Head Coach Bobby Petrino
Opening Statement:
“Obviously we have a short week, so this was our one, full practice today. The guys came out and did a good job. We had good focus. Tomorrow, we are going to try and go through some of our situations. It will be a half practice and walkthrough. We will do some meetings on Thanksgiving morning to get ready for the game. We have a big challenge ahead of us and we have some guys who are out, which hurts us on the defensive front. Trey Lewis and Rod Coleman are both out and Byron Leftwich couldn’t practice today. Joey (Harrington) will start the game and Byron will have to see if he can get ready to be the backup. Obviously he would have to be out here tomorrow to do that.”
Q: What is Leftwich’s injury?
A: “It’s not his ankle, it’s his tail bone. He called our training staff later that night and we took him in yesterday morning. We took X-Rays and it’s not a fracture. He couldn’t participate at all today.”
Q: How is Dwayne Blakely handling his injury?
A: “He did not get to go today. He had the concussion during the game and he is very doubtful.”
On the status of Joe Horn:
Joe is feeling better and we’ll have to wait and see if he’ll get anything in tomorrow.”
Did Byron Leftwich’s injury factor into the decision to start Joey Harrington?
A: “With the loss of practice it really became no decision at all.”
Q: Will Jonathan Babineaux and Montavious Stanley move into the starting positions?
A: “They will both move into starting positions and Tim Anderson will be activated. Stanley can swing back and fourth and Chauncey Davis can handle the inside as well.”
Q: What is the status of Byron Leftwich’s injury?
A: “It’s a situation right now where we wait and see if he can backup. If not, Chris Redman will be our number two quarterback in the game.”
Q: Will Byron Leftwich remain the starter?
A: “Since this is such a short week, we are worrying about the Indianapolis game right now. We’ll have a little break after that and we’ll see how everything goes.”
Q: Can you update us on the Todd Weiner injury situation?
A: “Todd banged his knee the other day in the game. He went for more tests and he will not be able to play this week. We’re going to give it a week to see if it settles down.”
On facing the Colts on Thursday night:
“We’ll be excited about playing them, but both teams are kind of in the same situation. We both have a lot of injuries. In this league, you have to play through a lot of injuries and the next guy has to be ready to go and give a good effort. We are going to basically play the same defense that we saw last Sunday. Obviously they are different with their players, but the scheme is the same. Offensively they don’t give you a lot of different shifts or formations. We are going to work on slowing down Peyton Manning.”
Q: Will you keep Quinn Ojinnaka at Todd Weiner’s position?
A: “Quinn and Terrance Pennington have both been taking reps at Weiner’s position.”
On the tight end situation:
A: “Well we have Courtney Anderson who has now been here a week longer and he took a lot of reps in practice. We’re trying to get him ready so he can handle some of the short-yardage situations.”
Q: What are you thankful for?
A: “I’m thankful for my family and for the job I have. I’m always thankful for being able to do something I love. I love coaching. I was thinking about that question before practice today. I was standing on the sidelines at the game speaking with a lady who had terminal cancer. You have to be thankful for everything you have.”
