Cary Estes will provide insight and information from the 2008 Conference USA Football Media Blitz in Memphis for the league's official website.
July 20, 2008
Good Morning from Memphis
Posted at 10:30 a.m. CT
We are gathered in the historic Peabody Hotel for the annual Conference USA Football Media Day. Yes, it's that time of year again. Time for football. We'll be bringing you the sights and sounds of this gathering throughout the day, letting you know about the hopes and expectations of the league's 12 teams. Who will sink, who will swim and who will float along. And we're not talking about the famous Peabody ducks.
Greetings from the Commish
Posted at 10:42 a.m. CT
Commissioner Britton Banowsky is addressing the crowd, saying he is "more excited than I've ever been about the start of football season. We think all the ingredients are in place for this to be the best season in the history of Conference USA." He makes a special mention about this being the 50th anniversary for the Liberty Bowl, which is the bowl destination for the C-USA champion.
New Place, Old Faces
Posted at 11:15 a.m. CT
SMU's June Jones is one of three new coaches in the league, along with Larry Fedora at Southern Miss and Kevin Sumlin at Houston. But Jones said he has seen a number of familiar faces since arriving in Memphis yesterday, including Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart and former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning, who is in town for a dinner tonight in honor of the Liberty Bowl's 50th anniversay.
"Steve and I go back to the USFL days with the old Memphis Showboats," said Jones, who came to SMU after nine years as the head coach at Hawaii. "And Archie was a quarterback with the Saints when I was with the (Atlanta) Falcons, and we played each other twice a year. So it's been fun. It's really exciting for me to be in this conference."
Jones said he also is excited about the opportunities awaiting him at SMU.
"SMU has a tradition and history of success, and it seems like everybody in Dallas is rooting for SMU to get back to that," Jones said. "When we get it turned around - and we will - it's going to be electric."
High Praise
Posted at 11:30 a.m. CT
SMU's first game this season is a league contest against Rice, and Jones said he has been impressed with the film he has seen of Rice quarterback Chase Clement. That is impressive praise coming from Jones, who while he was at Hawaii turned both Timmy Chang and Colt Brennan into record-setting QBs.
"He's coached a lot of good ones, so he would know," Clement said with a smile. "To hear him say that, that's definitely a huge compliment. Maybe his strategy is to try to make me fall back and feel like I don't need to work as hard. But I promise you, that's not going to happen."
Iron Man
Posted at 11:50 a.m. CT
UCF senior Pat Brown holds the distinction of having made the most consecutive starts at left tackle of any returning player at that position in the country. Brown has 38 career starts and could top 50 by the end of this season, an amazing accomplishment at a position where sprained ankles and damaged knees are commonplace.
"The media around Orlando started mentioning it, and that's when I started looking back and counting them," Brown said. "I really couldn't believe it had been 38. It's not like I haven't been nicked up a little bit. It's a combination of good fortune, good training, off-season workouts, keeping everything strong. It's a combination of everything, but definitely a lot of good luck."
Good Luck or Good Playing?
Posted at 12:18 p.m. CT
East Carolina coach Skip Holtz is proud that his team went 8-5 last season, the Pirates best record in seven years. He also knows that their record could have been worse, if not for a few good breaks and a team filled with perseverance. ECU beat UTEP in double overtime, edged both North Carolina and Boise State by a field goal, and nipped Houston by two points.
"You have to have the ball bounce your way some," Holtz said. "But I think it's also a real testament to these players. They had an attitude of never give up, never quit. They had a phenomenal attitude and never quit working."
A Change of Pace
Posted at 12:40 p.m. CT
What you'll see from Southern Miss this year isn't what you'll eventually get, according to new head coach Larry Fedora. As the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State the past three seasons, Fedora orchestrated a wide-open attack that ranked in the top-20 in the nation in total offense and averaged more than 30 points per game. He said it will take some time to establish that same high-octane system at USM.
"It will be tremendously different. There won't be any similarities (to last year's USM offense)," Fedora said. "The challenge as a coach is to figure out what talent is there and what they can do within this system, and tweak the system so you don't ask them to do things they can't do. It doesn't matter how good a football play is and how good it was somewhere else. If these guys aren't comfortable running it, then don't waste your time putting it in. If we can get 50 percent of the offense in (this season), we'll be in pretty good shape."
Ready for Some Football
Posted at 1:10 p.m. CT
There is a television near the entrance to the room where the interviews are being held, and it currently is showing a replay of last year's Sheraton Hawaii Bowl between East Carolina and Boise State. During a lull in the interview session, Memphis players Maurice Jones and Clinton McDonald were standing near the entrance watching the game. When a Memphis official walked by and asked them what they were doing, McDonald replied, "Just watching some football."
Which goes to show that players are a lot like the fans. They are ready for the season to begin.
Lunch Time
Posted at 1:27 p.m. CT
The room is thinning out as the coaches and players prepare for lunch, followed by the CBS College Sports Television Show. UAB players Kevin Sanders and Joe Webb are relaxing in chairs out in the second-floor hallway along with Marshall players Cody Slate and C.J. Spillman. Directly beneath them in the lobby, the Peabody ducks are also taking it easy in their ornate fountain home.
It appears everybody is ready for a break. We'll be back at 3 p.m. CT with reports from the television show.
It's TV time
Posted at 3:02 p.m. CT
We're back from lunch. And no, duck was not on the menu. It's now time for the CBS College Sports Television Show.
Good Times
Posted at 3:40 p.m. CT
East Carolina picked up two big non-conference victories last season. The Pirates beat state rival North Carolina 34-31 in the second game of the season, and then closed out the year with a thrilling 41-38 victory over 22nd-ranked Boise State.
ECU quarterback Patrick Pinkney was asked which victory was more enjoyable. The senior signal-caller paused and then replied, "Why not both."
Why not, indeed.
Bad Times
Posted at 3:53 p.m. CT
The Memphis Tigers finished with a winning record in 2007 and went to their fourth bowl game in the past five years. Yet when he was asked to reminisce about that season, Memphis head coach Tommy West said, "I hope I don't ever experience one like that again."
That's because despite their final record, the Tigers had to travel a rocky road in 2007. They got off to a 2-4 start that included upset losses to Arkansas State and Middle Tennessee State. They also were hit with a number of injuries, especially at linebacker, where both Greg Jackson and Winston Bowens were gone before the midpoint of the season, and only one linebacker played in every game.
Still, despite all their problems, the Tigers regrouped to win five of their final six games. And that is what West prefers to remember about the season.
"The first half of the year was one of those times where whatever could go wrong did go wrong," West said. "But these guys hung in there and never gave up. I think the second half of the year was more indicative of what kind of team we were."
A Long Ride for a Walk-On
Posted at 4:34 p.m. CT
Twenty-five years ago, Kevin Sumlin walked on at Purdue. It was the first step in what has become a stellar college career for Sumlin, first as a four-year letterman with the Boilermakers and then as a longtime assistant coach. Now Sumlin is about to embark on his first season as a head coach, with the Houston Cougars.
Sumlin said his experience at Purdue, where he led the team in tackles as a freshman with 91, has impacted his attitude as a coach.
"It gives you an appreciation for all the guys on the team," Sumlin said. "Just because a guy wasn't highly recruited doesn't mean he isn't a good player."
Sumlin is proof of that.
Yes Sir, Coach. Now Can I Have Your Autograph?
Posted at 4:44 p.m. CT
Houston senior defensive end Phillip Hunt - a native of Fort Worth, Texas - finds himself being coached this year by one of his childhoods heroes. The Cougars' new defensive line coach is Jim Jeffcoat, who won two Super Bowl rings while playing for the Dallas Cowboys from 1983 to 1994.
"I was raised on the Cowboys. Growing up in Fort Worth, that's all I knew," Hunt recalled. "(When Jeffcoat joined the coaching staff) I wanted to shake his hand. I was just excited to meet him."
A Change in Perspective
Posted at 5:23 p.m. CT
To say that Tulsa is coming of its best season in 16 years does not do justice to what the Golden Hurricane has accomplished. Because it was only six years ago that Tulsa was mired in a 17-game losing streak.
"Our fans were tearing down the goal posts because we had broken the longest (active) losing streak in the country," Tulsa head coach Todd Graham said. "So the expectations have definitely changed."
Indeed, after three consecutive winning seasons and a 10-4 record last year, there is only thing remaining on the Tulsa to-do list.
"We want to win the conference championship," Graham said. "We're disappointed that we didn't win it last year."
And So We Say Farewell
Posted at 5:30 p.m. CT
As Trev Albert was asking Tulane head coach Bob Toledo about the Green Wave's closing schedule (road games against LSU, Houston, Tulsa and Memphis in the final five weeks), music and cheering could be heard in the background.
It was those ever-popular Peabody ducks, making their grand exit from the lobby. The ducks had left the building, and now so have we.
And to all of you who have joined us throughout the day, we leave you with a familiar quote from Memphis' favorite son.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
-Cary Estes
