COACH SILVERFIELD OPENING STATEMENT:
Let me start by saying thank you. Thank you to the Goodyear Cotton Bowl for a wonderful week. First-class event, City of Dallas. Everybody has been so great and welcoming. Our players, our staff, everybody that's traveled with us, our families, we've been absolutely blown away by the hospitality. So thank you for everybody involved with this event, this wonderful week. We couldn't have asked for anything else.
Obviously we're very excited about the game on Saturday and what's ahead of us. We can't wait. Our players have had a great week of preparation. Obviously have the ability to practice at AT&T Stadium. It's been wonderful. And, again, really excited for the opportunity on Saturday versus a great opponent in Penn State.
Q. With all this hoopla and the way they're spoiling your team down here, how do you keep them grounded and make sure they stay focused?
COACH SILVERFIELD: We take an everyday approach to things. We are not looking ahead. Even just coming off the practice field just now, our guys have the right mind-set. They know it's going to take a lot of details and execution in order to have success on Saturday. But we take it one day at a time, every practice, every meeting, being locked in and focused. At the end of the day, we are here for one reason. This is a business trip. Again, all those other things that the Cotton Bowl has put on for us, we are so grateful and appreciative. But at the end of the day, we are here for one reason and that's for the game on Saturday.
Q. With the news that Joey [Magnifico] will not be playing, what are the thoughts on that and how tough will it be without him?
COACH SILVERFIELD: Obviously we're going to miss Joey [Magnifico], a significant young man that has had a great impact in his entire career at Memphis. Fantastic player but also a fantastic student-athlete on and off the field. He means the world. He's a Memphian that started as a walk-on. So sad that his collegiate career had to end the way it did. But at the end of the day, we've got a group of tight ends that we truly know they are capable of filling in that spot that have had experience in games. So at the end of the day, hopefully our offense will move on without skipping a beat.
Q. You looked forward to being a head coach for the first time. Just talk about your first game being a game like this and preparing for that and just how the team has transitioned in these last couple of weeks.
COACH SILVERFIELD: This is a heck of a way to start my head coaching career at the college level. But like I've mentioned earlier in the week, couldn't have asked for it to happen any other way. Obviously I give a lot of credit to Mike Norvell for the opportunity for me to come to Memphis and introduce me to such a wonderful city, a wonderful university and such a great football program.
But our culture, the things we do, the standards we've set are not going to change. In fact, we're going to continue to get better and grow stronger. This is a heck of a testament to what we built in the past. But we're moving forward in the right direction. The players are all in. We've been using that mantra since I was able to take over as the head coach. And when we talk about an all-in approach, it's not just on the football field but it's in everything we do.
We talk about what we have is what we got in the room and we're excited for Saturday. And the players certainly seem to be bought in to the message and excited about the opportunity as well.
Q. I spoke with Coach Joe Lorig earlier, one of your former colleagues at Memphis. He may have a few things that he remembers to give him an advantage. But what are some things that you remember about his coaching style that would give you an advantage against them this week?
COACH SILVERFIELD: Joe Lorig is not only a fantastic coach but also a friend of mine. He did a great job at Memphis and he has done a wonderful job at Penn State. They're really, really sound on special teams. All three phases of the game, Penn State does a fantastic job. Joe does have an understanding of some of our personnel, but we have been able to study him. I also have a pretty good background on what he's liked to do. And we'll have a good understanding of that going forward with the game on Saturday. So it's going to be a heck of a battle, all three phases.
But kudos to Joe and the job he's done there. And it's going to be a heck of a challenge for us on special teams. But, again, ready for that opportunity.
Q. The fan base that has just been energized all season long and you're now here, what's your expectation? What have you heard? What have you seen in the few days here? What's your expectation for what Tiger Nation is going to do over the next couple of days, especially Saturday here in Dallas?
COACH SILVERFIELD: Like I say, we have got the best fans in the world. I love Tiger Nation. They have been really supportive of our student-athletes all along, not only in the off-season but all through the season and even with me moving forward as the head coach. So appreciative of their support. Our players know it, they feel it, they appreciate it.
They're in for a show on Saturday. They're excited. We appreciate everything they have done for us. I want them to be loud and proud and wear that Memphis Tiger blue, and we'll see them on Saturday.
Q. You've had a chance to practice in this facility most of the week and since they have been in here, did you see a moment where it clicked for the players, okay, yeah, we see this is a big house and where they actually started to zone in on what they've got to do?
COACH SILVERFIELD: I think we prepare them for that even coming forward. There's different things with playing in a type of an environment like this. Obviously AT&T Stadium is a fantastic venue for all types of sporting events and all types of entertainment. But at the end of the day, we talk to them about it. Prepare them before we even left for Dallas on this trip to have the understanding, look, there's going to be a lot of outside distractions and I think that goes along with any bowl trip. And when we walked in I wanted them to look up and see the big video board, see all the seats, see everything that was surrounding them. I wanted them to be grateful and appreciative of that.
At the same point, understand that come 11:00 on Saturday, we're there when that kick-off goes, what happens in between the white lines, it's going to be a darn battle. And so I think they had the mind-set -- and it's the same approach we have taken every single day. There's going to be distractions, but we've got to be locked in on our task at hand. And regardless of where we play, whether we play in beautiful AT&T Stadium in front of thousands upon thousands of fans or out in the parking lot outside the hotel, we know we got to bring it and be locked in on what we got to do.
Q. Being here at AT&T Stadium, coaching in between those lines, looking around, what's it been like to see this beautiful venue? Is this the best stadium you think you've ever coached at so far?
COACH SILVERFIELD: I have been fortunate to coach in a lot of great stadiums. I've coached a few years back with the Vikings against the Cowboys. So obviously this will be a little bit different feel to it for me. But very excited.
And you know what? At the end of the day, this is about the players and how they're going to be able to act, right? I want them to treat this -- even though it's not -- just like it's any other game and be mindful of what we have got to do and the task at hand.
So at the end of the day, all these things, all these cameras, all that stuff that's going to be around them, I want them to just be locked in and do their job. For us it's got to be detail oriented and execution. We have still got to be able to run the ball, block, tackle, all those things that come down with fundamental football. It doesn't matter where we're playing it. But, again, it's awesome to be able to play in such a venue.
Q. A couple of minutes ago you credited Mike Norvell for obviously getting you in and helping you get to this point. What are the biggest things you have learned from him?
COACH SILVERFIELD: I have learned a lot from Mike on and off the field. I think you take things from all your stops in your coaching career, from different people I have learned along the way, whether it be guys like Jim Caldwell, Leslie Frazier, Brad Childress, all those coaches.
I learned a lot from Mike. He helped set the standard and culture here at Memphis. Obviously a fantastic play caller and a fine human being. Learned a lot, the way you structure a program. And, obviously, he have had success and will continue to have success. We wish him nothing but the best.
But with all my coaching careers, wherever I've stopped along the way, a lot of times you learn what to do, what not to do, and I'll take that all as we continue to build our Memphis football program for the future and beyond.
Q. This is a huge accomplishment to get to a New Year's Six game. What about this program makes you believe you guys are positioned to return to these types of games in the future?
COACH SILVERFIELD: I think we're a program built for sustainability. Again, it comes down to our structure. It's not like we rely on one player to do it. We've been very fortunate to have fantastic playmakers on both sides of the ball and special teams. For me, that shows that we can bode well and we're not just a system built on trick plays and different things of that nature, right? We play sound fundamentally at all times.
And for me, that shows and sets up that we'll be able to maintain the success, right? We're focused on this game this Saturday, but we want to continue to come back to these types of games. And you know what? It's nice for these -- we have got a young roster. It's nice for this young roster to see the types of success we've had this year so that can be a great off-season goal, right? At the end of the day, it's my job to make sure I provide that structure and that sustainability moving forward, right?
We've got great recruiting areas, our signing classes. We've got a very bright future ahead of us. At the end of the day, right, we're focused on Saturday. Very bright days ahead for the Memphis Tigers.
Q. What's it been like for you and the staff not having everybody who was there throughout the season and some guys who are stepping into different roles?
COACH SILVERFIELD: Yeah. I tried to stay off social media, but I saw something you put out, right. At the end of the day, we have lost both play callers. We lost a fantastic defensive coordinator, in Adam Fuller. Mike Norvell called the plays on offense. We're down a few players on offense as well.
At the end of the day, that shouldn't affect us. Those are very, very key pieces to our success this year. But the nice thing is we've got a wonderful staff. The players are bought into what we're doing now and full speed ahead with what we got to do.
At the end of the day, we're not looking at who's not here. We're looking at what we have right now. I think people put a little grin on their face and say, "Okay, we got what we got what we need. Ready to go to war -- ready to go to battle on Saturday."
Q. With losing both play callers and with the injuries you have, Joey Magnifico the latest, do you buy the idea that this is a BPI scenario for you guys?
COACH SILVERFIELD: At the end of the day, anybody that knows Memphis knows it's "Memphis-first, everybody approach." We'll take that approach for a long time, no matter what we're doing. I like that, right? I like having a chip on the shoulder.
But we have no excuses, no explanations, right? We're going to go full speed ahead, like I just said, and we'll take the approach whoever we're playing. Obviously we're playing a heck of an opponent versus Penn State. There's a reason why both of these teams are paired up in this wonderful Cotton Bowl event. No excuses going forward. We're ready.
Q. We've seen Group of Five teams have success in New Year's Six bowls in the past. Do you take inspiration from that? Also, do you feel like you're representing sort of the other schools that are part of that push for respectability, visibility, those kind of things in college football? Are you representing more than just Memphis in this game?
COACH SILVERFIELD: Yeah, I'd like to think so. Yeah, the more people we can have on our bandwagon and the more people we feel like we can represent, the better. At the end of the day, we're representing, Memphis, the University, and the community itself.
But if we feel like we can help out all those programs that have the opportunity to play in such a bowl game like this and hopefully have success, that's huge. It's huge for all those other programs.
Like you said, we've been able to see other Group of Five teams come in and have success. Maybe we'll gather some inspiration about it as well. But like with everything, we focus on ourselves and what we need to do to handle ourselves. If we have to look outside of our meeting rooms for inspiration, maybe we're not doing it the right way.
I think our players firmly believe in what we've got -- what we've done and what we're going to continue to do. To me, that's enough, and I think our players believe the same.
Q. Obviously with Joey [Magnifico] gone, Kameron Wilson, Tyce Daniel have played this year. They have the experience. Does that help with them being able to step up in this role and just knowing this is their time to fill that role a little bit?
COACH SILVERFIELD: Sure, absolutely. We're going to significantly miss Joey. But Kam Wilson, Tyce Daniel along with some of our other tight ends have had plenty of experience. That obviously helps in game like this.
We're going to throw them right into the fire and see what they got. They are prepared. They have done a great job the last few weeks preparing for this moment, just like all of our players have. It's our job to prepare every single guy on our roster to be able to step in no matter what's called for. That's one of the reasons why we meet the way we meet, we practice the way we meet where everybody is focused and locked in. At the end of the day, we know that at tight end it will be no different.
Q. Can you tell me what your favorite Elvis song is?
COACH SILVERFIELD: "Ain't Nothing but a Hound Dog." "Jailhouse Rock." We can go on and on.
I had the good fortune of going to Graceland this past off-season, which is something not only every Memphian should do but every person in this entire country, entire world should do.
Memphis has a lot of wonderful cultures. That's what makes the place so special. Maybe if I gave a little more downtime this off-season, which I don't think is going to be as likely, I'll get to continue to experience all the wonderful things that Memphis and the community and the surrounding areas have to offer.
Q. We talked to the Penn State players and they say, "Yeah, this is going to be Memphis Super Bowl, no doubt". And you've talked to your guys about that. How do you make sure you keep their edge and don't get too crazy going out here to play great team in Penn State?
COACH SILVERFIELD: Obviously, we know the task at hand. It's going to be a challenge, make no bones about it. But our players understand that, look, they're going to play excited. I don't doubt for a second that our young men will go out there and play hard.
At the end of the day, I want them to be able to play fundamentally sound, physical, tough, disciplined football. That's the way we have been able to play all year. We just got to continue to do that. Don't treat this game any differently. Go out there and play with a lot of fun, a lot of energy and a lot of passion. Be relentless in everything we do but be detailed and have the understanding to just do your job. If we do that and we look up, the end result we like the scoreboard, so be it. But I know our guys will play hard.
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