Cam Ward’s Heisman odds keep getting better, but his focus remains on going 1-0. He met with reporters to discuss the team:
On Georgia Tech: I would say the biggest thing I've seen with Georgia Tech is that they can do a lot of different things, whether they want to go 3-down, like they did versus Syracuse, or play base, like they did in the other games. We’re going to have to adjust to what they're going to do throughout the game, and execute plays.
On a major thing he’s trying to improve: I'd say ball security. If you want to get to the next level, ball security is job security. That's something that Coach Dawson is preaching to me. I'm honing in on it myself. Other than that, just trying to create more explosive plays in the run game and the pass game as an offense. That's something we've been good at, but we also missed a lot of plays the previous Saturday. We're just trying to play to our standard every Saturday.
On his connection with Xavier Restrepo: I would say just the work ethic that X shows up with every day. You talk about a guy who's in the film room, who adjusts his routes to the way I throw the football. With the IQ that X has, he makes my job easier. He wins every time in man coverage. I know as long as I’ve got #7 out there, I’ve got a wide open receiver to throw to.
On the progress of the defensive backs: Every week the defensive back room takes a step. Even today in practice, we got into it a little bit. One thing about us, we're a competitive team. We're going to play for each other. We always have a next man up mentality. Losing [Jadais Richard], that's going to hurt us for sure. He's a talented player. When I first got down here, he was one of the first guys I was talking to. He made plays through spring ball all throughout to now. So to see him go out like that, it's going to hurt us for sure.
The DB room, they take a leap every week. I constantly say that about those guys, and I'm going against them every day. They're getting the best of me, and I'm getting the best of them every day, and we're gonna continue to make each other better.
On staying focused: We talk about that every week. This is a team that will never get complacent. I'll never get complacent, myself. I always want more. At the end of the day, if you truly love football, the only thing that you want to make a career of is doing everything to put yourself in a position to win football games. That's what we plan on doing every Saturday. We keep the main thing, the main thing. We're not really worried about the future because we can't get to the future unless we control the present. We're going to continue to go day-by-day. Both sides of the ball, we just got to come ready to play on Saturday and play together.
On Georgia Tech: I would say the biggest thing I've seen with Georgia Tech is that they can do a lot of different things, whether they want to go 3-down, like they did versus Syracuse, or play base, like they did in the other games. We’re going to have to adjust to what they're going to do throughout the game, and execute plays.
On a major thing he’s trying to improve: I'd say ball security. If you want to get to the next level, ball security is job security. That's something that Coach Dawson is preaching to me. I'm honing in on it myself. Other than that, just trying to create more explosive plays in the run game and the pass game as an offense. That's something we've been good at, but we also missed a lot of plays the previous Saturday. We're just trying to play to our standard every Saturday.
On his connection with Xavier Restrepo: I would say just the work ethic that X shows up with every day. You talk about a guy who's in the film room, who adjusts his routes to the way I throw the football. With the IQ that X has, he makes my job easier. He wins every time in man coverage. I know as long as I’ve got #7 out there, I’ve got a wide open receiver to throw to.
On the progress of the defensive backs: Every week the defensive back room takes a step. Even today in practice, we got into it a little bit. One thing about us, we're a competitive team. We're going to play for each other. We always have a next man up mentality. Losing [Jadais Richard], that's going to hurt us for sure. He's a talented player. When I first got down here, he was one of the first guys I was talking to. He made plays through spring ball all throughout to now. So to see him go out like that, it's going to hurt us for sure.
The DB room, they take a leap every week. I constantly say that about those guys, and I'm going against them every day. They're getting the best of me, and I'm getting the best of them every day, and we're gonna continue to make each other better.
On staying focused: We talk about that every week. This is a team that will never get complacent. I'll never get complacent, myself. I always want more. At the end of the day, if you truly love football, the only thing that you want to make a career of is doing everything to put yourself in a position to win football games. That's what we plan on doing every Saturday. We keep the main thing, the main thing. We're not really worried about the future because we can't get to the future unless we control the present. We're going to continue to go day-by-day. Both sides of the ball, we just got to come ready to play on Saturday and play together.
