Fran Brown Press Conference | Week 1 vs. Ohio

all right good morning everybody thanks for uh coming to our week one uh press conference we're going to start with an opening statement from coach and then after that we'll take questions just raise your hand we've got Mike holders to come around and grabby for questions first off I'm very thankful you I can always tell you be the head football coach here I'm also thankful that we have opportunity of you know playing against Ohio I think they have an amazing staff uh led by their hair coach Tim Alan uh defensive coordinator does a great job John Hower um just trying to remember all the names the Special Teams coordinator Nate really good job we met before on the road um I've been watching every receivers so I think that uh coach Allen does a really good job and their offensive coordinator coach Smith so I'm just really excited to go against them um coach Tim's been coaching since I was seven you know he's been a college football coach so he's an experienced coach um they done a really good job just over the past few years of being able to win nine 10 games they do a really good job when you watch them on film they're coached extremely well so I'm very thankful to have the opportunity to coach against him um I think they're really experienced on the offensive line they have a great offensive line just watching them in their offensive line coach uh coach Rudolph I thought he did a really good job just from watching those guys and going through stuff with them and seeing that um quarterback Navaro 13 watched him in a bowl game uh this kicking play definitely a dual threat so I'm excited to go against him to see you know that's most coaches worst nightmare to try to go against a dual threat guy Dennis just transferred in from uh Michigan who was fast I remember him on the recruiting Trail uh tight end Bruno actually played with my son last year and I remember watching him just saying wow this kid can really block like this kid is a tough kid so him Rodney Harris uh another receiver Rodney Harris Jr and then uh hunt junor you know that running back he runs the ball well they've always ran the ball well so that's something that he do the defensive side of the ball uh Weaver is a good player we thought their secondary was really good just watching them on tape and woods uh Austin Burley and Adonis Williams so um with that being said I think we have a good team coming in the house coming to play uh they're known for taking out power for schools you know and being able to win and do a good job and I think their coach is just I mean like I said guys he's been coaching since I was seven so he might have forgot more football than I know so I'm just extremely thankful to have opportunity to compete against him and that staff got a questions we'll start with Dan and then go to Emily right in front coach looking at this this game going in here and the first one for you as a head coach the transfers that came in for you trying to implement the plan with them and work them in from the different areas that they came from how has that like kind of maturation process gone and how you feel about them and all different phases of the game the transfers that came in to try and boost up this team uh we just really trying to lock in on Dart to be honest and it's like a Del grind a deli like way for us to just play be able to focus and just Jael together you know it's almost like a puzzle uh you don't want to force anything whatever fits fits and then you start to see things that do fit and then you just understand their weaknesses and their strengths and try to play on their strengths but then continue to grow their weaknesses of what it helps I mean I thought we had a really good team I think um they did a good job we having some players and we were able to due to the help of uh you know just the community Syracuse fans uh helping me uh have the opportunity of keeping Marlo and Justin Baron L quent Allen and s on all those guys to be here so you know you just had we went and got some guys to add on to make Syracuse football team hopefully we look like a real good football team and we jail together em FR hey friend just took a look at the depth chart first question wondering Justice Ross Simmons is he available yet back from that hamstring injury you mentioned he's noticed he's not on he working we got to see what he does you know if he's been he's had a just a guess they would call just a bum summer you know just not hasn't been able to get completely healthy you know you saw it before we started camping and he had a bat hamstring pull but he's working to get back I mean he's almost back completely You' seen him do some stuff on the side the other day where I'm excited to see him cuz I mean this is a big kid that can run he's physical so he should I think he'll be able to play this week I'm hoping but I'm not completely sure it just depends on what he can handle you know and how much he can tolerate so but he seems to be a lot closer so we'll see how it goes then you got quite a few names in at that defensive tackle spot and just curious if you foresee having that many names on the dep chart going forward or you're looking for some guys to really step up and solidify themselves there no that's going to be that way you know to be a dominant defense defense I think that the defensive line you have to be able to rotate those guys all have to be able to play every there's a certain number that each guy you feel he could be able to play so you're hoping that they could all reach that number and help them out and then as the year go on you hoping that some of the guys that you thought could play 10 snaps can move up up to 15 and then the 15s can move up but you got to you got to do that collectively in the defensive line room in order to be able to last and compete we'll stay right in the front row and go uh BR Chris Christian right across the way Fran now now that that it's game week how do you want your players to focus or do you want them to kind of embrace what the community is feeling and and what they're expecting with the team I just really want them to go be grace students today like we started that off you know just make the main thing the main thing and all you can handle is academically right now then when they get in this building we just going to focus on football and we're just going to take it day by day you know that's really all your promise you know I'm just thankful that we've all had a chance to wake up this morning and you really got to live the day you know cuz you start looking too far ahead you won't be prepared when that time comes but we just focused on us and just trying to make sure that each and every individual that I could coach it out of them to be the best version of myself to allow them to be the best version of them so just trying to coach the best out of each kid uh FR we see Amari Hatcher at the top of the wide receiver depth chart um I think a lot of guys would see a coach bring in two wide receivers from his former place and run um he didn't what do you remember from like your first conversations with him with Hatcher he just he took everything that we said to do and I told him what it would take for him to be a starter and to be a he talked about his ending goal in football was to play in the National Football League and be a good player there cuz I ask do you want to go cuz if you just want to go to the NFL you're talented enough to do that do you want to go and play do you want to go and be a part of it and we talked about his weight you know he had to gain more weight he needed to be at least 185 lbs uh he needed to get physical in a run game and he needed to make difficult catches you know he had to be able to do that and he had to show that he wants to block and if he didn't do those things then he wouldn't be able to play and um he answered the Bell like he he did everything we was asked to do he ate the right way he gained the weight he got stronger in the weight room he's a good kid like once you get to know him and just around him he's just a good kid he sucks at playing cards though but he's a he's a really good kid though I'm excited about him and uh I'm happy that he's getting this opportunity and I think he'll make the best of it long as he locks in on Tuesday what game you guys play we play we play a game called Tonk yeah we play Tonk yeah he's not good at all he's not good FR you got a taste of what the do atmosphere is going to be like during the spring game now that week one is approaching how much are you looking forward to how that stadium is going to feel with the full Dome crowd I'll be excited about it i' be more so happy about all the freshmen I went and did something the other night and it was like all the Freshman there and it's like all of our first time like I'm a freshman with him so I was more excited about them just how happy it was I'm happy for them getting a chance to go to college I know that a lot of fears and not understand what's going on but that was pretty cool to being there with those guys the other night and just seeing all their enthusiasm and just how excited they are about just being in college so you I just told them just come out and if you ever get afraid or you need to talk just reach out but I'm I'm definitely happy about the Dome and you I know it's going to rock I know how it's going to be there but I'm also excited about you know all the kids that come to school here our future right all the future student athletes and and know just all the future guys that's going to take over America when you go look around at all the buildings you got the L we're in the L Lounge you got uh folks business schools like all those different things like though they were freshman too before so just wondering which one of these guys are going to be the next great who knows who um new era in Syracuse football starting in a couple days what do you hope this first game for you for the team says about your team just that we can we care about each other you can see it through the way we play that we live Dart you know and you can tell that all the kids on our football team are committed that they care and we trust each other coaches included um it's really just trying to make sure that you guys can see like a bunch of young men that are developing you know and you can see the difference in some from last year to this year not stating that last year was b or anything of that nature but just as each year they're growing and I want to make sure that people can see that and that our community is thankful and happy about what we're doing because they get opportunity to come and watch us play football so just that you see us together that you can really see Dart and you can see that we play like that and we live it's not just a saying it's it's Who We Are hey coach um when you think about this entire experience start to finish what it took to get to this point this Saturday what are you the most proud of probably my wife and kids just happy for them to be able to still be the same I'm very thankful for him you know I'm proud that I was able to uh stick with my faith you know and never try to make it about me it's just truly about my faith and just being able to lock in on my faith that's probably what like I'm most proud of like myself is like like I've really locked into my Bible probably more than ever before and just leaned on that because I mean it's a tough job I mean you guys are tough you're cool with me now but then we'll see come Saturday so just locking in with my family and my faith like that's what I'm most proud of and just our team you know just proud of them and I watched them mature over the past eight months so thankful for those guys we go right across in front to the Daily orange now uh coach throughout training camp what area did you feel like your team grew the most in heading into the season that's a secret if I tell you my secrets then you know it won't be a secret no more I think we grew the mosto in trust and playing together I think we care about each other a lot you know I couldn't just tell your a position but I'll just say that like together you know we're a team like we're becoming a true family instead of it just being a word you know we trying to live with each other trying to love each other trying to make sure that we can take care of each other so I would say like we grew more our trust and our care for each other you do your job I'll do my job and then see what we can do afterwards hey coach uh just you talked about Omari and say that again you talked about Omari Hatcher and Justice Ross Simmons uh just for that wide receiver room over all what did you see from their growth throughout training camp and and what are you uh most excited about seeing from them in this first game I mean I think coach Ross and uh coach Maddox those guys did an amazing job with the receiver just develop him I'm just excited to see block you know excited to see him block excited to see him catch a pass and just turn it up and knife up the field um but they've done a real good job you know they've been hard for us to cover them like we've really had an opportunity of just developing a tough football team and those guys really show that they're going to try to do what they can do on the edges now it's important to them to try and block um it's important to them to just be able to answer the call when their number's called you know your number won't get called often so when it does get called make sure you can answer the call Coach how important was it for L Quin Allen to come back to the program and what have you seen from him throughout Camp so far he's the leader of the football team he's like the heart you know he's tough he's passionate you know you guys see him and watch him everything he does he wears his heart on his sleeve so it was important to do that it was also important for him to um I think that he took a huge step in reference to just controlling his composure not just making impulsive decisions he's kind of he's becoming a little man you know I'm really proud of him he's only 20 years old just seeing when his birthday came it's like wow you're really this young but he's so mature and he's just so passionate and like he just loves football like he really loves it and he an intelligent football player he has a high IQ actually when you watch him on the football field and do it I'm really just impressed with his leadership and you know he's he's the heart of the team you know we we all had that heartbeat it' be pretty good well third row then fourth row coach in terms of of Dart is that something you guys used at Georgia or when did you decide to bring that to Syracuse and have that be the Mantra of the program this season um that not something we didn't use that in Georgia we had something like that it was like our composure and things of that nature that was just life like I think as a man as a as a parent you know as a man of Faith as a football coach you want to be detailed you want to be held accountable you have to be relentless and tough cuz you're going to go through a lot of things in life and if you could just take that those acronyms and you could take those words and they could be who you are if someone was to explain if they asked like how was you explain friend and they could say well he's detailed he's very accountable he's Relentless he's a tough guy I'll be cool with that you know so I figured okay if we could take these and try to allow every player to live that way and everything that they do then I think you'll have a bunch of successful young men so that's all it was it's just about how do I get these men to these young men to become grown men and to be successful and when tough times come what can they fall back on that will keep them on track hey coach it's uh Kyle McCord's first game as a member of the Syracuse Orange and he's got a pretty underrated tough defense coming to the Dome to Face Off how do you think he's feeling about getting his first game over with and attacking it against his first opponent I don't know I hope he not worrying about getting his first game over with and then he just worrying about practice on Monday you know that's kind of like I just hope he focused on today uh like I said man they have a great football team so you know I don't want to we just trying to focus on Monday to be able to hit the areas that we need to hit because we know they're a good defense we know they going to do a lot of Slants and you know they they Gap exchange a lot and they send different guys so I mean we just just hoping that we can make the plays that'll be there for us to make and they going to make some we'll make some just may the best man wi at the end of it but I hope Kyle makes the plays that we need to play to help us get one point more to know hey coach um it's a pretty good football team they're coming off two back-to-back 10- win Seasons what's going to be the message this week to your team maybe not to underestimate this Ohio University Bobcats team um I would never say we could underestimate them because they had two win 10- win seasons and I don't think we did um so in my eyes they're a better football team than we are you know I mean when you just go back to what was been done and where it's been at but um with we just focused on the day like I don't really know I don't live that way like I can't worry about that game or the game going to come when the game comes we'll play them on Saturday but like we got we got a lot like we got class all week they got 15 hours of class this week that they got to make sure they dominate we got practice every day that you got to make sure you do so like there's a lot that leads up to that so it's almost like a process and if you don't follow that process then you don't give yourself an opportunity to be in position to try and win on Saturday so I'm just hoping that we can follow the process a little bit more than they follow the process and then we could come out on top so that's just kind of where I'm at I don't really we would never ever ever underestimate Coach T and his staff or what they do and what they've done um I mean you see what happened with IA State last year right so like well I would never underestimate I mean this man has been coaching since 1989 I was just turning seven years old so I have no who am I to underestimate this guy and what he's done he coached with Osborne at Nebraska I mean one of the legendary coaches of all time so you know I mean I have nothing but respect for them yeah back in front to D coach you've had a lot of experiences leadership wise in your journey to be where you are right now this being historic for you always your first game as a head coach what have you learned about yourself as a leader through spring camp through fall Camp through being with this program how has leadership evolved for you I'm just still growing daily there's a lot that I still have to get better at but I'm growing daily um I'm working on patience a lot um I've reached out to all the coaches that I used to work with like I literally just uh text Co smart this morning cuz I was wearing my shoes the way he was wearing his shoes and I told him I goty on the Kirby Smart 2.0's and um he was just showing me like told me a couple things to focus on and to get right with um I just reach out to guys like U I'm not afraid to reach out I do not have all the answers like I probably don't have half of them but um I just try to reach out and just get as much information as I can get try to be an information seeker and not Giver um but just just trying to have a lot of fun with it I'm having fun to be honest so that's the main thing like I'm having fun I'm making sure that the players around us have fun and that the coaches have fun like I want everybody to come to work every day and enjoy being at work like there's nothing like loving what you do you know if everybody could come here every day and they happy when they here then you going to maximize every person but if every person is in coming here and happy then they start to talk and you know once people start to say things to this one and that one you know negative people try to find other negative people and it just doesn't work that way you know I like to be around a room full of happy winners you know cuz if I got five winners and I'd rather hang with those five winners because that's going to make me the sixth winner if it's five discon guys I don't want to be around five disal guys cuz eventually I'll be the six discal guy so I'm just happy and I'm learning though this be honest with you I learned from all of our coaches coach Nixon been coaching 28 years so you know coach Dell Williams been coaching 30 years nun's been coaching 26 uh coach Robertson been coaching 15 when you just start to look at all the coaches on the staff like they've all been in the teens and things of that nature I've been coaching 12 so I'm just thankful to being in a position and there's so much more I can learn that's going to help a lot hey coach I I think it's clear to me at least that it's important to you to just live in the day based on the way that you answered um some of the questions at this press conference I want to know how that changes things for you and your athletes living in just today versus thinking about a week or two weeks or even further in advance it's not a lot of pressure like you just focus on the day like that's all I want to wor about is today like I'm going to get up I do my go to my Bible I make sure I lock in on that and we just lived for like today like I can't worry about Saturday cuz then when Saturday comes I'm not going to be ready so like when you just focus on the day it takes so much pressure off you like you guys should really try it cuz like I'm not just saying it it's really what I do my wife gets mad at me sometime cuz she say I don't prepare for everything else and like I'll prepare for tomorrow starting the night I got to written down of what I want to do of course I do my whole weekly schedule like I think everybody does you know I write down 168 hours in a week but I wrote down what I would like the week to look like but God got different plans sometimes so I just focus on that day I'mma dominate this day like and I'm ready for this day like I already knew at 12:40 I was had to make sure I got ready to be in here with you guys and I was already ready so when he called me I was waiting for him cuz it's just like certain things that you have to do and I think if you're schedule oriented and you're able to follow your schedule at least 80% of the way you'll be successful so if I got my players doing that can you imagine if 112 guys are following the schedule and they're living that way and they could follow it imagine all of us when you were all in college if you follow the schedule 85% of the way so imagine us trying to do that and that's all we're trying to do just daily living cuz those days become weeks those weeks eventually become months and then the months become years and before you know it you just kind of hopefully you can be one of those people they talk about our we could have our name on the building somewhere you know friend when when you look at the size of the Freshman Class you brought in in the transfers it's one of like the bigger roster overhauls in a single year probably in the sport with like over 40 new guys um how did that shape your offseason compared to what it might look like in a more normal year the offseason will get harder every year because there's a new standard you can't do the same thing again and expect it to go so like they always talk about like uh either you evolving or you die I don't really want to say that but either evolve or you go or my mindset is like you know they always say if it's not broke don't fix it right now we look at it like if it's broke break it if it's working break it and fix it back again you know what I mean break it let's make it even better you know so things may have worked and things may go the right way but let's break it all up let's figure it all out and let's see how we can make it better you know but our offseason work out to be harder than it was this year next year like everything has to continue to get better you know you just look at athletes in the world they're continuously getting better right there's like it's normal to see guys 7 foot now it's normal to see 6' s guys like that's just starting to become normal because just the way the world is and what's going on so I don't know everything always get better it's a new standard that has to be set daily each week it get tougher you know it has to be gone and you have to be able to rise to the standard if you don't somebody else is so you know you won't get the best of it there's no missed opportunity someone always takes it don't ever forget there's no opportunity that's missed someone always takes that opportunity better hope it come back but usually it's gone did you have to spend time doing things to get them to Jael or to teach them that you would prefer like not to have to have spent that time on N they all my little homies man we all cool like d when I say to do something and it's something that we want done I usually give a good explanation of why and what we're going to do and then uh it's going you know I don't always talk this way so you know it's two different tones and we like to but they usually when anything I ask them to do they do it so that's why I don't want to let them down they're good dudes all of them take three more start with Emily then go to Brent then finish with Christian how did you and your staff decide who was coaching on the field who's coaching up in the Box it looks like it's just Nixon and Campanelli up in the Box how did you guys kind of decide that if you're willing to share hey that's really not the that's not true that way that is just Nixon and Campanelli it's other coaches that'll be up I mean with the new rule that came out out where qc's are allowed to coach and there's so many more you got so many guys on the staff that um have really good knowledge of football and understand the game so um we're just going to have what's best for our players who needs to be around them when they get into a chaotic situation or adversity hits who do they need there to be able to talk to them sometimes just looking them face to face you know who needs to be around them who needs who do they need you know what's needed during the game what it be important what isn't important you know so it was just more so uh all about the players any decision you make has to be what's the best for the players never for the coaches coaches got to adapt but we got to make sure the players are comfortable and when they do get in that chaotic situation or adversities getting the best of them how do we get them to snap back into it and be able to move on who's going to be on the headset with mcord who going to be on the headset with mord yeah like the the new helmet Communications hopefully nobody on there and they just let him do it cuz he's done a good job but um our head coach I mean I'm the head coach I'm not going to be on there I'm going just say the head coach will not talk to ma because I don't want to mess him up but uh coach Nixon and um coach nuns those guys to talk to him normal guys that he communicates with every day we're not going to go changing that stuff around but just make sure they talk to him I'll talked to him before drive and I'll say uh Hey KY throw it to the guy that's open you know what I mean try to come him do that throw it to the guy that's open that's about it Frank I want to ask you about a couple of young guys that made the depth chart what did Emanuel Ross and Malachi James show you to to get that designation they're big talented young freshman now that can play football they came out and competed from day one I mean Malachi James is the fastest kid to ever run in the state of New Jersey right so he ran a 108 um and he just his size he's 200 lbs and can run and uh Emanuel Ross is just a student of the game he even had a hamstring injury and came back and still was able to make the two deep and be able to do those things that kid talent he can play football and he's very intelligent so I mean they're just big freshman they're both 200 lb you know 6 foot they can play ball so just you don't want to have those guys just sitting around you know it's like why not use them you know and then it takes some off of the other guys when you can put those guys in and so we're excited and thankful I'm very thankful they're on our team I think their parents you know you know M Mr Mrs Ross and Mr and Mrs James they did it they made a great decision by go taking their kids back of sending them to Syracuse so very thankful for that last question Christian coach at the beginning of training camp you said that you wanted to put your team through chaotic situations see them respond to adversity now that Camp's over how have you seen them evolve in those areas not just your team but your coaching staff as well yeah I do it to everybody every day I make sure that I was doing that to coaches I knew who I would come out through as a coach and how I would attack them to see if they will respond or how would would they be able to still coach would they still be able to coach the kid put them in bad situations where quarterb the defense will be mad I'm not calling Sack N don't go go they got to run they getting down the field on y'all to see if they could just focus on the next play or were they still worrying about what happened doing that same thing with the players and being able to get them to go just calling whistles early for the offense saying the quarterback you'd have been sacked you'd have been sacked and then seeing what the coaches do can they respond now when it's second and 15 it's a lot easier when it's second and three but it's second and 15 now let me see how you going to react you know we just throw a flag you know it's different things are done um shout out too to all of our refs that was here the entire spring outside of the ACC coach referees that helped we had a lot of coaches out referees locally that they just did a tremendous job which they'll do all year long but uh they made practice like fun you know they did a really good job so but we just put them in chaotic situations give them flags do different things of that nature back them up make it like Pro offense sometimes Pro defense and that way just see what they can do and then did the same thing with special teams you know he did a lot of things with special teams just see if they can make kicks in chaotic situations can a Long Snapper snap the ball even though we're not playing outside I want to snap a wet ball and just see what happens it's different things to see what they can can and can't do and I tried to create it as much as possible and just hoping that I put myself in some of those situations but constantly learning though like I told you we'll just learn see what happened today in practice right we got Monday practice is honestly the most important thing that we can do as Syracuse right now is be able to dominate Monday's practice thank you very much Co thanks couple housekeeping items for