[College Sports News]

With Notre Dame beginning your schedule, your players are so excited they're ready to play tomorrow. How about you?
"No, I'm not ready to play tomorrow. We can use all the practice we can get to get ready to play this ball game. But it is exciting. The great thing is that it has created a sense of urgency all off-season, and it will create a sense of urgency in our pre-season preparation. That's a great advantage. The disadvantage is you have to go play a great football team in the opening game of the season."

With the way the last three games of 2007 left a bitter taste in everyone's mouths, would you rather the players hang on to that, or leave it behind?
"I think you need to keep a piece of that. It sticks in your craw a little bit. If you get to a point where you're at peace with it, then you'll settle for it again, and I hope they don't make peace with it. I hope a little bit of that sticks in their craw. It does in mine."

Do you consider Tashard Choice a pre-season Heisman Trophy candidate, and with a name like Choice, how would you market him?
"First of all, that's not my job. My job's not to market guys. My job is to put guys in position to be the best player they can be. Tashard played great last year. To me, he worked out and had a better off-season that he had last year. We've got four or five offensive linemen returning. We have a chance to have another good year running the football. He's very, very good runner. You decide all that other stuff. I want to make sure he does a great job on the field and put him in position to be the best player you can be."

Quoting The Yellow Jackets