On the most disappointing thing about the last two games …
“The losses. Our team is intact; nobody jumping off board. We don’t have those issues. We’re just trying to find a way to get a win. The frustration, if there is frustration — more disappointment than frustration — the difficulty of overcoming things that we’re in control of. Those things are turnovers, you know, doing reckless stuff, just throwing balls up in the air, or not being conscientious of getting two hands in traffic, those things right when we have momentum or we’re going down the field or at the very start of the game in putting our defense at a disadvantage. We’ve scaled back on penalties for the most part, or at least severe ones that are 15-yarders. Had a couple of offsides that were 5-yarders at the back end, but outside of that we’ve been better at that. When you look at the game as a whole, the first half was so difficult because they actually did what we do best. They played keep-away. They had the ball for nearly 20 minutes of the first half. By five or six minutes (left) we had run 15 total offensive plays before we got the ball back. It’s hard to score when you don’t have the ball. You’ve got to get first downs to keep the ball and then you’ve got to get them off the field and not let them have a stint with eight minutes run off the clock.”
On Dalton Sturm’s interception early in the UAB game …
“Uncharacteristic of him. He’s a fierce warrior. He made plays, but it was uncanny of him in some of the things. We were off target. The accuracy wasn’t there. He didn’t have to be (on the run) all the time. There were times he could have settled his feet and threw the ball. It’s not so much where they weren’t doing. There were times he could have stepped over and stepped up, and then there were times where there was some pressure.”
On any sense of frustration from the players …
“They’re searching. They want resolution. They want to be better. They want to play better. They’re together. There’s no lone wolf, guys walking off by themselves. No one’s pointing their finger at the others. They’re really coming closer together and trying to find a way. You know, it’s Senior Day this upcoming Saturday. We want to play well as a team for our seniors, for our team, for our university, so I think there’s a push to allow these guys to have their rightful moment as seniors for their last game in the Alamodome as players.”
On the senior class …
“They’re wonderful young men. They’ve done everything that we’ve asked of them. They’ve worked extremely hard. They’ve been great ambassadors and representatives of our university. They’ve set a tone, a trend that will allow this university, this football program to always hold its head high. I’m very proud and fortunate of the opportunity to coach these young men and be a part of their lives.”
On how the expectations of the program have changed in the last few years …
“We’ll get there. December 20 is a big day for us with the new National Signing Day, as well as the first Wednesday in February. What we have to do is put a couple of classes together to give us the quantity and the depth that we need. We've got some young guys that are waiting in the balance, guys like Chance (McLeod), guys like Dominic Pastucci, Tay (Javontavious) Mosley, all across the board; B.J. (Daniels) on special teams, Tay’lor (Perry). We have to keep on developing those guys and bring another class in. What you’d like to do is perform well, because that’s your greatest tool in recruiting is to put a brand out there that’s marketable. We just have to build our roster to the point where we have the quality depth that allows us to finish a season.”
On Marshall …
“Defensively, they’re a talented team. Inside, they’re big — about 6-7, 6-6 big — of their interior guys who can really hold the point and stay steady in there. They have really good perimeter guys, edge rushers, that we’ll have to have a game plan, because they do a good job of sacking the quarterback; one of the leaders in our conference as far as sacks. One backer in particular, their WILL backer (Chase Hancock), is an exceptional player. He’s their leading tackler. They’re pretty stellar on the back end; corners that are six-foot tall that they ask to play some man with, some cover three with because they’re a zone blitz team; field, boundary corners — they do a good job. Safeties are as good as there are in this conference. Their safeties are good players. Their corners are exceptional. And they’re good upfront. They’re solid at the linebacker position, but they’re really good upfront and in the back end. Offensively, they’re going to try and establish a run game. They’re one of the leaders in rush offense, but their receivers, numbers one, eight and nine, those guys have legit speed. They’re exceptional with real speed, length, good route runners, good ball skills, big-play ability.”
“The losses. Our team is intact; nobody jumping off board. We don’t have those issues. We’re just trying to find a way to get a win. The frustration, if there is frustration — more disappointment than frustration — the difficulty of overcoming things that we’re in control of. Those things are turnovers, you know, doing reckless stuff, just throwing balls up in the air, or not being conscientious of getting two hands in traffic, those things right when we have momentum or we’re going down the field or at the very start of the game in putting our defense at a disadvantage. We’ve scaled back on penalties for the most part, or at least severe ones that are 15-yarders. Had a couple of offsides that were 5-yarders at the back end, but outside of that we’ve been better at that. When you look at the game as a whole, the first half was so difficult because they actually did what we do best. They played keep-away. They had the ball for nearly 20 minutes of the first half. By five or six minutes (left) we had run 15 total offensive plays before we got the ball back. It’s hard to score when you don’t have the ball. You’ve got to get first downs to keep the ball and then you’ve got to get them off the field and not let them have a stint with eight minutes run off the clock.”
On Dalton Sturm’s interception early in the UAB game …
“Uncharacteristic of him. He’s a fierce warrior. He made plays, but it was uncanny of him in some of the things. We were off target. The accuracy wasn’t there. He didn’t have to be (on the run) all the time. There were times he could have settled his feet and threw the ball. It’s not so much where they weren’t doing. There were times he could have stepped over and stepped up, and then there were times where there was some pressure.”
On any sense of frustration from the players …
“They’re searching. They want resolution. They want to be better. They want to play better. They’re together. There’s no lone wolf, guys walking off by themselves. No one’s pointing their finger at the others. They’re really coming closer together and trying to find a way. You know, it’s Senior Day this upcoming Saturday. We want to play well as a team for our seniors, for our team, for our university, so I think there’s a push to allow these guys to have their rightful moment as seniors for their last game in the Alamodome as players.”
On the senior class …
“They’re wonderful young men. They’ve done everything that we’ve asked of them. They’ve worked extremely hard. They’ve been great ambassadors and representatives of our university. They’ve set a tone, a trend that will allow this university, this football program to always hold its head high. I’m very proud and fortunate of the opportunity to coach these young men and be a part of their lives.”
On how the expectations of the program have changed in the last few years …
“We’ll get there. December 20 is a big day for us with the new National Signing Day, as well as the first Wednesday in February. What we have to do is put a couple of classes together to give us the quantity and the depth that we need. We've got some young guys that are waiting in the balance, guys like Chance (McLeod), guys like Dominic Pastucci, Tay (Javontavious) Mosley, all across the board; B.J. (Daniels) on special teams, Tay’lor (Perry). We have to keep on developing those guys and bring another class in. What you’d like to do is perform well, because that’s your greatest tool in recruiting is to put a brand out there that’s marketable. We just have to build our roster to the point where we have the quality depth that allows us to finish a season.”
On Marshall …
“Defensively, they’re a talented team. Inside, they’re big — about 6-7, 6-6 big — of their interior guys who can really hold the point and stay steady in there. They have really good perimeter guys, edge rushers, that we’ll have to have a game plan, because they do a good job of sacking the quarterback; one of the leaders in our conference as far as sacks. One backer in particular, their WILL backer (Chase Hancock), is an exceptional player. He’s their leading tackler. They’re pretty stellar on the back end; corners that are six-foot tall that they ask to play some man with, some cover three with because they’re a zone blitz team; field, boundary corners — they do a good job. Safeties are as good as there are in this conference. Their safeties are good players. Their corners are exceptional. And they’re good upfront. They’re solid at the linebacker position, but they’re really good upfront and in the back end. Offensively, they’re going to try and establish a run game. They’re one of the leaders in rush offense, but their receivers, numbers one, eight and nine, those guys have legit speed. They’re exceptional with real speed, length, good route runners, good ball skills, big-play ability.”