Louisville football weekly press conference notes

Charlie Strong

--The week off was much-needed and gave the players the chance to enjoy the victory over Kentucky without potentially overlooking their next opponent.

--In order to be successful in the new "nine-week season," this team has to do a better job of running the ball, scoring in the red zone, producing turnovers and avoiding the big play on defense.

--Marshall will be a good test. Feels like there will be a lot of excitement at PJCS coming off of the Kentucky win. This team has got to start playing better at home.

--Really wants to see a breakout game where one of the backs (Anderson, Wright or Brown) rushes for over 100 yards. Hasn't happened yet this season.

--Would like to see one of the three running backs emerge as "the main back" like Bilal Powell did last year.

--Will Stein, Mario Benavides, Andrew Johnson and John Miller are all getting healthy, but their playing statuses for Saturday's game won't be evaluated until later this week. Taking it day-by-day with each guy.

--Will Stein could not play if the game was today. He did not practice at all last week.

--It's a good thing that the safeties aren't making as many tackles this year.

--Dexter Heyman is much improved at linebacker and has become a vocal leader on defense.

--When they asked Dominique Brown to make the move tor running back, he said "anything for the team." Now he's probably thinking he should have been there all along, which is a good thing.

--Teddy Bridgewater has always carried himself like a starter. No one on the team was shocked by the way he played or the way he carried himself against Kentucky.

--Worked with Marshall head coach Doc Holliday at Florida for two years. Doc was the recruiting coordinator at UF at the time. He's a great coach.

--All the recruits are asking about Louisville's conference situation. They all want to know because that's how other schools attack their opposition on the recruiting trail. Is telling them that "right now we're in the Big East" and that's all he can say.

--Louisville has the right facilities and everything else needed to be a competitor in any conference. We just have to recruit.

--Not worried about Louisville ending up in a non-BCS league because U of L has Tom Jurich as its athletic director.

--Competition makes better football players, and that's what's happening with Vic Anderson and Jeremy Wright since Dom Brown moved to running back.

--Hasn't been around a guy who works harder at practice than Vic Anderson, so he has the respect of every player on the team. He gets it done in the classroom as well. He's an all-around leader.

--Told Dominique Brown that if he didn't like playing running back after a few days of practice then he didn't have to play there. After a couple of days he said he liked it and was ready to play. Told him to take off that yellow QB jersey.

--Stein is coming along well, but we don't want to risk an injury with him. He'll be back on the field when he's ready to play.

Greg Scruggs

--Agrees that the bye week was needed because of the UK game. It's been all anyone has talked to him about. It feels great to have accomplished that, but didn't want people to be thinking about the pats on the backs heading into a game on Saturday. Definitely needed the week off to avoid a letdown.

--He didn't practice last week, but will return to the field on Tuesday and will play on Saturday.

--Expects the fans to be out in full-force on Saturday. First game was early on a Thursday and the second was on a Friday night, and he uderstands that people have things to do. "The world doesn't stop for football." This is a Saturday afternoon game and he expects a lot of people to be out there enjoying the show, because the team is going to bring it like they always do.

--Has had confidence in Teddy since he stepped on campus. He's always carried himself very well and he has the complete respect of everyone on the team. He actually calmed me down before the Kentucky game. He could see it in my eyes that I was a little too fired up in the locker room. Teddy told him, "Six, calm down. What you worried about, six? I need you out there, six."

--A senior listening to a freshman? "You daggone right." On this team, it doesn't matter. If someone has something to say, best believe I'm going to listen. Teddy's a quarterback, if he doesn't have the respect of the tem, then who will?

--Hasn't seen a freshman as respected as Bridgewater since he's been here. He's carried himself like a starter but also remained a humble leader since day one. "It's unbelievable."

--Teddy wasn't rattled at all after his first interception against Murray State. That's just his demeanor. He came back to the sidelines, talked to the coaches, and went right back to having his head in the game.

--We're finally playing defense the way we know how. Every day at practice, the intensity is off the charts. That's just how Coach Bedford wants us to play. When we don't do that, "i.e., Florida International," you see what happens.

--Deter Heyman has grown up tremendously. I'm proud to play in front of him. He's really emerged as the leader of the defense, which needed to happen with him being the MIKE linebacker. He makes all the checks, he calls out all the reads, and we all just do what he says.

--Heyman played on the defensive line for a little bit (as a sophomore in 2009). Didn't last too long for a reason.

--I always talked about what I would do and how much I would say if we beat Kentucky, but I didn't do anything because I didn't even know how to react. It was a monkey off my back for sure, though.

--All Dominique Brown knows is "go." He's showing everybody now what I've known for quite some time. When you have an athlete like that you get him on the field.

--"We hit a lot" in practice, but that's why we're such a tough football team.

--Was disappointed in his personal performance against Kentucky. Watched the tape with Coach Hurtt, and "you would have thought we lost." He was very critical of me, but he had every right to be.

--Disappointed in Cincy St. X's loss to Trinity, "but it's still go Bombers." Has to keep reminding guys like Will Stein and Scott Radcliff of the game in 2007 "when one G. Scruggs was on the field and they couldn't seem to pull out the victory."

--No one talks back to any of the coaches on this team. The first one that does will be the first one who has his butt sent home.