Colorado State University Athletics
Thomas has exceeded Fairchild's high expectations
11/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 15, 2010
Opening statement: “I think our entire program is disappointed with the way that we played last Saturday. I certainly thought we had a good week of preparation, but that obviously didn’t translate out onto the field. I’m very disappointed, as are our players, that we couldn’t send our seniors out with a better effort in our last home game. We are very thankful to have another football game this year to show that that isn’t the Colorado State football team that we think that we are out there last Saturday. On that note, I certainly want to give Bronco (Mendenhall), all of his staff, and the BYU football team credit for a well-played game; they certainly deserved it. We are back at work tomorrow preparing for the University of Wyoming road game, which is obviously a big rivalry game for the whole Fort Collins community as well as Colorado State University.”
On the outcome of the BYU game: “I think that it was as poor as we’ve played since I’ve been here. I certainly didn’t see it coming. Like I said, I thought we had a good week of practice. It falls on my shoulders; I obviously didn’t have our team emotionally ready to play. So having said that, we can’t change what happened. We will just try to have the best week of practice that we can.”
On the overall improvement of this third-year program: “I think that this year has been exactly what I thought it would be in terms of progress. We knew that we were going to be awfully young in certain spots, and we knew that coming in. We knew that when we took the job; looking at the roster, how Year 3 was going to pan out. In fact, in some ways, I’m more encouraged. I think we’ve taken some huge steps and I think we have some talented kids in our program. Now it’s just up to us to develop them as quickly as we can, and get them in the right spots. We would certainly like to close out this season on a good note with a win up in Laramie, and then get back to work in January.”
On fixing the correlation between practice and games: “I can’t fix what went on Saturday; that’s done. I just hope that we continue this last week to practice like we have been.”
On the Wyoming rivalry: “We are looking forward to continuing to educate our team on this rivalry. That boot means a lot; it stands for much more than just a win of a football game. This is a rivalry that goes just beyond athletic departments. Entire universities care about this game, and entire communities. The way that our ROTC gets involved and visits with our team is great. It’s quite a big deal, and it’s fun to be a part of.”
On whether he will tell his team about the spectacular drive he engineered to beat Wyoming as the CSU QB 30 years ago this month: “We are going to try to focus less on our coaching staff’s participation in the game, and more on what the boot stands for, how important it has been, and how long this rivalry has gone on.”
On Pete Thomas already understanding the importance of the rivalry (in interviews after the BYU loss): “Pete is obviously a very smart, aware kid. I think we certainly let our seniors down, like Ricky Brewer and Zac Pauga, I’m not going to name all of them, but those guys who have been true warriors around here for a long time, and we didn’t send them out the right way at our last game at Hughes. So we are very thankful to have another game.”
On Thomas’ overall season performance being better than expected: “Yes, it probably has. He has probably exceeded my expectations, and I had high expectations for him. What he set out to do last January is a very big challenge, and it seemed like every step of the way he has grown and gotten better. He is certainly fun to coach because the guy wants to be the best player that he can be. I think we have a bright future with him running our offense.”
On aspects about Thomas that have been surprising throughout the season: “I didn’t realize how smart he is; football smart. How he picked up our volume of offense as quickly as he did. I said all along as a quarterback coach, sometimes standing behind the better ones I have been around, they have kind of a wider vision than a lot of people. They see things quicker, and they see a bigger portion of the field. He’s certainly accurate. There are some things fundamentally that we will get straightened out or improved in the offense. But he’s a good, tough player, he has his size, and I’m telling you, he could be very good.”
On areas in Thomas needing improvement: “Anytime that you see a taller guy playing quarterback…I go back to when I coached Dan McGwire at San Diego State, those guys when they start to hit that 6-foot-5 and higher in terms of their height, their legs are a little longer. But you still want them to operate in that compact area. So there are some footwork things, some delivery things, and some things with his wrist that I will get straightened out. But those are just improving on what he has already done.”
On whether Wyoming had 'too much success' in its first year under Dave Christiansen, and what similarities he’s sees in the two teams: “No. I mean sometimes we will say, joking as coaches, you look at your stats and say, ‘Well, we did that in the first year, and now everyone is going to expect it.’ But I don’t know that much about Wyoming’s program or Dave’s roster; I really haven’t looked at them too much besides this week. But it seems similar (to CSU from 2008-09). They put together enough wins to get themselves in a bowl game last year. I don’t know if they were that good, just like I don’t know if we were my first year. But they found a way to win the game. He probably has a challenge to rebuild and redirect that program, just like we do here, but I don’t want to put words in his mouth. And we’re probably farther along, but there are definitely similarities.”
On the challenge created by Wyoming changing its defense to a 4-3: “It does make them quite a bit different. I think their front guys are more active; not the two-gap, 3-4 type of guys. They played the other night back in their old (3-4) defense for a few snaps, so I think they have the ability to do both. But it is quite a switch. What they did up there defensively from a schematics viewpoint is a significant switch from what they have been doing before.”
On Wyoming’s defense changing CSU’s gameplan: “It certainly does change things, but we are in a league now where we have had to adapt. BYU is a 3-4 team that plays a lot of four-man-front structures; Air Force does that, too. There are some times within those games with certain portions of your offense where you are actually going to treat it like a three-man front even if it isn’t, or you’re going to treat it like a four-man front. And you have to make those decisions and obviously get that taught during the week. But we are in a league that forces us to do that. Even our defense at practice has limited, but some 3-4 stuff. I think we can go in and out of that mode without much of a challenge.”
On the biggest concern with Wyoming’s defense: “I think they play hard and have an outstanding secondary. Across the board, it’s not just good, it’s very good. Our receivers will be challenged; they have two good safeties, they can play the run and the pass, and they have two very talented corners, so that’s obviously an area where we will have to play well to match up with them.”
On potential changes in his coaching staff: “I am happy. I hired a hell of a staff, and we are working a good plan. I see very clearly where we are going. Changes in college coaches is part of the deal, and I know if someone in our staff can get a better job…I know I certainly was very fortunate to coach with Sonny Lubick here, but then I had a chance to go coach in the NFL and I did it. You have to take care of your family, and I’m sure some of that can happen. But I certainly am very impressed with our staff and the work that they do. And not just coaching football, but being involved in these kids’ lives, academically, and in the offseason. The two things that I thought when I took this job were No. 1, I had to get the right people around me, which I’m confident that I did, and staff continuity is No. 2, and a big part of that. We will analyze every aspect of our program; there are things from a schematics standpoint on both sides of the ball as well as special teams, player personnel, player positioning, program resources and travel, training, all of those things we have to take a hard look at. Sometimes you tweak things for a little bit of a change. I know we are going to go (practice) Tuesday-Thursday morning in the spring; we’ve already made that decision just to change some things up. Is that better? I don’t know but it’s just a change and sometimes that’s good as well.”
On getting a bye next year: “We are working on it. I underestimated that. That first year when the bye was after our second game, I thought, ‘This isn’t very good,’ but it worked out great. I’d love to have a bye after our second game every year. When we played CU (Sept. 6), we were about halfway done in terms of practice out on that field. And I look at our kids now; today’s game is different from 10 years ago. We do a lot, scheme-wise. We meet a lot. It’s nice not just from a physical point of view to step away for a period of time, but mentally it is good as well.”
On expectations for this week: “I am hoping we bounce back and have a spirited practice; I’m confident that we will. It’s a great group of seniors. We just have to get that edge. This game is too emotional and I’ll blame myself for the football team’s effort in that first quarter last week. It doesn’t matter who is playing, who’s better or who’s not, if you don’t have that edge, that warrior mentality when we kick that football off, then a good team like BYU will jump on you, and that’s what they did.”
On whether he prefers Wyoming to be last on his annual schedule: “I don’t mind it. If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be the end of the world for me. I’ve been around here when we have played and it hasn’t been the last game. It’s still a great rivalry no matter when you play it. It seems like it is a nice fit for the end, like we are doing now.”
On potential player positional changes: “I do see some position changes, at least I’m mulling a few ideas around in my mind. I will visit with everyone on the team (after Saturday); that’s standard in most programs. We will kind of set our sights and see how we are going to go about business when we get back. But there will be some personnel changes, and Larry Kerr and Pat Meyer and Larry Lewis, everyone will discuss schematic changes we may make as well. We could change the way that we train, change the way that we practice. There are some things that we will alter to some degree. The bottom line is if we feel it will help us, we will do it.”
On whether he expects a lot of player attrition: “I don’t think so, but there are always things that come up. I get the feeling when you look at our players, I saw Pete Thomas and Mychal Sisson visiting after last week’s game, and I get the feeling that our team feels that we are better than what our record is. I think they’re anxious to get going here in January.”
On specific signs of progress he sees: “Things like our offensive line. I think that’s going to be really good here before too long; it’s playing pretty well right now, but that could be one of the better lines in the conference next year. Pete Thomas certainly could be one of the better quarterbacks. Things like that. You’ve got guys like (Mike) Orakpo, Shaq Bell, guys who are young. Then you have a guy like Mychal Sisson who is just a marquee player, and he’s coming back. Each team is different, and the chemistry will always be different, and no one is going to hand us any wins next year. But we can talk about that around spring football. What is important right now is that we get our football team in the best frame of mind and prepared the best that we can to go up and win in Laramie, and send our seniors out in the right way.”
On the importance of the game with respect to recruiting, since Wyoming recruits Colorado heavily: “It’s funny that you say that because we are almost done with this year’s recruiting; we are working on next year. Every game has an impact on recruiting because it’s a chance to showcase your program, and that’s one of the reasons I want to keep our coaches together, we’ve done a nice job recruiting and I anticipate us having another good class this year.”
On expecting Thomas to take more a leadership role next year than this year: “I would have said that after two-a-days, but I think he has already done that. That’s what’s been so damn impressive is his command of our offense. There’s no secret, when you’re a good player like he is and you work hard, you don’t cut corners, you watch tape, and you lift, then people look up to you. That’s certainly the type of person that he is. He didn’t miss a summer workout. That’s just who he is.”
On Thomas holding himself accountable: “I told him that it doesn’t matter what I think. Well, it may matter a little bit. But I told him that in January, when you’re a quarterback at any level, you have more than just your head coach to sell; you have your teammates, and other coaches. It matters what (defensive coordinator) Larry Kerr and (special teams coordinator) Larry Lewis think of him. Is he the first one out of the building, or is he in here looking at tape, and doing the things he needs to do to be a big-time quarterback?”
On CSU WR coach Dan Hammerschmidt, Wyoming’s assistant head coach in 2009: “He was confused, and I straightened him out, is probably the best way to put it. Dan is such a good football coach, and a good friend of mine. We go back an awfully long way. We grew up a few miles from each other. I’m a little older, obviously. I’m so happy that he is on our staff. He’s doing a great job and brings a lot to our staff, not just being a good coach. It was good to get him back here.”
On target number for the 2011 recruiting class: “Twenty-five is obviously the limit, and we’ll be somewhere between 20 and 25.”
