UH-Georgia Quotes from Tuesday night

AJC = Atlanta Journal-Constitution
FHT = Florida Herald Tribune
USA = USA Today
NOLA = New Orleans Times-Picayune
RAB = redandblack.com (Georgia’s student newspaper)
SOA = Spirit of Aloha (Aloha Airlines’ in-flight magazine)

About the importance of getting into a BCS Bowl, JJ said:
“This puts us on the map and says a lot about what we’ve been able to accomplish here. We’ve been to bowl games seven of the last nine years but never one like this. I’m really excited and proud for the entire state of Hawaii. Our kids have been on an unbelievable run and believe they can compete with anybody. Our team’s success has allowed Colt Brennan a chance to win the Heisman Trophy, and that’s a huge bonus.” (USA)

Praising Colt, JJ said:
“Colt Brennan was the best player in American last year, and he’s the best player this year. What he did against Washington he’s done all season.” (USA)

About how they aren’t afraid to play anybody and how JJ wishes there was a playoff after the bowl games, JJ said:
“Out kids believe they can beat anybody, and we would have liked to play (top-ranked) Ohio State. But that said, this is a tremendous opportunity for us. I kind of wish that after the championship game there was another game, so if you won your bowl you had a chance to play again. I think Boise would have been in that discussion last year, and maybe we could be this year.” (USA)

Expecting a lot of fans at the Sugar Bowl, JJ said:
Our whole state is going to be there. We’ll have people from Chicago, Hawaiians from New York, from everywhere in the southeast they’ll be coming to New Orleans. It’s just going to be a great experience, not just for my kids, but for our whole state.” (NOLA)

About their offense, Colt said:
“It’s a one-of-a-kind offense.” (RAB)

Colt added that he’s been:
“blessed with by far the best receiving corps in the country.” (RAB)

Praising the SEC, Colt said:
“Obviously the SEC talent across the board is superb – it’s what they consider the best in college football. We’re coming up against a monster … I’m expecting a dogfight and for us to fight for everything we get.” (RAB)

Praising Georgia QB Matthew Stafford, Colt said:
“He’s awesome. He’s got a quick release, he’s accurate, he’s got a big-time receiving corps. They’re playing great.” (RAB)

About how Boise State’s win in the Fiesta Bowl last year help their BCS chances this year, Colt said:
“What (Boise State) did was a big stepping stone for all the mid-majors. There’s no doubt in my mind that if they didn’t do what they did last year and because of our schedule (this year), there’s a good chance we may not have expected to be allowed into a BCS game. I think (BCS officials) are all right now with letting one mid-major team play with the big boys.” (RAB)

About how the Pac-10 and SEC might have the best talent, but some of the best football is played in the WAC because they play as a team, Colt said:
“What makes a good football team is not the athletes, but how well you play as a team. Obviously the Pac-10s and the SECs of the nation have the best talent, but some of the best football is played in the WAC. There’s no doubt about that.” (RAB)

About UH’s offense, Georgia coach Mark Richt said about his defensive coordinator Willie Martinez:
“I’m not sure coach Martinez will sleep. The numbers are very, very impressive and imposing even.” (FHT)

About how UH will be hard to beat, Richt said:
“Teams that are used to winning are hard to beat.” (AJC)

About how he lobbied to get into the national title game, Richt said:
“I needed to say what I could say to try and sway the vote because it is a popularity contest. And it’s kind of a beauty contest and politicking was the only thing I felt like I could do. If nothing else to the let the players know that I love them and care about them. I wanted the team and the Bulldog nation to know I was going to fight and try and get into that game because that’s goal of everybody across this country. I know Coach Jones’ team being undefeated feel like they could have and should have a chance to play for the national championship. Why not them? It’s just one of those wacky years when everybody got a chance to filibuster a little bit. And we just didn’t have enough to stand on.” (NOLA)

About how his team will be ready for UH, Richt said:
“The guys are going to be extremely excited. My gosh, it’s going to be a whole month before we play, and that’s plenty of time to get jacked up about a ballgame.” (USA)

About playing in their 3rd Sugar Bowl in 6 years, Richt said:
“I’m very excited about this opportunity, I know our team is. Gosh, Oct. 6 after Tennessee we didn’t think we would even make it to a bowl game. We were hoping to get bowl eligible at that point. To kind of catch fire like we did was a tremendous thing for our program. Now we get the chance to play the only undefeated team in the United States.” (NOLA)

Praising Colt, Richt joked that he:
“has thrown more touchdowns than anyone in the history of the world.” (RAB)

Not sounding confident that they would sell out their 17,500 allocation, HF said:
“We expect a pretty good showing in New Orleans, even though it is far away from us. We will talk to the Sugar Bowl in the next couple days about how we should do with that allotment. To say that we are going to sell 17,500 could be a reach. But we certainly will talk to the Sugar Bowl on how we handle that.” (NOLA)

About why he bonded right away with JJ when they met in 1977 when JJ was an NFL free agent QB, Leigh Steinberg said:
“June is my type of guy. He is a Leonardo-type man of all seasons. He reads books and newspapers. He had theories on economics and religion, sports and theology. He followed the stock market. He put me into investments, like the plastic eggs that hold prizes in vending machines, and we made a killing. He had a probing, in­tellectual mind. It could be opal mines in Brazil, plastic eggs, DMSO, which smelled god-awful … he is just a completely intriguing character.” (SOA)

SOA Note: “So in 1999 when June Jones turned to Leigh to help him with Hawai‘i football, he wasn’t knocking on the door of a super agent, he was merely seeking wisdom and counsel from a long-trusted friend.”

About how JJ and he sold Hawaii to help turn their football team around, Steinberg said:
“Hawai‘i is a special place. The scent of flowers, the spir­ituality, the magic and the warmth you can instantly feel. These people are some of the most loving on the face of the earth. There are no strangers. It’s unlike anything else. The ocean, the birds, the land—the inner peace—this football team had to stand for all of those things.” (SOA)

About how they had to change the product of UH football to change the perception of the team, Steinberg said:
“We had to re-envision what the product could be. Any time you bring about change to the product, there’s always some resistance. But we were less concerned with stepping on toes and more concerned with what the football program and athletic program could be from a marketing standpoint. How could we re-energize the revenue sources? How could the Ath­letic Department become competitive with Mainland programs in the 21st century? How could it pull major corporate sponsors?” (SOA)

About how they decided on the process of change, Steinberg said:
“A sporting experience has a pro­c­ess. Watching a game live—how could we attract more fans in the stands? How could we improve the game experience? The process of watching it on TV—how can we make that a better experience for the television viewer or for the potential recruit? How can we take advantage of the positioning in the Pacific Rim? How can we bring in athletes from Japan and China to broaden our demographics? Can we have later start times that would enable us to have a Mainland TV package?” (SOA)

SOA Note: “Jones and Steinberg sketched out a plan. No longer would Hawaiian, Sa­moan and Polynesian players be the exception—they would become the rule. You play Hawai‘i, you play Hawai‘i. They pitched ESPN on a late-night TV package. ESPN loved the idea. Jones started lobbing political footballs to reduce or eliminate his million-dollar overhead at Aloha Stadium. Due to bureaucracy, that one would take some time. To develop a new brand, they turned to Kaua‘i native and Kapa‘a High School graduate Kurt Osaki. An award-winning designer, Osaki’s signature works included new logos and uniforms for the San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baltimore Ravens.”

About his meeting with JJ, Osaki said:
“When I asked June what his goals were for the program and the brand, he said, ‘To win a national championship at the University of Hawai‘i.’ I’ll never forget it.” (SOA)

SOA Note: “Everyone agreed the new brand should pupukahi i holomua—or unite and move forward. Over an eight-month period, Osaki’s firm interviewed more than 200 people who represented a cross-section of the University and the local community. First, they arrived at the “tapa,” where the three triangles rep­resent “body, mind and spirit,” as well as teamwork. In Hawaiian culture, three symbolizes teamwork; if one stumbles, two remain to support a fallen comrade in the true spirit of ‘ohana.

Second, they settled on the “H,” which immediately embraced the entire state—outer islands included—as well as the program. Like the Tennessee “T” or the Michigan “M,” the “H” would be the traditional Hawai‘i monogram.

Third, they selected green as a color of growth and hope, in the same shade as the lush green valley of Mänoa. Sil­ver was taken from the shimmering re­flections of the daily rainfall. Black was added for accent and contrast, and the package was complete.

Next on the agenda was music. June had met five-time Grammy and Emmy award-winning composer Mike Post on the golf course, and he didn’t hesitate to call his friend. Post had owned property in Hawai‘i for nearly three decades, and he leapt at the opportunity to do something for the University. He produced theme songs for starting lineups, kickoffs and goal-line stands. The unmistakable beating of drums and warrior chants would now resonate through Aloha Stadium like thunder in support of the new Warriors.

Post donated his award-winning com­positions (all of which can be heard on warriorsrespond.com) to the University at no charge.”

About how he later added silver road helmets to extend the UH brand, JJ said aobut the changes:
“Recruits get off the plane wearing our stuff when they visit us. Overnight, we became one of the hottest properties in college sports.” (SOA)

About how other Universities called him to request that he help them with something “as powerful and recognizable” as what he had done for UH, Osaki said:
“It’s my proudest accomplishment.” (SOA)

SOA Note: “Not everyone instantly agreed. Pur­ists blasted Jones for discarding the once-beloved Rainbow. Local TV news anchor Joe Moore, livid after Jones scrapped the music from Hawai‘i Five-0, would chastise Jones early and often on the air. The definition of a pioneer, however, is a man with arrows in his back; Jones ignored his detractors and simply forged ahead.”

Smiling as he thinks of JJ’s accomplishments, Steinberg said:
“When he took the job, people simply overlooked the considerable re­sources June has. If we trace all the way back through this story, you have all of the people that June has worked with, like me, or coached, like Warren Moon, as part of the Hawai‘i package. They not only got a great coach, but they got the biggest names and marketing people in sports. We beat the drums. We changed the logo. We reshaped the literature. We re-branded the program. Jones epitomizes the pride of Hawai‘i. He took risks. He took criticism. But don’t forget—he made the right decisions, not necessarily the popular ones at those times.” (SOA)

Quotes from Tuesday morning

About his comments comparing Colt and Tebow, JJ said:
“My quarterback is the best college football player in America. I did not add Tebow’s team has three loses or is not in a BCS game. …The bottom line is I irritated them because they knew I was right. But I did get a whole bunch of emails and calls from Florida State people that said ‘Thanks for finally saying that.’” (Tampa Tribune)

Clarifying his comments about Tebow, JJ said:
“I’ll probably get a little more (heat). My intent was not to demean Tim Tebow in anyway. … My point was my quarterback has been labeled a system player, for three years. (Brennan is) the best passer in college football history. Tim Tebow is in a system. The last quarterback that was in that system … Alex Smith (was) talented, but I didn’t see him in an NFL passing deal. Colt Brennan plays in an NFL passing game. You can dial it up and see it’s not a system. And Tim Tebow’s system is a college system. He’s a great quarterback, probably win another national championship, he’s competitive, he’s all those things. But a lot of his stuff comes off little dive fakes and all different kinds of things that he’s not going to do in the National Football League. That’s my point.” (HSB)

About the ESPN guys Herbstreit and Tirico were saying that Tebow set a record for being responsible for 53 TDs when Colt threw 58 TD passes and ran for 5 more last season, JJ said:
“I said, ‘I got my point across, you guys ripped me a new one yesterday, but I’ll say it again and stand by what I said.’ I irritated them because they knew I was right.” (HSB)

Asked if he would wear a coat and tie to the formal Heisman ceremony if Colt was invited, JJ said:
“I’ll have to get fitted.” (HSB)

As his phone buzzed when he was leaving the press conference, JJ said:
“More guys from Florida.” (HSB)

About JJ’s comments supporting him, Colt said:
“He’s a good guy, you know, I think he might be the best coach in the nation. But I think Coach Jones is like that, he takes extreme pride. It’s funny, I never heard him say face-to-face anything, really, like that. He’s always been great to me, but he’s always on me and always pushes me. It’s cool when he goes out and does that stuff.” (HSB)

About how JJ was trying to support him and not criticize Tebow, Colt said:
“I know he wasn’t taking any shots at Tim Tebow. I’ve heard him say great things about Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow is a great quarterback, he most likely will win the Heisman Trophy. But I think Coach Jones is very strongly trying to take away that whole system thing (on me), and just let the players be players.” (HSB)

Asked how he would do in the run-and-shoot, Tebow said:
“I ran it a little bit in high school, and my numbers weren’t too bad there. I don’t know, I guess it depends on your system.” (Tampa Tribune)

Calling Colt a system QB, Tebow said:
“I think he’s a good quarterback, and [he] runs a good system.” (Tampa Tribune)

TT Note: “Tebow used the word “system” three more times in the interview, putting a dab of extra mustard on the word each time he said it.”

About how the WAC created (at his urging) a special award for their record-setting offense, Colt said:
“That is awesome, dude.” (HA)

HA Note: “Eleven Warriors were named to the All-WAC first team: Brennan, slotbacks Ryan Grice-Mullins and Davone Bess, center John Estes, left guard Hercules Satele, defensive end David Veikune, defensive tackle Michael Lafaele, linebackers Adam Leonard and Solomon Elimimian, cornerback Myron Newberry, and kicker Dan Kelly. Left wideout Jason Rivers was the lone Warrior on the second team. June Jones was named Coach of the Year, and Brennan was selected as the Offensive Player of the Year.”

About how he asked Karl Benson if he could share his Offensive Player of the Year award with the entire Warriors’ offense, Colt said:
“I said, ‘If there’s any way we could collectively win this award, I’d really appreciate it.’” (HA)

About how Colt was to share the recognition with his teammates, John Estes said:
“Colt is so unselfish. He would do anything for this team.” (HA)

HA Note: “The WAC, as it turned out, listened, creating an “Offensive Unit of the Year.” Brennan and the starting receivers — Bess, Grice-Mullins, Rivers and right wideout C.J. Hawthorne — were mentioned specifically. The Warriors lead the nation in scoring, averaging 46.17 points per game.”

About how he felt he got too much credit, Colt said:
“The way the game of football goes, the quarterback sometimes just gets too much love. I missed two games this year. I got knocked out of two games. Those are four games we won not because of me. There’s no way I can honestly take a single award. I knew just because of the way the season went, the way it ended, people would want to give me a lot of credit. But the credit goes to the O-line and especially that receiving corps. And Tyler (Graunke, the backup quarterback) stepped in and won a game. They were the most valuable offensive unit in the WAC. I’m grateful the WAC recognized that, and glad they created the award.” (HA)

About Colt lobbying to get an award for their offense, Bess said:
“We give a lot of credit to Colt. He lobbied for us to get the award. At the same time, we give a lot of credit to our teammates and our coaches for putting us in positions to make plays.” (HA)

About their team-first attitude, RGM said:
“Everything we do, we do as a team.” (HA)

About moving from RG last season to C this season, All-WAC sophomore C John Estes said:
“I think center is my natural position, anyway. I give a lot of credit to coach (Dennis) McKnight. He helped me out, and gave me a lot of great advice.” (HA)

All-WAC senior G Hercules Satele talked about how their hard work paid off:
“All of the hard work from the summer has paid off. Look at our season. It’s been a lot of fun.” (HA)

After earning conference honors despite not starting their games (though he leads the Warriors with 7 sacks), Veikune credited their change to a 4-3 D under GM for making his success possible:
“I’m thankful for the recognition. This scheme gives me more opportunities to make plays.” (HA)

Praising their DL for making their success possible, Solomon Elimimian said:
“The D-line does a great job of keeping guys off of (the linebackers).” (HA)

After being informed about his All-WAC first team recognition, Adam Leonard said:
“I feel blessed for the opportunity to make plays.” (HA)

After getting All-WAC first team, Myron Newberry (tied with Adam for the team lead with 4 INTs, often isolated against the opponent’s best WR) said:
“I set a goal for myself to get All-WAC. I guess it happened. It’s a great honor. I worked my butt off all spring and all summer to try to get to where we are now.” (HA)

Looking forward to playing in another big game, Jason Rivers said:
“It’s the same thing when we played Arizona State and Washington. I’m anxious to go up there and see what they have to offer us as far as competition is concerned, the level of play they have. I know they’re an excellent team … just inches away from being in a national title game. It’s going to be a good test for us.” (HSB)

HSB Note: “In three Hawaii bowls, Rivers has 42 catches for 599 yards and six touchdowns. In three games against Pac-10 teams, he has 30 receptions for 487 yards and seven scores. After Saturday’s four-TD, 14-reception, 167-yard effort against Washington, Rivers became UH’s third 1,000-yard receiver this season, tying the NCAA record.”

About how they won’t have any problem getting up to prepare for Georgia, Rivers said:
“We get back to work today. I don’t think anyone’s going to gear down because there’s just too much excitement and everybody’s geared up for the game. Nobody’s going to stop working now.” (HSB)

About being able to end his UH career at the Sugar Bowl, just a 45-minute drive from his home, C.J. Hawthorne said:
“It’s supernatural, I don’t think anything will happen again ever like this. It’s extraordinary.” (HSB)

HSB Note: “His past is one many people would have trouble escaping, let alone returning to face. But the Warriors’ unprecedented success has brought him back. It will be his first return home since the summer of 2006, when the Gulf Coast area still struggled to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. That hurricane was just a minor blip compared to other storms he’s endured. Hawthorne’s parents separated when he was 11, and his mother, Clemencia Williams, left the lives of C.J. and six of his seven siblings when he was in high school. His father, Jerry, died while C.J. was playing junior college ball along the Gulf Coast, and never got to see him play at the Division I level. Various tragedies have befallen several of his siblings over the years, as they were left to fend for themselves.”

About how he’ll cherish his Warrior career and being the first in his family to get a college degree, Hawthorne said:
“A lot of stuff happened, but I’ve been so blessed, and I’m going to be the first one (in the family) to graduate. Even this whole journey has given a lot of people back home hope.”

He and his fellow offensive skill-position starters were named recipients of the Western Athletic Conference’s first Offensive Unit of the Year Award yesterday (quarterback Colt Brennan, and receivers Hawthorne, Jason Rivers, Ryan Grice-Mullins and Davone Bess).

About the tough times Hawthorne has had in his life, Jason Rivers said:
“He’s been over here, he’s trusted in whatever he saw in our program to leave his life and come over here and share it with us. We’ve taken him in, and he talks about his family all the time. I’m sure it’s very special and meaningful that he gets to play over there in front of his family and friends.” (HSB)

Praising Hawthorne, Colt said:
“Here’s a young man who had a rough childhood growing up, he’s already married with his son, he’s a college student. And he’s really been nickel-and-diming his way through life for the past couple of years. For him to have this experience and this opportunity, it feels great for us guys who have had it a lot easier in life, to see him be rewarded and get something he deserves, we’re just thankful that he gets to go home.” (HSB)

HSB Note: “June Jones, the WAC Coach of the Year, said that Hawthorne would be able to take a personal day to visit family after the Sugar Bowl. Virtually all of Hawthorne’s family still lives in Mississippi. Two of Hawthorne’s brothers and one of his sisters will attend the game. He doesn’t expect his mother to be there. She hasn’t seen him play on national television yet.”

About how his mother is proud of him, Hawthorne said:
“She’s proud of me, I know she is. Football’s not really her thing, you know. I’ve talked to her during the season, like, four times. It’s all right though. A lot of times, people just go through so much. And when she sits down and thinks about it, I think she’s real proud of me.” (HSB)

About UH’s undefeated season not giving them a chance to play for the championship, sportswriter and National Public Radio commentator John Feinstein said:
“There’s no (other) sport in the world, including tiddlywinks, where you can go undefeated in something and not have the opportunity to play for a championship.” (HSB)