Opening statement: "I think we've had a very productive camp. We've had a lot of improvement out of our guys that are taking those jumps we hoped they would through summer workouts. I think our football team is at a point where they're ready to play a game and have the score count. This week, we host what's expected to be a very improved Tulane football team, led by an excellent head coach, Willie Fritz. He has won everywhere he's been - junior college, Central Missouri, Sam Houston State, Georgia Southern - everywhere he's been, he's won. Certainly from my background, I respect the way he's climbed the profession. There aren't a lot of us, especially at this level, who work their way through the levels like he has. It's his 24th year as a head coach, he knows what he's doing. He knows how to run a program, how to run an offense, a defense, a special teams. We know they'll be extremely well coached.

“Defensively they return one of the most experienced defenses in the country. I think they have more than 140 combined starts. Certainly, up front, it starts with their three technique, Tanzel Smart, he's projected to be a mid-round draft choice. He's big, he's athletic, he's very physical. He's going to be a very difficult matchup for us. And at end, both [Robert] Kennedy and [Ade] Aruna we think are very athletic players who can rush the passer, and certainly our tackles will be challenged. Their linebackers are led by Nico Marley and Eric Thomas. These guys are very experienced, Marley has 230 tackles the last two seasons. In the secondary, they're long and athletic. [Parry] Nickerson and [Donnie] Lewis are their corners; these guys have played a lot of football for them. At safety, [Jarrod] Franklin's numbers in terms of vertical jump and running, just athletically, he's going to be as good as anyone we see.

“Offensively, it's a system offense. We anticipate that they'll be doing what they ran at Georgia Southern. This is a tough prep. You don't see a lot of option. Everything they do, in terms of dive, the quarterback pitch, the way they get into their back sets and the personnel groups they use, they go fourdeep at tailback...Openers are always tough, especially with a new coaching staff. You're not exactly sure what you're going to get. Having said that, I think we've had a good camp, and our guys our excited to play.”

On the excitement of the first game...

"Now, it counts. We'll have a number of guys playing for the first time. First games are never clean. I think the first games come down to who can make the least amount of mistakes in terms of turnovers, the kicking game. It's really important in the first game not to beat yourself. I don't care how many years you do this, the first game, the stomach is buzzing, you have the butterflies. If you don't feel that way, you're probably in the wrong field.