by Bill Seals
On the recruiting process of true freshman wide receiver DeShaunte Jones:
“We were heavily recruiting him after his junior season. DeShaunte, his mother and brother had come up to see us. We were kind of the odd man looking out. As soon as we got here, we rekindled that relationship trying to see what was going on. At that time, we were still waiting for Ohio State and Michigan in what they were going to do with decisions.
“DeShaunte comes from one of the top two or three high school programs in Cincinnati Colerain. They had played late in the season, so that derailed a little bit of his recruitment in terms of him getting out to go to some places. That was certainly a benefit to us. We had a really good relationship with him and his mother. We tried to keep that going. That really helped us when we got here. He’s got a great friendship with David Montgomery as well, and those two came on their official visit together and had a good time.”
On if Ohio State ever offered Jones:
“No, they did not. They were recruiting him the entire time but did not offer.”
On what led to the defense forcing four turnovers plus big sacks and tackles-for-loss:
“I think a little bit of everything is guys making plays more than anything. Those are all guys making plays. You look at those plays on film afterwards, and it’s (Brian) Peavy doing a great job making a great play on the ball, playing his normal technique. It’s Nigel Tribune understanding the situational football, making a great play on it and Kamari (Cotton-Moya) running to the football. Jay Jones’ sack is elite effort by JaQuan Bailey, getting double-teamed in his pass rush, gets his hand up and doesn’t quit on the rush. A lot of it was just those guys making plays and maybe starting to feel comfortable in the system and techniques we’re teaching. The tribute there is our kids going out and making plays.”
On how the coaches can help Mike Warren get past another fumble this past Saturday:
“First of all, with Michael he knows that. It’s one of those things that we have to get out of his game, that maybe hinders what a really good day looks like for Mike Warren on Saturday. There’s probably been some other days and games in the year before where regardless of what happens if you turn the football over that’s glaring. We’ve got to continue to find ways as we coach him and teach him that we get that out of his game. If we don’t, those things come back and bite you and hinder you from having a chance to win football games. It’s something that is talked about and Mike knows that. He’s a prideful football player and knows that’s something he needs to continue to strain to do better for him to be the complete back he can be.”
On how the defense can have success this weekend against Baylor offense:
“I don’t know if you can ever stop the yardage against a team like this. They’re a team that’s always going to gain yards. That’s the matter of fact. They do a great job of spreading you vertically and horizontally. What has to occur defensively is winning situational football in games like this. You have to get off the field on third down and you have to do a great job in the red zone. It’s not just Baylor, that’s football today. That’s where the game has changed so much. We used to talk about giving up so much yardage, but yardage happens with tempo and how you play. It’s situational football that becomes so critical to your success.”
On how Baylor has gotten off to a good start even amidst all of the offseason controversy:
“A lot of it is players. They’re an extremely talented football team across the board. You look at them offensively. They have elite wide receivers on the outside, an extremely productive running back and a quarterback that’s had great success. He can run it, throw it and fits the tradition of what Baylor quarterbacks have looked like. Defensively, it’s just team speed. They do a great job of pursuing the ball. They have created nine to 10 turnovers this season because of their pursuit and ability to play the ball.
“Baylor has really good football players and that has not changed. They know how to win and expect to win, that hasn’t changed. A lot of that confidence is still there and certainly the entirety of their coaching staff is still there. Coach (Jim) Grobe is a really good coach and has won big football games. He’s done it at a multitude of places. Although there’s been some shakeup there, the foundation of who they are and how they play still fits and looks the same.”
On if he ever envisions the team going away from two-quarterback system if one struggles:
“I think both have earned the right to play quarterback. It’s just like any other position. Quarterback is no different than left tackle, running back or tight end. Sometimes we get that confused. Both guys have really done a great job in practice and continue to practice well. At times in games you’re never going to perfect. We know that. We as of right now four weeks into the season, in how they continue to prepare and practice, have earned the right to play in games. We’ll do a good job as coaches of continuing to find the best way for our team to have success with two quarterbacks.”
On how they have tried to get Trever Ryen more involved on special teams:
“Trever is such a great asset on special teams in general. He’s not only a great returner, but he’s also a guy that’s one of our best hold-up guys, our best punt blocker at times, and on kickoff returns he would be perfect on the front wall. What we have to do with Trever is always put him in the best position to have the biggest impact game to game and week to week. We also can’t play him too much because he’s doing such a good job on offense for us as well. Getting the ball in his hands continues to be a priority for us.”
On the importance that’s been placed on the various special team units:
“As you can tell, it’s some of our best players. A bunch of those returns get sprung because Peavy makes great blocks at the point of attack and Tribune and some of those guys. For me, that’s never changed. I’d rather take a guy out on defense or offense for a play or two than I would on special teams. We’re fortunate here to have good special teams specialists. Kene (Nwangwu) is now becoming more of a factor for us. Those plays can be such a huge asset to us gaining yardage, especially when we’re trying to grow offensively and defensively. Getting our best players out there is important.”
On keeping the same focus each week through winning and losing:
“I think what’s been good is we handled not having success in the first three weeks and we didn’t tank it. That could have happened. Now we have to handle having some success. How do you handle that? It’s another challenge for another young football team that’s finding its way. The one thing that I appreciate and the one thing we’ve worked really hard in eight months is play together. It’s not about you, it’s not about me, it’s all about us. That part is continuing to grow. If I felt one thing that was really good about us leaving TCU was I thought our kids played together. Regardless of what happened on the scoreboard, we played hard and played together. I felt we were really able to build on that. I thought we were able to build on that Saturday. That will continue to be a challenge. It’s a learned trait. We have to be great teachers of it. How do you be a great teammate and how do you do a great job as a football player? It’s not just about you but about the whole. Those are things that can be learned.”
On the statuses of Jaypee Philbert and De’Monte Ruth:
“Philbert is indefinitely suspended and is not with the team. I will let you know if there’s ever a situation or time where he would be back on the football team. De’Monte will be back and is available for the game. He was back at practice yesterday.”
On the team’s health after the first four games of the season:
“I thought we came out of the game on Saturday as good as we’ve come out in terms of the last three weeks, in terms of being dinged up and not having guys. Another thing that’s been really nice for this football team, we dealt with so much of it in fall camp and the early part of the season. It’s nice to head out to practice and have everybody at practice. When you’re putting in new offense, new defense and special teams, those guys not getting those reps showed up at times. Being able to practice is a huge advantage for us.”
On if he’s a coach that emphasizes being underdogs and using that in preparations:
“Nope. I’m not. The reality of it is we talk about one day at a time and coming with a purpose. I don’t care if we’re 100-point underdogs or whatever it is. The reality of it is it’s all about us right now. We have to learn how to be the best we can possibly be one day at a time. Who our opponent is and what our opponent is is irrelevant at this point.”
On the recruiting process of true freshman wide receiver DeShaunte Jones:
“We were heavily recruiting him after his junior season. DeShaunte, his mother and brother had come up to see us. We were kind of the odd man looking out. As soon as we got here, we rekindled that relationship trying to see what was going on. At that time, we were still waiting for Ohio State and Michigan in what they were going to do with decisions.
“DeShaunte comes from one of the top two or three high school programs in Cincinnati Colerain. They had played late in the season, so that derailed a little bit of his recruitment in terms of him getting out to go to some places. That was certainly a benefit to us. We had a really good relationship with him and his mother. We tried to keep that going. That really helped us when we got here. He’s got a great friendship with David Montgomery as well, and those two came on their official visit together and had a good time.”
On if Ohio State ever offered Jones:
“No, they did not. They were recruiting him the entire time but did not offer.”
On what led to the defense forcing four turnovers plus big sacks and tackles-for-loss:
“I think a little bit of everything is guys making plays more than anything. Those are all guys making plays. You look at those plays on film afterwards, and it’s (Brian) Peavy doing a great job making a great play on the ball, playing his normal technique. It’s Nigel Tribune understanding the situational football, making a great play on it and Kamari (Cotton-Moya) running to the football. Jay Jones’ sack is elite effort by JaQuan Bailey, getting double-teamed in his pass rush, gets his hand up and doesn’t quit on the rush. A lot of it was just those guys making plays and maybe starting to feel comfortable in the system and techniques we’re teaching. The tribute there is our kids going out and making plays.”
On how the coaches can help Mike Warren get past another fumble this past Saturday:
“First of all, with Michael he knows that. It’s one of those things that we have to get out of his game, that maybe hinders what a really good day looks like for Mike Warren on Saturday. There’s probably been some other days and games in the year before where regardless of what happens if you turn the football over that’s glaring. We’ve got to continue to find ways as we coach him and teach him that we get that out of his game. If we don’t, those things come back and bite you and hinder you from having a chance to win football games. It’s something that is talked about and Mike knows that. He’s a prideful football player and knows that’s something he needs to continue to strain to do better for him to be the complete back he can be.”
On how the defense can have success this weekend against Baylor offense:
“I don’t know if you can ever stop the yardage against a team like this. They’re a team that’s always going to gain yards. That’s the matter of fact. They do a great job of spreading you vertically and horizontally. What has to occur defensively is winning situational football in games like this. You have to get off the field on third down and you have to do a great job in the red zone. It’s not just Baylor, that’s football today. That’s where the game has changed so much. We used to talk about giving up so much yardage, but yardage happens with tempo and how you play. It’s situational football that becomes so critical to your success.”
On how Baylor has gotten off to a good start even amidst all of the offseason controversy:
“A lot of it is players. They’re an extremely talented football team across the board. You look at them offensively. They have elite wide receivers on the outside, an extremely productive running back and a quarterback that’s had great success. He can run it, throw it and fits the tradition of what Baylor quarterbacks have looked like. Defensively, it’s just team speed. They do a great job of pursuing the ball. They have created nine to 10 turnovers this season because of their pursuit and ability to play the ball.
“Baylor has really good football players and that has not changed. They know how to win and expect to win, that hasn’t changed. A lot of that confidence is still there and certainly the entirety of their coaching staff is still there. Coach (Jim) Grobe is a really good coach and has won big football games. He’s done it at a multitude of places. Although there’s been some shakeup there, the foundation of who they are and how they play still fits and looks the same.”
On if he ever envisions the team going away from two-quarterback system if one struggles:
“I think both have earned the right to play quarterback. It’s just like any other position. Quarterback is no different than left tackle, running back or tight end. Sometimes we get that confused. Both guys have really done a great job in practice and continue to practice well. At times in games you’re never going to perfect. We know that. We as of right now four weeks into the season, in how they continue to prepare and practice, have earned the right to play in games. We’ll do a good job as coaches of continuing to find the best way for our team to have success with two quarterbacks.”
On how they have tried to get Trever Ryen more involved on special teams:
“Trever is such a great asset on special teams in general. He’s not only a great returner, but he’s also a guy that’s one of our best hold-up guys, our best punt blocker at times, and on kickoff returns he would be perfect on the front wall. What we have to do with Trever is always put him in the best position to have the biggest impact game to game and week to week. We also can’t play him too much because he’s doing such a good job on offense for us as well. Getting the ball in his hands continues to be a priority for us.”
On the importance that’s been placed on the various special team units:
“As you can tell, it’s some of our best players. A bunch of those returns get sprung because Peavy makes great blocks at the point of attack and Tribune and some of those guys. For me, that’s never changed. I’d rather take a guy out on defense or offense for a play or two than I would on special teams. We’re fortunate here to have good special teams specialists. Kene (Nwangwu) is now becoming more of a factor for us. Those plays can be such a huge asset to us gaining yardage, especially when we’re trying to grow offensively and defensively. Getting our best players out there is important.”
On keeping the same focus each week through winning and losing:
“I think what’s been good is we handled not having success in the first three weeks and we didn’t tank it. That could have happened. Now we have to handle having some success. How do you handle that? It’s another challenge for another young football team that’s finding its way. The one thing that I appreciate and the one thing we’ve worked really hard in eight months is play together. It’s not about you, it’s not about me, it’s all about us. That part is continuing to grow. If I felt one thing that was really good about us leaving TCU was I thought our kids played together. Regardless of what happened on the scoreboard, we played hard and played together. I felt we were really able to build on that. I thought we were able to build on that Saturday. That will continue to be a challenge. It’s a learned trait. We have to be great teachers of it. How do you be a great teammate and how do you do a great job as a football player? It’s not just about you but about the whole. Those are things that can be learned.”
On the statuses of Jaypee Philbert and De’Monte Ruth:
“Philbert is indefinitely suspended and is not with the team. I will let you know if there’s ever a situation or time where he would be back on the football team. De’Monte will be back and is available for the game. He was back at practice yesterday.”
On the team’s health after the first four games of the season:
“I thought we came out of the game on Saturday as good as we’ve come out in terms of the last three weeks, in terms of being dinged up and not having guys. Another thing that’s been really nice for this football team, we dealt with so much of it in fall camp and the early part of the season. It’s nice to head out to practice and have everybody at practice. When you’re putting in new offense, new defense and special teams, those guys not getting those reps showed up at times. Being able to practice is a huge advantage for us.”
On if he’s a coach that emphasizes being underdogs and using that in preparations:
“Nope. I’m not. The reality of it is we talk about one day at a time and coming with a purpose. I don’t care if we’re 100-point underdogs or whatever it is. The reality of it is it’s all about us right now. We have to learn how to be the best we can possibly be one day at a time. Who our opponent is and what our opponent is is irrelevant at this point.”
