Boston College Athletics
Silva Discusses Upcoming Maryland Football Game
November 07, 2007 | Football
Nov. 7, 2007
Boston College safety Jamie Silva met with members of the media Wednesday in preparation for Saturday's game at Maryland.
Last season against the Terps, Silva registered 11 tackles (seven solo), including a tackle-for-loss, and made an interception. This season he has been named one of the 12 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award. He is BC's leading tackler (54 solos, 28 assists, 1.5 TFL, 3 pass break-ups) and tied for seventh in the nation interceptions with five. In last week's game vs. Florida State, Silva had a career-high 18 tackles.
Q: How tough was it for you to get over this past loss?
Silva: It was tough. We thought we had prepared well during the week and had put ourselves in the position to win, but we didn't. We can't dwell on it, though, because the next game is less than seven days away. We're just moving on to the next game.
Q: A lot of other teams have been ranked high, then lost and snow-balled down from there. How do you avoid falling into the same trap?
Silva: I think it's the character of the guys on our team that we won't let ourselves do that. We can't tell that for sure until we play a few more games, but I think that our players have good heads on their shoulders, and we'll know how to bounce back from this.
Q: Does it help that every goal you initially set, such as the ACC Championship, is still in sight?
Silva: Definitely. We know that if we win out from here on we can win the ACC. That was the goal coming into to the season, so we're still planning for everything, and we know that we can't have let-downs.
Q: On a personal note, how does it feel to be named a finalist for the Thorpe Award?
Silva: It feels good that I'm getting recognized. It's an honor to be up there with the other guys. It's just exciting.
Q: Have you ever had 18 tackles before?
Silva: Not in college. I don't know about ever before, but not in college.
Q: How important is it to the team to have the experience from the older guys to know how to get over a loss?
Silva: I think since we have a lot of older guys, we know how to react to it. We can't dwell on it and we have to move on. That's pretty much what we've done. We had a good practice yesterday, and I'm sure everyone will stay focused today, tomorrow, straight down to Maryland. We'll be ready to go out there Saturday night and get the task done.
Q: What are your thoughts about Maryland offensively?
Silva: They're a tough team, they always have good running backs. Their running backs are the same that they've had the past few years, and they're good guys. They have fast receivers as well. They're dangerous like all the teams in the ACC are. We just need to follow what we're taught, study them and try to get clues on what they're going to be doing so we can stop them.
