MSU Tuesday Press Conference Transcript
11/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Bobcat Tuesday Press Conference – October 30, 2007
BOBCAT COACH ROB ASH
How important is it for you to end the season on a good note for these seniors?
RA: I told the team on Sunday that our complete focus for myself as a head coach, all the assistant coaches, and every player on this team is to help the seniors finish the year out in a positive fashion. That’s where you have to go from here. You know, whenever you have a goal outlined that you can no longer achieve, you have to find a new goal and that’s our new goal, to help the seniors finish out with the best possible season. They deserve it. They went through a tough summer of transition prior to their final year of football. They’ve dedicated everything to what we’ve asked them to do this whole season and I’d like nothing better than to see them end up with a couple of victories. I know it’s going to be a tough challenge, but that’s our goal.
This week there’s another offense you haven’t seen all year, how do you prepare for the Run-and-Shoot?
RA: It’s impressive. It’s fun to watch. I mean, they’re committed to the concept and they do a great job with it. I haven’t seen it for a number of years, but I remember when it first came out. That’s how old I am. And it’s exciting. What I like about it, just from a philosophical standpoint, is that it’s a whole system. They clearly believe in it. They’ve committed themselves to it. They run it all the time. That’s what they do and they do it exceptionally well. It will be fun to try to play against it. It will be fun for our defensive guys to battle them and it’s going to be difficult because they do it very well.
What makes the Run-and-Shoot difficult to defend and different from a regular spread offense?
RA: The Run-and-Shoot is a pre-cursor of the spread offense and I think what the Run-and-Shoot and the spread offense have combined is the quarterback run game and the reads and so forth, the quarterback reads, and play action and so forth. The Run-and-Shoot doesn’t have any of those elements. The Run-and-Shoot is a pure passing game and then they use the one running back in a variety of different ways with shuffle passes and little screens and the occasional run, which is very difficult to stop because it takes you by surprise because they do throw obviously more than they run. But that’s probably the biggest element, no quarterback run game. But they get their run game with the short passes and the little screens and all the other hitches and things that you do when you’re committed to the pass game.
From what you’ve seen on film over the season, do those players seem comfortable with that scheme?
RA: Sure, I’ve watched most of their games throughout the season and they are getting better as they go along and they seem more comfortable. They have had these quarterback rotations going through with injuries and so forth, so I’ve seen different quarterbacks at the helm and I’m very impressed with Drew (Hubel), the freshman. He’s come in and done a fabulous job for a true freshman, but again the reason he’s been able to do well is because there was no hiccup in the type of plays that they’re running. The system was exactly the same. The receivers were comfortable with it and what I’ve noticed the most is that the receivers, they’re running routes on every play and they’re running hard on every play. They never take a play off. They always run hard and they go get the ball. I’m very, very impressed with their work ethic and with their commitment and I think that’s one of the things that has made them good is that they’re competitive and they’re playing hard.
It doesn’t look like the team is getting to the quarterback as much as they were at the beginning of the year, have you seen that too, that the quarterback is getting rid of the ball quicker?
A: Well, I’m sure if you pass protect fifty, sixty times a game as a lineman, you’re going to get better at it as the season goes along. Plus, you see the different blitzes that people can concoct. There’s only so many things you can do, so many different concepts and teams should get better every week. That’s one of the things that makes a good football teams is getting better every week so they’re pass protection has improved and they make you pay too when you blitz them. I mean, if you want to commit extra guys to the rush, they get their one on one matchups and they’ve made teams pay for that and so you have to choose your poison. If you’re going to go try to rush them you’d better get them in a hurry because if he gets the ball away they have a great likelihood of making a big play.
Your pass defense has been good all year, how do you feel you match up? Is it more important to get a rush or have more strength in secondary or some combination?
RA: Just like they’re going to (run) their system when they come in and run their offense, we’re going to run our defense, which we’ve run all year, as well. We’re going to run a combination of different zone coverages, zone blitzes, and some man blitzes and some man coverages and the key to me in defending the run and shoot is to try the very best you can on defense to keep changing things and keep them guessing a little bit so they can’t get into any kind of a comfort level with any particular combination of routes or any particular scheme that you’re playing on defense. So it will be a chess match between their offense and our defense to try to see who can read the other one better during the course of the game.
How excited are you to see your guys play on turf?
RA: After watching Portland State’s receivers I’d rather play on our field. (laughs) They’re terrific. They’re fast. Kirkland is an exceptional player. They do a terrific job. All of them are good. They go get the ball. They are at home, on their turf. You know, I think it’s just as much of an advantage for them as it would be for us. We’re just going to have to play fast, because I know they will.
Is this a game where you expect to score some points?
RA: You know, everybody’s been saying that in this press conference so far and I don’t think I necessarily agree in the sense that I’ve seen Portland State’s defense play two very, very strong games against good teams. The Eastern Washington game was an outstanding display of defense by Portland State. They held Eastern Washington to 14 points right up until the final minute of the game and we know how good Eastern Washington’s offense is. And I thought they played a very respectable game against Montana last week on defense. They stopped a lot of plays and did a great job, so you know, I’m very respectful of their defense. I know given up some points in some games, but sometimes that’s a function of other things besides the defense, you know, quick scores, turnovers, you know, a variety of different things that can happen, short fields, so I’m not going to walk in here thinking it’s easy by any means for our offense to move the ball.
Have most defenses treated your offense in the same way?
RA: I think that’s probably true. I think that’s probably what most defenses would like to do. I mean, if you can plus-one in the box and get your safeties down and get them involved in the run stopping that’s always preferential, to get the run stopped. The risk you take is getting beat one-on-one on the outside, so that still continues to be our challenge, we’ve got to be able to win on the one-on-one match ups. That’s something we’ve worked on throughout the season and we’re going to continue to work on as we go into this game, trying to find someplace where we can win one-on-one.
Are Chris Kolone and Korey (Austin) going to be able to practice this week?
RA: It looks like Korey’s probably going to be able to practice, but Chris Kolone is still going to need a couple days of rest. Hopefully we’ll have both of them by Saturday, but we’re not entirely sure about the total extent for either one. This is a day-to-day on both of them right now.
Is Elliot Barnhart being optimistic thinking his season isn’t over or does he have a good shot?
RA: Elliot Barnhart’s a Montana kid. He wants to play in that game in the worst way and he will do everything in his power to try to convince himself and the trainers that he should play in that game. That’s all I really know on that one.
Can you talk about how the seniors helped in the transition with you coming here?
RA: I personally owe the seniors a great debt of gratitude for the way they helped us make the transition and the captains, in particular, started that. Peder Jenson, and Elliot and Will (Claggett) and Aaron Papich. They came into my office in the summertime, just a few days after I was here and sat down and said, ‘Coach, what can we do to make this a successful transition. This is our senior season.’ I don’t think they liked it particularly. They had come off a playoff year and they were happy with what was going on from a purely football sense, but they did a terrific job of just saying, ‘Hey, the change has been made. You’re the guy. Tell me about yourself and let’s move on from here.’ The other seniors on the team, as always, followed their leadership, and it’s been terrific. I’ve enjoyed working with these guys. I feel like I owe them a lot. I’m going to help them in any way I can to finish the season off well, but then I’m going to continue to help them, to make sure they graduate and get out and get good jobs, whether it’s graduate school, jobs, letters of reference, whatever I can do. I’ll pay these guys back because they really, really stepped up to the plate and made it possible for us to have a good transition.
The potential for this program seems pretty bright when you have such a small turnaround and you can get seven wins, it seems like down the road it could be pretty good.
RA: Are you guaranteeing seven wins?
I said it’s possible.
RA: Obviously, we know that the number of wins possible is seven and that’s what we’re shooting for and, we’ll evaluate the season when we’re finished. I hope that’s what we end up. Every player on our team hopes that’s the way they’ll end up, but every team in America right now that has two games left on their schedule knows that there’s two more wins that they could have and only half of those teams are going to win those games. I think the season’s been a success. I think the transition’s been a success. I feel good about the foundation we’re building for this program. I’m very optimistic about the future and I hope we win the last two games.
If Aaron Mason is back, will you use a two back rotation again?
RA: I’ve got to see what Aaron can do on Tuesday and Wednesday and I’ve got to see him practice, see how he runs, see what impact being off for a week has had on him and then we’ll decide at the end of the week based on how he looks, how many carries he’s going to get.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE AARON PAPICH
What’s the team’s mentality in bouncing back again and salvaging the season?
AP: A lot of us were definitely down after Saturday’s game, but we practice today and we just have to come out with a lot of energy and make these next two weeks positive.
How important is the pass rush against a team that throws as much as Portland State?
AP: The pass rush is going to be the key this week, for sure. They’re a huge passing team and getting pressure on the quarterback is going to be a big determinant on how the game turns out.
Do you see Portland State getting rid of the ball more quickly to avoid pressure now?
AP: They’ve made adjustments. The quarterback is starting to scramble a little bit more, before he just sat in the pocket but he’s moving a little more. The O-line is picking up blitzes better (than) the beginning of the season. It’s definitely going to be a challenge for us.
Will the front four have to be the ones that get the pressure on the quarterback?
AP: I think so. The D-line is going to be a big part, as well as the whole defense, but there are going to be some key factors, like beating the tackles on the outside, the D-ends, and beating the guards on the inside, the D-tackles. We just have to get a good pass rush.
Do they run the ball some out of that offense?
AP: They do, they’ve got some run plays for sure to keep the defense honest so we’re not pass-rushing every single play. They’re going to keep us on our toes with different plays here and there, but we can expect a lot of pass.
Do you talk to the younger players about every game having meaning now that you’re down to the last two games of your career?
AP: I can remember my freshman year like it was yesterday, and this was the fastest season I’ve ever been through. Even the younger players are saying that, too. I just let them know that you have to cherish every game as it comes, and even practice, you have to love practice even though it’s tough. But it goes by fast, for sure.
Do you have any impressions of Coach Glanville from the spring banquet in Great Falls a couple years ago?
AP: He’s a great guy. I can’t really recall anything specific he said, but I do know that it was a good banquet and he’s a good guy, for sure.
What would it mean to end on a high note with a road win?
AP: It would be great, (but) we have to come out and play tough. It will be our first game on turf, so that will be a little change, but Portland State is a great team, and we match up well against them.
It seems like MSU got the bounces early in the season, and lately that has evened out. Is there anything you can do to change that dynamic?
AP: It’s just being assignment-sound and sticking to our assignments. If balls bounce our way that’s great, but we can’t change the way we play. We need to stick to our assignments and cut down costly penalties, things we can control, and I know we’re working on that.
Is it a challenge for the defense to play such a high-scoring offense?
AP: It feels like we really have nothing to lose right now and I feel like we’ll go out there 100 miles an hour. It would be great to hold them (down). We’ll just have to see what happens.
Being a captain, with the playoffs no longer in reach, do you take on more of a motivational role?
AP: It’s a lot different because we know now when the season’s going to end, whereas if we were going to make the playoffs we’d play each game not know if it was going to end with that game or keep going. It’s important to play the last two weeks and make sure it’s a positive experience to end the season.
BOBCAT COACH ROB ASH
How important is it for you to end the season on a good note for these seniors?
RA: I told the team on Sunday that our complete focus for myself as a head coach, all the assistant coaches, and every player on this team is to help the seniors finish the year out in a positive fashion. That’s where you have to go from here. You know, whenever you have a goal outlined that you can no longer achieve, you have to find a new goal and that’s our new goal, to help the seniors finish out with the best possible season. They deserve it. They went through a tough summer of transition prior to their final year of football. They’ve dedicated everything to what we’ve asked them to do this whole season and I’d like nothing better than to see them end up with a couple of victories. I know it’s going to be a tough challenge, but that’s our goal.
This week there’s another offense you haven’t seen all year, how do you prepare for the Run-and-Shoot?
RA: It’s impressive. It’s fun to watch. I mean, they’re committed to the concept and they do a great job with it. I haven’t seen it for a number of years, but I remember when it first came out. That’s how old I am. And it’s exciting. What I like about it, just from a philosophical standpoint, is that it’s a whole system. They clearly believe in it. They’ve committed themselves to it. They run it all the time. That’s what they do and they do it exceptionally well. It will be fun to try to play against it. It will be fun for our defensive guys to battle them and it’s going to be difficult because they do it very well.
What makes the Run-and-Shoot difficult to defend and different from a regular spread offense?
RA: The Run-and-Shoot is a pre-cursor of the spread offense and I think what the Run-and-Shoot and the spread offense have combined is the quarterback run game and the reads and so forth, the quarterback reads, and play action and so forth. The Run-and-Shoot doesn’t have any of those elements. The Run-and-Shoot is a pure passing game and then they use the one running back in a variety of different ways with shuffle passes and little screens and the occasional run, which is very difficult to stop because it takes you by surprise because they do throw obviously more than they run. But that’s probably the biggest element, no quarterback run game. But they get their run game with the short passes and the little screens and all the other hitches and things that you do when you’re committed to the pass game.
From what you’ve seen on film over the season, do those players seem comfortable with that scheme?
RA: Sure, I’ve watched most of their games throughout the season and they are getting better as they go along and they seem more comfortable. They have had these quarterback rotations going through with injuries and so forth, so I’ve seen different quarterbacks at the helm and I’m very impressed with Drew (Hubel), the freshman. He’s come in and done a fabulous job for a true freshman, but again the reason he’s been able to do well is because there was no hiccup in the type of plays that they’re running. The system was exactly the same. The receivers were comfortable with it and what I’ve noticed the most is that the receivers, they’re running routes on every play and they’re running hard on every play. They never take a play off. They always run hard and they go get the ball. I’m very, very impressed with their work ethic and with their commitment and I think that’s one of the things that has made them good is that they’re competitive and they’re playing hard.
It doesn’t look like the team is getting to the quarterback as much as they were at the beginning of the year, have you seen that too, that the quarterback is getting rid of the ball quicker?
A: Well, I’m sure if you pass protect fifty, sixty times a game as a lineman, you’re going to get better at it as the season goes along. Plus, you see the different blitzes that people can concoct. There’s only so many things you can do, so many different concepts and teams should get better every week. That’s one of the things that makes a good football teams is getting better every week so they’re pass protection has improved and they make you pay too when you blitz them. I mean, if you want to commit extra guys to the rush, they get their one on one matchups and they’ve made teams pay for that and so you have to choose your poison. If you’re going to go try to rush them you’d better get them in a hurry because if he gets the ball away they have a great likelihood of making a big play.
Your pass defense has been good all year, how do you feel you match up? Is it more important to get a rush or have more strength in secondary or some combination?
RA: Just like they’re going to (run) their system when they come in and run their offense, we’re going to run our defense, which we’ve run all year, as well. We’re going to run a combination of different zone coverages, zone blitzes, and some man blitzes and some man coverages and the key to me in defending the run and shoot is to try the very best you can on defense to keep changing things and keep them guessing a little bit so they can’t get into any kind of a comfort level with any particular combination of routes or any particular scheme that you’re playing on defense. So it will be a chess match between their offense and our defense to try to see who can read the other one better during the course of the game.
How excited are you to see your guys play on turf?
RA: After watching Portland State’s receivers I’d rather play on our field. (laughs) They’re terrific. They’re fast. Kirkland is an exceptional player. They do a terrific job. All of them are good. They go get the ball. They are at home, on their turf. You know, I think it’s just as much of an advantage for them as it would be for us. We’re just going to have to play fast, because I know they will.
Is this a game where you expect to score some points?
RA: You know, everybody’s been saying that in this press conference so far and I don’t think I necessarily agree in the sense that I’ve seen Portland State’s defense play two very, very strong games against good teams. The Eastern Washington game was an outstanding display of defense by Portland State. They held Eastern Washington to 14 points right up until the final minute of the game and we know how good Eastern Washington’s offense is. And I thought they played a very respectable game against Montana last week on defense. They stopped a lot of plays and did a great job, so you know, I’m very respectful of their defense. I know given up some points in some games, but sometimes that’s a function of other things besides the defense, you know, quick scores, turnovers, you know, a variety of different things that can happen, short fields, so I’m not going to walk in here thinking it’s easy by any means for our offense to move the ball.
Have most defenses treated your offense in the same way?
RA: I think that’s probably true. I think that’s probably what most defenses would like to do. I mean, if you can plus-one in the box and get your safeties down and get them involved in the run stopping that’s always preferential, to get the run stopped. The risk you take is getting beat one-on-one on the outside, so that still continues to be our challenge, we’ve got to be able to win on the one-on-one match ups. That’s something we’ve worked on throughout the season and we’re going to continue to work on as we go into this game, trying to find someplace where we can win one-on-one.
Are Chris Kolone and Korey (Austin) going to be able to practice this week?
RA: It looks like Korey’s probably going to be able to practice, but Chris Kolone is still going to need a couple days of rest. Hopefully we’ll have both of them by Saturday, but we’re not entirely sure about the total extent for either one. This is a day-to-day on both of them right now.
Is Elliot Barnhart being optimistic thinking his season isn’t over or does he have a good shot?
RA: Elliot Barnhart’s a Montana kid. He wants to play in that game in the worst way and he will do everything in his power to try to convince himself and the trainers that he should play in that game. That’s all I really know on that one.
Can you talk about how the seniors helped in the transition with you coming here?
RA: I personally owe the seniors a great debt of gratitude for the way they helped us make the transition and the captains, in particular, started that. Peder Jenson, and Elliot and Will (Claggett) and Aaron Papich. They came into my office in the summertime, just a few days after I was here and sat down and said, ‘Coach, what can we do to make this a successful transition. This is our senior season.’ I don’t think they liked it particularly. They had come off a playoff year and they were happy with what was going on from a purely football sense, but they did a terrific job of just saying, ‘Hey, the change has been made. You’re the guy. Tell me about yourself and let’s move on from here.’ The other seniors on the team, as always, followed their leadership, and it’s been terrific. I’ve enjoyed working with these guys. I feel like I owe them a lot. I’m going to help them in any way I can to finish the season off well, but then I’m going to continue to help them, to make sure they graduate and get out and get good jobs, whether it’s graduate school, jobs, letters of reference, whatever I can do. I’ll pay these guys back because they really, really stepped up to the plate and made it possible for us to have a good transition.
The potential for this program seems pretty bright when you have such a small turnaround and you can get seven wins, it seems like down the road it could be pretty good.
RA: Are you guaranteeing seven wins?
I said it’s possible.
RA: Obviously, we know that the number of wins possible is seven and that’s what we’re shooting for and, we’ll evaluate the season when we’re finished. I hope that’s what we end up. Every player on our team hopes that’s the way they’ll end up, but every team in America right now that has two games left on their schedule knows that there’s two more wins that they could have and only half of those teams are going to win those games. I think the season’s been a success. I think the transition’s been a success. I feel good about the foundation we’re building for this program. I’m very optimistic about the future and I hope we win the last two games.
If Aaron Mason is back, will you use a two back rotation again?
RA: I’ve got to see what Aaron can do on Tuesday and Wednesday and I’ve got to see him practice, see how he runs, see what impact being off for a week has had on him and then we’ll decide at the end of the week based on how he looks, how many carries he’s going to get.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE AARON PAPICH
What’s the team’s mentality in bouncing back again and salvaging the season?
AP: A lot of us were definitely down after Saturday’s game, but we practice today and we just have to come out with a lot of energy and make these next two weeks positive.
How important is the pass rush against a team that throws as much as Portland State?
AP: The pass rush is going to be the key this week, for sure. They’re a huge passing team and getting pressure on the quarterback is going to be a big determinant on how the game turns out.
Do you see Portland State getting rid of the ball more quickly to avoid pressure now?
AP: They’ve made adjustments. The quarterback is starting to scramble a little bit more, before he just sat in the pocket but he’s moving a little more. The O-line is picking up blitzes better (than) the beginning of the season. It’s definitely going to be a challenge for us.
Will the front four have to be the ones that get the pressure on the quarterback?
AP: I think so. The D-line is going to be a big part, as well as the whole defense, but there are going to be some key factors, like beating the tackles on the outside, the D-ends, and beating the guards on the inside, the D-tackles. We just have to get a good pass rush.
Do they run the ball some out of that offense?
AP: They do, they’ve got some run plays for sure to keep the defense honest so we’re not pass-rushing every single play. They’re going to keep us on our toes with different plays here and there, but we can expect a lot of pass.
Do you talk to the younger players about every game having meaning now that you’re down to the last two games of your career?
AP: I can remember my freshman year like it was yesterday, and this was the fastest season I’ve ever been through. Even the younger players are saying that, too. I just let them know that you have to cherish every game as it comes, and even practice, you have to love practice even though it’s tough. But it goes by fast, for sure.
Do you have any impressions of Coach Glanville from the spring banquet in Great Falls a couple years ago?
AP: He’s a great guy. I can’t really recall anything specific he said, but I do know that it was a good banquet and he’s a good guy, for sure.
What would it mean to end on a high note with a road win?
AP: It would be great, (but) we have to come out and play tough. It will be our first game on turf, so that will be a little change, but Portland State is a great team, and we match up well against them.
It seems like MSU got the bounces early in the season, and lately that has evened out. Is there anything you can do to change that dynamic?
AP: It’s just being assignment-sound and sticking to our assignments. If balls bounce our way that’s great, but we can’t change the way we play. We need to stick to our assignments and cut down costly penalties, things we can control, and I know we’re working on that.
Is it a challenge for the defense to play such a high-scoring offense?
AP: It feels like we really have nothing to lose right now and I feel like we’ll go out there 100 miles an hour. It would be great to hold them (down). We’ll just have to see what happens.
Being a captain, with the playoffs no longer in reach, do you take on more of a motivational role?
AP: It’s a lot different because we know now when the season’s going to end, whereas if we were going to make the playoffs we’d play each game not know if it was going to end with that game or keep going. It’s important to play the last two weeks and make sure it’s a positive experience to end the season.
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