University Southern California Trojans
Hackett Previews USC-UCLA Contest
June 21, 1999 | Football
November 17, 1998
LOS ANGELES - Following is the transcript of USC football coach Paul Hackett's Tuesday press conference as he previewed Saturday's USC-UCLA game:
It's been a great bye week. We had the opportunity to heal up a little bit. We had the chance to get our team as healthy as they have been in quite some time. R. Jay (Soward) is expected to practice today and we'll see how much he can do. I anticipate him being at full speed by Saturday. We haven't done anything with him at this point because we wanted him to heal up so we'll see how the week unfolds. I feel pretty good about that. We also had a chance to get away a little bit, a chance to clear our minds. It's been a long season since the Pigskin Classic. It was nice to have the time. And we had a chance to watch the Washington game. My feeling is that UCLA played one of their best games of the year. We know how difficult it is to play up in Husky-land. I really think this is a UCLA team that is peaking right now for their run on the national championship. We feel like we're playing at a higher level than we were earlier this year. Although they're at totally different levels, one of the teams is one of the top teams in the country and competing for the national championship and the other is trying to make its way up the conference ladder. Both teams are probably playing as well right now as they have played in the course of the whole year.
I think the thing about the UCLA team that is exciting to me is the offense. Anytime you've got eight returning starters and the quarterback with the caliber that they have, and three runners and receivers and all that, it's really exciting to watch them play and watch the quarterback move around and make the plays that he does. Defensively they've got one of the most sophisticated defenses in the country. All week long for our staff, it's been exciting for our staff to have the extra time to watch them and have the chance to put together a game plan.
You don't have to say too much about this game. This is a game where our players know their players, they've grown up together, they understand the rivalry. We've come out at the short end for the four years that our players have been here. They've never been in a position to know what it feels like to beat UCLA. I think that's really something we have to overcome and deal with. Our feeling at USC is that seven is far too many, particularly with a rivalry that's been so close. The games have been within one touchdown many times. We feel like it's time to end the jinx. I will say this is a very impressive UCLA team. Whereas, they might have dipped a bit over a couple weeks and played some close games, they didn't play a close game against Washington and that's indicative of where they are now as they finish the season.
(On Cade McNown) The number one thing is he is a great competitor. When the game has been on the line, he is the guy that has stood up and made the plays. He is the guy that has made the difference. The other issue about Cade McNown is that he is multi-dimensional. He is not just a guy who drops straight back in the pocket and throws the ball, although he does that very well. But what he does is he moves in the pocket and has an uncanny knack to escape and still keeps focus down the field. Some guys escape to run. He does not escape to run. He escapes to throw, and that can affect the coverage. His ability to throw on the run is outstanding. Not only does he have an outstanding running game, he is an accomplished runner. He can run the option and do things to hurt you. I'm just delighted that next year he'll be playing in pro football not here.
(On the UCLA defense) I think when I say sophisticated, I look at it as the offensive coach preparing. It is not a straight- forward defense. It is a multiple defense and they are extremely active and a pressure defense. They've got a couple of big-play players in No. 35 and No. 50 (Larry Atkins and Brendon Ayanbadejo) that are all over the field. I don't look at where they rank, I look at what we have to deal with. They present some problems and that is a concern. Particularly because our quarterback has all of two career starts under his belt.
(On McNown and what pro scouts think of him) The reason that they're on the fence is because of arm strength. It's all the scouts. Then, when the season is over the coaches begin to travel the country and they make their evaluations. Right now, it's all measurable, how tall is he, how fast does he run, how hard does he throw. What I look at is the way he can do so many things to you. He has an unbelievable knack of being able to throw from many different positions with his arm. The classic dropback passer just has one delivery. But he can be accurate with all of his deliveries. From a coaching standpoint, that means he can get himself out of trouble. Now, can he stand in there and drill that 25-yard in to where they want it? That's the decision that they're going to have to make. But with what's going on in pro football with mobility, this is who you want. And most important, you want winners. This guy wins. Look at his junior and senior year. I'll be very surprised if he's not successful.
(On coaching with Bob Toledo at USC) What was great about that time, was we had both played in the Far Western Conference, which is Division II, coached in Division II and went to USC. We went different roads, but when we got here Bob was coaching defense and I was coaching offense. The fun part of it was the conversations back and forth about how he sees it from a defensive standpoint because had played quarterback and been an offensive coach all the way through. Since the time he left here, he became an offensive coach again. When I watch their offense and the trick plays, that's very much the creativity that Bob always had. He loves football and the strategy of football. We got along that way. We haven't kept a close relationship since then but certainly one where we talk from time to time.
(On trick plays) The reason trick plays are so effective is that they make the defense lay back. You're laying back all game waiting for that double-reverse fleaflicker, and you don't need your kind of natural aggressive game. And they're marching down the field on you and you're still waiting. You know what the coaches are going to say if you come up and the pass goes over your head. We do a certain amount of that every week. We did a marvelous job against Washington, but we had one earlier in the year and it was a wide-open touchdown. You have to be careful, and when you're playing against Al Borges and Bob Toledo you have to conscious that you're probably going to get on the opening play of the game and you're probably going to get three or four of them. You want to be prepared for them, but by the same token, you have to play your game. We've got six, so maybe we'll use them the first six plays of the game. Who's going to call the first one?
(On if UCLA or Notre Dame is more important) You're going to get me in trouble with that one. I'm not going to answer that one. I'll tell you this, there is a difference in the two games. From the time that I got here in January, I made it very clear that our ability to recruit in California, and use them to build the foundation of our program, was very critical. Clearly, our biggest rival in accomplishing that is UCLA. The fact that they have been ahead of us, it is important that at some point we defeat them to show that the tide has begun to turn. That's particularly important as it relates to the young high school players who look around and see where they want to spend four or five years. From a national standpoint, you've got Notre Dame and you can never tell Notre Dame that they're not the most important game on anyone's schedule. They're having an excellent year too. We'll play two of the best teams in the country back-to-back in the first year of a program with a quarterback that has two starts. It will be good for us because it will tell us where we are.
(On how the streak has affected recruiting) People have brought that up to me and have said it has been a concern. It's hard to put a finger on if it's been the game itself or the development of the programs. Bob Toledo was there as an assistant and now is in his third year. We've had a couple of coaches inbetween. I think it has affected it.
(On praising UCLA so much and if USC has a chance) Slim... Let's put it this way, they've built for five years to be where they are today. They are absolutely at the top of their game. Everybody recognizes that. And they're also playing well. Now, we come in and we are playing the best we've played this year, but quite frankly, our offensive line is starting their eighth or ninth games. Their offensive line has 30 starts, their quarterback's started 40 games. All you have to do is look at the statistics. In most cases, this is a clear-cut mismatch. But the difference is, it's USC-UCLA. And what that means is that you have players that have grown up with each other, who are both from the city, and you can throw it all out and say, hey, this can go either way because the emotional factor is so dramatic. That's the fun about city rivalries. We know them, they know us. Bob Toledo and I are a great example. It's a great rivalry. They're further than us, clearly, but in a game like this we might get lucky. You never know.
(On what Carson Palmer will learn from this game) First of all, I'm not going to tell you that when he played most of the Florida State game, that I thought he would be starting the UCLA game. But, the fact that he did that, that he was down in a hostile place against a very good football team, the fact that he had to go up to Oregon and lead us on a drive to try and win the game, these are things that have played into where we are now. Now, Cade McNown's started 40 games and Carson's started two. It's totally different. But we're at least started down that road. Carson Palmer was at the last two USC-UCLA games as a spectator. We're dealing with someone who is from Southern California and knows what this rivalry is about. He came here to be part of this game. He came to be part of the development and growth of the USC program. I don't think it will be overwhelming ... I'm interested in seeing how the team around him responds. How does our veteran receiver corps respond? Do we make the spectacular catches? Do we break the tackle and run with the ball? How do we respond in the running game to complement Carson? When you have a younger quarterback, people need to rally around him in a much different way than how they rally around Cade McNown. Nevertheless, the nature of that position, the nature of the stature of both men, is that they're a rallying point, a focal point of this game.
(On facing UCLA's balanced offense) That's one of the key concerns that I have. We have played very well against some teams that are clearly passing football teams. Now we face a team that's going to give us balance. One of the things that was good about the bye week is that it allowed us to play against each other. We took the offense and scrimmaged against the defense because our offense is more balanced. We began to get that mindset again. Most of it is getting the players to study the tape. You spent two hours instead of one watching the opponent. It's been a transition period for us and this is one of the areas that I'm really happy we had the bye week.
(On if UCLA is the best team in the conference) I think they may be the best team in the country. I'm not sure if they were five weeks ago. They played Oregon, and they played Cal, close games, Stanford, real close, Oregon State, super close, then handled Washington very well in a hostile environment. Right now they're at the top of their game. No doubt about it.
(On if he regrets the Oregon-UCLA comment) I believed it at the time. I had just finished watching where they were and my feeling was that Oregon was at the top of their game at the time. I didn't think UCLA was, that was my opinion. UCLA, particularly after last week, is. If they're not the premier team in the country, they're pretty darn close. Most everybody, even the computers, would agree with me.
(On the rankings) The issue with UCLA was simply how could they play so close to Stanford and Oregon State. That was the issue, but that happens over the course of a season. The important thing is they won. They found a way to win at the end to put them in a position they are now. It's all W's. That's pretty impressive.
(On if he likes coming in as the underdog) I would think there is clearly a lot more at stake for UCLA. I think in that sense, yes. But there's an asterick over here, and that's the number seven. I think what happens is, that begins to creep into the mindset of everybody, both on the UCLA side and USC side. You've got the USC group that says enough is enough. I think you're right, you look at it like they have everything to lose. They get knocked into the Rose Bowl if they lose. Goodness, when has that ever happened? But they have a chance to go to the Fiesta Bowl and win it all and 1954 is a long time ago. They've got a lot at stake. We're just crawling ourselves up the ladder and we've got a quarterback in his third start. Let's look at the reality of it. This is a great game, it's fantastic, but the seven wins in a row is a factor in this ballgame. I'm going to have them stand up and talk about it before the week is over. I haven't been a part of it. But I've got a bunch of seniors that when we beat Washington, all they could talk about was that we hadn't beat Washington in three years.
(On UCLA's DeShaun Foster) I'm very impressed with DeShaun Foster. We got ourselves in a battle with the kid who went to Michigan and DeShaun Foster and what I don't know, was the climate such that you could recruit both or did you have to pick at an early stage one or the other. The jury will be out on both their careers but DeShaun Foster is awfully impressive as a freshman. He might be as impressive as any freshman runner in the country. He's really done a nice job. You make a decision and you move on, and unfortunately our decision went to Michigan.
(More on Carson Palmer) The most important thing that he has is a calmness. He is a very composed, very poised, 18- year-old. That is something that you would expect of someone who has played for a long time or someone in pro football. I know he played a lot of big high school games. Carson is very relaxed. That is particularly important when he has to work with his coach, meaning me, because I am not that way. It's very good to have this calm demeanor. The other thing is that he has an extraordinary release. He can get the ball out of his hand very quickly. That was something that he was born with but also developed with excellent coaching as a youngster. I think that we will be able to reap the benefits of that here at USC. Like all young quarterbacks, he has a lot to learn about the sophistication of playing the position. At this point, he does a remarkable job. The only guy that's more excited about than me about this game, is probably Carson. This is what he came for.
