Bobcat coach Rob Ash
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Rob Ash Press Conference Transcript
9/18/2013 5:00:00 PM | Football
Quotes from Bobcat football coach Rob Ash's Tuesday, Sept. 17, press conference
TUESDAY PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
September 17, 2013
BOBCAT HEAD COACH ROB ASH
Have you watched tape to determine what happened with your run game last weekend?
"We studied it a lot, and we did have some struggles. I thought Colorado Mesa did an excellent job, they had a good scheme and played hard. Just from a technical standpoint they had a lot of movement up front, they had a three-man front that never stayed in the alignments they started in, they always moved, and they brought a lot of pressure with those outside linebackers. What basically happened was there was one assignment on each play that just didn't get cleaned up the way it should be, so we had a bad play. The on the next play it was somebody different, a different assignment. It was kind of a Russian roulette type of deal, and we never hit one where everybody got it all right at the same time to hit a big one and kind of get them out of that. I think what happened too, we knew they were going to move a lot so during the week we prepped for the movement, to see them move and then go block them, and I think we were a little hesitant coming off the ball. That's something we to try to correct, we should have probably come off the ball and then see where they had gone instead of watching them move and then come off. We probably over-coached them so we're taking responsibility for that. We coached too much about this movement and got our guys up front, and our backs, tight ends and lead backs, a little hesitant about what they were supposed to do."
Is over-coaching the only concern coming out of last week?
"I think our guys, usually on every play, we had three or four or even five offensive linemen that were blocking extremely well. A lot of times Chad Newell or Tiai or the tight end or the lead back was really doing a nice job, whatever individual was on the play, but we always had a guy that didn't go to the right place or his guy was unblocked or made a surprising move where we got a late start and they got a gap penetration, it was just a different problem on every play. It's not a major concern, I think it was more schematic than anything else, and it really wasn't an effort problem, either. I think that's something we looked at hard, did we underestimate this team? I don't think that was the case. The guys played hard, they were just a little bit unsure of our assignments. I've got to take that on myself and do a better job of getting them prepared next time."
What's one thing SFA does really well that you're keying on this week?
"They're a little bit like our defense in the sense that it's not any mystery where they line up. They're fundamentally very sound, technically very good, they don't do too many things so what they do they do very well. The personnel is extremely good. They're big on the inside, they're fast on the edges, the linebackers run, they've got speed in the secondary. It's going to be a fundamentally sound, very athletic defense that we have to go up against."
What makes the Southland Conference player different from the Big Sky player?
"We've had some great battles with the Southland, our conference and their conference, the last two or three years. I think there are a lot of similarities. It's a good level of football in both conferences. They probably have some speed around the perimeter overall that's a little superior to our conference, but we have some fast guys in the Big Sky, too, and I wouldn't say there's a significant difference in talent in the two leagues. It's just a good matchup when we play."
The last time you went to Texas to play an up-tempo team your offense kind of slowed it down to try to stay on the field, is that something we can look forward to this week?
"I think it kind of depends on how the game goes. We're going to get out there and try to score some points if we can, and to do that I think we need to have a good pace and a good tempo with our own offense. Then you get into the second half and you take a look at the scoreboard, and that sort of dictates what you do from that point forward. If the defense is playing well we'd be more inclined to probably take the air out of the ball but if we need to score points want to be able to ramp it up and do that. I think we'll go out fast and see how it goes and play it by ear after that."
Is that how last year's game became a shootout?
"Yeah, I believe it did. They came out right away and got the opening touchdown in the game and sort of set the standard. We answered, and it kind of kept going like that. Every time we got a little bit ahead they were able to answer and come back with big plays. I think by the middle of the game to the third quarter we all knew that they were just one pass away from a big touchdown, so I think we knew we had to keep the accelerator on and keep trying to score points. And we still were behind in that game with seven minutes left. They scored to go ahead 35-34 and we had to come back and drive for a touchdown to put it away. It was just one of those games the offense knew they had to get the points. Typically our defense holds teams to less than that, but Stephen F. Austin showed us last year they could really put points on the board."
Do you expect a shootout this week?
"I don't know, we'll just have to see. The game plays out differently every week. We're going to prepare well and we'll respond to it. It depends on turnovers and possessions and big plays. We'll react to whatever happens."
Is the number of two-point conversions a product of Coach Cramsey?
"It kind of evolved with all of us. In my mind when it started was when Tanner Roderick committed to coming into this program, and then we decided to put him at receiver, but I thought his talents as a quarterback were pretty special – we're going to move him back to quarterback later – but it just occurred to me here's a way we can create a little niche for Tanner Roderick to run these two-point conversions and throw the ball a little bit and get some semi-quarterbacking type experience during his year as a receiver. The ironic thing is with him injured now we went to Mitch Griebel, who's another ex-quarterback, and I thought he did a great job with it, too. But that's where it started, just having the personnel to be able to do these kinds of things. And then once it started it's been a floodgate of ideas. You ought to see the board, all the ideas we come up with every week about what we're going to try next. It's been a lot of fun."
What kind of impact did playing behind Jody Owens have on Alex Singleton?
"I think Jody was a great example of how to play the game for Alex to watch. Jody always played a hundred miles an hour, he played fast, he took his read and went with it, he didn't hesitate, and I think Alex learned that from him. I would like to think that at all of our positions on both sides of the ball we have good mentoring going on. That's something we try to promote in the program with the older guys mentoring the younger guys. I just came out of a meeting where Demo Odems is sitting in there with Cody Kirk and Shawn Johnson. You've got these situations at every position where the older guy is bringing the younger guy along."
What does Alex Singleton do well on the field to make himself a great player?
"I think (it's because) Alex prepares well. He was very upset that we lost that SMU game, and he practiced as well as any player on our football team last week because he wanted to get that taste out of his mouth, he wanted to get our team back on track. Coach Ioane talked a couple teams last week about how grumpy Singleton was because we'd lost, and he was kind of taking it out on the scout team. And Kane, in his typical fashion, (said) 'It is what it is, we kind of like the fact that he's motivated to practice well.' I think that's one of the reasons he had a good game."
With how much Stephen F. Austin likes to throw the ball, do DBs need to have a short memory this week?
"Absolutely. Every week, all the time. They're going to complete some passes, they're going to get an occasional big play, they're probably going to score some points. Every time you play that (position) you've got to understand you've got to move on to the next play. But we teach them, too, if you make a good tackle or pick one off you've got to have a short memory after that play, too, because they'll come right back with another one. They're not going to stop throwing the ball around until the clock says zero-zero at the end of the game. We just have to be ready for the next play."
Do you see similarities between this Stephen F. Austin team and last year's?
"I think they're very similar. The quarterback's the same guy, he's a very good thrower, he gets it out quick. They've allowed (no) sacks all year and they've thrown a thousand passes, they're very good at protection like they were last year. The backs run hard, they're not afraid to put the ball in his hands and run the football. Schematically on offense they're very similar. Defense, it's really the same thing. Different cast of characters, quite a few changes in personnel. I'm glad big #80, Roberson, is gone, he was a phenomenal player. But they have good ones coming back. We're not thinking there's going to be any shortage or change in talent from last year, they're a very talented team."
Will you play more nickel?
"We're talking about that, we haven't really decided yet. As fast as they go I really don't want to get into a situation where we're subbing a lot, because they can keep playing and we might not be ready. We might use a mixture of those, but you might just see our basic 11 guys out there most of the game."
Three games in what have you seen from Sean Gords?
"The biggest thing is he's healthy, and when Sean Gords is healthy he's a really good football player. He was healthy as a freshman and now he's healthy as a senior, and you're seeing how he can really play. The last two years he was so banged up it was tough for him to play like he can play. It's been really exciting, and now that he's healthy and playing well I think he's gained a lot of confidence back that he may have lost when he was banged up. It's been exciting to see, being that this is his senior year." What specifically does he do well? "He's a competitor, I think that's the biggest thing about Sean. He doesn't want any play to be successful, and I think back in the back end that's an important attribute to have. He doesn't think you should complete a five-yard hitch or a 50-yard bomb. He wants to stop them both. That's something that he banks on, and he competes every play." Does that competitiveness cause him to be too volatile, to practice too hard? "Oh, we have a lot of those guys. (laughter) Competition's still a good thing."
Is there anything Jake Bleskin needs to work on this week?
"Every quarterback has to work every week. DeNarius McGhee had to work every week. From start 39 to start 40 he still had things to improve on. We'll always find those things and work on them. No quarterback always gets all the reads right, no quarterback ever gets all the throws exactly where they're supposed to be, but I thought for his first start he did a magnificent job."
You had a lot of twos play last week, how did they perform?
"It's a good thing we've got them, because we've had to use a lot of them. I've always said this line… when that number two guy goes in he surprises everybody but himself, because he knew he was ready and he knew he was a good player. Jake Bleskin is just the last one in a long line of those guys. Rob Marshall did it the week before, Taylor Sheridan did it this week, Mike Foster has done it all year stepping in for Na'a. They're good players, they want to play, they came here to play, we put them on scholarship typically, so they should be good players, and they go out there and do what they know they can do and everyone else is surprised."
Injury update?
"(Eryon Barnett) is going to be OK, I think. He's practicing (Tuesday) and he's on the list to play, and so is (Craig) Ashworth."
What's working on third down on defense and what's been the trouble on offense?
"On defense it's just the mentality we've always had. We try to get people in third-and-long situations if we can. We practice, think about it, we really coach it up, our crowd understands it when we're at home, our guys understand it all the time, and I hopefully that makes us better on third down in terms of getting people out of drives. On offense it's kind of been a strange, in fact this game was very strange, we actually had a much better percentage of third down conversions on third-and-long than third-and-short. That shouldn't happen – well, third-and-long shouldn't happen – but we need to clean it up. Every week it seems to be a little bit different issue raising its head, hopefully we'll get it together and be good in all the scenarios, long, medium and short. But we're definitely going to work on third-and-short this week. And hopefully get into a few of those."
September 17, 2013
BOBCAT HEAD COACH ROB ASH
Have you watched tape to determine what happened with your run game last weekend?
"We studied it a lot, and we did have some struggles. I thought Colorado Mesa did an excellent job, they had a good scheme and played hard. Just from a technical standpoint they had a lot of movement up front, they had a three-man front that never stayed in the alignments they started in, they always moved, and they brought a lot of pressure with those outside linebackers. What basically happened was there was one assignment on each play that just didn't get cleaned up the way it should be, so we had a bad play. The on the next play it was somebody different, a different assignment. It was kind of a Russian roulette type of deal, and we never hit one where everybody got it all right at the same time to hit a big one and kind of get them out of that. I think what happened too, we knew they were going to move a lot so during the week we prepped for the movement, to see them move and then go block them, and I think we were a little hesitant coming off the ball. That's something we to try to correct, we should have probably come off the ball and then see where they had gone instead of watching them move and then come off. We probably over-coached them so we're taking responsibility for that. We coached too much about this movement and got our guys up front, and our backs, tight ends and lead backs, a little hesitant about what they were supposed to do."
Is over-coaching the only concern coming out of last week?
"I think our guys, usually on every play, we had three or four or even five offensive linemen that were blocking extremely well. A lot of times Chad Newell or Tiai or the tight end or the lead back was really doing a nice job, whatever individual was on the play, but we always had a guy that didn't go to the right place or his guy was unblocked or made a surprising move where we got a late start and they got a gap penetration, it was just a different problem on every play. It's not a major concern, I think it was more schematic than anything else, and it really wasn't an effort problem, either. I think that's something we looked at hard, did we underestimate this team? I don't think that was the case. The guys played hard, they were just a little bit unsure of our assignments. I've got to take that on myself and do a better job of getting them prepared next time."
What's one thing SFA does really well that you're keying on this week?
"They're a little bit like our defense in the sense that it's not any mystery where they line up. They're fundamentally very sound, technically very good, they don't do too many things so what they do they do very well. The personnel is extremely good. They're big on the inside, they're fast on the edges, the linebackers run, they've got speed in the secondary. It's going to be a fundamentally sound, very athletic defense that we have to go up against."
What makes the Southland Conference player different from the Big Sky player?
"We've had some great battles with the Southland, our conference and their conference, the last two or three years. I think there are a lot of similarities. It's a good level of football in both conferences. They probably have some speed around the perimeter overall that's a little superior to our conference, but we have some fast guys in the Big Sky, too, and I wouldn't say there's a significant difference in talent in the two leagues. It's just a good matchup when we play."
The last time you went to Texas to play an up-tempo team your offense kind of slowed it down to try to stay on the field, is that something we can look forward to this week?
"I think it kind of depends on how the game goes. We're going to get out there and try to score some points if we can, and to do that I think we need to have a good pace and a good tempo with our own offense. Then you get into the second half and you take a look at the scoreboard, and that sort of dictates what you do from that point forward. If the defense is playing well we'd be more inclined to probably take the air out of the ball but if we need to score points want to be able to ramp it up and do that. I think we'll go out fast and see how it goes and play it by ear after that."
Is that how last year's game became a shootout?
"Yeah, I believe it did. They came out right away and got the opening touchdown in the game and sort of set the standard. We answered, and it kind of kept going like that. Every time we got a little bit ahead they were able to answer and come back with big plays. I think by the middle of the game to the third quarter we all knew that they were just one pass away from a big touchdown, so I think we knew we had to keep the accelerator on and keep trying to score points. And we still were behind in that game with seven minutes left. They scored to go ahead 35-34 and we had to come back and drive for a touchdown to put it away. It was just one of those games the offense knew they had to get the points. Typically our defense holds teams to less than that, but Stephen F. Austin showed us last year they could really put points on the board."
Do you expect a shootout this week?
"I don't know, we'll just have to see. The game plays out differently every week. We're going to prepare well and we'll respond to it. It depends on turnovers and possessions and big plays. We'll react to whatever happens."
Is the number of two-point conversions a product of Coach Cramsey?
"It kind of evolved with all of us. In my mind when it started was when Tanner Roderick committed to coming into this program, and then we decided to put him at receiver, but I thought his talents as a quarterback were pretty special – we're going to move him back to quarterback later – but it just occurred to me here's a way we can create a little niche for Tanner Roderick to run these two-point conversions and throw the ball a little bit and get some semi-quarterbacking type experience during his year as a receiver. The ironic thing is with him injured now we went to Mitch Griebel, who's another ex-quarterback, and I thought he did a great job with it, too. But that's where it started, just having the personnel to be able to do these kinds of things. And then once it started it's been a floodgate of ideas. You ought to see the board, all the ideas we come up with every week about what we're going to try next. It's been a lot of fun."
What kind of impact did playing behind Jody Owens have on Alex Singleton?
"I think Jody was a great example of how to play the game for Alex to watch. Jody always played a hundred miles an hour, he played fast, he took his read and went with it, he didn't hesitate, and I think Alex learned that from him. I would like to think that at all of our positions on both sides of the ball we have good mentoring going on. That's something we try to promote in the program with the older guys mentoring the younger guys. I just came out of a meeting where Demo Odems is sitting in there with Cody Kirk and Shawn Johnson. You've got these situations at every position where the older guy is bringing the younger guy along."
What does Alex Singleton do well on the field to make himself a great player?
"I think (it's because) Alex prepares well. He was very upset that we lost that SMU game, and he practiced as well as any player on our football team last week because he wanted to get that taste out of his mouth, he wanted to get our team back on track. Coach Ioane talked a couple teams last week about how grumpy Singleton was because we'd lost, and he was kind of taking it out on the scout team. And Kane, in his typical fashion, (said) 'It is what it is, we kind of like the fact that he's motivated to practice well.' I think that's one of the reasons he had a good game."
With how much Stephen F. Austin likes to throw the ball, do DBs need to have a short memory this week?
"Absolutely. Every week, all the time. They're going to complete some passes, they're going to get an occasional big play, they're probably going to score some points. Every time you play that (position) you've got to understand you've got to move on to the next play. But we teach them, too, if you make a good tackle or pick one off you've got to have a short memory after that play, too, because they'll come right back with another one. They're not going to stop throwing the ball around until the clock says zero-zero at the end of the game. We just have to be ready for the next play."
Do you see similarities between this Stephen F. Austin team and last year's?
"I think they're very similar. The quarterback's the same guy, he's a very good thrower, he gets it out quick. They've allowed (no) sacks all year and they've thrown a thousand passes, they're very good at protection like they were last year. The backs run hard, they're not afraid to put the ball in his hands and run the football. Schematically on offense they're very similar. Defense, it's really the same thing. Different cast of characters, quite a few changes in personnel. I'm glad big #80, Roberson, is gone, he was a phenomenal player. But they have good ones coming back. We're not thinking there's going to be any shortage or change in talent from last year, they're a very talented team."
Will you play more nickel?
"We're talking about that, we haven't really decided yet. As fast as they go I really don't want to get into a situation where we're subbing a lot, because they can keep playing and we might not be ready. We might use a mixture of those, but you might just see our basic 11 guys out there most of the game."
Three games in what have you seen from Sean Gords?
"The biggest thing is he's healthy, and when Sean Gords is healthy he's a really good football player. He was healthy as a freshman and now he's healthy as a senior, and you're seeing how he can really play. The last two years he was so banged up it was tough for him to play like he can play. It's been really exciting, and now that he's healthy and playing well I think he's gained a lot of confidence back that he may have lost when he was banged up. It's been exciting to see, being that this is his senior year." What specifically does he do well? "He's a competitor, I think that's the biggest thing about Sean. He doesn't want any play to be successful, and I think back in the back end that's an important attribute to have. He doesn't think you should complete a five-yard hitch or a 50-yard bomb. He wants to stop them both. That's something that he banks on, and he competes every play." Does that competitiveness cause him to be too volatile, to practice too hard? "Oh, we have a lot of those guys. (laughter) Competition's still a good thing."
Is there anything Jake Bleskin needs to work on this week?
"Every quarterback has to work every week. DeNarius McGhee had to work every week. From start 39 to start 40 he still had things to improve on. We'll always find those things and work on them. No quarterback always gets all the reads right, no quarterback ever gets all the throws exactly where they're supposed to be, but I thought for his first start he did a magnificent job."
You had a lot of twos play last week, how did they perform?
"It's a good thing we've got them, because we've had to use a lot of them. I've always said this line… when that number two guy goes in he surprises everybody but himself, because he knew he was ready and he knew he was a good player. Jake Bleskin is just the last one in a long line of those guys. Rob Marshall did it the week before, Taylor Sheridan did it this week, Mike Foster has done it all year stepping in for Na'a. They're good players, they want to play, they came here to play, we put them on scholarship typically, so they should be good players, and they go out there and do what they know they can do and everyone else is surprised."
Injury update?
"(Eryon Barnett) is going to be OK, I think. He's practicing (Tuesday) and he's on the list to play, and so is (Craig) Ashworth."
What's working on third down on defense and what's been the trouble on offense?
"On defense it's just the mentality we've always had. We try to get people in third-and-long situations if we can. We practice, think about it, we really coach it up, our crowd understands it when we're at home, our guys understand it all the time, and I hopefully that makes us better on third down in terms of getting people out of drives. On offense it's kind of been a strange, in fact this game was very strange, we actually had a much better percentage of third down conversions on third-and-long than third-and-short. That shouldn't happen – well, third-and-long shouldn't happen – but we need to clean it up. Every week it seems to be a little bit different issue raising its head, hopefully we'll get it together and be good in all the scenarios, long, medium and short. But we're definitely going to work on third-and-short this week. And hopefully get into a few of those."
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