Head Coach Will Healy
On arriving in the Bahamas today…
“This is the perfect destination. The first bowl game in program history, and a dream trip – trip of a lifetime. Just walking them through the entrance here and walking back to the ballroom and where we’re going to be meeting – I wish I could have seen their faces walking through the casino heading to the beach. It’s a special place, and I’ve been excited since I was here the last time to be able to show it off. We’re very excited to be here.”
On the team’s reaction being selected to the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl…
“Well, Twitter got me. I didn’t get a chance to tell them. But I went in and told them in some scuba gear, so I’m sure they wished they wouldn’t have come to the Bahamas if they wouldn’t have had to see me look like that. No, they were really excited. This is the trip of a lifetime for a lot of us. We’re excited to be here, play a great football team and enjoy the experience.”
On what he’s excited for this week…
“We’ve got Signing Day on Wednesday and I’m excited about signing this recruiting class. Also spending time with my family and treating our staff and their families the right way, making sure they get a chance to live it up is very exciting for me.”
On the challenges of balancing fun with football…
“This is my first bowl game, so it’s not like I have all the answers. Lance [Leipold] probably has better answers than I do. My idea is, when it’s time to lock in, let’s lock in. When it’s time to have fun, get away from it and enjoy it. This trip is about this destination. Our guys are mature, we’ve got an older group that’s locked in really well during the week. We’re going to let them enjoy it and we’ll lock back in on Wednesday and Thursday.”
Victor Tucker, Redshirt Sophomore, Wide Receiver
On the team arriving at Atlantis today…
“Everybody, honestly, was surprised. There aren’t too many people on this team who have been to the Bahamas so everyone had the same reaction walking in. We just want to enjoy it all together.”
On balancing fun and football…
“It’s very exciting. That’s something that we talked about collectively as a unit, making history at the school. Why not be the first? That’s the mindset we’ve had this whole season, so we’re just keeping it going. It feels great because at first we didn’t see the results that we wanted to see at the beginning of the season. To stay the course, to stay persistent and to see it pay off at the end of the year by being rewarded with a great trip like this is fulfilling.”
On the team’s reaction to being selected to the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl…
“It was a very exciting experience. I was just amazed because this is my first time coming to the Bahamas. To do it with this team and with this staff, I couldn’t picture it a better way.”
Tyriq Harris, Senior, Defensive End
On his first thoughts about Atlantis…
“It was crazy. I’ve always dreamed about going to the Bahamas, somewhere new and different. Just seeing the color of the water, how clear it was, it was really neat. One thing that really got me by surprise was the driving, that’s probably the first thing I noticed when I was coming in, this is some crazy driving.”
On the team’s reaction to being picked to the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl…
“It was once in a lifetime, for sure. We had speculations on where we might be going, but Coach Healy really sealed the deal for us when he came in with the full suit on.”
On what he’s excited for this week…
“Just hanging out with my teammates. Go to the beach, play some games, go to the arcade and everything like that. Get to explore and see what it’s like with my teammates.”
