Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Photo by: Brent Beerends/MT Athletic Communications
MT vs. LA Tech presser
9/19/2016 12:37:00 PM | Football
C-USA opener for both teams
Head Coach Rick Stockstill
Opening Statement…
"Like always, I appreciate you guys coming and giving up some of your time to be here with us. I'm not going to talk much about last week unless you guys have questions on it. I'm proud of our team and how they competed and how they played at Bowling Green against a really good football team, and also in some very difficult and adverse weather conditions. That was a great win for us to go on the road and beat a really good team like Bowling Green.
We have LA Tech coming in this weekend. Skip (Holtz) has done a phenomenal job there. He's a great coach. He does a really good job with his team. They are 1-2. They got beat by Arkansas, and I think everybody knows how good Arkansas is. They lost to them by a point on the road. Last week they got beat by another Power 5 in Texas Tech. They've got a really good football team. They had a good team last year. Statistically, if you look at them, they are right up there at the top in every offensive category. Defensively, they had to replace a lot of people but they brought in a lot of graduate transfers. They have a starting linebacker (Dalton Santos) from Texas. They have another starting linebacker (Jordan Harris), who we recruited out of junior college. He went to Iowa State, graduated from there and is now with them. They have a starting corner (Prince Sam) from Houston Baptist, another one from Arizona State (Ronald Lewis) and a backup from Oregon State (Cyril Noland-Lewis). They replaced the guys they lost with some experience in getting these graduate transfers. They lost a really good player as a first-round draft pick on the defensive line last year. I still think the strength of their defense is their front. They are active. They are big and they can run. You guys are going to look at them statistically and think they aren't quite as good defensively, but they are. You have to take in hand who they have played two of these three games. It's a really good defense in my opinion. They are good in the back end. Their special teams are really good. They are doing a nice job in third-down conversions. They are right behind us. We are at 51 percent and they are at 49 percent. They do a lot of good things in critical situations. I'm really impressed with their receiver (Taylor Trent). He was first team all-conference last year. He's a a really good football player. He's a tough kid. I said in the preseason that I thought he was one of the top two or three receivers in the conference. Their running back (Jarred Craft) is good. He's averaging 100 yards per game. Their quarterback (Ryan Higgins) — it's not his first year playing, so they have some experience at that position, and their offensive line is good. This is a really good football team that is coming in here. They are going to present a lot of challenges in a lot of different ways for us. Expect a dog-fight. Expect a four-quarter game. This is what this game will end up being. We have to improve ourselves and get ready for a good football game this weekend."
On meeting LA Tech wide receiver Trent Taylor and what makes him a good player…
"I met him at the Conference USA media days. He's a great person. He's a phenomenal young man. I have a lot of respect for him. What makes him a good player (is) he's smart, he's tough, he competes on every down. He has a great desire to not be tackled. He's a complete football player. He's their punt returner. He loves the game. If you have those characteristics, plus he's got good hands, I think the intangibles make him a good player — his toughness, his competitiveness, his desire and will not to be tackled makes him a good player."
On second-half defense against Bowling Green…
"I thought we did a nice job defensively. They scored 21 points, and I think there was about 10 minutes left in the second quarter, so they didn't score really in the last two-and-a-half quarters of the game. I thought we did a nice job of not giving up big plays or explosive plays. We created three turnovers and defense and one in the kicking game. We have to do a better job of stopping the run. The weather was miserable the whole game, but the second half, if it could be twice as bad, it was twice as bad as the first half. The second half really turned into a middle drill or an inside drill because it was so difficult to throw the ball. We did a good job. We got stops and we didn't give up big plays defensively. The thing that stands out to me is that we've got to do a better job stopping the run than what we have in the last couple weeks."
On LA Tech running back Jerrod Craft in comparison to last year's Kenneth Dixon…
"Obviously, Dixon was a great back. You don't score that many touchdowns in your career and not be a good back. This one, he may be faster. He looks a little bit more explosive. He's averaging over 100 yards a game through these first three games. He's a good back. I've watched a little film last night and a little today, so it's a little premature for me to say some things, but he looks like he's just as dangerous out of the backfield catching the ball. They utilized Dixon a lot in the passing game, and it looks like they are doing the same with Craft. He's a dangerous back. He's explosive. Comparing the two, I think, is a little bit unfair because of what Dixon did over the course of his career. But this guy is a good back. He can run and he is fast."
On strategy in recruiting graduate transfers…
"Yeah, because you really don't find out about them until after signing day. Dennis (Andrews) has come in and done a nice job. Deontay (Evans) is contributing for us on special teams. Unless you have a connection and have somebody at another school to say 'hey, this guy is going to graduate.' I'm sure that is what happened with Skip getting the linebacker from Texas. Skip's son is the holder at Texas, and he and Charlie Strong coached together. So I'm sure there was some communication there. Unless you know somebody or somebody contacts you at the end of the spring when most of them graduate, it's different because 1) you have to have a scholarship available, and 2) you have to be at the right place to find somebody that's interested coming to your school."
On special teams miscues and any changes at returner…
"There will be no extra emphasis placed on special teams. We emphasize it every game. I think we have been really good on kickoff coverage. I think we're punting the ball really good. I think we're protecting really good. Our kickoff return game hasn't been as good as it needs to be. Our punt block team, or our attack team, has done a nice job. We blocked a punt. Richie has put the ball on the ground twice. He's made two poor decisions, one on fielding it and one he tried to make something happen out of nothing and had the ball stripped. I have all the confidence in the world in Richie. There won't be any changes made back there other than he'll continue to get coached and he will continue to learn each game the value of protecting the ball."
QB Brent Stockstill
On weather conditions against Bowling Green: It was pretty tough. I've never seen anything like that. We had standing water on the field and the refs had to dry the balls, so it was tough conditions, but both teams had to play in them. We can't make any excuses. We just had to focus a little bit more, and we ended up getting the job done.
On the rushing performance of I'Tavius Mathers: As an offense, it could be a different guy that shows out every week. It could be me, it could be I'Tavius, it could be our offensive line, it could be anybody. I think everyone knew that game was coming for him. He's been working hard and he was due for that type of game. He's a special player. He had great help from his offensive line, so I think everyone gets credit for that game. Next week we'll have another guy step up.
On the matchup with LA Tech's defense: I haven't watched too much of them this year, but we did play them last year. I know they're really well coached and they're extremely talented. They have graduate transfers, and they're very good up front. They fly around and make some plays. We'll have to protect the ball and continue to do a good job on third downs and execute, and I think we'll be OK.
On LA Tech's defensive schemes: We'll have a good plan going into the week. We don't worry too much about what they do personnel-wise. We'll find out what they do schematically and exploit some things in that area, but right now early in the week we're just worried about us.
On the potential for a close game: I think every conference game you have to expect a dog fight and a four-quarter game. LA Tech's extremely talented on both sides of the ball. As you can see, they went down to the wire with Arkansas and had a shootout with Texas Tech. We're expecting a competitive game, and I think we've been in a couple of those already, so we're prepared for it and we're excited for the challenge.
On the pressure for the offense to be productive against LA Tech: One thing Coach Franklin always preaches is to not watch the scoreboard. Whether we win 7-6 or 70-69, it doesn't matter. We just have to score at least one more point than the other team. I am confident our defense will come out and play a great game, but it's our job to score at least one more point than the other team, so that's what we're going to do.
On communication for play-calling in the second half: The only difference was the Coach Franklin came down on the field for the second half. He got to enjoy the weather a little bit. We didn't do too much the second half. We ran really well, and the offensive line did a great job.
On a healthy offensive line: They're doing a great job. They make our offense go. As you saw last week, we didn't throw it like we usually do, we ran it and I'Tavius did a great job. It starts with those guys up front. I'm proud of those guys. They're a great group, and we're going to continue to be good because of them.
LB DJ Sanders
On LA Tech's offense: We know they're going to run the ball, and they have a great group of receivers, so they're probably going to throw it a little too. We mainly have to stop the run this week.
On stopping the run: We have to tackle better. In the Bowling Green game, guys were slipping out of tackles. We have to push them back and work on tackling.
On the momentum of the defense: We definitely have momentum on our side. We're feeling real confident right now. Last game from the second quarter throughout the rest of the game, we got more confidence about stopping the run. That really helped the linebackers out because we were able to get in on more plays.
On Malik Hawkins's performance: Malik is a good player. He doesn't know all the plays yet, but he plays hard and is a physical guy. He knows what to do most of the time, and he'll get better.
Opening Statement…
"Like always, I appreciate you guys coming and giving up some of your time to be here with us. I'm not going to talk much about last week unless you guys have questions on it. I'm proud of our team and how they competed and how they played at Bowling Green against a really good football team, and also in some very difficult and adverse weather conditions. That was a great win for us to go on the road and beat a really good team like Bowling Green.
We have LA Tech coming in this weekend. Skip (Holtz) has done a phenomenal job there. He's a great coach. He does a really good job with his team. They are 1-2. They got beat by Arkansas, and I think everybody knows how good Arkansas is. They lost to them by a point on the road. Last week they got beat by another Power 5 in Texas Tech. They've got a really good football team. They had a good team last year. Statistically, if you look at them, they are right up there at the top in every offensive category. Defensively, they had to replace a lot of people but they brought in a lot of graduate transfers. They have a starting linebacker (Dalton Santos) from Texas. They have another starting linebacker (Jordan Harris), who we recruited out of junior college. He went to Iowa State, graduated from there and is now with them. They have a starting corner (Prince Sam) from Houston Baptist, another one from Arizona State (Ronald Lewis) and a backup from Oregon State (Cyril Noland-Lewis). They replaced the guys they lost with some experience in getting these graduate transfers. They lost a really good player as a first-round draft pick on the defensive line last year. I still think the strength of their defense is their front. They are active. They are big and they can run. You guys are going to look at them statistically and think they aren't quite as good defensively, but they are. You have to take in hand who they have played two of these three games. It's a really good defense in my opinion. They are good in the back end. Their special teams are really good. They are doing a nice job in third-down conversions. They are right behind us. We are at 51 percent and they are at 49 percent. They do a lot of good things in critical situations. I'm really impressed with their receiver (Taylor Trent). He was first team all-conference last year. He's a a really good football player. He's a tough kid. I said in the preseason that I thought he was one of the top two or three receivers in the conference. Their running back (Jarred Craft) is good. He's averaging 100 yards per game. Their quarterback (Ryan Higgins) — it's not his first year playing, so they have some experience at that position, and their offensive line is good. This is a really good football team that is coming in here. They are going to present a lot of challenges in a lot of different ways for us. Expect a dog-fight. Expect a four-quarter game. This is what this game will end up being. We have to improve ourselves and get ready for a good football game this weekend."
On meeting LA Tech wide receiver Trent Taylor and what makes him a good player…
"I met him at the Conference USA media days. He's a great person. He's a phenomenal young man. I have a lot of respect for him. What makes him a good player (is) he's smart, he's tough, he competes on every down. He has a great desire to not be tackled. He's a complete football player. He's their punt returner. He loves the game. If you have those characteristics, plus he's got good hands, I think the intangibles make him a good player — his toughness, his competitiveness, his desire and will not to be tackled makes him a good player."
On second-half defense against Bowling Green…
"I thought we did a nice job defensively. They scored 21 points, and I think there was about 10 minutes left in the second quarter, so they didn't score really in the last two-and-a-half quarters of the game. I thought we did a nice job of not giving up big plays or explosive plays. We created three turnovers and defense and one in the kicking game. We have to do a better job of stopping the run. The weather was miserable the whole game, but the second half, if it could be twice as bad, it was twice as bad as the first half. The second half really turned into a middle drill or an inside drill because it was so difficult to throw the ball. We did a good job. We got stops and we didn't give up big plays defensively. The thing that stands out to me is that we've got to do a better job stopping the run than what we have in the last couple weeks."
On LA Tech running back Jerrod Craft in comparison to last year's Kenneth Dixon…
"Obviously, Dixon was a great back. You don't score that many touchdowns in your career and not be a good back. This one, he may be faster. He looks a little bit more explosive. He's averaging over 100 yards a game through these first three games. He's a good back. I've watched a little film last night and a little today, so it's a little premature for me to say some things, but he looks like he's just as dangerous out of the backfield catching the ball. They utilized Dixon a lot in the passing game, and it looks like they are doing the same with Craft. He's a dangerous back. He's explosive. Comparing the two, I think, is a little bit unfair because of what Dixon did over the course of his career. But this guy is a good back. He can run and he is fast."
On strategy in recruiting graduate transfers…
"Yeah, because you really don't find out about them until after signing day. Dennis (Andrews) has come in and done a nice job. Deontay (Evans) is contributing for us on special teams. Unless you have a connection and have somebody at another school to say 'hey, this guy is going to graduate.' I'm sure that is what happened with Skip getting the linebacker from Texas. Skip's son is the holder at Texas, and he and Charlie Strong coached together. So I'm sure there was some communication there. Unless you know somebody or somebody contacts you at the end of the spring when most of them graduate, it's different because 1) you have to have a scholarship available, and 2) you have to be at the right place to find somebody that's interested coming to your school."
On special teams miscues and any changes at returner…
"There will be no extra emphasis placed on special teams. We emphasize it every game. I think we have been really good on kickoff coverage. I think we're punting the ball really good. I think we're protecting really good. Our kickoff return game hasn't been as good as it needs to be. Our punt block team, or our attack team, has done a nice job. We blocked a punt. Richie has put the ball on the ground twice. He's made two poor decisions, one on fielding it and one he tried to make something happen out of nothing and had the ball stripped. I have all the confidence in the world in Richie. There won't be any changes made back there other than he'll continue to get coached and he will continue to learn each game the value of protecting the ball."
QB Brent Stockstill
On weather conditions against Bowling Green: It was pretty tough. I've never seen anything like that. We had standing water on the field and the refs had to dry the balls, so it was tough conditions, but both teams had to play in them. We can't make any excuses. We just had to focus a little bit more, and we ended up getting the job done.
On the rushing performance of I'Tavius Mathers: As an offense, it could be a different guy that shows out every week. It could be me, it could be I'Tavius, it could be our offensive line, it could be anybody. I think everyone knew that game was coming for him. He's been working hard and he was due for that type of game. He's a special player. He had great help from his offensive line, so I think everyone gets credit for that game. Next week we'll have another guy step up.
On the matchup with LA Tech's defense: I haven't watched too much of them this year, but we did play them last year. I know they're really well coached and they're extremely talented. They have graduate transfers, and they're very good up front. They fly around and make some plays. We'll have to protect the ball and continue to do a good job on third downs and execute, and I think we'll be OK.
On LA Tech's defensive schemes: We'll have a good plan going into the week. We don't worry too much about what they do personnel-wise. We'll find out what they do schematically and exploit some things in that area, but right now early in the week we're just worried about us.
On the potential for a close game: I think every conference game you have to expect a dog fight and a four-quarter game. LA Tech's extremely talented on both sides of the ball. As you can see, they went down to the wire with Arkansas and had a shootout with Texas Tech. We're expecting a competitive game, and I think we've been in a couple of those already, so we're prepared for it and we're excited for the challenge.
On the pressure for the offense to be productive against LA Tech: One thing Coach Franklin always preaches is to not watch the scoreboard. Whether we win 7-6 or 70-69, it doesn't matter. We just have to score at least one more point than the other team. I am confident our defense will come out and play a great game, but it's our job to score at least one more point than the other team, so that's what we're going to do.
On communication for play-calling in the second half: The only difference was the Coach Franklin came down on the field for the second half. He got to enjoy the weather a little bit. We didn't do too much the second half. We ran really well, and the offensive line did a great job.
On a healthy offensive line: They're doing a great job. They make our offense go. As you saw last week, we didn't throw it like we usually do, we ran it and I'Tavius did a great job. It starts with those guys up front. I'm proud of those guys. They're a great group, and we're going to continue to be good because of them.
LB DJ Sanders
On LA Tech's offense: We know they're going to run the ball, and they have a great group of receivers, so they're probably going to throw it a little too. We mainly have to stop the run this week.
On stopping the run: We have to tackle better. In the Bowling Green game, guys were slipping out of tackles. We have to push them back and work on tackling.
On the momentum of the defense: We definitely have momentum on our side. We're feeling real confident right now. Last game from the second quarter throughout the rest of the game, we got more confidence about stopping the run. That really helped the linebackers out because we were able to get in on more plays.
On Malik Hawkins's performance: Malik is a good player. He doesn't know all the plays yet, but he plays hard and is a physical guy. He knows what to do most of the time, and he'll get better.
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