Nov. 19, 2012

VIDEO - WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE

HEAD COACH Todd Graham

It has been a short weekend. We have been working very hard. Obviously, we are very pleased with the game after looking at the film and very pleased with how our guys played. There were some outstanding performances. I thought our kicking game played better than they have in about three weeks. Punter, Josh Hubner, is doing tremendous and I thought Alex Garoutte was kicking the ball good as well.  We dominated on both sides of the ball and I was very pleased. Thought we had some receivers break out and catch some balls down field and that is something we wanted to see happen. We didn’t celebrate that too long because we are now on to the most important game of the year. 

On how big this game is from a broad perspective…

“It is the biggest game of the year, every year. It is about Arizona State University winning the Territorial Cup. That’s it.” 

On speaking with Coach Kush regarding the history of this game…

“I speak to Coach Kush quite often. I have learned the history, not only the referendum but also his involvement in that. Obviously, he was instrumental with putting the Territorial History up on our wall. He has let me know, just like everybody else; that you can be 11-0 and if you don’t win this game, you have had an unsuccessful season. This is what college football is all about, rivalry games. Nothing has more passion than this one. I know, hands down, that to our fan base - to the Sun Devil Nation - that this means the most to them and we are working hard to represent them.” 

On his history knowing other coaches at UA….

“I don’t think much about that. Most of us coaches have relationships with each other. Really, there are only 124 of these jobs and staffs and you go and you move and all types of these relationships are intertwined. But I do not think anything about that. What I think about is every face I looked at, every hand I shook, and the passion that was there about this game and how important it is. It is much bigger than any individual or any person or anything. It is my job to put our guys in a position to win every week. Obviously, that is a challenge every week, especially in a rivalry game like this. You don’t want to beat yourself by being too emotionally evolved.” 

On U of A player Ka’Deem Carey and the challenges he brings

“He is the number one rusher in the country. I think he is one of the best running backs we’ve played. We have played some pretty good backs, especially in this league, but just as far as the amount of carries he has and what he does. He is as good as there is. He is, no question, the guy you have to stop and it is a tall order to do that. Not many people have even come close. He does a great job, he’s line does a great job and of course his quarterback does a good job.“

On standout players being indicators of a programs being on the right track…

“I think it is very important. That is one of the reasons why we have worked so hard to let people know here in this Valley and this state what we have to offer. This is Arizona State University, and I think it is very, very important that you have a young man like D.J. Foster or Jaxon Hood, and that the best and the brightest come here to play and that should come first. I can tell you that people come to our games because of Foster and those local guys. Obviously, we recruit nationwide but I think those local guys are critical to our program.” 

On his relationship with Coach Rodriguez…

“We knew each other from competing against each other in 1993 when we played for the National Championship, when he coached at Glenville State and I was at East Central. I also worked there (at West Virginia) for a brief time, but that is it.” 

On the familiarity of Arizona’s schemes…

“To be honest with you, you study them and things evolve and people do different things over periods of times so they are probably as familiar with what we are doing as we are with them.”

On the 1993 National Championship game…

“The thing that sticks with me from that game are the kids I was coaching at that time. We had taken a team that was at the very bottom and in three years won a National Championship with them. It was the first time I had been exposed to the fast-tempo style and I thought it was very unique. At the time I was also a strength coach, defensive coordinator, track coach- I did everything and everything I do is based on training. When I say train, people think the physical part, but I mean the mental part of it, getting inside a guy’s mind, inside a guy’s heart, and if you can capture those you can do great things. The fast tempo has everything to do with training. It intrigued me and I started working with it and I have never been a head coach and not ran it.” 

On learning the faced-paced offence…

“ A good buddy of mine was a high school coach in Springdale, Ark. Named Gus Malzahn and we spent a lot of time going back-and-forth and Chad Morris, who is now at Clemson, were the guys that had an effect on me as far as learning the offense went. I was kind of the defensive guy and obviously Gus Malzahn being an offensive guy, built this system based on what our philosophies are and that goes back to training and being able to run the football. That is how we have evolved it. Throughout my career, I started off coaching seventh-grade football, then small college football, then varsity football, then small college football, then back to high school and now back to college. I have done it all, coached just about every level and have pretty much learned just by messing things up. There is no substitute for experience. I think the thing you have to have is an identity and that is what we are trying to do here; establish defensively what our identity is and same thing offensively. We have done some really good things this year, and if you look at what we have done evolving the kicking game we have really got some things established.” 

On mixing things up with trick plays and such because of the rivalry game…

“I used to think that when I was younger, but I just haven’t tricked too many people in my career and won. So, I kind of like just being fundamentally sound and that is what this game is going to be about. I told the players today that it is going to boil down to the team that can block the best, the team that can tackle the best, the team that is most disciplined. It is a rivalry game so you can throw whatever else has happened up to this game out and you can look at history and it will show you that. Any great rivalry game, that is how it is. I think what I am trying to do more than anything else is, other than trying to draw up trick plays, I am trying to focus our guys in on the key values and principles that win games and give them every opportunity to in on Friday.” 

On players with adversity…

“ I think they just learn to appreciate it a little more. I don’t think you can be tough without some strain. I tell people all the time, when I grew up in Southeast Dallas, where I lived and how I lived, we didn’t have an air conditioner until I was a senior in high school and I was pretty tough. Where I live now, it is kind of hard to be tough. Tough people come out of tough times. We try to work really hard to teach guys that when you go through tough times and face adversity that is when you find out what you are all about. I found that out as a head football coach. I took a job and everybody told me not to take the job, but I did and put my passion into it. We started off 0-4 and we had a player collapse and die and nothing has ever been as difficult. That was my first time as a division one head football coach, 0-4, lost a player and that is about adverse as it can get. Nothing is going to make me flinch. I think our job as teachers is to help guys out with learning that and that is part of getting an education. I call it straining them and training them and you find out a lot about all them.  I have been thoroughly impressed with how they have responded and how they go about their business and when they fall short. Obviously our program is about championships, but we are laying a great foundation based on character.” 

On playing in a hostile environment…

“What I tell my players is, you are not going to remember what some person said to you hanging over the rail, you’re not going to remember who had the best tweets or who talked the most trash, you are going to remember who won the game.  That is one of the things that is always a challenge when going on the road, especially in a rivalry game. I have coached in some that are pretty hostile and I don’t think there can be one that will be more hostile than this one will be because that is the Territorial Cup. I know what to expect because I have been on both sides and I just try to prepare them and for those that haven’t been just reminder to stay focused and don’t be distracted by all that.” 

On home-field advantage during rivalry games…

“Like I said earlier, in rivalry games you can throw everything else out. If you are picking where you want to play, you’d obviously rather play a home but I think pretty much most of that stuff is thrown out.”

On the importance of this game for recruiting purposes…

“It is very important to us. Winning is obviously the key component to success and attracting the best and brightest players here in the state and even outside the state. It is very important.” 

On players first experience with the rivalry game…

“One of the things I have done is not just wait until rivalry week and tell them all about the rivalry. What we have done from the time I have gotten here through Camp Tontozona, we have had countless players and coaches talk to us every week, coming in force and very few have not talked about the Territorial Cup and how important it is.  I think our guys this year have really learned to appreciate what it means to be a Sun Devil and how can you do that without knowing the significance of this game. I think our guys do respect that.”

On what needs to happen to elevate this game nationally…

“From my standpoint, I want our program to be competing for the Pac-12 Championship every year. When you are at that type of level, going to Rose Bowl’s and that type of thing you are going to bring more attention to every game, especially this one.”