Memphis head coach Ryan Silverfield held his weekly press conference on Monday. Silverfield replaced Mike Norvell as the Tigers' head coach when Norvell left to take over Florida State. He was an assistant to Norvell for four seasons at Memphis.
On Monday, the Tigers head coach addressed a number of topics including his relationship with FSU's head coach, the Seminoles 0-2 start and how his team matches up with Florida State.
Silverfield on how he is approaching the matchup vs. his former boss:
"We're not going to treat this game any different than we did our first two opponents. Obviously, a great relationship with Mike Norvell and everything he meant to this university, and I know quite a few people on that staff, but this game will not be Silverfield vs. Norvell. Him and I are very close friends, we sat within arm's length of each other for four years. We know everything about one another and the way each other think and move and breathe but we've both grown as people and as coaches. Excited for this matchup, it's good for our university."
Silverfield on FSU as team:
"Florida State, obviously preseason top 10 in the country. They're loaded with talent. They returned 79 players from their ACC championship team. They also return nine All-ACC players, and they also boast the country's longest tenured offensive line with a group that's got the most starts and most career college games.
"Up front, their defensive front was also considered, preseason one of the best in college football. They're very, very talented. We're going to have to go on the road and play in front of a great atmosphere, but we're excited about the challenges ahead and the focus will be on us this week and finding ways to improve."
Silverfield on how he has addressed FSU's 0-2 start with his team:
"We don't even think about that. Our guys thought North Alabama could beat the world. Our guys line up and they thought Troy was the best team in the country. We're not going to lack self-confidence, but we also understand the opponents we're playing, there's not letting the guard down. There's no such thing in college football. I think you just put on, go watch the Notre Dame vs. Northern Illinois game and credit to Northern Illinois. Obviously went out there and did what they did but I mean we show them all the things that occur in college football. It's really, really hard to win football games so we're going to have to be our absolute best. This team that we are facing is very, very, very talented. Look, Mike Norvell won National Coach of the Year last year. They've got all the bells and whistles; they got it all but guess what? We're hungry and we're going to come out swinging."
Silverfield on how his team's offensive and defensive lines matchup vs. FSU:
"Look, it's going to be a challenge. I've got a lot of faith in our trenches, the O-line and D-line here at the University of Memphis. But on paper it's a loaded Florida State team with a lot of draft picks on the O-line and D-line, very, very talented, guys that are highly, highly talented. Literally, people are telling me that this defensive line is considered the very best in college football and anytime you have an offensive line that boasts that many starts and in college football the number of returning starts and games played in all of college football, it's going to be a tough task. Our guys understand the challenges and they'll be well prepared and we're going to go out there and give everything we've got and hopefully it's a formidable matchup that we're able to come out on top."
Silverfield on whether he expects to see new things from FSU schematically with the Seminoles not having played last week:
"Absolutely, they get paid a lot of money to coach football down there in Tallahassee. A lot of money. And so they're really good at what they do, and they're not going to sit back and say, 'Well, let's just keep doing this.' Great respect for Mike, what he does and then obviously Adam Fuller, who I know very well, they're going to be preparing. There's a lot of similarities in the way things are run, so I'm sure they're sitting there going through and, 'OK, this signal means this, this means that, this means this.' ... Guess what? It's my job to make sure we're changing it so we've got some tricks up our sleeves. I know the second and here's the deal, Mike will be on his way to his radio station tonight, he's going to be listening to this press conference, I already know right now, he'll be sitting in his car listening to this very press conference. I already know the second series of the game he's going to be running a trick play. Like we know each other like the back of each's others hand. So, they're going to be prepared and when he is watching this press conference tonight sitting in the car on the way to his radio station, I'll put a smile on my face knowing, 'Hey, Mike, look forward to seeing you, we've got to be prepared for everything and that's kind of the nature of college football. I don't think you see the same thing week in and week out."
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