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mat1992

Media Day Interviews

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Here are the comments from Media Day. This was not your typical Media Day, where I could get RA in a one-on-one or a player for 15-20 minutes. This was a 15-minute session with other reporters and Aaron Grzymkowski and SJ Brown.

Opening comment from Rob A.
"Excited to get back into action. I'll let them (players) answer how ready they are. This is the first non-coat-and-tie
I've ever done something like this. I'm sitting in my office staring at a screen so I give Mike (London) and the other 
guys credit."

Aaron G. on not playing in the spring
"It was really tough. The whole team is ready to go. We kind of liked the spring, slowing down and going at our own pace
in terms of strength and conditioning. Practicing on our field. It's been a long time coming. Nov. 2019. We're really
ready to go."

SJ Brown.
"Anticipation has built up for two years. Watching football in the fall and the spring. Watching other teams win, get
their rankings up and celebrate. We have a bit of a chip on our shoulder. We have something to prove. Everybody has 
bought into what our goal is."

RA on Big picture, about schedule, toughness
"Appreciate the question and you referring to me by name. That was pretty cool since that's the name my mother gave me.
We have to fly all the way up to UNH. That's an awesome football team and we have to fly nearly as far as Hawaii (SD State)
and then playing North Dakota State at home (before that). That's as challenging a schedule for any team out there. The
only time I can remember coving that distance in such a short period of time against such tough opponents was 2013.
Let's hope that the two match up."

On quarterback position
"Competition is stiff. But they care more about winning than anything else. It's something that has prevailed over
the summer from the entire team. There's a lack of selfishness. There's a lot of selflessness. There's a whole lot of us
and not a lot of me. When you have a team with that kind of mentality, it's going to be pretty cool. As far as who the
quarterback is? Not yet. For all the guys that want to know, come buy season tickets. Come find out for yourself."

Aaron G. on blocking when you have different QBs with different styles
"Interesting question. I would say, it takes a little bit used to their cadence and playing style. I would say at the 
end of the day, our job is the same. Whoever is out there, we have to execute regardless. It takes a little getting used
to with a new quarterback, but it's not that bad."

Rob
"Aaron was at least a two-time All-CAA selection and damn-near an Academic All-American. I don't think he's going to
have a problem picking up anything, anywhere the rest of his life including the cadence."

SJ on playing with Christian Dixon
"He's a special player. He plays on the same side as me. Any tackle that he doesn't make, I'll make him right. Most of the
time, he doesn't miss. It's hard not to make plays when you have a great player in front of you. He's fast, athletic, and energetic. His energy is contagious to the whole defense."

More on schedule on playing SD State
"It's not about planting a flag out West. It's a long way from here. To be honest, as the years have progressed, it's a
lot harder to get a game. It's harder to get a game close to home. People don't want to play us. We have to find a way
to make money for the other sports. That's what football does at this level. I don't have a problem doing it. It will
be a challenge and an experience. It's different. The kids will enjoy the experience, but we're not strapping it up
to lose. We'll give them everything they got."

On getting defensive transfers
"Some guys are growing into those positions and some guys are getting replaced. Those are individuals aren't here anymore.
We basically have a whole new team, one that nobody has seen since 2019. Looking forward to the unveiling coming against
Morgan."

On Sam Gyeni
"When you get to be a coach, you come across certain individuals that are different. They are special. Sam will tell you
that he was thought of nobody from nowhere. Just a tough, smart kid that kept getting better. He's one of the toughest
human beings I've ever met. I could say the same thing about Aaron and other guys on our team, Sam Gyeni is going to
be massively successful at everything he does the rest of his life. He's a great teammate. He's a great player. He's 
going to be one successful man. Lucky to have him in the program."

On ND State on whether he will mobilize the fans to get out
"I suggest you ask that to my administration. As I'm going to work on coaching the football team. I'm not going to work
on getting people here."

On learning from not coaching last year
"My worst day as a coach is better than most of my best days at anything else. The time away from players. Time away
from this game. It's something I never want to see again. I learned way too much about how to sod a damn yard and I 
never want to do that again. I do have a better understanding of some of the backroads in the Baltimore area and I probably
need to find a new lawnmower, because I rank that thing into the ground for a bunch of people."

On getting Ferguson from Liberty/Maine
"That's a good story. I remember when Chris was leaving Maine. I remember when Chris beat us and I remember when we got
him back. So that's 50-50. When Tom left, we needed an older guy. Part of the room was missing. We were on the phone
talking to every (available) QB in the country and was one of them. His personality is massively congruent to my own.
If he and Tom Flacco got together in a room and the only thing available was a ball, they'd figure out how to play a game
and how to beat each other. They are competitive and it's awesome. We did not take him. The offense that we were sticking
with needed a guy that was more of a runner than he had shown. We brought in a bunch of guys. Loved them, but didn't fit
in to what we were doing. As we went through the spring, we realized that we had to evolve again. Take the best guy.
As it was with Tom, he was here on campus for 15 minutes. I pulled my brother out of the room and said, 'stop', I want 
him. He said, 'you didn't see him do anything'. I said 'I don't care, I want him'. From a QB perspective from a QB guy,
you don't run plays. You run people. Before you run plays, you run people. Those guys just have it. Chris has it. 
He's made us better in the summer and that room better. It's going to be a hell of a competition."

On Jerry Howard
"Size at the tailback position. I recruited him and was a breath away from a commitment before Georgia Tech stepped in 
and took him away. I traveled in the middle of nowhere in South Carolina to go see him. Great kid. Great kid. For us as we as have
progressed, who we put in the locker room as if not more important than what they can do. I know what kind of person,
student, teammate that Jerry Howard is. All those things make us better. I'm very fortunate to re-connect to him 
after all these years."
 

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