PAC 10 Media Day at Rose Bowl – Getting Ready for the Season – Soon to be PAC 12
By Terry Miller
Published: Friday, July 30th, 2010
The Rose Bowl was host to PAC 10 Media Day Thursday morning when members of the press had a chance to interview top talents in the PAC 10 Conference- Photos by Terry Miller
The Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States. It participates in the NCAA’s Division I; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division I-A), the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition. The conference’s 10 members (which are primarily flagship research universities in their respective regions, well-regarded academically, and with relatively large student enrollment) compete in 22 NCAA sports. It was founded as the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU) in 1959, and went by the names Big Five, Big Six, and Pacific-8, becoming the Pacific-10 in 1978.
On July 27, 2010, the Conference announced it would rename itself as the Pacific-12 Conference (Pac-12), upon addition of both Colorado and Utah.
The self-proclaimed “Conference of Champions,” the Pac-10 has won more NCAA National Team Championships than any other conference in history. In fact, the top three schools with the most NCAA championships belong to the Pac-10 (UCLA, Stanford and the University of Southern California); while UCLA holds the most, winning a combined 106 team championships in men’s and women’s sports.
The Media Day at the Rose Bowl Thursday saw interviews with some of the key players and coaches: Here are a couple from Washington State and USC.
Mike Riley/RB Jacquizz Rodgers – Oregon State
Washington State Cougars
Head Coach Paul Wulff
“We are all very excited to be here.
Very excited about this upcoming season at Washington State.
Very happy to have Kevin Kooyman sitting to my left and its great to have Kevin here. He is one of the few fifth year seniors we have on this season. We feel we are a very young team but we have some experience. We have a lot of players that will be game changers in the Pac-10 for the next three or four years. We are really excited about how we are improving in all facets of the game. I really feel you will see a much improved team out of Washington State this season. I feel like we have the best team that we have ever had since I’ve been here at Washington State.
We have played in this building on New Year’s Day at the Rose Bowl twice in last 12 years, other than Oregon and USC no other team has done that. We feel we are headed on the same path as those teams that made the Rose Bowl. We are going to take a big step.We have hired who I feel is the best athletic director in the country in Bill Moos. He has built football programs before and he is going to be able to bring us to a higher level and I am very excited about the culmination. We have great support from the administration, Bill’s
experience and this young football team that we will be showcasing next fall.”
What about James Montgomery…????
“He has been running around and is really looking good. We think he will be able to come back and play, which is a miracle to be honest. He had a combination of the compartment syndrome surgery and then surgery on his other knee with mircrofracture surgery. Don’t think he will be in tip top shape at the beginning of the season, but he will grow into it.”
On Jeff Tuel’s growth this offseason…
“Of course we are very high on Jeff Tuel. Jeff came in this time last year about 190 pounds. He has put on about 20-25 pounds and is a lot stronger. Jeff just came in last August and he really was thrown to the wolves. We really threw him to His freshman marks were better than Drew Bledsoe’s stats as a true freshman at Washington State. That is the one guy recently who started as a true freshman at quarterback. Heading into his second year at the quarterback position, he is probably ahead of them all. He still hs youth at the wide receiver position so the continuity isn’t going to be as good as its going to be. He is getting a lot better and is looking really strong. We are very excited about what he will bring us this fall.
USC Head Coach Lane Kiffin:
“It really has been an exciting last three days. Commissioner Larry Scott has really branched us out and taken us to the East Coast. It’s an exciting time for us at USC and an exciting time to do it. “ “To get back on the field, it is the best time of the year for us. Over the last couple of weeks, for all the Trojans to come back in these times and continue the championship runs speaks volumes of USC and the USC family.” “Matt Barkley handles himself with great class and composure. One of the reasons he will have a great year is because he’s changed his whole body. He’ll be much quicker. He’ll make better decisions.”
Where are the team’s strengths and weaknesses?
“I feel good about our defensive line. Depth in general is going to be an issue. We have to be extremely intelligent and smart. Seven of our 10 coaches have NFL experience. We’re going to have to be NFL-oriented because of our situation. On what can be improved upon following the run of success under Pete Carroll “We’ve got to make sure in our recruiting process that we’re not just signing the top guys, but making that the bottom of our class are really strong.”
On Kennedy Pola’s impact
“To have him back on our staff just lit up Southern California recruiting. He’s even better than he was before. It’s a great opportunity for us to bring him back home.”
Sophomore quarterback Matt Barkley
On considering transferring following the sanctions
“It never entered my mind. I’ve always wanted to go to USC. I wouldn’t give up anything to go anywhere else. To get a degree from USC is huge.”
Transition from Pete Carroll to Lane Kiffin
“One of the greatest things Kiffin could have done is open up the competition between Mitch (Mustain) and I. I’ve noticed a change in Mitch this off-season. It made me a better quarterback and kept me on my toes. Taking nothing for granted made me improve this season.”
“One of the greatest things Kiffin could have done is open up the competition between Mitch (Mustain) and I. I’ve noticed a change in Mitch this off-season. It made me a better quarterback and kept me on my toes. Taking nothing for granted made me improve this season.”
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