What's up, guys?
We get Norvell and the coordinators here in a few minutes. Supposed to start around noon.
So hang tight and we'll be back soon. Thanks for tuning in.
-------------------------------------------------------------
He says they didn't like the way they started, obviously, but thinks the way the game finished "might be exactly what the program needed." Loved the response after getting down 14-0 and 21-7.
"Excited about the upcoming week and the opportunity in front of us ... two storied programs."
"We're thinking about Coach. He'lll be in our thoughts and prayers. Hoping for a speedy recovery and looking forward to seeing him around here soon."
On Travis: "Anytime you get an opportunity to see someone on game day, to be able to take some of the fundamental things he's been showing in practice .... seeing him hit that first shot to Keyshawn. ... To hit Terry, to have those rhythm throws ... to see that kind of burden that comes off his shoulders after he hits that first one, to see him grow with confidence through the course of the game, I thought he played at a really high level." Said he seemed to be carefree and having fun.
Says everything was under control with Travis. "Everything was working together and he trusted what he saw. ... Trust your eyes and make your feet make you right.... Really pleased with the way he was able to execute throughout."
On preseason injuries at QB: "We had two guys that missed the majority of the work. Those guys have had to come along and make the most of individual." Said they're still coming along, especially Chubba, in regards to getting fully healthy.
"Jordan provides a lot of versatility and flexibility ... definitely looking forward to seeing that all come together."
He's asked about other QBs playing, doesn't really give an answer. "I think Jordan has established himself to start this week ... I'm excited about him being able to assume that role this week." So, yes, Travis is the starter.
"Anytime you're able to see the work and investment and for that to pay off, while also having to respond to adversity, while also not being a picture perfect performance ... seeing guys after the game, seeing their approach, they embrace the challenge." Said they understand there is still so much more work to do. "At the end of the day, our best ball is in front of us."
Says they will continue to put tomahawks on helmets. "We want to make sure you get a tomahawk helmet sticker it's well-earned." Says you'll see some on the helmets this next week.
On Scott and Washington: "Really pleased with Robert Scott. ... Had a really impressive week of practice, and really went out and played with a lot of confidence ... you saw some real positives, some great growth. Thought he was really one of the bright spots ....
Says they had a "really positive diagnosis" on Washington and they'll see how he progresses during the week.
"The number is already too high for me to remember right now. After three games that's not what you want to see." --- talking about different Oline combinations. "Also shows the versatility of that group." Said Devontay Love Taylor played three different positions. "He's playing at a high level." Says it's the group that needs the most continuity. Praises Coach Atkins. "There's great progression in that room, I'm excited about what the future holds." Says it's a nice combination of young guys and older guys.
On Terry: "No question he had his best week of practice. The week prior he was limited. ... He also challenged himself. He understands the expectations. We sat down and had a real heart to heart conversation about what we want this to look like moving forward .... Terry has a chance to be one of the more dominant receivers in college football. ... I think he played over 70 snaps. And some of his best plays were when he didn't have the ball in his hands." Says that's great to see from a WR.
On Notre Dame: "We're playing a top football team in the country. Notre Dame has great experience throughout both sides of the ball. You look at their offensive and defensive fronts, those are two imposing units ... we've just got to go play our best ball ... we've got to be relentless in every step ... and our best players have to play their best games."
On Hamsah: "We're working through this process, obviously we're going to make sure he's 100 percent before he takes the field ... there's an opportunity for us this week and we'll see how it goes."
On Terry again: "Responding in a positive way when adversity strikes, that's for everyone. Not just Terry ... you can point to several examples in a short season where we haven't responded in a positive way. .... I want guys to play with unbelievable passion. I want coaches to coach with unbelievable passion ... but to always be in control of that emotion and response. ... I think when you acknowledge it and embrace it and push yourself all week .. There were some effort plays, when he was 20, 25 yards downfield when he didn't have the ball in his hands ... that's something I take a great deal of pride in when ..." his receivers are playing like that - unselfishly and hard.
On defense: "You want to see that constant growth. And confidence should grow with each rep that we get. Making sure guys are playing at a high level. Was great getting Josh Kaindoh back ... and I thought he provided a great spark for us. ... I think you're going to see our football team, and our defense, continue to grow throughout the course of the season .... But we've got to be better. Even in the second half there were things that showed up through the course of the game that we were able to address last night."
On meeting Bowden: "it's incredible. He's one of the great coaches to ever coach the game. But such a great man. ... I've been able to be around him on a number of occasions. .... Just a special human being. ... It's beyond anything I would have ever dreamed to have that relationship." Said Bowden has talked to the team and the coaches.
On RBs running with toughness: "I think Coach Johnson has done an incredible job with that group ... when you watch those three backs and the dirty work those guys do when the ball is not in their hands ... that's impressive." Said Corbin did a great job blocking on kick returns and Toafili "threw his body around" as a lead blocker, too. "I'm excited about this group moving forward."
And that's a wrap for Norvell.
Kenny Dillingham up now.
He says having Travis as the starter doesn't really change the gameplan much. Said the value he added is that they didn't have any negative plays. Said he got them out of bad plays. "Schematically what we're going to do is not much different ... pretty much going to be the same stuff."
On Travis throwing: "The thought that he couldn't throw was always comical to me. ... He finally just got on the field and got enough reps. ... But that's who Jordan is. He can throw the football ... He's a mobile quarterback that can throw the football down the field ... There were a few balls that he missed, but he threw the ball on time ... He trusted his read, made the right progression, he just threw the ball a foot behind the guy. .... The ball was out on time." Said he could really sling it.
On passing mechanics: "Working on him driving off his back foot and stepping toward his target. ... We're not going to change his motion. ... At the end of the day, when I got here Jordan could throw. ... We're just focusing on the detail and consistency of his game."
On Travis trying to be a lead blocker: "We want him to play hard. ... With that, you have to have a balance of playing hard and playing smart." Says now that he's got an extended role he's got to be a bit smarter. "It's not like we coached him to pitch the ball and go out there and be a lead blocker ... we're never going to take that away from him. ... I love that. ... But he has to know when to take hits and when not to take hits."
"I thought our effort was better ... not like we want it to be ... but definitely improved. ... We've got to play with relentless effort ... from an offense, it was much needed." Brought up Terry blocking on Toafili's TD run. "That's what I was most pleased with. ... It's effort and passion and wanting to win. That's how winning football is played."
He says they're trying to preach to the players how important it is to play hard every single snap. "Make every play matter because eventually it will. ... If we play with relentless effort we're going to give ourselves a chance to win."
On Oline shuffling: "Sometimes things happen and you've just got to make it work. You have an offensive tackle playing three different positions in a football game. ... Luckily we have a veteran guy who is smart enough to be able to go out there and execute that. So, it's a testament to him."
On Rodemaker: "He didn't get benched. He just got taken out of the game. ... When we put Jordan in, we weren't taking Tate out." Said they wanted to get Travis some work before the game. "And he just ran with it. But I thought Tate responded really well. He realized it all starts with fundamentals. .... We're going to learn and grow from it. .. What I liked is you never really saw him get rattled. ... He throws the pick to start the game and then two drives later he runs the blitz check that we wanted him to run. That's a good sign. ... The perception of the bad there was definitely some good in there, too."
"When you look at the track record of offense it usually gets better throughout the season because we find out what we're good at. We find our niche. ... I think when you do have some quarterback changes and other guys in different places, you kind of find your niche of what you're good at, you've just got to protect those calls ... and be able to keep defenses off balance while establishing our strengths."
And that's it for Dillingham.
Adam Fuller is up next.
On Kaindoh and what Marvin provided: Says just having Josh back was great. Had a critical first down play. Had two TFLs and a pressure. There's a lot left in him. Said Marvin only played 12 plays, but his energy level throughout was positive, too.
On first-down success: There were some throws that were easier than we wanted them to be. Got into some 12 personnel and dispersed some TEs differently than they were expecting. Said they want to create loss plays on first down. ... When they're throwing the ball on first down it's probably going to be about in three seconds and it's probably going to be incomplete or a 5-yard gain. ... Said they have to make some adjustments on scheme so not so predictable, maybe rolling up coverage, playing tighter, etc. Says they have to be better on first down.
On Dotson and Lundy: Said DJ is somebody they're really high on and he finally got healthy. He's got a lot of ability. He says he thinks DJ did some good things, got to keep building on the inventory he can handle. Says Meiko has been a bright spot for us, just trying to get him healthy. He's got really good ball skill and he got in there and gave them some good snaps.
On ND QB Ian Book: Says his efficiency numbers are over the roof right now. You can see that maturation from him. He's got legitimate arm talent, can run away from people on scrambles, one of the top QBs in the country. .. Good cast, too. And they're going to have to do a great job on Saturday night.
"We would like to not bend at all. ... We want to be aggressive. We want to make sure that starts up front, that we're creating a new line of scrimmage." We want to make sure we get the ball stopped as quickly as possible. We gave up three big plays that all led to scores. "We'd like to limit those." ... Says one long throw ... "we'd like to make a play in the secondary there." Says they want to put offenses in adversity and long downs.
On how to handle young players' mistakes: Other than just getting them in the game early so they have less time to think about it and more time to go react and play. Said they had Dix and Lundy in there at the same time. "So we're not babysitting out there." Said they always go in with a game plan on when to get younger guys get in, but game flow can dictate how much they diverge from those plans.
"We're just trying to find the best players we can and put them on the field as much as we can." Said if multiple guys are playing at a position it probably means they're still searching for answers. "In the back 7 we're just trying to find the right combination the best we can." That's just how it is right now, that's how it goes in practice. Says he hopes that eventually they'll be able to shorten the rotation, but for now they're still looking for the right guys.
He says he thinks the players have a good understanding of the calls. They're trying to find continuity, they practice with similar rotations, so you can get comfort with the guys to the right and left of you. ... We're just putting guys out there that we think can help us. Says it's a big pool of players, which isn't always a negative, because it keeps other guys engaged. "Nobody has really taken control at certain positions."
On 2nd half performance: The team showed a lot of resolve. To be down the way we were. It was what it was and we had to respond. To see them come back and play the way they did ... was obviously a good response. Says he hopes it's a sign of things to come. ... "Really proud of the way they played in the second half." Said the last drive of the game was good to get some new players into the game. "I was proud of the way we played there in the second half."
And that's it for Fuller.
John Papuchis is up next.
Says he was excited for Kaindoh just to have the opportunity get back. Says he felt like he played well on Saturday night, and that he thought Josh was emotional because of how long the journey has been. "It was a big step in his overall process as he's trying to get himself back."
On Helton not catching punts: "We did lose some considerable field position letting the ball hit the ground. I thought Keyshawn did some really good things ... the decision-making, those are things we've got to get better at. First, you can't let the ball hit the ground." ... Says the first series of the game they put offense in a bad spot because he caught the ball at around the 5. Says their rule is nothing inside the 7. "Keyshawn will get better at that, I have no doubt about that. And we're going to do a better job coaching it as well."
On Fitzgerald's misses: "He didn't hit the ball the way he wanted to on the extra point. Said it came off his foot poorly." The missed FG he just pushed a little bit. Said Ryan has been really good in practice. And he's going to look at those misses as an anomaly.
On young DEs: "We've got three guys that kind of in the rotation at DE that are young. ... Anytime you're playing on the defensive line" he says it will take a while to find the physicality to be successful. Says it's no accident that J Rob and Kaindoh look the most effective. He says the hope is by the end of the year that the young guys will provide better play, be more physical, etc.
Says key to big returns is the blockers. "I think we have really good buy in by the people on the kick return unit." Says they spend a lot of time on the fundamentals of blocking on kick returns and that they're close to getting one to pop out of there for a long return or a TD return.
He says they want them to have a place on the field where they can put the heels in their ground and have an easy decision to make on whether to catch a punt. "There is some judgement we allow there, but we try to make the rules as black and white as possible. ... We want to take the gray out of it."
On the pass rush: Says there are a lot of layers. Some of is schematic. Some of it is guys being able to get off blocks quicker. Some of it has to do with coverage schemes. ... They've all got to work hand in hand. Says they work every single day in pass rush in trying to get more efficient in what we do. Says he did feel more of a 4 man pass rush than they had in the first two games, but they've still got to create one on ones to give themselves an opportunity to pressure the QB.
That's a wrap for Papuchis.
And that's a wrap for today.
Hope you guys have a great week. Hope you stay safe. And healthy. And that you keep warchant open on your browser for essentially all of 2020. We're here for you. Don't forget that.
Clark. Out.
We get Norvell and the coordinators here in a few minutes. Supposed to start around noon.
So hang tight and we'll be back soon. Thanks for tuning in.
-------------------------------------------------------------
He says they didn't like the way they started, obviously, but thinks the way the game finished "might be exactly what the program needed." Loved the response after getting down 14-0 and 21-7.
"Excited about the upcoming week and the opportunity in front of us ... two storied programs."
"We're thinking about Coach. He'lll be in our thoughts and prayers. Hoping for a speedy recovery and looking forward to seeing him around here soon."
On Travis: "Anytime you get an opportunity to see someone on game day, to be able to take some of the fundamental things he's been showing in practice .... seeing him hit that first shot to Keyshawn. ... To hit Terry, to have those rhythm throws ... to see that kind of burden that comes off his shoulders after he hits that first one, to see him grow with confidence through the course of the game, I thought he played at a really high level." Said he seemed to be carefree and having fun.
Says everything was under control with Travis. "Everything was working together and he trusted what he saw. ... Trust your eyes and make your feet make you right.... Really pleased with the way he was able to execute throughout."
On preseason injuries at QB: "We had two guys that missed the majority of the work. Those guys have had to come along and make the most of individual." Said they're still coming along, especially Chubba, in regards to getting fully healthy.
"Jordan provides a lot of versatility and flexibility ... definitely looking forward to seeing that all come together."
He's asked about other QBs playing, doesn't really give an answer. "I think Jordan has established himself to start this week ... I'm excited about him being able to assume that role this week." So, yes, Travis is the starter.
"Anytime you're able to see the work and investment and for that to pay off, while also having to respond to adversity, while also not being a picture perfect performance ... seeing guys after the game, seeing their approach, they embrace the challenge." Said they understand there is still so much more work to do. "At the end of the day, our best ball is in front of us."
Says they will continue to put tomahawks on helmets. "We want to make sure you get a tomahawk helmet sticker it's well-earned." Says you'll see some on the helmets this next week.
On Scott and Washington: "Really pleased with Robert Scott. ... Had a really impressive week of practice, and really went out and played with a lot of confidence ... you saw some real positives, some great growth. Thought he was really one of the bright spots ....
Says they had a "really positive diagnosis" on Washington and they'll see how he progresses during the week.
"The number is already too high for me to remember right now. After three games that's not what you want to see." --- talking about different Oline combinations. "Also shows the versatility of that group." Said Devontay Love Taylor played three different positions. "He's playing at a high level." Says it's the group that needs the most continuity. Praises Coach Atkins. "There's great progression in that room, I'm excited about what the future holds." Says it's a nice combination of young guys and older guys.
On Terry: "No question he had his best week of practice. The week prior he was limited. ... He also challenged himself. He understands the expectations. We sat down and had a real heart to heart conversation about what we want this to look like moving forward .... Terry has a chance to be one of the more dominant receivers in college football. ... I think he played over 70 snaps. And some of his best plays were when he didn't have the ball in his hands." Says that's great to see from a WR.
On Notre Dame: "We're playing a top football team in the country. Notre Dame has great experience throughout both sides of the ball. You look at their offensive and defensive fronts, those are two imposing units ... we've just got to go play our best ball ... we've got to be relentless in every step ... and our best players have to play their best games."
On Hamsah: "We're working through this process, obviously we're going to make sure he's 100 percent before he takes the field ... there's an opportunity for us this week and we'll see how it goes."
On Terry again: "Responding in a positive way when adversity strikes, that's for everyone. Not just Terry ... you can point to several examples in a short season where we haven't responded in a positive way. .... I want guys to play with unbelievable passion. I want coaches to coach with unbelievable passion ... but to always be in control of that emotion and response. ... I think when you acknowledge it and embrace it and push yourself all week .. There were some effort plays, when he was 20, 25 yards downfield when he didn't have the ball in his hands ... that's something I take a great deal of pride in when ..." his receivers are playing like that - unselfishly and hard.
On defense: "You want to see that constant growth. And confidence should grow with each rep that we get. Making sure guys are playing at a high level. Was great getting Josh Kaindoh back ... and I thought he provided a great spark for us. ... I think you're going to see our football team, and our defense, continue to grow throughout the course of the season .... But we've got to be better. Even in the second half there were things that showed up through the course of the game that we were able to address last night."
On meeting Bowden: "it's incredible. He's one of the great coaches to ever coach the game. But such a great man. ... I've been able to be around him on a number of occasions. .... Just a special human being. ... It's beyond anything I would have ever dreamed to have that relationship." Said Bowden has talked to the team and the coaches.
On RBs running with toughness: "I think Coach Johnson has done an incredible job with that group ... when you watch those three backs and the dirty work those guys do when the ball is not in their hands ... that's impressive." Said Corbin did a great job blocking on kick returns and Toafili "threw his body around" as a lead blocker, too. "I'm excited about this group moving forward."
And that's a wrap for Norvell.
Kenny Dillingham up now.
He says having Travis as the starter doesn't really change the gameplan much. Said the value he added is that they didn't have any negative plays. Said he got them out of bad plays. "Schematically what we're going to do is not much different ... pretty much going to be the same stuff."
On Travis throwing: "The thought that he couldn't throw was always comical to me. ... He finally just got on the field and got enough reps. ... But that's who Jordan is. He can throw the football ... He's a mobile quarterback that can throw the football down the field ... There were a few balls that he missed, but he threw the ball on time ... He trusted his read, made the right progression, he just threw the ball a foot behind the guy. .... The ball was out on time." Said he could really sling it.
On passing mechanics: "Working on him driving off his back foot and stepping toward his target. ... We're not going to change his motion. ... At the end of the day, when I got here Jordan could throw. ... We're just focusing on the detail and consistency of his game."
On Travis trying to be a lead blocker: "We want him to play hard. ... With that, you have to have a balance of playing hard and playing smart." Says now that he's got an extended role he's got to be a bit smarter. "It's not like we coached him to pitch the ball and go out there and be a lead blocker ... we're never going to take that away from him. ... I love that. ... But he has to know when to take hits and when not to take hits."
"I thought our effort was better ... not like we want it to be ... but definitely improved. ... We've got to play with relentless effort ... from an offense, it was much needed." Brought up Terry blocking on Toafili's TD run. "That's what I was most pleased with. ... It's effort and passion and wanting to win. That's how winning football is played."
He says they're trying to preach to the players how important it is to play hard every single snap. "Make every play matter because eventually it will. ... If we play with relentless effort we're going to give ourselves a chance to win."
On Oline shuffling: "Sometimes things happen and you've just got to make it work. You have an offensive tackle playing three different positions in a football game. ... Luckily we have a veteran guy who is smart enough to be able to go out there and execute that. So, it's a testament to him."
On Rodemaker: "He didn't get benched. He just got taken out of the game. ... When we put Jordan in, we weren't taking Tate out." Said they wanted to get Travis some work before the game. "And he just ran with it. But I thought Tate responded really well. He realized it all starts with fundamentals. .... We're going to learn and grow from it. .. What I liked is you never really saw him get rattled. ... He throws the pick to start the game and then two drives later he runs the blitz check that we wanted him to run. That's a good sign. ... The perception of the bad there was definitely some good in there, too."
"When you look at the track record of offense it usually gets better throughout the season because we find out what we're good at. We find our niche. ... I think when you do have some quarterback changes and other guys in different places, you kind of find your niche of what you're good at, you've just got to protect those calls ... and be able to keep defenses off balance while establishing our strengths."
And that's it for Dillingham.
Adam Fuller is up next.
On Kaindoh and what Marvin provided: Says just having Josh back was great. Had a critical first down play. Had two TFLs and a pressure. There's a lot left in him. Said Marvin only played 12 plays, but his energy level throughout was positive, too.
On first-down success: There were some throws that were easier than we wanted them to be. Got into some 12 personnel and dispersed some TEs differently than they were expecting. Said they want to create loss plays on first down. ... When they're throwing the ball on first down it's probably going to be about in three seconds and it's probably going to be incomplete or a 5-yard gain. ... Said they have to make some adjustments on scheme so not so predictable, maybe rolling up coverage, playing tighter, etc. Says they have to be better on first down.
On Dotson and Lundy: Said DJ is somebody they're really high on and he finally got healthy. He's got a lot of ability. He says he thinks DJ did some good things, got to keep building on the inventory he can handle. Says Meiko has been a bright spot for us, just trying to get him healthy. He's got really good ball skill and he got in there and gave them some good snaps.
On ND QB Ian Book: Says his efficiency numbers are over the roof right now. You can see that maturation from him. He's got legitimate arm talent, can run away from people on scrambles, one of the top QBs in the country. .. Good cast, too. And they're going to have to do a great job on Saturday night.
"We would like to not bend at all. ... We want to be aggressive. We want to make sure that starts up front, that we're creating a new line of scrimmage." We want to make sure we get the ball stopped as quickly as possible. We gave up three big plays that all led to scores. "We'd like to limit those." ... Says one long throw ... "we'd like to make a play in the secondary there." Says they want to put offenses in adversity and long downs.
On how to handle young players' mistakes: Other than just getting them in the game early so they have less time to think about it and more time to go react and play. Said they had Dix and Lundy in there at the same time. "So we're not babysitting out there." Said they always go in with a game plan on when to get younger guys get in, but game flow can dictate how much they diverge from those plans.
"We're just trying to find the best players we can and put them on the field as much as we can." Said if multiple guys are playing at a position it probably means they're still searching for answers. "In the back 7 we're just trying to find the right combination the best we can." That's just how it is right now, that's how it goes in practice. Says he hopes that eventually they'll be able to shorten the rotation, but for now they're still looking for the right guys.
He says he thinks the players have a good understanding of the calls. They're trying to find continuity, they practice with similar rotations, so you can get comfort with the guys to the right and left of you. ... We're just putting guys out there that we think can help us. Says it's a big pool of players, which isn't always a negative, because it keeps other guys engaged. "Nobody has really taken control at certain positions."
On 2nd half performance: The team showed a lot of resolve. To be down the way we were. It was what it was and we had to respond. To see them come back and play the way they did ... was obviously a good response. Says he hopes it's a sign of things to come. ... "Really proud of the way they played in the second half." Said the last drive of the game was good to get some new players into the game. "I was proud of the way we played there in the second half."
And that's it for Fuller.
John Papuchis is up next.
Says he was excited for Kaindoh just to have the opportunity get back. Says he felt like he played well on Saturday night, and that he thought Josh was emotional because of how long the journey has been. "It was a big step in his overall process as he's trying to get himself back."
On Helton not catching punts: "We did lose some considerable field position letting the ball hit the ground. I thought Keyshawn did some really good things ... the decision-making, those are things we've got to get better at. First, you can't let the ball hit the ground." ... Says the first series of the game they put offense in a bad spot because he caught the ball at around the 5. Says their rule is nothing inside the 7. "Keyshawn will get better at that, I have no doubt about that. And we're going to do a better job coaching it as well."
On Fitzgerald's misses: "He didn't hit the ball the way he wanted to on the extra point. Said it came off his foot poorly." The missed FG he just pushed a little bit. Said Ryan has been really good in practice. And he's going to look at those misses as an anomaly.
On young DEs: "We've got three guys that kind of in the rotation at DE that are young. ... Anytime you're playing on the defensive line" he says it will take a while to find the physicality to be successful. Says it's no accident that J Rob and Kaindoh look the most effective. He says the hope is by the end of the year that the young guys will provide better play, be more physical, etc.
Says key to big returns is the blockers. "I think we have really good buy in by the people on the kick return unit." Says they spend a lot of time on the fundamentals of blocking on kick returns and that they're close to getting one to pop out of there for a long return or a TD return.
He says they want them to have a place on the field where they can put the heels in their ground and have an easy decision to make on whether to catch a punt. "There is some judgement we allow there, but we try to make the rules as black and white as possible. ... We want to take the gray out of it."
On the pass rush: Says there are a lot of layers. Some of is schematic. Some of it is guys being able to get off blocks quicker. Some of it has to do with coverage schemes. ... They've all got to work hand in hand. Says they work every single day in pass rush in trying to get more efficient in what we do. Says he did feel more of a 4 man pass rush than they had in the first two games, but they've still got to create one on ones to give themselves an opportunity to pressure the QB.
That's a wrap for Papuchis.
And that's a wrap for today.
Hope you guys have a great week. Hope you stay safe. And healthy. And that you keep warchant open on your browser for essentially all of 2020. We're here for you. Don't forget that.
Clark. Out.
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