UM coach Al Golden's post-game transcript following the 40-9 win over South Florida.
On his team?s win...
"We knew they were going to bring a lot of energy - the game means a lot to both teams. I was nervous with them coming off a bye week. We did whatever we could to get them fresh this week. We didn?t go in pads very much, and the kids responded today. I was very pleased with the effort, and obviously the amount of kids that stepped up - most particularly at wideout, to answer the call, because we had some injures at that spot."
On the performance of the wide receivers...
"Obviously we really believe Herb [Waters] is going to be a really good player for us. Philip [Dorsett] grew up tonight. I was so proud of Kendal [Thompkins], the plays he made, the blocks he made, the unselfishness he showed out there - he really deserved to go out that way. I?m very happy for Kendal."
On the performance of Clive Walford...
"Our biggest thing with Clive, and what we keep saying to him, is we have to keep pushing you to five, six, seven catches a game. He has that ability. If he didn?t have that in his talent zone, we wouldn?t push him. We have to get him out of his comfort zone and into his talent zone. We think he?s a six-, seven-, eight-catch [guy], he?s in that range. We haven?t got there yet with him. He?s getting better. Sometimes you look out there and you forget he doesn?t have a long lineage in the game. He?s a sophomore. I?m pleased with the direction he?s going and how he?s working."
On being bowl eligible...
"It?s nice. Obviously we lost by five points to the two ACC Coastal teams, which is disappointing. We?ve had a tough road to get to this point. I just stay focused on moving the team forward. When I look out there and see Herb Waters doing what he did today, and some of the other guys respond the way they did, the young guys, it?s really exciting for the future."
On the performance of Stephen Morris...
"They were pressuring us a lot. They hit Stephen a lot on plays he shouldn?t have been hit early on. I think the offensive line responded in the third quarter, they obviously protected him better. I think Stephen shook it off, and that third-quarter drive was as good as any drive we?ve had. We?ve stalled a couple times in the third quarter when we?ve gotten the ball. Stephen had a good look, we protected, we had a good mix of run and pass there - that was excellent."
"I?m excited about Stephen Morris. I look out there and you take Mike James off the field, and everyone else back. I?m excited about the direction that that?s going, and how those guys are maturing. To see Stephen step up like that is great."
On self-imposing a bowl ban...
"I?m not in that loop. I have complete confidence in our president, our legal counsel and our Athletic Director Blake James. The way I look at it is this - we have the best president in the country. A president that oversaw a 600 million dollar budget when she was in the cabinet. She was in rooms where they made decisions as to whether they are going to overthrow heads of state, whether we were going to commit troops. I think she can handle this one. I have complete confidence she can handle this one. I?m just happy for the guys. I?m happy for the win today. I?m happy to have the opportunity to go to Durham next week and play for the Coastal."
On his role in the bowl decision-making...
"I?m not part of it, and most of that is to protect me from the legal side of it, to be quite honest. I?m not privy to what the president is privy to. I don?t know what the president knows, or our legal counsel, or what Blake James knows, and I?m not a part of that. I?m sure there will be some discussions tonight and tomorrow and we?ll go from there."
On addressing the bowl eligibility with the team...
"I lamented the fact that I didn?t address it before Virginia. For all the things we didn?t do well in the game, I wish I had said, ?hey guys, I?m getting so many questions about it, if we are we going to do this or do that, so I know you must be seeing it or hearing it.? I think the kids did an awesome job this week of just listening to what I was saying and what the staff was saying. Just live in a vision. Go out and play. Enjoy it. Don?t let anyone get you down, talking about what you don?t have, because it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy."
"I thought our kids enjoyed it tonight. Our kids played hard. We have to do the same thing next week. Wehave to block out the circumstances. Don?t make any excuses, we?re responsible for what we can control. The rest will take care of itself - I have faith in that."
On playing for a spot in the ACC Championship Game next week...
"It?s critical. It?s critical for our seniors to weather what they have weathered, and to be able to have an opportunity to go out like that. If you look at it all the way down the line, if you?re a freshman, and you?re playing for that your freshman year, you become accustomed. You change the culture. They start to understand what it means to pack your bags and go on the road to Durham or wherever you have to go to win that game. We?re going to have our hands full ? we know that. All our Coastal Division games are hard to win. I hope our guys learned from the Virginia game on what we need to do. That?s my focus. I have complete confidence in our leadership and the direction we?re going with the program and what we need to do to move forward."
On the timetable for a decision...
"I?m here to coach the team and make them better. I?m here to move the program forward and move the team forward. I want to reiterate how proud I am of the guys. You can say whatever you want, come at me, bury me all you want. Attack me all you want. These kids who have stuck it out, who have stayed here, who have never gone one week in two years without hearing this nonsense, don?t blame them. I appreciate all those kids that not only stayed here, but those guys that answered the bell, that answered the call to fix this. We will get it fixed."
On the performance of the team?s defense...
"Denzel [Perryman] and Eddie [Johnson] make a difference, I don?t think there?s any question, having guys back like that. Hopefully we?ll get Deon [Bush] back. I think Corey King did a nice job. The presence of all three of those kids made a difference in the game. We played a lot of guys, we rotated, we got some takeaways which were huge. It was a good win."
On the defense holding USF offense to single digits...
"We were all disappointed with how we played last week and the circumstances we were dealing with. The three games leading up to Virginia, we showed marked improvement, and obviously we got back on track here tonight. You can?t erase what happened last week, but obviously we all understand what goes into a game like that and an effort like that. I thought the guys responded today."
On blocking out distractions with a young team...
"It?s tough. It?s not just the kids, it?s everybody. Everybody in the organization. I?ve never had a season where I wasn?t answering for those questions, never been in a kid?s home recruiting where I didn?t have to answer those questions. I can?t wait for that day. I thank the parents, and the players who stayed here to fight through this ? those are the ones we should be honoring. Those seniors who stayed here to fight through this and didn?t take the easy way out, and all the kids that joined us, that want to see the University of Miami back where it needs to be."
On the play of freshman safety Rayshawn Jenkins...
"I think he?s talented. That rookie class has really stepped up. I don?t know if he?s the ninth or 10th freshman who has started for us this year, but they?ve stepped up. They?ve really had to fill in. A lot of them were pressed into service before they were ready. They?re competitors, they love football, and they love the University of Miami. I?m very pleased with Rayshawn."
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