Marshall University Athletics
Transcript of Coach Doc Holliday's Press Conference
8/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 27, 2010
Opening Statement: Thanks to everyone for being here, especially on a Friday. Number one, we are getting close. At this time next week we will have a better idea of where our team is. With that said, our team has worked extremely hard preparing for this game. This game with Ohio State is going to be a great challenge. I read the other day that Ohio State has won 32 straight home openers. They are well coached, they have great players at every position and it is going to be a great challenge for us.
Questions:
What differences are there in the backfield between Herron and Saine?
There is not a lot of difference. When you look at Ohio State, I think there are eight difference polls out and they are either No. 1 or No. 2 in every poll and a lot of people have them picked the win the National Championship. So with that being said, they have great players at every position. Jim Tressel and that staff are great. I had a chance to work with Darrell Hazell who is their assistant coach, so they will be prepared and well invested. It will be a great challenge because they have great players at every position.
On the Challenges that Terrelle Pryor presents:
Where he created a major issue is when he gets out of the pocket and improvises. I was watching some game tape today and he gets out on the perimeter. He's a man. But he has become a great quarterback too. If you look at that Rose Bowl game last year, he is good at all phases now. He sits in the pocket and throws it, and when he takes off on his feet he is dangerous. He is going to create a major issue for every team that he plays against this year.
Is there anything you have to do defensively to contain him?
Hope and pray I guess. I'm not sure you can totally contain him. He is going to make his plays. Team's like to try to keep him in the pocket and make him beat you with his arm, but with that being said, he has beaten teams with his arm towards the end of the season a year ago. He has the ability to do that and he has the ability to get out of the pocket and beat you on the ground. He is a great challenge for us.
Teams like to blitz Pryor to get him to the ground, so what does that do to your blitz package?
You better get him if you do blitz him, because if you don't then you are one-on-one out there on the corners with their great wide outs. What happens when you blitz, when teams would blitz us at Florida with Tim Tebow, they would miss a tackle and then Tebow would throw it 80 yards down the field to Percy Harvin. So when you blitz Pryor you better get him to the ground. But the trouble with Pryor is that he is tough to get to the ground. He is big, physical and strong. If you go to blitz him and he breaks a tackle that creates an issue for you leaving your corners out there one-on-one. But we just have to mix it up. We can't do everything all the time, but we will have to get after him and see what we can do.
Are Pryor and Tebow comparable? And what are their differences?
I don't know if you can compare him to Tebow, but they do have some similarities. They are both big and strong. It is hard to get them to the ground, and Terrelle does what Tebow does. He throws the ball down the field well enough and then he can beat you with his feet. Are they similar? Probably in some ways with their physical skills.
From the atmosphere stand point, how do you keep your team from getting too jacked up?
I don't know if we will have that problem. That doesn't bother me. I hope they are jacked up. You just have to prepare. It is our job to make sure that this is a very well prepared football team. Between now and next Thursday night we have to make sure as coaches we do everything to prepare our team and then just go out and play. You can't simulate what it is going to be like at practice. We will have some music out there tomorrow at practice. Tomorrow will be a Tuesday practice for us, Sunday is a Wednesday practice, Monday is a Thursday practice and so is Tuesday. Then we are on the bus Wednesday heading up to Columbus. But we will try to get some noise out there. But it is hard to simulate the 105,000 they will have there.
As a new head coach, is it hard to gage how good your team is?
As a new head coach, I don't think you know how good your team is until you go play somebody. With that being said, Ohio State is a great football team and coming out of that game we will have a better idea on what we have on this team. I think we will have a lot better idea, personnel wise, what we have after Thursday. Ohio State will be, without a doubt, the most talented team we play all year. They are picked to win the Big Ten and are one of the best teams in America so they are going to be talented. But we come back and play six straight weeks against teams who made bowls so we will be playing a lot of talent. We will see how we match up against OSU and see which guys can make some plays. My goal is to get our ready play hard every snap and then look up at the end of the game and see what the scoreboard says. I just want them to have fun, play hard, and see what happens.
How excited are you to see Marshall's defensive line go up against Ohio State's offensive line?
I hope I am excited after the game watching it on tape, but it will be interesting. Again, we will find out more. They are an excellent football team so we will find out how good our defensive line really is. If they can match up against Ohio State they will be able to play against anyone. They have a great offensive line, and you look on defense at [Cameron] Heyward, they are strong everywhere. But if we can match up with these guys, whether it be offensive line, defensive line or secondary then we can match up with just about anyone we play.
A columnist predicted you to go 8-4, what are your thoughts on that?
I don't know. I'm not worried about the end of the year. We are going to play them one at a time and see what happens. Who knows though?
Speaking of Heyward, you coached against Iron Head [Heyward], does that make you feel old?
What makes you feel old is when you recruit the sons of the players you have recruited. But we recruited Cameron Heyward when I was at Florida and [Brian] Rolle the linebacker we recruited, so I know these are great players. Heyward is projected to be a top ten pick in the NFL draft. He's not only an excellent player but he's an excellent kid too. He plays extremely hard. They don't move him around much because they don't have to. He lines up and kicks the heck out of everyone anyways. So he will be a great challenge for us.
What has surprised you the most about your team?
The way they have bought in. I've got a great bunch of kids. From day one they have done everything we have asked them to do. We have pushed them extremely hard and they haven't barked at all. I am proud of the way they have worked. I am proud of the leadership the Mario Harvery, Omar Brown, Brian Anderson and Lee Smith have provided. We need to go play a game. We have been practicing long enough, so it is time to see where we are.
Do you have to be a bit more creative to string some first downs together to keep Ohio State off the field?
Yes without question. We are not going to be line up and just be able to knock them off the ball. We have to be a little creative both offensively and defensively. Billy Legg will do a good job with that. We have to do some things to try and help our O-line out.
Any trick to get your team really ready to play?
I was asked this a couple of days ago if I was going to give a big speech prior to the game. If their tails aren't ready to play by the time I walk in that locker room, we have some major problems. That game is going to be won today and tomorrow and Sunday on the practice field prior to that game. I will have some things to say to them before the game but we need to have a great week of preparation.
