Head Coach Bobby Petrino
Q: How did it feel to get back out to practice?
A: “It felt good and we had a good break. I think everyone used the break to refresh. Everyone was out here today and our meetings went well. We’re getting ready for Sunday’s game against San Francisco. It was a short practice, but we did try to keep it crisp.”
On the left tackle situation:
A: “We have Quinn Ojinnaka there and we’ll be rotating Harvey Dahl and Terrance Pennington.”
Q: Do you have a better feeling when Bryon Leftwich will be returning?
A: “Byron was in there this morning and he was walking around on it already. He said it felt good. There was some pain involved still, but not as much as he thought their might be. In my opinion, he’s probably a couple of weeks away. In his opinion, he’s probably one week away.”
Q: Do you think DeAngelo Hall’s comments last week are in the past?
A: “I think so. Obviously, you don’t like to see those comments made. I can understand part of it. I had a meeting with DeAngelo. We put it behind us and moved on.”
Q: What is your policy on telling your team about a player being released?
A: “I have an open-door policy, which I made very clear to all of them. I’ve had a number of guys in my office since Alge (Crumpler’s) comments earlier in the year. I have several good discussions with them. I’m never going to tell the press why we released somebody and I’m never going to stand up in front of a team and tell them as well. I don’t think it’s fair to the person you released.”
Q: Were you surprised when some of the players said they did not know it was coming?
A: “We did contact a number of players.”
Q: Can you give us an update on some of the players who are injured?
A: “Todd Weiner is getting better. He worked at practice today and did some pass sets. He looked pretty good moving around and I was pretty impressed. Alge was running some change of direction movements. Hopefully, he’ll get some more practice in on Wednesday. Stephen Nicholas is in a situation where he can run straight ahead. The key to the high ankle sprain is how you change directions. It didn’t look like he was there yet. I don’t anticipate him being ready.”
Q: Why wasn’t Warrick Dunn at practice?
A: “He had a personal matter that he is taking care of. He was supposed to be done last week, but it was the day they had the tornadoes in Alabama. They had to cancel his flight. If he wants to tell you about it, I’d let him, but it’s a personal matter. I knew about it last Wednesday.”
Q: Have you noticed anything with Trey Lewis’ approach knowing he is going to be the starter?
A: “No, not really. I think he’s approached it the same all year knowing he was going to play a bunch. His focus has been on practicing hard and preparing in meetings. I haven’t really noticed a change in him.”
Q: Will you be able to get Laurent Robinson some more activity?
A: “Laurent has done a nice job for us. We need to get him a few more opportunities. There have been times when he’s had opportunities, but something else breaks down. I think he has 15 catches on the year. He’s certainly a guy who can make big plays for us with his speed down the field. He’s had some injury problems and missed a couple of games. It’s really a matter of Joey and him or Bryon and him getting a feel for each other when they are in the game. Laurent and Roddy (White) have really been trading off on the position. When he goes in for Joe (Horn), Roddy’s been in on the other side. It really has been a situation where we’ve worked at getting him more opportunities. He’s made plays when he’s had opportunities.”
