Sat., Oct. 26, 2024
Hard Rock Stadium
Opening statement…
“Good evening. I appreciate everyone being here. First off, big shoutout to the environment created by our fans, our people, the Miami Hurricane family that came from all over, local and from abroad. They were awesome. Just watching that brought back some awesome memories of playing in this game and certainly our players felt them and [they] impacted the game. And then on top of that, obviously, a very hard-fought game. We never really lost control of the game, but it took us a while to start pulling away. I think they did a good job with some of their coverages. They did put a little bit of pressure on the quarterback, but we pounded the ball really well. We ran the ball well and got downhill. We got hats on hats and ran through tackles. We were aggressive with some fourth downs. The defense was the story of the game. They just played their tails off. They were putting pressure on the quarterback. They made it really difficult to run the football. They were getting 11 hats to the ball all the time. They broke free from several just lasso-collar holding calls that we just have got to keep getting better at. But all in all, just very proud of our team. Two years ago, you know, we stood up here and talked about building it and it’s good to, a couple years later into this to see a victory like that and earn the title of state champions.”
On the resiliency of Mark Fletcher Jr.…
“That’s as hard as it gets. We see big Mark all the time. He’s always at practice. It’s kind of neat if you are a local player. Parents, they find their way to practice. [They] get away from their bosses a little bit and come out and get to see their sons. It’s one of the greatest things in the world. I remember seeing my parents, may they rest in peace, and that was about as difficult of a thing I’ve seen. Mark [Fletcher] Jr., is about as good of a human being, competitor, teammate, brother as you can imagine. It was felt by the entire organization. I mean, everybody knows him. He’s got the best seat in the house going forward, looking from above. I know he’s super proud of Mark. Mark, even the day of, as emotional as it was wanted to be around his bothers and his team. You trust that guy with your life because he does everything the right way, regardless of situation and circumstance. And then, just looking at him, just hearing him out, this is what he wanted and, on top of that, just as importantly, this is what he deserves. I think him and Damien Martinez are super tight and those two, along with of course Ajay [Allen], Jordan [Lyle], Chris [Johnson Jr.], it’s a tremendous tandem back there and it was good to see them have a great day. I think if any of us was in that situation, can you imagine? Can you imagine being able to do that? He’s just an elite, unique off-the-charts human being. He’s just made of the right stuff and credit to his parents. He was raised a certain way. That guy is as resilient as it gets. Our hearts, man. What can you say?”
On what it means to beat Florida State…
“It feels good because it’s good for the team because the team is 1-0. I think about maybe some of the personal stuff in the offseason for a few minutes and then I just blow it off. It’s never been that. We knew when we came here that we were going to get our teeth kicked in early. I probably spoke to several people in this room about, man, wow, this is quite a monumental task. We’ve got to flip this thing. We’ve got to flip this roster. All these other in-state schools are so far ahead. They have a foundation. They’ve been to bowl games. They’ve won conferences. We’ve got to start it up. And that’s painful, particularly when it comes to the trenches. I think the trenches tonight are a great indication of progress and the hard work by our entire organization, recruiting staff, our offensive line coach Alex Mirabal, Coach [Edwin] Pata, Coach Reggie [Bain], our defensive line coaches [Jason] Taylor, [Joe] Salave’a, [Todd] Stroud, [Devin] Santana. I mean, it’s a great example of working your butt off and keeping your head down and not worrying about all that crap that comes with rebuilds. I think it’s good for young coaches to not ever hesitate to take on rebuilds if they believe in it. Deal with all of the crap and nonsense for a little bit, but then start putting it together, start getting wins. We’re progressing but we’re not anywhere near where we want to be yet.”
On the play of Damien Martinez…
“He’s been in some big ones. I think what people don’t realize is that he got here a little bit later than the rest so his learning curve was a little bit different. Everyone wants it to happen right now. Our summers are awesome. The way our training regimen and our player-led workouts are carried out, they are just elite, but it still takes time. We were chucking the ball around really well early on and today we still threw it around okay, but not as effective, but the last couple weeks, you seen the running game now getting in sync. You see how we run a lot of different plays than what he ran when he was at Oregon State. And now, he is really feeling comfortable in the system and what you see if just a very physical, tough dude. He’s hard to bring down. You’re not going to arm tackle him and he takes a lot of pride in making the first guy miss or running him over.”
On the Cam Ward touchdown reception…
“Texas to Texas, meaning [Elijah] Arroyo to Cam Ward. Two Texas guys, that was the name of the play. You want the story behind it? Down there, you get a lot of cover zero. It was just something that Coach [Shannon] Dawson cooked up with the rest of the staff and it was the right time to call it. It was the right time to call it and I think the fans got a kick out of it, as well and Cam got himself a touchdown.”
On the importance of the fourth quarter…
“I know that when it comes to the fourth quarter, we win the fourth quarter. We win the fourth quarter, it’s very important to us. When we throw up four fingers, it means something. We’ve just always got to have intensity and energy. Those two guys back there exemplified that tonight. There’s nothing worse than a coach who just stands there with a thumb in his nose, you know what I mean. Whatever we always can do to help our guys and bring energy to the sidelines, we do. These guys bust our butts. It’s awesome to have an insane crowd, but it’s just as important to have a great sideline, to see your brothers and your teammates supporting you and bringing the juice.”
On going 1-0 this week…
“To me, the most important thing is that we play our best football. At the end of the day, all these games are playoff games. They’re all conference games. They all mean something. The goal is to be 1-0 and our goal is to be 1-0 and play our best football, as well. This was progress in that direction. Again, hats off to the defense. They set the tone. They did it with the front seven and then the backend guys, you know what they did tonight, they communicated really well. They were just thinking lockdown, lockdown, lockdown. That’s what we did earlier in the season. I think we’re back on track and doing that. We’ve got some things to clean up, but certainly looking forward to getting back in there and being 1-0 for the week. And, again, critically important to go out there and beat this program and to be undefeated in the state of Florida. I think it sends a strong message. I think all recruits, in-state and out-of-state, can now clearly see the trajectory of this program versus the trajectory of the other programs.
