Transcribed by Bill Seals
On the comeback of defensive end Mitchell Meyers, who will start the UNI game:
“You hear so much about Mitchell Meyers getting here. You know about his story from afar and then you get here. Mitchell and I didn’t even meet face to face until the middle of spring. We spoke on the phone and I was really impressed by him. He had this upbeat spirit about himself going through this. It puts you in your place really fast. Tough days come, but are they really that tough with what this guy is going through and he really has this spirit about himself?
“Mitchell’s last words to me (in the spring) are he’s coming back to play and not just be everybody’s story. You watch him through the summer in conditioning. He’s at the front of the line and not at the back of the line. He wasn’t at the top of the depth chart to start fall camp, but he leaves fall camp at the top of the depth chart. That’s defining. That’s what this program needs, those kinds of people with that type of leadership and ability to overcome adversity when the going gets tough.”
On what he’s seen from starting quarterback Joel Lanning throughout camp:
“Joel is everything you want in a football player. He’s the first guy in and the last one to leave. When you’re running sprints, he not only wins the first sprint but wins every sprint. He’s not the rah-rah guy, but he’s the guy that’s going to take the guys that’s struggling and lead him across the finish line. That’s elite leadership. Leadership comes in all shapes and sizes, but great leadership is the ability to portray who you are and portray an elite level consistently when nobody else is watching. He’s been that since the first day I arrived on campus. I’m glad his teammates saw that and witnessed his leadership ability.
“His consistency has been tremendous through spring practice into the summer. I thought he made great headway from who he was as we went into the summer to who he was when we got him back in the fall. It’s really a tribute to him and what his work ethic was in terms of footwork and just throwing different patterns that maybe we brought into the system that weren’t here before. I’m really excited for Joel Lanning and the type of season he has the ability to have.”
On if he’ll have any butterflies when he comes out of the tunnel for the first time Saturday:
“I’m sure they will be. I’m still the guy that thinks he’s playing or could be playing. I think the other part of me also knows that what you see is what you get. That consistency of my own actions in who I am has to portray down to our own football team. Absolutely I’m excited, can’t wait to play, see this stadium and be a part of this environment, but I also can’t wait to give back to our fans and to our own fan base. That’s building this thing the right and doing things the right way. The starting point is this Saturday.”
On any pressure going into this season given the team hasn’t had much success recently:
“The reality of it for me is in our own selves is there’s no greater pressure that anybody can put on ourselves daily, how we do everything we do. Whether it’s how we recruit, how we practice, how we play and how we win or lose football games. Our expectations are extremely high. My expectation is to give back to these great fans that have sacrificed a great deal here. They’re loyal. It gives you a little bit extra to come in every day wanting to give back to this fan base.”
On what the plan is for rotating defensive linemen in the season opener:
“Good defensive lines play a lot of people. That’s the reality of it. Are we there yet? Can we do those things? That’s all how we practice. You earn those reps throughout the week, in my opinion, even if you’re a starter. Every great defensive line I’ve been a part of, you’ve got to play multiple people. It’s not like 10 years ago when you could play four guys, they’re huddling every time and those four guys are going to play 90 percent of the plays. If that’s the case, then we’ll be in trouble. It’s important to have rotation, but you’ve got to earn that and you’ll see if we’re ready to earn that on Saturday.”
On what he’s seen from returning back Michael Warren and how he can take the next step:
“His consistency of play and his ability to continue to raise the level. He’s got a new offensive line, needs to usher that group in and be a part of helping that group usher themselves in. I thought he’s done a good job of that this fall camp. We challenged him off-season wise to get bigger and stronger. If you look at Michael with his pads off, he looks a little bit different than he did a season ago. Now it’s about doing the little things. Are you the guy that’s here on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday when nobody else watching film and trying to understand the game plan? It’s not just about going out and running the football. Hopefully Michael accepts that challenge.”
On his assessment of the offensive line heading into the season:
“I don’t know if anything has changed with what I think of that group. I appreciate their work ethic and think that they’ve come with a purpose since the summer. I really felt that way towards the middle to end of spring practice. That group really started to understand what we wanted from our offensive line. What the expectation was to play offensive line here. The group has really put in the time and work ethic in.
“Knowing what we have and where we’re at, I don’t know if we have any idea. What I do know is some of those guys that have had some experience (are stepping up). Brian (Bobek) has been a huge addition and I’ve said that multiple times. His maturity, expertise, work ethic and ability to study the game. He’s brought a little bit of confidence to that offensive line. Guys like Nick Fett and Patrick Scoggins have played with great confidence all spring and fall camp, but can they carry that on? Can Jaypee (Philbert) continue to have success out there? Julian Good-Jones and Bryce Meeker are young guys that haven’t had a chance to play, but they’re going to get thrown into the fire.”
On the true freshmen running backs Kene Nwangwu and David Montgomery:
“I tell all of our kids, ‘make me play you’. Those two guys have made me play them. David is physical and strong. He has decisively elite speed, one cut vertical will get him through the hole. He’s a tenacious blocker and has done a great job of understanding protection. Kene Nwangwu is bar-none the fastest kid on our football team. He has the ability to really do things with the ball in his hands and is special. Kene has gotten better every single day in practice. Those two guys brought it consistently and have the ability to make big plays with the ball.”
On if he has any superstitions on game day:
“The biggest thing is I’m a big cotton candy and bubble gum guy, so on game day you bet I’ll have some of that going in.”
On the positions that he feels the best about coming out of camp:
“I really like our wide receiver position. There are a lot of guys there that had good camps for us. I really like what we have at the tailback position right now. Those are guys that have sustained it through fall camp. Our defensive backfield has a lot of guys that have played a lot of football for us. Those are positions that there is video tape evidence of these guys sustaining and playing at a high rate. There are other positions that I’m waiting to see that video tape evidence. I’ve seen some really good things, but can you sustain it and be the same guy all the time? Those are areas that we’re going to find out on Saturday a little bit more.”
On the comeback of defensive end Mitchell Meyers, who will start the UNI game:
“You hear so much about Mitchell Meyers getting here. You know about his story from afar and then you get here. Mitchell and I didn’t even meet face to face until the middle of spring. We spoke on the phone and I was really impressed by him. He had this upbeat spirit about himself going through this. It puts you in your place really fast. Tough days come, but are they really that tough with what this guy is going through and he really has this spirit about himself?
“Mitchell’s last words to me (in the spring) are he’s coming back to play and not just be everybody’s story. You watch him through the summer in conditioning. He’s at the front of the line and not at the back of the line. He wasn’t at the top of the depth chart to start fall camp, but he leaves fall camp at the top of the depth chart. That’s defining. That’s what this program needs, those kinds of people with that type of leadership and ability to overcome adversity when the going gets tough.”
On what he’s seen from starting quarterback Joel Lanning throughout camp:
“Joel is everything you want in a football player. He’s the first guy in and the last one to leave. When you’re running sprints, he not only wins the first sprint but wins every sprint. He’s not the rah-rah guy, but he’s the guy that’s going to take the guys that’s struggling and lead him across the finish line. That’s elite leadership. Leadership comes in all shapes and sizes, but great leadership is the ability to portray who you are and portray an elite level consistently when nobody else is watching. He’s been that since the first day I arrived on campus. I’m glad his teammates saw that and witnessed his leadership ability.
“His consistency has been tremendous through spring practice into the summer. I thought he made great headway from who he was as we went into the summer to who he was when we got him back in the fall. It’s really a tribute to him and what his work ethic was in terms of footwork and just throwing different patterns that maybe we brought into the system that weren’t here before. I’m really excited for Joel Lanning and the type of season he has the ability to have.”
On if he’ll have any butterflies when he comes out of the tunnel for the first time Saturday:
“I’m sure they will be. I’m still the guy that thinks he’s playing or could be playing. I think the other part of me also knows that what you see is what you get. That consistency of my own actions in who I am has to portray down to our own football team. Absolutely I’m excited, can’t wait to play, see this stadium and be a part of this environment, but I also can’t wait to give back to our fans and to our own fan base. That’s building this thing the right and doing things the right way. The starting point is this Saturday.”
On any pressure going into this season given the team hasn’t had much success recently:
“The reality of it for me is in our own selves is there’s no greater pressure that anybody can put on ourselves daily, how we do everything we do. Whether it’s how we recruit, how we practice, how we play and how we win or lose football games. Our expectations are extremely high. My expectation is to give back to these great fans that have sacrificed a great deal here. They’re loyal. It gives you a little bit extra to come in every day wanting to give back to this fan base.”
On what the plan is for rotating defensive linemen in the season opener:
“Good defensive lines play a lot of people. That’s the reality of it. Are we there yet? Can we do those things? That’s all how we practice. You earn those reps throughout the week, in my opinion, even if you’re a starter. Every great defensive line I’ve been a part of, you’ve got to play multiple people. It’s not like 10 years ago when you could play four guys, they’re huddling every time and those four guys are going to play 90 percent of the plays. If that’s the case, then we’ll be in trouble. It’s important to have rotation, but you’ve got to earn that and you’ll see if we’re ready to earn that on Saturday.”
On what he’s seen from returning back Michael Warren and how he can take the next step:
“His consistency of play and his ability to continue to raise the level. He’s got a new offensive line, needs to usher that group in and be a part of helping that group usher themselves in. I thought he’s done a good job of that this fall camp. We challenged him off-season wise to get bigger and stronger. If you look at Michael with his pads off, he looks a little bit different than he did a season ago. Now it’s about doing the little things. Are you the guy that’s here on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday when nobody else watching film and trying to understand the game plan? It’s not just about going out and running the football. Hopefully Michael accepts that challenge.”
On his assessment of the offensive line heading into the season:
“I don’t know if anything has changed with what I think of that group. I appreciate their work ethic and think that they’ve come with a purpose since the summer. I really felt that way towards the middle to end of spring practice. That group really started to understand what we wanted from our offensive line. What the expectation was to play offensive line here. The group has really put in the time and work ethic in.
“Knowing what we have and where we’re at, I don’t know if we have any idea. What I do know is some of those guys that have had some experience (are stepping up). Brian (Bobek) has been a huge addition and I’ve said that multiple times. His maturity, expertise, work ethic and ability to study the game. He’s brought a little bit of confidence to that offensive line. Guys like Nick Fett and Patrick Scoggins have played with great confidence all spring and fall camp, but can they carry that on? Can Jaypee (Philbert) continue to have success out there? Julian Good-Jones and Bryce Meeker are young guys that haven’t had a chance to play, but they’re going to get thrown into the fire.”
On the true freshmen running backs Kene Nwangwu and David Montgomery:
“I tell all of our kids, ‘make me play you’. Those two guys have made me play them. David is physical and strong. He has decisively elite speed, one cut vertical will get him through the hole. He’s a tenacious blocker and has done a great job of understanding protection. Kene Nwangwu is bar-none the fastest kid on our football team. He has the ability to really do things with the ball in his hands and is special. Kene has gotten better every single day in practice. Those two guys brought it consistently and have the ability to make big plays with the ball.”
On if he has any superstitions on game day:
“The biggest thing is I’m a big cotton candy and bubble gum guy, so on game day you bet I’ll have some of that going in.”
On the positions that he feels the best about coming out of camp:
“I really like our wide receiver position. There are a lot of guys there that had good camps for us. I really like what we have at the tailback position right now. Those are guys that have sustained it through fall camp. Our defensive backfield has a lot of guys that have played a lot of football for us. Those are positions that there is video tape evidence of these guys sustaining and playing at a high rate. There are other positions that I’m waiting to see that video tape evidence. I’ve seen some really good things, but can you sustain it and be the same guy all the time? Those are areas that we’re going to find out on Saturday a little bit more.”
