MONROE, La. -- ULM head coach Todd Berry, tight end Alec Osborne and safety Cordero Smith met with members of the media in advance of Saturday's Sun Belt Conference game against Troy.
Below are selected quotes from head coach Todd Berry's portion of Tuesday's press conference, to view all press conference videos, please scroll to the bottom of the article.
ULM Head Coach Todd Berry:
Opening Statement…
“We're excited about getting back on the field. We have practice here in a few minutes and we're anxious to get back out there. We had a really productive off week. As I mentioned before, sometimes those things (bye weeks) become one of those situations where you wish you didn't have because you're on a roll. Other times when you're looking to get healthy, bye weeks are really good. I think this one came at a really good time for us. One of the biggest issues with our schedule is that there are not a lot of tune-up games for us with the nature of our nonconference schedule. Consequently, you're not able to dip down into your two's and three's and get those guys meaningful reps in ballgames. This off week was a good opportunity for us to get back and include our younger players in some practice opportunities. So, I was excited about that and I think those players were also excited that they were able to be more included and get repetitions and engage a little bit more in practice. That obviously gives you some opportunity to rest some of your ones (starters). We went back and looked at our first three ballgames and it becomes very apparent of what your team is like, who you're playing with and whose responding really well within a three game timeframe. That impacts the number of repetitions they got in practice last week, along with what's moving forward. The other thing that's essential right now from a recruiting standpoint is the opportunity to go out and watch (high school) players play. It's kind of a lost art nowadays because you got all sorts of video, huddle accounts and highlight tapes but it is nice to go out and watch games. I was able to watch some players with our staff and utilize this timeframe to really get a good idea of how hard a guy plays. It was fun for me to get out and recruit. On Sunday we came back and had a really good practice. We are facing a Troy team that has rightfully laid claim to the conference championship for years. Larry Blakeney does a really good job. Anytime you have a field named after you, you've done a great job. They're going to stress us with their schemes on both sides of the ball and not everybody does that. Like all Troy teams they are very athletic and they've had some tough breaks. There a little bit younger and newer than Troy teams in the past. They're definitely going to be excited about playing us to open the conference season. And we are excited about coming back home.”
On Troy's vulnerability on after some tough games…
“They have a significant number of new players playing for them. Anytime you have new players, whether it be young guys or JUCO transfers, there will be time periods where people will get out of position. I think a lot of those big plays have come off that (having new players). Their offense has been very explosive but somewhat inconsistent at times also. In the past, you always knew that was an offense you really had to deal with. They had a mature quarterback, great receiver, good running backs and they still have those guys but there just not as consistent as they've been. Consequently, the opposing offenses are having more opportunities too, which leads to more yards. They came out 14-0 against Duke right off the bat. They've just had some difficult things happen to them throughout the early course of the season. Coach Blakeney does a great job and I'm sure as they start conference play they will be excited about all their goals and aspirations to winning the conference championship. To some degree they could look at it as some form of preseason, which is now over and it's time that everything counts for real. I'm sure he's selling something along those lines. We've had a little bit of success against them and I'm sure that's going to be another motivational thought for Troy.
On what the team needs to do to have the momentum early in the game…
“I think when players practice well, they tend to play well. This group understands practice and the grind that comes with it. They have fun out there, we do a lot of competitive things against each other because we want the speed of the game and I think it energizes practice to some degree as well. Quite honestly, all the motivational ploys like pregame speeches doesn't last very long. I loved that timeframe right before a ballgame when you know that everything you've done is going to get exposed for a lot of people to say. I've always found that if you practice well, you play well and if you don't practice well, you don't tend to play well regardless how motivated you are.”
