I was very involved defensively at Florida, and regardless of popular opinion, I wasn't as much on offense. Should have been, but I wasn't.
— Will Muschamp
I think you live and learn each year, whether you're a head coach, coordinator, or business manager. You learn different things that work and different things that don't.
As long as Will Muschamp is the head coach at the University of Florida, Urban Meyer will be a part of this program. He needs to be involved with this program for our players. He's a great sounding board for me and part of this great tradition.
The worst thing you can do in a leadership position is be something you're not.
I've lined the field. I've washed the uniforms. I've washed my own equipment. Those Division I guys don't understand that. I've worked myself up the ladder.
Perception is not always reality.
Tackling and playing well in space against any spread offense is very important.
We need to play between the whistles. That's what tough competitors do. They don't run their mouth.
I believe it was seventh or eighth grade: I went to a Danny Ford football camp. A buddy of mine was a big Clemson fan, and coach Ford put on a camp, and we did actually enjoy ourselves.
We talk to our players all the time, 'Just control what you can control.' It's no different in life.
I have great memories of watching SEC football with my father on Saturdays and playing football in the backyard with my two brothers right here in Gainesville.
At the end of the day, I grew up wanting to play in the SEC.
Team and individual goals are great, but not understanding how we achieve those goals and the work it's going to take to achieve those goals, if you don't understand that process, then it doesn't matter.
It's interesting in the recruiting process because I have recruits and parents that say, 'You're so positive about the other schools!' And I am, because I had a great experience at LSU. I had a great experience at Auburn. I had a great experience at Florida.
At the end of the day, I'm a good defensive football coach.
I think it's a lack of journalistic integrity to print things with anonymous sources.
When a safety makes a mistake in the middle of the field, everybody should notice.
I probably made a mistake at Florida trying to change schematically from what they had done before. As a result, we ended up not being very good at anything.
I want the University of Florida to be successful. I'm always going to be a Gator, unless I'm on the other sideline.
Sometimes you've got to put your realistic glasses on and see who you are.
It's not a right to play at Florida. It's a privilege.
The SEC is a line-of-scrimmage league. You'd better be good up front, or you're going to have some long days.
It's our job to make sure the players are ready to play at a high level. Part of that is making sure that the emotion is in check.
Standing up for what you believe in, to me, is freedom of speech. And that's a right that every American citizen has and what makes this country great.
The best friend I have is competition.
When you talk in terms of a rivalry game, it's always important for our guys to understand the history of the rivalry and the history of the game.
You control what you can control.
I couldn't afford to go to an out-of-state school.
Recruiting is not an exact science.
At the end of the day, be in the game as the game's ending. That's the most important part.
At the end of the day, you're loyal to the people writing your checks.
I think you live and learn every day on the job.
There's no credibility in anonymous sources.
You are what your record is.
I think people who know ball and know me know that I'm a good coach.
The University of Texas was very good to Will Muschamp and my family.
Good teams understand how to compete, how to practice the right way.
Self-evaluation is hard, and it starts with me, and it falls on my shoulders, and I'm responsible. But at the end of the day, you are what you are.
I think, as a coach, you've got to do what your players can do.
It's my favorite thing to do, grilling.
One of the great rights as an American citizen is freedom of speech, one of the things that makes this country what it is.
If a guy's not executing very well, then obviously we haven't given him enough looks in practice.
The biggest thing for me is to be accessible. When a high school coach comes on our campus, they can sit in every position meeting they want to sit in. They can come to every practice. And the comments I've gotten from our high school coaches is how accessible we are to them. That's what you need to do to build those relationships.
Life's unfair. You're going to have things happen to you.
My dad was a coach and a schoolteacher.
It doesn't change whether it's Georgia, Clemson or Florida or Tennessee. You have to fight out there on the recruiting trail every day. And recruiting's a lot like shaving: If you don't do it every day, you start looking like a bum.
You don't want a guy to be happy he's not starting.
I'm a good special teams coach, and I can recruit.
There's no better Gamecock than Marcus Lattimore.
I can't imagine, as a father, losing my son.
