Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
MT vs. Marshall presser
10/16/2017 12:58:00 PM | Football
Game will be on ESPN Friday
Middle Tennessee Football Press Conference Quotes
Head Coach Rick Stockstill
Opening statement:
"Thanks for everybody being here. It's a hectic Monday this week, so I appreciate everybody being here. We've got Marshall coming into town Friday night. It ought to be an exciting game. Marshall is 5-1. They've got a really good team this year; a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence that they'll play with. They've got a couple of good MAC wins. They've beat a couple teams in the MAC, they're 2-0 in the conference. They haven't given up a touchdown in conference play and they've held their last two opponents to three points. They are number nine in the country in scoring defense, giving up 15 points a game. So it's going to be a real challenge for our offense to try to manufacture points. Their defense is in the top 25 of total defense. So it's a really good team we're playing. Their offense has done a really nice job of being efficient, they're not turning the ball over, they're not putting their defense in harm's way. So they are very sound. Their quarterback is very experienced. This is his third year starting. He's a really good football player. He's done a great job protecting the ball and running their offense. Their kicking game may be the best we play this year. They've run two kickoffs back for touchdowns. Their punter is out of this world. He had 92-yard punt I think it was last week, where he obviously flipped the field. So they are very sound in the kicking game. Doc (Holliday) is really good coach. They had a down year last year. Even with a down year, they beat us last year. But they had a down year last year and they rebounded pretty well. Like I said, they're 5-1. They've got a lot of momentum. Obviously, they're in first place. This is a game that we've got to have a great week of preparation and great week of practice and be ready to play a really good football team. We've got to correct out mistakes from last week. It's kind of a broken record what I've said here, about we've just got to do a better job. We can't turn the ball over this week against Marshall. We've got to do a fantastic job of protecting the ball this week and being a lot more efficient on offensively than we have been."
On what preparation differences there are playing on Friday instead of Saturday:
"We practiced a little bit longer yesterday than a normal Sunday but not much, maybe 15 minutes. Normally, today is our day off. So we'll practice today. But you've got to be cognoscente of your players because they are coming off five weeks of preseason, then seven games that we've played up to this date. How physical the teams we've played have been, and coming off a physical UAB game. You've got to be cognoscente of your player's health. We've got to do a good job of getting them on and off the field, keeping our guys fresh. We've ready to play fast this Friday night. But at the same time, we've got to get our work in. Today will be like a Tuesday practice, Tuesday will be like a Wednesday. So it'll shorten down a little bit as the course of the week goes. Obviously, we went a little bit longer yesterday and today will be like a Tuesday."
On how the offensive line has progressed since the beginning of the season:
"We've had moments that we've flashed, and other moments where it's been dark. We haven't played at the consistent level that we need to play at. Each one of them have shown individual flashes of really good, high-level football. But as a group, I don't think we've played consistent enough to win the football games that we need to win. So I'd say probably the biggest word is inconsistent. Their effort is good; they're trying, they're working. We just haven't been as consistent as we've needed to be."
On if there was any thought of using Tavares Thomas or Richie James in the red zone last week:
"Well we only got down there one time, that's when we threw an interception. We ran Richie in wildcat a little bit in the open field, but he wasn't that effective. He was last year, but he hasn't been this year. We ran the wildcat earlier in the game and they stuffed it pretty good with Tavares, when we got down there in the first or second drive when we kicked a field goal. But that's in our plan, we just didn't do it."
On how Richie James responded in practice on Sunday afternoon:
"Good. He's a little sore. Not his injury, but just his overall body is a little socre because he hadn't done anything in a month. But he's fine from his injury standpoint."
On if Brent Stockstill will be out once again this week due to injury:
"He'll be out, he won't play this week."
On if Brent Stockstill will return this season:
"Absolutely."
On how Brent Stockstill has taken advantage of this time by helping coach on the sideline:
"He does that when he's healthy. If you come to practice, if he's not actually taking a rep, he's helping John (Urzua) or the other quarterbacks, receivers. He's fully engaged of every second of every practice, of every game. That's his makeup, that's what he's always done."
On what Rick Stockstill has seen from Marshall's defense on film that's stood out to him:
"Well they're really good on third down defense. They're really good at stopping the run. They're really good at pass defense. They haven't given up big plays. I think they are the only team in the country that hasn't given up a play over 50 yards, maybe it's in the conference or something like that. I think they do al ot of things really well. One of the biggest stats that people look at defensively your scoring defense, and to give up 15 points a game, it means you're doing a lot of good things on defense. They're doing a good job of keeping the ball in front of them. They're doing a good job on third down. If you're good on third down, that usually means you're good on first down and putting teams behind the chains from a yardage standpoint. So they do a lot of good things. They tackle well, they're well coached, they get a lot of people to the ball. So like I said earlier, it's a really talented defense."
On what Middle Tennessee has to do in order to get back to the quarterback against a team that's only given up three sacks:
"The quarterback doesn't hold it, he gets it out of his hand. He knows where he's going with the ball. They do a good job; it's going to be an issue. We've got to get around him, we've got to harass him, we've got to get him off his spot, we've got to make him uncomfortable. If you that, you've got a chance to create some more pressure the rest of the game. But it's a good football team. They're 5-1. They lost to NC State, and I think people know how good NC State is."
On if playing on ESPN2 Friday night adds more excitement to the game:
"I think so. I think as players, you get excited to be on national television. And then to be on Friday night, every college football player in the country is going to be watching the game. You've got a chance to play in front of your peers. 127 teams' players will be watching that game Friday night in their hotels. So it's a great opportunity, our players will be excited. It's the first ESPN game we've had here at home in think since 2010, maybe. So I hope our students will come, I hope everybody in town comes, I hope our fans come. It's a chance to show your program you're on national television, and you don't want it to be a half-empty stadium. I hope everybody will come. I hope they'll get here early. I know it's tough being a Friday night with high school football. And you know, I hate that personally. But that's the way the schedule was made, I didn't say yes on it. I hate people have to make that choice, but I hope people come to our game and fill this thing up."
Linebacker D.J. Sanders
On the joys of being a new parent:
"It's great so far. It's just an unbelievable experience for me."
On playing on ESPN:
"It's just a chance for my family and friends back home who don't normally get to see me play, it's a chance for them to see me play and it's a chance for other people and their families to see them play, people who can't come to the game, stuff like that."
On being successful against Marshall's passing attack:
'We're going to have to switch up our pressures, and disguise some stuff. When the opportunity presents itself we're going to have to make a play. He's probably going to throw the ball up once or twice and when that time comes, we have to make a play."
On getting after Marshall's quarterback:
"We have to do a good job of disguising our blitzes, and when we actually blitz we have to go hard every time. We have to continue to try and get back there because sometimes our blitz lines aren't the best and we are really going to focus on that this week."
On the team demeanor after the UAB loss:
"I felt like we were really hungry. After the game we were really disappointed because we lost and we felt like we could have played better. We made some mistakes and we beat ourselves and so yesterday we were really focused on the little things. We worked on catching the ball, because you never know when the defense will get a chance to catch a pick."
Head Coach Rick Stockstill
Opening statement:
"Thanks for everybody being here. It's a hectic Monday this week, so I appreciate everybody being here. We've got Marshall coming into town Friday night. It ought to be an exciting game. Marshall is 5-1. They've got a really good team this year; a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence that they'll play with. They've got a couple of good MAC wins. They've beat a couple teams in the MAC, they're 2-0 in the conference. They haven't given up a touchdown in conference play and they've held their last two opponents to three points. They are number nine in the country in scoring defense, giving up 15 points a game. So it's going to be a real challenge for our offense to try to manufacture points. Their defense is in the top 25 of total defense. So it's a really good team we're playing. Their offense has done a really nice job of being efficient, they're not turning the ball over, they're not putting their defense in harm's way. So they are very sound. Their quarterback is very experienced. This is his third year starting. He's a really good football player. He's done a great job protecting the ball and running their offense. Their kicking game may be the best we play this year. They've run two kickoffs back for touchdowns. Their punter is out of this world. He had 92-yard punt I think it was last week, where he obviously flipped the field. So they are very sound in the kicking game. Doc (Holliday) is really good coach. They had a down year last year. Even with a down year, they beat us last year. But they had a down year last year and they rebounded pretty well. Like I said, they're 5-1. They've got a lot of momentum. Obviously, they're in first place. This is a game that we've got to have a great week of preparation and great week of practice and be ready to play a really good football team. We've got to correct out mistakes from last week. It's kind of a broken record what I've said here, about we've just got to do a better job. We can't turn the ball over this week against Marshall. We've got to do a fantastic job of protecting the ball this week and being a lot more efficient on offensively than we have been."
On what preparation differences there are playing on Friday instead of Saturday:
"We practiced a little bit longer yesterday than a normal Sunday but not much, maybe 15 minutes. Normally, today is our day off. So we'll practice today. But you've got to be cognoscente of your players because they are coming off five weeks of preseason, then seven games that we've played up to this date. How physical the teams we've played have been, and coming off a physical UAB game. You've got to be cognoscente of your player's health. We've got to do a good job of getting them on and off the field, keeping our guys fresh. We've ready to play fast this Friday night. But at the same time, we've got to get our work in. Today will be like a Tuesday practice, Tuesday will be like a Wednesday. So it'll shorten down a little bit as the course of the week goes. Obviously, we went a little bit longer yesterday and today will be like a Tuesday."
On how the offensive line has progressed since the beginning of the season:
"We've had moments that we've flashed, and other moments where it's been dark. We haven't played at the consistent level that we need to play at. Each one of them have shown individual flashes of really good, high-level football. But as a group, I don't think we've played consistent enough to win the football games that we need to win. So I'd say probably the biggest word is inconsistent. Their effort is good; they're trying, they're working. We just haven't been as consistent as we've needed to be."
On if there was any thought of using Tavares Thomas or Richie James in the red zone last week:
"Well we only got down there one time, that's when we threw an interception. We ran Richie in wildcat a little bit in the open field, but he wasn't that effective. He was last year, but he hasn't been this year. We ran the wildcat earlier in the game and they stuffed it pretty good with Tavares, when we got down there in the first or second drive when we kicked a field goal. But that's in our plan, we just didn't do it."
On how Richie James responded in practice on Sunday afternoon:
"Good. He's a little sore. Not his injury, but just his overall body is a little socre because he hadn't done anything in a month. But he's fine from his injury standpoint."
On if Brent Stockstill will be out once again this week due to injury:
"He'll be out, he won't play this week."
On if Brent Stockstill will return this season:
"Absolutely."
On how Brent Stockstill has taken advantage of this time by helping coach on the sideline:
"He does that when he's healthy. If you come to practice, if he's not actually taking a rep, he's helping John (Urzua) or the other quarterbacks, receivers. He's fully engaged of every second of every practice, of every game. That's his makeup, that's what he's always done."
On what Rick Stockstill has seen from Marshall's defense on film that's stood out to him:
"Well they're really good on third down defense. They're really good at stopping the run. They're really good at pass defense. They haven't given up big plays. I think they are the only team in the country that hasn't given up a play over 50 yards, maybe it's in the conference or something like that. I think they do al ot of things really well. One of the biggest stats that people look at defensively your scoring defense, and to give up 15 points a game, it means you're doing a lot of good things on defense. They're doing a good job of keeping the ball in front of them. They're doing a good job on third down. If you're good on third down, that usually means you're good on first down and putting teams behind the chains from a yardage standpoint. So they do a lot of good things. They tackle well, they're well coached, they get a lot of people to the ball. So like I said earlier, it's a really talented defense."
On what Middle Tennessee has to do in order to get back to the quarterback against a team that's only given up three sacks:
"The quarterback doesn't hold it, he gets it out of his hand. He knows where he's going with the ball. They do a good job; it's going to be an issue. We've got to get around him, we've got to harass him, we've got to get him off his spot, we've got to make him uncomfortable. If you that, you've got a chance to create some more pressure the rest of the game. But it's a good football team. They're 5-1. They lost to NC State, and I think people know how good NC State is."
On if playing on ESPN2 Friday night adds more excitement to the game:
"I think so. I think as players, you get excited to be on national television. And then to be on Friday night, every college football player in the country is going to be watching the game. You've got a chance to play in front of your peers. 127 teams' players will be watching that game Friday night in their hotels. So it's a great opportunity, our players will be excited. It's the first ESPN game we've had here at home in think since 2010, maybe. So I hope our students will come, I hope everybody in town comes, I hope our fans come. It's a chance to show your program you're on national television, and you don't want it to be a half-empty stadium. I hope everybody will come. I hope they'll get here early. I know it's tough being a Friday night with high school football. And you know, I hate that personally. But that's the way the schedule was made, I didn't say yes on it. I hate people have to make that choice, but I hope people come to our game and fill this thing up."
Linebacker D.J. Sanders
On the joys of being a new parent:
"It's great so far. It's just an unbelievable experience for me."
On playing on ESPN:
"It's just a chance for my family and friends back home who don't normally get to see me play, it's a chance for them to see me play and it's a chance for other people and their families to see them play, people who can't come to the game, stuff like that."
On being successful against Marshall's passing attack:
'We're going to have to switch up our pressures, and disguise some stuff. When the opportunity presents itself we're going to have to make a play. He's probably going to throw the ball up once or twice and when that time comes, we have to make a play."
On getting after Marshall's quarterback:
"We have to do a good job of disguising our blitzes, and when we actually blitz we have to go hard every time. We have to continue to try and get back there because sometimes our blitz lines aren't the best and we are really going to focus on that this week."
On the team demeanor after the UAB loss:
"I felt like we were really hungry. After the game we were really disappointed because we lost and we felt like we could have played better. We made some mistakes and we beat ourselves and so yesterday we were really focused on the little things. We worked on catching the ball, because you never know when the defense will get a chance to catch a pick."
Players Mentioned
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RB
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