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Sept. 2, 1997

Tom Holmoe

Tom Holmoe Press Conference

Re: Season Opener vs. Houston

"This is the week that our Cal team, and me personally, have been waiting for a long time. Playing the University of Houston down in the Astrodome is going to be a good challenge for us. It is a team that played last week. We had a chance to see the game on television. We didn't play last week, so I guess there is some plusses and minuses about that situation. One, we had a chance to see them play on TV, that could be a positive for us. They haven't seen us play, they may have seen last year's film, but this year, not having played a game, is to our advantage. But they do have the advantage in the fact that they've played a game and have gotten the first-game jitters out and now they're ready for their second game.

"Our team has prepared well for this game. We had a good camp in Turlock. The offseason preparation paid off and we were able to go hard in camp. This past week, we got a chance to rest the kids a little bit and fine tune our preparation as we get ready to play Houston.

"We haven't looked ahead. We have some big games down the road, but really, all our energy and effort has been into this Houston game and going down to Houston for a win.

"Right now we are relatively healthy. We have a few players that are 50-50 for the game. A.J. Knukle, a tight end who we projected to be the starter, hasn't played a down for us but he may come into the game a see some action. James Gibson came back close to 100 percent from the injury he suffered. Initially we thought it might be quite serious on the field but things proved otherwise. He has been in full contact now for a week and will be the starting nose tackle. Brandon Whiting had a bruised knee. He will start the game and we fully expect him to play the entire game. Other than that, most of the guys who were nicked or cut-up in camp are ready to go. So, we come into this game healthy and hopefully emotionally and physically prepared to go down and have a great game against Houston."

Q & A

Q: What is the prognosis for the defense?
A: "I think we'll be better. I think the indications from what we have done in spring football and in summer camp are that we are a better team on that side of the ball. I think bringing in the new junior college players to add depth has helped. Bringing in some new players like Andre Carter and Jacob Waasdorp has helped. But also the fact that those guys are a year older and a year wiser, know the system a little better and are more comfortable coming into this game has helped. There's no question that this is a more mature team than last year."

Q: How much of a concern is depth on this year's team?
A: "I think depth was way more of a concern last year. We've addressed the depth problem with the way we've recruited and brought in the junior college players. There's no question on any team, the starters are starters for a reason. But I believe that we are more prepared for going into a game and having guys come in that have played. Last year that wasn't the case and this year we are a little more experience as far as our back-up guys are concerned."

Q: For those who haven't seen Justin Vedder play, is there anyone you could compare him to?
A: "Its difficult to compare Justin to anyone from around here. He does remind me a little bit of Jim McMahon, who was a teammate of mine at BYU. He's very confident, likes to run around, he wants to take a leadership role on this team and has earned the respect of the players, very similar to Jim. He's extremely competitive and resilient, those are qualities I saw in Jim McMahon."

Q: How much will Andre Carter play?
A: Carter will play a lot. He's not starting the game, Mawuko Tugbenyoh will start out at that rush position and Andre Carter will play a little bit at the rush but he'll play mostly at the end position behind Jerry DeLoach. We feel that Andre gives us an immediate help in our depth. He has the ability to go into the first game of his career ready to play, and he'll play in this game.

Q: Is the fact that the game will be played on AstroTurf a concern for you?
A: "Not really, I haven't put a lot of stock into what kind of surface the game is being played on.We're not going to make a lot of special preparation to practice on Astroturf. I think our kickers are going to take a few kicks off of it this week. We might run a few patterns to get some of our timing routes down, but I don't want to make this anymore of a distraction than it is."