MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (October 16, 2018) – West Virginia University football coach Dana Holgorsen addressed members of the media on Tuesday, Oct. 16, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
Opening Statement
We’re getting ready for our bye week; I’m not going to talk a whole lot about Baylor. I know that’s probably all you guys want to talk about is the Baylor game and not anything that happened last weekend. I’ll give you our schedule as far as where we’re at: we came back, got in late, as everybody did, on Saturday, and we contemplated giving them a few days off, but, obviously, that didn’t happen. We came in and had a normal Sunday, we’ll go out and practice today and tomorrow and Thursday, and we’ll give them a couple of days off while we go recruit Thursday and Friday. We have to get back here Saturday because Sunday is an important practice day for moving forward.
So, we have a couple of days this week to address some of the things that went wrong, which there’s plenty, and then get ahead on Baylor just a little bit. We have lots of information on those guys – they’re doing a good job – so we have our work cut out for us. Really, our game-week prep will start on Sunday, which will allow us to have a full week of practice heading into that Thursday night game. I think it sets up well for where we’re at; we’re six games into it, so the season is a little over half over. We have one game here in the next almost 20 days, so we’ll be able to heal up and work on some things and recalibrate a little bit. Hopefully, we can clear our heads from what happened, and then get ready to finish the year strong. That’s where we’re at.
On what he saw out of the Iowa State film
You know what’s weird is I felt like we were ready to play. Our energy was good, the locker room before the game was great, our prep was normal, the guys’ attitude at the hotel was on point, they were engaged. The pregame, although it appeared to me like it was a circus, there was a buzz, and they played that up big as we all knew they were going to, it had circus qualities to it as much as that was going on around there. Our guys had a good warm up, and then the locker room was good, and they hit the field and were ready to play. The sidelines, really, honestly, the entire game the sidelines were good. You look at the way we played, we didn’t have loafs, we didn’t have lack of effort, which is weird because we got whooped. There’s no way around it, we got our butt beat. But there weren’t any effort issues, so that’s a positive. But other than that, that’s it. It comes down to good, old-fashioned blocking and tackling, and here’s where I assume responsibility for it: they blocked and tackled better than we did. There’s been plenty of times where we’d get whipped, and I’m just like, ‘Guys, you didn’t play hard. You didn’t play with effort. You didn’t respect the game. You didn’t prepare the right way.’ There have been lots of those situations – that wasn’t it. We simply couldn’t sustain blocks, we couldn’t get off coverage. Defensively, we were stuck on blocks, and we missed a lot of tackles. That’s a good, old-fashioned butt kicking when it comes to blocking and tackling, and that’s head coach responsibility. I have to do a better job.
On if any area stood out the most on the Iowa State film
Yeah, I pretty much just said it. You have to block, and you have to tackle. I don’t know how else to say it. They did a much better job of preparing their guys for being able to block and sustain blocks. It’s frustrating as a coach when you have things blocked up, and you have guys that are just getting off blocks and making tackles. Those guys are good offensive coaches, too, so, they are going to have those things blocked up and IDed right, and then we can’t get off blocks. There are going to be times where they had things fitted up right – (redshirt junior linebacker) David Long (Jr.), as awesome of a player that he is, he bails us out because he’s blocked a lot, and he gets off blocks and makes plays. There are always things from a scheme perspective I wish we could have done this different or would have done this different. We have to do a better job of some in-game adjustments at times. I think, for the most part, we generally do that. I think our halftimes are generally pretty good, and we make some adjustments. And we made a few, but when you have things blocked up, and they’re getting off blocks and making plays, then that poses a little bit of a problem.
On redshirt senior quarterback Will Grier’s performance at Iowa State
Welcome to Power 5 quarterback spot, getting lots of national attention. The finger is going to get pointed at him, it’s going to get pointed at the play caller, and it’s going to get pointed at me. That’s just the way things are, and it’s the way things have always been, and it’s the way things are going to continue to be. We watched the 42 plays, and he did not play great. There were a lot of times there wasn’t anything he could do. From a run-game perspective, we did the right stuff, we had numbers, there’s times they got off blocks and made plays for a 0-yard gain. So, that was fine. Then, we got behind, and we had to start throwing the ball, they would rush three or four, and he would get flushed out of the pocket quicker than I’d like, which he flushed out of the pocket – we knew that was going to happen – and they had dropped seven or eight people into coverage a lot, so there weren’t guys to throw to initially, and we knew that. It’s how we beat them last year – he was flushed out of the pocket, and he sat there and kept his eyes down field, and he made a couple of plays downfield that allowed us to be able to win the game. The defenders got to him a lot quicker than what they did last year, which made him have to make decisions quick, and then there’s nobody to throw the ball to. So, what do you want him to do? I’d like for him to throw the ball away and prevent 13-yard sacks. He got frustrated because there wasn’t anybody to throw to, and he missed a couple of reads. When you’re one of the top quarterbacks in the country, there are throws that I think you could make even when guys are covered, so he has to trust his ability and continue to trigger those throws and not worry about some bad things that could potentially happen. He will improve, but I need (offensive) linemen to improve, I need our run game to improve, and I need our receivers to get off coverage and get open, and that will improve as well.
On if the team will try to go back to the fundamentals during the bye week
That, to me, is more of a mindset than technique. We’ve been practicing that stuff around here year ‘round. When you look back at the previous games defensively, we’ve done a great job of tackling. If you look back at the previous games – and we’ve won big games; we’ve won against quality opponents. College football, it’s hard to win, and you have to be ready to go every single week. We’ve been pretty good at that around here, so let’s not forget that. You’re not going to see panic out of me or our program. You’re not going to see panic out of our players, or, in particular, our senior leaders. This is going to motivate us more than it’s going to discourage us, I can guarantee you that. So, yeah, we will get back to the basics and go out and practice hard for a couple of days, and part of that is blocking and tackling. Part of that is timing with running routes and throwing balls and catching balls and kicking and catching and all that good stuff. We’re pretty anxious to get out there for the next two days and practice this great game.
On if redshirt senior quarterback Will Grier didn’t want to force passes due to trust issues
It could be, but he can’t play like that. It could be. I think the situation was more problematic than what was going on in his head. Our receivers could not get open. Why? I don’t Know. They could get open the previous five games. Give Iowa State credit. They played absolutely lights out. They played really, really, really well – especially on defense. They played really, really, really well. I have a lot respect for Coach (Jon) Heacock. I’ve watched him for three years there, and he’s building a really good defense. They played lights out. So, we have to play lights out so we’re able to combat that, and we didn’t. Will has to trust what’s going on. He has to trust the o-line to do their job, and he has to sit back there in the pocket. He has to keep his eyes where we want him to keep his eyes, throw the balls we want him to throw and have the confidence to do it. He will do that moving forward.
On why it was so difficult for players to get open on offense against Iowa State
I don’t know. I chalk it up to this great game of college football. It didn’t just happen to us last week. It happens every week. Iowa State’s done a good job of having that happen over the last couple of years. We’ve done it here. We did it to them last year, we did it to Baylor a couple of years ago when they were top five. They came here and couldn’t get anything going, and they were pretty good on offense. It just happens in college football. You have to take your butt whipping when you get it, and you have to use it as motivation to recalibrate and work harder, get out there and make sure it doesn’t happen again. That’s where we’re currently at. I guess it was our turn.
On his evaluation of the offensive line
They’re not the only ones that block, right? We need out receivers to do a much better job of blocking on the perimeter. That’s one of the things that I’ll focus on at practice today. It’s okay, just okay. They’ve had their good moments and their bad moments. We’ve ID’ed much better. Some issues against Kansas were some ID issues, some missed points, effort issues at times. We were better in that regard, but we didn’t finish blocks. We’re blocking the right people, and we have to do a little bit better with finishing those blocks. Other than that, it’s really the same thing with o-line, receivers and running backs. (Redshirt senior quarterback) Will (Grier) got sacked on one of them because (junior running back) Kennedy (McKoy) didn’t finish a block. If he fits up on a linebacker, he has to sustain that block longer than 0.2 seconds. That’s an offensive across the board issue that we will focus on this week.
On if senior offensive lineman Isaiah Hardy will be redshirted
He’s a starting lineman for us right now. We don’t redshirt starting lineman. (Redshirt junior offensive lineman) Joe Brown was available, but he’s pretty new to the program. When he’s not practicing at a high rate, we’re not going to play him. He needs to practice at a higher rate. He’s going to be healthier this week and have more opportunities to practice. So, that could change how we insert people into the game, but right now, Isaiah is one of our best five, and he’ll keep playing moving forward. It would’ve been nice to be able to do that, but we’re a little more worried about this year and putting our best lineup out there against Baylor than anything that happens after this year.
On the decision not to onside kick after the safety against Iowa State
It was discussed. I’ll tell you what really deters you from doing it is when you get a penalty or a safety, and you’re kicking off from the 20. That’s a hard area to onside kick at, because now, the opponent is getting the ball on the 30-yard line. That’s awful hard for the defense.
On the Justin Crawford situation
I don’t know how you want me to comment on that. That’s a pretty inappropriate question, in my book.
On his assessment of the play-calling against Iowa State
It wasn’t fine. We have to do a better job. There’s always games where every game you coach in, every game you play in, every game you call, you can look back on it and say, ‘I wish I would’ve done this, or I wish I would’ve done that.’ That exists everywhere in college football. The play-calling is exactly what I was a part of throughout the course of the week in developing the game plan. It didn’t have anything to do with what plays were called. It was the same plays that were called when we were having 600 or so yards against decent defenses. I think Texas Tech has a pretty good defense, I think Kansas State has a pretty good defense. It’s all the same play calls. Those same plays worked. It has way more to do with, in this case, how we block people, how we finish blocks, how we come out of our cuts at receiver and how we attack the ball. There’s a lot of other things that you can point your finger at. I’m not buying in to scheme. We’re doing exactly what I want to do on offense.
On why redshirt freshman running back Alec Sinkfield and freshman running back Leddie Brown did not play against Iowa State
Those guys are dealing with things. They weren’t as ready to go as No. 6 (junior running back Kennedy McKoy) and No. 32 (junior running back Martell Pettaway) were. I thought Kennedy and Pettaway ran the ball okay. When you’re running into defenders, you’d like to make a bunch of guys miss like (Iowa State running back) David Montgomery did. That guy is really good. That is a special running back, but we’ll use those guys when we need to use those guys. There’s been times when Kennedy goes in during the third or fourth quarter fresh and is ready to go. We couldn’t get anything going. Those guys were available, and they’re going to be a big part of what we’re doing moving forward. They just weren’t as healthy as those other two were. We made the decision to go with those two guys, and I don’t regret that at all. We’ll see how they practice, and based on how they practice over the next 10 days, we’ll see who gets the nod. Then, we’ll do it like we normally do it.
On if redshirt junior linebacker Shea Campbell was the brightest spot of the Iowa State game
One of them. I was happy with Shea. He went in, he switched positions. He’d been playing SAM, and he moved to MIKE. Tonk (redshirt sophomore linebacker Dylan Tonkery) tried to go, and he couldn’t go. I thought he did an adequate job. I was happy with him, with how he practiced throughout the course of the week. Then, he went in there and made some good stops.
On describing the mood of the locker following the loss to Iowa State
They’re kids. I felt like our heads were a little cloudy. That’s how I described it to them. I thought their heads were a cloudy. They were very quiet after the game. It was quiet. There was disappointment, there was sincere disappointment. So, I wanted to give them some time off – not just from you guys. They got a little bit off the last couple of days. They’ll get a few days off here moving forward. I would say the mood right now is determination. A lot of them didn’t even want a day off. They were like, ‘Let’s go practice.’ Well, there’s rules against that. We can’t just practice to no end. I’d say it’s determination. They’re ready to get out there and get going.
On sophomore cornerback Derrek Pitts Jr.’s injury update
It’s not long-term, which is good news. He’s going to have to rehab it. There’s four or five guys that were going down and pulling themselves out of the game. That happens when you’re getting your butt kicked. Nothing happened in the game that was long-term. He’s going to have to work at it a little bit. He did this to his knee last year, too. He tweaked his knee last year in game six or something like that. He missed about a month. Hopefully, he’s more mature, and he will be more aggressive with his rehab. Guys with bumps and bruises go to that training room every day. The more aggressive you are, the healthier you get and the quicker you get healthier. I know he’ll work on it. It’s a good time for a bye week for that to be able to happen. When he comes back, I don’t know. He’s playing well. So, hopefully he gets back really quick.
On opposing teams experimenting with the 3-3-5 defense
What Iowa State is doing is a spin-off of what (associate head coach/defensive coordinator Tony Gibson) Gibby has been doing for a long time. It’s a spin-off of that. Kansas has already taken it, and I’ve noticed that Texas has kind of taken it. It’s trending into, especially in the Big 12, a three-down different look – not just odd front or stack front, but different looks with different second levels and third levels and fourth level defenders. I’ve never seen four layers of defense, and I’m starting to see four layers of defense. Based on what they did to us, you probably ought to write a book. That’s gaining momentum. So, offenses have to figure out what they’re going to do about it. I’m going to go watch some film and figure out what the hell I’m going to do about it.
Opening Statement
We’re getting ready for our bye week; I’m not going to talk a whole lot about Baylor. I know that’s probably all you guys want to talk about is the Baylor game and not anything that happened last weekend. I’ll give you our schedule as far as where we’re at: we came back, got in late, as everybody did, on Saturday, and we contemplated giving them a few days off, but, obviously, that didn’t happen. We came in and had a normal Sunday, we’ll go out and practice today and tomorrow and Thursday, and we’ll give them a couple of days off while we go recruit Thursday and Friday. We have to get back here Saturday because Sunday is an important practice day for moving forward.
So, we have a couple of days this week to address some of the things that went wrong, which there’s plenty, and then get ahead on Baylor just a little bit. We have lots of information on those guys – they’re doing a good job – so we have our work cut out for us. Really, our game-week prep will start on Sunday, which will allow us to have a full week of practice heading into that Thursday night game. I think it sets up well for where we’re at; we’re six games into it, so the season is a little over half over. We have one game here in the next almost 20 days, so we’ll be able to heal up and work on some things and recalibrate a little bit. Hopefully, we can clear our heads from what happened, and then get ready to finish the year strong. That’s where we’re at.
On what he saw out of the Iowa State film
You know what’s weird is I felt like we were ready to play. Our energy was good, the locker room before the game was great, our prep was normal, the guys’ attitude at the hotel was on point, they were engaged. The pregame, although it appeared to me like it was a circus, there was a buzz, and they played that up big as we all knew they were going to, it had circus qualities to it as much as that was going on around there. Our guys had a good warm up, and then the locker room was good, and they hit the field and were ready to play. The sidelines, really, honestly, the entire game the sidelines were good. You look at the way we played, we didn’t have loafs, we didn’t have lack of effort, which is weird because we got whooped. There’s no way around it, we got our butt beat. But there weren’t any effort issues, so that’s a positive. But other than that, that’s it. It comes down to good, old-fashioned blocking and tackling, and here’s where I assume responsibility for it: they blocked and tackled better than we did. There’s been plenty of times where we’d get whipped, and I’m just like, ‘Guys, you didn’t play hard. You didn’t play with effort. You didn’t respect the game. You didn’t prepare the right way.’ There have been lots of those situations – that wasn’t it. We simply couldn’t sustain blocks, we couldn’t get off coverage. Defensively, we were stuck on blocks, and we missed a lot of tackles. That’s a good, old-fashioned butt kicking when it comes to blocking and tackling, and that’s head coach responsibility. I have to do a better job.
On if any area stood out the most on the Iowa State film
Yeah, I pretty much just said it. You have to block, and you have to tackle. I don’t know how else to say it. They did a much better job of preparing their guys for being able to block and sustain blocks. It’s frustrating as a coach when you have things blocked up, and you have guys that are just getting off blocks and making tackles. Those guys are good offensive coaches, too, so, they are going to have those things blocked up and IDed right, and then we can’t get off blocks. There are going to be times where they had things fitted up right – (redshirt junior linebacker) David Long (Jr.), as awesome of a player that he is, he bails us out because he’s blocked a lot, and he gets off blocks and makes plays. There are always things from a scheme perspective I wish we could have done this different or would have done this different. We have to do a better job of some in-game adjustments at times. I think, for the most part, we generally do that. I think our halftimes are generally pretty good, and we make some adjustments. And we made a few, but when you have things blocked up, and they’re getting off blocks and making plays, then that poses a little bit of a problem.
On redshirt senior quarterback Will Grier’s performance at Iowa State
Welcome to Power 5 quarterback spot, getting lots of national attention. The finger is going to get pointed at him, it’s going to get pointed at the play caller, and it’s going to get pointed at me. That’s just the way things are, and it’s the way things have always been, and it’s the way things are going to continue to be. We watched the 42 plays, and he did not play great. There were a lot of times there wasn’t anything he could do. From a run-game perspective, we did the right stuff, we had numbers, there’s times they got off blocks and made plays for a 0-yard gain. So, that was fine. Then, we got behind, and we had to start throwing the ball, they would rush three or four, and he would get flushed out of the pocket quicker than I’d like, which he flushed out of the pocket – we knew that was going to happen – and they had dropped seven or eight people into coverage a lot, so there weren’t guys to throw to initially, and we knew that. It’s how we beat them last year – he was flushed out of the pocket, and he sat there and kept his eyes down field, and he made a couple of plays downfield that allowed us to be able to win the game. The defenders got to him a lot quicker than what they did last year, which made him have to make decisions quick, and then there’s nobody to throw the ball to. So, what do you want him to do? I’d like for him to throw the ball away and prevent 13-yard sacks. He got frustrated because there wasn’t anybody to throw to, and he missed a couple of reads. When you’re one of the top quarterbacks in the country, there are throws that I think you could make even when guys are covered, so he has to trust his ability and continue to trigger those throws and not worry about some bad things that could potentially happen. He will improve, but I need (offensive) linemen to improve, I need our run game to improve, and I need our receivers to get off coverage and get open, and that will improve as well.
On if the team will try to go back to the fundamentals during the bye week
That, to me, is more of a mindset than technique. We’ve been practicing that stuff around here year ‘round. When you look back at the previous games defensively, we’ve done a great job of tackling. If you look back at the previous games – and we’ve won big games; we’ve won against quality opponents. College football, it’s hard to win, and you have to be ready to go every single week. We’ve been pretty good at that around here, so let’s not forget that. You’re not going to see panic out of me or our program. You’re not going to see panic out of our players, or, in particular, our senior leaders. This is going to motivate us more than it’s going to discourage us, I can guarantee you that. So, yeah, we will get back to the basics and go out and practice hard for a couple of days, and part of that is blocking and tackling. Part of that is timing with running routes and throwing balls and catching balls and kicking and catching and all that good stuff. We’re pretty anxious to get out there for the next two days and practice this great game.
On if redshirt senior quarterback Will Grier didn’t want to force passes due to trust issues
It could be, but he can’t play like that. It could be. I think the situation was more problematic than what was going on in his head. Our receivers could not get open. Why? I don’t Know. They could get open the previous five games. Give Iowa State credit. They played absolutely lights out. They played really, really, really well – especially on defense. They played really, really, really well. I have a lot respect for Coach (Jon) Heacock. I’ve watched him for three years there, and he’s building a really good defense. They played lights out. So, we have to play lights out so we’re able to combat that, and we didn’t. Will has to trust what’s going on. He has to trust the o-line to do their job, and he has to sit back there in the pocket. He has to keep his eyes where we want him to keep his eyes, throw the balls we want him to throw and have the confidence to do it. He will do that moving forward.
On why it was so difficult for players to get open on offense against Iowa State
I don’t know. I chalk it up to this great game of college football. It didn’t just happen to us last week. It happens every week. Iowa State’s done a good job of having that happen over the last couple of years. We’ve done it here. We did it to them last year, we did it to Baylor a couple of years ago when they were top five. They came here and couldn’t get anything going, and they were pretty good on offense. It just happens in college football. You have to take your butt whipping when you get it, and you have to use it as motivation to recalibrate and work harder, get out there and make sure it doesn’t happen again. That’s where we’re currently at. I guess it was our turn.
On his evaluation of the offensive line
They’re not the only ones that block, right? We need out receivers to do a much better job of blocking on the perimeter. That’s one of the things that I’ll focus on at practice today. It’s okay, just okay. They’ve had their good moments and their bad moments. We’ve ID’ed much better. Some issues against Kansas were some ID issues, some missed points, effort issues at times. We were better in that regard, but we didn’t finish blocks. We’re blocking the right people, and we have to do a little bit better with finishing those blocks. Other than that, it’s really the same thing with o-line, receivers and running backs. (Redshirt senior quarterback) Will (Grier) got sacked on one of them because (junior running back) Kennedy (McKoy) didn’t finish a block. If he fits up on a linebacker, he has to sustain that block longer than 0.2 seconds. That’s an offensive across the board issue that we will focus on this week.
On if senior offensive lineman Isaiah Hardy will be redshirted
He’s a starting lineman for us right now. We don’t redshirt starting lineman. (Redshirt junior offensive lineman) Joe Brown was available, but he’s pretty new to the program. When he’s not practicing at a high rate, we’re not going to play him. He needs to practice at a higher rate. He’s going to be healthier this week and have more opportunities to practice. So, that could change how we insert people into the game, but right now, Isaiah is one of our best five, and he’ll keep playing moving forward. It would’ve been nice to be able to do that, but we’re a little more worried about this year and putting our best lineup out there against Baylor than anything that happens after this year.
On the decision not to onside kick after the safety against Iowa State
It was discussed. I’ll tell you what really deters you from doing it is when you get a penalty or a safety, and you’re kicking off from the 20. That’s a hard area to onside kick at, because now, the opponent is getting the ball on the 30-yard line. That’s awful hard for the defense.
On the Justin Crawford situation
I don’t know how you want me to comment on that. That’s a pretty inappropriate question, in my book.
On his assessment of the play-calling against Iowa State
It wasn’t fine. We have to do a better job. There’s always games where every game you coach in, every game you play in, every game you call, you can look back on it and say, ‘I wish I would’ve done this, or I wish I would’ve done that.’ That exists everywhere in college football. The play-calling is exactly what I was a part of throughout the course of the week in developing the game plan. It didn’t have anything to do with what plays were called. It was the same plays that were called when we were having 600 or so yards against decent defenses. I think Texas Tech has a pretty good defense, I think Kansas State has a pretty good defense. It’s all the same play calls. Those same plays worked. It has way more to do with, in this case, how we block people, how we finish blocks, how we come out of our cuts at receiver and how we attack the ball. There’s a lot of other things that you can point your finger at. I’m not buying in to scheme. We’re doing exactly what I want to do on offense.
On why redshirt freshman running back Alec Sinkfield and freshman running back Leddie Brown did not play against Iowa State
Those guys are dealing with things. They weren’t as ready to go as No. 6 (junior running back Kennedy McKoy) and No. 32 (junior running back Martell Pettaway) were. I thought Kennedy and Pettaway ran the ball okay. When you’re running into defenders, you’d like to make a bunch of guys miss like (Iowa State running back) David Montgomery did. That guy is really good. That is a special running back, but we’ll use those guys when we need to use those guys. There’s been times when Kennedy goes in during the third or fourth quarter fresh and is ready to go. We couldn’t get anything going. Those guys were available, and they’re going to be a big part of what we’re doing moving forward. They just weren’t as healthy as those other two were. We made the decision to go with those two guys, and I don’t regret that at all. We’ll see how they practice, and based on how they practice over the next 10 days, we’ll see who gets the nod. Then, we’ll do it like we normally do it.
On if redshirt junior linebacker Shea Campbell was the brightest spot of the Iowa State game
One of them. I was happy with Shea. He went in, he switched positions. He’d been playing SAM, and he moved to MIKE. Tonk (redshirt sophomore linebacker Dylan Tonkery) tried to go, and he couldn’t go. I thought he did an adequate job. I was happy with him, with how he practiced throughout the course of the week. Then, he went in there and made some good stops.
On describing the mood of the locker following the loss to Iowa State
They’re kids. I felt like our heads were a little cloudy. That’s how I described it to them. I thought their heads were a cloudy. They were very quiet after the game. It was quiet. There was disappointment, there was sincere disappointment. So, I wanted to give them some time off – not just from you guys. They got a little bit off the last couple of days. They’ll get a few days off here moving forward. I would say the mood right now is determination. A lot of them didn’t even want a day off. They were like, ‘Let’s go practice.’ Well, there’s rules against that. We can’t just practice to no end. I’d say it’s determination. They’re ready to get out there and get going.
On sophomore cornerback Derrek Pitts Jr.’s injury update
It’s not long-term, which is good news. He’s going to have to rehab it. There’s four or five guys that were going down and pulling themselves out of the game. That happens when you’re getting your butt kicked. Nothing happened in the game that was long-term. He’s going to have to work at it a little bit. He did this to his knee last year, too. He tweaked his knee last year in game six or something like that. He missed about a month. Hopefully, he’s more mature, and he will be more aggressive with his rehab. Guys with bumps and bruises go to that training room every day. The more aggressive you are, the healthier you get and the quicker you get healthier. I know he’ll work on it. It’s a good time for a bye week for that to be able to happen. When he comes back, I don’t know. He’s playing well. So, hopefully he gets back really quick.
On opposing teams experimenting with the 3-3-5 defense
What Iowa State is doing is a spin-off of what (associate head coach/defensive coordinator Tony Gibson) Gibby has been doing for a long time. It’s a spin-off of that. Kansas has already taken it, and I’ve noticed that Texas has kind of taken it. It’s trending into, especially in the Big 12, a three-down different look – not just odd front or stack front, but different looks with different second levels and third levels and fourth level defenders. I’ve never seen four layers of defense, and I’m starting to see four layers of defense. Based on what they did to us, you probably ought to write a book. That’s gaining momentum. So, offenses have to figure out what they’re going to do about it. I’m going to go watch some film and figure out what the hell I’m going to do about it.
