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Preseason Press Conference
Coach Petersen- We are excited about the upcoming 2012 campaign. We had a great season last year and are looking to build upon the success we had. In my opinion we could be better this season than last but we are going to have to work harder than any other team in the country to do that.
Reporter- How do you plan to manage traveling to the vaunted Blue Turf in Boise?
Coach Petersen- It's going to be a huge challenge. They are the #1 team in the nation and have one of the toughest places to play. If we are efficient early and get a lead we will be in good shape.
Reporter- How do you plan to improve a defense that yardage wise was the worst in the country last season?
Coach Petersen- First of all our defense wasn't nearly as bad as the statistics made it seem, but we will need to be better. I think the coaching staff did an excellent job studying the weaknesses schematically and looked at the players we have and decided to make a change. Also we are going to be much more experienced on defense which should help. The bottom line is that I expect to see a great deal of improvement on that side of the ball.
Reporter- What changes have you made to the offensive scheme?
Coach Petersen- We haven't changed much at all. We did decide to lessen the amount of shotgun formations we utilize and we added our Fridge package. The Fridge package is just an I-Formation in which our DT Rudolph comes in a FB. We realized in spring practice he is actually an excellent blocker and are even looking at switching him to offense permanently next season.
Reporter- How do you go about replacing one of the best running backs Boston College has ever had, Montel Harris?
Coach Petersen- It's never easy replacing great players, but that is life in college football. The coaching staff and players have supreme confidence in Andre Williams and I personally believe he will be better than Harris and break every BC rushing record.
Reporter- How important is Luke Kuechly to your defense and your whole team?
Coach Petersen- I can't say enough about Luke. He is the kind of person and player you look up to. He is a class act and a tremendous leader. He is the engine that makes our defense move.
Reporter- What do you expect from Chase Rettig this season?
Coach Petersen- I have extremely high expectations for Chase. I think he is becoming more of a leader every day and he is working harder. It would be a disappointment if he didn't show great improvement this year. The biggest thing is limiting the interceptions, he and the offense have to do a better job protecting the ball.
Reporter- What does your team need to do to avenge the heartbreaking lose to UCLA in the Rose Bowl from last year?
Coach Petersen- Any time you play a team twice in one year it puts you at a disadvantage and do that hurt us in the bowl game. But our main goal this time will be to force them to throw the ball. We need to get a lead early and stack the box often to stop Franklin. With their QB controversy going on the more passes their quarterbacks have to throw the better. In both games last year we let them dictate the tempo early on and get a lead and we had to claw from behind.
Coach Petersen- That's all the questions I'm going to take for now. Thanks for coming out. Go Eagles!
