MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (October 2, 2018) - West Virginia University associate head coach/defensive coordinator Tony Gibson, offensive coordinator Jake Spavital and select members of the West Virginia University football teammet with the media on Tuesday, Oct. 2, at the Milan Puskar Center Team Room.
Assistant Coach (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks) Jake Spavital
On the difference between the first and second half against Texas Tech
I’ve thought about this over and over for a long time now. I just want to say it was energy and lack of focus is what it came down to. We had a lack of focus throughout the first half. I think we had four drops in the first quarter, which is uncharacteristic of the receivers, but when we got into the second half, I thought the effort and energy looked like they didn’t want to play in that second half. I don’t know exactly what the cause is. It could be a lot of other things, but when it comes down to it, we have to be able to play with effort and energy. That’s something that we can control, and that’s going to be the focus going into practice. At the end of the game and in postgame media, that’s all I talked about – how we were going to get it corrected in practice, and today’s emphasis is going to be on practicing with effort. That’s been addressed. I don’t know what Coach (Dana) Holgorsen said in his press conference, but I bet you he reiterated the same stuff. You guys see it as well. That’s something we take a lot of pride in, and it’s probably not going to happen again.
On junior wide receiver Marcus Simms and how his season has impacted the receiving corps
I think he’s playing at a very high level. He’s putting up great numbers, but from where he was at last year to where he’s at this year, he’s turning into an every-down guy for us. We put a lot on his shoulders not just from an offensive perspective but on special teams, as well. When you have that threat, he was making some big time catches on critical downs in the game. The way my brother put it to me after the game was that (redshirt senior quarterback) Will (Grier) has so much confidence in Marcus that the hit charts show the ball is being sprayed all over the field. It’s very tough to defend that when you have three guys playing at a high level, and the ball is getting spread around evenly.
On whether he goes into a game to establish the run or to go with what the defense gives the offense
I think you always have to establish the run. The emphasis of the night before was about playing with a physicality and understating that they are trying to take away the run. That’s how Texas Tech plays defense. I thought, in the first half, we matched that pretty well. We were running the ball efficiently in the first half. I believe that if you want to have a lot of success in this game, then as a team, you have to be able to run the ball efficiently. If you look at how we ran the ball in the first half to the second half, then you can see that it’s two different teams and two different outcomes. It is very important to make sure that we establish a run game.
On how he evaluates the second-half run game and passing game against Texas Tech
That was something I re-evaluated how I did at the end of the game. I thought I should have thrown it a little more in the second half. There was a lot of factors in the second half with how we were playing. There was a lot of momentum changes in that game, and you could see we didn’t have any momentum in that second half. It was tough to get out of that. I should’ve ended up throwing the ball a little more on first and second down, because there ended up being a tendency where we would run the ball on first and second down and throw it on third. A lot of it was we were trying to run some clock and trying to be more efficient with the time management, but at the end of the day, we probably should have had more efficient pass plays. We should have gotten the ball in our playmakers’ hands, because those kids are pretty explosive. When you’re run game is not hitting on the explosive plays that you want, then you probably need to end up throwing it a bit more.
On how he plans to evaluate the run game moving forward
I think it’s going to be a feel throughout the game. It really is. It is tough. I think you have a lot of good players out there, and you try to distribute the ball evenly. I think that’s just going to change weekly based off how we are playing.
On if the amount of pressure that redshirt senior quarterback Will Grier faced in the Texas Tech game is concerning
No, it’s not. I think that comes down to an effort situation. We’re going to get that fixed. I thought, in the first half, everything was clicking. We had 35 points – 28 in one quarter. Things were looking pretty good. That’s a solid first half. In the second half, we came out and nothing changed between the game plans. I just felt like Texas Tech wanted it more.
On what he attributes missed blocks by the offensive line against Texas Tech to
There was probably about one or two missed ID’s. The rest was just about the guys up front were getting beat. That wasn’t the case in the first half. They didn’t show us anything differently. I just thought they wanted it a lot more than we did.
On why run-pass options weren’t as effective in the second half against Texas Tech
I think a lot of it has to do with the lack of focus. I thought we dropped a few of those RPOs. (Redshirt senior quarterback) Will (Grier) got caught with one of them and ended up getting called for an illegal man downfield. They just played tighter coverage. I feel like they wanted it more. There was a third down where we were looking at what we could do better on that. At the end of the day, we just need to play with a physical edge. They played man (coverage) the entire game. In the second half, they got after us a little bit.
On his message to the receiving corps about drops
They are a mature team. You’ve heard that saying a lot, but they understand. There’s a lot of things they wish they had back. I know (senior wide receiver) Gary (Jennings Jr.) wanted a few back, as well. But Gary also made some freaky catches in there. So, there’s a fine line in how to address it. These kids are mature enough to understand that they didn’t make those play, and they wish they could have it back. You can’t dwell on it. You just have to move on. If it consistently becomes a problem, then we have to find ways to address it throughout practice.
On if making adjustments in blocking or switching to more of the pass game helps the run game
A little of both. It turned into a guessing game with them. I thought (redshirt senior quarterback) Will (Grier) was managing it very well. That’s where a lot of those RPOs were coming from – the slants to (senior wide receiver) David Sills (V) and (redshirt sophomore wide receiver) T.J. Simmons. I know that T.J. dropped one of them, but there was a pretty good line of how Will was managing it. Then, they started blitzing everybody on it. We ended up changing our thought process and getting away from that. When you pull the guard and the tackle, the backside edge is going to condense tremendously – it is. It gets into some gray area. Just based off where we were up front and from a schematic standpoint, that’s a pretty efficient play for us.
On how he explains senior wide receiver Gary Jennings Jr’s drops being coupled with big-time catches
I think it’s a lack of focus. He looked at me right after the series where he dropped two in a row. On the first one, he was wide open, and he knew he was wide open. He was trying to get up field immediately. He just took his eyes off the ball and was expecting to catch that, get up field and score a touchdown. It’s just a lack of focus on that where you have to pay attention to details and make sure you’re focused on catching the ball first and the getting up field. If you watch the first touchdown he had, there was a possible pass interference and he bounced off and he caught it. That was pretty amazing. Then, you have the one at the end of the first half on a back-shoulder throw, and he grabbed that one out of the air. That was a phenomenal catch, too. He just got caught in a situation where the was a little lack of focus. He may have been rattled after dropped the first one, but I think he has a short-term memory. He moved on and made some good plays for us later.
On Kansas’ defense
They’re very multiple. They’re a lot different than what they have been in the past. They were a four-down team all the time, and now, they’re a three-down team. They’ll sprinkle in four down, which is interesting to see. They’re going to play coverage, and they’re going to rally. They have some experienced guys that are mature, as well. Their two safeties – No. 11 (Mike Lee) and 1 (Bryce Torneden) – are very active players. Their linebackers have played for a long time and make a lot of tackles. I think what they try to do is keep you on your toes and catch you off guard. They’re a three-down team with overhangs. So, they’re going to blitz them and drop them. They’re going to play man. They’re going to drop eight. They’re just going to try and keep you guessing. I think the one thing they do focus on is trying to keep everything in front of them. I think that’s allowing them to have a little more success this year.
On how junior wide receiver Marcus Simms has matured
There’s a lot. I think the main thing is his conditioning. He’s being able to play a lot of plays. The more conditioned he is, the more opportunities he has. It’s funny; on his touchdown he had (against Texas Tech), right before the play he caught a slant, and I’m talking to him the whole time. I’m looking at him and asking, ‘Are you alright? Are you okay?’ It was because I wanted to take a shot to him. He looked at me and said he was fine. Then, he went and ran fast. Last year, after that, he wouldn’t have been able to give the effort that he would have liked to on that, because he would be gassed. I just thought it was funny that he was able to go back-to-back plays consistently for us. That was probably the biggest difference for us.
Associate Head Coach (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers) Tony Gibson
On what the message was for the defense after Texas Tech quarterback Jett Duffey’s long run on Saturday
I told them they have to wrap up, they have to tackle. We were tired, we were gassed, but we had him. The sad thing was we had him 10 yards deep in the backfield and let him get out. Then, (redshirt junior linebacker) David (Long Jr.) and (redshirt sophomore linebacker) Dylan (Tonkery) were on the sideline and let him go. I told them to just wrap up and finish the play.
On if it surprises him when redshirt junior linebacker David Long Jr. misses a tackle or comes up empty’
Yeah, and it’s hard to get mad at him. He had 15 tackles and three TFLs, but everybody sees that one play. So, what are you going to do? You have to rally. You can’t just dwell on that one play. We had to go back out. We were on the ropes, and we had to keep them motivated and try to get them juiced up a bit. The one thing that I was happy with on that drive though is they had it first-and-goal and we ended up forcing a field goal. That was big.
On if he was happy with the effort the defense showed against Texas Tech
Yeah, I think a lot of the comes from when they did have us low, we were just so tired. 52 snaps are what we played in the second half. That’s a lot of plays.
On if it’s hard to coach players on tackling opponents as they run out of bounds
Yeah it is, because you tell them, ‘No stupid penalties.’ We had enough penalties on Saturday to last the rest of the year. You don’t want to give them a cheap 15 yards right there. Also, you play through the whistle, and there was no whistle being blown. I think what he (redshirt sophomore linebacker Dylan Tonkery) thought was (redshirt junior linebacker) David (Long Jr.) was going to make the tackle, and David missed, ducked and it was a bad play.
On the new turnover, miner’s helmet
We weren’t getting any turnovers. So, we finally broke it out against K-State, and we have four since then. We’ll keep it.
On if it was his idea to institute the miner’s helmet
There was a lot of things that went into it – a lot of fans were emailing. They thought that we should do something. The more I thought about it, I thought it was a pretty good idea. I asked the kids and asked a couple of the defensive leaders. They were all about it. So, I wanted to do it.
On where you go to get a miner’s helmet
Actually, Steve Antoline got it. It’s a real miner’s hat. I know there were some concerns about that. They were saying that it looked like we got it from Wal-Mart. We didn’t. It’s a real one. The light works. So, it’s the real deal.
On if last week’s Texas Tech game reminded him of last year’s Baylor game
No, I don’t flashback to a year ago. I’m worried about the next play. I’m getting the call in to get it stopped.
On the big defensive plays that turned the Texas Tech game around
I was proud of the kids. They kept fighting. We could have helped ourselves. We could’ve gotten off the field a couple times on fourth down and we didn’t. They kept drives alive. You have to give them credit, too. They’re a good football team. It’s not like we’re playing a winless Texas Tech team. They just went into Stillwater and won big, put up a bunch of points. They’re explosive on offense.
On his takeaways from watching last year’s matchup with Kansas in preparation for this Saturday
A lot of the stuff was self-inflicted. We had a lot of new guys that day. I was just looking at the film. Obviously, I’ve watched it. Going into that game, they had not shown power one snap all year, and they ran it 31 times against us. Then on the third play of the game, we lose Kyzir (White). (Redshirt junior linebacker) David Long (Jr.) was out, (redshirt senior safety) Toyous (Avery Jr.) was out. Marvin (Gross), who replaced Toyous, went out. I think, at one point, we were playing with nine freshmen. We were playing with guys that aren’t here any longer. I try to forget about what happened last year and move on. Scheme-wise, we looked at a bunch of it. We also looked back at TCU, with (Doug) Meacham and how he tried to attack us when he was there. There’s a little bit that goes into it, but we’re more focused on what they’re doing right now. But we will be working the power a bunch.
On Kansas’ run game
I’ll tell you this – the (Pooka) Williams (Jr.) kid and (Khalil) Herbert are both explosive backs. Their quarterbacks do a good job, too, on the zone read with pulling it and keeping you off balance. But those two backs are as good as any backs we’ll play all year long. Williams is the fastest back that we’ll play all year long.
On Kansas’ rotation at quarterback
What we need to do is prepare for all three. No. 8 (Miles Kendrick) is more of a runner, No. 7 (Peyton Bender) and No. 9 (Carter Stanley) are very similar. They all take care of the ball. They don’t have an interception this year. We have to do a good job. They have explosive wideouts. The Sims kid (Steven Sims Jr.) is a really good player. They can get you. They scored 34 on us a year ago. Our kids have to come ready to play, because if not, they’ll light the scoreboard up.
On if he ever gets sick of scouting two or three quarterbacks each week
Yeah, I do. I get sick of looking at offenses.
On if Kansas running back Pooka Williams Jr. is the most explosive player he’s ever seen at Kansas
Yes, he’s a very good player, and he does it to everybody. He did it to Rutgers, he did it to Central Michigan and just did it to Oklahoma State. He did it to Baylor. He’s popped out. He’s leading the Big 12 for a reason, and he’ll get two, three, four, 80. He can move, and he’s tough. He’s not real big, but he runs angry.
On redshirt junior cornerback Keith Washington Jr.’s first quarter performance against Texas Tech
When you watch the film, it’s even more impressive, because it was all day long. But the one play that probably goes unnoticed, it was in the third quarter. We were in a cloud coverage, rolled up the corners, and he was out on the numbers towards the field. They ran a draw to the boundary side, and he made the tackle on that hash for a 6-yard gain. It was second-and-long after a penalty. He’s physical. He plays hard, plays fast. We’re really impressed with where he’s at right now. We need him to continue doing that.
On what he is seeing out of redshirt junior cornerback Keith Washington Jr. now that he wasn’t seeing in fall camp
Well, I told the guys this the other day, I’m trying to make an example out of Keith because of all the good he’s been doing. But Keith played zero snaps against Tennessee on defense, which probably makes us look dumb. He just kept working. He didn’t pout. Why that even got brought up on Sunday in our meeting is because we went out in the third quarter and we would get a stop, get a sack or get off the field and nobody was excited on the sideline. It looked like we didn’t even want to be there. That’s concerning and that was addressed. But the 11 guys out on the field were excited, but we had some guys that I didn’t know what their problem was. Maybe, it was too hot, or they thought the game was over. Whatever it may have been, we don’t have time to do any of that. We have to get better every snap in every series in every game. That part of it was disappointing.
On if redshirt junior cornerback Keith Washington Jr. is as athletic as any player on defense
He can run. He knows what to do with the ball when he gets it. He’s very explosive, he can jump. But the biggest concern I had with Keith when he came in is that he was maybe too light and couldn’t play as physical as we wanted him to. He’s proven me wrong on that.
On how tricky it is to fine tune blitz packages
It is. It’s tricky, but that what practice is for all week. We spend a lot of time on our blitzes, and it starts today. So, we’ll walk through, and we have a certain number of blitzes that we go into a game with to attack different personnel groupings. We’ll rep it with everybody. Then, we have a blitz period against our offense where we get to rep it. We’ll continue to do that all week long by the time Saturday gets here. What’s sad is we probably had an opportunity to get two or three sacks the other day, and we had some guys who didn’t hit it full speed or hesitated for some reason. I think they got scared of the quarterback, because they knew he could run. So, they were cautious with blitzing. We don’t need to do that.
On how to coach redshirt junior cornerback Josh Norwood and other players to not launch themselves when making a tackle
I’ve had a hundred messages and emails from other people saying, ‘That’s not targeting.’ I think the same thing, but the number one thing is anytime you launch at a player, they’re going to get you. It doesn’t matter where the contact is at, and he launched. You can’t do that. He should have gone for the ball. That was our coaching point – go for the ball, put your hands up and if you collide with the receiver, then they’re not going to call targeting. But when you put your arms down to the side, jump and come off your feet to hit him, they’re going to call that 100 percent.
On if former safety Karl Joseph would have played under the targeting rule
I’m glad it wasn’t in effect when he was here. I think it was his last year. They show video of his hit against Oklahoma. Officials use that tape. He should have definitely been ejected that game.
Senior Wide Receiver David Sills V
On junior wide receiver Marcus Simms’ progression this year
From last year to this year, it’s night and day. He’s attacked practice and attacked the game each week, and he’s working harder on being more focused. He’s locked in in practice and during lifts throughout the week. It’s really been paying off for him on the field.
On how he would grade the team’s performance against Texas Tech
I think by the end of the first half, it was a good performance. I think we were moving well as an offense. We were playing well, but in the second half, I think we got a little complacent.
On catching the deflection from redshirt sophomore wide receiver T.J. Simmons
I was running my route, and I saw the ball was thrown to him. Then, it just kind of popped up in the air. So, I just went up and grabbed it. It was kind of an instinctive play. He was kind of in front of me, but the ball just went up in the air. My first thought was, ‘Don’t let them intercept it.’ It bounced right toward me. So, I caught it, but they were right there.
On Kansas’ defense
They’re very good. They fly around the ball. They have a lot of interceptions from their secondary. So, we’re definitely going to have to take care of the ball this week and not have any turnovers or anything that shoots us in the foot. We have to be conscious of our technique, because they do fly around. We have to make sure we’re catching the ball when it comes to us.
Redshirt Sophomore Offensive Lineman Josh Sills
On adjustments made on the offensive line when the defense is aggressive
That just kind of depends on how many guys we have who are blocking them, who’s pulling and where they’re coming from. Sometimes, we have to make an extra adjustment for that extra guy. That’s one of the best parts about it.
On practice this week
It’s definitely going to be amped up. That’s for sure. Coach (Dana) Holgorsen addressed everything on Sunday like he always does. Effort was one of the big things. Even (Assistant coach – offensive line) Coach (Joe) Wickline said that we have to prepare for every team the same and do everything the same for every team. It doesn’t matter who you play. It’s definitely going to be amped up this week.
On the message from assistant coach (offensive line) Joe Wickline
Clean up missed assignments and get one percent better.
On the offensive line’s cohesiveness and adjustment to personnel changes
No, not really because we all have that same communication. We all gel together just as equally. It doesn’t matter who is in there in what position. We all communicate well, and that communication helps us gel.
Redshirt Junior Linebacker David Long Jr.
On Kansas running back Pooka Williams Jr.
I think he’s the best back we’ve played so far, other than the back from Tennessee. He was pretty good. He definitely has some quickness and some power to him. He’s a good athlete.
On the approach to defending an athlete like Williams Jr.
The same way we’ve been preparing. We need to work on missed tackles and stuff like that from the past week. We just need to play the same way we’ve been playing.
On Texas Tech quarterback Jett Duffey’s big run on 4th down
That play was on me. I felt like he was going out, but that was just a bad play. That was a bad play by me. It was a good play by him. I needed to make the tackle, and I screwed it up instead of just throwing the shoulder.
On grading his own performance against Texas Tech
I gave myself a C after the game. I don’t know whatever else was graded and what the real grade was, but that was my personal grade. I look more at the misses than at the makes.
Sophomore Safety Kenny Robinson Jr.
On how playing offense in high school helps players make big plays on the defense
It makes it really easy for us to make plays. Once we get the ball in our hands, we get the chance to make a play and score for the defense, then do things to help the team.
On if playing offense in high school heightens defensive instincts
Yes, it does help. In high school, one of my coaches really harped on offense. He wanted me to play offense in college, so he used to tell me, ‘Blow holes in the defense.’ So, playing defense helped me know where offenses are looking, what weaknesses we have and things like that.
On defensive players’ ability to catch the ball
We work every day on our hands. When we’re doing different special teams’ periods, and we’re not actually active, we’re just sitting there. We throw the ball to each other to make sure our hands are right. When we do get the chance, we have to make the play so that no one can say that we aren’t supposed to be on offense.
On progression in safety position
I’ve progressed a lot. After the Youngstown State game when I dropped the pick, I had to really step it up. I felt like I was being too greedy. That’s why I didn’t get back and get there fast enough. After that, I feel like I’ve been balancing it well.
Assistant Coach (Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks) Jake Spavital
On the difference between the first and second half against Texas Tech
I’ve thought about this over and over for a long time now. I just want to say it was energy and lack of focus is what it came down to. We had a lack of focus throughout the first half. I think we had four drops in the first quarter, which is uncharacteristic of the receivers, but when we got into the second half, I thought the effort and energy looked like they didn’t want to play in that second half. I don’t know exactly what the cause is. It could be a lot of other things, but when it comes down to it, we have to be able to play with effort and energy. That’s something that we can control, and that’s going to be the focus going into practice. At the end of the game and in postgame media, that’s all I talked about – how we were going to get it corrected in practice, and today’s emphasis is going to be on practicing with effort. That’s been addressed. I don’t know what Coach (Dana) Holgorsen said in his press conference, but I bet you he reiterated the same stuff. You guys see it as well. That’s something we take a lot of pride in, and it’s probably not going to happen again.
On junior wide receiver Marcus Simms and how his season has impacted the receiving corps
I think he’s playing at a very high level. He’s putting up great numbers, but from where he was at last year to where he’s at this year, he’s turning into an every-down guy for us. We put a lot on his shoulders not just from an offensive perspective but on special teams, as well. When you have that threat, he was making some big time catches on critical downs in the game. The way my brother put it to me after the game was that (redshirt senior quarterback) Will (Grier) has so much confidence in Marcus that the hit charts show the ball is being sprayed all over the field. It’s very tough to defend that when you have three guys playing at a high level, and the ball is getting spread around evenly.
On whether he goes into a game to establish the run or to go with what the defense gives the offense
I think you always have to establish the run. The emphasis of the night before was about playing with a physicality and understating that they are trying to take away the run. That’s how Texas Tech plays defense. I thought, in the first half, we matched that pretty well. We were running the ball efficiently in the first half. I believe that if you want to have a lot of success in this game, then as a team, you have to be able to run the ball efficiently. If you look at how we ran the ball in the first half to the second half, then you can see that it’s two different teams and two different outcomes. It is very important to make sure that we establish a run game.
On how he evaluates the second-half run game and passing game against Texas Tech
That was something I re-evaluated how I did at the end of the game. I thought I should have thrown it a little more in the second half. There was a lot of factors in the second half with how we were playing. There was a lot of momentum changes in that game, and you could see we didn’t have any momentum in that second half. It was tough to get out of that. I should’ve ended up throwing the ball a little more on first and second down, because there ended up being a tendency where we would run the ball on first and second down and throw it on third. A lot of it was we were trying to run some clock and trying to be more efficient with the time management, but at the end of the day, we probably should have had more efficient pass plays. We should have gotten the ball in our playmakers’ hands, because those kids are pretty explosive. When you’re run game is not hitting on the explosive plays that you want, then you probably need to end up throwing it a bit more.
On how he plans to evaluate the run game moving forward
I think it’s going to be a feel throughout the game. It really is. It is tough. I think you have a lot of good players out there, and you try to distribute the ball evenly. I think that’s just going to change weekly based off how we are playing.
On if the amount of pressure that redshirt senior quarterback Will Grier faced in the Texas Tech game is concerning
No, it’s not. I think that comes down to an effort situation. We’re going to get that fixed. I thought, in the first half, everything was clicking. We had 35 points – 28 in one quarter. Things were looking pretty good. That’s a solid first half. In the second half, we came out and nothing changed between the game plans. I just felt like Texas Tech wanted it more.
On what he attributes missed blocks by the offensive line against Texas Tech to
There was probably about one or two missed ID’s. The rest was just about the guys up front were getting beat. That wasn’t the case in the first half. They didn’t show us anything differently. I just thought they wanted it a lot more than we did.
On why run-pass options weren’t as effective in the second half against Texas Tech
I think a lot of it has to do with the lack of focus. I thought we dropped a few of those RPOs. (Redshirt senior quarterback) Will (Grier) got caught with one of them and ended up getting called for an illegal man downfield. They just played tighter coverage. I feel like they wanted it more. There was a third down where we were looking at what we could do better on that. At the end of the day, we just need to play with a physical edge. They played man (coverage) the entire game. In the second half, they got after us a little bit.
On his message to the receiving corps about drops
They are a mature team. You’ve heard that saying a lot, but they understand. There’s a lot of things they wish they had back. I know (senior wide receiver) Gary (Jennings Jr.) wanted a few back, as well. But Gary also made some freaky catches in there. So, there’s a fine line in how to address it. These kids are mature enough to understand that they didn’t make those play, and they wish they could have it back. You can’t dwell on it. You just have to move on. If it consistently becomes a problem, then we have to find ways to address it throughout practice.
On if making adjustments in blocking or switching to more of the pass game helps the run game
A little of both. It turned into a guessing game with them. I thought (redshirt senior quarterback) Will (Grier) was managing it very well. That’s where a lot of those RPOs were coming from – the slants to (senior wide receiver) David Sills (V) and (redshirt sophomore wide receiver) T.J. Simmons. I know that T.J. dropped one of them, but there was a pretty good line of how Will was managing it. Then, they started blitzing everybody on it. We ended up changing our thought process and getting away from that. When you pull the guard and the tackle, the backside edge is going to condense tremendously – it is. It gets into some gray area. Just based off where we were up front and from a schematic standpoint, that’s a pretty efficient play for us.
On how he explains senior wide receiver Gary Jennings Jr’s drops being coupled with big-time catches
I think it’s a lack of focus. He looked at me right after the series where he dropped two in a row. On the first one, he was wide open, and he knew he was wide open. He was trying to get up field immediately. He just took his eyes off the ball and was expecting to catch that, get up field and score a touchdown. It’s just a lack of focus on that where you have to pay attention to details and make sure you’re focused on catching the ball first and the getting up field. If you watch the first touchdown he had, there was a possible pass interference and he bounced off and he caught it. That was pretty amazing. Then, you have the one at the end of the first half on a back-shoulder throw, and he grabbed that one out of the air. That was a phenomenal catch, too. He just got caught in a situation where the was a little lack of focus. He may have been rattled after dropped the first one, but I think he has a short-term memory. He moved on and made some good plays for us later.
On Kansas’ defense
They’re very multiple. They’re a lot different than what they have been in the past. They were a four-down team all the time, and now, they’re a three-down team. They’ll sprinkle in four down, which is interesting to see. They’re going to play coverage, and they’re going to rally. They have some experienced guys that are mature, as well. Their two safeties – No. 11 (Mike Lee) and 1 (Bryce Torneden) – are very active players. Their linebackers have played for a long time and make a lot of tackles. I think what they try to do is keep you on your toes and catch you off guard. They’re a three-down team with overhangs. So, they’re going to blitz them and drop them. They’re going to play man. They’re going to drop eight. They’re just going to try and keep you guessing. I think the one thing they do focus on is trying to keep everything in front of them. I think that’s allowing them to have a little more success this year.
On how junior wide receiver Marcus Simms has matured
There’s a lot. I think the main thing is his conditioning. He’s being able to play a lot of plays. The more conditioned he is, the more opportunities he has. It’s funny; on his touchdown he had (against Texas Tech), right before the play he caught a slant, and I’m talking to him the whole time. I’m looking at him and asking, ‘Are you alright? Are you okay?’ It was because I wanted to take a shot to him. He looked at me and said he was fine. Then, he went and ran fast. Last year, after that, he wouldn’t have been able to give the effort that he would have liked to on that, because he would be gassed. I just thought it was funny that he was able to go back-to-back plays consistently for us. That was probably the biggest difference for us.
Associate Head Coach (Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers) Tony Gibson
On what the message was for the defense after Texas Tech quarterback Jett Duffey’s long run on Saturday
I told them they have to wrap up, they have to tackle. We were tired, we were gassed, but we had him. The sad thing was we had him 10 yards deep in the backfield and let him get out. Then, (redshirt junior linebacker) David (Long Jr.) and (redshirt sophomore linebacker) Dylan (Tonkery) were on the sideline and let him go. I told them to just wrap up and finish the play.
On if it surprises him when redshirt junior linebacker David Long Jr. misses a tackle or comes up empty’
Yeah, and it’s hard to get mad at him. He had 15 tackles and three TFLs, but everybody sees that one play. So, what are you going to do? You have to rally. You can’t just dwell on that one play. We had to go back out. We were on the ropes, and we had to keep them motivated and try to get them juiced up a bit. The one thing that I was happy with on that drive though is they had it first-and-goal and we ended up forcing a field goal. That was big.
On if he was happy with the effort the defense showed against Texas Tech
Yeah, I think a lot of the comes from when they did have us low, we were just so tired. 52 snaps are what we played in the second half. That’s a lot of plays.
On if it’s hard to coach players on tackling opponents as they run out of bounds
Yeah it is, because you tell them, ‘No stupid penalties.’ We had enough penalties on Saturday to last the rest of the year. You don’t want to give them a cheap 15 yards right there. Also, you play through the whistle, and there was no whistle being blown. I think what he (redshirt sophomore linebacker Dylan Tonkery) thought was (redshirt junior linebacker) David (Long Jr.) was going to make the tackle, and David missed, ducked and it was a bad play.
On the new turnover, miner’s helmet
We weren’t getting any turnovers. So, we finally broke it out against K-State, and we have four since then. We’ll keep it.
On if it was his idea to institute the miner’s helmet
There was a lot of things that went into it – a lot of fans were emailing. They thought that we should do something. The more I thought about it, I thought it was a pretty good idea. I asked the kids and asked a couple of the defensive leaders. They were all about it. So, I wanted to do it.
On where you go to get a miner’s helmet
Actually, Steve Antoline got it. It’s a real miner’s hat. I know there were some concerns about that. They were saying that it looked like we got it from Wal-Mart. We didn’t. It’s a real one. The light works. So, it’s the real deal.
On if last week’s Texas Tech game reminded him of last year’s Baylor game
No, I don’t flashback to a year ago. I’m worried about the next play. I’m getting the call in to get it stopped.
On the big defensive plays that turned the Texas Tech game around
I was proud of the kids. They kept fighting. We could have helped ourselves. We could’ve gotten off the field a couple times on fourth down and we didn’t. They kept drives alive. You have to give them credit, too. They’re a good football team. It’s not like we’re playing a winless Texas Tech team. They just went into Stillwater and won big, put up a bunch of points. They’re explosive on offense.
On his takeaways from watching last year’s matchup with Kansas in preparation for this Saturday
A lot of the stuff was self-inflicted. We had a lot of new guys that day. I was just looking at the film. Obviously, I’ve watched it. Going into that game, they had not shown power one snap all year, and they ran it 31 times against us. Then on the third play of the game, we lose Kyzir (White). (Redshirt junior linebacker) David Long (Jr.) was out, (redshirt senior safety) Toyous (Avery Jr.) was out. Marvin (Gross), who replaced Toyous, went out. I think, at one point, we were playing with nine freshmen. We were playing with guys that aren’t here any longer. I try to forget about what happened last year and move on. Scheme-wise, we looked at a bunch of it. We also looked back at TCU, with (Doug) Meacham and how he tried to attack us when he was there. There’s a little bit that goes into it, but we’re more focused on what they’re doing right now. But we will be working the power a bunch.
On Kansas’ run game
I’ll tell you this – the (Pooka) Williams (Jr.) kid and (Khalil) Herbert are both explosive backs. Their quarterbacks do a good job, too, on the zone read with pulling it and keeping you off balance. But those two backs are as good as any backs we’ll play all year long. Williams is the fastest back that we’ll play all year long.
On Kansas’ rotation at quarterback
What we need to do is prepare for all three. No. 8 (Miles Kendrick) is more of a runner, No. 7 (Peyton Bender) and No. 9 (Carter Stanley) are very similar. They all take care of the ball. They don’t have an interception this year. We have to do a good job. They have explosive wideouts. The Sims kid (Steven Sims Jr.) is a really good player. They can get you. They scored 34 on us a year ago. Our kids have to come ready to play, because if not, they’ll light the scoreboard up.
On if he ever gets sick of scouting two or three quarterbacks each week
Yeah, I do. I get sick of looking at offenses.
On if Kansas running back Pooka Williams Jr. is the most explosive player he’s ever seen at Kansas
Yes, he’s a very good player, and he does it to everybody. He did it to Rutgers, he did it to Central Michigan and just did it to Oklahoma State. He did it to Baylor. He’s popped out. He’s leading the Big 12 for a reason, and he’ll get two, three, four, 80. He can move, and he’s tough. He’s not real big, but he runs angry.
On redshirt junior cornerback Keith Washington Jr.’s first quarter performance against Texas Tech
When you watch the film, it’s even more impressive, because it was all day long. But the one play that probably goes unnoticed, it was in the third quarter. We were in a cloud coverage, rolled up the corners, and he was out on the numbers towards the field. They ran a draw to the boundary side, and he made the tackle on that hash for a 6-yard gain. It was second-and-long after a penalty. He’s physical. He plays hard, plays fast. We’re really impressed with where he’s at right now. We need him to continue doing that.
On what he is seeing out of redshirt junior cornerback Keith Washington Jr. now that he wasn’t seeing in fall camp
Well, I told the guys this the other day, I’m trying to make an example out of Keith because of all the good he’s been doing. But Keith played zero snaps against Tennessee on defense, which probably makes us look dumb. He just kept working. He didn’t pout. Why that even got brought up on Sunday in our meeting is because we went out in the third quarter and we would get a stop, get a sack or get off the field and nobody was excited on the sideline. It looked like we didn’t even want to be there. That’s concerning and that was addressed. But the 11 guys out on the field were excited, but we had some guys that I didn’t know what their problem was. Maybe, it was too hot, or they thought the game was over. Whatever it may have been, we don’t have time to do any of that. We have to get better every snap in every series in every game. That part of it was disappointing.
On if redshirt junior cornerback Keith Washington Jr. is as athletic as any player on defense
He can run. He knows what to do with the ball when he gets it. He’s very explosive, he can jump. But the biggest concern I had with Keith when he came in is that he was maybe too light and couldn’t play as physical as we wanted him to. He’s proven me wrong on that.
On how tricky it is to fine tune blitz packages
It is. It’s tricky, but that what practice is for all week. We spend a lot of time on our blitzes, and it starts today. So, we’ll walk through, and we have a certain number of blitzes that we go into a game with to attack different personnel groupings. We’ll rep it with everybody. Then, we have a blitz period against our offense where we get to rep it. We’ll continue to do that all week long by the time Saturday gets here. What’s sad is we probably had an opportunity to get two or three sacks the other day, and we had some guys who didn’t hit it full speed or hesitated for some reason. I think they got scared of the quarterback, because they knew he could run. So, they were cautious with blitzing. We don’t need to do that.
On how to coach redshirt junior cornerback Josh Norwood and other players to not launch themselves when making a tackle
I’ve had a hundred messages and emails from other people saying, ‘That’s not targeting.’ I think the same thing, but the number one thing is anytime you launch at a player, they’re going to get you. It doesn’t matter where the contact is at, and he launched. You can’t do that. He should have gone for the ball. That was our coaching point – go for the ball, put your hands up and if you collide with the receiver, then they’re not going to call targeting. But when you put your arms down to the side, jump and come off your feet to hit him, they’re going to call that 100 percent.
On if former safety Karl Joseph would have played under the targeting rule
I’m glad it wasn’t in effect when he was here. I think it was his last year. They show video of his hit against Oklahoma. Officials use that tape. He should have definitely been ejected that game.
Senior Wide Receiver David Sills V
On junior wide receiver Marcus Simms’ progression this year
From last year to this year, it’s night and day. He’s attacked practice and attacked the game each week, and he’s working harder on being more focused. He’s locked in in practice and during lifts throughout the week. It’s really been paying off for him on the field.
On how he would grade the team’s performance against Texas Tech
I think by the end of the first half, it was a good performance. I think we were moving well as an offense. We were playing well, but in the second half, I think we got a little complacent.
On catching the deflection from redshirt sophomore wide receiver T.J. Simmons
I was running my route, and I saw the ball was thrown to him. Then, it just kind of popped up in the air. So, I just went up and grabbed it. It was kind of an instinctive play. He was kind of in front of me, but the ball just went up in the air. My first thought was, ‘Don’t let them intercept it.’ It bounced right toward me. So, I caught it, but they were right there.
On Kansas’ defense
They’re very good. They fly around the ball. They have a lot of interceptions from their secondary. So, we’re definitely going to have to take care of the ball this week and not have any turnovers or anything that shoots us in the foot. We have to be conscious of our technique, because they do fly around. We have to make sure we’re catching the ball when it comes to us.
Redshirt Sophomore Offensive Lineman Josh Sills
On adjustments made on the offensive line when the defense is aggressive
That just kind of depends on how many guys we have who are blocking them, who’s pulling and where they’re coming from. Sometimes, we have to make an extra adjustment for that extra guy. That’s one of the best parts about it.
On practice this week
It’s definitely going to be amped up. That’s for sure. Coach (Dana) Holgorsen addressed everything on Sunday like he always does. Effort was one of the big things. Even (Assistant coach – offensive line) Coach (Joe) Wickline said that we have to prepare for every team the same and do everything the same for every team. It doesn’t matter who you play. It’s definitely going to be amped up this week.
On the message from assistant coach (offensive line) Joe Wickline
Clean up missed assignments and get one percent better.
On the offensive line’s cohesiveness and adjustment to personnel changes
No, not really because we all have that same communication. We all gel together just as equally. It doesn’t matter who is in there in what position. We all communicate well, and that communication helps us gel.
Redshirt Junior Linebacker David Long Jr.
On Kansas running back Pooka Williams Jr.
I think he’s the best back we’ve played so far, other than the back from Tennessee. He was pretty good. He definitely has some quickness and some power to him. He’s a good athlete.
On the approach to defending an athlete like Williams Jr.
The same way we’ve been preparing. We need to work on missed tackles and stuff like that from the past week. We just need to play the same way we’ve been playing.
On Texas Tech quarterback Jett Duffey’s big run on 4th down
That play was on me. I felt like he was going out, but that was just a bad play. That was a bad play by me. It was a good play by him. I needed to make the tackle, and I screwed it up instead of just throwing the shoulder.
On grading his own performance against Texas Tech
I gave myself a C after the game. I don’t know whatever else was graded and what the real grade was, but that was my personal grade. I look more at the misses than at the makes.
Sophomore Safety Kenny Robinson Jr.
On how playing offense in high school helps players make big plays on the defense
It makes it really easy for us to make plays. Once we get the ball in our hands, we get the chance to make a play and score for the defense, then do things to help the team.
On if playing offense in high school heightens defensive instincts
Yes, it does help. In high school, one of my coaches really harped on offense. He wanted me to play offense in college, so he used to tell me, ‘Blow holes in the defense.’ So, playing defense helped me know where offenses are looking, what weaknesses we have and things like that.
On defensive players’ ability to catch the ball
We work every day on our hands. When we’re doing different special teams’ periods, and we’re not actually active, we’re just sitting there. We throw the ball to each other to make sure our hands are right. When we do get the chance, we have to make the play so that no one can say that we aren’t supposed to be on offense.
On progression in safety position
I’ve progressed a lot. After the Youngstown State game when I dropped the pick, I had to really step it up. I felt like I was being too greedy. That’s why I didn’t get back and get there fast enough. After that, I feel like I’ve been balancing it well.
