Boston College Athletics
O'Brien Coments On Football Opener With Baylor
August 30, 1999 | Football
Aug. 30, 1999
Q and A WITH TOM O'BRIEN
The BC Coach discusses the Baylor game, Monday, Aug. 30, 1999
Q: Your comments on Saturday's matchup vs. Baylor?
A: I do not know how many strides we made in preseason. I am a little disappointed in the way we got to the point where we are right now, I would have thought we would be a little further advanced than we are. But we are where we are so we have to get ourselves ready to play Baylor. Just looking at Baylor briefly, (there is) a lot of senior leadership on defense, a lot of lettermen on defense, two- and three-year lettermen. So there will be a lot of kids who have been around on defense. Looks like they will have to replace some guys on offense and change their scheme a little bit offensively. I am not real sure, obviously, and I do not know when you face a new staff what you are going to get. We are a little apprehensive that way, but we need to put a good week of practice here together, and then we will be fine.
Q: You were saying that you do not know how many strides you guys made in the preseason, what did you see in the preseason that has you a little apprehensive heading in?
A: I do not think that we are at the point where we have to be offensively right now as far as the whole offensive operation which then ... sometimes when you play each other enough you do not know if it's a question of 'is your defense good or you are bad on offense, or how you match up one way or another?' So it is good for us to get to a game situation so that we can make some determinations on where we are.
Q: What about the play of Hasselbeck so far?
A: He has been fine. In the last scrimmage we had, we only played him in a half because we wanted to move a lot of guys around. I think that he has been fine, he made good decisions and he has thrown the ball well in situations. He, like a lot of those other guys on offense, has never done it with people in the stands and the band playing and everything else so we will find out how he does on Saturday.
Q: William Green looks like a guy who could have an impact as a freshman. Could you talk about him and how he has looked to you?
A: Well it was said best by General (Phil) Monahan: 'Green is green.' Obviously being a true freshman, there are a lot of things that he has to learn and that have been thrown at him. He is a talented individual and right now he is lined up at third tailback and he will work his way into the game. Just how fast he learns is how fast and how much playing time he will get in subsequent weeks. He is talented but there is a little difference between running in high school then running up against a defense like Baylor's.
Q: At the beginning of preseason camp, we asked you what is the likelihood of a freshman maybe working his way up there. With what William was able to show in the preseason camp, did that make you reconsider that at all?
A: No, he is going to be the third tailback. That is where is started and that is where is suited to be right now. The other two kids, Rowe has been banged up a little bit but he is back at practice now, and he is healthy so right now Cedric Washington will start because Rowe has missed time, and Green will be the third tailback.
Q: You expect Rowe to play much against Baylor?
A: Yes, he is fine.
Q: In terms of the development of your offensive line as well, you have had a lot of new guys there, has that been something of a concern for you during camp?
A: Yes, they have been a little spotty, they have been up and down. So, we need much more consistency out of them but it is the same age-old problem until they get into a game and start playing, that will be the true test of whether they are going to be able to stand up to Baylor's defense and people down the road. We need to play a game to find that out.
Q: Please comment on two of your defensive players, Pedro Cirino and Jerome Ledbetter.
A: Pedro has had an excellent preseason. He really has a great grasp on what we are trying to get done on defense. It looks to me like he has even quicker or faster than he was a year ago. So he has worked hard in the off-season to put himself into a position to play. And Ledbetter, we thought we had something and he showed up in the spring, in the spring game for us, and he has continued to build on where he was from that point on. He will be starting at the weak linebacker for us. They are both excellent players, and the good thing about Jerome is that he has four years to play.
Q: What do you like about him (Ledbetter) as a linebacker?
A: Well, he has good speed, he has great lateral movement, sideline to sideline which gives us something that we have not had speedwise at that position on this defense. And then he is physical enough that he can take on the Iso-block and things like that. We look to see if he grows, he can become an excellent linebacker at this level.
Q: You addressed William Green, have any of the rest of your freshmen earned their way into the two-deep?
A: I do not think that Sutton is going to make it this week. His knee...he pulled a muscle favoring his knee so probably Trevor White or William Poole at corner will have to probably be in the two deep. Now whether they will get into the game or not, or we are able to protect him, I do not know that. On the offensive line, we are probably going to have to put a freshman in there but try to do the same thing with him that we did with Zukauskas and not play him until we have to.
Q: How impressive has Willie Poole been?
A: He made a play or two in the last scrimmage that we have not seen on our football team here since we have been here. It is another one of those situations that there is so much to learn and they are learning. Both he and White have felt pretty comfortable by the time they got to that third scrimmage, which is about the 20th practice. So he just made a couple of plays, we might have to play him with Sutton down.
