Official Site of the Southeastern Conference

(On facing UAB) "We are like everyone else is college football, we are ready to get started. We have had a good camp. We have a fairly experienced football team, though we still have challenges ahead. We have a tremendous respect for UAB. They have a good looking football team with an outstanding quarterback in (Darrell) Hackney."

(On expectations) "Steve is a heck of a football coach. Not only what he did at Florida, but what he did at Duke was amazing, to win an ACC championship. He will do a good job there. When we get to him, we will play our rears off, because you have to."

(On upsets in the first week) "It's scary, when you start playing and you play a team that you don't play regularly. You are very vulnerable in the opening week. You have been going against yourself, and then all of a sudden you play someone different and that is hard.

Due to Hurricane Katrina, LSU head coach Les Miles was unable to make today's call.

(On PAC-10 recognition in the south) "A good indication of that was USC last year. I think certainly that the PAC-10 is followed and respected back here. I think a lot of the media doesn't get a chance to see the scores until Sunday. Just from my perspective from coming back from the PAC-10, the offenses are pretty similar, but what impresses me about the SEC is the defensive level. I don't think the defenses are as strong top to bottom as they are in the SEC."

(On facing Wyoming) "Our staff is excited to be a part of Florida football. We are anxious to get into the swamp. We have a great challenge against a top 25 team that won a bowl game."

(On Chris Leak) "The positive about Chris Leak is that he has operated out of the shotgun. That's where you start. The progression after that has been fast. We are going to utilize his talents."

(On Wyoming) "A couple of times I have had to stand in front of a team and beat them up a little bit about who they are playing. I haven't had to do that. There are definitely SEC caliber players at Wyoming. Ask Ole Miss or you can ask UCLA. They are very well coached and very sound."

(On facing Central Florida) "We have had some very good practices so far. We are as healthy as we can be, and we are ready to play. Tomorrow night we will find out how that is."

(On Ko Simpson) "Ko is our only preseason all-conference player that made the first team. Hopefully, he can get some loose balls in his area. He is a good team player and he plays with tremendous effort. He has a knack for coming down with the ball."

(On college coaches in the NFL) "I would think now that the NFL owners are not going to look for many college coaches. I think the people that are doing the best come from the NFL background as an assistant. Nick Saban has NFL background."

(On facing Boise State) "We have had a really good camp. Everybody is back and looks full speed. It's been a very good attitude. We are playing a great football team and everyone is excited about it."

(On facing a good team in the first game) "I think the most positive thing about it is that no one should be complacent about their off-season workouts. On the days that you are tired, knowing that a Boise State is coming into town will help you not take that shortcut. If we can win it will be an exciting win for our fans and our team."

(On DJ Shockley) "I do. You have to live through it. Just like when you become a coach for the first time. You may be ready, but you will still coach through some growing pains. You have to grow at the position."

(On facing Middle Tennessee State) "Our football team has prepared pretty hard for the last 3 weeks. We are excited about the start of the season. I think our team has real good leadership and experience from our upperclassmen. We still are going to play a lot of young guys. We are looking forward to this weekend."

(On offensive line) "We are going to be young, with three new starters there. Then we got a few guys hurt, that was disappointing. We wanted to get as much competition as we could for these guys. We feel better about them. We have to use the guys around them to help them look good."

(On facing Murray State) "We are reasonably healthy at this point. We have been fortunate not to have any serious injuries during the course of training camp."

(On scheduled game against Tulane) "We discussed it with our athletic director and as of right now they have not spoken about it. Once we find out more about it we will make our plans."

(On difference between last year and this year) "I feel a lot better going into the season because we are a better football team. We have more talent, but it is young talent and inexperienced talent. We are tougher mentally and physically. I trust these kids a lot more than I did last season. I feel like we are closer to being a team this season then at any point last year."

(On facing Wake Forest) "We are ready to play. We have been practicing for a good while. Our guys are anxious to get out there and play. We are very healthy. We feel fortunate about our health."

(On Jay Cutler) "Jay asks a lot of himself all the time. I think he can handle it better than anyone I have ever coached. I think he likes the pressure. I haven't seen anything out of him and we feel like he is ready to go."

(On facing Missouri State) "We have had a good camp and we are excited to play. We know it is game week and we are excited that it is here and we are ready to go."

(On families of player from the state of Louisiana) "Both families are safe and have gotten out. It's been a tough deal for the state of Louisiana."

(On replacing Matt Jones) "The year before that we lost five junior to professional ball and that really hurt. We weren't ready for that. When you lose a guy like Matt Jones, that really hurts. He did so much offensively for us and we will miss him a great deal."

(On facing Memphis) "We have had an excellent fall camp. I am very proud of the way our staff has worked and we are excited about it."

(On losing players if pre-season) "I think it is a combination of the program that we brought in. The other is the competition. I think it helps us out. For those guys to find out now that they aren't going to play for us it helps our guys we have and allows us to get more players in here next year."

(On QB situation) "I think it helps. We allow it to not be a distraction. I think when it comes to game time, our kids will be ready to go."

(On facing Georgia Tech) "We are finishing up final preparation for this week's game. We need to play a football game just like anyone else does; it has been a long month. We are excited about getting another season going. We are looking forward to the next three months."

(On first game of the season) "There are so many questions that are unanswered. The biggest thing is that we want to make sure our team is 100 percent healthy and make sure they aren't overworked mentally. We aren't going to overload anybody. Anything can happen the first game."

(On Brandon Cox) "He needs to start getting his experience. Physically he has 100 percent. He needs to go out now and learn how to play against other teams. He is a good football player. Brandon has been able to go against the type of speed he will see in games. He just needs to be consistent."