July 31, 2003

Head Coach Gary Pinkel
Opening Statement:
"When we played our first game, we were not good enough to win. As a football coach, I think that we were a remarkable competitor in my first year here. We have to do the things necessary to win more of those close games. We can do that by improving our kicking game, turnover margin and the defense. We have certainly made tremendous defensive strides. That is critically important for our program at this time."

On quarterback Brad Smith being a quarterback on the field:
"He will be able to do more things in that aspect in his second year. Things will slow down for him dramatically this year. He will be able to see things more and we will be able to give him more options. He is a remarkable student of the game. In his redshirt year he was a guy who was the last one off the practice field. Brad will ultimately be judged by winning football games and he understands that."

On building a program:
"A lot of people will sit back and say we are going to struggle a couple of years, but I am not like that. I wanted to go undefeated my first season. I am glad my first two years are over with. We are significantly different now than we were then. We have a lot of players who have redshirted and a lot of new players on a new defense. Saying that you return nine starters does not matter if they are not very good players. We had significant defensive personnel issues when I got here. We had one cornerback on scholarship. I think we are going to be better this year, and quite frankly we have to be in order to accomplish our goals.""

QB Brad Smith
On what he needs to do as quarterback:
"There are a lot of things I need to do to be better at quarterback. I'm excited about the opportunity to learn and become a better player. There's more than me on the team. If we don't work together, not much will get done. "

On his role as quarterback coming off a 2,000 yard passing, 1,000 rushing season:
"The important thing is to be a leader on the field, win games, and not be concerned with my numbers."

On the personality of the team:
"We're a team that comes every game ready to attack, we stay on top of things, and we keep attacking at you. I feel all the guys on the team have great talent and we're ready to go."

C A.J. Ricker
On the offensive line:
"The offensive line is a group that needs to jell. We're a group of guys that hang out and do stuff together, and we work hard together. I know exactly where my guards are going to be and what they are going to do, that's very important."

On the team:
"We still have to improve ourselves; we've got a lot of work to do."

On Brad Smith:
"Every week he does stuff that amazes me; he's definitely an amazing kid. He's always doing stuff in the community, always taking time everyday to help out. I really respect that."

On the personality of the team:
"We're a hungry team and we're ready to give 110 percent at all times. We haven't had much fun lately as a team, but when we starting winning games, we will. We've got to learn to play for all four quarters and not just two or three. You can always get better."