On this weekend’s game against North Texas …
“We won by about a touchdown each year, I think. Last year, we got a quarterback hurt and finally got Tucker [Carter] back, and he really played well that last game. We won the game. It’s been two games that have been close. Dan McCarney, I guess you know he’s gone, and Mike Canales, is the new coach. Mike was the offensive coach. They’ve changed some things around a little bit, especially defensively. I don’t know if Mike has done anything differently because he’s an offensive coach, but they really, from what we’ve seen, they’ve varied the front some, more of a three-man front, some things that they haven’t done before. I watched their game on TV and a lot of commentators were saying that they run to the ball better and they really were. They really chased the ball and did things well and just got a shot in the arm. They’re playing hard. The running back, 26, is a good player, Jeffery Wilson. Jeffery Wilson’s good, their number nine [Carlos Harris] receiver, is good. They’ve got a tight end that is good. Quarterback, they’ve gone with two. They’ve played five [Andrew McNulty] and they’ve played 10 [DaMarcus Smith]. Ten will probably be their guy that they’ve kind of gone with as of late, so we’ll see on that. They’ve got a decent team. They just haven’t won. I think that’s going to be a real key for us. We’ve got to be ready to play and we’ve got to be more hungry than they are. That is the best way to say it. We had a good practice yesterday. Our guys have been responsible. They’ve been accountable. They don’t miss. We had one guy who was late for weights, yesterday, and he won’t be late again. (Director of Strength & Conditioning) Charlie Dudley is not a warm and fuzzy guy when you miss weights. We’ve got to try and do the right thing and make sure that they do the right things and I think we’ll be fine. Defensively, their free safety, number 23, [Kishawn McClain] is a really good football player. Probably their best linebacker, number 32, Fred Scott, is weakside linebacker. The defensive end, Jarrian Roberts, number 30, is one to watch.”
On the mindset of North Texas …
“You would expect maybe some trick stuff, maybe an onsides kick. They have nothing to lose. Last year, we had the same kind of psyche playing North Texas the last game. At home, nothing to lose, no bowl game to go to, and the guys went out and played, ran, passed, caught, and we were able to win the game. I think I see that from them. They only thing I would say is if Mike’s trying to get the job, I don’t know if that would be something he would want to display. I don’t think they will have any holds barred, let’s put it that way. They haven’t beaten us yet. We should have a lively game. Honestly, they expect to beat us. We’re a startup program and they’re established. They got a new stadium and all that.”
On North Texas rallying around interim head coach Mike Canales …
“I think they will want to impress the new coach and impress the new hire, whoever that’s going to be. I don’t know if Mike’s got a chance to get the job. Who knows? He’s been there a while. I just listened to Mike talk about the game the other day and he’s fired up. He was talking about playing Marshall and how it was a heck of a game, a good game and stuff.”
On UTSA’s quarterback situation …
“Dalton’s (Sturm) finally getting healthy. We’ve got to protect him, too. He got hit against Southern Miss. I mean he got hit. Some of it is his fault. Some of it is not his fault. Again, we’ve got to protect him better and get the ball out of his hand. Ken Dorsey, when he was at Miami, Kenny was 6-5, 6-6, 160, 170 pounds and he would almost never take a hit because he knew his players, he knew where the ball was going to be and he would get rid of the football, get it in somebody’s hands and that’s what Dalton’s got to do. Dalton also gives us a chance to win because he’s got good feet. He can run and that’s what I think we need, right now. We need somebody that can run that can move around the pocket and make some things happen, and he can do that. He’ll start for us this week, yes. Manny [Harris] is getting a lot of work and Jaylon [Henderson], but Dalton will be the starter.”
On Manny Harris …
“He’s raw, he’s young, he’s smart. I think he’ll be a good football player for us. He’s not ready to play yet. If he has to play, we need to get him ready to play, because he’s the next guy in line. Jaylon Henderson is probably a better talent than Manny, from the standpoint of an athlete, but not quite the cerebral player that Manny is. Manny can, from what we have now, hopefully get us out of a game if we’re in that situation, but we’re glad that Manny’s here, we like him. We’ve just got to go ahead and work with him. He gets a lot of work everyday and let’s see how it goes these last five games, and who knows what’s going to happen?”
On if he’s seen anything like the injury issues at quarterback for the second straight year …
“‘It’s like déjà vu all over again.’ Is that the way Yogi [Berra] says it? I never have. You just look around the country. The Dallas Cowboys, how many games have they lost since Romo? They’re 0-4. That guy’s such an integral part. To me, we can win with Dalton. He needs some experience and we have to help him out. We have to protect for him, which we did not do that last week. Southern Miss is better than most people thought they are. They beat somebody last week, I don’t remember who, but they beat them pretty good.”
On the offensive line …
“We can’t win with negative plays, sacks. We have got to protect our quarterback. The Joe Montanas and the John Elways, all those guys, they can’t get hit like that and last very long, so we have got to protect our quarterback better. The Louisiana Tech game was an excellent game for them, a little different structure they were showing us, that we kind of knew. Southern Miss was a whole different world. They did a good job. They didn’t think our offensive line could protect him and they were right. We didn’t get it done with Southern Miss.“
On changes to the offensive scheme …
“I think so. Barry Sanders is coming into town to help his old coach out (laughs). We’re going to be aggressive. We’ve got to run the football and get something established. You’re not having yards unless you establish something. If you’re getting a little here and a little there, you’re just not getting it done. We’ve got to establish some things. We got to be able to run the ball better, much better. To me, that’s where your consistency is. You can’t always count on guys getting open, pass, catch, and protect. I can hand it off to Jarveon (Williams). I can toss to Jarveon. We got to block for him and let him do the work after that. That’s what we have to do and get something established early. The thing about the running game, I told my guys when I was at Miami, we lost to Florida State five years in a row and negative plays killed us. We got sacked, we would get knocked back, and we went into the game, the first time we beat them, I said, ‘Hey, if it’s only one yard, we’re going to make one yard. Keep on punching.’ I advised them some good things could happen for us and it did. We had beaten them in Miami for the first time in a number of years. As a matter of fact, they were number one in the country at the time. That’s what we’ve got to do. We can’t get impatient. Just because you don’t hand off and run for 18 yards and run down the field, that doesn’t mean that’s not a potentially good play. Let’s keep on making good plays and keep on blocking, give our guys a chance, and that’s what we need to start on this game. They work hard. Our players, that’s what breaks my heart, so to speak, because our attitude is good. Our work ethic is good. They go to work. I think our coaching is good. Mike Markuson is an outstanding coach. They believe in him and I believe in him. From that standpoint, if we’re doing those things, I can’t be too upset. You’re upset because you don’t win, but by the same token, what can you do better? Our work ethic is good.”
“We won by about a touchdown each year, I think. Last year, we got a quarterback hurt and finally got Tucker [Carter] back, and he really played well that last game. We won the game. It’s been two games that have been close. Dan McCarney, I guess you know he’s gone, and Mike Canales, is the new coach. Mike was the offensive coach. They’ve changed some things around a little bit, especially defensively. I don’t know if Mike has done anything differently because he’s an offensive coach, but they really, from what we’ve seen, they’ve varied the front some, more of a three-man front, some things that they haven’t done before. I watched their game on TV and a lot of commentators were saying that they run to the ball better and they really were. They really chased the ball and did things well and just got a shot in the arm. They’re playing hard. The running back, 26, is a good player, Jeffery Wilson. Jeffery Wilson’s good, their number nine [Carlos Harris] receiver, is good. They’ve got a tight end that is good. Quarterback, they’ve gone with two. They’ve played five [Andrew McNulty] and they’ve played 10 [DaMarcus Smith]. Ten will probably be their guy that they’ve kind of gone with as of late, so we’ll see on that. They’ve got a decent team. They just haven’t won. I think that’s going to be a real key for us. We’ve got to be ready to play and we’ve got to be more hungry than they are. That is the best way to say it. We had a good practice yesterday. Our guys have been responsible. They’ve been accountable. They don’t miss. We had one guy who was late for weights, yesterday, and he won’t be late again. (Director of Strength & Conditioning) Charlie Dudley is not a warm and fuzzy guy when you miss weights. We’ve got to try and do the right thing and make sure that they do the right things and I think we’ll be fine. Defensively, their free safety, number 23, [Kishawn McClain] is a really good football player. Probably their best linebacker, number 32, Fred Scott, is weakside linebacker. The defensive end, Jarrian Roberts, number 30, is one to watch.”
On the mindset of North Texas …
“You would expect maybe some trick stuff, maybe an onsides kick. They have nothing to lose. Last year, we had the same kind of psyche playing North Texas the last game. At home, nothing to lose, no bowl game to go to, and the guys went out and played, ran, passed, caught, and we were able to win the game. I think I see that from them. They only thing I would say is if Mike’s trying to get the job, I don’t know if that would be something he would want to display. I don’t think they will have any holds barred, let’s put it that way. They haven’t beaten us yet. We should have a lively game. Honestly, they expect to beat us. We’re a startup program and they’re established. They got a new stadium and all that.”
On North Texas rallying around interim head coach Mike Canales …
“I think they will want to impress the new coach and impress the new hire, whoever that’s going to be. I don’t know if Mike’s got a chance to get the job. Who knows? He’s been there a while. I just listened to Mike talk about the game the other day and he’s fired up. He was talking about playing Marshall and how it was a heck of a game, a good game and stuff.”
On UTSA’s quarterback situation …
“Dalton’s (Sturm) finally getting healthy. We’ve got to protect him, too. He got hit against Southern Miss. I mean he got hit. Some of it is his fault. Some of it is not his fault. Again, we’ve got to protect him better and get the ball out of his hand. Ken Dorsey, when he was at Miami, Kenny was 6-5, 6-6, 160, 170 pounds and he would almost never take a hit because he knew his players, he knew where the ball was going to be and he would get rid of the football, get it in somebody’s hands and that’s what Dalton’s got to do. Dalton also gives us a chance to win because he’s got good feet. He can run and that’s what I think we need, right now. We need somebody that can run that can move around the pocket and make some things happen, and he can do that. He’ll start for us this week, yes. Manny [Harris] is getting a lot of work and Jaylon [Henderson], but Dalton will be the starter.”
On Manny Harris …
“He’s raw, he’s young, he’s smart. I think he’ll be a good football player for us. He’s not ready to play yet. If he has to play, we need to get him ready to play, because he’s the next guy in line. Jaylon Henderson is probably a better talent than Manny, from the standpoint of an athlete, but not quite the cerebral player that Manny is. Manny can, from what we have now, hopefully get us out of a game if we’re in that situation, but we’re glad that Manny’s here, we like him. We’ve just got to go ahead and work with him. He gets a lot of work everyday and let’s see how it goes these last five games, and who knows what’s going to happen?”
On if he’s seen anything like the injury issues at quarterback for the second straight year …
“‘It’s like déjà vu all over again.’ Is that the way Yogi [Berra] says it? I never have. You just look around the country. The Dallas Cowboys, how many games have they lost since Romo? They’re 0-4. That guy’s such an integral part. To me, we can win with Dalton. He needs some experience and we have to help him out. We have to protect for him, which we did not do that last week. Southern Miss is better than most people thought they are. They beat somebody last week, I don’t remember who, but they beat them pretty good.”
On the offensive line …
“We can’t win with negative plays, sacks. We have got to protect our quarterback. The Joe Montanas and the John Elways, all those guys, they can’t get hit like that and last very long, so we have got to protect our quarterback better. The Louisiana Tech game was an excellent game for them, a little different structure they were showing us, that we kind of knew. Southern Miss was a whole different world. They did a good job. They didn’t think our offensive line could protect him and they were right. We didn’t get it done with Southern Miss.“
On changes to the offensive scheme …
“I think so. Barry Sanders is coming into town to help his old coach out (laughs). We’re going to be aggressive. We’ve got to run the football and get something established. You’re not having yards unless you establish something. If you’re getting a little here and a little there, you’re just not getting it done. We’ve got to establish some things. We got to be able to run the ball better, much better. To me, that’s where your consistency is. You can’t always count on guys getting open, pass, catch, and protect. I can hand it off to Jarveon (Williams). I can toss to Jarveon. We got to block for him and let him do the work after that. That’s what we have to do and get something established early. The thing about the running game, I told my guys when I was at Miami, we lost to Florida State five years in a row and negative plays killed us. We got sacked, we would get knocked back, and we went into the game, the first time we beat them, I said, ‘Hey, if it’s only one yard, we’re going to make one yard. Keep on punching.’ I advised them some good things could happen for us and it did. We had beaten them in Miami for the first time in a number of years. As a matter of fact, they were number one in the country at the time. That’s what we’ve got to do. We can’t get impatient. Just because you don’t hand off and run for 18 yards and run down the field, that doesn’t mean that’s not a potentially good play. Let’s keep on making good plays and keep on blocking, give our guys a chance, and that’s what we need to start on this game. They work hard. Our players, that’s what breaks my heart, so to speak, because our attitude is good. Our work ethic is good. They go to work. I think our coaching is good. Mike Markuson is an outstanding coach. They believe in him and I believe in him. From that standpoint, if we’re doing those things, I can’t be too upset. You’re upset because you don’t win, but by the same token, what can you do better? Our work ethic is good.”
