Transcribed by Bill Seals
Opening comments:
“That game last Saturday seems like eons ago. We’re ready to face a big challenge for this football team. We’re excited to get back into Big 12 play and some normalcy of now playing a Big 12 schedule from here on out. This will be one of the best defenses we’ve seen so far and certainly one of the most explosive offenses. It’s a really great challenge for us. We’ve played a lot of really good opponents early in the football season and you can see them gaining confidence by the game. It will be a great challenge for us going forward and we look forward to it.”
On what’s factored into the team’s offensive production falling while in the red zone:
“We’ve played three games. That’s the biggest thing. The thing that’s been real positive is where we are better than a year ago is inside the 10-yard line. We have, other than the first football game, been really efficient down there and that’s been good to see. As I go back and look at that football game on Saturday, I think a lot of it was situational and we were trying to play within the flow of the game and get points where needed. I see we are further ahead in a lot of ways than a year ago in our ability to do some things that we couldn’t do a year ago. Getting into certain personnel packages. Getting under center. Doing some things that will really help us in critical situations as the season goes on. I know we weren’t perfect on Saturday, but inside that 10-yard line is where I see when you’re really talking about red-zone football and goal-line football you need to do some good things. I think we’re a little bit further ahead than before.”
On the rising number of turnovers offensively and forcing very few on defense:
“You say what was your greatest disappointment from Saturday and it’s the fact we turned the ball over three times offensively. We come off a season where we hadn’t put the ball on the ground and now we’ve done it three times. The number one thing that I talked about in our meeting on Sunday was our turnover margin. We are not naïve enough to say that we can’t win or can win without that turnover margin. That’s critical to our success. The emphasis on both sides of the ball, offensively take care of the football and defensively continuing to find ways to create turnovers. We’ve had opportunities on the defensive side to create turnovers, but haven’t gotten there or were inches from creating that turnover. Offensively, we’ve had opportunities to take care of the football and haven’t. Those things are one of our high red alerts going into Big 12 play. It’s priority number one for us.”
On TCU head coach Gary Patterson building a prolific defense in Fort Worth:
“It starts with just that, elite team speed. What he does such a great job of doing is recruiting with a plan of moving guys within his defensive structure to where their speed and athleticism shows up. It’s almost like you’re watching them on fast forward. They know where they need to be, are gap sound and have great gap integrity. He allows his players to play fast. He’s adapted his defense to allow that speed and athleticism to show up.”
On what the offensive identity is through three games:
“I’m excited that #32 and #18 continuing to be guys that need the ball in their hands. Our identity has always started with who are our players. It all starts with players, formations, plays. That is the key to success. Making sure to find ways to get your best players the ball in critical situations. On Saturday, I saw that we could get #32 the ball and force-feed it in his hands and allow him to have success. The neat thing for me is you’ve now seen Deshaunte Jones start to do some really great things again in the offensive system. He can be a guy that goes into that same mold. I thought Johnnie Lang…we gave him some opportunities and he took advantage of some opportunities. If we get Chase (Allen) and Charlie Kolar back, some of those tight ends will be really involved in what we’re doing offensively. Then we’ve got Matt Eaton and some of those other guys.”
On if two-to-three week timeframe for Kyle Kempt’s return is to practice or to playing in games:
“From my end, it’s where you would see him be ready to play in a game. A lot of it is just seeing his progression through it. I think we’re all really happy with where he’s at right now and what he’s doing. It will really be on his ability to get himself back. Nobody is working harder than he is to get himself back on the football field and be an asset for us. That’s the timeframe we’ve been given.”
On if Kempt is practicing yet:
“He’s not. Sunday was the first day he was back on the field actually having some movements and getting back involved. That was good to see and a huge positive going forward.”
On the kicking situation heading into training camp and Connor Assalley’s emergence:
“His situation was certainly unique going into this fall. You had a true freshman that just got here, Connor who has at least been here a little bit and some sustainability within the program. If you’ll remember, two years ago in the last spring game we actually played, Connor hit a big field goal in that spring game. That was the first time where I actually thought ‘who is this guy’? Then you’ve also got Chris Francis here.
That competition was certainly heated from the spring through fall camp. We all felt confident that all three of those guys did some really good things in fall camp. Just like everything in evaluating every position, who is doing what they’re supposed to do over a period of time and has earned the right to be a starter? We judged every practice and every kick. Connor was the guy that earned the right to go out there this season. He has stepped up through the big moments of this season. He earned the right to have success and did it the hard way. He’s a really confident football player.”
Opening comments:
“That game last Saturday seems like eons ago. We’re ready to face a big challenge for this football team. We’re excited to get back into Big 12 play and some normalcy of now playing a Big 12 schedule from here on out. This will be one of the best defenses we’ve seen so far and certainly one of the most explosive offenses. It’s a really great challenge for us. We’ve played a lot of really good opponents early in the football season and you can see them gaining confidence by the game. It will be a great challenge for us going forward and we look forward to it.”
On what’s factored into the team’s offensive production falling while in the red zone:
“We’ve played three games. That’s the biggest thing. The thing that’s been real positive is where we are better than a year ago is inside the 10-yard line. We have, other than the first football game, been really efficient down there and that’s been good to see. As I go back and look at that football game on Saturday, I think a lot of it was situational and we were trying to play within the flow of the game and get points where needed. I see we are further ahead in a lot of ways than a year ago in our ability to do some things that we couldn’t do a year ago. Getting into certain personnel packages. Getting under center. Doing some things that will really help us in critical situations as the season goes on. I know we weren’t perfect on Saturday, but inside that 10-yard line is where I see when you’re really talking about red-zone football and goal-line football you need to do some good things. I think we’re a little bit further ahead than before.”
On the rising number of turnovers offensively and forcing very few on defense:
“You say what was your greatest disappointment from Saturday and it’s the fact we turned the ball over three times offensively. We come off a season where we hadn’t put the ball on the ground and now we’ve done it three times. The number one thing that I talked about in our meeting on Sunday was our turnover margin. We are not naïve enough to say that we can’t win or can win without that turnover margin. That’s critical to our success. The emphasis on both sides of the ball, offensively take care of the football and defensively continuing to find ways to create turnovers. We’ve had opportunities on the defensive side to create turnovers, but haven’t gotten there or were inches from creating that turnover. Offensively, we’ve had opportunities to take care of the football and haven’t. Those things are one of our high red alerts going into Big 12 play. It’s priority number one for us.”
On TCU head coach Gary Patterson building a prolific defense in Fort Worth:
“It starts with just that, elite team speed. What he does such a great job of doing is recruiting with a plan of moving guys within his defensive structure to where their speed and athleticism shows up. It’s almost like you’re watching them on fast forward. They know where they need to be, are gap sound and have great gap integrity. He allows his players to play fast. He’s adapted his defense to allow that speed and athleticism to show up.”
On what the offensive identity is through three games:
“I’m excited that #32 and #18 continuing to be guys that need the ball in their hands. Our identity has always started with who are our players. It all starts with players, formations, plays. That is the key to success. Making sure to find ways to get your best players the ball in critical situations. On Saturday, I saw that we could get #32 the ball and force-feed it in his hands and allow him to have success. The neat thing for me is you’ve now seen Deshaunte Jones start to do some really great things again in the offensive system. He can be a guy that goes into that same mold. I thought Johnnie Lang…we gave him some opportunities and he took advantage of some opportunities. If we get Chase (Allen) and Charlie Kolar back, some of those tight ends will be really involved in what we’re doing offensively. Then we’ve got Matt Eaton and some of those other guys.”
On if two-to-three week timeframe for Kyle Kempt’s return is to practice or to playing in games:
“From my end, it’s where you would see him be ready to play in a game. A lot of it is just seeing his progression through it. I think we’re all really happy with where he’s at right now and what he’s doing. It will really be on his ability to get himself back. Nobody is working harder than he is to get himself back on the football field and be an asset for us. That’s the timeframe we’ve been given.”
On if Kempt is practicing yet:
“He’s not. Sunday was the first day he was back on the field actually having some movements and getting back involved. That was good to see and a huge positive going forward.”
On the kicking situation heading into training camp and Connor Assalley’s emergence:
“His situation was certainly unique going into this fall. You had a true freshman that just got here, Connor who has at least been here a little bit and some sustainability within the program. If you’ll remember, two years ago in the last spring game we actually played, Connor hit a big field goal in that spring game. That was the first time where I actually thought ‘who is this guy’? Then you’ve also got Chris Francis here.
That competition was certainly heated from the spring through fall camp. We all felt confident that all three of those guys did some really good things in fall camp. Just like everything in evaluating every position, who is doing what they’re supposed to do over a period of time and has earned the right to be a starter? We judged every practice and every kick. Connor was the guy that earned the right to go out there this season. He has stepped up through the big moments of this season. He earned the right to have success and did it the hard way. He’s a really confident football player.”
