Wilson a Key Figure at His First Ivy League Media Day
8/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football, General
NEW HAVEN, CONN. ? Norries Wilson was a hot topic in his first appearance at Ivy League media day. The Lions' first-year head coach was the only one asked to speak to the entire group of 100 media members, coaches, and athletics staff at the Yale Golf Club gathering and gave 10 interviews following the brief formal session.
Wilson expressed his gratitude to the Columbia administration for facilitating a change in infrastructure. “Hopefully, we can translate that change to success on the football field,” Wilson said.
He cited the availability of lockers on campus for the players, a conference area inside the football office suite and upgraded equipment as examples of ways in which things had improved.
Columbia was chosen to finish last by members of the media in the preseason media poll. Knowing that his will be a team that has to prove itself in 2006 and beyond, Wilson appeared unfazed. “I can't control that,” he said of the unfavorable prediction for the Lions. “I can only control what goes on Saturday afternoons.”
Harvard was picked to finish first with 116 points and nine first-place votes. Penn and defending league-champion Brown were separated by just five points, with Penn having a slight 99-94 edge for second place, despite Brown's three first-place votes to Penn's two.
There were many areas of conversation for Wilson in the two-hour media session:
Wilson on being a head coach: “You have to be able to problem-solve and make sound decisions. It makes you manage your time better because there are more demands on your time.”
On his personality as a coach: “I am hard to play for and easy to get along with.”
On this year's team: “We have enough talent to be competitive in the league. Our strengths will be tight end and defensive backs. Our defensive backs will be as good as anybody's in the league. We'll be young up front, and decent at tailback and quarterback.”
On goals for the season: “We want to be 10-0. Realistically, we have to win our non-conference games and be competitive in the league.
On changing a culture through attention to details: “We have to change the way we perceive our opponents. We can't be scared to line up against a team expected to win the league or a physical team like Penn. We talk about winning snaps. We talk about finishing practices, finishing plays and finishing drills.”
On switching to a 3-3-5 defense: “It is easier to recruit to a three-man front, but we also want to get more speed on the field.”
The morning opened with Jim Maconaghy, the head of officials for the league, speaking about several rules changes. The keys points included
- one-inch tees on kickoffs to encourage more runbacks
- banning tinted eyeshields for players' helmets
- the clock will now start when the ball is kicked on a kickoff
- on a possession change, the clock will start when the ball is placed and “ready for play”, rather than on the snap
The final rule change has caused some concern among the coaches, according to Cornell head coach Jim Knowles, who noted “this will certainly change some strategy” due to the game being sped up as a result.
The Ivy League football season begins on Sept. 16, with all eight teams facing non-conference foes.
- Harvard (9) 116 pts
- Penn (2) 99 pts
- Brown (3) 94 pts
- Cornell 79 pts
- Yale (2) 77 pts
- Princeton 62 pts
- Dartmouth 31 pts
- COLUMBIA 18 pts
