Bethune-Cookman Wildcats 38, Florida A&M Rattlers 34
RAYMOND WOODIE JR.: I tell you what, real excited for the program. I am proud of these players. Obviously, we have some of these guys that could have left, but actually stayed up until this point and just doing the things that we have been doing throughout the spring, the summer, finishing. They never blink, those guys stayed encouraged and finished this ballgame, so excited for them.
Q. Timmy, to have your journey begin here in Central Florida and it end here in Central Florida on a game-winning touchdown, can you put that moment into perspective?
TIMMY McCLAIN: I would say it was kind of out-of-body experience to be honest with you, so crazy and so many emotions going on. This team has been through a lot, ups and downs, roller coasters, but we fought through it. I'm just glad we was able to pull the win.
Q. Doesn't it feel good to win?
RAYMOND WOODIE JR.: It feels great.
Q. After your first Florida Classic victory, can you explain the manage my attitude and what it feels like to be on this side of the Florida Classic? What's the feeling? We could hear the locker room but what's the feeling as a coach?
RAYMOND WOODIE JR.: It's great, especially for the school, the community, the fans, obviously bragging rights and then Thanksgiving. I was telling the guys, I have a couple cold turkeys. Now, I can have some hot turkey now.
Q. We talk a lot about coaches and what they have to do to build a winner. You came into a situation where you needed to get the grades and academics straight first. Now winning a Florida Classic, can you tell us about that process and how does it feel to see the guys you can is seed at the biggest game of the year?
RAYMOND WOODIE JR.: Like we said all the time, you have to prepare. From day one, I told the players that we need a player-led team and what I mean by that is it has to start in the classroom, off the field and on the field.
I attribute it to the staff believing that the standard is a standard and these guys understanding that everything we went through, now is paying off.
Q. When you first got hired, someone on game day said, We need to let Coach Woodie have a chance. In this instant-win world of athletics, something about a former player coaching a team, there's just something different inside you every day when you practice and every day when you go out on the field. Talk about how much pride you have about this victory from playing in it before and now leading the Wildcats back to the Florida Classic championship after not winning in a while?
RAYMOND WOODIE JR.: It feels great. Being a player, we won two when I was a player and then given the opportunity to be the head coach of this program. I appreciate the administration for giving me a chance to come back to my alma mater and be the head coach at this program.
And I always thought, man, would it be great to win at the Florida Classic. It came right on time in as we progress in our wins. Just to finish the year, it's going to help recruiting, the atmosphere, and like I said, it feels great.
Q. Question for any of you. You guys were obviously leading the whole game. You lost it in the fourth quarter. You got it back. You lost it again. You got it back with that last-minute touchdown. Just walk us through the mindset of staying in the game after losing the lead late in the fourth, just keeping that mindset throughout the entire fourth quarter to get back the lead and win the game.
RAYMOND WOODIE JR.: Well, it is all about finishing. Like I mentioned earlier, we put our players, and they can tell you more so than I, in those type of situations throughout practice.
So during a game like this, we tell them all the time, don't blink, you are going to get an opportunity to make that lasting play, and they did that.
And like I said, I am proud of these guys. Coaches coach. Players play. They definitely came out on top.
Q. The Florida Classic, this historic site, Camping World stadium, the Citrus Bowl, the history of it. Talk about being here and winning and what this game is like. Why is it so different?
RAYMOND WOODIE JR.: Well you have a lot of guys on both sides of the ball that played with each other in some form or fashion, decide to go to one school in comparison to another. Guys who played against guys in high school, and just to get both groups connected to this last game called the Florida Classic is so special.
I know when I played, we played in Tampa. Now, it's in Orlando, and obviously, it just seems like it is so great having both sides play every year, and obviously, this year, we came out on top.
Like I said, it is huge for the program, for the school, for the community, to finish the way we did. Like I said, it is a special feeling and I am proud of the guys.
Q. Timmy got the huge trophy, because he was the MVP, 475 yards, four touchdowns. You guys have flipped quarterbacks this season. Why did you go with Timmy this week, and what's that process like when you decide who is going to be the starting QB?
RAYMOND WOODIE JR.: Well, the good thing is that, one, the guys understand that you have to go to work and come to work every day and we put these guys in adverse situations, and they have to compete. When you look at your job, you have to keep your job. If you don't do your job, you get your job taken.
So they know that, and I think that is what breeds competition to put him in a situation like he responded tonight.
Q. What was that conversation like during the final time out, and can you take us through what you saw on that final touchdown pass?
TIMMY McCLAIN: So I just read it inside-out. Inside right lane came open, so I just peaked outside right. I came out and I just let it go. That was about it, really. Isn't too much. But, that was about it, really.
Q. On the final, what was the conversation?
TIMMY McCLAIN: Conversation was that we been through this, fellas. This is just another day at practice. Two-minute drill, weare going to lock these boys down. We are going to win this ballgame. We are definitely going to win this ballgame.
Q. Just talk about the progression this team has gone through from your time getting here, you've been here three years now, some things you guys have gone through, the seasons you had up until now, all the things you guys have accomplished, what direction you think the program is going from there up until now?
RAYMOND WOODIE JR.: I know it is going up. These guys, to win, to finish, taking momentum into next season, especially a game like this. It feels great, and I really appreciate the administration, again, for giving me the opportunity, our AD, our deputy AD, George Bright, for seeing the vision that we had coming in and just sticking by what we said, two words, "Do right," and then prove it.
These guys are doing that, and like I say, it's time to go out and recruit.
Q. This is a question for any one of you. Last year, you guys were in five of these games with the ball, chance to win, at the end of the game, and you fell just a little bit short. But this year, this seems to be a different life in this team. What's the difference in the program overall that allows you to pull out this type of victory this year? What's been the differentiating factor this season?
ADRIAN HALL, JR.: Really, just it started in the spring and it really just continue like through this moment right now. Coach always just preaches, like beinging consistent, and we knew -- we have been here for four years. We saw a lot of consistency over the years.
So, we were making sure, like he wanted a player-led team, and myself and other -- the other guys, some of the captains, really harped that this season, being a player-led team. So when adverse situations came, we knew how to capitalize, and capitalize going over .500, that's something that built could have had for the program, honestly.
Q. It appears that Bethune-Cookman is getting a lot of momentum of late, the hiring of the new president, a fireball, that looks like he loves and supports athletics, and even on the basketball side, the team was picked to finish first. There's a lot of good going on with Bethune-Cookman. Did you all take any of that in stride in this game and feel like you couldn't lose the momentum?
ADRIAN HALL, JR.: The biggest thing is growth. I feel like on all aspects, Daytona is an historic city and it just doesn't start with us. There is a lot of historic things that ran through before our time. We are really just taking it all in from all aspects of the campus. Dr. Mosley came in and AD Theus came to us, and he complimented us on how we've been being consistent and how we have been managing this season.
We all took that to heart and really came out and knew, looking forward to those days and trying to win every game on our schedule and taking it one game at a time, and knowing that the Florida Classic was our last game, we knew had to capitalize.
Q. You mentioned a fourth year. You've seen the progression and the growth of this program, and you end the streak. What is it like to go out on top? Especially going up against your rival, your fourth year here, you do another year it's on you but what's that feeling like?
ADRIAN HALL, JR.: This is my last one, but I really just I feel like coming into this game, like at the hotel, we knew we had to win. The captains and me just put that perspective to our team that we had to win this game, like it would have meant so much to the seniors and the coaches to win this game.
I've been with Coach Woodie since he came here and all the rest of the coaches. This game really meant a lot to Florida, to Daytona and everybody knows what this game means to the State of Florida, HBCU.
Q. Piggyback on your last point. You hear about this game and you hear about the moments of this game, 2004 when they broke the streak in overtime, and you hear about all the plays -- like the field overturn and to be a part of something that's going to last forever, and this rivalry, can you put into perspective just what you were feeling from the fans and the alumni throughout the game and like even put that into words? I know it's hard to describe but to put it into words, like what this game really means to the alumni.
ADRIAN HALL, JR.: I mean, feel like just every weekend playing at BCU, you don't really get this crowd every weekend and know that you come into a crowd like this. I told the team, when we got down, we were up going into halftime.
I told them, like it's the Classic. Like what do you expect? It's supposed to be a good game. That's why it's the Classic. It's supposed to be a good game. So when we got down, I was going around to the guys, especially the defense, knowing we had some moments that we got down on ourselves and just encouraged the guys to stay up. You have to live for moments like this.
This is my fourth Classic and obviously I haven't won one until now so I told them, like I wanted to see that gold confetti and that was the outcome.
Q. Very dominant in the run game tonight, utilizing three different running backs who are all freshmen. What can you say about their contributions to the win and the team, especially coming in as freshmen to this team?
RAYMOND WOODIE JR.: Well, I tell you what, obviously the coaches do a good job preparing them. We tell the guys all the time you have an opportunity to come here and play as a true freshman in comparison to not coming here and redshirting.
How we set things up, iron sharpens iron and it doesn't matter if you're a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior. If you can go out and execute, you're going to have an opportunity to contribute. I am proud of those guys and, hopefully, we will get them back near.
162155-1-1003 2025-11-23 01:09:00 GMT
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports