Clemson Head Coach Tommy Bowden on....
On the possibility of Clemson players looking ahead to Florida State:
"I wouldn't think this team is looking ahead. We're sitting here at
2-1 and unranked, so there is a lot of business to take care of this
Saturday. I would be surprised if this team is looking forward to
anybody. I think we've got a pretty good mindset right now, which is
take one week at a time. I base that on performance over the last
three weeks."
On overall feelings so far this season:
"We have done a good job so far this year of taking one week at a
time. The results will merit where you are. Our focus seems to be
on improvement and reaching our potential from a team standpoint.
The important thing is where you are ranked at the end of the season,
not so much where you are after Week 4."
On offensive line changes for the Ball State game:
"We felt like we had an awful good athlete sitting on the bench in
Vontrell Jamison. We have decided to see if we could find some way
for him to get in. Right now it would be really difficult to get him
in on defense. We have an open date coming up and felt it would be
good to get him on the offensive side of the ball as soon as
possible. There is an awful lot of potential talent not getting in.
"How much he plays this week will depend on how much he can retain
over the next few days from an assignment standpoint. It is a pretty
tough position to learn in just a few days, and I don't think he's
ever played the position before. He will play right tackle."
On the play of Derrick Hamilton:
"He will not line up at tailback because it will scare him to death.
He needs green space. When we gave him the ball on that play
(77-yard touchdown run), it was designed to go wide. He is an
aggressive runner and he also has some toughness. He has great
vision.
"We have more plays designed for him to run the ball than a lot of
other guys. We have a comprehensive system and within that system is
a way to get each guy the ball. He has run those plays before and
got five yards. He just made a guy miss and ran a long way. When he
makes those long runs, it registers in your mind that you have to get
this guy the ball some more. We try to be more creative each and
every week during practice on finding ways to get him the ball."
On a possible letdown against Ball State:
"It is hard to describe how you have a different feel about different
teams. This team has responded well against Georgia. All of a
sudden, we have a couple of starters knocked out. Going into the
Georgia Tech game Derrick Brantley, Toure Francis, Bernard Rambert
and Chad Jasmin were out. When you see things like that and how your
team responds it gives you a good feeling about not allowing a
letdown to happen."
LB John Leake Quotes
"We feel as a defense that we can be put in any situation and be able to stop the offense. We feel like you can put us on the one yard line and we will stop the offense and hold them to a field goal."
"We are preparing for Ball State like a Georgia Tech, Florida State, or Georgia game.
We are not going to take them lightly."
"Some people may think we are going to be flat this week at practice like we are just going through the days. But we are going out there prepared and we are going to practice harder than we ever have. The defense came together yesterday before practice and we decided we are going to practice hard, harder than any time ever."
WR Jackie Robinson Quotes
"Going into the season we knew we had a lot of talent. We knew the media didn't know what we had.
So we knew we didn't get the respect we deserved and we had to go out each week and prove what we had."
"We haven't earned the respect we are looking for so that is why we are not going to look past Ball State."
Jeff Davis Quotes
"I'm at a point of time in my life where I know what it means to have received accolades and I am grateful for them but my focus
is no longer just on Jeff Davis but my focus is more on how I can give back to the institution that gave me an opportunity and how I can give back to
the people that made a difference on my life. If I can make half of the impact on other people's lives that Clemson University and the teammates and the coaches and the leaders of this conference has made upon my life then my life would have been worthwhile."
"The spirit of a true champion is not limited to a certain arena. The spirit of a true champion always seeks victories. He
always seeks be successful regardless of what arena he find himself in whether it be as a good father or a good businessman."
Tommy Bowden Press Conference
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