Aug. 4, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford football program held its annual Media Day Monday at the Pete Hanna Center. Head Coach Pat Sullivan and several players met with the media to talk about the upcoming season.

Five seniors: offensive linemen Mitchell Waters and Tommy Smith, running back Marcus Rice and linebackers Rodney Shepherd and Quinton Smith, were on hand along with Coach Sullivan.

The Bulldogs begin practice this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Samford opens the 2008 season on Aug. 28, when the Bulldogs play host to West Georgia at 7 p.m., at Seibert Stadium.

Below are quotes from Coach Sullivan and some of the players from Monday's Media Day.

QUOTES FROM THE 2008 SAMFORD FOOTBALL MEDIA DAY

HEAD COACH Pat Sullivan

ON HOW IMPORTANT FAN SUPPORT IS HEADING INTO THE SEASON
"I think that fan support is going to be tremendously important. We've been able to do some things to upgrade our facilities and that's been exciting for me, our players and all of the coaches. We are going into a new conference, and not to take anything away from the Ohio Valley Conference, but if you look from top to bottom in the Southern Conference you can see that it really is a special conference."

"There is great balance in the Southern Conference. Last year, two teams finished with 5-2 records, one of which was Appalachian State who won the national title, and then there were four teams that ended at 4-3. The atmosphere and home-field advantages that these teams have are tremendous and that is definitely something that we need to make sure we accomplish here at Samford."

"I truly believe that if people come out and watch a game here on a Saturday afternoon, and bring their kids, because it is such a great atmosphere, they will definitely be back."

ON IF BEING PICKED TO FINISH LAST IN THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE CAN BE USED FOR MOTIVATION
"Well sure, I'm going to bring it up, just like anybody would if they were in the same position. Honestly, I wouldn't have expected anything different. We are the new guy on the block and they don't really know anything about us. We only have 10 seniors on the team this season and we are still a really young football team. We are still a `work in progress'."

"I really like this football team. We have a lot of intangibles that I think will help us win some games and they've really done a lot to grow during the off-season. I think that we are going to be as good as we can be and if we can do that, then it will be good enough."

ON HOW THE MOVE TO THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE WILL HELP THE PROGRAM
"I think that the awareness of the Southern Conference is huge. We already have two games that will be televised this season and that will definitely help us in recruiting. In the past, a lot of Southern Conference teams have come in here to Alabama and to Birmingham and have recruited a lot of talented players that have gone on to do great things. Now, our job is to keep those talented players at home and have them come here to Samford."

ON THE QUARTERBACK POSITION
"I think that it will start to take care of itself in a couple of weeks. The thing that we want to do, especially for the younger guys, is to give them some work early and see where they are. Quite honestly, we'll (the coaching staff) be the ones that eventually have to make the final decision, and it's not out of the realm of possibility that we could play a couple of guys this season. Until we get out on the field, and see them in action, it's going to be tough to say how things will work out quite yet."

ON IF THE MOVE TO THE SOCON WILL DICTATE A NEW PRACTICE SCHEDULE
"No, our practice schedule is not going to change at all. We've made really good strides since last season and we have improved a lot as a football program. When I started coaching here, I knew that we had a lot of work to do, and we still do have a lot of work to do, but just not as much. We're a lot farther along this season then we were last year."

"When you see our team practice this week, you'll definitely be able to see what I'm talking about. Now, we still have to go out there and get some more experience, but once we do that we're going to be fine."

ON HOW THE NEW FOOTBALL BUILDING WILL HELP THE TEAM IN THE FUTURE
"First off, it definitely shows the huge commitment that Samford has made to athletics and to the football program. It's very similar to the English professor or the math professor. We all want to have the best possible facilities and tools at our disposal in order to teach these young men, and that's what we are now being able to do."

RUNNING BACK Marcus Rice

ON STARTING PRACTICE TODAY
"We've been working most of the summer. Basically, the whole team was here in school this summer. So, we've all been getting ready for this camp. It'll be exciting to get out there and practice this afternoon."

ON EVERYONE WORKING OVER THE SUMMER
"We are just excited. We were disappointed in last season, so we wanted to take the initiative as seniors to work hard this summer and try to push forward toward this season."

LINEBACKER Rodney Shepherd

ON HEADING INTO THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
"We are very excited about it. Our guys have worked hard all summer and in the spring, there was a buzz going around campus about it, so we are really excited."

ON THE CHALLENGE THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE BRINGS
"We just tried to use it as motivation in spring and summer workouts. The guys know what kind of competition we will be up against and I think we will be prepared."

ON THE FANS' PERSPECTIVE OF THE CHANGE
"Sometimes I don't think they get it. The level of competition that we will play each week is so different. It will be a dog fight every week. We are a young team, but I think we have a better understanding of what we are up against."

ON BEING PICKED LAST IN THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
"It didn't really surprise me that much. We kind of expected that. But like I said, we are going to try to use that as motivation to get the guys ready to play."

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN Tommy Smith

ON PLAYING FOR HEAD COACH Pat Sullivan
"With Coach Sullivan, you always get a sense that you are going to win. We just have a different attitude about us as a whole going into the Southern Conference."

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN Mitchell Waters

ON BEING PICKED LAST IN THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
"It really doesn't bother me too much. They don't know anything about us. I just look at it as a challenge. We are just staying focused on ourselves, and just trying to get better every day."

ON GETTING BACK ON THE FIELD FOR TODAY'S FIRST FALL PRACTICE IN SHORTS AND HELMETS
"It will be hard not to go out there and hit somebody. It's going to be fun. We'll have the first-day jitters, but everyone has those."

ON BEING A TRYING TO BE A MORE PHYSICAL TEAM
"That's how we want to be remembered, as a physical team. No matter who we play this year, we want them to walk off the field and think, `those guys are physical, they are tough.'"

ON BEING ON THE FIRST SAMFORD TEAM TO PLAY IN THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
"I'm excited about it. I'm a senior. I'd like to be able to be here and few more years. But to be a senior in our first SoCon season is pretty great."