October 20, 2009

Tim Murphy Quotes From Ivy Football Teleconference

Photo Courtesy: David Silverman Photography

 CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Tim Murphy, the Thomas Stephenson Family Head Coach for Harvard Football, recently took part in the Ivy League's weekly teleconference. Below are his quotes from the event.

Additionally, coach Murphy will give more insight into his Crimson as he takes part in the weekly New England Football Writers' Association Luncheon Wednesday afternoon at Harvard's Dillon Field House.

The event - the nation's oldest weekly football media gathering, now entering its 81st season - begins at noon and features head coaches, players and administrators from around the region from all levels of NCAA competition. For the first time, this year's event will be streamed live via the web on GoCrimson.com.

Fans can login to Harvard's Multimedia section of the website to watch the streams. Recaps of the event will be posted in the afternoon and will be sent to media and area schools as well. Local fans can do even better as the event is open to the public for a fee of $10 per person.

Each school's coach/administrator will speak briefly about his team's last game, a preview up the upcoming games and an assessment of his team's top players. Additionally, the weekly Gold Helmet Award is given to the preceding week's top players. The award is sponsored by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston and the weekly winners - one from Divisions I and one from Divisions II/III - are presented with a plaque.

Tim Murphy Quotes from the weekly Ivy League Teleconference
Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009

On Harvard’s loss to Lafayette last week:
I thought we got outplayed and outcoached by a very good Lafayette team. We knew they were a great football team, and I thought they were a little hungrier and a better team. We got down early, but had some chances later on, but Lafayette kept up the pressure. Our players played hard until the end, but Lafayette deserved to win.

On Preparing for Princeton:
Despite their record, they’re a very good team. You can look at the way they played Colgate in that Thursday-night game earlier this month. We’re solid in all areas, but we need to improve in all areas to have a successful game this week.

On Harvard’s Dynamic Running Game:
A team can never have enough depth at running back. We were without two of our running backs against Lehigh, but Cheng Ho played hard in that game and ran for 132 yards and a touchdown. Against Cornell, we had all three back and playing well and we’re very fortunate to have all three of them.

On the Ivy League Standings:
We are grateful to be 2-0 in conference play. On any given week, any team in our league can beat you. We were fortunate to win the game against Brown earlier in the year and had to hold off a tough Cornell team. The remainder of our schedule is filled with an awful lot of good football teams. Every week is going to be a battle.

On the Princeton Defense:
They have a strong linebacking corps, and their four guys up front are very strong, not to mention their depth in the secondary. One of their linebackers, Steven Cody, might be the best football player in the Ivy league, and he also might be the best professional prospect in our conference. With him in the lineup and the other players they have, Princeton has a very strong defense.