Nov. 17, 2008
MONDAY PRESS CONFERENCE COVERAGE All Access: Watch Monday’s Press Conference
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More Quotes: Players comment on the UT game
Head Coach Bobby Johnson
Quotes from Weekly Press Conference
Monday, November 17, 2008
Tennessee Game
Opening Statement:
“We celebrated a pretty big win in Lexington Saturday. We have looked at the tape from the Kentucky game and learned what we still need work on. We went right back to work yesterday and started to prepare for our next game against Tennessee. Our coaching staff is working hard preparing for Tennessee because we know it’s going to be a tough, emotional game for both teams, but we’re looking forward to it.”
On senior day and what the senior class means to this program:
“This senior class wasn’t the one that was supposed to get us over the hump, but they proved people wrong by their great work ethic and outstanding efforts both on and off the field. This class has shown a lot of school pride over the last few years and they will go on and receive a college degree from Vanderbilt. I think all of these guys will go on and be great citizens the rest of their lives. Every time you see a senior walk out on the field for their last home game it seems like yesterday they were here on an official visit as a senior in high school. Time goes by so fast and the players will be the first to tell you that. This year’s senior class has handled itself extremely well and they have been great leaders. They have seen some high and low times in their four years, and they have never quit. Most of the seniors are on the leadership council, so they help the coaching staff and keep everybody calm.”
On the response the team has received since beating Kentucky:
“A lot of people left a common message on my phone or email that said, `Great job on getting six, now let’s get eight.’ That is what everybody is thinking here at Vanderbilt. Our team and our fans know that we’re not finished. At the beginning of the year, we talked about how getting to six wins was our minimum not our maximum. We’re not going to take a vacation now that we have six wins because our football team knows we can improve on a lot of areas. I think our players understand and I know our coaching staff knows that.”
On how Chris Nickson and D.J. Moore kept coming up big plays to seal the win:
“Chris (Nickson) is a quarterback so you know he is a natural leader of this team. He has overcome a lot his last two years under center, so it was great to see him playing at a high level against Kentucky. D.J. is a very quiet leader on the field but he sets an example by constantly making plays. D.J. is confident in his ability and he doesn’t sit around waiting for the other team to give him something. He is the player that goes out there and tries to make something happen, and about 99 percent of the time they are positive things.”
On if preparing for Tennessee this week is any different than previous years:
“I will have to deal with this six-win stuff probably for another day before we get things back on track. Other than having six wins, I don’t think this week is any different than other years. Obviously Tennessee’s situation is much different for them over there, but we can’t get caught up in that. I think Coach Fulmer had a fantastic career in Knoxville and I can’t imagine being that successful in the SEC like he has done. It’s unfortunate that it ended that way. I am going to enjoy our last game against each other. It’s going to be sorry to not see Coach Fulmer over their on the sideline.”
On what bowl preparation is going to be like for your team:
“To tell you the truth, I have never coached in a bowl game. When I was the defensive coordinator at Clemson, we qualified for a bowl game but I received the head coaching position at Furman and left before the bowl game. Our coaching staff has had plenty of experience coaching in bowl games though, so we will sit down and map it out together. Again, it depends on when the bowl is played. All of the SEC tie-in bowls are late in December or in early January, so our team should have final exams out of the way. Making it to a bowl allows a team to practice some of their younger guys so it’s kind of like an additional spring practice. Teams will use extra practices to their advantage.”
On how Brett Upson is doing after getting hit three times against Kentucky:
“We nicknamed him the piñata after the game. It’s unusual to see a punter get hit as much as he did but they thought they could get pressure by running through the wall that we had back there to protect him. Brett (Upson) is receiving some treatment but overall he is fine. He should be ready to go on Saturday.”