8/9/2003 - Football
Transcript Of Fullback Kyle Eckel's Press Conference

Q. The position of fullback looks to be pretty deep. Last year when you went down, Brimage stepped up and played well. What are your thoughts on the compeition at fullback?

A. Compeition breeds success. It?s good compeition. It should make everybody better.

Q. What?s your status health wise? You had off-season surgery, right?

A. Yeah, in January I had surgery for a full repair of my ACL.

Q. How does it feel?

A. It feels pretty good. I?m a little stiff at times, but it?s nothing that an ice bag can?t handle. The brace I?m wearing is mainly a precaution. I?m not sure if I?m going to be wearing it in a game or not. It really doesn?t bother me either way. It shouldn?t be a problem.

Q. Do you envision wearing the brace during games?

A. That?s up to the doctors, they still don?t know yet. They will take a look at it and see how the swelling is. If I do, it won?t bother me at all.

Q. What did you learn last year when you did get to play? Obviously you have a lot of ability. The coaches have talked in the past about you needing to improve your vision in hitting the holes, can you talk about what you?ve learned and have you gotten better at that?

A. I have a year under my belt and that helps out a lot with assignments. Knowing where your blocks are coming from is a big part of this offense. That was one of my problems last year and I think I?ve cleaned that up. I think I have a real good grasp of the offense this year and I?m looking forward to this season.

Q. Did you notice when watching film last year that you left yards on the table so to speak? Did you see instances where if you would have made the right cut you could have gained a lot more yards?

A. Yeah. I noticed that. Hindsight is 20-20. I definitely saw those things and I?m going to improve on that. I?m going to do my best.