The Citadel Football - Head Coach Maurice Drayton - 08/26/2024 Press Conference

every game is in a [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] he [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] all right good afternoon and welcome to Johnson Hood Stadium we'll have our first press conference of the year for football uh we are excited to start the 24 2024 campaign we open this Saturday August 31st at 6 o'clock at Charleston Southern that is Buccaneer field uh with the inaugural Low Country Boil Bowl uh it is a 7 to six in favor of the Citadel um contest right now looking to make that 8 and six and we have the first ever trophy for that contest now to speak coach dren uh welcome coach thank you thank you thank you here we go we're back we made it one more season um first of all we want to thank uh the tcbf uh we none of this would be possible without them we also want to thank the CFA Citadel Football Association and uh thank you to you all the Lo loyal supporters fans um people who uh support our program we thank you very much 2023 it wasn't all bad just most of it a lot of people got upset when I told the truth last year this same time and we will always tell the truth but 2023 did have some good things uh and what do I mean by that uh we don't look as at mistakes as mistakes uh if we learn from it uh if we never do it again then it's a lesson learn uh so we had a lot of lesson learns uh going into uh 2024 now a few stats from 23 we played 29 football players who did not start or did not even play high school football football that's right 29 that didn't start or play high school football and they're still with us today and they they've gained uh by Leaps and Bounds we also by week seven played 16 true freshman or they they either started or had significant playing time um so we're excited about that because they were able to gain experience now you fast forward to 2024 I tell you what this winter workout program was something gruesome it was not for the faint of heart we went four days a week Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday at 5:40 in the morning doing football specific drills and then we brought them back in the afternoon where we did our weight training sessions uh the guys that that completed this portion of the program I tell you what they saw Leaps and Bounds a difference in their bodies we also educated and nutrition uh during this time frame and they were able to uh put some put some weight on some good weight um but not only that on Wednesdays we would take Wednesday afternoon and we had what we call Bulldog bonding uh where we learned how to uh tie a bow tie to change a tire to check check the oil uh in our vehicles uh when we learn how to write checks yes some people still write checks uh we learned how to put the correct postage uh on on a on on a on a letter so um that's how we spent our winter and then coming out of winter we went into spring practice spring practice we had 15 opportunities and during this 15 opportunities we were very excited about what we were able to accomplish uh this is where we spent time on the how and why our process um we were able to see some young guys emerge we were able to see some of those 29 players that I talked about before develop into players who now uh will again play for us but now with a different confidence a different swag a different ability about themselves so Spring ball was very good to us and then we rolled around into the summer and this is where I'm so proud of our kids we had 73 kids that took it upon themselves to stay in chareston this summer they had to work jobs to pay for their their their their housing they had to work jobs to pay for their food and so a thank you to the employers the people that employed them we would get up at 5:40 in the morning once again 4 days a week and we busted their butts but these employers did a great job of working with us allowing them to get to work uh sometimes as late as 8:45 9:00 because of the Charleston traffic um but these guys they stayed all summer and we got a lot out of that I feel really good about that which leads us to training camp uh and we we have completed training camp we did not lose anyone to injury feel very very good about that it says we now know how to practice there is a way to practice in order to be more efficient during the season so having said that fall Camp was about mindset so a lot of what we talked about a lot of what we did was in not only coaching the the human body but coaching the mind as well which brings us uh to today we're very excited uh to be here today and very excited about our opponent uh I'll be glad to take any questions at this time obvious confence I'm I'm yes yes I'm very optimistic because of the time we put in I just went through you know from January to now the time the dedication uh the nutrition thanks to our our our athletic director as well making sure that we have that component um uh we're just we're just a better human being turned into a better football player because of the time put in because of the closeness uh and the time spent together in the Bulldog bonding program uh so we're very excited now yes I'm optimistic and yes we are a better football team we are no doubt about it we're a better football team but that doesn't necessarily result into wins and losses we still have to go out on that field we still have to execute and the ball has to bounce your way and you have to stay healthy Undisputed starting quarterback first against CSU yes sir yes sir what about was there something that maybe learned about the team that you know now that you didn't know when fall Camp started yes uh when fall Camp started uh we have uh unwavering support for one another uh in the spring in the summer that's what we were trying to build um but you never really know if you have it until you put them through some of the dog days of of camp and uh I was Public Enemy Number One and that's what I wanted we wanted to put them in uh in situations where they had no choice but to lean on their brother and uh they came together I I do I do want to say this I learned this from Chuck Pagano when I was working at the Indianapolis Colts and he would always tell us the enemy always lies in your own Camp so what is the enemy the enemy is unwanted distractions the enemy is uh uh it can be overconfidence the enemy can be uh uh a policy put on you uh right before you have to report the enemy can be a lot of different things okay and because of that we wanted to preach that mindset about limiting the distractions and keeping the main thing the main thing so I did not know if we truly got it but we definitely have it now yes I I I want to brag on our strength strength staff uh we have created through our nutritional program and the sacrifices of of a lot of people we have been able to create Mass and anytime you have mass you're able to move another human being we will be able to move human beings uh the the biggest thing that you get at military schools is in the trenches typically in the trenches your guys are under size uh because of the lifestyle um but going into this first contest we are where we want to be from that standpoint so I'm very excited about our trenches Jan bring that kind of extra no I don't I don't want to put that solely on him uh the one thing I have to be careful about and our coaches and his teammates is not to put too much pressure on him the last thing we need is for him to think he's our savior somebody said that the other day I said no no no no no no for those Believers it's only one Savor right um so we don't want to put that on him it's important though that he understands his limitations as well as his capabilities which I think he does uh we want to we want him just to relax and do what we ask him to do and we'll be just fine how important is just one get off for these guys know what a win feels like how important is just getting you feel like if you get that one it could it could spiral into others well we know it can spiral into others uh but the the you don't want to put all your eggs in that basket cuz what happens if you don't get that win right and and from my vantage point I have to have a a broad spectrum Vision uh we do walk very confident confidently uh we walk upright and circumspect uh we're not Resolute at all but at the same time you cannot put too much into one game uh and you may lose your whole season if you do that so uh we're balanced with it this is a big big game not because of this trophy but because it's the next one and next week you'll hear me say hey we got a big big game this week not because it's our first home game or not because of South Carolina State but because it's the next one and then the third week of the Season you're going to hear me say hey we got a big big game this week not because it's North Greenville and their coaches a c Alum and we want to we want to uh you know make sure we win that one it's only because it's the next one looking at Saturday a how important is it to set the toe for the season and then cross town arrival kind of maybe any implications for maybe uh swaying a a recruit or kind of how important it is to kind of win take care of home yeah so it's very important so I told the I told uh our team the other day uh and just to give you uh a foreshadowing of some of our goals uh we want to be City Champs right we want to be City Champs and uh if you can handle this one you're well on your way to be the the state champs and what do I mean by that we play every scholarship FCS uh football playing school in the state this year so that is one of our goals be City Champs be state champs and then ultimately be the socon Champs so it's very important and I tell you what uh uh coach Gabe over there I think he is a wonderful man uh he is definitely a great ball coach he's in his second no third stin at CSU his second year as the head coach um just to brag on him a little bit uh when he was at Albany State as a head coach he went 37 and 17 and uh 17 and5 in his last two seasons uh he won a conference Championship in 21 uh he had the number one ranked defense in 2021 as well uh when he was the offensive coordinator at Charleston Southern and he's responsible for some of the wins on that trophy for them uh they won 36 games in four years they went to the playoffs under under him as the OC in 2015 2016 uh and they won that conference Championship excuse me in 2016 he's also you know he he uh Nick Savin is like the ultimate he also was a graduate assistant at Alabama under Nick Savin so their Liney uh uh and what they're able to do from a coaching standpoint is um it it carries a lot of weight so it's important that we really dig at the details uh to get after these guys cuz they will be detailed going what do you see out of G what challenges CSU kind pres well they present a multitude of challenges um and we're not going to harp on this the way we did last year but they have multiple multiple transfers all right that's the age we're in so I won't go on and on about that each week uh in addition to having those transfers what makes them uh so chall challenging is those guys have all played and they have all won going back to your earlier question you know winning you know it it is contagious and because they have felt that already um we have to find a way to to make sure it doesn't get to that point where you know it's contagious on their side and they feel as if they're going to get that win so we have to start fast we definitely have to start fast and and and do what we need to do to win early and often absolutely everything starts with the ball the ball is life we have to protect the ball we have to secure the ball on offense we have to on defense extract the ball ball extraction has been big for us we work that every day in addition to that we can't give up the big play what you what we've learned in studying at the FCS level if you make a team earn what they get if you make a team as Hank stram said matriculate down the field if you make a team do that at this level at some point they'll self-destruct right so if we can eliminate the big play make them operate they'll eventually make that mistake we'll get the ball back or they'll punt we'll still get the ball back and then the converse is we have to do those things we have to punch it in we want to play a boring grade of football to be honest with you and and what I mean by that is uh four yards in a cloud of dust um then you know what maybe you only got three then you come back and you pick up five oh they stopped us for two not a problem we're still on Pace because we just picked up six as long as we stay in that realm and we don't force the big play which we do have a guy who who who can throw the ball vertically um we just need to stay within our framework and we'll we'll be just fine you may not like to single out was there maybe a player that maybe started Camp off the 2ep but throughout Camp you kind of C the coaching staff's eye kind of worked his way on to the absolutely um I can start in our defensive secondary uh Hometown hero uh played his ball at a division three School ni School uh will Pickering from wo High School uh he came in here he was third on the depth chart and he's worked his way into uh being a starter uh we're going to release our two too deep here Wednesday um but you know I can tell you he's a starter now and then uh we have another young man in the secondary now what makes this young man so unique is he's a walkon a graduate walkon we have graduate walk on here these are grown men grown men who have degrees who have eligibility who was not offered a scholarship they were just offered the opportunity to play footb ball right uh uh uh who who now will be a starter for us and one of those guys is Evan bird all right so we're very excited about him so now everybody can go and do their research and try to figure out who this guy is Thomas W guy off as yes Thomas Wyatt has had a great off season uh very excited about his matriculation uh his excuse me his maturation process from last year till now he is the the spoken leader on defense uh playing from the second level playing linebacker uh he's done a great job and transforming his body if you can't tell that that was big with us uh in the offseason uh transforming his body and his mind um so that he can be that leader we can depend on um he's a every down linebacker for us so we feel really good about him as well all right thank you thank you thank you appreciate [Applause] [Music] it e [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music]