July 21, 2008

LAS VEGAS - San Diego State Quotes
MWC Football Media Day
July 21, 2007
Green Valley Ranch Resort (Las Vegas, Nev.)

Print Podium Session with Chuck Long, senior linebacker Russell Allen and senior running back Tyler Campbell

Chuck Long Opening Statement:

"Thank you and thanks for being here. It is a pleasure for us to be here to represent San Diego State. I have two of our great leaders and great players with me today - Tyler Campbell, one of our running backs, and Russell Allen, one of our linebackers. As I mentioned, they are two excellent leaders for us and both are seniors. We are looking for a great year for both of them in many ways.

"The big thing I wanted to get to out there is that we are going to Camp Pendleton at the start of our training camp. We are extremely excited about that to partner with the Marines in San Diego. We are going to be there three nights from August 4-7 and it is a win-win. We are going to be available to them and it is our way to give back to the Marines. We will be as interactive as they want with their coaches and players. They have four or five teams on the base. We will partner with them to see how they go about their daily business. I want our guys to see that and to be around our troops. And also, get with their leadership and see the techniques and philosophies to teach to our young guys. We are going to be there three nights and are going to stay at the barracks. That includes the coaching staff. Camp Pendleton is going to be big for us this year and then we will transition into our regular training camp.

"We are excited for our season. I am always optimistic. We had a good, young football team last year that has grown up together. We will see how the season plays out. As a head coach, I am very proud of the offseason, and where we are at this point in time."

Q: How do you replace Kevin O'Connell?

LONG: "We put the ball in Kevin's hands last year because of his ability to run the ball as well as throw it. (This year) we don't have as much mobility with at quarterback so we want to give it to our running backs more. To stay as productive on offense as we want to be, we will just go a different direction with our offense. To offset a young quarterback with less mobility, we want to give (the ball) to our running backs."

Q: What do you think about starting football camp on a military base?

ALLEN: "We are pretty excited. We don't know too much about what is going on. Coach Long said he is going to keep that a secret from us. We are excited to go and be around the military. I have a lot of respect for those guys and what they do on a daily basis."

CAMPBELL: "As long as it is nothing like "Full Metal Jacket", I think it will be ok. It is an opportunity for us to get closer to each other in a different atmosphere. There is a lot to look forward to."

Q: Is this something that is in response to leadership on the team or just taking advantage of something that is local?

LONG: "I think it is more about pride for where we live. We have military all around us and they are going through a difficult time. We want to partner with them. As a head coach, you look for any edge you can get. I look at this as an edge for us and that is the way we are going into it. We have a great resource right in our city. It is rare to get with the Marines and they have welcomed us with open arms and we are going to take advantage of it."

Q: How did this idea come about?

LONG: "It is something we have been playing around with since we got here. It is something our golf team did for I believe one night. They said it was tremendous."

Q: Does having a young quarterback going into camp change your strategy?

LONG: "The plus side is that we have a more experienced defense and that helps a young quarterback come along. We did a good job from year one to year two getting our hands on the ball defensively. We want to continue that trend. We want to create more turnovers on defense to give our offense more chances.

"We feel good about where all of our quarterbacks are right now. We have named Ryan Lindley the starter going into camp. Now he has to have a good camp to remain the starter going into game one. He has to have a good camp to remain the starter going into game one but he is the most mature freshman at that position that I have been around. He could potentially be a four-year starter for us. He has the maturity to handle that. I have only dealt with two-year starters in my coaching career. He would be my first four-year starter at that position.

"You also offset that with people around him. It starts with the running backs and making sure we have good balance in our offense with running and passing. We have a good receiving core around him as well. Those upperclassmen are going to have to take (the youngsters) under their wing and guide them along and make sure they make plays for him. We like where he is at and the guys behind him."

Q: Does having a set quarterback going into fall change your preparation?

LONG: "We have it open to some degree. He has to earn in training camp. We have named Ryan number one going into camp. Drew Westling really pushed him and they were close. We have Kelsey Sokoloski behind him who has the most experience of any of them. It was important to us because you can't give three guys repetition going through camp. It is hard to do that. We charted every pass through the spring and Ryan had the best numbers. That is why we named him number one."

Q: Thoughts on Russell Allen being named a preseason all-Mountain West Conference selection?

ALLEN: "It is a nice honor but the way I see it that s preseason and we haven't played a game yet. At the end of the day, it is what you do on Saturdays that matter."