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University of Minnesota Athletics
Football Press Conference 10.28.08
10/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Football Press Conference 10.28.08
Game Week: Northwestern
Head coach Tim Brewster
Opening Statement:
"Going back and looking at the Purdue game and now sitting here as the head coach of a 7-1 football team is great. It’s a tremendous accomplishment for our football team and our coaches to go into Purdue and get a win. I was amazed to hear that the last Gopher team to go into West Lafayette and win was in 1990. That’s a pretty amazing statistic because there have been a lot of good Gopher football teams and a lot of good Purdue football teams. We were the homecoming opponent and to go down to Purdue and play well and really just kind of grind out the victory on the road, is big for our football team.
"We didn’t play the way we wanted but I think our team showed tremendous resilience to do what it takes to win. Offensively, we had some great performances but when you think about what we’ve accomplished on defense so far, I think it’s pretty remarkable.
"We’re leading the nation in takeaways right now with 24 on the year. Right now we’re 20th in the nation in scoring defense, giving up an average of 17.3 points per game. We’re talking about the Minnesota Golden Gopher defense and that alone should bring a smile to everyone’s faces. I couldn’t be more pleased.
"We’re getting after the quarterback and we’re third in Big Ten and 19th in the nation averaging just under three sacks per game. Last year we really struggled to get to the quarterback and obviously that makes a huge difference in getting the quarterback off of his rhythm and getting to him. I think we’re second in the Big Ten in interceptions.
"We’re doing a lot of things defensively very well and you guys know for us to do what we want to do, it’s going to be about defense. For us to win a championship, it’s going to be about defense. That’s what we’re going to do here, we’re going to build a tremendous football team. Week in and week out our defense will lead the way for us here. That’s the type of team we want to have.
"The offensive MVP of the game against Purdue is somebody who I think is one of the best quarterbacks to play at the University of Minnesota. The development he has had is remarkable and the MVP is Adam Weber. His stats were excellent, he’s throwing at an extremely high percentage, he’s taking care of the football, and his leadership at the end of football games in time of critical need, he is outstanding. His leadership is something you need in a great quarterback. I’m really excited about the MVP going to Adam.
"The defensive MVP is a guy I have so much admiration for. I’ve known him since he was a junior in high school. I saw him play 28 games in high school. His heart is as big as his body. This is a guy who wasn’t offered many scholarships but he’s proven to be an outstanding Big Ten football player. Our defensive MVP is Kyle There. He’s just an amazing kid in the way and the level that he is playing. He had nine tackles against Purdue, an interception, a pass break up.
"Our special forces player of the week is Kyle Theret. For him to start on defense and also make the significant contributions on special forces is pretty amazing. He had a fumble recovery and a solo tackle on special forces. He’s an amazing kid and the grit he plays with is outstanding. He’s a great tackler and solid on the fundamentals. He lines our guys up on defense and is extremely intelligent. For him to be the defensive and special forces player of the game, says so much about him as a kid and a player.
"Our lunch pale player of the game is a young guy that everyone has been asking me about. He practiced well and transferred what he’s done in practice into the game. Brandon Green is our lunch pale player of the week. He’s just a hard working kid who went out and got five catches for over one hundred yards. He made some tough, gritty catches and some big catches to move the chains and get us first downs. He obviously showed great speed at the beginning of the game when he caught the pass on the boundary and went seventy something yards and I feel like Brandon is on the verge of doing some very great things for us. This is the time of the year when we’re playing some very significant football games and he is going to be a very big part of what we do.
"Our hard hat hit of the week may be as fine of a tackle as I’ve seen. It was an unbelievable tackle by Tramaine Brock on Kory Sheets, forcing the fumble. Everything is absolutely perfect about it, the tackle, great form, put his face on the football and knocked the ball out. It was an amazing tackle by Tramaine and he’s playing at a very high level. You can see on that particular play the explosiveness with which he plays. He exploded on Sheets and that ball was immediately out. It was just a great hit.
"Our extra effort play of the game was a guy who got back in the line up and was a little bit dinged up but what a great football play Marcus Sherels made to take the ball from the receiver. The receiver caught the ball and Sherels just stripped him and took the ball from him. Again, it goes back to our take away and the things we work on in practice but it was just a great football play by Marcus Sherels. He had a couple of other plays in the game which were nominated for the extra effort play of the game but you all know the particular play I am talking about."
On Teammate of the Week Award:
"I say this each and every week for this guy. He caught quite a big touchdown pass. The end of the game exemplifies what a great teammate he is each and every day and that is Jack Simmons. He is a tremendous kid and a team guy. He would love to catch seven or eight passes every football game and when he doesn’t, he is the first guy in the locker room who is excited because we won a football game. There is no individual aspect whatsoever to Jack Simmons."
On scout team offensive player of the week:
"Our scout team offensive player of the week is a guy who you think about last year starting at Notre Dame and this year he is on the scout unit at the University Of Minnesota and he is doing a tremendous job simulating the opponents’ offense and I am just really pleased with Matt Carufel. He was a Cretin-Derham Hall guy and he is just so proud to be back home at the U. He comes out each and every week and just gives us a tremendous look. To be honest, he gives us a better look then most of the teams that we play. He is an outstanding football player."
On scout team defensive player of the week:
"He is a young guy who has tremendous ability. He is really going to be something for us as he continues to get bigger and stronger and that is D.L. Wilhite. He has tremendous speed and athleticism off the edge as a pass rusher."
On Northwestern:
"Again those were the players of the week against Purdue. It was a great victory and hard fought victory again. I couldn’t have been more pleased winning our first game in West Lafayette since 1990. As we look forward now to this weeks game and again will be another challenge. Northwestern is an outstanding football team. They lost to a top football team last week on the road at Indiana. We know how tough it is to win on the road. I don’t think it diminishes at all anything about Northwestern and what Pat Fitzgerald has done their. They have an outstanding football team. They have skilled players who are excellent. C.J. Bacher the quarterback, is an outstanding football player and does a great job with his arm and feet. He is a tremendously intelligent kid and just does not make many mistakes with the football. He has excellent skilled athletes to give the ball to. We know that Tyrell Sutten has been injured and he will not play in the football game. Omar Conteh is a very experienced back. They are not going to miss a beat as far as Conteh playing in the game. He played against us last year. He is an excellent football player. They had some injuries at Northwestern and we have had a lot of injuries here at Minnesota and we think it is a rallying point. We are going to get a tremendous effort from Northwestern this week. They are going to talk about us being the homecoming opponent. As a local writer pointed it out, that they have been number of homecoming opponents for us and they are going to use that as motivation. We understand that we are going to get their absolute best shot. They are going to be highly motivated because they are playing for a bowl game. Mike Hankwitz comes in there and does a great job with the defense. They are very sound and solid and leading the Big Ten in sacks. They have good speed on their defense. Their front six verses our spread looks as good as we will see across the board. It is a tremendous challenge for us because it is the homecoming game for the University Of Minnesota. A lot of our fans are going to come back. I heard this morning that tickets are selling like crazy. Our fans are really rallying behind the football team and getting behind this 7-1 team and showing tremendous support. We would love to see a sold out crowd at the Metrodome on Saturday. Our players deserve to run out into that stadium and see a sold out stadium. I am really excited about the fact that Minnesotans are burning up the phone lines trying to get those tickets. It is going to be very exciting to come into the stadium on Saturday into a full house and have the Gopher victory walk be well attended. It ought to be a very exciting day for the state of Minnesota and our football team."
On the competition on Saturday:
"I would expect our defense to play at a very high level. I would expect Northwestern’s defense to do the same thing. We are both playing very well but I also think that both offenses are playing well too. I just think that it sets up to be a really good football game. They are an extremely well coached football team. They play with tremendous passion and energy. I do not see any injuries that they have taken away from anything they can accomplish or what they are trying to accomplish. We know that we are going to get a tremendous shot from Northwestern on Saturday."
On preparation:
"I just think that it is a process. It is an on going process that diligence in practice is hard work and practice is understanding that it doesn’t happen in the game before it happens in practice. That is something that all young players will have to learn and understand that it doesn’t happen first in the game, it happens first in practice and sometimes it takes guys a little bit longer to figure that out.
"I think from day one, he has been very at home at mike linebacker. It has been where he’s grown up, it’s where he’s comfortable, it’s been the position he’s played all his life. He had kind of been taken out of his comfort zone when he played with his hand in the ground and was asked to rush the passer. It was great to see the kind so excited about going back and playing the position he felt like he is. He has gotten better and better each week, as has his recognition of formation, his recognition of plays and screens. He really played great against Purdue on Saturday and he gives you that tremendous physical presence in the middle that a middle linebacker in the Big Ten needs to give you."
On whether the element of surprise’ about the Gophers has run its course:
"That’s a good point. We’ve been the hunter. We have been hunting the bear and to a certain extent, now we’ve become the bear. Our football team needs to understand that that takes a different kind of mindset that we’re kind of the hunted at this point. I like that that means progress. Also, without question we understand exactly where we’re at as far as that’s concerned. We know Northwestern is going to come after us for any number of reasons."
On how Minnesota has been able to avoid a letdown:
"It’s real simple we’ve identified who we are. Who we are is a hard-nosed physical football team that’s going to play like crazy for 60 minutes. It’s that simple. We’re going to come out each and every football game and play extremely hard for 60 minutes and at the end of the game, we’ll see where we’re at. We’ve done that that’s what we’ve done each and every game. We’ve taken a hard-nosed physical approach and we’ve played for 60 minutes."
On whether the team’s ability to finish is mostly physical or mostly mental:
"There’s a lot of emphasis we place on finishing and being a fourth quarter football team. Last year, we lost six games by a total of 23 points. We lost a lot of games at the end of games we weren’t in as good of physical condition as we needed to be. We needed to put a greater emphasis on being a better conditioned football team both mentally and physically. We put a lot of emphasis on winning games in the fourth quarter. We want to be able to go win games and not sit back and take an attitude that something might happen we’ve got an attitude that we’re going to go make something happen."
On the role attitude plays on taking the ball away:
"I think it’s a practiced habit. On every single defensive rep in practice we talk about scratching the ball out. We talk about getting the ball out. Marcus Sherels went and took the football. It’s something he’s done in practice, it’s something we’ve emphasized in practiced, it’s something we do. It just became second nature in the game. I truly believe it’s a carryover from what we’ve done in practice. Today is takeaway Tuesday on the defensive side of the football and we will be talking about taking the football away on every single snap. Obviously being in position to get a turnover is big and that takes athleticism we’ve gotten bigger, stronger and faster on the defensive side of the football. That has allowed us to be in position to take the ball away."
On the development of Kyle Theret:
"Again, he’s a tough, tough kid. Last year, Kyle Theret jumped in Jake Long’s face. To me that says everything you need to know about Kyle Theret he doesn’t back down from anybody. He’s as tough-minded a kid as anyone I’ve ever been around and that’s where it starts. Also, he’s an extremely intelligent football players football makes great sense to Kyle. He does a great job of lining people up and moving people around and I’m awful glad we’ve got him."
On Derek Onwuachi:
"Derek’s shoulder has been a little bit dinged up. He’s pretty close to full strength this week."
On Garrett Brown:
"He has really gotten himself in great physical condition. He really struggled to have prolonged stays on the football field last year. This year, he’s is so much better shape. That’s allowing him to stay on the field. Tim Cross has done a great job with that defensive front. I don’t know what our sack total was last year, but we’re well ahead of where we were. Those guys have really come on strong. To me, the key to defensive play is your guys up front and their ability to stop the run and their ability to get after the quarterback in the passing game. It’s really exciting to see how well Garrett has played."
On Ted Roof:
"I’ve known Ted a long time and I’ve always liked Ted. He wasn’t available obviously when I put my initial staff together, or else he would’ve been on it. He’s just a guy that I think extremely highly of and that probably goes back 25 years. I met him when he was an assistant way back when and I was an assistant at North Carolina. He does a great job recruiting, he does a good job coaching, he’s a great people guy, he’s an excellent teacher. When I had the opening, it took me a second maybe two to figure out what direction I wanted to go. What he’s done, which is really a great indicator of a great defensive coordinator, is he’s elevated the ability and the coaching style of our other defensive assistants. He’s helping them become better coaches. To me, that’s what it’s all about. As the head coach, I want to make our other coaches better, I want our coordinators to instill confidence in our position coaches. I think he really does a nice job of that with our players and our defensive coaches. I think the cumulative effort of our great defensive staff Tim Cross, John Butler, Ronnie Lee ... I think our staff is really doing a nice job.
"I don’t know what exactly the advantages are [of Roof’s having been a head coach], but he’s established himself as a great defensive coordinator. He didn’t have as much success as a head coach, but I don’t think that takes away anything about who he is as a coach or his ability as a coach. He’s a really good football coach."
On the offense’s success hanging onto the ball this season:
"We’ve talked about that. If you’re on the offensive side of the ball, if you touch the football you’ve got to value to the ball. Our focus is not turning the ball over on offense and taking it away on defense, and then explosive plays. We’ve really worked hard to be a team that takes care of the football."
Junior DT Garrett Brown
On having Willie VanDeSteeg healthy again
"Willie being healthy is just what we needed with that senior leadership. With a two time captain leading us, it gives the younger guys something to look up to. We also need guys like Eric Small and Lee Campbell to be leaders and they’ve done a good job this season."
On individual improvement from last season
"My speed and strength has improved a lot from my sophomore year. Just being healthy is huge since I had shoulder surgery my freshman year. Coming back from that slowed me down and being healthy has really helped me progress this year."
Sophomore S Kyle Theret
On his knowledge of the defense
"I understand our defense pretty easily and sometimes if someone isn’t lined up right, I just want to make sure they’re in position. That’s my job as a safety and one of our jobs is to make sure we communicate to the corners and linebackers what coverage we’re in."
On improvement of defense from last year to this year
"The biggest difference this year is that we’re playing with so much more confidence. Even though we got a new coach, we loved the mentality and the system. We all bought into it and we have a young defense. But we’re flying around and we’ve really taken Coach Roof’s mentality of taking the ball away and used it on the field and it’s helped us so far."
Junior WR Eric Decker
On last year’s matchup with Northwestern
"It was exciting for us. Coach Dunbar started at Northwestern and brought the spread offense here so now it’s kind of a battle of the spreads. It can definitely be a high scoring game like last year. We kind of let it get away last year and took it into overtime. We had a chance to win it but we missed out. We’ll have another chance this year. I think we’re playing as a team better than last year. Defense is getting turnovers and we’re taking care of the ball. It’s just been really good this year."
On Adam Weber’s hard-nosed performance this season
"He’s a soldier and a tough kid. That’s something you look for in a leader on the team. Some of that is going to show up every Saturday and it won’t matter. He’ll be suited up and ready to go because he is that leader and has done a great job this year."
Sophomore QB Adam Weber
On Brandon Green’s progression
"He spreads his talent with his speed and hands. Those are just natural things he has. Once two-a-days started, lining up correctly, running precise routes has taken a little more time. Eric (Decker) has done a great job of being a leader in the wide receivers and it just takes some time for a person to feel comfortable playing at a high level of football. Brandon has been waiting for his chance to get out there and just go out and play. He was out there and playing naturally without having to think. He just reacted to the game situation.
"When you’re being recruited and people are telling you that you have a lot of potential, you come in and it’s hard. Especially since you want to be successful right off the bat. We tell these new kids and freshman that they have the talent, they just need to work on it and keep playing and executing and you will get your time."
On getting banged up last week
"My face got a little banged up, nothing too serious. That’s just part of football. You try not to think about it. Coach Dunbar calls the plays and it’s our job to execute it. When you want to win and have the opportunity to win the game on the last scoring drive, it’s one of those things where the only thing you have on your mind is scoring a touchdown."
