Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
MT vs. Marshall presser
9/30/2019 1:32:00 PM | Football
Kickoff set for 2:30 p.m. at Floyd Stadium
Middle Tennessee Football Press Conference Quotes
Head Coach Rick Stockstill
Opening statement:
"Opening up conference play this week, we're excited to get started in that. I have a ton of respect for Marshall's football program, Doc Holliday, his coaching staff and what they've done there since he's been there. We know we're playing a very talented team, a very well-coached team. They're coming in off a tough one, and we're coming in off a tough one. The respect that I have for Doc, his program, his players and how they play the game, the toughness they play with, I have a lot of respect for those guys. They're quarterback has played really well. On their offensive line, they return all five starters from last year, so it's a pretty good group up front. They have good skill guys; their receivers can run and make plays in space. They're really talented on offense. Defensively, their front seven is going to be active — they're going to put pressure on the quarterback. They're going to mix up coverages based on different situations that they'll present themselves with. They're always really good in the kicking game, and that's not different this year. They lead the league in punt returns, they're up there in kickoff returns as well, and their kick coverage is always good. We've got a tough challenge ahead of us, and we're looking forward to it."
On switching over to conference play:
"Conference play is always an exciting time. Three of these first four have been a top-10 team, a top-15 team, a top-25 team, so we've played a gauntlet of out-of-conference guys. I'd put Marshall up there with anybody that we've played this year — that's a good football team."
On what Marshall could do to give MT trouble:
"It starts with we've got to stop the run. They're averaging over 200 yards rushing a game, so that's where it starts. Their quarterback is looking to pass first, but he can extend plays with his feet. He can get outside of the pocket and create some things in the run game off of pass plays, so we've got to be cognizant of him once he gets out of the pocket that we don't lose sight of the receivers because he'll throw it over the top. To me, that's where it starts — we've got to stop the run, limit the big play. We've been giving up too many big plays through these first four games. Offensively, we've got to find a way to establish the run. We've got to run the ball and be a little bit better throwing the ball. I said it after the game, it's not so much Marshall coming up or whoever we play next. It's about us. We've got to correct some things and get better at some of the things we're doing."
On what Marshall does well defensively:
"They've got good players, and that's where it starts. Their front seven is good. They're going to mix up their pressures, zone and man pressures. They've done a good job of holding Boise to 14, VMI to 17, it was 33-31 to Ohio and they gave up 52 in this last game against a really, really good Cincinnati team. They play hard. The big thing is they've got good players, and they put themselves in positions to make plays, and when they're in that position, they make plays. They tackle good, and they don't give up big plays. They give up 150 yards rushing — 160, something like that — so they're not giving up a bunch of yardage on the ground."
On any changes with Brad Lambert now as defensive coordinator:
"Maybe a little bit, but not drastic. They pressure about the same as they did last year; it might be a little less. They still change their front — they'll go from a three-man to four-man or four-man to three-man. You're still getting those variations. Brad's an excellent football coach. What he did at Charlotte as he built that program, to win five games last year and come within the last game of getting bowl eligible, the respect that I have for Brad is equal to Doc's. They've changed a little bit, but not anything drastic."
Redshirt Senior Safety Jovante Moffatt
On positives the MT defense can take from the first four games:
"We can take some experience and just getting guys in who haven't played a lot going into conference play, definitely with the back end. Looking at different offenses, you can look at that and go from there. We saw a lot of downhill kind of offenses. We can take a lot from it, and we're ready to go into next week."
On what Marshall has done well offensively against MT in previous seasons:
"This is our first time facing their quarterback; he was injured last year when we played them. They can throw the ball well, they can run, they use a lot of sniffers, stuff like that with the tight ends. We know it's conference play and in our conference you're going to get a lot of throwing the ball and spreads and stuff like that. Going into this next game and going into this next week, teams are going to do things as we've talked about going into conference play."
On if he gets more excited for conference play:
"Yeah, this is where it really matters. Everything that we want to accomplish is still in front of us. We all know that this is a big week and a big game. We're going to be ready starting tomorrow at practice."
On what brings out the best in Marshall and MT when they play each other:
"Yesterday, I was talking to some of the defensive backs, and I told them that the Marshall game is always big. I mean, you look at the games, they've always been close or one team just came in and got ahead of the other. I told them just be ready to bring your hats because this is going to be a big conference game for us and them on our side of the conference, and we both know what is at stake here."
Redshirt Junior Offensive Lineman Will Gilchrist
On positives the MT defense can take from the first four games:
"Just like Jovante [Moffatt] said, experience and taking and learning from everything we've done and just keep capitalizing on that, and growing and becoming a mature team."
On the benefits of playing Iowa and what they can take away moving forward:
"It was pretty beneficial. I mean, we're going to see guys just as good as them, maybe just not as big, but guys who play maybe even harder than them and are just as talented. It was a great experience going against them and going against those guys and playing in that atmosphere."
On how to get the run established:
"Like I said last week, it's really just about focusing on us. It's on us for shooting ourselves in the foot and getting a bunch of penalties here and there and getting behind the sticks. We need to come back to us and keep working and grinding every day."
On the number of penalties MT received against Iowa:
It was just the little stuff, especially me, I had one at the beginning of the game on the first drive. It's just the little stuff we've got to be more disciplined at, and it starts with me as being a leader and us up front as being leaders of this offense.
On moving from non-conference to conference play:
"It's just looking past everything and learning from the mistakes we've made and growing. We're going to go against guys who are not as big as we've faced, but they're going to be just as good and play even harder — just like us, we aren't as big but we play super hard. We've just got to go back to what we know and stay focused on us and keep rolling."
Head Coach Rick Stockstill
Opening statement:
"Opening up conference play this week, we're excited to get started in that. I have a ton of respect for Marshall's football program, Doc Holliday, his coaching staff and what they've done there since he's been there. We know we're playing a very talented team, a very well-coached team. They're coming in off a tough one, and we're coming in off a tough one. The respect that I have for Doc, his program, his players and how they play the game, the toughness they play with, I have a lot of respect for those guys. They're quarterback has played really well. On their offensive line, they return all five starters from last year, so it's a pretty good group up front. They have good skill guys; their receivers can run and make plays in space. They're really talented on offense. Defensively, their front seven is going to be active — they're going to put pressure on the quarterback. They're going to mix up coverages based on different situations that they'll present themselves with. They're always really good in the kicking game, and that's not different this year. They lead the league in punt returns, they're up there in kickoff returns as well, and their kick coverage is always good. We've got a tough challenge ahead of us, and we're looking forward to it."
On switching over to conference play:
"Conference play is always an exciting time. Three of these first four have been a top-10 team, a top-15 team, a top-25 team, so we've played a gauntlet of out-of-conference guys. I'd put Marshall up there with anybody that we've played this year — that's a good football team."
On what Marshall could do to give MT trouble:
"It starts with we've got to stop the run. They're averaging over 200 yards rushing a game, so that's where it starts. Their quarterback is looking to pass first, but he can extend plays with his feet. He can get outside of the pocket and create some things in the run game off of pass plays, so we've got to be cognizant of him once he gets out of the pocket that we don't lose sight of the receivers because he'll throw it over the top. To me, that's where it starts — we've got to stop the run, limit the big play. We've been giving up too many big plays through these first four games. Offensively, we've got to find a way to establish the run. We've got to run the ball and be a little bit better throwing the ball. I said it after the game, it's not so much Marshall coming up or whoever we play next. It's about us. We've got to correct some things and get better at some of the things we're doing."
On what Marshall does well defensively:
"They've got good players, and that's where it starts. Their front seven is good. They're going to mix up their pressures, zone and man pressures. They've done a good job of holding Boise to 14, VMI to 17, it was 33-31 to Ohio and they gave up 52 in this last game against a really, really good Cincinnati team. They play hard. The big thing is they've got good players, and they put themselves in positions to make plays, and when they're in that position, they make plays. They tackle good, and they don't give up big plays. They give up 150 yards rushing — 160, something like that — so they're not giving up a bunch of yardage on the ground."
On any changes with Brad Lambert now as defensive coordinator:
"Maybe a little bit, but not drastic. They pressure about the same as they did last year; it might be a little less. They still change their front — they'll go from a three-man to four-man or four-man to three-man. You're still getting those variations. Brad's an excellent football coach. What he did at Charlotte as he built that program, to win five games last year and come within the last game of getting bowl eligible, the respect that I have for Brad is equal to Doc's. They've changed a little bit, but not anything drastic."
Redshirt Senior Safety Jovante Moffatt
On positives the MT defense can take from the first four games:
"We can take some experience and just getting guys in who haven't played a lot going into conference play, definitely with the back end. Looking at different offenses, you can look at that and go from there. We saw a lot of downhill kind of offenses. We can take a lot from it, and we're ready to go into next week."
On what Marshall has done well offensively against MT in previous seasons:
"This is our first time facing their quarterback; he was injured last year when we played them. They can throw the ball well, they can run, they use a lot of sniffers, stuff like that with the tight ends. We know it's conference play and in our conference you're going to get a lot of throwing the ball and spreads and stuff like that. Going into this next game and going into this next week, teams are going to do things as we've talked about going into conference play."
On if he gets more excited for conference play:
"Yeah, this is where it really matters. Everything that we want to accomplish is still in front of us. We all know that this is a big week and a big game. We're going to be ready starting tomorrow at practice."
On what brings out the best in Marshall and MT when they play each other:
"Yesterday, I was talking to some of the defensive backs, and I told them that the Marshall game is always big. I mean, you look at the games, they've always been close or one team just came in and got ahead of the other. I told them just be ready to bring your hats because this is going to be a big conference game for us and them on our side of the conference, and we both know what is at stake here."
Redshirt Junior Offensive Lineman Will Gilchrist
On positives the MT defense can take from the first four games:
"Just like Jovante [Moffatt] said, experience and taking and learning from everything we've done and just keep capitalizing on that, and growing and becoming a mature team."
On the benefits of playing Iowa and what they can take away moving forward:
"It was pretty beneficial. I mean, we're going to see guys just as good as them, maybe just not as big, but guys who play maybe even harder than them and are just as talented. It was a great experience going against them and going against those guys and playing in that atmosphere."
On how to get the run established:
"Like I said last week, it's really just about focusing on us. It's on us for shooting ourselves in the foot and getting a bunch of penalties here and there and getting behind the sticks. We need to come back to us and keep working and grinding every day."
On the number of penalties MT received against Iowa:
It was just the little stuff, especially me, I had one at the beginning of the game on the first drive. It's just the little stuff we've got to be more disciplined at, and it starts with me as being a leader and us up front as being leaders of this offense.
On moving from non-conference to conference play:
"It's just looking past everything and learning from the mistakes we've made and growing. We're going to go against guys who are not as big as we've faced, but they're going to be just as good and play even harder — just like us, we aren't as big but we play super hard. We've just got to go back to what we know and stay focused on us and keep rolling."
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