Marshall University Athletics
Transcript of Head Coach Doc Holliday's Tuesday Press Conference
9/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 21, 2011
Opening statement:
It’s evident that we didn’t play well a week ago. You can’t turn the ball over six times against anybody and win that football game. From a coaching stand point you have to give Ohio University and Frank Solich credit. They’re an excellent football team. With that being said, we can’t turn the ball over six times and we have to become a better tackling team. That was evident on Saturday. We have an excellent opportunity this week with Virginia Tech coming to town. They’re a great football team; I don’t think I need to tell you that. They are one of the top teams in the ACC and are very talented at every position. Bud Foster’s defense is extremely physical. They are extremely fast and can really play. Offensively, they are a little bit different as of a year ago. Logan Thomas is a little different than Tyrod Taylor, but (Thomas) is about 6’6-6’7, an extremely good athlete, and he can run. That being said, we have to have a great week of preparation. We will have a great practice today and throughout the week. We have to get prepared to take on an excellent Virginia Tech team that is coming here.
Comparison between VT Logan Thomas and Ohio St. Tyrrell Pryor:
I think Pryor is about 6’5 and Thomas is about 6’7. The other thing is Thomas is around 250 pounds. They are both very physical guys. Thomas looks like a big tight end playing quarterback and he can throw it. It will be a great challenge for us.
On tackling against VT:
David Wilson is a great player. He is a world class sprinter. He has world class distance in the triple jump. If you are in single digit missed tackles for a game then there is a good chance you will win that game. Against Southern Miss we were in the nine to 10 range. We were about the same the week before. We weren’t close to that last week. There are two things we really pride ourselves in. Number one is protecting the football and number two is tackling. We didn’t do either one of those against Ohio U. We have to do those two things against Virginia Tech to have a chance.
On VT keeping opponent defense on the field:
You just have to get off the field on third down and have to play great defense. One thing we did against Southern Miss was make them go the length of the field. We didn’t do that last week. We have to get back to the plan to win which is, playing great defense, getting off the field on third down, tackling well, attacking the football, scoring in the red-zone, and win the kicking game. If we are good in all those phases then we have a great chance to win.
On count of missed tackles against Ohio U:
I don’t know. I know it was way too many. Ten plus, I guarantee you that.
On not converting on third downs:
For your offense to be successful, you have to convert on third downs. Defensively you have to get off the field on third down. That is the key to both areas. We have to do well in both categories to be successful.
On the running game:
I think Tron (Martinez) and Travon (Van) are excellent players. Travon put the ball on the ground last week which is unacceptable. They both ran pretty well. We have to continue to do that. As long as you’re moving the chains you’ll be ok. Time of possession was awful last week. We have to do a better job with that. You have to have a good mixture. The one thing I’ve said about this Marshall team is that we can’t become one dimensional. We’re not good enough to pass the ball every down and win and we’re not good enough to run every down and win. If we become one dimensional against Virginia Tech or anybody then we have big issues. We can’t do that. We have to have a good mixture of passing and rushing. I don’t know that that was the issue last week. I think that was just too many turnovers. It wasn’t that they stopped us. We stopped ourselves and we can’t do that.
On Cato’s play:
This kid has been on campus for three months. There is going to be some learning curve there. I’m not making excuses for him. Two of the four interceptions were on him. One was a tipped ball and one was at the end of the half. He understands that, but he also understands that if he turns the ball over then he can’t play. He has to grow up quick. He is a freshman, he is our guy, and there is no quarterback controversy. We have to get him better. That is our job.
On turnovers:
Anytime you turn the ball over six times in one half it’s going to take the air out of you. That can’t happen. Defensively we have to stick our cleats in the ground and go play. This program is built on that and we have to be able to do that. You can’t beat anyone when you turn the ball over that many times.
On crowd level for VT game:
We have a great team coming into Huntington. Virginia Tech is ranked 13th in the country right now. They’re coming to Joan C. Edwards stadium, it’s going to be a great day, we’ll get a good crowd and it’s a great opportunity to showcase our program. It’s a televised game and we’ll have some recruits here. We are looking forward to it.
On VT defense:
One thing that jumps out at you is the speed of the defense. You watch their defensive line and how well they run. That’s why they are either winning the ACC or are at the top playing for a championship. They played Stanford in the Orange Bowl a year ago. That’s the kind of players they have. Bud Foster has done a tremendous job with that defense and continuing to bring people in. They get lined up in the right place and they play hard.
On playing VT:
You just have to pick your poison. In today’s world of college football if you load the box to stop the run and that quarterback has the ability to beat you with his arm then you have some issues. Same difference if you play a cover two with five under, then they have the opportunity to run the football. You have to mix and match. Disguise coverages. The thing with (Logan) Thomas is that if you load the box for the run, he can easily beat you with his arm. That’s why you have to force teams to become one dimensional. If you can do that you’re in good shape.
On the mood of the players for VT game:
I think they’re eager. I have good kids. I came into the locker room Sunday and I saw the hurt in their eyes. That tells me that we have a heck of a chance to be a great football team. We have some great challenges ahead of us. It’s important to these kids. They hurt and that’s a good thing.
