San Diego State Athletics News Conference Quotes
August 17, 2017
SDSU Football Head Coach Rocky Long
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Opening statement:
“We’re right in the middle of training camp right now. There are some signs of improvement even though we’ve got a long way to go until we’re worth me saying we are a good football team, because we are not right now. We’ve made some improvement in some positions - our wide receivers have made good improvement, and we have a couple of safeties that are playing well and look like they might be able to play this year. That’s a good sign.”
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On losing sleep about the team playing better:
“I don’t know if we’ll come together or not, but I don’t lose any sleep over it because I’ve been (coaching) for a long time. We’ll find out if we get to the point that we are a good football team as soon as we play someone else besides ourselves. You never know (how good you are) until you play somebody else. I’ve been through that enough now where it doesn’t make me lose sleep at night.”
On the chickenpox problem:
“I’m afraid to say because I don’t want to jinx us, but we’ve gone two straight days without any new cases. So far it looks like we’ve got it under control. We’ve still got a few guys who aren’t back to practice yet, but (the athletic training staff) thinks they will be back real soon.
“I think everybody’s pretty safe. Safe seems a little extreme to me. I think everybody did what they should do and what they are require to do. As soon as we found out we had some cases, we isolated them and they got medication. Anybody else that showed any kind of signs showed up and saw a doctor. They were either treated or told they were just fine. We’ve moved on. Like I said, we haven’t had any new cases for two straight days. I’ve been told that there is still a period of 10-to-14 days where it can still pop up, but we’re hoping it’s not going to pop up anymore.
“It’s slowed things down for the kids who aren’t practicing, but the guys who continue to practice are obviously making progress. It’s not going to hurt our football team by any means, but the guys who are fighting for playing time, the guys who don’t get to practice, it’s hurting their efforts to get into the starting lineup or getting into a playing positon. I kind of feel sorry for them.”
On the offensive line:
“We are pretty comfortable that we have two redshirt freshmen that are going to play pretty well. I’m not going to tell you which ones they are until after I watch them on Saturday because that’s going to be our biggest scrimmage and they are going to get a lot of reps. So far they have played pretty well. Antonio Rosales is our most experienced lineman. We know he can play though and (Rosales being out) gives some other guys for a lot more opportunities for some reps. We’ll see how they do Saturday before I can tell you which ones have proved that they can play this year. Probably 10 days before the first game we’ll come out with a pretty legit depth chart.”
On Ryan Agnew having an advantage over Chris Laviano for the backup quarterback position:
“I think that anyone that has been in the program has an advantage against someone that is brand new to your program for whatever reason.”
On playing at the stadium as opposed to the practice fields:
“Aztec Warrior Stadium. If I had any money, I’d be the sponsor and put that on the side of the stadium, but I don’t have that kind of money. Any time our players go down (to the stadium) it adds excitement to the practice. It’s been a long time since I’ve been a player, but most players don’t like to practice but they like to play. And going to the stadium and scrimmaging is just like playing, so they will be there with the right attitude and they’ll be there to have some fun. It’s really a great time to have a scrimmage because it doesn’t matter who wins or loses. You can just play for the fun of the game.”
On the punting situation:
“Our punter (Brandon Heicklen) is doing just fine. Now nobody’s rushed him yet, but we’re going to live scrimmage the kicking game on Saturday too. So we’ll get a good idea of how he is going to do when there is pressure on him.”
On anything he’s looking forward to seeing at the scrimmage:
“Not anything special. I just know that there are some guys that people might be seeing only for a few snaps and some guys who they don’t even know who they are that will be out there for a lot of snaps. Hopefully someone steps up and singles himself out so people wonder who he is.”
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SDSU Women’s Soccer Head Coach Mike Friesen
Opening statement:
“We’re pretty excited about the start of our season and as usual for us, we make things pretty difficult right out of the gate, so we’re going to go to UCLA tomorrow night. I think they’re No. 6 in the country right now and they’ve had a really good recruiting cycle where they were No. 1 in the country. We want to see where we’re at right from the start, challenge ourselves and see what we have to get better at. So, we’re excited about tomorrow night, we’re excited about Sunday and the home opener against UC Davis. Pretty excited about this team. Good group of players. We feel like we’re very talented and ready to make another run at some Mountain West championships.”
On if there is anything he needs to see from the team in the early going:
“We’re a little on the young side. I think a few things that I’ve seen to this point, 1. Team chemistry and their work ethic is very good, which for any coach in any sport is exciting because it shows that a team can improve on a daily basis. Certainly things that we’re going to have to get better at, I think there are some experience things of playing on a pretty big stage tomorrow night that we’ll have to see where they’re at with those things. I think this is a team that is talented, is good, and that is going to play some really good soccer. I think they’re in a really good spot right now and obviously we’re going to have to get better every game to play in order to play at the highest level. I’m excited. There’s nothing in particular that stands out right now that’s like, ‘Oh, this is a problem for us.’ In fact, it’s probably a little better than I expected from the group to this point.”
On what the team’s identity will be:
“It’s kind of the same every year. We’re going to be a team that puts the ball on the ground and plays, so possession is a big part of who we are. We’re very athletic in a couple key areas, our center backs are very athletic, our wide strikers are athletic so we’re going to stretch the game a bit. But really our focus is on possession. For sure in a game like tomorrow night where the other team is probably going to have a little bit more of the ball, we’re going to have to make sure we defend well and I think the biggest thing we always talk about with any of our teams is we have to be gritty. We want to have that balance of on one side of the ball, we’re going to be gritty and tough, and then when we get it, we’re going to play and be creative.”
On if he has had to deal with mass illness with his teams over his coaching career:
“What’s interesting about injuries, illness, all of those things, is that they seem to come in little groups for whatever reason. Over the last three seasons, we’ve had more of an injury status than any sickness. It seems like we’ve been hit the last three years each where it was a position. A couple of years ago, we lost both wide backs then it was a couple central midfielders last year. Any team in any sport throughout the season, it’s just inevitable that you’re going to have somebody sick or injured or something is happening pretty much every game that you’re going to have to deal with. Our most successful seasons have been where we’ve had limited injuries, but also had a deep enough team to be able to deal with those things. I’ve been pretty fortunate to this point where we haven’t had anything that has been on a larger scale than two or three.”
On if the team plays well at UCLA in the opener, could it set the tone for the rest of the season:
“Absolutely. It really is a win-win for us. If you look at the game, where we are, right this minute, if we win the game, it’s a big-time win for us, it’s an upset. It’s the things from people outside the program are looking at. Inside the program, this is a program that we expect to play with the best teams in the country. Our expectation is less about the result tomorrow night than playing well and showing well, but I think that’s going to build on the rest of the season because if we play well against one of the top teams in the country, we know we can do it week-in and week-out through the rest of the year and it will be a great starting spot. I’m excited about that. I think for us, it’s a good opening game because there’s not a ton of pressure on us to have to win the game.”
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