Wednesday 12/18/2002
Dec. 18, 2002
Tommy Bowden Quotes After Practice
On progress of team in bowl preparations: “Practice is going good. We’re trying to get them a lot of repetitions. Get them to the point that they can recognize what’s going on, but I think practice is going pretty good.”
On attention of players: “It seems to get shorter as the days go on. They’re used to four practices and then a game, and here we are just getting done with our fifth practice for this game and we still have five days to go. But we addressed that before practice today. The team that can concentrate on the job that needs to be done will win the game.”
On arriving three days before Texas Tech: “I think the only advantage it has is the weather. We’ve had a lot of rain (in Clemson), so we had a better chance of getting washed out up there. I don’t know what Texas Tech’s facilities are like, but it’s been wonderful down here. It’s just more pleasant to go to practice with the weather here.”
On whether players are excited to play Texas Tech: “Right now I think their more excited about being in Florida, with the weather in Florida. I don’t think they’re really excited about Texas Tech since the game is still five days away. As we get closer, they’ll be more excited about the game and the opponent.”
On visiting with brother Terry Bowden: “He came to practice yesterday and we talked for a while afterward. We really didn’t talk much about football. When I worked with him, I could hardly stand to be around him because he used to talk about Xs and Os all the time. We didn’t talk about football at all last night.”
On defensive strategy: “The key will be to give (Texas Tech QB Kliff Kingsbury) different looks. You can’t sit in one coverage, and you can’t be predictable with what you’ll do on first down, second down or third down. You have to mix it up. Use different combinations. The key is to be comprehensive in preparing so we’re not confusing our players, but we’re giving him things to think about. We’ve got to try to get him out of rhythm.”
On upcoming NFL draft: “I hope we have a bunch of guys picked early. This game will give a bunch of our guys a good chance at playing against a quality opponent and give the scouts a chance to evaluate them.”
On NFL draft impact on: “It always helps to have guys picked high. I think our history is known. When you open up the press guide you can see all the guys that Clemson has in the league right now.”
On injury status of team: “We’re healthy right now.”
On curfew violations: “Haven’t had any. The guys had some free time last night..”
On academics: “We’re in good shape. I haven’t heard anything bad, so that’s good. I know Joe White (Student-Athlete Enrichment) will be down here later this week.”
On length of season: “It’s long. You can really tell the difference (in playing 12 games). I prefer 11 games with one or no bye. This is really long. Texas Tech is playing its 13th game, and with two byes, that’s almost a pro season.”
December 8, 2024
