Flood Gets Down To Business In Final Pre-Bowl Press Conference
On Thursday morning, Rutgers coach Kyle Flood met with media one final time before tomorrow’s game.
He began the press conference praising the week that rutgers has spent in Orlando, calling the Russell Athletic Bowl a new standard for the Scarlet Knights’ bowl experiences. He then discussed his biggest concerns about the upcoming bowl game. “I think when you get to this point in the season, it’s not really about concerns,” Flood said. “I felt all year that we’ve had a mature football team, and I have been very pleased the entire season with how we’ve prepared, and I think this has been a player-driven team, and I think the best teams that I have been associated with through my career have been player-driven teams.”
“I think when the coaches have to drive the team in excess, it just distracts from too many other things you have to do as a football coach, so I am really proud of the way this team has prepared, and as we get to this point in a bowl week and in bowl prep, it’s not so much concern, it’s just reminders to the players that now you have to turn the page, flip the switch, whatever your expression is and put yourself in your pregame ritual –whatever the things you are you do 24 to 36 hours before a game to get your body and your mind ready to play a division one major college football game against a really good opponent. Those are the things you need to do now and take your mind off of all the enjoyable experiences you may have had and the things that may be in your future, either as a college athlete or a professional athlete or whatever it is they decide to do when they’re done being Rutgers football players.”
With a possible ten win season and a possible sixth bowl winning streak, Flood definitely hopes to take advantage of the opportunity that they have at the Russell Athletic Bowl.
Another hot topic at the press conference was Flood’s analysis of his bowl foe, particularly Virginia Tech quarterback Logan Thomas: “I think the most concerning thing about Logan Thomas is that he’s going to playing the game,” Flood said, “The second thing would be the only player we have on our team who physically looks like him is our tight end, TC Jefferson.
“So the fact that that gentleman lines up and touches the ball on every play, on every offensive snap they have, he is a legitimate weapon in every phase of the game, somebody who is projected as a first-round draft pick and certainly somebody that can make plays throwing the ball and then make plays running it.”
Speaking about the Hokies at large, Flood pointed out the similarities between the two programs. “They value very similar things to what we value offensively and I think defensively on special teams, even though we don’t do it the same way,” he said. “I think it’s going to be two football teams trying to do the same things to each other, and really whoever executes the best tomorrow at 5:30 is going to be the team that has an opportunity to be 1-0.”