Marshall University Athletics
Transcript of Head Coach Doc Holliday's Tuesday Press Conference
9/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 27, 2011
Opening Statement:
As you know we have a great challenge in Louisville this week. I had an opportunity to work with Louisville head coach Charlie Strong for three years. He is a great coach and I have a lot of respect for him. He's done a good job with that program and will have his team well prepared. It is very important that we do the same. They're an excellent football team. They play two quarterbacks. They have Teddy Bridgewater who was there as a true freshman in the spring. Will Stein got hurt a little bit in their game against Kentucky and Bridgewater came in and did well. They also have Victor Anderson, the tailback who was rookie of the year in the Big East three years ago and is playing well for them. Defensively, being around Charlie, they're no different this year. Fifty percent of the time they're going to being pressure and that's what they're doing now. We have to make sure we are prepared to handle pressure this Saturday in Louisville.
On Teddy Bridgewater:
He was an excellent player in high school and very athletic. He can throw it and run it. It looks like they're trying to ease him in a little bit. With Stein getting injured last Saturday, it pressed Bridgewater into more reps and the kid did very well. They also play Dominique Brown, the big tailback, as a quarterback in the wildcat to create some issues for you. He is also a great player.
On wildcat formation:
Louisville still likes to use the wildcat. Brown rushed for well over 100 yards last Saturday. He played tailback and played in the wildcat set, so we have to be able to tackle.
On comparisons of Bridgewater and Cato:
They are very similar in the fact that they are both freshmen. They both can make all the throws. The only difference I see at this point is that Bridgewater was there for spring ball and that does make a difference. He is probably three months ahead of Cato on the learning curve because of spring ball, but they are both excellent players, good young prospects.
On facing top 25 defenses:
One thing Louisville has always been able to do is stop the run. They do that well. They are constantly coming after you and bringing pressure. About 50 percent of the time they're bringing somebody. We have to do a great job of preparation this week to ensure we pick up all the blitzes.
On getting the running game started:
Our quarterback has to make some better reads at times. We have some issues we need to clean up. To be honest, the offense line blocked Virginia Tech a lot better then I really thought they would at times. We just have to get better as a football team. I've said it a thousand times, the one thing we can't do is become one dimensional. It's on all of us. The entire offense and we just have to go out and get better.
On Cato learning the reads:
He has to get better. He is just a young guy who is learning. Unfortunately, there are some growing pains we have to go through with him. He has to get better quick because every week we have a new challenge and he has to help us in certain areas. He has to speed up that learning curve.
On connections with Charlie Strong:
Charlie is great. We go back a long time. I actually worked with him for three years. Charlie is a guy who deserved to be a head coach for a long time and I was so happy and proud of him when he got that job. He and his wife Vicky are really good friends of mine and he deserves everything he gets. We haven't talked as much the last couple months because we're playing each other, but we do talk quite a bit. Charlie is a good friend.
On working with Strong at Florida and the expectations for Louisville defensive plan:
They are going to be very aggressive. He was when he was at Florida and he's going to come after us. Especially with our young quarterback, in the back of their mind, they think they will be able to bring pressure. Last Saturday the pressure by Virginia Tech hurt them (VT) at the end of the half because Cato made some things happen. Charlie isn't going to change and I expect him to bring pressure.
On Cato assuming he will be blitzed every week:
I'd say he is probably right.
On the Florida staff and success the staff has found elsewhere:
Dan Mullen at Mississippi State has done well. Steve Addazio at Temple has done a nice job and Charlie at Louisville. Chuck Heater is the defensive coordinator at Temple who is now leading the country in total defense. That was an excellent staff and I am so happy I got to be a part of it.
On impressions of linebacker Jermaine Holmes in his first start:
I thought he played well. He didn't always know where he was going, but he went in there and made plays. If you have to coach the heck out of a linebacker then chances are you don't have one. Point them in the direction, get them lined up and tell them to go make plays. It's kind of the same thing at running back. If they're a great tailback you don't tell them what cuts to make. You just get them lined up and tell them to go make plays. I think Jermaine, no I don't think, I know he is going to be an excellent player for us.
On linebacker Tyson Gale:
Tyson is battling some injuries right now. He does a good job at getting our defense lined up. Problem with Tyson is he can't go in there and play 70-80 snaps. You have to get him out of there some and roll some of those other guys in there. But Tyson provides great leadership in there and he helps get those guys lined up. He also helped Holmes on and off the field.
On Cato performing well in two minute offense against Virginia Tech:
Virginia Tech, at that point, had given us some zero coverage looks and max blitzes. Cato did a great job at getting the ball to the right people. We came back out in the second half and tried to get in some other up tempo, but it didn't go as smooth as it did in the first half. We have to continue to go up tempo and mix it up to get our offense going.
On getting wide receiver Troy Evans involved in the offense:
He is a good player. Having him and Andre Booker back there returning kicks gives us a big spark and has been really good with helping us with field position. We have to get Evans involved because he is a playmaker and we have to get the ball into his hands.
On wide receiver Aaron Dobson's performance:
He has done a nice job and been more consistent at making plays, but that's what good players do. We need him to be a good player every week because he's one guy that we have that can go make plays for our offense. He also helps Cato's confidence tremendously. Aaron has done a nice job and needs to continue. He is going to be a really good player.
On Louisville's multiple quarterbacks look:
Stein is still their starter. He's not going to get beat out just because of an injury. I know we'll see both of them. They play them both all the time. Bridgewater came in and did a nice job in that Kentucky game. I'm sure we'll see Stein, but I'm sure we'll see Bridgewater also. There isn't much difference. They don't change things when either are in there.
On Louisville tight end Josh Chichester:
He's a big guy. He's about 6'7-6'8. He can run and is very athletic. They flex him into space as well to use his athletic ability. He is a big target.
