We have a good nucleus of players who have been here, ... and they understand what we are all about, what we are trying to accomplish. And that is the strength of the football team.

We've got a good nucleus coming back. That's the lifeblood of any program --being able to get good players and make your team better through the recruiting process. That's our challenge.

Releasing players that have worked their tails off for the team is one of the toughest days for me, ... It's even tougher when you release veterans such as Hugh and Jon. They have contributed a great deal to the success of this team over the past few years, and we appreciate their efforts on and off the field.

Releasing players that have worked their tails off for the team is one of the toughest days for me,

We like our nucleus, the core of young players we have. We'd like to build something here. We want to be in position to add in the future, when the ages of unrestricted free agency goes down.

We've got the nucleus of our team in place. These young players ... we haven't scratched the surface of what they'll be able to accomplish.