West Virginia University
Coach Dana Holgorsen Media Conference
November 17, 2015
LINK: http://wvusports.co/1Oe72JU
Kansas Week
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (November 17, 2015) - Coach Dana Holgorsen addressed members of the media on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
Opening Statement
We are moving on to game No. 10 with the Kansas Jayhawks. Obviously, we continue to move forward, and the winning track has been good for our team. It has been good for our confidence. With that said, the human instinct is to kind of relax a little bit, so we have to be on guard for that. We have to go get a road win. I think that is important. We haven’t won on the road this year. We are 0-3. Last year, we were 4-1 on the road. We are confident that we can win on the road. Our plan that we have in place has proven to be successful with that, and winning on the road is important. Trying to get to win six is also important. Five plus one is six, for those of you who don’t know that. It’s important to get to six. That happens to be the magic number when talking about bowl eligibility. It’s everybody’s goal to get to bowl eligibility. We will talk about that a little bit, but we have another opportunity to get out there and play a Big 12 football game. That is good. We will probably mention what happened two years ago at Kansas. I think we are a completely different team. They have a different team. We are a different team. We have 20 seniors that have been here for four years in the Big 12. We weren’t successful in Lawrence, Kansas two years ago. It’s something that we will talk about a little bit, and it’s my job to make sure that they understand the situation that they are in. For those who didn’t make that trip, I am going to explain to them what it is going to be like, and a lot of the guys down in the locker room will explain to them what it is going to be like.
Kansas has not won yet this year, and they are in a complete rebuilding mode. (Kansas head coach) David Beaty is a good football coach. He is going to get it going there, and it is going to take a little bit of time. He’s a great recruiter, and he is going to bring talent to Kansas in order to get better. I can already see that being the case. They are playing a lot of young and inexperienced guys. That makes it kind of tough to win in the Big 12. There is no question. The one thing that you can see, when you turn on all three phases of their game, is that their kids play their tails off. The effort that they play with is very, very apparent. You can see that in their video. They play hard, and it doesn’t matter if it is first quarter, third quarter or fourth quarter. They play their tail off. Their schemes are good.
Offensively, they are pretty similar to us. Their (Kansas offensive coordinator/quarterbacks) OC Rob Likens is from Cal, and they run a similar style offensive scheme like us. (Kansas head coach) coach (David) Beaty came from Texas A&M. Obviously, they run a very similar offense. They look very similar to us. They are about 50/50 run-pass game. They are going to get into multiple sets. They have a freshman quarterback that is continuously getting better. He is doing a good job at throwing the football, and they have some good backs that run hard. It’s not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination. These guys are getting better, and they play with great effort.
Defensively, if you remember what I said last year about (Kansas assistant head coach/defensive coordinator/safeties) Clint Bowen, the same thing holds true this year. I think he is one of the better defensive coordinators in the country. Their scheme is good. Their players are technically sound. They play with great effort. They are not ever out of position. They have played well in spurts, defensively. When you see some of these numbers in the stats and the situations that they have been put in, you look at it and you don’t think it’s going to look good, but it has looked good for 10 straight games. They have improved, and again, they are playing with a lot of guys that are new. They are continuously improving. I think it showed last week against TCU. They played TCU hard. They played them tough. They had a chance to win that game. TCU is a good football team who has won 17 out of the last 18 games. That shows that Kansas is getting better, and they are going to give us everything that we want. With that said, we will take some questions.
On how he would address the scholarship situation at Kansas
It’s not something that is going to get fixed overnight. We were in the 60’s several years ago here as well. You cannot use it as an excuse. You have to put guys in position to get out there and play. Your front line guys can be fine, it’s the depth chart that catches you. That’s where it catches you. When guys get hurt over the course of a game or season, you are plugging guys in that are not good enough to play or not ready to play for whatever reason. That’s where it catches you. Over the past three or four years, our special team’s guys that are consisting of backups are now able to play at a much higher level. I know what he is going through. He is going to do a good job. He is a recruiting machine, so he is going to go out there and recruit hard. Over the course of three or four years, you have to sign the maximum number of people that you can sign, and they have to qualify. You also need retention.
On how important it is to keep the deep ball presence with the run game in order to keep the defense spread out
You have to have it, but because we have a deep ball presence and can run the ball, it is the intermediate stuff that they are (the opposing defense) giving you. The 10 passes that we completed and the 12 passes that we attempted, only one of them was really a shot. Texas Tech played us just like Texas played us. If you go back and look at TCU, we were taking shots left and right, because we had those shots. If they take away numbers in the run game and don’t play people way off, we are going to take shot after shot after shot. We have guys that can be successful when it comes to that. If they are playing everybody back and taking away the run, then you have to do a good job with the intermediate passing game. I thought we did a good job of that last week. You can say we only threw for 120 yards, while that is 12 yards an attempt. Over 90 percent of those throws were intermediate passes. That’s what we have to continue to do. It is all about seeing what their plan is and what they are giving you. You have to be in the right play in order to be successful.
On why redshirt sophomore wide receiver Shelton Gibson hasn’t done quite as much on offense
I would say that is the biggest reason, but (redshirt sophomore wide receiver) Shelton (Gibson) would be the first to tell you that he has to work hard and be in the right place at the right time. He has to get open underneath. I will say this about (redshirt sophomore wide receiver) Shelton (Gibson), if he is not being productive in the pass game, then he is going to find something else to do. You saw him on one of those kickoffs, he came down and knocked the heck out of one of those returners. If he can’t do that in the pass game, then he will try to do it in the return game and in the coverage units as well. I think (redshirt sophomore wide receiver) Shelton (Gibson) is very valuable to us, and we will find something for him to do.
On junior running back Wendell Smallwood not reaching the end zone
It’s really not a joke. It’s just a fact. How do you rush for 12 yards a carry and not score? I thought it was me not showing him where the end zone was, but I showed him that about 10 days ago. We went out during practice, and I explained to him what that line was where the turf changes color. He can’t blame it on me. I don’t know. We give it to him a bunch, and we open up holes that are as big as this screen. He gets from point A to point B, which is about as fast as anybody I have ever seen. The rest of it is up to him.
On if junior running back Wendell Smallwood not scoring touchdowns has to do with the receivers not blocking down field
I think the receivers are doing a good job at blocking downfield, especially this past week. Now, that is not going to be the case all the time. It never will be. I think our receivers did a good job downfield this past week. Maybe it has to do with Texas having really good athletes, closing the gaps and making tackles.
On cut blocking with the receivers
We did it about three weeks ago. That wasn’t for the run game. That was for another reason. By no means am I selling (junior running back) Wendell (Smallwood) short. He is our guy. He is as good as a running back as I ever been around. He has confidence. He is reading blocks. He is getting through there as quick as anybody I have ever seen. I don’t know. Why hasn’t he taken one 60 yards to the house? I don’t know. I’m sure he doesn’t know either. Maybe it has something to do with playing good teams that have good athletes, and they close the gaps pretty quick.
On redshirt freshman offensive lineman Yodny Cajuste
No, he has not shut down yet. I would tell you if he was. He has not shut down yet. He will probably see a little practice time this week for the first time. He did not practice last week. He will probably see some practice time this week, and then we will see how that works.
On Kansas’ junior safety Fish Smithson
He is a good player. He’s a new guy. He’s a junior college guy, and he came in from California. He stands out. He is leading the Big 12 in tackles. I think you would probably rather have your linebacker lead in the team in tackles, but he is a good player. He shows up. He has a couple of interceptions, and he looks athletic when the ball is in the air. He turns your head. It’s hard to do that as a first year player, so I give him credit for being able to adjust really quickly and make the plays that he has made.
On his connection with Lackawanna College
It’s been big. (Lackawanna College head) Coach (Mark) Duda does a great job up there. They have won a ton of games again this year. (Redshirt senior safety) Dayron Wilson came from there as well. (Mark) Glowinski is obviously a great player and so is Kevin (White). (Redshirt sophomore wide receiver) Ka’Raun (White) is doing some good things as well. He does a great job up there, and we are always looking for guys to be able to help.
On the run game and the future offense
I think in a perfect world, and I made reference to this to Tony on the radio show last week, I would much rather be in this situation than the other way. We can run the ball as good as any team that I’ve been around. We have a chance to do good things in the pass game. If we couldn’t have thrown the ball, we wouldn’t have won last week. We’ve proven to where we can make those throws and make those catches. I’m pretty confident in the scheme that we do. I think that’s been proven over the last decade to be successful. I think in a perfect world, you’re about a 50-50 team. If the defense is taking away one, than you can effectively attack that defense with the other. It’s hard to get in the position that we’re in right now with the mindset of being able to run the football, than it is to be able to flip the switch and get that mindset with the team over night. It they’re giving you the pass and the conditions are not allowing you to be able to throw it the way you want to throw it, you can’t just flip a switch and be able to have that mindset and be able to run the ball.
On the 2013 Kansas game
Yes. I already mentioned that it would get brought up. I think that’s all I really need to say about it.
On if there’s a right way to pull off the win whether it’s the run or pass game
The right way is whatever you did in order to get the win. I think that’s the appropriate way to be able to phrase that. Whatever you have to do to win. That’s what I’ve resigned to do. I could have been worried about stats and done something to screw that game up pretty easily. For the last two weeks, I could have done that pretty easily. We’ll come up with a game plan. I think our offensive coaches are doing a good job in coming up with a game plan that fits our personnel. Whether it’s getting these guys to understand what we need to do to move the ball, get first downs, get enough points to win and manage the game the appropriate way. Go fast. Go slow. Huddle or don’t huddle. Whatever we have to do to finish the game and add one victory into the win category. I’ve been on the other side, too, where we’ve thrown the ball 50-60 times and won. That’s what it took to win, and that’s what we did.
On the difference from a psychological standpoint from two weeks ago from the losses
It is not a whole lot different to be honest with you. Our team is still the same. I think we’ve played hard all year. I think we’ve practiced well all year. Even leading into those games after that four-game stretch, our guys still practiced hard and played hard. I had no doubt that they would go out and continue to do that, so not a whole lot. It’s a little easier to refocus your guys from eliminating doubt or capitalizing on confidence after a win than it is after a few loses. I think this team is motivated, and it means a lot to them. It starts with those 20 seniors. To whatever the situation is, they will attack it head on and do their best.
On forcing turnovers
Yes. We still are only third in the league in turnover margin. Offensively, we have to focus hard. We have to focus on forcing turnovers and thinking that good things will happen to you, that’s the key in getting turnovers. We have focused and worked equally as hard with protecting the ball. I believe we have nine picks and six fumbles, if I’m not mistaking. You have to keep focusing on it, and we will. What have we done? I’m not telling you, but we’re going to continue to do it, and hopefully, it will help us win the next few games.
On what redshirt sophomore tight end Elijah Wellman’s does for the mental attitude of this team
Just tough. He’s a West Virginia kid. To him, it means a lot to be a Mountaineer. He grew up wearing the blue and gold. He has that kind of mentality. He’s blue collar. He’s a hard worker. He’s tough, and he will do what you have to do in order to make it work. He’s becoming very valuable to what we’re doing offensively. He wasn’t able to do this a year ago as a redshirt freshman. He’s improved to the point where a couple of things have happened. One, he’s the main guy in the backfield. The lead blocker. The fullback. (Redshirt senior tight end/fullback) Cody Clay has been that guy for three years. Now, (redshirt senior tight end/fullback) Cody (Clay) can be a tight end and give us an extra gap up front. (Redshirt senior tight end/fullback) Cody’s (Clay) improved his game. You don’t see it because he’s just like one of the offensive linemen. He’s allowed (redshirt senior tight end/fullback) Cody (Clay) to do good things up at the line of scrimmage. (Redshirt sophomore tight end) Elijah (Wellman) is the lead blocker, and he’s getting after people pretty well. There is an element with sneaking him into the flat and throwing it to him. We’ve talked about that. He’s good at that, and now, we’re starting to hand it to him. He’s becoming very valuable with what we’re doing. That’s why he was player of the week last week.
On junior cornerback Daryl Worley’s confidence
If you look up some of those guys he went up against, three of the guys he went up against are all up for the Biletnikoff Award right now. Those guys are really good. I don’t care who you are at corner, you go up against those guys, and you’re going to get beat at times. He did. He was battling through an injury, and he came back. A good corner has to have a short memory, because they’re going to get beat. (Junior cornerback) Daryl (Worley) has bounced back and played really well the last two weeks.
On if he’s happy with the pass rush and on redshirt junior defensive lineman Noble Nwachukwu having good games
Yes. It’s better. It’s better than it has been in the last few years. (Redshirt junior defensive lineman) Noble (Nwachukwu) is doing well. Again, (assistant coach defensive coordination/linebacker Tony Gibson) Gibby is doing a good job at scheming things up. We can’t rush three all the time, so he’s doing a good job at scheming some things up, getting some of these backers and safeties out there as well. That should be a key moving forward for the remainder of the year.
Coach Dana Holgorsen Media Conference
November 17, 2015
LINK: http://wvusports.co/1Oe72JU
Kansas Week
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (November 17, 2015) - Coach Dana Holgorsen addressed members of the media on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
Opening Statement
We are moving on to game No. 10 with the Kansas Jayhawks. Obviously, we continue to move forward, and the winning track has been good for our team. It has been good for our confidence. With that said, the human instinct is to kind of relax a little bit, so we have to be on guard for that. We have to go get a road win. I think that is important. We haven’t won on the road this year. We are 0-3. Last year, we were 4-1 on the road. We are confident that we can win on the road. Our plan that we have in place has proven to be successful with that, and winning on the road is important. Trying to get to win six is also important. Five plus one is six, for those of you who don’t know that. It’s important to get to six. That happens to be the magic number when talking about bowl eligibility. It’s everybody’s goal to get to bowl eligibility. We will talk about that a little bit, but we have another opportunity to get out there and play a Big 12 football game. That is good. We will probably mention what happened two years ago at Kansas. I think we are a completely different team. They have a different team. We are a different team. We have 20 seniors that have been here for four years in the Big 12. We weren’t successful in Lawrence, Kansas two years ago. It’s something that we will talk about a little bit, and it’s my job to make sure that they understand the situation that they are in. For those who didn’t make that trip, I am going to explain to them what it is going to be like, and a lot of the guys down in the locker room will explain to them what it is going to be like.
Kansas has not won yet this year, and they are in a complete rebuilding mode. (Kansas head coach) David Beaty is a good football coach. He is going to get it going there, and it is going to take a little bit of time. He’s a great recruiter, and he is going to bring talent to Kansas in order to get better. I can already see that being the case. They are playing a lot of young and inexperienced guys. That makes it kind of tough to win in the Big 12. There is no question. The one thing that you can see, when you turn on all three phases of their game, is that their kids play their tails off. The effort that they play with is very, very apparent. You can see that in their video. They play hard, and it doesn’t matter if it is first quarter, third quarter or fourth quarter. They play their tail off. Their schemes are good.
Offensively, they are pretty similar to us. Their (Kansas offensive coordinator/quarterbacks) OC Rob Likens is from Cal, and they run a similar style offensive scheme like us. (Kansas head coach) coach (David) Beaty came from Texas A&M. Obviously, they run a very similar offense. They look very similar to us. They are about 50/50 run-pass game. They are going to get into multiple sets. They have a freshman quarterback that is continuously getting better. He is doing a good job at throwing the football, and they have some good backs that run hard. It’s not going to be easy by any stretch of the imagination. These guys are getting better, and they play with great effort.
Defensively, if you remember what I said last year about (Kansas assistant head coach/defensive coordinator/safeties) Clint Bowen, the same thing holds true this year. I think he is one of the better defensive coordinators in the country. Their scheme is good. Their players are technically sound. They play with great effort. They are not ever out of position. They have played well in spurts, defensively. When you see some of these numbers in the stats and the situations that they have been put in, you look at it and you don’t think it’s going to look good, but it has looked good for 10 straight games. They have improved, and again, they are playing with a lot of guys that are new. They are continuously improving. I think it showed last week against TCU. They played TCU hard. They played them tough. They had a chance to win that game. TCU is a good football team who has won 17 out of the last 18 games. That shows that Kansas is getting better, and they are going to give us everything that we want. With that said, we will take some questions.
On how he would address the scholarship situation at Kansas
It’s not something that is going to get fixed overnight. We were in the 60’s several years ago here as well. You cannot use it as an excuse. You have to put guys in position to get out there and play. Your front line guys can be fine, it’s the depth chart that catches you. That’s where it catches you. When guys get hurt over the course of a game or season, you are plugging guys in that are not good enough to play or not ready to play for whatever reason. That’s where it catches you. Over the past three or four years, our special team’s guys that are consisting of backups are now able to play at a much higher level. I know what he is going through. He is going to do a good job. He is a recruiting machine, so he is going to go out there and recruit hard. Over the course of three or four years, you have to sign the maximum number of people that you can sign, and they have to qualify. You also need retention.
On how important it is to keep the deep ball presence with the run game in order to keep the defense spread out
You have to have it, but because we have a deep ball presence and can run the ball, it is the intermediate stuff that they are (the opposing defense) giving you. The 10 passes that we completed and the 12 passes that we attempted, only one of them was really a shot. Texas Tech played us just like Texas played us. If you go back and look at TCU, we were taking shots left and right, because we had those shots. If they take away numbers in the run game and don’t play people way off, we are going to take shot after shot after shot. We have guys that can be successful when it comes to that. If they are playing everybody back and taking away the run, then you have to do a good job with the intermediate passing game. I thought we did a good job of that last week. You can say we only threw for 120 yards, while that is 12 yards an attempt. Over 90 percent of those throws were intermediate passes. That’s what we have to continue to do. It is all about seeing what their plan is and what they are giving you. You have to be in the right play in order to be successful.
On why redshirt sophomore wide receiver Shelton Gibson hasn’t done quite as much on offense
I would say that is the biggest reason, but (redshirt sophomore wide receiver) Shelton (Gibson) would be the first to tell you that he has to work hard and be in the right place at the right time. He has to get open underneath. I will say this about (redshirt sophomore wide receiver) Shelton (Gibson), if he is not being productive in the pass game, then he is going to find something else to do. You saw him on one of those kickoffs, he came down and knocked the heck out of one of those returners. If he can’t do that in the pass game, then he will try to do it in the return game and in the coverage units as well. I think (redshirt sophomore wide receiver) Shelton (Gibson) is very valuable to us, and we will find something for him to do.
On junior running back Wendell Smallwood not reaching the end zone
It’s really not a joke. It’s just a fact. How do you rush for 12 yards a carry and not score? I thought it was me not showing him where the end zone was, but I showed him that about 10 days ago. We went out during practice, and I explained to him what that line was where the turf changes color. He can’t blame it on me. I don’t know. We give it to him a bunch, and we open up holes that are as big as this screen. He gets from point A to point B, which is about as fast as anybody I have ever seen. The rest of it is up to him.
On if junior running back Wendell Smallwood not scoring touchdowns has to do with the receivers not blocking down field
I think the receivers are doing a good job at blocking downfield, especially this past week. Now, that is not going to be the case all the time. It never will be. I think our receivers did a good job downfield this past week. Maybe it has to do with Texas having really good athletes, closing the gaps and making tackles.
On cut blocking with the receivers
We did it about three weeks ago. That wasn’t for the run game. That was for another reason. By no means am I selling (junior running back) Wendell (Smallwood) short. He is our guy. He is as good as a running back as I ever been around. He has confidence. He is reading blocks. He is getting through there as quick as anybody I have ever seen. I don’t know. Why hasn’t he taken one 60 yards to the house? I don’t know. I’m sure he doesn’t know either. Maybe it has something to do with playing good teams that have good athletes, and they close the gaps pretty quick.
On redshirt freshman offensive lineman Yodny Cajuste
No, he has not shut down yet. I would tell you if he was. He has not shut down yet. He will probably see a little practice time this week for the first time. He did not practice last week. He will probably see some practice time this week, and then we will see how that works.
On Kansas’ junior safety Fish Smithson
He is a good player. He’s a new guy. He’s a junior college guy, and he came in from California. He stands out. He is leading the Big 12 in tackles. I think you would probably rather have your linebacker lead in the team in tackles, but he is a good player. He shows up. He has a couple of interceptions, and he looks athletic when the ball is in the air. He turns your head. It’s hard to do that as a first year player, so I give him credit for being able to adjust really quickly and make the plays that he has made.
On his connection with Lackawanna College
It’s been big. (Lackawanna College head) Coach (Mark) Duda does a great job up there. They have won a ton of games again this year. (Redshirt senior safety) Dayron Wilson came from there as well. (Mark) Glowinski is obviously a great player and so is Kevin (White). (Redshirt sophomore wide receiver) Ka’Raun (White) is doing some good things as well. He does a great job up there, and we are always looking for guys to be able to help.
On the run game and the future offense
I think in a perfect world, and I made reference to this to Tony on the radio show last week, I would much rather be in this situation than the other way. We can run the ball as good as any team that I’ve been around. We have a chance to do good things in the pass game. If we couldn’t have thrown the ball, we wouldn’t have won last week. We’ve proven to where we can make those throws and make those catches. I’m pretty confident in the scheme that we do. I think that’s been proven over the last decade to be successful. I think in a perfect world, you’re about a 50-50 team. If the defense is taking away one, than you can effectively attack that defense with the other. It’s hard to get in the position that we’re in right now with the mindset of being able to run the football, than it is to be able to flip the switch and get that mindset with the team over night. It they’re giving you the pass and the conditions are not allowing you to be able to throw it the way you want to throw it, you can’t just flip a switch and be able to have that mindset and be able to run the ball.
On the 2013 Kansas game
Yes. I already mentioned that it would get brought up. I think that’s all I really need to say about it.
On if there’s a right way to pull off the win whether it’s the run or pass game
The right way is whatever you did in order to get the win. I think that’s the appropriate way to be able to phrase that. Whatever you have to do to win. That’s what I’ve resigned to do. I could have been worried about stats and done something to screw that game up pretty easily. For the last two weeks, I could have done that pretty easily. We’ll come up with a game plan. I think our offensive coaches are doing a good job in coming up with a game plan that fits our personnel. Whether it’s getting these guys to understand what we need to do to move the ball, get first downs, get enough points to win and manage the game the appropriate way. Go fast. Go slow. Huddle or don’t huddle. Whatever we have to do to finish the game and add one victory into the win category. I’ve been on the other side, too, where we’ve thrown the ball 50-60 times and won. That’s what it took to win, and that’s what we did.
On the difference from a psychological standpoint from two weeks ago from the losses
It is not a whole lot different to be honest with you. Our team is still the same. I think we’ve played hard all year. I think we’ve practiced well all year. Even leading into those games after that four-game stretch, our guys still practiced hard and played hard. I had no doubt that they would go out and continue to do that, so not a whole lot. It’s a little easier to refocus your guys from eliminating doubt or capitalizing on confidence after a win than it is after a few loses. I think this team is motivated, and it means a lot to them. It starts with those 20 seniors. To whatever the situation is, they will attack it head on and do their best.
On forcing turnovers
Yes. We still are only third in the league in turnover margin. Offensively, we have to focus hard. We have to focus on forcing turnovers and thinking that good things will happen to you, that’s the key in getting turnovers. We have focused and worked equally as hard with protecting the ball. I believe we have nine picks and six fumbles, if I’m not mistaking. You have to keep focusing on it, and we will. What have we done? I’m not telling you, but we’re going to continue to do it, and hopefully, it will help us win the next few games.
On what redshirt sophomore tight end Elijah Wellman’s does for the mental attitude of this team
Just tough. He’s a West Virginia kid. To him, it means a lot to be a Mountaineer. He grew up wearing the blue and gold. He has that kind of mentality. He’s blue collar. He’s a hard worker. He’s tough, and he will do what you have to do in order to make it work. He’s becoming very valuable to what we’re doing offensively. He wasn’t able to do this a year ago as a redshirt freshman. He’s improved to the point where a couple of things have happened. One, he’s the main guy in the backfield. The lead blocker. The fullback. (Redshirt senior tight end/fullback) Cody Clay has been that guy for three years. Now, (redshirt senior tight end/fullback) Cody (Clay) can be a tight end and give us an extra gap up front. (Redshirt senior tight end/fullback) Cody’s (Clay) improved his game. You don’t see it because he’s just like one of the offensive linemen. He’s allowed (redshirt senior tight end/fullback) Cody (Clay) to do good things up at the line of scrimmage. (Redshirt sophomore tight end) Elijah (Wellman) is the lead blocker, and he’s getting after people pretty well. There is an element with sneaking him into the flat and throwing it to him. We’ve talked about that. He’s good at that, and now, we’re starting to hand it to him. He’s becoming very valuable with what we’re doing. That’s why he was player of the week last week.
On junior cornerback Daryl Worley’s confidence
If you look up some of those guys he went up against, three of the guys he went up against are all up for the Biletnikoff Award right now. Those guys are really good. I don’t care who you are at corner, you go up against those guys, and you’re going to get beat at times. He did. He was battling through an injury, and he came back. A good corner has to have a short memory, because they’re going to get beat. (Junior cornerback) Daryl (Worley) has bounced back and played really well the last two weeks.
On if he’s happy with the pass rush and on redshirt junior defensive lineman Noble Nwachukwu having good games
Yes. It’s better. It’s better than it has been in the last few years. (Redshirt junior defensive lineman) Noble (Nwachukwu) is doing well. Again, (assistant coach defensive coordination/linebacker Tony Gibson) Gibby is doing a good job at scheming things up. We can’t rush three all the time, so he’s doing a good job at scheming some things up, getting some of these backers and safeties out there as well. That should be a key moving forward for the remainder of the year.
