Transcribed by Bill Seals
Opening comments:
“From my end, some updated on a couple of our players. Collin Newell, right now, is still questionable for this game. I know I said that yesterday when asked that question. It’s the same point. We’ll be back out at practice today and will see how much he can or can’t do. Kene Nwangwu is expected to play. He practiced at the end of last week.”
On what Newell would need to show this week and what Plan B would be if he can’t go:
“From Collin’s standpoint, especially with what we ask that center to do, he’s got to be able to function from a mobility standpoint. He’s worked really hard to get himself back. It will be really interesting to see where we’re at today.
“In terms of the O-line shuffle, the unique for us is there’s a lot of guys on our offensive line that have played center and have played center within our offense. Who or what that would look like is still probably a work in progress as we go through this week. I do think the reality is through spring practice and fall camp, we had multiple guys play there. We know Julian (Good-Jones) started there for an entire season. It’s putting those best five out there that give us a chance to be successful. We’re a lot more ready to handle that situation that’s presented itself today.”
On Marcel Spears’ breakout game two years ago against the Hawks:
“At that point, Marcel had been a great special teams player. That was a situation for him where, going into his sophomore year, it was almost like a challenge from my end on what are you going to become. I do think there were signs, because Marcel had a great fall camp. We moved Willie (Harvey) from that WILL linebacker to SAM linebacker and Marcel assumed the starting position of WILL linebacker. It was so much credit to him on what he had done in his preparation to be a starter going into the season. I don’t think that was a known entity going into the football season that he’d be the starter. This game two years ago really put a rival stamp on what Marcel has now become. He’s been a real consistent factor for us ever since.”
On how the tight ends could play a key role helping up front:
“The thing for us, especially at the tight end position, is those guys are multiple in a lot of ways. They’re great pass catchers, blockers and we’ve asked a lot of them for a long time. Every game, you have to be multiple. No matter who you’re playing, especially a team like this that knows their answers, they’ll expose you if you’re going to do one thing consistently an entire game.”
On facing a different style of quarterback from game one to game two in Iowa’s Nate Stanley:
“The first thing is you’re talking about a veteran quarterback. What you see from Nate, even in his first two games, the confidence he’s playing with…you see a veteran senior football player. He’s playing with great poise and great confidence. You’re not so much playing against the offensive coordinator, you’re playing against that quarterback. He knows his answers and has the ability to adapt. You see him making changes throughout the game to put their team in the best position to be successful. We’re going to have to do a great of preparing to play against him. For us to sit in one thing puts our defensive backs at a disadvantage and our defensive line at a disadvantage.
“The next thing you want to talk about with their passing game is their elite skill right now. That’s jumped off the screen early on. The explosiveness from their wide receiver play so far has been impressive. It’s a great challenge for our secondary and for us defensively, playing a quarterback that’s playing at the level he is.”
On his first game against Iowa and how it set into motion the culture change in the program:
“That game was certainly a crescendo of the reality of where we were at that moment. After a tough game one and then going into that environment in this rivalry, and really kind of every inefficiency that we were as a football program, being exposed was a harsh reality. From us as coaches to our players to everybody involved, bringing those harsh realities to the forefront and then saying how are we going to fix them. Sometimes, you need to be humbled and hit rock bottom. That was certainly a rock bottom moment for our program.”
On the status of Braxton Lewis and how the depth is shaping up at his spot:
“The first part of Braxton is I do expect Braxton to play. He was able to practice last week, which was really good for us. The thing that Braxton has always brought to us is a veteran presence and a guy that certainly has a great understanding. We’ve asked him to do so many different things in our defense. He brings a sense of veteran-ness to that defensive backfield, which is really huge.
“His being out allowed some other guys to get some great experience. We kind of played through that on Saturday, which was really good. (Justin) Bickham got some really solid reps early on and kind of felt his way through and knocked off some rust. That was the big positive for us from a week ago with Braxton not playing – other guys got great opportunities.”
On lining up against Iowa defensive end A.J. Epenesa and the front as a whole:
“That’s the challenge with this defensive front: across the board multiple players can win their one-on-one matchups. That’s where their strength has lied. You can’t focus on just one guy, because somebody else will expose you. When you’re talking about A.J., you’re talking about a generational talent in terms of pass rushability. That’s been really fun to watch, being a former defensive end and former defensive player. You’ve got a lot of respect for a guy that has so many tools in his toolbox. He can really expose you on every snap. I have a lot of respect for what he does. We need to find ways to really help ourselves out across the board with this defensive line. There are a lot of guys that will keep playing football (beyond Iowa).”
On how Iowa’s offense keeps it simple and how that’s worked for them:
“That’s why they’ve been consistently successful. They know who they are and are not trying to be somebody else. When you know that and become that, then you know your answers to some of the challenges that come within a game and from season to season. They are who they are and are not trying to be anybody else. I have a lot of respect for that. The thing that’s been impressive is their skill players at the offensive positions. Those guys have really stepped up and developed in their program and become good football players.”
Opening comments:
“From my end, some updated on a couple of our players. Collin Newell, right now, is still questionable for this game. I know I said that yesterday when asked that question. It’s the same point. We’ll be back out at practice today and will see how much he can or can’t do. Kene Nwangwu is expected to play. He practiced at the end of last week.”
On what Newell would need to show this week and what Plan B would be if he can’t go:
“From Collin’s standpoint, especially with what we ask that center to do, he’s got to be able to function from a mobility standpoint. He’s worked really hard to get himself back. It will be really interesting to see where we’re at today.
“In terms of the O-line shuffle, the unique for us is there’s a lot of guys on our offensive line that have played center and have played center within our offense. Who or what that would look like is still probably a work in progress as we go through this week. I do think the reality is through spring practice and fall camp, we had multiple guys play there. We know Julian (Good-Jones) started there for an entire season. It’s putting those best five out there that give us a chance to be successful. We’re a lot more ready to handle that situation that’s presented itself today.”
On Marcel Spears’ breakout game two years ago against the Hawks:
“At that point, Marcel had been a great special teams player. That was a situation for him where, going into his sophomore year, it was almost like a challenge from my end on what are you going to become. I do think there were signs, because Marcel had a great fall camp. We moved Willie (Harvey) from that WILL linebacker to SAM linebacker and Marcel assumed the starting position of WILL linebacker. It was so much credit to him on what he had done in his preparation to be a starter going into the season. I don’t think that was a known entity going into the football season that he’d be the starter. This game two years ago really put a rival stamp on what Marcel has now become. He’s been a real consistent factor for us ever since.”
On how the tight ends could play a key role helping up front:
“The thing for us, especially at the tight end position, is those guys are multiple in a lot of ways. They’re great pass catchers, blockers and we’ve asked a lot of them for a long time. Every game, you have to be multiple. No matter who you’re playing, especially a team like this that knows their answers, they’ll expose you if you’re going to do one thing consistently an entire game.”
On facing a different style of quarterback from game one to game two in Iowa’s Nate Stanley:
“The first thing is you’re talking about a veteran quarterback. What you see from Nate, even in his first two games, the confidence he’s playing with…you see a veteran senior football player. He’s playing with great poise and great confidence. You’re not so much playing against the offensive coordinator, you’re playing against that quarterback. He knows his answers and has the ability to adapt. You see him making changes throughout the game to put their team in the best position to be successful. We’re going to have to do a great of preparing to play against him. For us to sit in one thing puts our defensive backs at a disadvantage and our defensive line at a disadvantage.
“The next thing you want to talk about with their passing game is their elite skill right now. That’s jumped off the screen early on. The explosiveness from their wide receiver play so far has been impressive. It’s a great challenge for our secondary and for us defensively, playing a quarterback that’s playing at the level he is.”
On his first game against Iowa and how it set into motion the culture change in the program:
“That game was certainly a crescendo of the reality of where we were at that moment. After a tough game one and then going into that environment in this rivalry, and really kind of every inefficiency that we were as a football program, being exposed was a harsh reality. From us as coaches to our players to everybody involved, bringing those harsh realities to the forefront and then saying how are we going to fix them. Sometimes, you need to be humbled and hit rock bottom. That was certainly a rock bottom moment for our program.”
On the status of Braxton Lewis and how the depth is shaping up at his spot:
“The first part of Braxton is I do expect Braxton to play. He was able to practice last week, which was really good for us. The thing that Braxton has always brought to us is a veteran presence and a guy that certainly has a great understanding. We’ve asked him to do so many different things in our defense. He brings a sense of veteran-ness to that defensive backfield, which is really huge.
“His being out allowed some other guys to get some great experience. We kind of played through that on Saturday, which was really good. (Justin) Bickham got some really solid reps early on and kind of felt his way through and knocked off some rust. That was the big positive for us from a week ago with Braxton not playing – other guys got great opportunities.”
On lining up against Iowa defensive end A.J. Epenesa and the front as a whole:
“That’s the challenge with this defensive front: across the board multiple players can win their one-on-one matchups. That’s where their strength has lied. You can’t focus on just one guy, because somebody else will expose you. When you’re talking about A.J., you’re talking about a generational talent in terms of pass rushability. That’s been really fun to watch, being a former defensive end and former defensive player. You’ve got a lot of respect for a guy that has so many tools in his toolbox. He can really expose you on every snap. I have a lot of respect for what he does. We need to find ways to really help ourselves out across the board with this defensive line. There are a lot of guys that will keep playing football (beyond Iowa).”
On how Iowa’s offense keeps it simple and how that’s worked for them:
“That’s why they’ve been consistently successful. They know who they are and are not trying to be somebody else. When you know that and become that, then you know your answers to some of the challenges that come within a game and from season to season. They are who they are and are not trying to be anybody else. I have a lot of respect for that. The thing that’s been impressive is their skill players at the offensive positions. Those guys have really stepped up and developed in their program and become good football players.”
