going back and talking about the core values of the program. Leadership takes over when we’re not around.”
He didn’t address the question of whether Robinson and Marrone recruits took to the leadership program differently. He did think the most important question I asked was about what happened at the end of last year. A later caller asked “How do you instill a positive attitude in the team?” Coach said “We had a good core attitude in the beginning last year and obviously lost some of that. We are communicating better with the players. You can do these things and feel it’s going well before adversity hits. You find out where you are when it does.”
Matt Park asked who the leaders on this team are. Coach didn’t identify them specifically. “Our kids have worked extremely hard communicating to our players with clarity. This team at this point from last season has been outstanding. They get along better that any other team I’ve coached.
He talked about the Fort Drum experience. “We didn’t want training camp to become stale. Interaction took place. It helped us to understand and put a lot of things in perspective. Some of the military personnel are the same age as our players. They talked about Iraq and Afghanistan. One was an amputee.”
They went to Twitter, (hash tag DMS). OrangeSox 44 noted that Coach had pronounced the team’s goal last year as winning the Big East title. What is the goal this year? Coach said that he’s looking for “three foot goals over large missions. We want to win the play. We want to win the series.”
They discussed the running back situation. “We don’t have a Carter and we don’t have a Bailey. But we do have depth. We have five guys who can play and we’re going to use all of them.” They discussed them- Smith, Gulley, Moore, Morris and Broyld. McFarlane was not mentioned. Broyld “has great skill but he’s a freshman. We need to get him off to a good start. We need to get him the ball in space. He’ll get better and better each week and as he gets better, we’ll give him more and more to do. The exciting thing is to think of what he’ll be like in four years.”
Matt noted that using a lot of different runners will require “pushing the right buttons to have the right guy in there for the right situation.” Coach said that one good thing is that with that depth, he could have a “split field” in practice and get everyone more reps.” He is concerned about not having enough depth at tight end with the injury to Thompson.
They discussed Sean Hickey, who will be filling in for Justin Pugh. “I liked him from day one. Of all our offensive line recruits he possessed the best skills- height, weight, skills. But he’s a more natural right tackle. When Justin comes back, he may go back there or he may go inside. We’ll play the best five guys”. He said Ivan Foy and Rob Trudo were so competitive that he’s just letting that competition go right into the season, although Foy will be the nominal starter. “Andy Phillips has been really coming on.”
Jake in Canastota wondered what was being done to recruit more local kids. Coach talked about the “team camps” they have for local high schools so they can work out with and scrimmage against each other that are being held. This gives the coaching staff, including Coach Shafer, who is in charge of recruiting the local area, a chance to look at not just seniors but freshmen and sophomores and see who might have college potential. They noted that Coach Shafer’s son, “Wolfie” is playing for one of the local teams.
Missie and Mindie, (no jokes, please), were at Red Robin and asked what players had proven to be “the most pleasant surprises” Coach mentioned newcomers and new starters that he thinks will be “difference makers”: Markus Pierce-Brewster, Ryan Norton., the defensive tackles, Siriki Diabate at middle linebacker, Morris and Broyld at running back, and Beckett Wales.
Coach said that Pierce Brewster had told him that he was nervous about the upcoming game on Monday. Doug told him not to worry, to focus his nervous energy into his performance. “Don’t let the nervous energy lead you to wander and think of other things.”
A caller asked about “getting the back-up quarterbacks ready for next year.” Coach isn’t concerned about next year. Charley Loeb and Terrel Hunt “have done a nice job and I would be perfectly comfortable having to send them into a game. They have made great strides.”
Brian in his carphone thanked the coach and the staff for their efforts and wanted the coach to discuss the new members of the staff. Coach said Steve Morrison played for Michigan and the Indy Colts. He coached with Coach Shafer at Western Michigan and alter at Michigan. Donnie Henderson “Is older than me but don’t tell him I said that”. He coached with the Ravens under Buddy Ryan and Ed reed has said that he owes Coach Henderson a lot.
Brenda in Canastota asked the coach what was “his greatest success in life”. He thought about it for a very brief moment and said “Marrying my wife. I was a recruiter in the SEC at the time and it took me 6 years to recruit her. If it had taken that long for the players, I would have been out of a job.”
The did a an abbreviated scouting report on northwestern, talking about Kain Colter, whom Coach compared to Doug Flutie. He also said Venric Mark was “a heck of a player, both as a running back and on special teams. They’ve also done a heck of a job of recruiting receivers. Their guys know how to find the seams in a zone and how to work the rope in man-to-man.” I’m not sure what “working the rope” means- running a sideline route.
Matt implored Coach to beat Northwestern. As a Newhouse guy, he doesn’t want to lose to the only school that could be compared to Syracuse in producing sportscasters.
It can take a while but pod casts of the show are eventually posted here:
http://www.suathletics.com/podcasts.aspx
MY QUESTIONS/COMMENTS
Coach, after last year’s opening comeback win against Wake Forest, you attributed the comeback to your off the field activities in trying to develop the maturity of your players, including your ‘leadership’ program. The next week, after we beat Rhode Island, you ere critical of the press for failing to attribute the win to that program. It brings up the following questions: What exactly is the desired impact of the leadership program on the way the team plays? Has there been a difference in the was players you recruited “bought in” to the program and the way players you inherited from Greg Robinson have reacted to it? Was the five game losing streak that ended the season a failure of the leadership program? Finally, has this team, which is mostly your recruits, bought into it more than last year’s team did?
COACH MARRONE
Coach said that they had started working on this season when last season ended, “trying to make sure we covered everything”. We have a challenging schedule which gives us an opportunity for success. “We don’t want to do what some schools do and guarantee three wins in four games out of conference so they only have to win three games in the conference to become bowl eligible. Our schedule is the best way to get better.”
He’s concerned about the heat in the Dome. They’ve spent less time there this preseason than in the past and when they practiced there on Tuesday some players were become dehydrated. “It was a wake-up call. Better on Tuesday than Saturday”.
He said we’d see a lot of freshmen in the line-up Saturday.
Richard in North Syracuse wanted to “see a defense that scares people”. Coach said that “We will be very aggressive this year. We were not happy at the end of last year.” He liked the fact that we were returning three cornerbacks and with their experience, we can use press coverage more and get more pressure up front.
“But you have to be able to score, too and we’ve made some changes on offense to be more explosive with Coach Hackett.”
Kevin of Little Falls wants special teams to “rock the house”. Coach said “That’s why I’ve taken over that unit. We will be aggressive and try to make things happen. We’ve made some changes. I like our 8 core guys.” Matt Park went over who those were: Ross Krautman and the place kicker, Jonathan Fisher and Riley Dixon as punters, Sam Rogers as the long snapper, Eric Morris as the short snapper. Ryan Norton will kick off. Prince Tyson Gulley and Jeremiah Kobena will return kicks. Wayne Morgan, “who can flat out run” may see some action as well. Ritchy Desir, “who is very sure handed” will fill in for Steve Rene while he is hurt. He considers both Fisher and Dixon to be good punters. “Each can so some things the other can’t”. He’s excited about the ability of Norton to get the ball to the end zone on kick-offs and is hopeful of pinning the other team down in front of their goal line.
I called in my question(s) about the leadership program. Coach said “How you are in life determines how you will be as a player. Structure and discipline affect both of them. Early on, I was comfortable with the way things were last year. Parents and coaches have similar challenges. You need to teach your children or you players to do the right thing. That’s one reason we went to Fort Drum. You need good leaders and good followers as well. I didn’t do a good job of going back and talking about the core values of the program. Leadership takes over when we’re not around.”
He didn’t address the question of whether Robinson and Marrone recruits took to the leadership program differently. He did think the most important question I asked was about what happened at the end of last year. A later caller asked “How do you instill a positive attitude in the team?” Coach said “We had a good core attitude in the beginning last year and obviously lost some of that. We are communicating better with the players. You can do these things and feel it’s going well before adversity hits. You find out where you are when it does.”
Matt Park asked who the leaders on this team are. Coach didn’t identify them specifically. “Our kids have worked extremely hard communicating to our players with clarity. This team at this point from last season has been outstanding. They get along better that any other team I’ve coached.
He talked about the Fort Drum experience. “We didn’t want training camp to become stale. Interaction took place. It helped us to understand and put a lot of things in perspective. Some of the military personnel are the same age as our players. They talked about Iraq and Afghanistan. One was an amputee.”
They went to Twitter, (hash tag DMS). OrangeSox 44 noted that Coach had pronounced the team’s goal last year as winning the Big East title. What is the goal this year? Coach said that he’s looking for “three foot goals over large missions. We want to win the play. We want to win the series.”
They discussed the running back situation. “We don’t have a Carter and we don’t have a Bailey. But we do have depth. We have five guys who can play and we’re going to use all of them.” They discussed them- Smith, Gulley, Moore, Morris and Broyld. McFarlane was not mentioned. Broyld “has great skill but he’s a freshman. We need to get him off to a good start. We need to get him the ball in space. He’ll get better and better each week and as he gets better, we’ll give him more and more to do. The exciting thing is to think of what he’ll be like in four years.”
Matt noted that using a lot of different runners will require “pushing the right buttons to have the right guy in there for the right situation.” Coach said that one good thing is that with that depth, he could have a “split field” in practice and get everyone more reps.” He is concerned about not having enough depth at tight end with the injury to Thompson.
They discussed Sean Hickey, who will be filling in for Justin Pugh. “I liked him from day one. Of all our offensive line recruits he possessed the best skills- height, weight, skills. But he’s a more natural right tackle. When Justin comes back, he may go back there or he may go inside. We’ll play the best five guys”. He said Ivan Foy and Rob Trudo were so competitive that he’s just letting that competition go right into the season, although Foy will be the nominal starter. “Andy Phillips has been really coming on.”
Jake in Canastota wondered what was being done to recruit more local kids. Coach talked about the “team camps” they have for local high schools so they can work out with and scrimmage against each other that are being held. This gives the coaching staff, including Coach Shafer, who is in charge of recruiting the local area, a chance to look at not just seniors but freshmen and sophomores and see who might have college potential. They noted that Coach Shafer’s son, “Wolfie” is playing for one of the local teams.
Missie and Mindie, (no jokes, please), were at Red Robin and asked what players had proven to be “the most pleasant surprises” Coach mentioned newcomers and new starters that he thinks will be “difference makers”: Markus Pierce-Brewster, Ryan Norton., the defensive tackles, Siriki Diabate at middle linebacker, Morris and Broyld at running back, and Beckett Wales.
Coach said that Pierce Brewster had told him that he was nervous about the upcoming game on Monday. Doug told him not to worry, to focus his nervous energy into his performance. “Don’t let the nervous energy lead you to wander and think of other things.”
A caller asked about “getting the back-up quarterbacks ready for next year.” Coach isn’t concerned about next year. Charley Loeb and Terrel Hunt “have done a nice job and I would be perfectly comfortable having to send them into a game. They have made great strides.”
Brian in his carphone thanked the coach and the staff for their efforts and wanted the coach to discuss the new members of the staff. Coach said Steve Morrison played for Michigan and the Indy Colts. He coached with Coach Shafer at Western Michigan and alter at Michigan. Donnie Henderson “Is older than me but don’t tell him I said that”. He coached with the Ravens under Buddy Ryan and Ed reed has said that he owes Coach Henderson a lot.
Brenda in Canastota asked the coach what was “his greatest success in life”. He thought about it for a very brief moment and said “Marrying my wife. I was a recruiter in the SEC at the time and it took me 6 years to recruit her. If it had taken that long for the players, I would have been out of a job.”
The did a an abbreviated scouting report on northwestern, talking about Kain Colter, whom Coach compared to Doug Flutie. He also said Venric Mark was “a heck of a player, both as a running back and on special teams. They’ve also done a heck of a job of recruiting receivers. Their guys know how to find the seams in a zone and how to work the rope in man-to-man.” I’m not sure what “working the rope” means- running a sideline route.
Matt implored Coach to beat Northwestern. As a Newhouse guy, he doesn’t want to lose to the only school that could be compared to Syracuse in producing sportscasters.
