Les Miles held his weekly noon CT press luncheon on Monday at the LSU Athletics Administration Building. Members of the Geaux Zone powered by USAgencies can watch the archive now.
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COMMENTS FROM LSU COACH LES MILES AT HIS WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE
Opening Statement
“It sure is nice to come to work on a holiday. It’s always nice to open at home. It was a great time to take the field. Every opening game always carries much more weight to it than any of the others because it takes into account the preparation you had with the spring, the preparation you had all summer long, the two-a-day schedule and then you get to play your first game. The bowl game has momentum through those times and then that momentum is regained with a victory. It was a lot of fun. Apparently, it was the third largest crowd in the history of the stadium. There seemed to be a lot of energy there. We enjoyed the walk. It was just what the doctor ordered.”
“With the first game behind us, there are some things that we have to fix. We are throwing the football better. I think we ran the football well late in the game, but we got to get beyond some holding penalties and first-time starters in the offensive line and start counting on our rushing attack to be really productive. I felt like the punt returners are going to be good. They are confident in their abilities. It was probably a coaching mistake of mine to put Trindon Holliday out there to try to get him snaps early in his career so we could get him on track. Probably as a punt returner, it is a tough position to get a true freshman in. I take the blame on that one. I believe Chevis (Jackson) is sure handed and very capable. We know there is work to be done in that department but I feel like we are man.”
“We came off the game healthy. Any time you go into a first game and any game there after, that is one of the key criteria as you look forward. There was nothing more than bruises and nothing that will stop anybody from participating in the next game. The defense, I thought, played well from start to finish. There was a lot to accomplish in that gameplan. That was something that we worked on through two-a-days. As we looked forward to that spread offense, we kind of tweaked and modified. I thought the defense played well minus a turnover on a punt. We gave up 176 yards total offense. It was a nice outing. Guys played hard. I loved their play as a group.”
“Every Sunday, the coaching staff meets as a group and reviews the game film. We come up with those award winners. JaMarcus Russell was the offensive award winner. He really showed poise and came to play. First game or not, he led his team in good things that we needed to have done and came up with some spectacular plays — the first touchdown pass on a roll. Jonathan Zenon had two interceptions and one for a touchdown. He certainly spearheaded a defense with two big plays. On the defensive side, he is our MVP. Special teams, there were a lot of guys who performed very well. It’s nice to see some of our young guys go down on kicks or go out and play on our punt team and have success. Harry Coleman was part of two kickoff tackles and four kickoff points. We named Harry Coleman our special teams MVP. I feel like he is a guy who will end up playing a lot of football for us, not only on special teams but defense. It’s nice to get him up and running.”
“There were some other guys that played well in the opening game. You look at Danny McCray, who is a true freshman, he was the fastest guy down on the kickoffs and had tackle points himself. Jacob Cutrera from Acadiana had four tackle points as well — all assists — but he just really played well. He showed what you are supposed to see from those young guys. Alley Broussard came out of the game without any further injury and really was looking to build on that experience that he had at tailback. I really feel like we are in a very similar position as we were in the opener. Justin Vincent and Jacob Hester will certainly be the guys we turn to but would not hesitate to look at Alley Broussard or Charles Scott for that matter. Our tailback spot is maturing and coming.”
“Today, considering it’s a Monday and a holiday for everybody else, we are also going to give some of these young guys that didn’t get a chance to play in this game, a little young guy scrimmage after the varsity is done and heading home. The young guys will get some snaps, just a nice little go. I looked back at the last time LSU played ULL and we had 70 offensive snaps and ULL had 60. In this last game, we had 59 offensive snaps and they had 52. Those are a lot of snaps that aren’t being played anymore — 20 snaps or thereabout. Those 20 snaps in this game our freshmen get. We are seeing that there needs to be adjustments made to our schedule. It’s hard to get everybody in that you would like to get in. It’s a new rule. I’m not happy with it, but I’m certainly happy with the first outing.”
“You look at Arizona, and they do have talent. We recruited a number of guys that are on their roster. Louis Holmes, most notably from Scottsdale Community College, is a very talented All-American at defensive end. There are a quality group of athletes at Arizona. Offensively, their quarterback was 19-for-39 with 186 yards, Willie Tuitama. He is very capable of making all of the throws. He can function their offense and does a really good job. I think their tailback is a quality guy. His longest gain was on a broken play where he reverses field and gets 54 yards. It was a 63-yard outing for him but very capable and very talented. Their offensive line is tall, lean and very athletic group. Just like our first game, it was their first game. I think they can improve and can see where they can get a lot better. They had two wide receivers that had six catches. This (Syndric) Steptoe is a very fast guy, a big-play receiver. His longest catch was for 48 (yards), which led to one of their scores. Offensively, they are capable. Defensively, Coach (Mike) Stoops has always been a tremendous defensive coach. He’s got that team playing extremely well. They have a great scheme and can bring pressure from anywhere they need to give an offense fits. They change pretty regularly in gameplan. You’re really not going to know exactly what you are going to get until Saturday. We expect that they will be geared up and play their best. They are very talented, and I look forward to seeing Coach Stoops and the Arizona team come into our stadium.”
LSU PLAYER QUOTES
SEPTEMBER 4, 2006
On getting his first start against Louisiana-Lafayette…
“It was a lot of fun for me and I was really excited because it was the first time I got to play a full game since December 2001. It was just great to be out there.”
On the feedback he got from the coaches…
“I think they were pleased overall but they still pointed out some things we need to improve on. We ended the game better then we started. We need to make sure we have all five guys on the same page at all times.”
On if some of new starters were a little over excited…
“I think some guys were really excited to get out there for the first time. That may have been a factor why it took a while to get the running game started in the first half.”
On how his knee felt during the game…
“I had a lot adrenalin pumping and had goose bumps, so I wasn’t really worried about the knee. I was really fired up to finally get out there and perform.”
On how freshmen running backs Charles Scott and Keiland Williams…
“I was very impressed with how those two ran the ball. Keiland has only been here for a couple of weeks and you could tell he knew the playbook really well.”
On how he performed against Louisiana-Lafayette…
“I didn’t play as well as I wanted to play. I still have a few mistakes I need to get corrected. Overall I had some nice plays here and there, but I still have to improve.”
On how the defensive players get along…
“We always hangs out together. We have gotten closer since fall camp. It seems our camaraderie helps us during the game and gives us a swagger that could make us one of the best defensive units in the nation.”
On if the team is looking ahead to the Auburn game…
“We can’t look past Arizona, because they have a high-powered offense and come from a good conference. If we go out there and aren’t focused on the team we are playing it could cause some costly mistakes during the game.”