Aug. 29, 2006

On Idaho State quarterback Matt Gutierrez, who is a former transfer from Michigan:
"He is a really good player. He never lost a game in high school. On offense they have nine guys back, they have a really good receiver in Eddie Thompson and they are going to be a very good team."

On not being able to watch a lot of film on Matt Gutierrez:
"The only thing you can do is go by what they have done in the past and assume they are going to throw the ball a little bit more. There was hardly any film on him but we do have quite a bit of film on Idaho State from last year."

On UNLV opening the season at home:
"I just love playing at home as opposed to opening on the road. We have to go out and play great and be 1-0. I know that sounds like a cliché but that is what we've got to do. My deal is that we have to play the best we can play."

On preparing sophomore quarterback Rocky Hinds to start his first collegiate game:
"What we are trying to do is have him going into the game knowing everything we are doing inside out and be able to execute it confidently. I think there will be some similarities to what he has done in practice. I think he has done a lot of good things during practice but every once in a while he does something that is not so good."

On the spread offense in his second year at UNLV:
"We have tweaked it and adjusted it and we are going to be a little bit different this year. There are more people running it and there is more out there on how to defend it and so you try to stay one step ahead."

"We executed it the best last year in our last game against Colorado State and we really should have won that game. I expect us to take off from where we left off at the end of the last year. And the other key point is that I expect to get better throughout the year."