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University of Minnesota Athletics
Press Conference Transcript
10/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
I’m very pleased to win our first Big Ten football game and be a 5-1 team. A lot of hard work has gone into it and I’m pleased for our team. We look at our first conference win and it was pleasing for a number of reasons.
First was how well our defense played. It was an outstanding performance by our defense and you cannot downplay the improvement of our defense. Our defensive staff has done a great job coming up with plans and the players have done a great job executing those plans. To play like we did against a talented team like Indiana is great. They’ve scored a bunch of points against every other team.
They are very explosive as a team and we gave up one play in the first half. Obviously, we shut them out in the second half and finished out. What played a large role in our defense being so successful was our offense controlling the ball. Our team held possession for 37 minutes, which is pretty amazing and an outstanding statistic for us.
Our red zone efficiency was not what we wanted, we were one out of four. We didn’t score as many points as we needed to score but I thought offensively we were very physical. We did the things we needed to win and particularly on that last drive.
I think our kids are really developing an attitude of confidence and now when we need to make something happen we can. When we reach four and short they know we’ll go for it and make it. There’s a tremendous amount of confidence that the players are developing along those lines and I’m very pleased about that.
I think the significance of how we played defense is huge. Anyone who watched us play last weekend saw how well they performed. I think our defensive players are playing with confidence like good defenses have to have.
Looking forward, obviously we have our hands full against an outstanding Illinois football team. The only real changes on the depth chart for the game will be Marcus Sherels, hopefully he will be ready to go but right now he’s day to day.
Looking at Illinois and having us head down to play them at their own field, we know they’re coming off an outstanding performance against Michigan. To beat Michigan at home is impressive. What we’re going to see is probably the best offensive football team we will see all year. They are so dynamic and explosive.
They have tremendous personal on their team. Their quarterback, Juice Williams, plays at a very high level and was Big Ten offensive player of the week last week. He can throw and run, and at 240 pounds, he’s very hard to take down. He can make great decisions in the passing game and is a tremendous threat.
They’re just a really good offensive football team and there are some similarities in what we do offensively compared to them so that should help us out. Our defense needs to step up and slow them down offensively. Right now, they’re hitting on all cylinders and have a lot of confidence coming off the win over Michigan.
It’s homecoming for them and we have been picked as their opponent. So it’s a tremendous challenge for our team to go down and play those guys. Defensively, they’re very solid with Britt Miller in the middle. He’s a tough, hardnosed kid and he is an outstanding competitor who’s strong and physical. Their secondary is outstanding and has some real playmakers in there. I don’t know how it could be a bigger challenge than to get ready for this game.
On: Eric Decker being focused on
“We just have to use formation, motion, and shifts to create matchup problems. We’re never keeping him as a stationary target and I think that’s they key to keeping him alive as a receiver for us.”
On: Having a clutch kicker like Monroe
“I think it has to do with confidence. He’s a very confident young guy and he works extremely hard. I think our whole team is a confident team because of our preparation and our work ethic. Those kids believe that we’re going to go out and be successful. I couldn’t be more impressed by Joel Monroe. He’s handling kick offs great and making field goals for us. The last field goal against Indiana was huge because it was a pressure kick and he nailed it right down the middle.
On: Toughness of Big Ten schedule
“Each and every game in the Big Ten is going to be a grind. No games are going to be clean and we knew it was going to be a sixty minute football game. We had to go out and play hard for every one of those minutes. We’ve defined ourselves as a hard nosed football team that’s going to play hard in the second half and we knew it would take that to beat Indiana.”
On: Potential changes in secondary
“There are a number of things we are looking at. Marcus Sherels is day to day and right now we fully anticipate him to be able to go on Saturday.”
On: Lee Campbell changing positions
“Number one, his is a linebacker. He has been a mike linebacker all of his life. He is extremely comfortable playing in the spot. We took him away from mike linebacker and put his hand down. We thought we could utilize his pass rushing ability. I think his is comfortable playing mike linebacker. Each game he has improved and has become more comfortable in the scheme. Right now he is playing really good. His drops in the pass game were outstanding. He has two interceptions already and is a really physical player verses the run. He plays extremely square in the whole and he is a very smart and dedicated player. He studies the film by formations and you see tendencies of offenses by formation.”
On: The aftermath of Eric Decker’s hit
“There are a set of rules that a guy has to go through after he has been injured and our doctors approved him to get back on the field and he is 100% today and full speed ahead for Saturday.”
On: What happened on the sidelines when Decker came off the field?
“Our doctors go through a set of parameters and obviously earlier in the year Nick Tow-Arnett had the same situation and they did not allow him to go back in the game. They let Decker back in the game because he passed the test that he was given and to be quiet honest, I don’t know exactly what those tests are but our doctors are on top of that.”
On: Illinois Quarterback Juice Williams
“He is an outstanding runner with the ball. He is like another fullback. When you think about the guy at 240 pounds, he is strong and he has some elusiveness. It is within their scheme for him to be a runner. I am sure that there is some improvisation on his part particularity in the passing game when he scrambled but a lot of runs are designed runs. What we have to do is do a great job when he is in a designed run of tackling him, very similar to what we did last week with Kellen Lewis.”
On: Illinois homecoming
“Everybody understands the deal with the homecoming opponent. You are picked for the most part you; think that is a victory for your school and team. That goes back 100 years. It is it is.”
On: Extra motivation being part of homecoming?
“I use a lot of different things for motivation. I get motivated pretty easily.”
On: Significance of Illinois game
“The significance is nothing more then that I would love to see the Minnesota Gophers go to Champagne and get our first road victory together. That is the only thing that is on my mind. That is the only thing that matters for me, our player’s happiness after the game. Doing things necessary on the road and beating a quality opponent. It is going to take a unique effort for us to go down their and win because they are such a good football team.”
On: Playing against Ohio State on the road and how will help playing Illinois
“I think it has to help. We played in front of 100,000 fans and in a very hostile environment. I thought we held up pretty well. I thought our kids competed for 60 minuets. I think they can draw from the experience going into Champagne. I am not sure how many are going to be in Champagne whether it is 60,000 or 65,000, it will certainly not be 100,000 that Ohio State was. The biggest thing is, I think they are every bit as good of a football team like Ohio State.”
On: Illinois coach Ron Zook
“Obviously Ron had a plan. I have a lot of respect because he went through a lot of adversity early on. I think they won one Big Ten game his first two years but he stuck with the plan that he had and now he is getting rewards from it. They have also recruited really well, they have really talented football players and they are coaching them very well. It is impressive for me to sit back and look at the steps he has taken to improve his team. Obviously, we are on a similar path.”
On: Illinois wide receiver Arrelious Benn
“He is a really big threat; he is 215 pounds and has great speed. An interesting thing they do with him is that they motion him to the back field and he is a tail back. He runs the football and he is a tremendous threat for them.”
On: Shady Salamon
“Shady has done a lot of things right. He is a great kid. He is getting an opportunity to play as a true freshman and make a significant contribution to our team. The biggest thing I what with Shady is that I want him to relax and simile a little more. He is so hard on himself and such a perfectionist and our running back coach Thomas Hammock is a huge perfectionist and the two of them don’t smile enough. I would like to see them simile a bit more.”
Junior linebacker Lee Campbell
“I’ve played linebacker my whole life. It’s been my position since high school but at defensive end I was able to learn how to use my hands better and how to attack the offense better. I’ve become a more complete linebacker now.”
“It’s a great challenge to play Illinois. They’re a great team and they execute well and we’re excited about the chance to play them.”
Senior linebacker Steve Davis
“Being in the battle we were last week, making it a defensive game and making stops to win, showed ourselves what we can do on defense. It boosts our confidence and moral this week coming in against a similar offense, with better athletes. We still have to do the same thing, causing turnovers is the big thing. We have to continue to cause turnovers and make plays.”
“Last year, we saw how solid Juice Williams is. When he runs the ball, it’s like giving it to a fullback. Sometimes, it’s going to take multiple tacklers to take him down. They have good athletes on the team and Juice Williams is one of them.”
Senior kicker Joel Monroe
“I’ve been kicking the ball well and it’s been improving every week, just like our offense and defense. With repetition comes confidence and the more chances you get in games, the better you feel about it.”
“It’s expected that games are going to be close in our conference. We have a lot of good teams on our schedule and that’s when field goals can make the difference. Teams are evenly matched and it’s close at the end so the offense will just do everything it can to just get in the red zone.”
Senior defensive end Willie VanDesteeg
“Last year, we played a whole different Illinois team and we were an entirely different team as well. We’re looking very good this week and they have a lot of playmakers so we just have to figure out how to stop them.”
Sophomore quarterback Adam Weber
“I’ve taken my lumps in learning the offense, but I’ve come a long way and I hope it has showed out there. I think we’re a different team from last year and that’s pretty obvious by watching ourselves on tape.”
“Last year, we had new coaches and new schemes. This year, everyone knows what’s expected out of them and is a little more comfortable. With our offense, we have a better idea of what Coach Mike Dunbar wants to get out of the schemes. We’re just playing fundamentally better football.”
“I think a lot of people are concerned that we’re throwing the ball to Eric (Decker) too much. I don’t see that as a problem. If the kid catches the ball, where’s the problem? It’s something we’ll address but it’s helping our team win.”
“It’s a good feeling knowing as an offense you want to go out and put up six points. It’s nice to know you have a kicker with one of the strongest legs in the country and it’s nice to know that no matter what, we’ll come away with three points.”
