USFL Media Day Sights and Sounds: 'We're ready to play'
The Pittsburgh Maulers and Birmingham Stallions held court at USFL Media Day on Friday in Canton, Ohio, offering thoughts on the season and looking ahead to Saturday's championship game (8 p.m. ET on NBC).
Coaches and players from both sides took part, and USFL President of Football Operations Daryl Johnston made a surprise early appearance, interrupting the Stallions' media session to let quarterback Alex McGough know that he had been named USFL MVP.
[Related: Alex McGough named USFL MVP]
Check out his reaction:
FOX Sports writers RJ Young and Eric Williams, who will both be on hand to cover Saturday's championship game in Canton, offer their favorite moments from Media Day.
Maulers coach Ray Horton on facing the defending USFL champs …
"Our best football is still in front of us. Birmingham better watch out. We’re ready to play. And I don’t care if they go, ‘What’s he saying?’ We’re ready to play."
Horton on his team’s turnaround …
"We were 1-9 last year. I wasn’t here, [QB] Troy [Williams] wasn’t here. But we owned it. That’s part of our legacy, part of our team. We embraced it, we took it and we accepted it. And we said that we are not going back there."
Birmingham coach Skip Holtz on the matchup between his Stallions and the Maulers …
"Everybody always talks about offense wins games defense wins championships. So how do you want to look at it? Is this a championship game or is this one game because if it's one game, offense wins games, and if it's a championship, defense wins championships. I think just as important, it’s also our defense first versus their offense. That is going to be a big part of this."
Horton on coaching with his son, defensive coordinator Jarren Horton …
"To be very honest and humble, he’s a much better coach than I ever was. And the reason I say that is, at his age now I was still playing in Dallas. And I couldn’t do what he did. Could I call a play in the huddle? Sure, I could have called a play. Could I orchestrate a defense and do what he’s doing? I could not. So, he’s miles ahead of where I ever was."
Troy Williams on enjoying playing in a big game …
"For me, the best thing is to just stay calm and just let the game come to me. And just have fun. That’s another thing, I think guys forget about these type of games are supposed to be fun. When you imagine at home, think about the moment in your brain, it’s always fun."
McGough on winning USFL MVP …
"This individual trophy, it means a lot, but it isn’t what I came for. I came here to win this (USFL Championship Trophy). I came here to hold that with them (his teammates."
McGough how his strict diet has led to on-the-field success …
"Honestly, it's hard to eat the same thing five times a day with small variations to it. It's helped a tremendous amount. Like I can't explain to you how much it's helped as far as just recovering from games with just my body feeling great. And also say I can't do it without my family back there because they cook all my food on the away games and it makes my life 10 times easier for when we when I travel. So I'll have to pack all this food and carry nine bags on the plane, and it helps a lot and I just think it helps in every aspect, not even just recovery. It helps my discipline on the field, off the field, with my study, with everything. It just makes me more disciplined in every aspect. And that's what has led me I think to success on the field and off the field."
Davion Davis on McGough winning USFL MVP …
"I've known since Week 2, so it's nothing new to me. Honestly, I don't think it's new to anybody that's standing back there behind us. We know what we're getting from the get-go."
Boogie Roberts on Michael Irvin addressing the team on Thursday …
"He was just giving us the glimpse and hope that we can be anything that you want to be, and he’s just a prime example of that. I look up to him because he’s everything I want to be. He was in the NFL. He has a great personality, and now he’s doing broadcasting and other things outside of football. But he's still giving back to the game."
Roberts on Ray Horton earning his trust …
"I’ve trusted him from Day 1 because everybody’s dreams and goals is to get to where he’s been. He’s been to the pinnacle as a player and as a coach. And so when he speaks, you listen. And he commands the room. He’s just a cool, calm guy. He doesn’t rah-rah too much. And he comes across as genuine."
Isiah Hennie on playing for Ray Horton …
"He’s a winner. He’s won Super Bowl. A lot of times, people underestimate how much a coach’s personality can wear off on everybody else. He’s not arrogant by any stretch of the imagination, but he’s very confident in himself. And I think the team kind of embodied that over the course of the season."
Arnold Tarpley III on growing up in Pittsburgh and now playing for a Pittsburgh team for a championship
"Pittsburgh has a sense of pride with all of its sport — Penguins, Pirates, Steelers. And to have the black and gold, which I think was cool that we kind of made that [uniform] switch, is something that not only the city but for myself was happy to do. This season has kind of shown what the Pittsburgh swag is all about — the grit, working hard, persevering and staying resilient."
Kyahva Tezino on turning on the switch for game day …
"For me, I always try to stay the same and stay level-headed. So when I come up here, you guys are never going to get something different. I’m always going to be the same person. But on the field, obviously, I turn on the switch. It’s different. I think everyone who’s ever played football will say you have to be a different guy to play football. You can’t just be the guy I’m up here now. I know I portray that I’m a nice guy, but when I get out there I’m mean."
Holtz on the direction the USFL has taken in its first two years since its return …
"I think it was brilliant to have everybody in the same hub a year ago, to start to branch out now to have four different hubs. And I noticed we talked about the future when that goes to six, eight, I mean, those types of things. I think it's been great. And I think that we've kind of gone from sitting on a one-legged chair to a two-legged chair to a three-legged, you know what I mean? And it's really getting the stability of a four-legged chair."
Daryl Johnston on the challenge of finding pro offensive lineman …
"Everybody always says that the edge rusher, the inside rusher, is going to be more superior from a skill standpoint in a spring league environment than the offensive line. This is something that I'm hoping to have an announcement on here pretty soon and show the commitment that our league is going to make towards that position. Because we know how coveted it is. And the NFL also realizes that they have expanded their roster, and they have locked these guys in. It's hard to find offensive linemen that are out there because the NFL is struggling to develop that position as well."
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young. Subscribe to "The Number One College Football Show" on YouTube. He is not on a StepMill.
Eric D. Williams is an NFL writer for FOX Sports. He has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @eric_d_williams.
