Press Conference Comments from Michigan Football Players
11/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Player Comments from
Weekly U-M Football Media Luncheon
Previewing Northwestern (Nov. 13); Following Bye Week (Nov. 6)
Junior Wide Receiver Jason Avant
On whether the offense has reached its potential ... "I know the team that we have and I know the capabilities of this team and I don't think we've played our best game on offense. I think our defense has played a lot of great games, but I don't think we've played our best game on offense because we've turned the ball over. That's the biggest reason. When you're going into the final two games of the season and you feel you haven't reached you prime yet, then there's room for improvement."
On what a convincing win against Northwestern would mean to the team ... "I would always like to have a blowout game, but it doesn't work like that in this conference. It seems like everyone has come out and played Michigan really hard. That is like the game of the year for most teams, so they come out and play us really hard. We come out knowing that and we just have to learn how to match everyone's intensity and realize how big each game is."
On Northwestern's recent success against Michigan ... "When I was coming out (of high school) they were a good team, but I didn't realize their record against Michigan and Coach Carr was that great. I think they're starting to steal more of the inner-city talent right there in Chicago. They also have great academics, so there's always a reason for coming to Northwestern. They recruited me, but it's hard to compete with the Michigan's, the Notre Dame's and the Ohio State's in the Midwest. I knew the type of player I was when I came to Michigan, I just wanted to win and I didn't care about anything else. I knew Michigan could help me out with that."
On the importance of making receptions ... "It's important for me to catch anything. I just don't like to drop the ball. That's why I may end up hurt in practice, because if I'm not going full speed and I drop the pass, it just gets down in me and becomes bothersome. I just don't like dropping passes. I don't care where it is, I just want to catch it."
On what can be learned from the Michigan State victory ... "They came out and kicked our butts for three and a half quarters. It does tell you that you have to play a complete game in this league and that one play can change the whole game around. For us, it was just one onside kick that gave us a spark and a couple big plays and we were right back in the game."
On Michigan's chances of not getting to the Rose Bowl ... "You always have to look toward the sky and think positive things. If we do what we have to do, go in and beat Northwestern and everything plays out the way we want it to for the rest of the season, things will work out for us. We'll be somewhere that the team enjoys."
Fifth-Year Senior Offensive Lineman David Baas
On how the team has changed since the loss at Notre Dame ... "Teams definitely change throughout the year; you either get better or you get worse. We were a totally different team back then and I'm glad that week-in and week-out we've progressed. We've gotten better and we've got to continue to do that for two more games."
On how the rankings affect the team ... "I don't even care what they say about us. It's what we feel and what we have to get done. That's all that matters. It doesn't matter what the polls say or what anybody else says, it's what we do. We're focused on Northwestern this week and that's what we have to do."
On the offensive line ... "Throughout the season, there have been struggles with the offensive line because there have been so many personnel changes. It's hard to gel as a unit when we have guys constantly moving around and haven't worked together a lot. I think we try to get better every single week in our running game and improve as an offensive line. We've got guys that are willing to fight. They want this championship enough that they're going to go out there and do whatever it takes to get done. That's what we've been trying to do, just keep improving as a line every single week."
On Michigan's running game ... "That's what the Michigan offensive line is all about -- being able to run the ball. If you have a guy like Mike Hart that can run that well and break tackles, that's always going to help improve your stats and total yardage. We're doing our job up front and he's doing his job."
On changing to center this season ... "Being a senior, or being anybody on the whole team, if you are asked to move to a position to help your teammates, I would hope that as a team player they would do that and would move no matter what year they are. Being a fifth-year senior and a captain, that's my obligation to help this team win. They needed me to move to center, and that's what I did. I'm just trying to get better every single week. I don't think it's a sacrifice. It doesn't really matter what could've been; it's what's going to happen now. I just need to keep getting better and help my team win another game this week at Northwestern."
On being named captain ... "Being captain is a great honor. It's great to be able to work with a bunch of guys that go out there and fight every single week for one cause. It's a great feeling to come back for another year and be able to be a part of Michigan football."
On what he will miss about Michigan Stadium ... "The tradition. My teammates -- you can feel it every single weekend when you go out there and play, the emotions you have when you're out there on the field. I'm going to miss just being a part of it all. It's something special that you don't realize until you have been a part of it and have to leave."
On what he will remember about Michigan Stadium ... "There are a lot of different games and moments that stick out in my mind from playing at Michigan Stadium. I think the main thing is being out there with my teammates, playing hard and having a good time and getting a lot of wins; being a part of such a great tradition at Michigan."
On Chad Henne and Mike Hart ... "I don't think that was the case (them being freshman). You have to look at it as whoever was in there, was in there to do their best no matter what their year was. Everybody made such a big deal about Mike Hart and Chad Henne being freshman, but they are our starting quarterback at Michigan and our starting tailback at Michigan. That's what was important -- for them to produce, not how young they were. Everybody is going to make mistakes, no matter if you are an old guy or a young guy."
Senior Cornerback Marlin Jackson
On most out of ordinary bye week activity ... "Sitting down and watching games on Saturday that was out of the ordinary, just having time to yourself on a Saturday, on a Thursday. It was kind of scary. We didn't know what to do with ourselves. It was crazy having that much time to ourselves."
On near misses of teams ahead in BCS standings losing ... "The one that stood out for me was the Texas game. They were down 35-7, next time I checked the score on my phone, it was 56-35, so I was like wow, that's crazy that (Oklahoma State) blew a lead like that. We can't control what those other teams do, so we just sat back and watched. Now we just have to go out and do our job."
On Northwestern ... "They have some great athletes. They do a great job running the ball. Noah Herron runs the ball extremely hard. The line is great. They have a talented bunch of wide receivers, and the quarterback is a fourth-year guy that knows the system so well, he can make checks, and make the hard throws."
On defensive motivation ... "Yeah, I'd say we're very motivated this week. We have to take our focus to another level, because we kind of slipped up and took Michigan State kind of lightly. You saw what happened, they handled us and they went up and down the field on us. That was kind of embarrassing and we don't want to let that happen again."
On how to correct those problems ... "We need to come in focused (this week). The focus may not have been there, or been as intense as it has been weeks before. That was our fault. We just have to go out there this week and just play hard."
On last home game for seniors to leave an impression ... "It's the last home game for the seniors, it's going to be pretty emotional for us. It's our last time getting to run down that tunnel, so we're going to be pretty pumped up, knowing that the Big Ten championship is on the line once again, as its been week in and week out. We have to be focused, and go out and play hard."
On what he'll remember most about playing at Michigan Stadium ... "That last time we come out of that tunnel, and the last time we jump up and touch that banner that is what I will remember most, getting to run down that tunnel and then jumping up and touching that banner. That is the one thing I will miss the most about playing in that stadium."
On what makes Northwestern dangerous ... "I think what makes them dangerous is that they've gotten better every week. They have a talented and strong running back who only gets stronger as the game goes on. I think that is the strength of the offense, is that tailback and that quarterback. They get better every week, and they just play hard. They have a tough line that blocks very well and they're very physical."
On watching Northwestern play Penn State this weekend ... "The running back was breaking tackles. He is not going to go down easy, he can make you miss."
On coming back for his senior year ... "I've never second guessed myself on coming back. It was the right decision, as far as finishing up school, and as far as football wise. I think I've had a good season this year, much better than last year. I wanted to finish on the right note, and try to help this team get to a championship. We have all those things sitting in front of us, if we can just take care of business these last two games, we'll once again repeat as the Big Ten champions."
Fifth-Year Senior Outside Linebacker Roy Manning
On what he brings to the team on and off the field ... "I just think that being a senior and being on this team for a while that when you're talking in terms of representing the team that I think I'm a good guy for that position."
On his last game at home as a senior ... "It means a lot to me. I have two games left in my career here and one in the Big House. I just want to finish it up strong and look to do the things that I can do."
On how much he has overcome injury-wise ... "I think every college football player at one point thinks about leaving because things don't always go the way you always plan. I stuck it out and I stayed here. I'm having a pretty good senior season. I'm glad I stayed and I'm glad I'm here. I'm glad my team is in a position for a championship again."
On his feelings about Michigan Stadium ... "There is nothing like it. They're the most fans on any given Saturday. I wouldn't trade it. I wish I had a couple more times but I'm down to one now."
On the problems that Northwestern can present personnel-wise ... "That's the thing that practice is for. We go over all the different scenarios and looks that we can get. You get in the game sometimes and it doesn't work out exactly the way you practice and that's what we make adjustments for."
On the close games ... "I think that it doesn't say anything about the team as far as we should lose some games. It shows that we can play in the close games and pull out victories. You go back years and years and that's what the championship teams do. They win all the close games. I can't lie, I'd rather just blow every team out, but at the end of the day a 'W' is a 'W.'"
On mentoring LaMarr Woodley ... "I try to include myself in everything he does. I try to show him the right way and help him with everything. I consider him like my little brother. I take him everywhere with me and we're always together. We grew up together. LaMarr is a great person outside of being a great athlete, so he's not a hard person to get along with."
On how the practice schedule changes late in the season ... "We taper down some. You don't have to be out there killing each other. It's week nine or 10. All that stuff is done in camp and early in the season. We still practice and we're out there for a while. It's late in the season so you don't want to risk injuries."
On if the team has played its best game yet ... "Regardless of whether we win or lose, we still haven't played our best game. We still have two games left and every guy can always improve from game to game even if he grades out really high. I don't think we can say we've played our best game to date."
On Northwestern's running attack ... "Noah Herron is an excellent back. He's a pretty big kid. He'll run over you. He won't necessarily run away from you, but he can make you miss and things like that. He's a big part of their offense."
Senior Tight End Tim Massaquoi
On what he did during bye week ... "I slept, slept all weekend. I just got away from football completely. I did check scores once in a while, but I really just relaxed, and had a lot of time for myself to think about the whole season and where to go from here on. I just really enjoyed resting my body for a week."
On differences between this Monday and a normal Monday after a game ... "It's a real different feeling. The best word to describe it is (now) you feel really, really fresh. Everything mentally, and physically you feel like you caught your second wind almost. You feel like you can play forever now. We had been playing for nine straight weeks, plus a whole camp, a whole summer camp. A week off definitely gives you a chance to get your breath back and try to get refreshed mentally and physically."
On his thoughts for remainder of season ... "I feel as a team we have not played our best football yet. I think that's the main thing we want to do the next two weeks is find a way to play 60 minutes of the best football we've had this whole season. We've showed signs of it every week, but we haven't put it together totally for 60 minutes or four quarters. If we can do that for these next two weeks, we will be exactly where we want to be."
On offensive improvements needed ... "From an offensive perspective, there are quarters where we just stall, and we can't do anything with the football. Three three-and-outs in a row, and the whole quarter is gone and we haven't done anything positive. I think what we want is we want to be able to take each quarter, and have positive plays from it, and try to score touchdowns. We have not had a game where we have completely dominated and scored touchdowns the whole game. I think we can do that."
On Northwestern ... "They've got a lot of veteran guys on it. A lot of seniors, a lot of guys who started last year, and they know how to play football. You see it in their maturity level. It isn't an upset (that they are good), because they have the talent and the leadership over there to do it. We as seniors, us old guys, we have to step it up for our team too. It's going to be a battle; it's going to be a great game to watch too.""
On this being the last home game at Michigan Stadium this year ... "Even with the last home game, it's two games to the Big Ten. To win the Big Ten Championship is the ultimate goal. Whether it is the last game at home or the last game away, to me it doesn't matter. It's just the final two games we have to play to win this championship. That is the thing everybody has their mindset on."
Media Contacts: David Ablauf, Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
