Skip Holtz Quotations

It will be a great challenge for us to stop them on offense. I think our defense has a good grasp on what we are trying to do, now it's time to go out and execute in a real game.

When Chris Johnson runs for three yards, it makes you a little concern. I don't know if we are creating huge holes for them. We have to look at it and try to figure out what the problem is. This is a defense that plays a shell and will make you get four, five or six and say in a 80-yard drive you will shoot yourself in the foot. That worries me because we have had a tendency to shoot ourselves with mistakes.

Right now, we've got one in a row. I'm not really a statistics guy. I don't use a lot of that for motivation.

Right now, we've got one in a row.

It's all about making plays. While I was pleased with the intensity, enthusiasm and the physical part of it, this is the stage of the spring where you look for execution and people who consistently make plays and a difference out there. As I've said before, this is a work in progress and changes are part of it.

When you look at the number of yards per carry, when you face a (defensive coordinator) Joe Lee Dunn defense, it concerns me. I have had the opportunity to play (against) him (for) three years when he was at Mississippi State. He creates an awful lot of problems to you as an offense. You can't run a traditional offense against him.

James Pinkney has taken himself to another level with his play. He is really understanding the weapons that he has and has a chance to be great.

He's a great back. He's strong. He's powerful. I could go on and on and on about him. I think he is as good as the billing and the hype.

This was a big scrimmage for us today in terms of evaluating players. We ran around 100 plays and came away virtually healthy. I wanted to find out if our players could stay focused when they became tired and hot and not have any mental busts. Our staff wanted to see where we stood heading into the preparation of Duke. It's safe to say that right now our defense is well ahead of the offense.

On the other side, our glaring concern right now comes at the center position. We must have put the ball on the ground 10 times or so today during the quarterback-center exchange alone. This is something we'll continue to address each day until we find the right personnel or combination. I know it's still awful early but it is something we need to get rectified pretty quickly.