Aug. 20, 2008
EASTON, Pa. -
Lafayette held its annual football media day on Tuesday afternoon at Pfenning Alumni Center. The student-athletes enjoyed a rare "off" day meaning that they did not have a practice session coming off Tuesday night's scrimmage.
Instead, members of the senior class and junior tailback Maurice White and junior quarterback Rob Curley joined the coaching staff in spending time with the media. The event began at 11:45 a.m. with lunch followed by a formal portion with head coach Frank Tavani speaking to the media.
An abridged recap of Tavani's comments follow. Watch a complete version of Tavani's comments on the link above.
Opening statements: "Certainly from the looks of this team I expect a lot more than that (a fourth place finish). It's too early for me to get really optimistic but I really like this group. They are starting to come together with their own personality and they work extremely hard. It's all business and I think the senior class is on a mission. They had those championships they were used to and we didn't pull that off last year and I know they want to leave here with that. They put a lot of work into offseason conditioning and that strength and conditioning stuff is very, very demanding. I really like the job our strength and conditioning coach Brad Potts has done and the kids will tell you they feel more athletic, leaner, stronger and I think it's helped our entire athletic department."
On the schedule: "Everybody talks about the schedule. I know Marist has a football game prior to playing us so they'll have an advantage by having a game under their belt. They have a new stadium and they've got nothing to lose. I'm not concerned with what we did with them last year or in previous years. We're concerned about our operation, about how we go out and play as a team for four quarters."
On preseason schedule: "We'll have two weeks and a few days of preseason followed by two weeks and a few days of classes before our first game which is different than in the past but I think that's a positive thing. They'll be able to adjust to classes."
On the strengths of the team: "I don't like putting undue pressure on any part of our team but certainly our defense is the core of our success. Offensively, I think we have a lot of weapons. We have a quarterback who has some experience and now we have to get somebody ready behind him. Marc Quilling saw a lot of time last night at the scrimmage. The success of the season is really about our seniors and I think this is a really special group. I think we have great leadership by our senior group and our captains (Andy Romans and Joe Russo). They are two hard-working guys who will make sacrifices off the field and will demand that of our players which will be important."
On the passing game: "I think what they've (the offense) done is gone through the playbook and cleaned it up. I think we streamlined it and really did a good job with cleaning some things up. We just want to have a balanced offense and be able to adjust to any situation. You need to find out who the backup quarterback is going to be and it doesn't help you to hand the ball off all the time. I believe in running in the ball and stopping the run but I also believe in moving the ball, and that takes a variety of different things and I think we have a lot of great weapons. It's not all about smashmouth football."
On injuries: "We're a little concerned about Matt Ferber because he does so many things and he gives us a lot of different things but I think the shoulder will be fine. Other than that, everything will work itself out."
On the new clock timing: "I think we do have a handle on it. We had refs in here for five straight days because we want to make sure we're adjusted to it. The biggest thing, I think, will be the reduction in the number of plays and the time of the game. It will be interesting to see. One of the problems you'll have is in the long play and getting everyone down there. I think more teams will go no-huddle because there will be less time for adjustments."
Following Tavani's formal portion of the program, the coaching staff and student-athletes took time for interviews with the media.
The event concluded at 12:30 p.m. The coaching staff finished breaking down the film of Tuesday's scrimmage before running through it with the team at 1:30 p.m. The rest of the day was spent in team and positional meetings and a brief respite at the pool.
On Thursday, the football team along with fellow fall sports athletes will assist with Freshman Move-In Day. The team and the coaching staff provide the muscle for incoming freshmen as they move into their residence halls. It will be an especially long day for the freshman football players who start the day with a 6 a.m. practice and then spend much of the rest of the day participating in the Class of 2012 orientation schedule. The upperclassmen will practice from 7:45 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Thursday.
NOTES:
IN ATTENDANCE: Media members from RCN-4 and the Lafayette Sports Network Television, WFMZ TV 69, Service Electric TV 2, WEEX AM 1230, Lafayette Sports Network Radio and the Express-Times were in attendance along with several members of the college and athletic administration.
ON THE MENU: Chicken breasts, chicken wings, hamburgers, cookies, brownies with nuts, brownies without nuts, pasta salad, cantaloupe, honey dew melon, pineapple, green and red grapes, strawberries, iced tea, soda (pop) and water were on the menu on Thursday.
THE SHIRT ON THEIR BACKS: Equipment manager Bryan Valladares delivered the team's gameday shirts to the players prior to the event fresh from a box off a delivery truck.
