Montgomery Talks Miami Beach Bowl, Signing 5-Year Extension With TU

On Tuesday, Philip Montgomery met with the media to discuss the Golden Hurricane’s season and upcoming matchup against Central Michigan in the Miami Beach Bowl.

Montgomery

Opening statement: “Our guys have had a good week of work. We have finals going on, a lot of other things that are pulling us in other directions, but still locked in and focused on trying to get win number ten and excited about our opportunity of playing Miami.”

Q: I know one of the concerns you had early on was how quick the game was coming up. How have you managed to work through all that and get as many practices as possible in a short amount of time?

A: “Yeah, we had to use a couple of those days to get some work in. Obviously, gave them that Thursday off because they had finals. Friday, we picked up again a little later practice, got them through with their finals on Friday, worked all weekend, Saturday and Sunday both. Gave them today because of finals, just couldn't work it in. We'll practice again Tuesday and Wednesday then we leave on Thursday, happens quick. We'll get a couple good workouts in down there in Miami, one walk-through. It will be time to tee it up."

Q: No offense to Shreveport, but the destination of South Beach is more marquee than Louisiana. Have you felt that with your guys as it comes closer?

A: “Yeah, I think so. Shreveport did a great job of taking care of us. It was a great bowl. The people there are outstanding. They did a tremendous job of just taking care of all of our needs.

With that being said, it is Miami. It's going to be warm; guys are looking forward to that. The beaches there, they're looking forward to that. All of those things are important. Our guys are fired up about that.

But the main thing is, again, we still got to go down there. We're going to play a football game. That's the purpose of us going, to try to get that elusive win number ten. That's what our focus is.

We talked about it. Teams that are excited about bowl season, that are fired up about going to the bowl, those are the ones that usually play well. Our guys, they're excited about this one.”

Statement: When programs turn things around, us media types usually either say they got more talented players, or the coaches are coaching better. We don't usually focus on character. When I think of Josh Atkinson, Keevan Lucas, it seems to me in this instance the character of some of your key guys has played a really big role.

Response: “Yeah, I think that's a big part of it. I don't think you can forget about guys that were [here] last season either, D.A., some of those guys were just tremendous for us.

But when I got here, I got a chance to meet some of the older guys. The main words coming out of their mouth was, ‘Coach, we'll do whatever we got to; we just want to win.’ They really have sacrificed a lot of things to get to the point that we're at.

Again, we talk about it all the time. You've been in a lot of press conferences with me. Our leadership on this football team has been tremendous.

With everything that has happened this year, with the ups and downs that we've had, those guys have really kept our team focused, kept our team punching the clock and getting better every week. I don't see that changing right now. I mean, we still have to have that workman type mentality. I think our leaders are pushing that.

We've set standards here now. We're trying to continue to keep raising that bar. I think those guys have been the reason for that.”

Q: I'd call the season an unqualified success regardless of how you do down in Miami. How do you feel about that?

A: “It's been a good season. We've accomplished a lot during the season, but we're not done. We're not going to put all of the weight of this game on what our season's going to be.

With that being said, any time you can finish up a season with a win, what that does and how that carries over in recruiting, how that carries over into your winter workouts, spring ball, all of those things, I think is important.

Last year, I thought we played well. We just didn't come out on top, kind of ran out of time. But I think that really helped us develop into what we are today. I thought our defense in the spring really took some big steps, did the same thing in fall camp, and I think that's carried us through this fall. Defensively, I think they've kept us in some ballgames when we've gotten off to slow starts.

Those things are all kind of things you add up. When you can finish off the season with a win, I think it's a huge factor coming into your next season.”

Q: How crucial is this time for the non-seniors, the guys coming back, the younger ones?

A: “Again, I don't know that you can put a number on it. If you really paid attention to last year, the reps that McKinley Whitfield got, guys that had to step in, Reggie Robinson, some of the young guys that have really made plays for us this year, these practices are tremendous for them.

When I start thinking about our offensive line, we've got all of those guys coming back next year. But those true freshmen that have been on the scout field that haven't got as much work in our true offense or our true defense, this time right now is a chance for them to take that next step and get a little bit more bump as you get into spring ball.

It's a big deal for your young guys when you get into bowl season.”

Q: 3,000-yard passer, 2,000-yard rushers and receivers, coaches don't usually get too fired up about discussing that sort of thing. You like this record. Is it because your offense is a pick-your-poison offense? So many guys are involved? What do you like about the idea of being the first to do that?

A: “All of you know, I'm not a big stat guy. This is one that's out there. It's never been done. To have the opportunity to do it, it just doesn't come along very often.

Would I like to achieve that for our football team? I like it for those guys. They've worked tremendously hard. A lot of guys have been involved in it. I think it's more of a team-generated type deal more than it is an individual type deal. That's why I think it's important.

If we can do it, that's great. We're not going in there with the idea that we got to make this happen. Our ultimate goal is to get the win, win number ten. Hopefully along with that this will take care of itself.

It's one of those things we won't pay attention to until you get to the fourth quarter. If luckily you're in a situation where you got an opportunity, if you're close to getting it, maybe you call a play or two to make sure that comes out. Besides that, we'll go into it with the same mindset we have every week.”

Q: On another popular topic, your name gets kicked around on the job search. There's been a few pretty nice jobs open this year. Can you address that? Your son has been accepted here at TU. He's a senior now, wants to play for you, I presume, right?

A: “I hope so.”

Statement: Ashli is involved in the community. Hard to move a kid in high school. You're not in a hurry to leave is where I'm going with this.

Response: “I'm not. I had opportunities this year, had phone calls all that stuff. Derrick and I, we've been through that carousel of things. My family's really happy here. This town has been great to us. We've tried to give back to the community. We’re very connected to our players downstairs. I think a lot of that goes back to the way they work and the way that we've kind of bonded together.

We have great leadership at this university with Dr. Gragg and Dr. Clancy. I'm excited about the opportunities Dr. Clancy is bringing onboard. All of those things, as you factor in things, I'm not looking for the next big paycheck or the next big job or this or that.

What happens happens. For us, just like we've always been, my wife and I, we're going to work hard at where we're at. We're not going to be concerned about what the future is. We're going to work today. Hard work, in my opinion, always pays off.

The university has stepped up. I don't even know if I can talk about this yet or not, but I've got a new five-year deal here, so I've just signed the extension here. We're excited about that as a football staff and as a family and all of those things.

It's good to be able to sit down and visit with Dr. Gragg and Dr. Clancy, helping make those decisions with the Board of Trustees to step up and make it even more difficult for us to leave here.”

Click the video to watch the full interview.