Tuesday, August 11, 2015

A Thought From Each Ivy Coach

The specific personnel thoughts offered up by each Ivy League coach will help flesh out my BGA Premium previews. Here are a few random thoughts offered up by the Ivy head coaches at the media day conference call.

Brown coach Phil Estes on 2015 vs. 2014:
Last year were in a dilemma where we were replacing 11 starters on offense and eight on defense. To say that we were rebuilding would be an understatement. This year it’s a little bit different. Last year we rebuilt a team. This year we will rebuild some positions.
Columbia coach Al Bagnoli on the big question:
Hopefully people are re-energized just like we are. I think they have expectations for us to at some point be successful here. The school is too good. The city is too good. The facilities are too good for us not to be able to succeed on a long-term basis. I think the million dollar question is, how long is that going to take?
Cornell coach David Archer on how 2015 will be different:
We are older. We are more experienced. We are not going to have to rely on so many young players to play when more than likely they are not ready. With 18-year-old and even 19-year-old kids we have to physically change their bodies. That’s a big task to be thrust into.
Dartmouth coach Buddy Teevens on the enthusiasm for the coming season in Hanover and quarterback Dalyn Williams' role in it:
It’s exciting for my players, certainly the alums and the students on campus. It’s a very athletic environment and the student population is pretty plugged in. The alumni body as well. Certainly, Dalyn has generated a lot of interest and attention. I think he has handled it very, very effectively.
Harvard coach Tim Murphy on putting the undefeated 2014 season in the rear-view mirror:
You have to sort of get rid of those skeletons. I think the bottom line is, at our first team meeting the first thing I say is, hey, Zack Hodges isn’t walking through that door. Conner Hempel isn’t walking through that door. All those guys. Obum Obukwelu isn’t walking through that door. We are not destined to go 10-0. We are not entitled to go 10-0 and if you guys want to get this done it's going to be one day at a time. One practice at a time. One meeting at a time. One strength and conditioning workout at a time. And if for any reason you think that you are entitled to it just because your teammates have won three of the last four championships the bottom line is you are going to get hammered.
 Penn coach Ray Priore on replacing a legend in Al Bagnoli:
It’s sort of like a rock band. We have been together for so long that sometimes having a couple different (members) – a new sax player, a new guitar player – helps out. Bringing in different entities. That would be in the case of our offensive coordinator John Reagan and Bob Benson, on the defensive side. They’ve brought new energies.
Princeton coach Bob Surace on overcoming wholesale graduations:
There are a lot of guys returning who really played and have been involved in some great contests against this challenging competition, and played well. I hope because of the nature of how we practice, how we run so many players in our offense with our tempo and everything else, that there’s a (big enough) number of guys who have been in the rotation and gotten their feet wet and played really good Ivy League football that we will continue to come together as a team.
Yale coach Tony Reno on whether his team is satisfied after coming within eight points of a share of the Ancient Eight title in last year's finale against Harvard:
Harvard went 10-0 and won an Ivy League championship. And we didn’t accomplish anywhere close to our goals. For us, we are still chasing. We as a team and as a football family – our focus has been on being the best we can be week in and week out. That’s all we talk about here. I think our guys are excited about the progress but aren’t anywhere near content with where we are.
And the quote of the day from Harvard coach Tim Murphy:
You can probably make a strong case that every team in our league is going to be better than they were a year ago. I think that's absolutely legitimate. Maybe other than Harvard.