The offense on the opposing sideline Saturday will be a scheme similar to what Florida runs. Appalachian State head coach Jerry Moore has been to Gainesville three times to spend time with the Florida coaching staff and talk about offense. It’s only one of the similarities Florida head coach Urban Meyer sees between his team and the Mountaineers.
Q: “When you see the Appalachian State offense, is it close to yours and the offense you ran at Utah?”
A: “Exactly. It’s more in the style. We sat and spent a lot of time at the ESPYs when they’re team got honored and our team did. He’s been down there at least three times. I see the attention to detail on special teams. I’m proud of him. He’s a heck of a football coach.”
Q: “What is Jeff Demps’ status?”
A: “He’s got a stress reaction in his foot, so he doesn’t practice. It’s frustrating because Jeff is a competitor, one of the most talented players in the country and obviously a guy we need. It’s been hard. He hasn’t been near 100% since the Tennessee game.”
Q: “What impact has that made on the offense?”
A: “Any offense across the country, you take the number one playmaker out of the offense, and the blow is severe, especially if it’s not as strong as some areas.”
Q: “The SEC has coaches reporting violations to them and letting the league handle it. Are you comfortable with that?”
A: “I think absolutely. We go right to (compliance) here, and I get mad at our staff if they don’t. It doesn’t happen here. There is an obligation to do that.”
Q: “Would you prefer it to be done anonymous or more out in the open?”
A: “I think it all should be transparent. There’s a lot of time spent on who’s blowing the whistle as opposed to who is having the violation. The issue is the violation.”
Q: “It seems like the public has been wanting you to more publicly hold the staff or players accountable for issues this year, but you haven’t done any of that publicly. Why is that?”
A: “I’ve done this for a long time and ’05 was probably the last time there was that kind of discussion. My obligation is to this football team and staff. All we’re trying to do is win the next game. Obviously there will be accountability because that’s what we do. To make it public and throw players or coaches under the bus, that’s not part of our plan.”
Q: “Have you guys given the players a history lesson about how successful Appalachian State has been?”
A: “I talked to them about the style of play. I had great discussion with our special teams about it.”
Q: “Can you talk about the injury situation?”
A: “Jaye Howard practiced yesterday, not full speed. Caleb (Sturgis) is out. AJ Jones has a hamstring issue. Jon Bostic has a bruised sternum. A.J. is questionable, I would imagine Bostic is probable.”
Q: “You guys set the bar with playing freshmen when you came to the SEC. Are you seeing that spread through the league?”
A: “You’d think in this conference it would be harder (to play freshmen), but we lost five juniors to the draft last year. That throws you into it. We had Aaron Hernandez at tight end, and a recruit won’t come because of that, and then he leaves early. It’s the same with defensive end. If you recruit well, you’re going to have them for three years. Joe Haden, Maurkice Pouncey, Percy Harvin and some of these kids go sign a contract, and these kids have a right to go earn a living.”
Q: “Will Jeff Demps play the next two weeks?”
A: “If he’s healthy, yes.”
Q: “What would be the purpose of playing him if he’s not healthy?”
A: “To try to win a game.”
