Dec. 13, 2006
With the inaugural New Mexico Bowl now 10 days away, University of New Mexico head coach Rocky Long, linebacker Cody Kase and tailback Rodney Ferguson met with the local media today on the third floor of the L.F. “Tow” Diehm Athletics Facility to share their thoughts on the game. Click on the links below to hear what Long and the players had to say as the Lobos prepare to host the San Jose State Spartans (8-4) on Saturday, Dec. 23 in the ESPN-televised contest. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. (MST).
HEAD COACH Rocky Long
Click here to listen to Long’s entire press conference.
(his evaluation of San Jose State on film):
“I’m most impressed with how hard they play on both offense and defense. Secondly, I’m impressed with the skill level (they have) on offense. They have a very efficient quarterback, a really good running back and two excellent receivers. On defense, they have really good speed and an excellent secondary. In fact, they have one of the better corners I’ve seen in college in a long time – very aggressive and goes and gets the ball. The number one thing I’m impressed with is how hard they play.”
(on the Lobos’ starting quarterback for the bowl game):
“We’ll wait until Monday. They’re both getting about the same number of reps and we’ll name a guy on Monday. Both of them are completely healthy, so the starter will be determined on who does the best in practice and who gives us the best chance to win.”
(on dealing with the distractions of bowl week):
“Hopefully you get all your hard work done before that week starts. In the amount of time that you have between your last (regular season) game and your bowl game, you can get a lot of work done. So if you get most of your hard work done before your activities start – in our case this is next Wednesday – you shorten practice, you make them more lively, you make them more fun and [the players] go out and enjoy themselves because all the preparation was made before bowl week even started.”
(on whether its more important to have fun during bowl week or focus on the game exclusively):
“I think it has a lot to do with your team personality. Some teams don’t play well unless they’re completely serious all the time and think about the game constantly. Then there’s other teams that play better when they’re relaxed and everything is easy going. I don’t know how this team is going to respond, but this team has never shown any signs of being uptight or nervous. Even when things are going really bad they don’t ever show any signs of being in any kind of distress. I mean, I’m the one in distress, not them. We lose and they come to practice and act the same. We win and they come to practice and act the same. I’m guessing now that we’ll have a lot of fun and it won’t make a darn bit of difference to this team. They’ll be ready to play.”
JUNIOR LINEBACKER Cody Kase
Click here to listen to Kase’s entire press conference.
(on if the team is excited to play in the New Mexico Bowl):
“There is a lot of excitement. Bowl games are a lot of work, but they’re also a lot of fun. We practice a lot, but it’s looser, more fun than during the season. There is definitely excitement though about the chance to win the first bowl game in a long time in front of your home crowd.”
SOPHOMORE TAILBACK Rodney Ferguson
Click here to listen to Ferguson’s entire press conference.
(on offensive coordinator Bob Toledo’s departure following the bowl game):
“We were surprised. I would say for a regular team playing for someone else (next year) would be challenging, but since we have had three different offenses in the last three years, it should be a faster transition for us.”