Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
MT vs. ODU Presser
10/22/2018 12:06:00 PM | Football
Kickoff scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Head Coach Rick Stockstill
Opening statement:
"Going on the road, we've got another challenge against Old Dominion. You can't look at their record and make any determination of how good they are because this is a really good team. They're 2-6 and everyone knows about the Virginia Tech game they had but they've lost three games by one score. So there season could be the opposite if they had a break or two in those games. They're coming off of a dramatic win over Western Kentucky. A testament to them for not giving up. So I'm sure they're sky high right now and have a ton of confidence. They made a quarterback change in the second series in the Virginia Tech game and they've been successful on offense after that change. I know one of their receivers is leading the conference in receptions and yards and the other one is in the top 10. So two really big and tall receivers that can run and create mismatches. Their defensive end has been an all-conference guy for a while now. He's really athletic and fast and creates a lot of pressure for their defense coming off the edge. We've got to be ready to play. It's a great environment. They seat 20,000 people and there will be 20,000 there. We've got to ignore all of the noise and focus on the game at hand."
On how to keep the defense going strong:
"We've played some really good offense. I'm proud of our defense. We're playing well and playing fast. The last four games they hadn't given up a lot of points. One thing we've done is keeping big plays in front of us, so we have to continue to do that especially facing two receivers as good as Old Dominion has. This will be a different challenge than we've had before. We just have to have a good week of preparation and get ready to play."
On facing good receivers:
"This isn't the first time that we've faced good receivers. We'll have a good play in place and we've got to try to get some pressure on the quarterback to initiate some quicker throws and get the ball out of his hand a little quicker."
On how Brent is recovering after the game:
"He was probably a little bit better than what I thought he was going to be yesterday because he took some hits on it. And As many plays as he was on it. Usually you would expect it to be a little sore. Today we get an off day to give him another day to rehab and get ready to go for the rest of the week."
On their top defensive end:
"He's a very talented player. He uses his hands very well. He's got a couple of good pass rush moves but his big thing is just his explosiveness and speed coming off the edge. He's going to try to get up field and we've got to do a good job of getting leverage and staying on him. Those guys usually find a way of having a good season."
On what a win like that does for ODU:
"They're going to be confident. If they would've lost then they would've been out of bowl contention. That was their second win and they have four left so they still have hope. They didn't give up and they kept fighting and something good happened for them. I think because they had lost three one score game and won one at the buzzer so I'm sure it'll give them a lot of confidence this weekend."
On worrying about becoming bowl eligible:
"I hadn't thought about that and I don't talk to our players about it. Our objective is to try to win this week. If we handle each week then at the end of the year we can see where we're at but our objective is to play the best that we can this week."
On what's been the biggest disappointment as a whole this year:
"I wouldn't say disappointed. I'm not disappointed in our player's effort or ability. I'm just frustrated that we haven't been able to establish the run better. This last game we had some opportunities but it wasn't like we were getting 80 snaps in the game. Everybody has to do a little bit better than what we're doing. It's not broke or unfixable, we just have to do all the little things that make it go. I still believe that we're going to have a break out game. I think we're starting to get healthier in the back field and that will help us. But it's not one person, we all just have to do a better job."
On Tyshun Render's performance Saturday:
"I think Tyshun is getting better each week. He missed four or five games but he's got a lot of talent and good size. He's athletic, long, and can run. He just hasn't played a whole lot this year and is starting to play now that he's healthy. Tyshun can help us. He can be a force on our defense when we need him to be. He's played really consistent the whole year and had a nice game Saturday afternoon."
Redshirt Senior Quarterback Brent Stockstill
On Old Dominion's defense
"Oshane Ximines is a great player. I got the chance to meet him this summer at the Conference USA media days and found out that he's a great player, but an even better person. I'm excited to compete with him once again."
On how the offense plans to improve
"We weren't our best on Saturday, but the objective every week is to win and we did that. We've played good at times this year, but we want to be more consistent. Our defense has kept us in a lot of games and it's been a complete team effort this season. We just need to find ways to get more explosive plays and stay on the field longer."
On ODU's finish against WKU
"I've never seen anything like it. It was an incredible win for ODU and a really tough loss for WKU.
On Ty Lee's Performance
"He probably has a lot of confidence after a game like that. He's a team guy that doesn't really care about the individual stats, but he deserved to get on track and get those two touchdowns. It starts with me getting him the ball more, and on Saturday I was able to do that.
On improving the running game
"It's a team effort. I have to work to get passing game strong so the running game can open up. There's a lot of talent back there, but we've played some good defenses so we've struggled to run it. We just need to keep pushing, stick with the running game, and know that we'll get there eventually.
On the balanced receiving numbers
"It's been a lot of receiving by committee this week and it seems like we have a different guy break out each week. Last year we had Richie (James) as the top target every week, but this year, we knew we had to do it as a group. All those guys bought in and are unselfish, Pat(rick Smith) didn't even have a catch on Saturday, but he played his tail off blocking and that's what I love about this group."
On ODU's defensive strategy
"They do well to mix up their coverages, and that gave me some trouble last year. They wreak havoc in the run game, so we'll have to have a good plan to be able to match theirs.
Redshirt Senior Linebacker Darius Harris
On ODU's passing offense
"We just need to do a good job preparing for them. We need to know their tendencies and work hard in film studies to stop them."
On his defense's tackling
"It's definitely something we're getting better at week in and week out. I feel like as the season has progressed, we've gotten better as a team in tackling, so we need to keep working in that area."
On how dangerous ODU's offense is
"Any given Saturday, you can win or lose. Each week, you have to go and give your best effort."
On ODU's passing offense as compared to Conference USA
"They have some good players on that side of the ball, some good receivers and a good quarterback. We can't look down on anybody or else we'll get beat. We have to go forward and give our best effort no matter who we're playing."
On the size of ODU's receivers
"I have faith in our secondary that we'll control the deep ball and that our front seven can put pressure on the quarterback."
Opening statement:
"Going on the road, we've got another challenge against Old Dominion. You can't look at their record and make any determination of how good they are because this is a really good team. They're 2-6 and everyone knows about the Virginia Tech game they had but they've lost three games by one score. So there season could be the opposite if they had a break or two in those games. They're coming off of a dramatic win over Western Kentucky. A testament to them for not giving up. So I'm sure they're sky high right now and have a ton of confidence. They made a quarterback change in the second series in the Virginia Tech game and they've been successful on offense after that change. I know one of their receivers is leading the conference in receptions and yards and the other one is in the top 10. So two really big and tall receivers that can run and create mismatches. Their defensive end has been an all-conference guy for a while now. He's really athletic and fast and creates a lot of pressure for their defense coming off the edge. We've got to be ready to play. It's a great environment. They seat 20,000 people and there will be 20,000 there. We've got to ignore all of the noise and focus on the game at hand."
On how to keep the defense going strong:
"We've played some really good offense. I'm proud of our defense. We're playing well and playing fast. The last four games they hadn't given up a lot of points. One thing we've done is keeping big plays in front of us, so we have to continue to do that especially facing two receivers as good as Old Dominion has. This will be a different challenge than we've had before. We just have to have a good week of preparation and get ready to play."
On facing good receivers:
"This isn't the first time that we've faced good receivers. We'll have a good play in place and we've got to try to get some pressure on the quarterback to initiate some quicker throws and get the ball out of his hand a little quicker."
On how Brent is recovering after the game:
"He was probably a little bit better than what I thought he was going to be yesterday because he took some hits on it. And As many plays as he was on it. Usually you would expect it to be a little sore. Today we get an off day to give him another day to rehab and get ready to go for the rest of the week."
On their top defensive end:
"He's a very talented player. He uses his hands very well. He's got a couple of good pass rush moves but his big thing is just his explosiveness and speed coming off the edge. He's going to try to get up field and we've got to do a good job of getting leverage and staying on him. Those guys usually find a way of having a good season."
On what a win like that does for ODU:
"They're going to be confident. If they would've lost then they would've been out of bowl contention. That was their second win and they have four left so they still have hope. They didn't give up and they kept fighting and something good happened for them. I think because they had lost three one score game and won one at the buzzer so I'm sure it'll give them a lot of confidence this weekend."
On worrying about becoming bowl eligible:
"I hadn't thought about that and I don't talk to our players about it. Our objective is to try to win this week. If we handle each week then at the end of the year we can see where we're at but our objective is to play the best that we can this week."
On what's been the biggest disappointment as a whole this year:
"I wouldn't say disappointed. I'm not disappointed in our player's effort or ability. I'm just frustrated that we haven't been able to establish the run better. This last game we had some opportunities but it wasn't like we were getting 80 snaps in the game. Everybody has to do a little bit better than what we're doing. It's not broke or unfixable, we just have to do all the little things that make it go. I still believe that we're going to have a break out game. I think we're starting to get healthier in the back field and that will help us. But it's not one person, we all just have to do a better job."
On Tyshun Render's performance Saturday:
"I think Tyshun is getting better each week. He missed four or five games but he's got a lot of talent and good size. He's athletic, long, and can run. He just hasn't played a whole lot this year and is starting to play now that he's healthy. Tyshun can help us. He can be a force on our defense when we need him to be. He's played really consistent the whole year and had a nice game Saturday afternoon."
Redshirt Senior Quarterback Brent Stockstill
On Old Dominion's defense
"Oshane Ximines is a great player. I got the chance to meet him this summer at the Conference USA media days and found out that he's a great player, but an even better person. I'm excited to compete with him once again."
On how the offense plans to improve
"We weren't our best on Saturday, but the objective every week is to win and we did that. We've played good at times this year, but we want to be more consistent. Our defense has kept us in a lot of games and it's been a complete team effort this season. We just need to find ways to get more explosive plays and stay on the field longer."
On ODU's finish against WKU
"I've never seen anything like it. It was an incredible win for ODU and a really tough loss for WKU.
On Ty Lee's Performance
"He probably has a lot of confidence after a game like that. He's a team guy that doesn't really care about the individual stats, but he deserved to get on track and get those two touchdowns. It starts with me getting him the ball more, and on Saturday I was able to do that.
On improving the running game
"It's a team effort. I have to work to get passing game strong so the running game can open up. There's a lot of talent back there, but we've played some good defenses so we've struggled to run it. We just need to keep pushing, stick with the running game, and know that we'll get there eventually.
On the balanced receiving numbers
"It's been a lot of receiving by committee this week and it seems like we have a different guy break out each week. Last year we had Richie (James) as the top target every week, but this year, we knew we had to do it as a group. All those guys bought in and are unselfish, Pat(rick Smith) didn't even have a catch on Saturday, but he played his tail off blocking and that's what I love about this group."
On ODU's defensive strategy
"They do well to mix up their coverages, and that gave me some trouble last year. They wreak havoc in the run game, so we'll have to have a good plan to be able to match theirs.
Redshirt Senior Linebacker Darius Harris
On ODU's passing offense
"We just need to do a good job preparing for them. We need to know their tendencies and work hard in film studies to stop them."
On his defense's tackling
"It's definitely something we're getting better at week in and week out. I feel like as the season has progressed, we've gotten better as a team in tackling, so we need to keep working in that area."
On how dangerous ODU's offense is
"Any given Saturday, you can win or lose. Each week, you have to go and give your best effort."
On ODU's passing offense as compared to Conference USA
"They have some good players on that side of the ball, some good receivers and a good quarterback. We can't look down on anybody or else we'll get beat. We have to go forward and give our best effort no matter who we're playing."
On the size of ODU's receivers
"I have faith in our secondary that we'll control the deep ball and that our front seven can put pressure on the quarterback."
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
QB
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