Coaches Say the Darndest Things
11/07/2024 08:57 AM
Coaches Say the Darndest Things
I'm 11 weeks into college football coverage. It's a yearly refresher after seven months of college and PLL coverage. Full immersion in football has me watching film, press conferences, practices, walk-throughs and meeting with players and coaches on the road to game-day. My dad was a high school football coach on Long Island at Oceanside HS and I grew up on the sideline and then played, so I love the assignment. This week I'm covering Clemson at Virginia Tech on Saturday at 3:30pm on ESPN.
I've selected some nuggets and quotes from coaches and players that have a direct correlation to the sport of lacrosse. You'll find a quote and my reaction / explanation when applicable. Some of the quotes are self-explanatory.
E + R = O
I'm not sure who said it. Although I've heard it more than once this fall. The equation maps out to mean (Event plus Response equals an Outcome). The only thing we can control is the response. The R. We don't control the event. It's your response that matters and determines the outcome.
Coach Prime – Colorado
I've been to Colorado three times this fall and six since Deion Sanders aka Coach Prime was hired.
"Don't believe the hype."
"Every game we play has big implications."
I was never aligned with UVA coach Dom Starsia's philosophy of "no big games". Every game is a big game was my mindset. You get so few opportunities to compete for the massive amount of preparation that you invest. If you're not excited to play every Saturday, regardless of who you are playing, you're in the wrong line of work. Gameday is your day to shine – the excitement level should have nothing to do with who you are facing.
"We don't talk about tomorrow – it's about today."
Coach Prime sounding like Apollo Creed from Rocky III in 1982. "There is no tomorrow!" I love that scene that begs Rocky to train harder right now.
Travis Hunter – Colorado WR & CB to his coach Buffalo OC Pat Shurmur
"Next time #17 covers me…throw me a slant."
Player to coach in-game communication and trust are critical to team success. In game adjustments are best when mutually formulated and implemented. See something, say something. Use your timeouts and halftimes to discuss what you're seeing, feeling and how you can better attack or defend. Talk about it.
Pat Shurmur – Colorado OC
"Try to simplify the complicated, and don't over complicate the simple. Common sense football is Simplexity."
Same goes for lacrosse.
Pat Shurmur – Colorado OC
"Offense is about 4 things: 1) matchup's, 2) creating space, 3) taking advantage of leverage and, 4) creating a numbers advantage in an area."
That's identical to offensive lacrosse. PLL All-Pro Grant Ament joined me on the Quintessential Podcast a week ago and we spoke about his offensive mindset in this era of positionless lacrosse.
Brian Kelly – LSU HC
"One commodity you want is to be a closer."
Train and practice to be a closer – a finisher – a player who thrives in the final 15 minutes or overtime.
Brad Glenn – Cincinnati OC
"You beat press coverage by breaking the tape. Exploding through or around the press corner with body lean like a sprinter breaking the tape at the end of a race."
This is equivalent to being a dodger with the ball and defeating man-to-man defense. Body lean and posture are critical. Deception gives you an edge. Those that dance or stand upright or dodge upright have no chance.
Bobby Petrino – Arkansas OC
"Keep running it until they stop it."
Travis Williams – Arkansas DC
"We refuse to throw in the towel."
Defense will always be about relentless energy.
Pete Golding – Ole Miss DC
"The only thing a defense can control is getting off the field."
Defense majors in the solutions business. Don't waste time bemoaning your circumstances. Make the next stop. And then do it again.
Dawson Odums – Norfolk State HC
"Somebody gave you stars. I want stats, not stars."
Recruiting hype is rat poison. Once on campus your high school recruiting stars are meaningless.
James Colzie – FAMU HC
"Nobody won our talent show. The players are spending too much time on Tik Tok."
Put your phone down and participate in the real world. Find a hobby or beneficial diversion from academics and lacrosse. Social media is never the yellow brick road to positive mental health.
Steve Sarkisian – Texas HC
"Be enamored with us."
Worry less about the opponent and more about yourself. Focus on your position group, your unit and your side of the ball. Don't get in the comparison game with other players and teams.
"We are entitled to nothing."
Sports are a meritocracy. In 2025, the D1 landscape has more parity than ever. You will receive what is earned, not given.
Mike Norvell – Florida State HC
"We have to execute in the moment."
There's a difference between executing during practice and then in games. There is a difference between the first and fourth quarters. Train physically and mentally to perform at crunch time. And then seize the moment with confidence.
"Belief is unchanged by circumstance. "This is very important. Don't let the scoreboard or your win-loss record be your belief barometer.
Lane Kiffin – Ole Miss HC
"Kids are changing, fewer truly love the game. They're living on their phones and social media."
The challenge for teachers and coaches and parents has never been more difficult. This generation of teens is clearly addicted to their devices. It's impacting the athlete experience from all angles.
Cade Klubnik – Clemson QB
"It's hard to be a leader in hard times. Do you want to fit in? Or stand out?"
True leaders could care less about popularity.
Taylen Green – Arkansas QB on leadership
"You must display strong actions before opening your mouth."
Live it first. Then demand the identical standard from others.
Taylen on the portal: " The transfer portal creates teams that resemble trail mix with different ingredients."
While lacrosse isn't as portal heavy as college football or basketball, there are high ranking teams that have to assimilate more than a half dozen new faces. Maryland and Duke are two squads to watch this spring as they welcome impact transfers.
Tim Polasek – North Dakota State HC
"How are you willing to lose?"
When developing game plans, coaches should ask themselves two fundamental questions. 1) How can we win this game? 2) How are you willing to lose it?
Jake Landry – NDSU OC
"Get brilliant at the basics."
Virginia lacrosse used a similar mantra in recent seasons under coach Lars Tiffany. The Cavaliers use their Friday pregame practice to entirely work on fundamentals. It fundamental Friday in Charlottesville weekly.
Dabo Swinney – Clemson HC
"Good teams win at home, great teams win on the road."
Dabo didn't invent that saying. It goes way back and still rings true. Winning on the road is hard and it's never been more difficult than it is right now at the D1 men's level.
RJ Mickens – Clemson Safety
"Learn to trust the people that have trusted you."
This one I like. Because I remember as a freshman college goalie being hesitant to make changes or adjustments to my fundamentals, playing style or training calendar based on selfish, and arrogant stubbornness. During my freshman fall ball at Johns Hopkins, the coaches asked me to tweek / change my stance and stick positioning. I struggled to immediately adapt and conform. Internally I fought it, instead of trusting my coaches and the professionals who were hired with one goal in mind – to improve athlete performance. A few months later, after I had made the subtle change, I realized they were unequivocally correct. The lesson was to trust those who have your back.
