Transcript: Scott Satterfield previews Syracuse

Video available here. Transcript via U of L.

Opening Statement

Welcome, everyone. It’s an exciting time of the year. Football season’s here, and it’s been a great summer and a great spring for us. (There’s been) a lot of additions to our football team. This camp has been a very physical camp for us. We’ve really gotten after it as far as red zone work, short yardage work, all the things that you really want to do and we’re not really worried about having to get some more hurry. We knew we had a lot of work we had to do this fall camp. We wanted to be physical, we wanted to have a tough mindset, and we want to be able to finish games and I think that’s something we talked about this offseason.

We know the ACC is a big-time challenge, week in and week out. You’re going to come down to these teams and it’s going to come down to a few plays here or there. There are some excellent coaches and some excellent football players in this league. For us starting the season off with an ACC opponent, you better be ready to go. We know we’ve got a tough challenge ahead when you’re thinking about schedule. (We have) arguably one of the toughest schedules in the history of Louisville football when you think about all the teams that are ranked, when you talk about starting out on the road in the first two weeks with a short week, and you think about Central Florida and then coming right back here playing Florida State. That’s two conference games right off the bat, and so we had to have a camp that way.

Fortunately, we’ve come out of camp healthy. We feel like all our guys are going to be ready to go, and that’s a positive for sure. You want to be able to have your guys. Particularly with this team, I think a couple things that stand out is the fact that we have a lot of experience. We have a lot of seniors, a lot of guys that’s played a lot of ball, and I think that’s going to help us certainly as we start this schedule off on the road with Syracuse and Central Florida. We’re excited about our guys, excited about where our football team’s at, and hopefully we’ll continue to get better and better as the season goes on. We know we have to be in a great spot when we start this first game against Syracuse. Coach (Dino) Babers does a great job. He hired a new offensive coordinator this year from Virginia (Robert Anae). We saw what Virginia did to us last year offensively, and anytime you go into a first game and they’ve got some new coaches, you really don’t know what they’re going to do. We know they’re going to turn a hand the ball to that running back (Sean Tucker), one of the top running backs in the country. (Quarterback) Garrett Shrader is a guy from Charlotte, North Carolina; I knew about him in high school, and of course, we played against them (Syracuse) last year. He’s a great runner as well. They have some great speed on the outside. So, you’re kind of guessing what they’re going to do offensively, but we know who their playmakers are and who they’re going to try to get the ball to. Defensively, they’re a very aggressive defense. They played very hard, guys can run, I think number three and seven are two guys that stand out in their defense, the two linebackers,

outstanding players in a very experienced secondary. I think last year they were a little beat up in the secondary, now coming this year sounds like they got all their guys. Two of the top corners we’re going to see, number eight and number zero, who was number twenty last year,

outstanding corners. I also know going into the dome, it’s our first time, it’s my first time going to the dome. We’ve played Syracuse three times here in a row, and at the end of the season, so now it’s completely different, it’s the first game, it’s in their place. I know it’s going to be loud, and just a nasty environment. It’s going to be a big challenge, we’re looking forward to it, and we’re excited about it.

Question: As far as the RB position, what was the competition like through camp headed into this season?

It’s been a competition all spring, all summer, and all fall. We’re evaluating those guys every day, not just on the football field, but everything they’re doing. It’s a great competition and it’s ongoing, is not over. All four of those guys can play and help this football team and all of them are on special teams. They’re going to be an integral part of this football team in some form or fashion. We put out the depth chart and that’s kind of where we feel it’s going to be but I wouldn’t be surprised if all four play running back and all four contribute on this football team.

Question: How’s the health of your team and is there anyone that will not be available?

We’re healthy, everybody will be available

Question: How do you feel about your secondary coming into this game or is it unproven and you need to see against someone else?

Yeah, I think there are some new guys like Jarvis Brownlee that came in, and we’ve seen what he can do on film, and he hasn’t done it for us because he played for Florida State last year. He’s had an excellent camp. I love his attitude and I love how he approaches each and every day. He’s an aggressive player, a very physical player. So I feel like he’ll be one that will be really good. Quincy Riley came in and Quincy can really run. Quincy has got probably some of the best ball skills on our defense. Creating turnovers is something that’ll be huge for us and something we’ve emphasized so, I think he’s proven that he can do it. He hasn’t done it here yet. Having Trey Clark back has been awesome, he’s really good. You forget sometimes that he didn’t play there at the end, and he came back in the summer and fall and we really, really missed him because he’s a confident player, but he’s also has really good ability and can flip his hips and move. Then we added some more, M.J. Griffin came in we added some more pieces to the puzzle there in the secondary. I think Josh Minkins is a guy who’s continued to get better and better. He played a little bit late into the year, but after another spring and summer, he’s gotten better, and he’s ready to get in there and really contribute to the secondary as well. Kenderick Duncan is back and we missed him in the bowl game. So we have a lot more pieces to the puzzle in the backend and you can maneuver these guys and switch them around. Chandler Jones has played a ton of football for us. Chandler can play basically any position back there; he plays safety, corner, nickel, he can do it all and we will use him in that role, he’ll be all over the defensive backfield. So when you’ve got a bunch of bodies back there to be able to rotate and keep fresh and plant some different positions, it gives a lot of versatility for the defense.

Question: You mentioned Dezmond Tell and how he’s impressed you this spring, talk a little bit more about that competition because Jermayne Lole came in and everybody seemed to pencil him in as a starter.

You’ve got to come in and earn it. Jermayne knows that and he’s continued to do that. Jermayne had an injury right before camp and was not full speed. He really didn’t go the first few days of August camp, so he’s had to work his way into it. He’s gotten better every single day and I would anticipate him being really, really good for us this year. I think it’s just a matter of time for him. When he first got here and he was a little bit heavy, I mean he still is a little heavy, but he’s worked his way into shape and the injury has now healed up. But it takes time to get in there and work with the defense, so I anticipate him getting better each and every week.

Question: Scott, wideouts here have been a traditionally strong group. I was watching something earlier, and you’re ranked the bottom, cross your fingers list or something. I wonder if your guys, and whether you feel like you’ve got a better group at receiver than maybe people realize because a lot of newcomers.

Coach Satterfield: There’s a lot of new faces out there. When you think about it, we have some really quality players at the wide receiver position. Maybe not as deep as you’d like to be, but some great quality players. We have to stay healthy out there. But then I also think that the couple of newcomers are really doing some great things, they just need a little bit of time. I think by the middle of season, they’ll be in the mix. We’re talking about Chris Bell and Chance Morrow, those guys I think are going to have bright futures for us. How quickly they start grasping, it’ll be determined how much they play, but they are certainly talented players. T Hudd (Tyler Hudson), we’ve talked a lot about him. (Dee) Wiggins, Braden (Smith), (Marshon) Ford. We’re going to be very solid out there at the wide receiver position, I do think it starts up front. I’m really excited about our offensive line. The main nucleus of that is back this year, and they’re very physical. They’re coming off the ball. They’re going to give opportunities for all our playmakers in the running back, quarterback, and out wide. I think we will be in good hands out there at wide receiver.

Question: How much would a win do in terms of positive traction, even close win, especially given what’s happened in the last few years?

Answer: Huge, it’d be huge - going on the road and get an ACC conference win. It’d be big time. That’s what we’re shooting for. And then, we’ve got a six-day turnaround to go to Central Florida, another hostile environment, not a conference game but a huge game. You have to start off on a good note. I am sure Syracuse is saying the same thing. It’s a conference game, you don’t want to get in a hole the very first week.