Tyrone Willingham Quotations

When you take that job, you understand. And I think that's one of the reasons that I took the job, because it is a place that has had some of the most prestigious coaches in the country with some of the greatest accomplishments in football. So, you take it knowing that. And hopefully you're prepared to try to live up to that type of manner.

We have quite a few players from California so it makes it easier for their families to get there and see them play,

My first focus was to have a guy I felt very comfortable with as our leader of our football team. I've always said I don't care if he throws end over end or can run around mountains, as long as he can lead our football team to victories.

I would probably venture to believe that it would be what Mississippi Valley State did some years ago with their offense (featuring quarterback Willie Totten and wide receiver Jerry Rice). I think some of it has come from the northwest portion of the country.

I got my first real inkling of this (Monday) night. The long and short of it is our compliance office, in doing the things they do, checking and double checking and making sure that everything is right, brought this to our attention. We followed through (Tuesday) morning.

I have been very, very pleased with the play that we have received from Isaiah,

I don't coach their team. I have to coach our team. Our job is to prevent them from scoring. We have to do our job.

I deal with it every day. The proliferation of recruiting has created different mindsets -- for all sports. It's a totally different makeup in many individuals than it was 20 years ago.

I am keeping J.R. very close. I like a lot of things that he is doing. I am still wrestling with the decision of whether to activate him.

But that is a mixed bag of blessings,

I don't think we have the right security.

He works hard every day, he studies and prepares himself as well as any of our starters. There is no question he has a strong desire to be a part of what's going on. But he is a team player and he places that above self. And that, to me, is very special. That's what really makes the core of a good football team when you have guys who put team before self.

He has dedicated himself to being a good quarterback, and I think so far, he is moving in that direction.

He is amazing. You read so much stuff about the other guy across town from him (Southern California's Reggie Bush) that he almost becomes kind of a forgotten back,

We've got to improve on our play in the fourth quarter. That's the area we've got to tighten up.

Hasty is still in contention. He has done some good things.

He's had those flashes. That's good, because Corey is one of those guys I think can really come in and do some things for us. Since he had the break in his wrist, he's been trying to bounce his way back to what we all expect and hope he'll be.

He just came up to me, ... It was awful nice of him to come away from his team, to take the time.

Kenny has had a good winter. I think he sees himself performing at a level that was much above last year, for whatever reason, and that's exciting. He has put in the effort, the focus and the concentration. He's trying to regain the spot and the level that he was playing at before.

I think we have a good relationship that is based on the right principles. But at the same time, it's still a very competitive relationship, whether it's golf or football.

I think that does offer some nice options for some of our guys, because we do have a fair amount of California guys on the team. But at the same time I think they are excited to go play a football game.

I think we're going to look very closely at our situation to make sure we have things in the right order. I think we've got to make sure we've got that situation where it needs to be.

That creates a little hype and energy for them, ... That's a very positive thing if you can control it and keep their focus and not get distracted.

I think he didn't feel like he needed any assistance. I think he felt that with his Notre Dame background he was in pretty good shape in terms of understanding the program, what he wanted to do. I think he wanted to come in and have a fresh, brand new approach.

I think he didn't feel like he needed any assistance, ... I think he felt that with his Notre Dame background he was in pretty good shape in terms of understanding the program, what he wanted to do. I think he wanted to come in and have a fresh, brand new approach.

I think Johnny has done very well. Johnny has been under very difficult circumstances, with the way we, or should I say I, managed to get him back into the lineup. But, I think he has handled himself very mature, and he is preparing himself to be our number two.

We haven't even practiced yet, but all of our positions are wide open.

The problems of our offense are never just limited to one person. We as coaches believe we have to do a better job to put him in better position. We have to have better execution, and that's the way we look at it.

We'll have a clearer picture on that on Tuesday. Is it conceivable that he might play? We don't know yet. I think that's a very honest answer.

We won't know until practice today, until he goes out and tries a few snaps and sees what happens. Then after that, we'll probably be able to make a decision one way or the other. You'll probably know tomorrow.

We're trying to get them to understand it's perfect practice that gives you good performance, ... practices have been up and down.

There is a certain segment of our fans who believe that this is the most important rivalry that we have.

You have to be great at reading body language. Hopefully I continue to get better at that so I can do a better job of knowing where their minds are when their mouths aren't saying anything.

You go too late, then you miss a valuable option. I think that is something he has to get a feel for and it is something that we encourage him to do. But the key for him is to make the decision at the right time. I think he is getting better and better each day.

Everything gets more difficult. It adds another dimension to their lives.

Because it is a very fertile area to recruit, it's always nice to go there and do well. It should provide some guys an opportunity that maybe they don't get because of their football schedules to see us,

I've been very, very pleased with the play we've received from Isaiah. I think he's dedicated himself to being a good quarterback and I think so far he's moving in that direction. I think he has a chance to be very special.

I've been very pleased with what Sonny has done. He has really worked to make himself a good player. I think it shows up not just in practices but also in games.

I've been pleased with what they've done so far, the group of them. The most notable of them is Carl Bonnell. It's nice to see him back out there and starting to get involved. ... He seems to be moving pretty well.

I've been pleased with what Carl has done and he is so much better than he was a year ago this time.

You need guys with special talents, special minds, who don't think like everybody else.

This is a very, very good football team. That is a football team that understands how to win. When they have an opportunity, they know how to take advantage of it.

There's always going to be that. He hasn't even practiced with the (first or second units). Hopefully, he'll regain it quickly.

It's a great rivalry, but I didn't think we lived up to our end of it.

It's a rare skill to do both of those well and to know the right time to run and the right time to throw. But I think he's come along very well in that area.

It's not just this loss. This football team has suffered a lot of losses. At some point, we've got to break that trend. It's not just about losing games. It's about the mindset that accompanies that. We've got to break it.

The Notre Dame episode, I won't touch that, ... I don't talk about it. It's a wonderful place and we did some good things there. I didn't do all I wanted to do.

That is a very costly loss for this team. He is the heart and soul -- not just our defense -- but our team.

That is something that every Pac-10 team should start with, whether you are the last-place team or the first-place team. That's why you are in the conference ù to get to that pinnacle. We'd like to be one of those teams, so this is an important game. And by its place on the schedule, if you can win it, then you are sitting there alone for a little while.

I've done this before, ... But it's meaningful because there will be many others that will make something of it.

not discouraged, but disappointed. ... As a matter of fact, there is still a lot of light at the end of the tunnel. We just have to find a way to get to it.

Any time that you can have that me-against-the-world attitude and sometimes when you travel that's the attitude that you develop, because you're on the plane and it's just you and your teammates, you walk into the stadium, and there's not a lot of help around what you're creating really is a focus. And any time you can get your team really to focus on that game your chances go up that things go well for you. That's whether home or away, but usually at home there are more distractions.

I'm not going to sit and say that it was one of Johnny's best days. ... There were some plays I think he'd like back. But I know Johnny and Johnny will bounce back and have a much better day.

If you can take that aspect of the offense away from them, you can really take the heart of that team.

If you don't practice, it hurts you. That doesn't sort it out, or make a decision. I don't think there's anyone who has said, 'Coach, I'm your quarterback,' yet.

If you look at five plays, we get those plays, we win, It won't be our coaching style to be into moral victories.

I hesitate to ever put a label on best ever. In their generation, in this time span, and for the type of football they're playing, there's no question that right now they are dominating the landscape.

in terms of our coaching staff, we can only worry about what we have. We have got to make them the best players that they can be. I don't want to get into a discussion about whether we have talent or whether we don't.

But with all of that, you can't lose your focus, you've got to play the football game.

But I think anyone that plays him walks away clearly impressed with his toughness, with his speed, with just his all-around running ability.

He's one of the truly great members of the organization and a real representative of the game because he is focused not just on football, but on developing people the right way.

I don't think coach Willingham knows what a hint is.

I will not rule out anything. I don't speculate on my own future. I'll wait and see what happens.

My goals have always been to inspire people to be the best they could be, on and off the field.

As you understand the game of football, you understand that it is about wins and losses.

It's certainly a loss for us here at the University of Washington, because Jeff Compher has been a wonderful friend and administrator. Jeff is a football man first, but he has the compassion and desire to make all of Northern Illinois' programs successful. He's one heck of a guy.

Years ago, when I was (at Stanford), you had maybe one or two teams -- at one time I was part of one of those teams -- you didn't have to worry about, ... Now it's not that way in the conference. A lot of the teams that were once at the bottom kind of have their games together and are making their way to the top.

As a matter of fact, there is still a lot of light at the end of the tunnel. We just have to find a way to get to it.