On having so much time to prepare for WKU...
You get to this point and the film hasn't changed. It's the same film that it was in summertime and we're just trying to be careful because there is a point that you need to do stuff. What we're trying to do is really hone in on the stuff that we want to run. The one thing that we want to do is line up and play fast.
On Wisconsin's turnaround from the late 90s and him being there for that...
It didn't turn overnight. We had a plan built around discipline and physicality and tough football players and then eventually surrounded itself with a whole bunch of really talented players. So it took a little bit of the recruiting part, to an extent, to get it to where it's at today. Recruiting can continue to create competition. I think that's really really important. Because it even makes the players that are starters here, if they feel like their job is threatened you'll be amazed how hard they play but if they don't feel threatened and you can take a little bit of easing. So I think that comes as we continue to get better from a recruiting standpoint.
When analyzing his defense where do his eyes go first...
If you put a gun to my head and said like, what's the stuff that we had to clean up? It's just in-space tackling. I think if you ask a random fan, they could be able to see that you know what I mean? So that goes into just execution that goes into running to the football for each other.
Is eliminating missed tackles job one...
I think anybody that's ever played this game, if you get a decent skill guy out there, you're gonna miss a fair share. But if we can run to the football, like I'm talking about run, run, and we can get people to the football that one guy that's out there, you know, there's a confidence level one you know that you're not the only guy out there. So that I think that's probably the biggest thing that we've been stressing to our guys is we've got to really really like we got to press the gas and run and then we can't be afraid have to do is some people in there when they get tired because you know this is up tempo they're gonna run a lot of ball plays their spots for us that we truly believe that the guys can come out there and play winning football, and we're gonna have to tell those guys to get on the field. If we're going to try to empty the tank and run to the ball the way we need to. We just can't save ourselves when that ball goes out in the perimeter. Everybody from Inside Out has to go help that person that's out there.
On Coach Golesh saying there would be 17 or 18 guys in the rotation. How do you go about doing that...
It's skill set wise. The first thing I look for is like are they accountable? Can you trust them? Like that's the first thing because like I have a really hard time putting somebody on the field knowing that they're going to break down you know, what I'm saying? And then the second part is what is their skill set. So there's some guys that are like, good to cover him but maybe not as good as like an in-box player or there's somebody that's skillful in the pass game, and vice versa. But so you start to build packages around those guys because they're good football players. But what is their role gonna be and trying our best to minimize bad matchups or minimize asking somebody to do something that they're not great at? I think everybody has a certain skill set you'd like for everybody to be a first, second and third down skill set. You know, what I'm saying? But ideally, somebody might just have a first and second down skill set not a great third down and vice versa. They might be great on certain down the distances and not so but they're still there. Your top players, you know, they're still really good football players. They keep everybody hungry when you go to practice. And you say, hey, man, compete your tail off, but that kid believes that he's going to be a starter on a sub package or whatever it is. If you create competition between it they're gonna practice hard. If you say to him, like, practice your tail off and I don't think you're gonna play like I wouldn't be real fired up about that.
On having enough dependable bodies to run in and out at this point...
It's, you know, it's, it's not like lights out lights out, but I feel comfortable with the first and second units and a couple guys that we can put in there that you know, skill set wise can defend the run game. So I do I feel like we can do that. And if we have to manufacture some things to go along with it. If we need to get more pressure on the QB, that schematically we have to do it but I feel good. We're gonna, I think we're in a decent spot right now. You know, we'll see how the game plays itself out you know, because we're gonna see some pacing. The first guys that get the most tired are those guys up front but have a plan to be able to rotate those guys in there. And keep us fresh up front.
On a defensive identity...
You know, I'm saying like, you can forge anything you want on a practice field, but until you're under the lights you don't really know. That's the part that I want to find out. You know, because you can do some decent things in practice. You can, like, talk the talk a little bit, but until you physically go out in the field and you're on your own. You know, we're we're going to an away game. We'll find out. You know, that's the part that's the unknown right now. Whether they bow up and say, okay, like, let's get it on. So we'll find out.
On QB Austin Reed and what WKU does offensively...
Well, he's extremely accurate. He knows the system inside and out. He just runs the whole show. So there's nothing that he hasn't seen. Guys it's just a great story. You know, it's a story about a guy that went to you know, a natty and looked for a home and a lot of people had an opportunity to recruit him and take him and he stays loyal to those guys and comes back. But he's extremely accurate. I mean, like we had an opportunity to play him at the last place I was at he can thread needles, but he never got rattled. That was the part that I thought was really unique about them. They'll run him he's not afraid to run the football. Just a really, really good player and he's got weapons that he can distribute the ball and just take, you know, when you really really watch him how patient he is and just takes what the defense gives him. They have a scheme that allows him to do that. But in terms of making every throw, he can do that and he's a really really good player.
You get to this point and the film hasn't changed. It's the same film that it was in summertime and we're just trying to be careful because there is a point that you need to do stuff. What we're trying to do is really hone in on the stuff that we want to run. The one thing that we want to do is line up and play fast.
On Wisconsin's turnaround from the late 90s and him being there for that...
It didn't turn overnight. We had a plan built around discipline and physicality and tough football players and then eventually surrounded itself with a whole bunch of really talented players. So it took a little bit of the recruiting part, to an extent, to get it to where it's at today. Recruiting can continue to create competition. I think that's really really important. Because it even makes the players that are starters here, if they feel like their job is threatened you'll be amazed how hard they play but if they don't feel threatened and you can take a little bit of easing. So I think that comes as we continue to get better from a recruiting standpoint.
When analyzing his defense where do his eyes go first...
If you put a gun to my head and said like, what's the stuff that we had to clean up? It's just in-space tackling. I think if you ask a random fan, they could be able to see that you know what I mean? So that goes into just execution that goes into running to the football for each other.
Is eliminating missed tackles job one...
I think anybody that's ever played this game, if you get a decent skill guy out there, you're gonna miss a fair share. But if we can run to the football, like I'm talking about run, run, and we can get people to the football that one guy that's out there, you know, there's a confidence level one you know that you're not the only guy out there. So that I think that's probably the biggest thing that we've been stressing to our guys is we've got to really really like we got to press the gas and run and then we can't be afraid have to do is some people in there when they get tired because you know this is up tempo they're gonna run a lot of ball plays their spots for us that we truly believe that the guys can come out there and play winning football, and we're gonna have to tell those guys to get on the field. If we're going to try to empty the tank and run to the ball the way we need to. We just can't save ourselves when that ball goes out in the perimeter. Everybody from Inside Out has to go help that person that's out there.
On Coach Golesh saying there would be 17 or 18 guys in the rotation. How do you go about doing that...
It's skill set wise. The first thing I look for is like are they accountable? Can you trust them? Like that's the first thing because like I have a really hard time putting somebody on the field knowing that they're going to break down you know, what I'm saying? And then the second part is what is their skill set. So there's some guys that are like, good to cover him but maybe not as good as like an in-box player or there's somebody that's skillful in the pass game, and vice versa. But so you start to build packages around those guys because they're good football players. But what is their role gonna be and trying our best to minimize bad matchups or minimize asking somebody to do something that they're not great at? I think everybody has a certain skill set you'd like for everybody to be a first, second and third down skill set. You know, what I'm saying? But ideally, somebody might just have a first and second down skill set not a great third down and vice versa. They might be great on certain down the distances and not so but they're still there. Your top players, you know, they're still really good football players. They keep everybody hungry when you go to practice. And you say, hey, man, compete your tail off, but that kid believes that he's going to be a starter on a sub package or whatever it is. If you create competition between it they're gonna practice hard. If you say to him, like, practice your tail off and I don't think you're gonna play like I wouldn't be real fired up about that.
On having enough dependable bodies to run in and out at this point...
It's, you know, it's, it's not like lights out lights out, but I feel comfortable with the first and second units and a couple guys that we can put in there that you know, skill set wise can defend the run game. So I do I feel like we can do that. And if we have to manufacture some things to go along with it. If we need to get more pressure on the QB, that schematically we have to do it but I feel good. We're gonna, I think we're in a decent spot right now. You know, we'll see how the game plays itself out you know, because we're gonna see some pacing. The first guys that get the most tired are those guys up front but have a plan to be able to rotate those guys in there. And keep us fresh up front.
On a defensive identity...
You know, I'm saying like, you can forge anything you want on a practice field, but until you're under the lights you don't really know. That's the part that I want to find out. You know, because you can do some decent things in practice. You can, like, talk the talk a little bit, but until you physically go out in the field and you're on your own. You know, we're we're going to an away game. We'll find out. You know, that's the part that's the unknown right now. Whether they bow up and say, okay, like, let's get it on. So we'll find out.
On QB Austin Reed and what WKU does offensively...
Well, he's extremely accurate. He knows the system inside and out. He just runs the whole show. So there's nothing that he hasn't seen. Guys it's just a great story. You know, it's a story about a guy that went to you know, a natty and looked for a home and a lot of people had an opportunity to recruit him and take him and he stays loyal to those guys and comes back. But he's extremely accurate. I mean, like we had an opportunity to play him at the last place I was at he can thread needles, but he never got rattled. That was the part that I thought was really unique about them. They'll run him he's not afraid to run the football. Just a really, really good player and he's got weapons that he can distribute the ball and just take, you know, when you really really watch him how patient he is and just takes what the defense gives him. They have a scheme that allows him to do that. But in terms of making every throw, he can do that and he's a really really good player.
