My Press Conference Notes/Thoughts

I attended the press conference announcing the new coaches this week but have been so busy at work I havent been able to post much. I had a couple thoughts from the presser:

- Woodard seemed happy about being able to finally name his new coaches. The guys were names we had been talking about here and on other publications for weeks so I'm sure he was glad to get to introduce them.

-Kueck and Bradley were both SUPER nice guys. Very down to earth and willing to answer any question. (ill provide what I asked them later)

-McKnight and Langston didnt stick around long. Mcknight looked like he wanted nothing to do with this press conference and was almost out of the room before Woodard even finished talking. He seems like he is strictly business and I kinda like that for a O-Line/Special teams guy. I bet he's on those guys a**es hard already

- Woodard seemed thrilled about Langstons position being added to the staff. Said it allows him and his coaches to coach without worrying about those added duties. He said in the past they all divided those responsiblities up and now they can just concentrate on making the players better.

- Spoke about Jacody getting his sixth year and how he'll support him no matter the route he decides to go. He did say he told him that time as a college football player is limited and to consider that in his decision but if he decides to go to work he'll be 100% supportive of that. He was proud of the fact Jacody has already graduated and has the opportunity of obtaining a job already.

- Joked around that he feels like a kid again with the average age of his coaching staff going up significantly.

-Reading Dabes comments about Kueck stating he was hired to be OC/QBC isnt surprising. I think we all already knew that but I bet he slipped telling Chris that. Woodard had just stated that no new coaching would be leaving at this time but we don't know what the future holds. He restated this to Dabe as they broke for questions a few minutes after leaving the podium. I found it funny that Coach Kueck let the cat out of the bag a few mins later.

-DePauldrick Garrett is a 100% and will not be limited when Spring practices begin.

Here were my questions to the Coaches:

With Coach Woodard:

Me: Will all Spring practices remain closed to the public/media?

CW: "No, we'll open all the weekend scrimmages to the public and with all the new guys we have around I figure people will have some interest in watching the practices so we'll set a schedule and let you guys know."

Me: "Coming off a successful recruiting class do you see adding these guys helping with recruiting even more?"

CW: "of course it will help. Anytime you can add guys the quality of these it's gonna help. It also helps that we have all our facilities finished. You have to remember, the first class we brought in only saw building plans and construction areas. now we have this facility to show them and it helps."

I wanted to mix it up with my questions to the new guys because we've all heard the generic coachspeak answers that comes with a new coaching hire. I wanted to just chat and ask a little different questions about their past.

With Larry Kueck:

Me: How was it coaching Randy Moss at Marshall?

LK: "It was great. He was never an issue with us, and it may surprise many but he was a good locker room guy....a great teammate. He had such natural ability we knew he was going to be special. The thing about Randy is if you didn't want to hear the truth you didnt ask him. He wasnt afraid to say anything no matter the subject and that would get in trouble with the media sometimes even during his pro career. One more thing about Randy, he was very guarded. It took alot to gain his trust but if you did and you were his friend, he was very loyal."

Me: How different is Lamar from your first stint here?

LK: "Very different, heck look where we're sitting! The campus is totally changed and is beutiful. I dont know who designed or was responsible for all the changes around campus but they deserve a raise. I'm excited to be here and cant wait to get started."

Me: When did you leave Marshall and what have you been doing since?

LK: "I left after the 07 season and have been coaching at a HS in Dallas since. I have always loved the college game and couldnt wait to get back so Im excited."

With Coach Bradley:

Me: "How was it playing for and knowing Coach Darrell Royal?"

BB: "Coach Royal is a great man that I loves dearly. Me and Ray (Coach Woodard) were able to sit with him at the Texas HOF ceremony a few weeks back and he's still doing great. His memory is obviously getting worse but he remembers coaching, players, opposing players, etc from years ago, but he has trouble remembering what he did yesterday. I love for Coach Royal to take me out to a BIG dinner cause he'll pay but wont remember how much the bill was the next day. That's a slight payback for all those years of having me run those bleachers. Even Edith (Royals wife)chuckles at that.

Coach Royal will call me sometimes on his cell saying: "Bill, this is coach Royal.." then a few mins later he'll call again, "Bill this is Coach Royal.." then again saying, "Uh, sorry I forgot who I was calling.." then the second I start feeling terrible for him Coach Royal will quickly come back with a ..."I Gotcha!!" Coach has a sense of humor about his condition."

ME: "Great to meet you Coach and glad to have you here."

BB: "Same to you, we look forward to getting started!"