Aug. 31, 2004

Head coach Frank Tavani: On the team's injury situation:
"Health-wise, we're kind of in good news, bad news situation. Our injury list is rather lengthy right now, but the good news is there's only one starter on that list. There are also a couple of guys on there with injuries that happened before camp really got going, so those were situations we knew we would have to deal with. Most the injuries are simply the result of us going through a long, hard camp. This was probably the longest and hardest camp we've had in all the years I've been here." On the new season:
"The start of a new season is always exciting. I'm interested and excited to see where this team goes and how it develops. We have a small group of seniors, but it's a very together, very committed, very dedicated group. We've gotten great leadership out of them so far, especially our captains Stephen Bono and Wes Erbe." On the quarterback competition:
"Brad Maurer is our starter, but he's followed very, very, very closely by Pat Davis. They've both shown tremendous poise and leadership on the field and in the huddle. They both do a lot of things well. I think Brad has an ever-so-slight edge in terms of decision-making. But, he's a Marquis Scholar so you would expect that. Pat really strengthened himself over the summer. He has the stronger arm of the two. Both of them can run with the ball and move around and make people miss." On the difficulties of the opening weekend:
"The opening game is always tough because there is no film exchange. We're basically studying last year's opponent on film, as are they. Once we get into the game we'll just have to adjust as we go." On Marist:
"I'm concerned with the number of seniors they have defensively. They had a tough outing here last year and I'm sure they'll use that to generate motivation and enthusiasm this week. That presents concerns for us, especially since we're trying to mold together a new offensive unit." On the Leopards' defense:
"For the first time since I've been head coach, our defense is ahead of our offense at this point of the season. That's the way it's supposed to be. Most of the people who have been out to our practices have mentioned the difference they can see in our defense, especially in the play of our defensive line. All of that credit goes to our defensive line coach, Antoine Smith. Our whole defense is just flying around and making plays." On senior tailback Joe McCourt:
"Certainly Joe is in more of a leadership role now in the backfield. Guys need to be able to look back there into his eyes and see a winner and know that he is going to get the job done. With Joe though, I think the question is, How much more can he do? He rushed for 1,000 yards last year and led the team in receptions. I think in some cases we need to actually take some of the burden off him, and one way we'll do that is with our quarterback's ability to move with the ball."