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 Lou Holtz chat transcript
Posted: Monday April 05, 1999 10:44 PM
South Carolina football coach Lou Holtz visited the CNN/SI chat channel on Monday, April 5. He took questions from the users. Here are some of the highlights: CNNSI_Host: What do you think South Carolina has to offer that Notre Dame couldn't give you? Coach_Holtz: Notre Dame is not comparable to another place. CNNSI_Host: Can the Gamecocks be competitive this year or will it take a few recruiting seasons to get the team where you want it? Coach_Holtz: Based on where we are now, we cannot be competitive. Yet I do not believe in a three or four year rebuilding program. Depends on how much we progress. Right now we are not a good football team by any way you wish to assess that. CNNSI_Host: Who has made the biggest impression on you in the Carolina spring drills so far and where is most help still needed? Coach_Holtz: John Abraham has the chance to be a great football player. We moved him to outside linebacker and he's been impressive. Our defense is far ahead of our offense. Boo Williams at running back and Cleveland Pinckney at nose tackle have both been impressive. Biggest problem? Well, that's difficult. We got so many problems I can't seven say grace over them all. Offensive line, running backs, receivers, quarterbacks would be a good place to start. We could not get on board Noah's Ark right now, because we do not have two of anything. CNNSI_Host: Since the SEC is the toughest conference in America, how long do you anticipate it will be until you can work your magic and win an SEC title? Coach_Holtz: We cannot do it this year. Sometime between now and the third millenium. CNNSI_Host: Are there any surprises of the spring. How are the young receivers doing? How about the quarterback situation? Coach_Holtz: I think (QB) Phil Petty has a lot to learn, but he is willing to learn. Our receivers are a question mark right now. I think Jermale Kelly shows some promise. I think Donovan Norman and Willis Ham have a chance. We may look at Carlos Spikes the rest of the spring at quarterback. He led his high school team to a state championship in Florida. CNNSI_Host: Are you planning to run the option at South Carolina? Will you dedicate your team to the option as much as you did in Arkansas? Coach_Holtz: I think we have to run the option. We seem to have a special knack for not blocking people. CNNSI_Host: How do you compare the talent level of your current South Carolina team with the Notre Dame team you inherited from Gerry Faust in 1986? Coach_Holtz: That Notre Dame team was much further advanced than this team is right now. We probably had somewhat similar situation in some areas. We had an established center and a fine tackle, a proven guard. The offensive line was not depleted and we had more experience at tailback and at quarterback with Steve Beuerlein. And we had great receivers, including Tim Brown and Mark Green. Defensively, we had people established. We had people there who had played and had success the season before. CNNSI_Host: As an Irish fan, I'd like to thank you for 11 great years. We still miss you and wish you luck in SC. What do you think your best Notre Dame team was? Coach_Holtz: I think maybe the '89 team was. The team that went 12-1. I think that was better than the '88 team. Also, the '93 team had great chemistry and balance on offense. The last two years were disappointing. We went 8-3, but lacked a receiver. Also, I owe the fans a great deal of gratitude. It was my pleasure to coach there. CNNSI_Host: In this day and age, most high school football players pick their college, because they have just came off a good year, (e.g. Texas), or because the school has great tradition (Notre Dame). What can a school that has neither, do to persuade top notch recruits to come to their school? Coach_Holtz: I think that common sense is a great asset. Look at a forty-year-decision not a four-year-decision. You look at a school that's winning and they have a lot of athletes. Come here and get to play. Or come here and you can beat them; they think you're good enough to come play for 'em, you're also good enough to come here and beat them. To go to a school that's been winning is the same as someone from Europe saying I'm moving to the United States because they haven't lost a war. CNNSI_Host: Coach, how is the high school talent pool in the Carolinas? Coach_Holtz: I think Carolina has outstanding high school football. As good as any in the country. It has great coaches and good spring practices. Look at other schools. At Notre Dame, their defense started three players from Carolina. Tennessee started three defensive linemen from the state of South Carolina. There is an image in South Carolina that if you are any good, you have to go out of state to prove it. We hope to change that. We want to win with South Carolina players. But we'll also recruit New Jersey and Ohio and we will win in the SEC. We ain't what we want to be and we ain't what we're gonna be; but we sure ain't what we used to be. CNNSI_Host: Coach, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk to us today. We appreciate it. Thank you everyone for joining our chat today. For future chats, please visit http://CNNSI.com/
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