Pac-12 Conference Football Media Day Jedd Fisch
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Pac-12 Conference Football Media Day Tuesday, July 27, 2021 Hollywood, California, USA Arizona Wildcats Jedd Fisch community service, over 700 hours of community service. Press Conference They've taken care of their bodies. They understand the importance of being available this fall. JEDD FISCH: Good afternoon, everybody. Guess I'm We have 93% of our team vaccinated. We have eight second to last, which is what you guys normally rank me players out of the 118 on the roster that currently are not. anyway, so it's a good start to Pac-12 Media Day We believe it's a competitive advantage to get vaccinated, (laughter). to live freely, let's say, in terms of their health and their wellness. We want our players to take care of themselves Excited to be here. Super excited to be a part of this day in every way, shape or form. today, representing the University of Arizona. Thrilled on where our program's going. Thrilled on where it's gone the We're excited about some of the things that we've done last seven months. Really excited about the team that we with our team in regards to We Educate Wednesday, we have here. started a program with our team where they have been able to learn from and hear from some of the very best in I'd say we have two outstanding leaders that we brought all professions, all walks of life. with us, Anthony Pandy, Stanley Berryhill, two fifth-year players that have been a part of a lot of coaching changes, We've had the 17th surgeon general of the United States have been a part of a lot of different staffs. Both of them speak to our team last Wednesday. We've had Sean had opportunities to go elsewhere at the end of this year McVay speak to our team. Jim Caldwell spoke to our and both of them decided to stay. They've become team, we've had Barry Scheck from the Innocence Project incredible leaders for our program. Super excited about speak to our team. We've had guys like Mike Lombardi that. and Howie Roseman, NFL general managers. In turn we've also had professors from our university in everything It's personal for me, it's personal for my family to be a part from indigenous law to African American studies to Title IX. of this university and be a part of our program. My family has embraced Tucson, my wife and my three girls We recognize the landscape of college football. We absolutely love it. We're excited to make it home for a very recognize the landscape of building a program. We are long time. excited to do it. We've embraced it. We believe in it. We believe Tucson is a special place. We have brought in a We've worked extremely hard over the course of the last lot of transfers that have been at other universities from seven months to not just change the culture but create our around the country that have come to join our program. own culture. We talk about from the very beginning an We've brought a lot of people back to the state of Arizona. expectation of really taking a mindset of becoming a pro. We believe it is our job to recruit Arizona better than it's When we say 'becoming a pro' we talk to our players about ever been recruited. being purposeful, being resilient and original in everything they do. We talk to our team about the values that we I 100% believe that if you're going to choose a state have in our program and how important it is that we don't university, choose the one in your own state first and need to live in a world of rules as long as we live in a world foremost. If we can get guys to come to the University of of values. Arizona from the state of Arizona, we are going to do very, very well. Our program and our team has completely embraced it. Our guys have done an unbelievable job academically We also believe in our neighboring states and how since we've arrived. It's the highest GPA they've ever had. important recruiting is there. We are going to spend every They've done an unbelievable job when it comes to waking moment doing the best job we possibly can to 110748-1-1253 2021-07-27 23:01:00 GMT Page 1 of 6 recruit the very, very best to come to the University of Arizona. Ricky and Chuck, they exude passion and joy. What we get from them is every day you have a coach of the We hired a great staff. We hired Don Brown, who not even safeties and a coach of the defensive line that has done arguably, statistically is the best defensive coordinator in that, been there, been to the NFL, coached in the NFL, college football over the last eight years. We were able to played in the NFL, drafted in the NFL, and were some of get him from the University of Michigan. He had the the best players that ever played at the University of number one ranked defense at Boston College in 2015, the Arizona. But they love it. They love it. We love having number one ranked defense at Michigan in 2016, and a top them around. Our players benefit from it. five defensive for four out of the last five years. Q. The uniforms, there's been a lot of fans asking to Offensively we hired Brennan Carroll, for all of you in L.A. bring the uniforms back to what it used to be. Did I get you must be familiar with the name. It's Pete Carroll's son. that inkling that we're going to get some new uniforms Brennan was at USC. Brennan was with me at the this season? University of Miami. Brennan was at the Seattle Seahawks the last six or seven years, to be our offensive coordinator. JEDD FISCH: Yeah, I think I'm going to tell you the same thing I tell the recruits: Don't worry about the uniforms. We We hired Jimmie Dougherty who was most recently at got to play well. Hopefully these uniforms will look good on UCLA the last four years, to join us and become our them. I think everybody will be happy with the way they passing game coordinator. look. We believe our staff is as good as it gets. We believe in But I do believe in tradition. I do believe in basics. I our players, we believe in our program. I am extremely believe in being able to wear the same helmet for every grateful to our administration for giving me this opportunity game. to be here today. Q. Speaking about traditions, what game day So I will open it up to any and all questions that you might traditions are you going to bring back? Are you going have. to come up with new ones? Q. All I see is joy. I've been covering this team for a JEDD FISCH: It's like a layup right there (laughter). while now. I love the joy that you've brought to the program. Seeing Ricky Hunley and Chuck Cecil full of In terms of game day, we are going to try to change as joy as well, wanting this more than anything, knowing many much as we can and embrace what's worked. For you also wanted a job like this has meant to a lot of us, we're absolutely going to do the catwalk. We're excited fans. What have you learned from those two coaches about that. I've always had dreams of being a college about the University of Arizona that's helped you? head coach one day and getting off that bus with my wife and leading a team. We're going to do that. JEDD FISCH: Yeah, well, thank you. Joy actually, I want to give some credit there to Steve Kerr, another Arizona We're going to incorporate some new songs. We're going Wildcat. Anybody that's done any research and read or incorporate a little bit more of a party atmosphere. I really listened to any podcasts that Steve has done, one of the believe it should be the best four-hour party. That's what four values of the Golden State Warriors is joy. I've done a college football is. If you miss out on that, you're missing lot of research in my past. I always felt like if I ever had a out -- we all missed out on it in 2020. We need to find a chance to build my own program, joy was going to way to get a party atmosphere back. We're going to bring surround it. a deejay right in the heart of the ZonaZoo. We're going to make it as much fun as humanly possible. Bringing in Ricky Hunley and Chuck Cecil and Tedy Bruschi gave me an opportunity to bring in three Hall of In the third quarter, we're going to sing some songs, Famers. We only have four. So the fact we have three hopefully win some ballgames. college football Hall of Famers on our staff in different capacity gives me a great chance to be successful. Q. Anthony Pandy said you were kind of like Thanos when you came here, you snapped your finger and When it comes to Tedy, he has really done a great job for everything changed.