by Bill Seals
On how beneficial having a 1,000-yard rusher is on recruiting future backs:
“I don’t know that I’ve even thought of that. The one thing I really feel comfortable about between myself and Coach Ayeni, you look at our history, we have done a great job of developing the running backs and running backs at the tailback position. I think back to Kareem (Hunt) last year and I don’t even know if he hit that by the end of the season. I think he did once the bowl game came into play. We were in a really good situation there because we had three guys running the football. There were a lot of guys that were having success running the football.
“Sometimes, as much as just having a single 1,000-yard rusher, it’s having multiple guys that are having success and getting touches. You can spin that different ways. I don’t know how I feel about that until maybe after the season and I can evaluate the status of all those guys. We look for every edge in recruiting, but sometimes the more guys you’re playing, the more you can sell in terms of recruiting.”
On Kansas State quarterback Jesse Ertz, who is an Iowa native:
“I do know that he is from the state. I don’t know much of his background or certainly what went into that other than what I’ve seen of him on film. I have got a great deal of respect of what Kansas State has always done offensively, in terms of using their quarterback as both a runner and passer. It really allows them to have so much success in terms of what they want to do offensively. Jesse fits the bill for them and he’s got the ability to do all those things.
“You look at the first half of that Texas game last week. They were almost flawless in how they played and what they wanted to do. They executed. I have a lot of respect for them. He’s off to a great start this season and has played some really good football. I’m sure he’ll have a lot of passion coming back to the state of Iowa and wanting to play here. It will be a great test for us.”
On the team’s success putting points on the board when in the red zone:
“It’s the difference between success and not success for us. You can look back to the only we miss we’ve had last week at Texas. You turn those from touchdowns instead of field goals, it may be a different football game. We’re built right now that we have to win critical situations. We have to do a great job on third down. We have to do a great job in the red zone. And we have done a good job in the red zone.
“It’s a tribute to our quarterbacks being efficient down there. We have been smart and had success in those areas. You’ve got to be multiple. You’ve got to have the ability to run the ball and have the ability to play-action pass and get the ball to the people in space when you have those opportunities. We leave a game where it wasn’t the best we’ve been, so you can bet it was a focus for our football team last week. Details and fundamentals is really what the team we’re playing was built on.”
On what it will be like to coach in his first Homecoming game at Iowa State:
“One of the neat things about Iowa State is the tradition of Homecoming. That’s one of the things here that means something. I appreciate that. That’s something that makes this place really special from our fan base to our alumni to our former players, saying I’m coming back and want to be a part of that. Hopefully our players will feel that excitement level. We got to taste that a little bit in the Hall of Fame week early on in the season when we had some great players back, Coach Mac and that entire team. Those are all things that make it special to play college football and special to be a part of Iowa State.
“Equally to that, it’s a challenge to face a team that has had gotten the better of us for almost the last 10 years and knowing what a challenge that is for this football team. I think there’s a lot to tie into this coming week and the most important thing is we’ve got to get better. All those said, it’s going to be a real big weekend for this football team and football program.”
On if team can now push the reset button on the season after taking a week away:
“I don’t know if it’s so much the reset button. You imagine where we’ve come from and we’re so much of a different team. It’s not so much players, but process and how we got about things seven weeks into the season. You’d love to go back and restart the whole thing and say ‘here’s what it takes to be successful’. That’s all part of the growing, learning and the process that we’re all trying to instill in our football program here.
“It was good to sit back and watch ourselves play last week. What have we done well? What haven’t we done well? Guys can visually see that and take a second to see fundamentals and details, and now going forward how do we perfect those? We’re all excited to get back on the football field. It’s hard for me to sit there and watch college football Saturday and not be in that arena. I hope our kids feel that way. You watch some great games, but want to be out there and a part of that.”
On what needs to be done offensively to get this unit back to the level it was before Texas:
“I just think it’s efficiency. We moved the ball at times throughout the Texas game, but were just not efficient in some critical situations. I thought from the 30 to the 30, our football team moved the ball really well. Those are situations against a team like Texas, where their front-seven is outstanding as well, you’re not just going to sit there and pick them apart. You have to be efficient with the opportunities that you have and have to have the opportunity to be successful consistently and we didn’t do that. It’s back to that. I think we’ll be ready for a great challenge again this week.”
On Kansas State’s Jordan Willis:
“He’s productive against everybody he’s played through seven games. He’s got outstanding length. He’s got the ability to affect the passer on first down, second down and third down, which is hard to do. He’s got great take-off which allows that to happen. You have to know where he is on every play. He plays really hard and is a guy that has really improved throughout his career. It’s a tribute to him. It will be a great challenge for our offensive line this week.”
On the progress Jhaustin Thomas has made since moving to the interior defensive line:
“I do think the Jhaustin move has been really beneficial for us. You have seen our defense play better defense over the last two or three games since he’s officially moved in there. We have the ability to consistently move him around. That’s a tribute to Jhaustin. It’s not easy to do. For the last eight or nine months that we’ve been here, we have challenged him to become the best he can possibly be. He has bought into what we’ve asked him to do and his progression in the eight or nine months has been outstanding. I’m really proud of him. He’s given us substantial uplift, in terms of being able to go inside and play with consistency. He needs to continue to work on that craft and continue to get better. I think you’ll see him continue to move around a little bit.”
On how beneficial having a 1,000-yard rusher is on recruiting future backs:
“I don’t know that I’ve even thought of that. The one thing I really feel comfortable about between myself and Coach Ayeni, you look at our history, we have done a great job of developing the running backs and running backs at the tailback position. I think back to Kareem (Hunt) last year and I don’t even know if he hit that by the end of the season. I think he did once the bowl game came into play. We were in a really good situation there because we had three guys running the football. There were a lot of guys that were having success running the football.
“Sometimes, as much as just having a single 1,000-yard rusher, it’s having multiple guys that are having success and getting touches. You can spin that different ways. I don’t know how I feel about that until maybe after the season and I can evaluate the status of all those guys. We look for every edge in recruiting, but sometimes the more guys you’re playing, the more you can sell in terms of recruiting.”
On Kansas State quarterback Jesse Ertz, who is an Iowa native:
“I do know that he is from the state. I don’t know much of his background or certainly what went into that other than what I’ve seen of him on film. I have got a great deal of respect of what Kansas State has always done offensively, in terms of using their quarterback as both a runner and passer. It really allows them to have so much success in terms of what they want to do offensively. Jesse fits the bill for them and he’s got the ability to do all those things.
“You look at the first half of that Texas game last week. They were almost flawless in how they played and what they wanted to do. They executed. I have a lot of respect for them. He’s off to a great start this season and has played some really good football. I’m sure he’ll have a lot of passion coming back to the state of Iowa and wanting to play here. It will be a great test for us.”
On the team’s success putting points on the board when in the red zone:
“It’s the difference between success and not success for us. You can look back to the only we miss we’ve had last week at Texas. You turn those from touchdowns instead of field goals, it may be a different football game. We’re built right now that we have to win critical situations. We have to do a great job on third down. We have to do a great job in the red zone. And we have done a good job in the red zone.
“It’s a tribute to our quarterbacks being efficient down there. We have been smart and had success in those areas. You’ve got to be multiple. You’ve got to have the ability to run the ball and have the ability to play-action pass and get the ball to the people in space when you have those opportunities. We leave a game where it wasn’t the best we’ve been, so you can bet it was a focus for our football team last week. Details and fundamentals is really what the team we’re playing was built on.”
On what it will be like to coach in his first Homecoming game at Iowa State:
“One of the neat things about Iowa State is the tradition of Homecoming. That’s one of the things here that means something. I appreciate that. That’s something that makes this place really special from our fan base to our alumni to our former players, saying I’m coming back and want to be a part of that. Hopefully our players will feel that excitement level. We got to taste that a little bit in the Hall of Fame week early on in the season when we had some great players back, Coach Mac and that entire team. Those are all things that make it special to play college football and special to be a part of Iowa State.
“Equally to that, it’s a challenge to face a team that has had gotten the better of us for almost the last 10 years and knowing what a challenge that is for this football team. I think there’s a lot to tie into this coming week and the most important thing is we’ve got to get better. All those said, it’s going to be a real big weekend for this football team and football program.”
On if team can now push the reset button on the season after taking a week away:
“I don’t know if it’s so much the reset button. You imagine where we’ve come from and we’re so much of a different team. It’s not so much players, but process and how we got about things seven weeks into the season. You’d love to go back and restart the whole thing and say ‘here’s what it takes to be successful’. That’s all part of the growing, learning and the process that we’re all trying to instill in our football program here.
“It was good to sit back and watch ourselves play last week. What have we done well? What haven’t we done well? Guys can visually see that and take a second to see fundamentals and details, and now going forward how do we perfect those? We’re all excited to get back on the football field. It’s hard for me to sit there and watch college football Saturday and not be in that arena. I hope our kids feel that way. You watch some great games, but want to be out there and a part of that.”
On what needs to be done offensively to get this unit back to the level it was before Texas:
“I just think it’s efficiency. We moved the ball at times throughout the Texas game, but were just not efficient in some critical situations. I thought from the 30 to the 30, our football team moved the ball really well. Those are situations against a team like Texas, where their front-seven is outstanding as well, you’re not just going to sit there and pick them apart. You have to be efficient with the opportunities that you have and have to have the opportunity to be successful consistently and we didn’t do that. It’s back to that. I think we’ll be ready for a great challenge again this week.”
On Kansas State’s Jordan Willis:
“He’s productive against everybody he’s played through seven games. He’s got outstanding length. He’s got the ability to affect the passer on first down, second down and third down, which is hard to do. He’s got great take-off which allows that to happen. You have to know where he is on every play. He plays really hard and is a guy that has really improved throughout his career. It’s a tribute to him. It will be a great challenge for our offensive line this week.”
On the progress Jhaustin Thomas has made since moving to the interior defensive line:
“I do think the Jhaustin move has been really beneficial for us. You have seen our defense play better defense over the last two or three games since he’s officially moved in there. We have the ability to consistently move him around. That’s a tribute to Jhaustin. It’s not easy to do. For the last eight or nine months that we’ve been here, we have challenged him to become the best he can possibly be. He has bought into what we’ve asked him to do and his progression in the eight or nine months has been outstanding. I’m really proud of him. He’s given us substantial uplift, in terms of being able to go inside and play with consistency. He needs to continue to work on that craft and continue to get better. I think you’ll see him continue to move around a little bit.”
