Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
MT vs. Charlotte presser
11/14/2016 1:27:00 PM | Football
Kickoff is set for 1 PM
Following are quotes from today's Middle Tennessee football press conference. The Blue Raiders play at Charlotte Saturday.
Head Coach Rick Stockstill
Opening Statement…
"I appreciate everybody being here again. We have Charlotte coming in this week. I know I do it, and I think coaches across America do it quite often, and you guys probably get tired of hearing it quite often, but it's about us. I think more so this week than ever it is about us. It's about us improving and correcting the mistakes we made last week. Charlotte is a good football team. They are much improved from last year. They have four wins with two games left, so they are fighting to get their sixth win also. They are leading the conference in rushing offensively. They are up there in ball security at plus-5 in the turnover margin. (Head coach) Brad (Lambert) has done a phenomenal job with that program. I have a lot of respect for him. I have known him for a long time since we were coaching against each other in the ACC. It's a really good football team, but again this is about us and us getting better."
On improving defensively…
"At times against Marshall we did some good things. We just weren't consistent enough for four quarters. We have to tackle better. Usually tackling comes down to fundamentals. You have to be fundamentally sound and in great position when you make a tackle. We've got to play better assignment football. We have to execute the call that is called, we have to play that a little bit better. We have to get more hats to the ball, and we have to play with some confidence. We have to get some swagger and juice back, and we have to get some confidence. It looks like we are a little tentative to me right now.
On quarterback John Urzua improvements…
"He's got to play better. I said it going in, we had to protect the football. I talked to our team about it yesterday. We have eight turnovers in the first eight games. We've had eight turnovers in the last seven quarters. You're not going to win many games doing that. John has got to play better. He's got to protect the ball — that's where it starts.
On limiting turnovers in the passing game…
"Throw it to the right guy, and I don't mean that in a smart aleck way. Go through your reads. Don't force the ball. If it's not there, live for another down and throw it away. Play smarter with the football. Interceptions are part of the game. It happens, but you can't force footballs in there and think you're going to get something when nothing is there. The big thing is doing what you're coached to do, play within the system and don't force things or try to make a play when there is not a play to be made.
On Charlotte's improvements from last season…
"One, I think they have 20-plus fifth-year seniors. They are a mature football team. After we played them last year, I bet there is not one person around here that has followed Charlotte. Now all of a sudden you see Charlotte coming up. Charlotte had some good wins last year and some really close losses last year. When you score 73 points, we had some big plays in the passing game. Darius Harris returned an interception for a touchdown. I think people look at that score and think they weren't any good, but they had a good team last year. They are older now. They aren't turning the ball over, and when you do that you have a chance to beat anybody."
On wide receiver Richie James' consistency…
"He's a good player. He is dynamic in space. He has the ability to make people miss. He didn't have any drops Saturday, which was the first time in a couple games. He was consistent. He makes plays and he is a good player. As limited as we are at certain positions now, we have to find ways to get the ball in his hands as much as we can."
On Charlotte's defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi…
"He's a good player. I think he just got selected to the Senior Bowl last week. I met him this summer at the conference media days. He is a really nice young man. He is a good football player. He is active and he plays hard. We have to do a better job up front of staying on our blocks, and I think we'll do that this week. He is a good player, and good players make plays. You're not going to stop good players completely from being successful. We have to be cognizant of him and aware of him, and understand how hard you have to play and strain your body to stay on your blocks. If you don't, he can create a lot of havoc in there.
On his disposition this week in staying confident…
"I told them yesterday what I thought good offenses do and what good defenses do. I showed them where we are, in my opinion, with what those good offenses and defenses do. That's about us correcting those areas. To me, nobody is going to feel sorry for you because you got beat. Who cares? Nobody cares about that. If you're going to walk around and hope somebody gives you a pity party, that's not going to happen. I've never been that way. I tell the players all the time — if you win you have 24 hours to enjoy it, and if you lose you have 24 hours to step on your lip. Let's come back the next day and get back to work. That's the only way I know how to get better. I'm always going to remain positive and coach these guys. I'm going to point out their mistakes and be brutally honest with them. That's what I believe in. We're trying to do the best we can this week and get a win this week. That's all I'm worried about."
LB DJ Sanders
On avoiding a third consecutive loss...
"We have to be more consistent. I told the guys the other day we have to take control of the defense. Yesterday we had a walk-through of formations so that we'll know how to fit. We just have to be more consistent."
On containing Charlotte's rushing offense...
"We have to play the read option. We know they're going to run it, we just have to have our eyes in the right place because they're going to give it to the running back and the quarterback is going to pull it some and we'll have to stop him."
On stopping the run...
"Every Sunday when we go back and watch the film, we see that one guy isn't fitting here right or one guys isn't fitting there. We're just not consistently fitting right. We'll fit the play right the first time but not the next time. We have to be more consistent with fitting."
On looking forward to Saturday's game...
"We're tired of losing, and we want to win again. We're focused right now. We want to be able to celebrate in that locker room."
Head Coach Rick Stockstill
Opening Statement…
"I appreciate everybody being here again. We have Charlotte coming in this week. I know I do it, and I think coaches across America do it quite often, and you guys probably get tired of hearing it quite often, but it's about us. I think more so this week than ever it is about us. It's about us improving and correcting the mistakes we made last week. Charlotte is a good football team. They are much improved from last year. They have four wins with two games left, so they are fighting to get their sixth win also. They are leading the conference in rushing offensively. They are up there in ball security at plus-5 in the turnover margin. (Head coach) Brad (Lambert) has done a phenomenal job with that program. I have a lot of respect for him. I have known him for a long time since we were coaching against each other in the ACC. It's a really good football team, but again this is about us and us getting better."
On improving defensively…
"At times against Marshall we did some good things. We just weren't consistent enough for four quarters. We have to tackle better. Usually tackling comes down to fundamentals. You have to be fundamentally sound and in great position when you make a tackle. We've got to play better assignment football. We have to execute the call that is called, we have to play that a little bit better. We have to get more hats to the ball, and we have to play with some confidence. We have to get some swagger and juice back, and we have to get some confidence. It looks like we are a little tentative to me right now.
On quarterback John Urzua improvements…
"He's got to play better. I said it going in, we had to protect the football. I talked to our team about it yesterday. We have eight turnovers in the first eight games. We've had eight turnovers in the last seven quarters. You're not going to win many games doing that. John has got to play better. He's got to protect the ball — that's where it starts.
On limiting turnovers in the passing game…
"Throw it to the right guy, and I don't mean that in a smart aleck way. Go through your reads. Don't force the ball. If it's not there, live for another down and throw it away. Play smarter with the football. Interceptions are part of the game. It happens, but you can't force footballs in there and think you're going to get something when nothing is there. The big thing is doing what you're coached to do, play within the system and don't force things or try to make a play when there is not a play to be made.
On Charlotte's improvements from last season…
"One, I think they have 20-plus fifth-year seniors. They are a mature football team. After we played them last year, I bet there is not one person around here that has followed Charlotte. Now all of a sudden you see Charlotte coming up. Charlotte had some good wins last year and some really close losses last year. When you score 73 points, we had some big plays in the passing game. Darius Harris returned an interception for a touchdown. I think people look at that score and think they weren't any good, but they had a good team last year. They are older now. They aren't turning the ball over, and when you do that you have a chance to beat anybody."
On wide receiver Richie James' consistency…
"He's a good player. He is dynamic in space. He has the ability to make people miss. He didn't have any drops Saturday, which was the first time in a couple games. He was consistent. He makes plays and he is a good player. As limited as we are at certain positions now, we have to find ways to get the ball in his hands as much as we can."
On Charlotte's defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi…
"He's a good player. I think he just got selected to the Senior Bowl last week. I met him this summer at the conference media days. He is a really nice young man. He is a good football player. He is active and he plays hard. We have to do a better job up front of staying on our blocks, and I think we'll do that this week. He is a good player, and good players make plays. You're not going to stop good players completely from being successful. We have to be cognizant of him and aware of him, and understand how hard you have to play and strain your body to stay on your blocks. If you don't, he can create a lot of havoc in there.
On his disposition this week in staying confident…
"I told them yesterday what I thought good offenses do and what good defenses do. I showed them where we are, in my opinion, with what those good offenses and defenses do. That's about us correcting those areas. To me, nobody is going to feel sorry for you because you got beat. Who cares? Nobody cares about that. If you're going to walk around and hope somebody gives you a pity party, that's not going to happen. I've never been that way. I tell the players all the time — if you win you have 24 hours to enjoy it, and if you lose you have 24 hours to step on your lip. Let's come back the next day and get back to work. That's the only way I know how to get better. I'm always going to remain positive and coach these guys. I'm going to point out their mistakes and be brutally honest with them. That's what I believe in. We're trying to do the best we can this week and get a win this week. That's all I'm worried about."
LB DJ Sanders
On avoiding a third consecutive loss...
"We have to be more consistent. I told the guys the other day we have to take control of the defense. Yesterday we had a walk-through of formations so that we'll know how to fit. We just have to be more consistent."
On containing Charlotte's rushing offense...
"We have to play the read option. We know they're going to run it, we just have to have our eyes in the right place because they're going to give it to the running back and the quarterback is going to pull it some and we'll have to stop him."
On stopping the run...
"Every Sunday when we go back and watch the film, we see that one guy isn't fitting here right or one guys isn't fitting there. We're just not consistently fitting right. We'll fit the play right the first time but not the next time. We have to be more consistent with fitting."
On looking forward to Saturday's game...
"We're tired of losing, and we want to win again. We're focused right now. We want to be able to celebrate in that locker room."
Players Mentioned
MTSU Football at Nevada cinematic recap – 9/13/25
Tuesday, September 16
Derek Mason LIVE: Presented by The Boulevard Bar & Grille Week 4 (Video)
Monday, September 15
MTSU Football Weekly Press Conference 9/15/25
Monday, September 15
MTSU Football at Nevada highlights – 9/13/25
Sunday, September 14
