April 26, 2002
by Blake Kirkman
With the annual spring Blue-Gold Game only two days away, Irish head coach Tyrone Willingham and his staff have assembled the competing squads and are looking forward to a day anticipated by most Irish faithful since Willingham was appointed to the position in January.
“The teams have been selected, and it’s a pretty even split,” said Willingham. “We just divided up, and hopefully they’ll have some fun and play good football.”
The structure for the game will be quite simple, Willingham explained.
“We will try to have a running 12 minute clock, except for the last 2 minutes of each half, and we will be limited in what we do in special teams.”
Willingham also made it abundantly clear that above all else there are two things he desires to see Saturday: good football and no injuries.
“What I’m hoping to see is a football team go out and play very hard and very spirited, fighting each other for the opportunity to be the best that day on the field, and then, walk off the field healthy.”
This, no doubt, is a feeling shared by all Irish fans looking forward to Saturday’s game.
Position Battles: In what has become a Willingham trademark, with Thursday being no different, the Irish head coach was tight-lipped about any determinations or early leaders in the battles for starting spots at several key positions.
When asked specifically about the situation at quarterback, Willingham stated, “We have two quarterbacks who are intensely competing for the spot. I’m pleased with the progress of both Matt (LoVecchio) and Carlyle (Holiday). I think they’ve both done a fine job of making the adjustments that we’ve asked them to make.”
“I think the fact there is a newness of staff creates special opportunities for everyone to be considered for starting positions,” said Willingham. “However, for me, the evaluation has been the last 14 days. Saturday will not have a whole lot of impact of my evaluation of guys.”