Rob Ash looks at last week's win over Northern Colorado and next week's game at Southern Utah
Photo by: MSU Sports Information
Rob Ash and Player Quotes from September 25 Press Conference
9/25/2012 5:28:00 PM | Football
A look back at last week's win over Northern Colorado and ahead at the Southern Utah game
TUESDAY PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
September 25, 2012
BOBCAT HEAD COACH ROB ASH
How had Southern Utah improved from when it played here five years ago?
“They're a whole different program than five years ago in talent level, size, physical ability of the players. The quarterback that they have now, Brad Sorensen, is a legitimate big-time player and they have a few other All-Americas, too, on their football team. You can tell the commitment of the University is there now for their program. The coaching change has been good, it was a different coach five years ago. I know the President has been involved, I met their president this past spring at function here on campus. He's a very committed football and athletics fan. They're on the rise, and I think they're excited to be in the Big Sky Conference.”
Is it difficult as a coach to play a new team in the conference?
“I think it's difficult to play a new team any time, especially on the road, we've never been there. We do have a little bit of insight on what it's like there because Kevin McGiven did coach at Southern Utah earlier in his career, although the venue has changed since that time. They don't know the personnel on our side, either, so it's probably a stalemate from that respect, but it's a lot easier to play a team that you've played before.”
In front of a smaller crowd, how important is it to get energy from the team?
“We have to find out if we're going to be a frontrunner type of team that can only play in front of our big home crowds or if we can get up and play in front of smaller crowds. We didn't perform that task very well at Drake, so we'll talk about it a lot this week so I think our guys will do their best to get inspired and go out and do a better performance on the road than what we had before.”
What makes Sorensen such a special player?
“He's immense. He's got great size, and he can see the field because of his size. He's got a terrific arm, and he's such a good athlete he could probably play other positions as well. But he's a terrific quarterback, he comes from an athletic family, he obviously knows and understands the game, he protects the ball. He's just a terrific quarterback.”
Is it important to apply pressure with the pass rush?
“That's going to be the same line every week all season for both teams. You have to get pressure to defend a passing game, so obviously that'll be something we work on.”
How has the quarterback position evolved?
“Sorensen's kind of a throwback, he's more of the quarterback I can remember being the typical kind of quarterback from several years ago. Not that he's not an athletic quarterback, but they don't run a lot of the zone reads that a lot of teams are doing. Their offense is extremely productive and he defends the rush very well in terms of being able to stay upright and get the ball away. He's really, really good in the scheme they've designed for him, and the scheme is smart for him because it takes advantage of his abilities. There are a lot of teams right now that have a tailback playing quarterback. That's not really his description, and it's really not ours, either, even though DeNarius is a good athlete. We're not calling him in called running plays multiple times. So both guys are really passers first.”
How hard is it as a head coach to game plan for so many different types of quarterbacks?
“You always have to look at the numbers out there. When the quarterback is a runner you have to be a lot more conscious of what your run fits are, how you line up, what gaps you defend because you have to account for him as a runner as well as a passer. When you have more of a passing quarterback, like what we have or what Southern Utah has, then it's a matter of matching up routes against your coverages and of designing pressures to get to the quarterback. So there's probably a little bit more of an emphasis on the pass game against certain guys and on the run game against others.”
Now that you're four weeks into this thing it looks like the offense is tailor-made for DeNarius. What do you think of his level of play right now?
“I thought DeNarius' game on Saturday was magnificent, I thought Kevin McGiven's plan was just as magnificent. The two of them seem to be working really well together right now. DeNarius is playing fast, throwing accurately, knows exactly where he's supposed to go with the ball. We're not spending a lot of time at the line of scrimmage checking plays, we're letting things happen after the snap instead of before the snap and I think that caters to DeNarius' decision-making and ability to just sort of let things happen.”
What do you credit the ability to spread the ball around to the playmakers on offense to?
“It's a good design. Every route we run on offense has multiple options we can go to. We can go here against this coverage, we can go there against another coverage, and somewhere else against pressure. As long as DeNarius can understand all those options and can read what's going on, he should get it to a man that's open. We really, truly have very few plays in the offense where we say, 'Drop back and throw it to this guy.' It all depends on how the coverage matches up with the route, so it should actually come out so that there's a distribution that's pretty even.”
How impressed are you with the ability of DeNarius to read different defenses and get the ball to the different targets?
“I think our offensive line has grown and gotten better every single game, and this was a great test that we passed because Northern Colorado did switch from a four-man line to a three-man line to a Bear front and we were able to match up our pass protections and our run game schemes against all those different fronts, sometimes very late in the cadence. Right before we snapped the ball there would be a line change and we would still be able to block the front they ended up in. That wouldn't have happened early in the season. Now they've had four games, they've seen a lot of different things, they know now how to block everything that's out there. And now I think the progression will just keep getting better and better.”
What do you think Brian Bignell brings to the defense?
“Brian's a great pass rusher, and he showed that Saturday being able to get a couple of sacks, but Brian's also got the right demeanor. He enjoys the game, he brings a lot of energy out there on the field, he plays with a lot of enthusiasm, he's quick and savvy and just one of those instinctive players, so it's more than just the numbers. He brings an element of having fun and being aggressive out there.”
What did you think of his ability to play fearlessly after having a bad shoulder?
“He's been (rehabbing from shoulder surgery) a long time and I think if we would have played him in the first game of the season it would have been a different story. He would have been at risk. But we were very careful to make sure he passed all his stress tests and got himself fully rehabilitated before we put him on the field, and I think that's why he's playing with confidence. He knows he's passed all the tests to get out there.”
How's Zach (Minter)?
“The weekly question on Zach. Zach's improving. Zach's going to try to practice this week and we're hoping he'll be able to make it on Saturday, but there's no guarantee. We still don't know for sure.”
Even without Zach you have Brian back and Brad (Daly) back, talk about the depth in your defensive line.
“We made huge strides getting Brad and Brian back this week, plus the guys like Taylor Dees, of course Caleb's always been there, but Preston Gale and (Craig) Ashworth and all those other guys that have been out there, they are getting better every week, as well. So the absence of the other guys have given an opportunity to the backups to play and improve and now the depth is pretty strong. I like that.”
SOPHOMORE DEFENSIVE TACKLE TAYLOR DEES
How much easier is it when you guys jet out to such a big lead?
“It's real nice. The offense took care of business right away. We were well-rested coming out and we were all thinking three-and-out right away, which we got in the first three series, and the offense scored in the first three times so that was a huge help.”
When the offense is rolling, how much do you feed off that as a defense?
“Huge, and the crowd, we feed off the crowd, as well. When they're all rowdy and loud we feed off their energy, so that's a huge thing.”
How was it having Brian Bignell back?
“It was great having Brian back. He adds more depth to the team, especially in the pass rush. He's a great pass rusher, He had two sacks Saturday, I'm not sure how many plays, but he played well.”
Describe the play where Montgomery broke through and you chased him down.
AB: "Honestly, I don't like to give up on a play, never, so I felt like my old legs could still chase him down and at least get him out of bounds or something. I felt real comfortable that I still have that speed but I didn't even really think I was going to get there. Luckily I got there.”
What did it feel like to chase down one of the fastest running backs in the Pac 10?
AB: "I still got it, that's what I thought about when I chased him down. Like, oh, wow, I've still got that speed. I've still got it in me.”
How would you describe how your defense plays?
“I think we play energetic. Coach Marshall preaches partying at the football. When we make a big play he wants us to high five and bump chests. As a defense we want to all rally, all 11 people o the football at once.”
Do you think you're all fairly equal in talent?
“There are some guys who stand out, for sure, but we're all working for each other and we don't want to let anyone down on the defense, so we all give it everything we have.”
With Bignell back and also Brad Daly back, can you talk about the depth of the defense?
“Daly, he's the preseason All-American at defensive end, he adds something else, too. We can move Preston Gale inside to nose, and we've got Brian, we've got Caleb on the other side, (the other team has) to pick one guy to double-team and they can't, everyone in there is pretty solid. It gives the offensive line from other teams trouble.”
What do you know about Southern Utah?
“We know they have a great quarterback, big guy, strong arm. They're really good up front. They're going to be a solid team, another tough challenge for us, we've just got to take it one step at a time and approach this like it's a playoff game.”
What are the challenges of playing a conference game on the road?
“We've just got to take our energy down there and we've got to feed off each other. We've got to play as hard as we can and feed off the game and keep going hard all game.”
It seems like every week you face a team with a great quarterback. In your three years of college football how many good quarterbacks do you see out there?
“They're everywhere. They're getting bigger and taller, this guy's 6-4 or 6-5 and he's got a cannon for an arm. He's going to be tough to defend. It's going to be a good game.”
As a D-lineman do you like facing a more traditional, pocket quarterback?
“It's definitely nice. With Stephen F. Austin, they had the three-step, it's hard to get there, that was frustrating all day. Southern Utah does a little more five-step drop so with a traditional quarterback we hope to get to the quarterback a little easier, but like I said, up front they're solid. It's going to be a tough game.”
How important will it be to get to the quarterback?
“It will be extremely important. We've got to help out the defensive backs back there. If you can keep pressure and rattle the quarterback a little bit he'll be thinking about us a little more than thinking about his receivers. We've just got to bring the pressure.”
How has your defense evolved since the Drake game?
“I think we're getting better every week. We're working hard every practice. I just think every week we have to take it one step at a time and get better every week and keep grinding.”
SOPHOMORE TIGHT END TIAI SALANOA
How has the role of the tight end changed this year?
“It's changed big-time. We get the ball more. Last year we had opportunities, but this year we're making more of our opportunities, me and Lee (Perkins) and (Chris) Houden.”
How big a part of the offense are you?
“I think everybody has a big part of the offense, not just the tight ends. We're all competing for a spot out there. I like Coach McGiven's offense. We're the same as everyone else.”
What do you like about Kevin McGiven's offense?
“I feel like everybody has the chance to get the ball, not just me, not just Flotkoetter, not just Bleskin. If we all compete in practice we all have a chance to get the ball. So I think our offense is pretty balanced.”
How have you improved this year?
“Blocking-wise. I've always had the receiving and speed, I guess, but Coach Willcox is getting me stronger. So blocking.”
How do you avoid a slow start playing on the road at a place you've never been?
“We just have to come out with energy. We don't want to come out with the same amount of energy we did with Drake. Southern Utah's a real good team, a real, real good team. We have to bring that energy in the beginning and for all four quarters.”
How much more comfortable are you now than at the beginning of the season?
“I feel like we're more comfortable. We're getting to know each other as an offense, we're moving the ball faster. DeNarius is a great leader out there, and Steven Foster, Shaun Sampson, (Cody) Kirk, they're all leading us the right way. And Coach McGiven is great at what he does.”
How impressed are you with the way Coach McGiven has spread the ball around?
“I think it's crazy. A lot of people had doubts about Coach McGiven because Coach Wright was so good at what he did, but Coach McGiven getting everyone the ball, not just one person, is pretty good.”
Can you talk about DeNarius and the level he's playing at right now?
“Unbelievable. He tells us at halftime, 'Just keep the energy up, just keep playing fast,' and especially at practice he tells us to go fast. If we play fast we'll be a great championship team, and I believe that. We all bought into it.”
Are there plays designed specifically for you?
“There was a few plays. At SFA there was a play I got a PI on and I got PI'ed on. But like I said, our offense is so balanced and we all get the ball we all have a chance to get a touchdown.”
How much better are you guys at recognizing defensive changes?
“I feel like on the fly we're getting better at it. Shaun Sampson, he's just quick with the calls at the line, if you just listen to him and Steven Foster, we're just on it. So I feel like we've gotten so much better. No matter what front they bring we know what to do, we study all week, if they bring this we'll do that.”
September 25, 2012
BOBCAT HEAD COACH ROB ASH
How had Southern Utah improved from when it played here five years ago?
“They're a whole different program than five years ago in talent level, size, physical ability of the players. The quarterback that they have now, Brad Sorensen, is a legitimate big-time player and they have a few other All-Americas, too, on their football team. You can tell the commitment of the University is there now for their program. The coaching change has been good, it was a different coach five years ago. I know the President has been involved, I met their president this past spring at function here on campus. He's a very committed football and athletics fan. They're on the rise, and I think they're excited to be in the Big Sky Conference.”
Is it difficult as a coach to play a new team in the conference?
“I think it's difficult to play a new team any time, especially on the road, we've never been there. We do have a little bit of insight on what it's like there because Kevin McGiven did coach at Southern Utah earlier in his career, although the venue has changed since that time. They don't know the personnel on our side, either, so it's probably a stalemate from that respect, but it's a lot easier to play a team that you've played before.”
In front of a smaller crowd, how important is it to get energy from the team?
“We have to find out if we're going to be a frontrunner type of team that can only play in front of our big home crowds or if we can get up and play in front of smaller crowds. We didn't perform that task very well at Drake, so we'll talk about it a lot this week so I think our guys will do their best to get inspired and go out and do a better performance on the road than what we had before.”
What makes Sorensen such a special player?
“He's immense. He's got great size, and he can see the field because of his size. He's got a terrific arm, and he's such a good athlete he could probably play other positions as well. But he's a terrific quarterback, he comes from an athletic family, he obviously knows and understands the game, he protects the ball. He's just a terrific quarterback.”
Is it important to apply pressure with the pass rush?
“That's going to be the same line every week all season for both teams. You have to get pressure to defend a passing game, so obviously that'll be something we work on.”
How has the quarterback position evolved?
“Sorensen's kind of a throwback, he's more of the quarterback I can remember being the typical kind of quarterback from several years ago. Not that he's not an athletic quarterback, but they don't run a lot of the zone reads that a lot of teams are doing. Their offense is extremely productive and he defends the rush very well in terms of being able to stay upright and get the ball away. He's really, really good in the scheme they've designed for him, and the scheme is smart for him because it takes advantage of his abilities. There are a lot of teams right now that have a tailback playing quarterback. That's not really his description, and it's really not ours, either, even though DeNarius is a good athlete. We're not calling him in called running plays multiple times. So both guys are really passers first.”
How hard is it as a head coach to game plan for so many different types of quarterbacks?
“You always have to look at the numbers out there. When the quarterback is a runner you have to be a lot more conscious of what your run fits are, how you line up, what gaps you defend because you have to account for him as a runner as well as a passer. When you have more of a passing quarterback, like what we have or what Southern Utah has, then it's a matter of matching up routes against your coverages and of designing pressures to get to the quarterback. So there's probably a little bit more of an emphasis on the pass game against certain guys and on the run game against others.”
Now that you're four weeks into this thing it looks like the offense is tailor-made for DeNarius. What do you think of his level of play right now?
“I thought DeNarius' game on Saturday was magnificent, I thought Kevin McGiven's plan was just as magnificent. The two of them seem to be working really well together right now. DeNarius is playing fast, throwing accurately, knows exactly where he's supposed to go with the ball. We're not spending a lot of time at the line of scrimmage checking plays, we're letting things happen after the snap instead of before the snap and I think that caters to DeNarius' decision-making and ability to just sort of let things happen.”
What do you credit the ability to spread the ball around to the playmakers on offense to?
“It's a good design. Every route we run on offense has multiple options we can go to. We can go here against this coverage, we can go there against another coverage, and somewhere else against pressure. As long as DeNarius can understand all those options and can read what's going on, he should get it to a man that's open. We really, truly have very few plays in the offense where we say, 'Drop back and throw it to this guy.' It all depends on how the coverage matches up with the route, so it should actually come out so that there's a distribution that's pretty even.”
How impressed are you with the ability of DeNarius to read different defenses and get the ball to the different targets?
“I think our offensive line has grown and gotten better every single game, and this was a great test that we passed because Northern Colorado did switch from a four-man line to a three-man line to a Bear front and we were able to match up our pass protections and our run game schemes against all those different fronts, sometimes very late in the cadence. Right before we snapped the ball there would be a line change and we would still be able to block the front they ended up in. That wouldn't have happened early in the season. Now they've had four games, they've seen a lot of different things, they know now how to block everything that's out there. And now I think the progression will just keep getting better and better.”
What do you think Brian Bignell brings to the defense?
“Brian's a great pass rusher, and he showed that Saturday being able to get a couple of sacks, but Brian's also got the right demeanor. He enjoys the game, he brings a lot of energy out there on the field, he plays with a lot of enthusiasm, he's quick and savvy and just one of those instinctive players, so it's more than just the numbers. He brings an element of having fun and being aggressive out there.”
What did you think of his ability to play fearlessly after having a bad shoulder?
“He's been (rehabbing from shoulder surgery) a long time and I think if we would have played him in the first game of the season it would have been a different story. He would have been at risk. But we were very careful to make sure he passed all his stress tests and got himself fully rehabilitated before we put him on the field, and I think that's why he's playing with confidence. He knows he's passed all the tests to get out there.”
How's Zach (Minter)?
“The weekly question on Zach. Zach's improving. Zach's going to try to practice this week and we're hoping he'll be able to make it on Saturday, but there's no guarantee. We still don't know for sure.”
Even without Zach you have Brian back and Brad (Daly) back, talk about the depth in your defensive line.
“We made huge strides getting Brad and Brian back this week, plus the guys like Taylor Dees, of course Caleb's always been there, but Preston Gale and (Craig) Ashworth and all those other guys that have been out there, they are getting better every week, as well. So the absence of the other guys have given an opportunity to the backups to play and improve and now the depth is pretty strong. I like that.”
SOPHOMORE DEFENSIVE TACKLE TAYLOR DEES
How much easier is it when you guys jet out to such a big lead?
“It's real nice. The offense took care of business right away. We were well-rested coming out and we were all thinking three-and-out right away, which we got in the first three series, and the offense scored in the first three times so that was a huge help.”
When the offense is rolling, how much do you feed off that as a defense?
“Huge, and the crowd, we feed off the crowd, as well. When they're all rowdy and loud we feed off their energy, so that's a huge thing.”
How was it having Brian Bignell back?
“It was great having Brian back. He adds more depth to the team, especially in the pass rush. He's a great pass rusher, He had two sacks Saturday, I'm not sure how many plays, but he played well.”
Describe the play where Montgomery broke through and you chased him down.
AB: "Honestly, I don't like to give up on a play, never, so I felt like my old legs could still chase him down and at least get him out of bounds or something. I felt real comfortable that I still have that speed but I didn't even really think I was going to get there. Luckily I got there.”
What did it feel like to chase down one of the fastest running backs in the Pac 10?
AB: "I still got it, that's what I thought about when I chased him down. Like, oh, wow, I've still got that speed. I've still got it in me.”
How would you describe how your defense plays?
“I think we play energetic. Coach Marshall preaches partying at the football. When we make a big play he wants us to high five and bump chests. As a defense we want to all rally, all 11 people o the football at once.”
Do you think you're all fairly equal in talent?
“There are some guys who stand out, for sure, but we're all working for each other and we don't want to let anyone down on the defense, so we all give it everything we have.”
With Bignell back and also Brad Daly back, can you talk about the depth of the defense?
“Daly, he's the preseason All-American at defensive end, he adds something else, too. We can move Preston Gale inside to nose, and we've got Brian, we've got Caleb on the other side, (the other team has) to pick one guy to double-team and they can't, everyone in there is pretty solid. It gives the offensive line from other teams trouble.”
What do you know about Southern Utah?
“We know they have a great quarterback, big guy, strong arm. They're really good up front. They're going to be a solid team, another tough challenge for us, we've just got to take it one step at a time and approach this like it's a playoff game.”
What are the challenges of playing a conference game on the road?
“We've just got to take our energy down there and we've got to feed off each other. We've got to play as hard as we can and feed off the game and keep going hard all game.”
It seems like every week you face a team with a great quarterback. In your three years of college football how many good quarterbacks do you see out there?
“They're everywhere. They're getting bigger and taller, this guy's 6-4 or 6-5 and he's got a cannon for an arm. He's going to be tough to defend. It's going to be a good game.”
As a D-lineman do you like facing a more traditional, pocket quarterback?
“It's definitely nice. With Stephen F. Austin, they had the three-step, it's hard to get there, that was frustrating all day. Southern Utah does a little more five-step drop so with a traditional quarterback we hope to get to the quarterback a little easier, but like I said, up front they're solid. It's going to be a tough game.”
How important will it be to get to the quarterback?
“It will be extremely important. We've got to help out the defensive backs back there. If you can keep pressure and rattle the quarterback a little bit he'll be thinking about us a little more than thinking about his receivers. We've just got to bring the pressure.”
How has your defense evolved since the Drake game?
“I think we're getting better every week. We're working hard every practice. I just think every week we have to take it one step at a time and get better every week and keep grinding.”
SOPHOMORE TIGHT END TIAI SALANOA
How has the role of the tight end changed this year?
“It's changed big-time. We get the ball more. Last year we had opportunities, but this year we're making more of our opportunities, me and Lee (Perkins) and (Chris) Houden.”
How big a part of the offense are you?
“I think everybody has a big part of the offense, not just the tight ends. We're all competing for a spot out there. I like Coach McGiven's offense. We're the same as everyone else.”
What do you like about Kevin McGiven's offense?
“I feel like everybody has the chance to get the ball, not just me, not just Flotkoetter, not just Bleskin. If we all compete in practice we all have a chance to get the ball. So I think our offense is pretty balanced.”
How have you improved this year?
“Blocking-wise. I've always had the receiving and speed, I guess, but Coach Willcox is getting me stronger. So blocking.”
How do you avoid a slow start playing on the road at a place you've never been?
“We just have to come out with energy. We don't want to come out with the same amount of energy we did with Drake. Southern Utah's a real good team, a real, real good team. We have to bring that energy in the beginning and for all four quarters.”
How much more comfortable are you now than at the beginning of the season?
“I feel like we're more comfortable. We're getting to know each other as an offense, we're moving the ball faster. DeNarius is a great leader out there, and Steven Foster, Shaun Sampson, (Cody) Kirk, they're all leading us the right way. And Coach McGiven is great at what he does.”
How impressed are you with the way Coach McGiven has spread the ball around?
“I think it's crazy. A lot of people had doubts about Coach McGiven because Coach Wright was so good at what he did, but Coach McGiven getting everyone the ball, not just one person, is pretty good.”
Can you talk about DeNarius and the level he's playing at right now?
“Unbelievable. He tells us at halftime, 'Just keep the energy up, just keep playing fast,' and especially at practice he tells us to go fast. If we play fast we'll be a great championship team, and I believe that. We all bought into it.”
Are there plays designed specifically for you?
“There was a few plays. At SFA there was a play I got a PI on and I got PI'ed on. But like I said, our offense is so balanced and we all get the ball we all have a chance to get a touchdown.”
How much better are you guys at recognizing defensive changes?
“I feel like on the fly we're getting better at it. Shaun Sampson, he's just quick with the calls at the line, if you just listen to him and Steven Foster, we're just on it. So I feel like we've gotten so much better. No matter what front they bring we know what to do, we study all week, if they bring this we'll do that.”
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