ORLANDO, Fla.- Mizzou head coach Gary Pinkel met the media Wednesday morning (Dec. 31) at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Pointe Orlando. Pinkel talked about playing in a January bowl game for the second consecutive season, Minnesota's offense and defense and how the team has spent its time in Orlando. A complete transcript is below.
Mizzou and Minnesota will meet in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl tomorrow (Jan. 1) at Noon (CT) on ABC. For all the latest on Mizzou football, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on twitter @MizzouFootball and @mutigersdotcom.
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Mizzou Head Coach Gary Pinkel
Opening Statement...
"Well it's been a great week. The hospitality has been second to none. We are real excited. When we got the invitation about a month ago we were just so excited that we got it and had an opportunity to come to this prestigious bowl. With Buffalo Wilf Wings online now - that's an awesome sponsor. Our players now I think just want to play football now. We have been down here for a while. It has been fun but I think we are also focused up pretty good. That's the whole key in Bowl Games. There is nothing normal about the day before a game today. Our players don't have banquets during the season the afternoon before a football game. So anyway, we are excited about playing and we are playing a very good football team and we have great respect for Minnesota."
On getting a sense of normalcy during the Bowl trip...
"I think it has been really good. We came here and we got here early. We didn't do much the first couple days - allowed the players to go make visits and do things like that. The whole key is that you see players in situations, whether they are meetings or practices, you look at effort, body language - all coaches do - to make sure you are focused and ready to go. We have had good practices. Attention to detail has been good. Bottom line is you have to focus and play your best and that is my responsibility and certainly every player feels that responsibility towards their team."
On what he sees from Minnesota...
"I know Jerry (Kill) really well. I have known him over the years and he is a great coach. You see a very well-coached team - a very disciplined team. You see a football team that plays great defense and limits big plays and is very physical. They obviously run the ball well. The quarterback is a big player - does a lot of good things, very impressed with him. Tight ends are great athletes. Cobb, their running back, is very difficult to tackle. Other than that, it's going to be an easy game. I just know Jerry and what he has done at Minnesota is no surprise to me. I have known him over the years and he has done a great job."
On Coach Kill being able to take teams to new heights...
"It doesn't surprise me. His success. I have known him for years. I think he is like all coaches, he is always trying to get better and he is always thing to make himself a better coach, a better program. He obviously has got a great background. He knows what he wants to do. He does what he does and I think he is great relationship-oriented with his players. You know I think year-round, I know his players like playing for him, probably like the program. It's no surprise to me that he's as successful as he has been."
On the current bowl system...
"We've been fortunate to go to a lot of bowls and this has been as good as any. Like I said, the hospitality has been awesome. We were very excited about being selected to play here. The national prestige of this bowl game is obvious to anybody. I think the bowl system works without question. I think the way the whole thing worked out this year was very, very positive. I know people look at attendance at different places. Everyone likes watching football, so we need to look at attendance through TV ratings because millions and millions of people are watching, so I think it's working."
On what it would mean for the program to win two consecutive January bowl games...
"Well, you know me better than that. I don't talk about what it's like. I'll tell you that after we are fortunate enough to win. Again, everybody wants to finish. Minnesota wants to finish. They've had a great year. They want to finish. We want to. The word comes up all the time - this time, day before the game, it's a part of all of us. This is a very important game for us and our program."
On Mizzou producing quality defensive linemen over the years...
"Well we have a thing we call Mizzou Made. That's a thing we are very proud of. We think we do as good a job or better than most anyone in the country in total development of student-athletes. We really sell that Mizzou Made. I think defensive line is a little bit like that. We recruit players -we aren't looking at stars -
we recruit players that we want that are going to fit into our program that have size, speed potential. Craig Kuligowski has done a tremendous job as our defensive line coach. And I think what happens over a period of eight to 10 years, you have first-round draft choices and a lot of players making all-conference or defensive player of the year, I think it just gets a little bit contagious. Obviously, we attract young high school kids that want to be successful but we have a name now that on paper, we have produced a lot of really good players."
On any special plans for Coach Steckel...
"We have been kind of honoring him all week a little bit. We are obviously dedicating this game to him, which is no surprise. Coach Steckel has been with me for 19 years as a coach; five years at Toledo and 14 here in Columbia at the University of Missouri. I'm so happy for him because he wants that opportunity and he's going to take it and he'll do a great job there. Certainly, we will miss him but our players sure do love him also. We have a real tight, family atmosphere, but they recognize that that is one of his dreams, so hopefully we can play well."
On how his bowl preparation has changed throughout his career...
"I went back to my bowl experiences when I was at Washington with Coach (Don) James. He had a winning percentage that is better than my winning percentage in bowl games - he's around 75-percent. He did an exceptional job. We took a lot of that format. I think there are more events, more things that go on now than they did 20 years ago, so we have kind of tweaked a few things like that. We have gone and made a huge emphasis on being able to focus as players and winding down and playing our best football game. We always try and evaluate everything and try to make ourselves one or two percent better each year. We are not going to be like all of a sudden here is a new bowl plan, but we are always trying to make ourselves better and tweak little things here and there. There have been little things that have changed - like we do with our football program. But the foundation of what we do and how we prepare have stayed the same."
On the continuity of his coaching staff over the years...
"Well, Jerry (Kill) and I talked about that last night as a matter of fact. I have known some of his coaches for years also. He has a great staff. I have been very fortunate to keep coaches for years and years and I think it is two-fold. There is a sense of security. They go to these conventions and see all of these people out of jobs. There is a sense of security if you work hard, you have some security in a very, very insecure business. I try to get my guys home to see their families every night. I don't want them working until 11:30 every night. And honestly, you can be a great football coach and win without getting home at midnight every night. So I think from a family standpoint, I think that is a plus. And why they want to work for me, I can't answer that, so I wouldn't even go there."
On playing a team that is playing in a January bowl for the first time since 1962...
"For us, we are focused really on ourselves. We'll get their best game - I know that. They are a great football team. We don't get caught up in all of the things that they are dealing with. We get caught up in trying to play our best and prepare our best. We focus on ourselves a lot more than our opponent. We are assuming that we are going to get their greatest game. I think again, you look at Jerry and what he has done with that program, making these kind of strides just says so much about him and what he has done and building."
On Mizzou's bowl trip history and the decision to come down to Orlando on Dec. 22...
"I really wanted to come, first of all, because of the location and where it's at. There are so many things. I compare it a lot to when I was at Washington when I was at three Rose Bowls and two Freedom Bowls which at the time were played in Anaheim Stadium, so five of the 11 bowls I played in at Washington were around Disney Land and Knott's Berry Farm, those types of things. It was really good because we used to go down 14 days. I wanted to go down a little earlier because there are so many great things to do and I wanted our players to have a great experience here. There is also some belief that if you get down a little earlier, it gets old down the end and you can focus up a little bitter. That will be evaluated three and a half hours after the game is over with. That was kind of the thinking behind it."