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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 13, 2006Lloyd CarrCOACH CARR: I have a couple of announcements. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Chris Graham and his family. Last Saturday, prior to the game, his grandmother passed away. She was in the car on the way from Indianapolis down to Bloomington to see the game, and she passed away. His father grabbed me at halftime, and he didn't want Chris to know until after the game. But certainly all of our thoughts and prayers go out to the Graham family. Antonio Bass had a second surgery eight or ten days ago, and it was a lengthy procedure. It will be a lengthy rehabilitation. I don't know what his status will be for next season, but it will be a while. I like the way we played Saturday. I like the way we competed, and I like the fact that we came out of the game without any injuries. Now it's about putting a plan together and getting prepared and going down and executing and playing like we're capable of playing. Questions? Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: For me? Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: It's fun. It's fun because, you know, I love this game, the game of football. And when you have an opportunity to play in this particular game as many years as I have, you appreciate the competition. You appreciate the preparation that goes into it: The study, the long hours. You appreciate the practices where you know that guys are paying attention, they're focused. And they're doing everything they can to get ready to play their best game. So it's a great week. It always has been, I think it always will be for those who coach and play in this game. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I've always said, you know, the most important and the most special in this rivalry is the next one. So yeah, it's special. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I think maybe he's surpassed what I expected. I expected him to be a great football player, but he's been an incredible leader. He is a guy that plays with great passion. He is an unselfish guy. He's excited for his teammates and he loves to win. I think in the area of leadership, I knew he would be a great player and I thought he certainly had the qualities of a leader, but he's been absolutely sensational. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: No. Well, I think, you know, we talked about playing in that game, playing against Notre Dame every year, playing against Michigan State. I think that's something we talk a lot about in terms of recruiting. And certainly LaMarr was, you know, probably as highly recruited as any player in the country that year. And, of course, we were trying to convince him to come here because of all the reasons -- his family, his friends, he had an opportunity to continue to build his reputation and play in front of people who had watched him play in high school. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: I think it comes down to executing the game plan. I think every guy in this game is going play as hard as they can. But it comes down to playing together and executing assignments and understanding that it's not a game of perfect. There are going to be some mistakes out there, and you just have to keep playing. You have to keep playing from the whistle to -- from the time the ball is snapped to the time the whistle blows and the clock reads zero. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I really don't get into comparing them. I think they're both great quarterbacks. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Did I say that? I think there was a point in our schedule where we felt we had an opportunity to get ahead and work on some things and we did that. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I'd rather not get into that. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I think the truth is you're working against all your opponents in January. You're competing against them. When you get into spring practice you're working against them. In the summer, as coaches, you're studying them. So I think it's an ongoing process. I think that's probably been true since time began. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I think, you know, we have great -- we have great people in this program. And I think one of the things that Michigan players have always done is they love their teammates and they're loyal guys. I think they care deeply about the people in the program. So I think that speaks to them more than to me. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I think it's a great movie. And that's really -- you know, it's just a great movie. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I think any time you lose you're going to take criticism, and a lot of times when you win. So that's the way it is. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: I don't have any comments on anything other than what I said. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Texas-Arkansas one year. That was a long time ago. That's before your time. I think I remember that game Frank Broyles and Darrell Royal, I think. You know, Notre Dame-Michigan State, I remember that one. You probably -- yeah, you would probably remember that one. Some of you. You know, a lot of -- but that would probably be it, those two. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Absolutely. I think when you look at -- we played this game now, Michigan-Ohio State, for 102 years. To have this be the first time in over a century that both teams are ranked -- you know, in this length of time to never have had this happen before, and you know, may happen -- it's a long time before it happens again. So I think it's -- yeah, it's a dream to not only coach in this rivalry, but to be able to play in a game like this, certainly is very, very special. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Prescott Burgess will play. And Kevin Grady, he's better than he was last week and he practiced last week, so we'll have to see. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I think you look at the way his team's performed, and they play very hard and well together. They're well disciplined, and they do a great job with their schemes, attacking from the standpoint of playing to their strengths and attacking weaknesses. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I think you're going to get a chance to ask Beau what he thinks. But I had -- I had just gotten out of college. He had coached and taught in the city of Detroit in 1969. I was in Flint, Michigan working on my master's degree, and so I remember that game because of what Coach Hayes had done down there in Columbus when he went for two because he couldn't go for three. So I remember all -- some of the articles that were written in the springtime about the kind of practices that Coach Shembechler was having here on the Michigan. And of course they got into the season. I can remember Missouri beating them soundly, I think here at Ann Arbor. But as the season went on, that team got better and better, and of course I think anybody, you know, that follows this game, they remember the week of the game. And of course, Woody -- coaching against Woody for the first time. And of course, that game -- I've seen a few clips of that game since then. Television has come a long way since 1969. But, yeah, it was a special game. I remember Barry Pearson and the kickoff, or the punt returns that he had in this game. That was special. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I don't like to compare quarterbacks, you know, but he has a great arm. I mean, he can throw the football. He's a guy that's got great mobility. What I always value in a quarterback, where I start my assessment of a quarterback, is his toughness, and he's extremely tough. If you watch him over the course of his career, he's proven he can take punishment and get up and compete. So I think he's an outstanding quarterback, there's no question about that. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well I'm not going to compare the two, you know. I think there's talented guys and, you know, what I've seen in this game a lot of times is that there's a lot of guys that are on special teams or maybe playing certain roles where they don't get the notoriety that some of the other guys get. Very often it is those guys that do things that maybe aren't noticed in the kicking game and -- so it's truly is a team game. Every guy that steps on that field is going to have a role to play on every play that he plays, and that role can often be the deciding factor. So that's why it's such a great game, because there's 22 guys out there on every play, and every one of them can impact the game. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I think a guy doesn't come here to Michigan unless he wants the pressure. You know, I think we talk about that all the time: Expectations are such that you've got to want it. You got to understand that it's part of playing here. You're going to deal with a lot of different issues. But the great news is that in the course of that experience, it toughens you. It helps you to leave with a confidence that there's nothing out there in the world that you're going to face that you can't deal with. Because it's competitive here acidemically as well, so that's the kind of guys we're looking for. That's not to say -- you know, one of the things that you read all the time is that some guy choked. Well, the truth is there's going to be mistakes out there Saturday. There's going to be some missed tackles. There's going to be some guys that miss blocks. There's going to be some guys that maybe miss a pass. They turn the football over. But the deal is that if you've been in this season, I think on either side of the ball at either school, you know what pressure is, and you wouldn't have gotten here if you didn't. Now, to be able to play like you want to this week comes back to being -- paying attention this week in your meetings, studying your opponent as well as you can so that you feel confident going in knowing what he's going to do, knowing what his strengths and weaknesses are and knowing what yours are, too. And then you'll be able to play your best, and that's really what you strive to do every week. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Oh, he's already been here? How was he? Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: I hope he didn't say anything that will screw this game up. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I think, you know, any time -- you have to move on. You know, and there's some things in the course of a season and in the course of a rivalry that happen. But you move on, you learn from them, and, you know, you got to move on. You know, that's the deal. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I think Chad Henne is a great quarterback. I guess I evaluate it a lot different. For me it's not about stats, it's about how he manages the game, how he executes at his position. And Chad Henne, what he did here as a freshman is, in my judgment, as impressive as anything anybody's done since I've been here. I think this year he's having a great year. He has the tough position, he's intelligent, he's competitive. He's got a great arm and he studies the game. He's an unselfish guy. So I like everything about him. I liked everything about him when we recruited him, and I like everything that he's done here. I like him a lot. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Look, I think you lead -- there's a lot of different ways to lead. There's a lot of different ways to do a lot of things. But when you're 18 years old and you come into a program where there's a hundred other people and you don't know any of them, you don't come in and shoot your mouth off. You come in and try to execute the position and the responsibilities that you have, and he did that. But certainly, as he has become, you know, as he has been here, as he's had all the experiences he's had, as he has developed deep friendships on this team, there is a comfort there where he can feel confident that anything he says won't be misconstrued as some young guy shooting his mouth off, telling 23 year old guys what to do. So I never had a problem with his leadership. Look, you don't win a Big 10 championship as freshman. You don't take a team to the Rose Bowl unless you're confident and unless you know what you're doing, so that's my take. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, Leon is a special kid. There's a lot of special guys on this team, but his performance has been exceptional. Saturday they threw the ball deep to Hardy. He's 6'7", and they threw the ball up high trying to make a play that he's made a lot of times this year. Leon went out and competed and knocked the ball away. The first play of the game they went deep on him. He was in perfect position, and if the receiver hadn't made a great play, he would have intercepted the ball. So I think he's a guy that everyone respects, because he doesn't say much at all. But when you watch him in practices and the way he conducts himself, and if you know the challenges he's had in his life, you understand what a quality guy he is. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I think, you know, there's always questions about everything. So he's dealt with those like you have to be able to do. But I think he's developed a mental toughness that he did not have when he got here. He's always been a big guy, he's a good athlete, and he's such a nice guy that, you know, I've used a little bit different tact with Reuben. As a matter of fact, last spring he got so mad at me that he wanted to probably murder me. I'm glad he didn't, because I'm glad to be here to watch him play. I think he's just grown up and matured and developed a tenacity about the way he plays the game that he had to learn. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I don't know that that is true. I think that's a perception. You know, I don't -- as a coach, I don't see every single player in this country. So it would be unfair in my position, and I think it would be right of people to question me, if I go saying, you know, that this guy should win this award. But what I can do is give a guy from my position publicly an endorsement. So I don't think it's that we don't promote guys. Now, I think we've had a lot of guys win awards. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: You know, I would say that's more of a philosophy of the sports information that has -- it's been a culture here, and I have seen no reason to change that. I've always believed this: That if you're successful at the team, that there will be enough rewards for everyone, and I believe that. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: No. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: No. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, not at this time. I think, you know, I got enough to worry about with this game. And whatever comes after is part of the system, and it will be what it will be. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I think, you know, you start with Mike Hart. You know that he possesses a great competitiveness. He's got a burning compassion to compete. When he got here and I looked at him, you know, I'm thinking, It's going to take him a year or two to get big enough and strong enough to take the pounding. And there's another story. I mean, if you look back at what this kid did is as a true freshman, it's astounding. As many times as he carried the ball and his incredible ability to be tackled and be hit and not fumble the football. But I do think the difference in Mike Hart today is that he is much stronger, and obviously he has a great ability to find a crease, a small crease, and he's tough. Seems to bleed the defense for an extra yard or two because of whatever he has inside of him. So I don't know if that answers your question. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I didn't -- I had somebody -- I didn't see that film for a while. And you know, Hoosiers has always been my favorite movie as far as sports-themed movies go. And when I watched it, there were so many things in that movie that really spoke to team, to -- because it's really a story about a guy that's trying to provide for his family. That's really what it's about. And so I think it's a team oriented theme even though you don't consider boxing a team-oriented sport. So I think the casting is incredible. You know, the guy in the corner -- and I can't remember his name -- but the guy that played Jimmy Braddock's wife was wonderful. You know, the competition. There's just scene after scene where there is a lesson for anybody that watches that movie, in my judgment. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: I think any time you've been somewhere it's a benefit, good bad or indifferent. Because, you know, they know -- I think, you know, other than playing an outstanding football team, the great challenge is playing in a stadium that is so loud. And having been there, they know that. They've seen the colors; they've heard the band; they've seen those jerseys. So those things aren't new to them. Now we've got a lot of young players that have been to Notre Dame and Penn State, ut they're going to have to take all that in when they get there. So I think for those that have been there that's an advantage. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: That's what Ben Hogan said. You know, you always want your opponents -- you want to win because you were better. I think most coaches and most people who are in competition -- but, you know, at this stage of the season there's a lot of guys that aren't at their best probably on both teams. That's why, from a coaching standpoint, you admire those people who are playing, because they simply love the game, they love their teammates, and they know that in some cases this won't come again. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: I can't answer that. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I think there's no question that when you had the type of season we had, that you're either going to back down and you're going to continue that trend -- if that's what you want to call it -- or you're going get up and fight. And so other than that, I don't know except to say that I don't think there's any question that it motivated all of us, and that's what it should have done. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, you know, the only thing that -- I'm not a gambler, so I don't look at the point spreads. They don't mean much to me. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I think Beau and Woody were -- that's a different deal. Because when you coach with somebody like Beau did for Woody, that's a different deal. You know, that has happened down through the history of college football a number of times. But I think we have responsibilities to our universities, and part of that is we have coach's meetings every spring, sometimes twice a year. And so I think we've always had an extremely professional relationship. But I do think that the rivalry is so intense, and I think that's not only true -- I think it's true, you know, with some of the other teams we play. This is an intensely competitive environment just like the one you're in. So sometimes you have closer friendships than others, but I think it's -- I don't think you're going to see the Ohio State-Michigan coach going to parties together. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: No. I did meet -- I met his brother several years ago at an American Football Coach Association meeting, but I never met his father. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I think when LaMarr was a true freshman it was pretty obvious. He's 260 now. We've got a guy, Brandon Graham, who we recruited as a linebacker, and when he came in this fall he was 270 pounds. It was obvious I think to us that at some point LaMarr was probably going to be too -- be too big to be a linebacker. Although athletically I think he's capable of being that. He wanted to play as a freshman. That's one of the things. He didn't want a redshirt. I said, well, look, if you're going to play as a freshman, you got to come in in shape. You got to come in this summer and work out with the guys and get a feel for what the tempo of the work outs are like. And as we got into training camp and he got involved in all the drops, the pass drops that a linebacker has to deal with, we told him, we said, Look, your best chance to play, because it's an easier position if all you're going is rushing, to move to defensive end. He never hesitated. I think he understood that, because LaMarr likes to execute. He likes to do what he's supposed to do. And so he moved in there and he did an excellent job for a young guy that just arrived on campus. So worked out pretty well for him. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I tell him to enjoy it. I him, the guys that came up here, you know, enjoy it. Because it'll be a bigger crowd than normal and you'll have people from all over the country here. They want to know what kind of guy you are. So relax and enjoy yourself, be yourself. But as far as overall media, I think you're doing things constantly in the course of a year where you're trying to say, Okay, this is what happened somewhere else. You know, giving them reports off the Internet of mistakes that are made. You're trying to show them by example. The upper classmen, I was telling them the other day about an interview I saw with Tom Brady after a tough loss two weeks ago. I watched him after the Indianapolis game, and he was on for fifteen minutes. I told them how Brady handled that interview, because there's going to be some tough questions at times. There's going to be some tough times when things aren't going well for you. That's an opportunity to learn from somebody else, so that when you get into that position you know how to handle it. And, you know, we've all made mistake in the media. If you've been with them any length of time you're going to say some things that you regret. But the main thing is to be able to try to be yourself, but most of all to enjoy this week, enjoy this day, and -- so that you've got great memories of not just the game, but all of the excitement that's been generated by what two teams have done. It's special. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: Well, I know he played yesterday. I think he had a tough loss there, but, yeah, we get a lot of guys calling and writing and all that stuff. That's part of the fun of it, too. Q. (Inaudible.) COACH CARR: You know, I'm not good at verbalizing anything. But, you know, I can't -- I wish I could. I wish I could stand back and say, My God, look at what you're part of. But, there's, you know, there's a game coming. Every minute that I spend here is one less minute, and every minute I spend thinking about something that isn't related to the game is, you know, not good. Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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