University of Massachusets Athletics
Q&A With Mark Whipple
November 08, 1999 | Football
Nov. 8, 1999
What are your thoughts on last week?s win over Richmond?
?We played well. I thought our kids were confident and ready to go. In all three phases of the game, we played pretty well. I was concerned early on with our defense. Richmond took the ball and went right down the field with it. I think it had a lot to do with not having our captain on defense. Matt Dawson did not play, and Dan Healey had just come back. After we blocked the field goal on the first possession we settled in. Once again, they were really concerned about taking away Marcel Shipp and that left some things open. Todd Bankhead and Adrian Zullo both had really good days for us. I thought we had two really super drives. We went 99 yards on 17 plays in the second quarter to get a touchdown. Then we came back with an 86-yard drive against a really tough Richmond defense, and we went up 14-0.?
How important is it for your team to have long drives?
?We have driven the ball 85 yards or so on everybody we have played. Todd Bankhead is starting to come into his own. I think his fractured wrist had a lot to do with his struggles early in the season. Lately, he has really thrown well in practice and some of our young receivers have been coming on. We are playing with a lot of confidence. We just have the feeling that if we can get on the scoreboard, our defense will hold.?
How happy are you with the way the defense has played recently?
?We felt like they were going to be good. We said last spring that they just have to gel, and I think they had trouble doing that early on. I think we lacked some confidence, since we lost a great leader in Khari Samuel. But our guys know their roles, and a number of the older guys have really stepped up. Aaron Parker has been playing well, Kole Ayi has been all over the place, Jerard White has really stepped up. They all enjoy playing the game. We are really excited about this week. I consider this somewhat of a playoff atmosphere. None of our guys, including myself, has ever played down at William & Mary. We have never seen their stadium in person. This is November football, and this is what it?s all about.?
What are your thoughts on William & Mary?
?I think they are an outstanding football team, and they are very similar to us. I think their schedule was somewhat of a burden early on. They lost a double overtime game to Delaware, and that could have gone either way. Then they played at North Carolina State, and Furman is the real deal this year. But now they have settled on David Corley at quarterback. They have great weapons on offense in David Conklin and Corley. I really like their quickness. And they have a great defense. They have won five of their last six games, and they had an impressive 45-10 win over Villanova. I am hoping the fact that we have played so many tough road games this season will help us.?
How do you expect your speedy receivers to match up with the William & Mary defensive backs?
?I think that Khari Reynolds is real talented. Overall, they have great quickness on defense, and that can hurt you. Richmond took advantage of those things against us. But we have been playing pretty well. Our younger receivers have been coming through, with Jimmie Howard making some plays. We are successful when we get the ball to Marcel Shipp and when we get the ball to Adrian Zullo. We just have to get those guys the football, and if we do that I think that will help our chances.?
What are your thoughts on Floyd Keith announcing his resignation at Rhode Island?
?I just want to give my best to Floyd Keith. We go way back to when I was the head coach at Brown. We did a lot of functions together. It is a sad day for the Atlantic 10 and for football in general. Floyd is a great guy. I said before we played them that I liked his team and they were playing hard and with enthusiasm, and I think it came from the head guy. I want to wish him the best and let him know I?m going to miss him.?
