On if Washington's secondary is an area of interest:
"I never want to assume anything. They're going to have four or five guys lined up back there and they're going to be playing their coverages and we're going to operate within it. They're going to have guys back there to cover us and we're going to make sure to do whatever we can to get open and go from there."
On playing on a Friday night:
"I just think it's an opportunity for us and I know when Dr.Gross made the decision to take this game and get Chancellor Cantor's okay on the whole thing – it's an opportunity for our University to gain the national exposure. So to me it’s a great opportunity for us to try and make a statement – not try, to make a statement. I've said that, too, with the same way about our community and we really have a chance to show America that the Dome is alive and well. It's an exciting thing for us and I'm glad we took this opportunity to be a part of it. I think it has helped us in our preparation all through training camp. It helped us even last spring when it was announced. It's exciting for our football team."
On the honorary captain program and coach Dick MacPherson:
"We talk all the time about standing on the shoulders of those before us. This is a school of great history and tradition. I think to do something to honor those people from our history is very important. It's not just for our football team, it's for our community. For the first game to do it – first of all, Coach Mac it's been 20 years since that '87 team. I think there's no better way to show respect to him and his football team than for him to be that person. A captain to me is a leader. To me coach Mac is a very special person and I've been with him now two and a half years and I've known of him and coached against him for many years. But to be around him for the last two and a half years, I've gotten to know what he's all about. I know one thing – he's about Syracuse and about Syracuse football – he really is. He's been very helpful to us. So I'm excited for him, and, I get the impression from him that he's excited to be that person."
On wide receiver Taj Smith being a captain as a junior:
"The whole team is available (to be captain). I've never said he had to be a senior and there are other juniors and people young who got some votes. I remember when I was at UCLA Terry Tumey, a young man who I coached, was a two-time captain. It's who does the team and who do they believe is one of those people who is a great leader."
On what he expects out of his captains:
"I expect them to continue to do what they've done. I'll say this: those two people are the classic examples of their actions do their talking. They are workers – they really are. This football team has definitely chosen two people who have made tremendous statements through their work ethic and that's a good thing."
On if junior running back Curtis Brinkley is completely healthy:
"We'll play him. How much we play him, we'll see."
On how his approach changes facing a first-time starting quarterback:
"We're defending an offense. The question is 'How are they going to utilize their quarterback and this year's offense?' We've watched film from last year when Stanback was the quarterback, who was a tremendous running quarterback who also threw it around. They had Bonnell, who was out there who at times did some good things. And we saw what that world was. So we're working through a little bit of everything, but it isn't so much a freshman quarterback – I don't know what that implies other than it usually implies, 'Are you going to blitz him?' We are what we are on the defensive side of the ball and you are what you're going to be. Do we pressure? Yes. Do we play zone coverage? Yes. Do we play man-to-man coverage? Yes. Do we all-out blitz? Yes. Do we zone-dog blitz? Yes. That's what we are and we're not going to change a whole lot of what we are."
On if there is a most important thing to do to secure a win:
"Yeah, play real well. I don't know what else to tell you. Is it run for this? Or pass for that? Is it stop them to this or that? I can give you all those clichés: don't make mistakes, don't turn the ball over. Those are all givens. It still comes down to we need to score more than them. I don't have anything more than that other than keep on working because we still have work to do and keep on preparing."
On if junior Paul Chiara the next option at running back after Curtis Brinkley:
"Is Paul Chiara? Can be. So can (senior) Jeremy Sellers and (redshirt freshman) Derrell Smith.
On if there is one set backup running back:
"I'm going to wait until Friday night to display what we are going to be. Curtis will be in there and he'll be the first guy in there."
On if he will pull sophomore quarterback Andrew Robinson aside before the game:
"(Smiling) He's going to stay in my room at the hotel Thursday night. I'm going to tuck him in and we'll go from there. (Serious) I'm not going to have a lot to say to Andrew. The less said the better; he'll be just fine.
On if there are two tight ends he's comfortable playing Friday night:
"There are four of them we feel comfortable playing."
On sophomore Mike Owen's progression as a tight end:
"He's done fine. He'll be in the game."
On Gary Gait joining the Syracuse staff as the head women's lacrosse coach:
"All I know is this: my daughter played lacrosse in Denver and she is a big time Gary Gait fan. She was telling me about Gary Gait way back. I just think it's another situation where I give credit to Dr. Gross. He truly is working very hard to really establish this program. I think there is somewhat of a theme in the way he goes about things. I think it's pretty exciting that Gary is going to be on board with us. He's the real deal and I think everyone knows that. I don't think it matters if it's men's lacrosse or women's lacrosse. He obviously knows the game and if I was one of those (women) I would be pretty excited."
On if he decided who the kick returns are:
"I gave you that group of four."
On the impact freshman punter Rob Long will have:
"He's another one; we'll see. I know this, he is going to be a good punter. I'd like him to be a very good punter on Friday night."
On if he's seen any changes in quarterback Andrew Robinson since being a backup last year and a starter this season:
"He's been more assertive. Last year he was in a learning mode and he was a developing person. Everybody watched his actions and was very impressed with the way he went about doing things. In the off-season conditioning program – it was his first off-season condition program, so it was the first for our team to see him. Nobody works harder than Andrew. I think anybody on our team will tell you that. There might be some who work as hard. In the spring he was more comfortable than what he was in the fall with the offense and this fall I think there has been more comfort. There began to be a real confidence that’s been developed through achieving and gaining the knowledge and gaining the physical skills he needs to do what he wants to do."
On making a statement during Friday's game:
"That's the statement: win. We need to win."
On what a win does for the program:
"I'll let you write that. I just know this: it's a good thing that we won our first game."