During the 2019 AAC Media Day we went around and spoke to various coaches and players and got their thoughts on the Memphis Tigers, the conference, and college football.
Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen is new to the conference after leaving the Big12's West Virginia for the Cougars of Houston. What drew him to the AAC?
"It's a great league. There's quality coaches and players. The thing about the American Conference is the cities. You have Houston, Dallas, Philly, Memphis, Cincinnati, and Orlando. You have all these awesome cities to play in. They all have great fan bases."
He took time to talk about the Tigers.
"Mike Norvell has done a great job. I know I haven't gone toe to toe with Memphis since I was an assistant at Houston ten years ago and Memphis wasn't in a good spot back then. Now, Mike's done a great job and he has quality players and has put players in the NFL. They put up a lot of points and win a lot of games. I have a lot of respect for their program and what he's done."
UCF head coach Josh Heupel spoke about Memphis and talked about how tough they are to play against.
"They're athletic and very physical. They have great skill players on both sides of the ball. I obviously have great respect for their coaching staff. When you go against a great team that's well coached you should have a great amount of respect for them."
UCF Offensive lineman Jordan Johnson also spoke about the Tigers/Knights recent rivalry.
"It's a lot of fun because we've seen them multiple times each year. We know they are going to give us their A-game and we have to bring our A-game if we want a chance to compete with them. I remember vividly playing in the USF game and looking at the TV's at the USF stadium and Memphis was playing Houston. It was basically the game to see who was going to go to the championship. I was like...Houston, please pull through for me because if we have to play Memphis again...I don't know, I don't know (laughing)."
UCF Safety Richie Grant spoke up about the playing Memphis as well.
"We've played them four times in the past two years so...I mean...it's a different type of game because you see each other so much. You have have to expect the unexpected. You have to expect the trick plays and all kinds of stuff."
Memphis isn't on the regular season schedule this year, is that a relief for Johnson and Grant?
"(Laughing) Well, we know we'll see them again."
Temple hasn't played Memphis since 2016 and now the Owls are back on the Tigers schedule. Owl linebacker Shawn Bradley is excited to see the Tigers again.
"I think their stadium is excellent and they are competitive. They are a really good team and I'm excited to play them again this year."
Owl linebacker Chapelle Russell agreed, "The atmosphere out there is great. They have a great program. They are a team that's ready to come out and play every day and I can't wait to play them again."
We took an anonymous poll while at the Media Day and asked the players which stadium they most enjoyed playing at and they could not choose their own stadium.
They chose UCF as the top choice followed by USF and Memphis coming in third.
Another question we asked was which school's fan bases intimidate you the most?
Memphis was the top choice with one UCF player saying, "Memphis fans are crazy." UCF was second while Cincinnati fans came in third.
Who has the best helmet in the AAC?
South Florida won the vote but Memphis was a close second. One Houston player said, "They haven't worn them in awhile but those Memphis chrome helmets were straight fire." Cincinnati's helmet came in third.
We also asked if they root for their conference brethren when they play teams against the P5. The answer was unanimous.
"We root for all our teams to beat everyone outside our conference," said one USF player.
With the AAC moving their offices to Texas soon, we asked the players if they would like to see the Media Day stay in Newport. If no, where would they like to see it?
The majority of the players said they like having it in Newport. It's a place they normally wouldn't get to see. Some of the ones that said no mentioned that they would like to see it in Dallas.
Why Dallas?
"It's close to us and I wouldn't have to fly there. I'm not a fan of flying."
Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen is new to the conference after leaving the Big12's West Virginia for the Cougars of Houston. What drew him to the AAC?
"It's a great league. There's quality coaches and players. The thing about the American Conference is the cities. You have Houston, Dallas, Philly, Memphis, Cincinnati, and Orlando. You have all these awesome cities to play in. They all have great fan bases."
He took time to talk about the Tigers.
"Mike Norvell has done a great job. I know I haven't gone toe to toe with Memphis since I was an assistant at Houston ten years ago and Memphis wasn't in a good spot back then. Now, Mike's done a great job and he has quality players and has put players in the NFL. They put up a lot of points and win a lot of games. I have a lot of respect for their program and what he's done."
UCF head coach Josh Heupel spoke about Memphis and talked about how tough they are to play against.
"They're athletic and very physical. They have great skill players on both sides of the ball. I obviously have great respect for their coaching staff. When you go against a great team that's well coached you should have a great amount of respect for them."
UCF Offensive lineman Jordan Johnson also spoke about the Tigers/Knights recent rivalry.
"It's a lot of fun because we've seen them multiple times each year. We know they are going to give us their A-game and we have to bring our A-game if we want a chance to compete with them. I remember vividly playing in the USF game and looking at the TV's at the USF stadium and Memphis was playing Houston. It was basically the game to see who was going to go to the championship. I was like...Houston, please pull through for me because if we have to play Memphis again...I don't know, I don't know (laughing)."
UCF Safety Richie Grant spoke up about the playing Memphis as well.
"We've played them four times in the past two years so...I mean...it's a different type of game because you see each other so much. You have have to expect the unexpected. You have to expect the trick plays and all kinds of stuff."
Memphis isn't on the regular season schedule this year, is that a relief for Johnson and Grant?
"(Laughing) Well, we know we'll see them again."
Temple hasn't played Memphis since 2016 and now the Owls are back on the Tigers schedule. Owl linebacker Shawn Bradley is excited to see the Tigers again.
"I think their stadium is excellent and they are competitive. They are a really good team and I'm excited to play them again this year."
Owl linebacker Chapelle Russell agreed, "The atmosphere out there is great. They have a great program. They are a team that's ready to come out and play every day and I can't wait to play them again."
We took an anonymous poll while at the Media Day and asked the players which stadium they most enjoyed playing at and they could not choose their own stadium.
They chose UCF as the top choice followed by USF and Memphis coming in third.
Another question we asked was which school's fan bases intimidate you the most?
Memphis was the top choice with one UCF player saying, "Memphis fans are crazy." UCF was second while Cincinnati fans came in third.
Who has the best helmet in the AAC?
South Florida won the vote but Memphis was a close second. One Houston player said, "They haven't worn them in awhile but those Memphis chrome helmets were straight fire." Cincinnati's helmet came in third.
We also asked if they root for their conference brethren when they play teams against the P5. The answer was unanimous.
"We root for all our teams to beat everyone outside our conference," said one USF player.
With the AAC moving their offices to Texas soon, we asked the players if they would like to see the Media Day stay in Newport. If no, where would they like to see it?
The majority of the players said they like having it in Newport. It's a place they normally wouldn't get to see. Some of the ones that said no mentioned that they would like to see it in Dallas.
Why Dallas?
"It's close to us and I wouldn't have to fly there. I'm not a fan of flying."
