Rice second-year head coach David Bailiff addresses members of the media Saturday.

Aug. 2, 2008

Ahead of the team's initial practice in preparation for the 2008 season, Rice second-year coach David Bailiff and members of the team met with the media Saturday afternoon. Below are quotes from Bailiff.

"Is it not great it is football season? I couldn't sleep last night. I woke up in a three-point stance. We have a core group of seniors who are coming back. I can promise you we are going to have great senior leadership this year. We have three guys - Chase (Clement), Jarrett (Dillard) and Brian (Raines) - that are going to be captains for the third straight year. That doesn't happen. They are highly-motivated young men that are making sure the rest of this football team is doing what it needs to do to give us the best opportunity to win.

"Offensively, we scored 55 touchdowns last year, 54 of those touchdowns are back. Do you know how exciting it is for a coach to know that? And then we have depth on the offensive line. We are going to have tremendous competition at various positions. We're getting our numbers up. It's going to be wonderful to have two huddles and a scout team this camp.

"Defensively, we made great strides in the spring. I think we can build on that with the depth we're getting on that side of the football. But I think the biggest gains we are going to make this year is going to be on special teams with these numbers and the players we do have. We have competition at the field goal position. We have competition for kickoffs. We have competition for punting. Competition makes you better. If we focus on effort and we show up every day and practice and play with tremendous passion, the sky is the limit for this ball club."

How will James Casey's role change this year with the team's addition of depth at running back?
"Hopefully you will not see him on defense but if we needed him over there, we sure would use him there. If we can keep people healthy, he will be a slotback most of the time. He will still be a short-yardage back for us but we are going to try to focus him most of the time on his role at none position but he will do other things for us."

What excites you about this year?
"I think what excites me most is just the continuity in this entire football team and this coaching staff. We can not watch them in the summer but they come to the office every day and they tell you how hard they have worked and what they are doing. There is such a good feeling right now and there is just a tremendous amount of chemistry with this football team right now. I think a lot of that, as I said earlier, is because of the great senior class we have."

Talk about your schedule, non-conference and your opener against SMU.
"August 29th. ESPN. 7 p.m. We are expecting a packed house. Our athletic director has done a great job with the ticket campaign for that event. I think it's wonderful to open the season with a conference opponent. Early in non-conference we play Texas. That is a game that we need to be competitive in and really slow them down this year. Hopefully we can do that.

"We're excited to go play an SEC opponent in Vanderbilt and then we have both Army and North Texas coming here. I think it is a good schedule. One that fits Rice better than what we have had in the past."

Talk about impact freshman running back Shane Turner will have in the program.
"We know how fast he is and we are thrilled he is here. When it comes to a freshman, what we are going to do is make sure that he is ready to handle college football. That will be a day-to-day observation. If he is not ready, he will not be out there. But if he is, then you will see him out there as a freshman."

Have you had to make any changes in philosophy since the time you came to Rice?
"I'll be a much better head coach here in than in Year One because I know what this team is capable of doing now. I know I look back and reflect back on some of the decisions I made last year even offensively when we lined up in power sets to play power football. That is not who we are. I know what the strengths of this football team are and those are what we will rely on this year. That's what makes it so exciting. We have so many seniors back. I said back in spring that we got better. We will get better when we practice tonight because of the continuity and staff continuity we have in this football team. We are going to get better every day."

Do you see the attention that Jarett Dillard receives on a local and national level has led to long-term benefit from a recruiting standpoint? Can one guy help put a school on the map just in terms that people may not know who Rice is?
"Absolutely. He is a high-profile player. He is going to attract high-profile receivers. He is going to help us attract high-profile players on defense. Getting that brand out there and knowing that if you come to Rice, you can still perform on a national level and a national stage. Our baseball team helps us. Every year when (head coach) Wayne (Graham) wins a regional, we get a commitment that night. I have noticed that has happened two years in a row. A rising tide raises all ships. So if it be baseball or one of our players, it all ties back together.

Does that mean you will throw it a lot to Jarett this year?
"You know, it's amazing. Last year he only caught 79 passes and I had to hear what a bad year he had. We are going to be smart enough that when he is open to throw it to him because he is a very talented young man."

How about the younger guys do you see any of them making an impact early on?
"Because we are going into our first practice tonight, it would be purely speculation. Like Shane (Turner). I think Shane can help us. But I want to make sure before I make any bold statements on who is out there and I don't want to leave any one out. But I think you will see freshmen in the lineup this year. Some of them are big and physically ready to go right now. And I think they will have to help."

How about Conference USA? What's your thoughts on the league?
"When you look at it, I think Tulsa is obviously a very talented football team. But I think the parity in this league is amazing. There is a lot of teams with a lot of returning starters. Last year we onside kicked four or five different times at the end of games. We were in them. They were in them. We just have to get the ball to bounce our way this year."