Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
MT vs. Charlotte presser
11/6/2017 12:53:00 PM | Football
Kickoff is 1 PM Saturday
Middle Tennessee Football Press Conference Quotes
Head Coach Rick Stockstill
Opening statement:
"I appreciate everybody being here on this rainy morning. Looking forward to this week's game versus Charlotte. They're not having a great year, record wise (1-8). But like I've said and told our team, it doesn't matter who you play, it's why you play. So we've got to get ready to play this game this week. It's tough to win games on the road. It's especially tough to win conference games on the road. And if you look at Charlotte, especially in their conference games, they got beat by FIU by one point, Marshall by 11 and then Western Kentucky beat them pretty good. Then they lost last week 6-0 against Old Dominion. So they're playing good defense. They're struggling a little bit offensively to score points there, but defensively, this is a really good football team that we're getting ready to play. They're really good against the run. Statistically, they're good on third down as well. This is not a game by any stretch that we can think we can go out there and not play our best and have a chance to win. When you look at the series, you know that first year we beat them 70-14. Then last year, it was a 31-31 ballgame with three or four minutes left in the game and Ty (Lee) broke out a long run there to ice it for us. You go and just look at last year's game, it's enough to tell you that we've got to be ready to play a good game this weekend. I'm looking forward to it Saturday afternoon."
On if Charlotte is a better team than what their record shows:
"I think so. You just look at who they've played and the scores of those games. They're a competitive football team and a break here or there, might've changed the outcome in the some of those games. They've lost to some good teams and they've hung in there and played them close. So we've got to be ready to play, that's the bottom line. We've got to be ready to go."
On how quarterback Brent Stockstill responded on Sunday after having not played since week 2:
"He was fine yesterday. There were no ill-effects from the game or that standpoint."
On if Brent Stockstill has returned to his old form:
"Yeah. He's still getting treatment. He's still got through all of that. Like the boy said, he's not going to hold back. On the reverse that Ty (Lee) ran, he got down there and throws two block on the play. So he's going to play the game. There's still going to be the health concern for finishing out this year. But he made it through that game fine."
On the one-two punch of running back's Brad Anderson and Tavares Thomas:
"I don't know if they play off of each other. I was disappointed in some of Brad's runs. He danced a little bit more than what he needed to, and what he'd done in the past. He's been really good about putting his foot in the ground and getting north and south. So he's got to get back to that. And then Tavares gives us a bigger back. You go from tackling a 165-pounder to a 230-pounder, and that makes a difference. We've got to find ways to get Tavares in there more and more as this thing progresses down the stretch."
On how last Saturday's victory helps the team push towards another bowl appearance:
"We know that the bowl is out there. Like I said last week, we're not going to win five games on Saturday. This week, we're not going to win four games on Saturday. Our mindset is single purpose of trying to win this game this week. Like I told you guys last week, they've written a couple of chapters about us. But we're still finishing this book and when the book is finished at the end of this season, we'll see how it turns out. All our focus is is winning this week and we ought to be confident. We had a good practice yesterday. I think we've regained our swagger a little bit, got a little bit of juice about us now. I feel good about moving forward. It's the mental preparation that we have to prepare, as well as the physical preparation to play this game this week. So I think our guys have got a little bit of juice about them now."
On what Middle Tennessee's defense must do to contain dual-threat Charlotte quarterback Hasaan Klugh and force him to throw the ball more than he has:
"Well he's a really outstanding player. He's really dynamic with his feet. You watch the UAB game, he had a huge part of winning that game for them. He's so dynamic. We've got to do a good job of staying in our rushing lanes where it is a pass play. We've got to stay and make sure we don't give up and edge where he can break outside, get in space and beat you with his feet. Their run game, their read-zone option game; he's really good. You've got to be disciplined, especially with your eyes. You've got to have gap integrity if two guys are in a gap and now he breaks out and makes a big play with his feet. All that is what we have to do, but then I think we really really have to be good on first down. If we can get them in some longer third down situations, second and long where you kind of put them in a one-dimensional situation. I think that'll behoove us, give us a chance to give us an advantage there to maybe limit some of the options that they have in the run-pass game with him."
On the recent success of former Blue Raider and current Titans safety Kevin Byard:
"It's very difficult to play in the NFL, it's very difficult to start in the NFL, especially for a rookie and second year guy. I know what he was here, how he prepared for games, how he approached practice. I said it many times: when the second team was in at practice when he was here, he was always in the back taking the mental rep. He was going through his drop, through his reads for the quarterback. I'm sure he's doing the same thing there with the Titans. So I'm not surprised. The harder you work, the harder you prepare, the better opportunities are you're going to have to be successful. I'm really happy for KB because I know how hard he works and I'm glad to see his have that success."
On what it's like to have "Middle Tennessee" mentioned on national television following a Byard interception:
"It's great. You've got Erik Walden over there too that's doing a good job on that defense as well. Anytime those guys, KB or Erik or Benny Cunningham or Maurquice Shakir or any of those guys in the league right now, have success, it goes back to 'where did you go to college' and your name is brought up. It's a great opportunity for Middle Tennessee to stick their chest out with some pride that that's one of ours over there doing some really good thing, doing something that's obviously very hard to do in the NFL. Five interceptions in two games is not easy to do."
On if Byard was always a student of the game at Middle Tennessee:
"I think so. When he got here, even the first year he was redshirted, when he was on the scout team, you could see the type of player that he was going to be. And he would even stay out after practice then and get on the jugs machine and people would shoot him balls, developing a skills set from that standpoint. He always worked in the weight room, he always worked on the practice field, he was always up in the coach's office and watching film on his own."
On what the secret to success has been in November games over the past few years:
"That's a good question. We take pride in playing well in November. You guys have all heard the saying 'you remember November'. I think it's a matter that no matter what your situation is, you could be 8-0 and going into November, or 0-8 and going into November, you finish every week. You play with great effort, with great tenacity, with great intensity every week. We take a lot of pride in that a lot of people a few weeks ago wanted to write us off. But we're not going to write ourselves off. That's the pride, the personal pride, the discipline, the toughness, the mental toughness that you have as a football player. We practice every day as hard as we can to get better. I told the TV people last week, if you came out to our practice and you didn't know our record, you'd thought we were 9-0 because of the way we practice with the enthusiasm and with the intensity, the toughness that they practice with. You can't turn it on and turn it off week to week. This team has done a good job of staying focused and staying the course. And we'll continue to fight here this week."
Safety Jovante Moffatt
On facing Charlotte's dual-threat QB:
"Stopping him from running is going to be really big. I mean as far as his passing, I think the DBs can hold on. I just feel that stopping him from running is going to be the main key."
On last week's win energizing the team:
"I mean it's good going into next week. I feel like it was a confidence booster in the locker room, it carried over into yesterday's practice. Hopefully we just keep on building off of that."
On Brent Stockstill's return providing a team boost:
"Yeah when he's around you can definitely feel it. He brings up the locker room on both sides of the ball. So it's good to have him back."
On watching and learning from MT alum and current Titan Kevin Byard:
"Yeah we actually keep a lot of tabs on him. I was a freshman his last year, so I got to watch him do a lot of the stuff he does. I mean, just from watching him practice, he has a lot of knowledge for the game. Most of us aren't surprised to what he's doing right now, so congrats to him."
On what Charlotte's offense looks like on film:
"I've seen a lot of different formations, some stuff I've never seen before, as far as trickiness and different stuff. Like you all know, their quarterback is going to run the ball, find ways to use his feet, which is a big part of their offense."
On repeating their ability to get into UTEP's backfield against Charlotte:
"Yeah we try to get a certain number of hits on the (opposing) quarterback. And we hope to keep doing that."
Head Coach Rick Stockstill
Opening statement:
"I appreciate everybody being here on this rainy morning. Looking forward to this week's game versus Charlotte. They're not having a great year, record wise (1-8). But like I've said and told our team, it doesn't matter who you play, it's why you play. So we've got to get ready to play this game this week. It's tough to win games on the road. It's especially tough to win conference games on the road. And if you look at Charlotte, especially in their conference games, they got beat by FIU by one point, Marshall by 11 and then Western Kentucky beat them pretty good. Then they lost last week 6-0 against Old Dominion. So they're playing good defense. They're struggling a little bit offensively to score points there, but defensively, this is a really good football team that we're getting ready to play. They're really good against the run. Statistically, they're good on third down as well. This is not a game by any stretch that we can think we can go out there and not play our best and have a chance to win. When you look at the series, you know that first year we beat them 70-14. Then last year, it was a 31-31 ballgame with three or four minutes left in the game and Ty (Lee) broke out a long run there to ice it for us. You go and just look at last year's game, it's enough to tell you that we've got to be ready to play a good game this weekend. I'm looking forward to it Saturday afternoon."
On if Charlotte is a better team than what their record shows:
"I think so. You just look at who they've played and the scores of those games. They're a competitive football team and a break here or there, might've changed the outcome in the some of those games. They've lost to some good teams and they've hung in there and played them close. So we've got to be ready to play, that's the bottom line. We've got to be ready to go."
On how quarterback Brent Stockstill responded on Sunday after having not played since week 2:
"He was fine yesterday. There were no ill-effects from the game or that standpoint."
On if Brent Stockstill has returned to his old form:
"Yeah. He's still getting treatment. He's still got through all of that. Like the boy said, he's not going to hold back. On the reverse that Ty (Lee) ran, he got down there and throws two block on the play. So he's going to play the game. There's still going to be the health concern for finishing out this year. But he made it through that game fine."
On the one-two punch of running back's Brad Anderson and Tavares Thomas:
"I don't know if they play off of each other. I was disappointed in some of Brad's runs. He danced a little bit more than what he needed to, and what he'd done in the past. He's been really good about putting his foot in the ground and getting north and south. So he's got to get back to that. And then Tavares gives us a bigger back. You go from tackling a 165-pounder to a 230-pounder, and that makes a difference. We've got to find ways to get Tavares in there more and more as this thing progresses down the stretch."
On how last Saturday's victory helps the team push towards another bowl appearance:
"We know that the bowl is out there. Like I said last week, we're not going to win five games on Saturday. This week, we're not going to win four games on Saturday. Our mindset is single purpose of trying to win this game this week. Like I told you guys last week, they've written a couple of chapters about us. But we're still finishing this book and when the book is finished at the end of this season, we'll see how it turns out. All our focus is is winning this week and we ought to be confident. We had a good practice yesterday. I think we've regained our swagger a little bit, got a little bit of juice about us now. I feel good about moving forward. It's the mental preparation that we have to prepare, as well as the physical preparation to play this game this week. So I think our guys have got a little bit of juice about them now."
On what Middle Tennessee's defense must do to contain dual-threat Charlotte quarterback Hasaan Klugh and force him to throw the ball more than he has:
"Well he's a really outstanding player. He's really dynamic with his feet. You watch the UAB game, he had a huge part of winning that game for them. He's so dynamic. We've got to do a good job of staying in our rushing lanes where it is a pass play. We've got to stay and make sure we don't give up and edge where he can break outside, get in space and beat you with his feet. Their run game, their read-zone option game; he's really good. You've got to be disciplined, especially with your eyes. You've got to have gap integrity if two guys are in a gap and now he breaks out and makes a big play with his feet. All that is what we have to do, but then I think we really really have to be good on first down. If we can get them in some longer third down situations, second and long where you kind of put them in a one-dimensional situation. I think that'll behoove us, give us a chance to give us an advantage there to maybe limit some of the options that they have in the run-pass game with him."
On the recent success of former Blue Raider and current Titans safety Kevin Byard:
"It's very difficult to play in the NFL, it's very difficult to start in the NFL, especially for a rookie and second year guy. I know what he was here, how he prepared for games, how he approached practice. I said it many times: when the second team was in at practice when he was here, he was always in the back taking the mental rep. He was going through his drop, through his reads for the quarterback. I'm sure he's doing the same thing there with the Titans. So I'm not surprised. The harder you work, the harder you prepare, the better opportunities are you're going to have to be successful. I'm really happy for KB because I know how hard he works and I'm glad to see his have that success."
On what it's like to have "Middle Tennessee" mentioned on national television following a Byard interception:
"It's great. You've got Erik Walden over there too that's doing a good job on that defense as well. Anytime those guys, KB or Erik or Benny Cunningham or Maurquice Shakir or any of those guys in the league right now, have success, it goes back to 'where did you go to college' and your name is brought up. It's a great opportunity for Middle Tennessee to stick their chest out with some pride that that's one of ours over there doing some really good thing, doing something that's obviously very hard to do in the NFL. Five interceptions in two games is not easy to do."
On if Byard was always a student of the game at Middle Tennessee:
"I think so. When he got here, even the first year he was redshirted, when he was on the scout team, you could see the type of player that he was going to be. And he would even stay out after practice then and get on the jugs machine and people would shoot him balls, developing a skills set from that standpoint. He always worked in the weight room, he always worked on the practice field, he was always up in the coach's office and watching film on his own."
On what the secret to success has been in November games over the past few years:
"That's a good question. We take pride in playing well in November. You guys have all heard the saying 'you remember November'. I think it's a matter that no matter what your situation is, you could be 8-0 and going into November, or 0-8 and going into November, you finish every week. You play with great effort, with great tenacity, with great intensity every week. We take a lot of pride in that a lot of people a few weeks ago wanted to write us off. But we're not going to write ourselves off. That's the pride, the personal pride, the discipline, the toughness, the mental toughness that you have as a football player. We practice every day as hard as we can to get better. I told the TV people last week, if you came out to our practice and you didn't know our record, you'd thought we were 9-0 because of the way we practice with the enthusiasm and with the intensity, the toughness that they practice with. You can't turn it on and turn it off week to week. This team has done a good job of staying focused and staying the course. And we'll continue to fight here this week."
Safety Jovante Moffatt
On facing Charlotte's dual-threat QB:
"Stopping him from running is going to be really big. I mean as far as his passing, I think the DBs can hold on. I just feel that stopping him from running is going to be the main key."
On last week's win energizing the team:
"I mean it's good going into next week. I feel like it was a confidence booster in the locker room, it carried over into yesterday's practice. Hopefully we just keep on building off of that."
On Brent Stockstill's return providing a team boost:
"Yeah when he's around you can definitely feel it. He brings up the locker room on both sides of the ball. So it's good to have him back."
On watching and learning from MT alum and current Titan Kevin Byard:
"Yeah we actually keep a lot of tabs on him. I was a freshman his last year, so I got to watch him do a lot of the stuff he does. I mean, just from watching him practice, he has a lot of knowledge for the game. Most of us aren't surprised to what he's doing right now, so congrats to him."
On what Charlotte's offense looks like on film:
"I've seen a lot of different formations, some stuff I've never seen before, as far as trickiness and different stuff. Like you all know, their quarterback is going to run the ball, find ways to use his feet, which is a big part of their offense."
On repeating their ability to get into UTEP's backfield against Charlotte:
"Yeah we try to get a certain number of hits on the (opposing) quarterback. And we hope to keep doing that."
Players Mentioned
RB
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OL
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QB
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RB
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