Tommy Bowden Press Conference Quotes

Dec. 5, 2006

Audio clips from the press conference can be heard by clicking on the All-Access link on www.clemsontigers.com.

Challenge of facing Kentucky’s offense: “Their quarterback is leading the SEC in passing efficiency. Usually when you’re completing passes, you’re moving the chains and putting yourself in the position to score points. I think that’s what has jumped out at me. I’m very familiar with their running back Rafael Little. He’s a very talented back. I think he rushed for 1,000 yards last year, but has been hurt some this year, but still has 600 yards. He’s a very productive back.”

Key to Clemson’s defensive success this season: “We’re fairly good against the rush. We’re nationally ranked in several categories. Our scoring defense and total defense are both in the top 15 in the nation. The biggest consistency we’ve had through 12 games is points allowed. Our scoring defense has been pretty good over the course of 12 games. We have been better over the course of the season than we showed against South Carolina in the final regular season game.”

Kentucky’s defense: “From watching a little bit on tape, I know that they challenge throws. Their style is very similar to South Carolina in that they have a four or five-man rush and a tighter man coverage, which challenges your short throws and high-percentage throws. They only gave up 17 points on the road to Tennessee in the final game.”

Thoughts of playing in Music City Bowl and Kentucky: “My general impression about playing Kentucky is their conference record. They’re 4-4 in the SEC. Winning four games in that conference is pretty difficult to do, so I look for a very competitive game. Playing in Nashville is a place our fans haven’t been in 46 years, so it will be a little more exciting from our fans’ standpoint.”

On getting back to the success of the early season: “Our schedule got more difficult towards the end of the year. We’ve lost by a couple of points to some very good teams. In some cases we’ve been one possession away from winning. So it’s not like we have to do a whole lot (of change). I look to make one more adjustment on offense and on defense or make one play, and then I think we will be playing like we did earlier in the season.”

On defensive end Gaines Adams: “When you have a guy that can rush the passer then you can do more things in the secondary as far as being a little more complex. I think the fact that we have a potential pass rusher that teams either have to keep a tight end in or a back in can sometimes limit what they do offensively.”

On quarterback Will Proctor: “He’s a fifth-year senior who did not play his first four years. He played some wide receiver at one point during his career here. He’s second in the ACC in passing efficiency. He’s first in career passing efficiency in Clemson history. He only started on year, but he has had a productive year. I think had he had more years to play, he would have continued to improve and get better.”

Practice and how to approach bowls: “You’ve got to make the bowl game a reward, but there is also work to it. There is a fine line you walk between work and reward. You want to work hard because the objective is to win the game, so you have to practice hard and put the full pads on and do some hitting. But again, you want them to have some free time to enjoy Christmas shopping and the holidays. We’ve got a plan schedule. We’ve won our last three out of four bowl games, so I think we’ve walked that thin line pretty well.”

On running back, Reggie Merriweather: “He’s a great ambassador for our program and a very talented guy. He’s in a position where it is tough to get three guys a whole bunch of work, but he’s a guy that I would like to get more work, because there is not a lot of separation between him and the others (James Davis and C.J. Spiller).”

Enthusiasm for the Bowl Game: “I would think there would be some motivation with this team to play well in the bowl game. This senior group over the course of four years has done some pretty impressive things. They had a streak of 26 straight games without losing by more than six points, which had not been done here in 100 years. So I’m hoping they will have the incentive to finish up and end on a positive note. It would be an accomplishment to be 3-0 in bowl games in your career.”

On Kentucky running back Rafael Little (native of Anderson, SC): “We offered him a scholarship early in his career, but he didn’t accept it. Then, as we accumulated some running backs, we went in another direction. I’m sure he’ll be very excited about playing Clemson and will be highly-motivated.”

Impact of this year’s freshman class: “I look at Crezdon Butler, Ricky Sapp, and Jamie Cumbie, but I think those two guys were a big part of the reason we had 14 touchdown plays over 50 yards, which is the most in school history. Those two guys had 10 of them. We might not have won those games if they hadn’t contributed.”