Monday, Nov. 2
Opening Statement: I am really impressed with this East Carolina football team. It all starts with the quarterback Pinkney. He is a dynamic player. The running backs are really coming along, and this wide receiver Harris is a special player too. [Number] 81 on the other side is getting it rolling now too. Defensively, they have eight seniors, they’ve got experience and they are very strong up front. They have a kicker that can kick it a mile. This is a really, really good football team that we are getting ready to face Thursday night.
Q: What is the team’s mentality and confidence at right now?
Beamer: We had a tough loss, but I think what we are playing for is pride in each other and pride in the football team, and we just have to go out and try to get a win. That is what we need to think about right now.
Q: What can the coaching staff say to uplift their spirits?
Beamer: We’ve got a good group of players. We’ve got good kids and good leadership. It is a tough loss and you just have to go on to the next week, and, like I said, we are playing for the pride of each other and the all the work we put into this thing. We need to work to get a win right now.
Q: How is Ryan Williams feeling at the moment?
Beamer: He has everybody’s support and he is a tough guy who will come through it. In athletics, you are out there and you have to realize there is some bad with some good. And there is going to be a lot of good in that guy, there already has been in the short time he has been our tailback. There is going to be a lot more good in the time he leaves here.
Q: Coming out of Thursday night’s game what did you to say to the team in the Saturday morning meeting?
Beamer: I told them that we were in the exact same position last year as far as record. We had just lost two conference games, but we kept working and stayed together. We kept getting better and we ended the season feeling pretty good about ourselves. That needs to take place now. I talked about some tough losses back in 1998. We lost three games that were tough, tough losses. But we came back and won the next ball games. That is life, you get disappointment in life and you have to come back from it. That is part of football, you are going to have disappointment and disappointment life, and how you come back from it is what is important.
Q: Did this loss take you a little bit longer to shake off?
Beamer: You have to move forward, there is no question about it you have to move forward, and we have such a tough opponent coming up. It doesn’t take long for you to figure out you had better forget about North Carolina and start thinking about East Carolina, because this crowd can play.
Q: Is there a little bit of weight off your shoulders now that the national championship talk has ceased?
Beamer: Well I don’t know about that, all I know about is that right now there is a lot of pride among this football team. They put in a lot of hard work into it, and they care about each other. They don’t want to disappoint each other. We have good kids, and they play hard. There hasn’t been a game this season that we haven’t played hard, but sometimes we have to play better and more consistent. These guys care and we are going to move forward with that in mind.
Q: Do you get the sense that your guys want to get some revenge for East Carolina last year?
Beamer: I think our guys want to play hard for each other, and understand that this is a football team that beat us last year. We need to play a great football game at their place to have a chance to win it.
Q: Talk about Michael Via
Beamer: He came in there and did okay. He is a good, young prospect. He is a smart guy and a tough guy who works at it. You know you are going to get a great effort from Michael, and I think you can count on that.
Q: What is the mood at linebacker with Gibson replacing Johnson?
Beamer: I think Lyndell has some real talent with a natural nose for the football. He is very quick and stocky and Jake will continue to play. Both of them are just young, and as I said, when you are young sometimes there is inconsistency. But both of them will play, and I like Lyndell’s possibilities.
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Chris Graham
