Marshall University Athletics
Notes/Quotes/Video from October 1 Press Conference
10/2/2018 12:21:00 AM | Football
Information below and right
Opening Statement:
Captains this week will be the same two guys on defense, Malik Gant and Ryan Bee. On offense we will have Tyre Brady and Levi Brown. All four of those guys played well in that last game and we are going to need them to play well this week against Middle Tennessee. As you know it is an abbreviated week. Today is Tuesday. We practiced last night and we usually don't practice on Sundays but it was considered a Monday practice. Today will be Tuesday and we will continue rolling from there. We have a great challenge this week. Middle is coming off a great win. They had went down 21-0 against Florida Atlantic at home last week and found a way to win that game. It seems like it starts with Stockstill, their quarterback. His dad has been there 12-13 years and it seems like he has been there longer than his dad. He is just such a competitive kid. He is a great young guy who plays extremely hard and he is a handful. He makes plays with his feet and is extremely tough. You watch him at the FAU game, on that last drive they took it down to win the game and he made two just unbelievable plays. He sprints out on fourth and 2 and gets the first down there to continue the drive. Then he had that two point play he made at the end of the game to win if for them. There was a guy that was just right in his face and he still manages to make a play by throwing across his body to his tight end. He is a handful and has good players surrounding him. They have their tailback (Tavares Thomas) back. He had been hurt all year. He is back for them and healthy. They are an excellent team and they are well-coached. Stockstill does a good job coaching those guys and they are going to come in ready to play. We just have to make sure we have a great week of preparation.
On playing on Friday:
We've had a couple Friday night games on the road. Our game at Middle Tennessee last year was a Friday night game. We played really well in that game and it's important that we do that again here this year. We can't control Friday night games, T.V. does. We just get ready to go play.
On Jovante Moffatt:
It seems like they have always had a big physical safety who can also cover. I think the last guy they had prior to this kid is still in the NFL. They have done a good job with that. He does a really good job in the run game and is just a good player. Three of the four kids they have at secondary are seniors so they have played a lot of football for them. Three guys up front on the offensive line are also seniors and a couple of them have been all-conference players. They have a lot of players back. They were missing a quarterback a year ago though. He has missed a couple years there where he had some injury issues but he is back now and healthy. He is the guy who makes them go.
On Stockstill:
He is similar, style-wise, as the kid from NC State. He makes plays and is very accurate. However, I think Stockstill is a little bit different from the kid at NC State because when things start to break down he is going to take off with it. He never slides. When he gets that ball in his hands he isn't going to slide and get down, he is like a running back running the ball. He is very accurate and you can't give him easy access throws. He will thread the needle and throw the ball in there. He is a challenge because he can beat you with his feet and run the quarterback runs. He does it all.
On Middle Tennessee's defense:
They are a little different then where they were a year ago. They were almost all three-down and now they have gone to some four down stuff. They are mixing three and four down and some of it is based on formations. They are a little bit different defensively but their defensive coordinator is still a very aggressive guy that brings a lot of pressure and gets after you. We will expect a lot of that just like we did a year ago.
On Marshall's offensive line facing Middle Tennessee's defensive front:
He has done a good job so far. A lot of our (offensive line) guys played against that three-down package a year ago so hopefully that will help some. Like I said they are a little bit different with some of the things they are doing but for the most part we have seen it all, if not this year then last year.
On Marshall's health:
It's the same deal. You look at Middle Tennessee against Florida Atlantic and it is a very physical game. It was a very physical game that we played last week against Western. A lot of teams had some guys banged up but I think for the most part we are going to be alright. We will just have to see here at the end of the week. Armani practiced last night so I think he should be fine.
On the running game:
It helps, you can't be one dimensional. We have to continue to try to run the football. In the second half we did run it a little bit better. I think we averaged just at 3.9 yards per rush, which you'd like to be over 4. Western did not run the ball very well. I think they averaged 1.9 yards per rush. All together we did run the ball a little better. When you can mix it up and they have to respect the run, there is no question that it will help you throw the ball a little better. We just have to continue taking what the defense gives us and part of that is running the football when they allow that to happen. We were better in the second half and are going to have to build on that this week.
On Tyler King:
He is a little more physical in the game then people give him credit for. He is 190 pounds or so and is a physical runner. We are going to need that. We are going to need Keion (Davis), Anthony (Anderson), and all of those guys to step up and play.
On improvement from last week:
I spoke last Tuesday about how important it was to focus on getting off the field on third down and we did that. I said we have to do a better job at converting on third downs. We didn't make the improvement there that I thought we needed to make. This is something we will need to do this week. I also felt like we needed to run the ball better and we did. We can't be satisfied with where we are with that but it was better. However, that is all the time. Any game you play is going to come down to who can convert third downs and stay on the field and who can get off the field on third downs. Fortunately, for us we did that on third and fourth down against Western. I thought our defense played extremely well. Take away the couple bonehead plays there at the end when we had the ball thrown over our heads. Eliminate two of those plays and that team had right at 200 yards in total offense, which was where they should have been. We just have to keep getting better. We are going into game five now and have to continue improving as a team in all three areas. It is going to be important Friday night to be the best team on the field and I have always said in order to do that you have to have tremendous special teams. I thought we were okay special teams-wise Saturday based on what they did. You have to play great defense, and I thought we got better there. Of course, on offense we have to eliminate those turnovers. Turning a ball over four times and winning a game is unusual. The good thing is they turned it over three times. If you are sitting there with a -4, you are going to lose the game. That can't happen. We have to take care of the football and continue to take it away on defense.
On the start to the game:
It is important that we do start fast. It is important we start fast every game. I will tell you one thing about Middle Tennessee, and I've known Coach Stockstill a long time, that they are going to play extremely hard. To go down 21-0 and come back to win the game the way they did with a two point conversion shows you the character and toughness they have as a team. It is a direct reflection on him as the head coach. We are going to have our hands full. We will get their best shot, we just have to make sure they get ours. It is important that our fans show up, and I know they will. It is amazing to see the way we travel on the road. We have so many fans who follow us. We had more fans at Western than what NC State brought here, which is a credit to our fan base. It's a Friday night game and the weather is going to be great. We have to pack this place on Friday and find a way to win this game. It's a conference game and you have to play it like a championship game and we have to have championship fans here. We have to play really well and see if we can go 2-0 in conference.
On Alex Thomson:
Alex Thompson is getting close (to 100 percent healthy). We are going to play the best players we can possibly play who gives us the best chance to win. If Alex gets to the point that we feel that way, then he will be the first one to run out there on Friday or we will sub him in and play him. He is getting close.
Captains this week will be the same two guys on defense, Malik Gant and Ryan Bee. On offense we will have Tyre Brady and Levi Brown. All four of those guys played well in that last game and we are going to need them to play well this week against Middle Tennessee. As you know it is an abbreviated week. Today is Tuesday. We practiced last night and we usually don't practice on Sundays but it was considered a Monday practice. Today will be Tuesday and we will continue rolling from there. We have a great challenge this week. Middle is coming off a great win. They had went down 21-0 against Florida Atlantic at home last week and found a way to win that game. It seems like it starts with Stockstill, their quarterback. His dad has been there 12-13 years and it seems like he has been there longer than his dad. He is just such a competitive kid. He is a great young guy who plays extremely hard and he is a handful. He makes plays with his feet and is extremely tough. You watch him at the FAU game, on that last drive they took it down to win the game and he made two just unbelievable plays. He sprints out on fourth and 2 and gets the first down there to continue the drive. Then he had that two point play he made at the end of the game to win if for them. There was a guy that was just right in his face and he still manages to make a play by throwing across his body to his tight end. He is a handful and has good players surrounding him. They have their tailback (Tavares Thomas) back. He had been hurt all year. He is back for them and healthy. They are an excellent team and they are well-coached. Stockstill does a good job coaching those guys and they are going to come in ready to play. We just have to make sure we have a great week of preparation.
On playing on Friday:
We've had a couple Friday night games on the road. Our game at Middle Tennessee last year was a Friday night game. We played really well in that game and it's important that we do that again here this year. We can't control Friday night games, T.V. does. We just get ready to go play.
On Jovante Moffatt:
It seems like they have always had a big physical safety who can also cover. I think the last guy they had prior to this kid is still in the NFL. They have done a good job with that. He does a really good job in the run game and is just a good player. Three of the four kids they have at secondary are seniors so they have played a lot of football for them. Three guys up front on the offensive line are also seniors and a couple of them have been all-conference players. They have a lot of players back. They were missing a quarterback a year ago though. He has missed a couple years there where he had some injury issues but he is back now and healthy. He is the guy who makes them go.
On Stockstill:
He is similar, style-wise, as the kid from NC State. He makes plays and is very accurate. However, I think Stockstill is a little bit different from the kid at NC State because when things start to break down he is going to take off with it. He never slides. When he gets that ball in his hands he isn't going to slide and get down, he is like a running back running the ball. He is very accurate and you can't give him easy access throws. He will thread the needle and throw the ball in there. He is a challenge because he can beat you with his feet and run the quarterback runs. He does it all.
On Middle Tennessee's defense:
They are a little different then where they were a year ago. They were almost all three-down and now they have gone to some four down stuff. They are mixing three and four down and some of it is based on formations. They are a little bit different defensively but their defensive coordinator is still a very aggressive guy that brings a lot of pressure and gets after you. We will expect a lot of that just like we did a year ago.
On Marshall's offensive line facing Middle Tennessee's defensive front:
He has done a good job so far. A lot of our (offensive line) guys played against that three-down package a year ago so hopefully that will help some. Like I said they are a little bit different with some of the things they are doing but for the most part we have seen it all, if not this year then last year.
On Marshall's health:
It's the same deal. You look at Middle Tennessee against Florida Atlantic and it is a very physical game. It was a very physical game that we played last week against Western. A lot of teams had some guys banged up but I think for the most part we are going to be alright. We will just have to see here at the end of the week. Armani practiced last night so I think he should be fine.
On the running game:
It helps, you can't be one dimensional. We have to continue to try to run the football. In the second half we did run it a little bit better. I think we averaged just at 3.9 yards per rush, which you'd like to be over 4. Western did not run the ball very well. I think they averaged 1.9 yards per rush. All together we did run the ball a little better. When you can mix it up and they have to respect the run, there is no question that it will help you throw the ball a little better. We just have to continue taking what the defense gives us and part of that is running the football when they allow that to happen. We were better in the second half and are going to have to build on that this week.
On Tyler King:
He is a little more physical in the game then people give him credit for. He is 190 pounds or so and is a physical runner. We are going to need that. We are going to need Keion (Davis), Anthony (Anderson), and all of those guys to step up and play.
On improvement from last week:
I spoke last Tuesday about how important it was to focus on getting off the field on third down and we did that. I said we have to do a better job at converting on third downs. We didn't make the improvement there that I thought we needed to make. This is something we will need to do this week. I also felt like we needed to run the ball better and we did. We can't be satisfied with where we are with that but it was better. However, that is all the time. Any game you play is going to come down to who can convert third downs and stay on the field and who can get off the field on third downs. Fortunately, for us we did that on third and fourth down against Western. I thought our defense played extremely well. Take away the couple bonehead plays there at the end when we had the ball thrown over our heads. Eliminate two of those plays and that team had right at 200 yards in total offense, which was where they should have been. We just have to keep getting better. We are going into game five now and have to continue improving as a team in all three areas. It is going to be important Friday night to be the best team on the field and I have always said in order to do that you have to have tremendous special teams. I thought we were okay special teams-wise Saturday based on what they did. You have to play great defense, and I thought we got better there. Of course, on offense we have to eliminate those turnovers. Turning a ball over four times and winning a game is unusual. The good thing is they turned it over three times. If you are sitting there with a -4, you are going to lose the game. That can't happen. We have to take care of the football and continue to take it away on defense.
On the start to the game:
It is important that we do start fast. It is important we start fast every game. I will tell you one thing about Middle Tennessee, and I've known Coach Stockstill a long time, that they are going to play extremely hard. To go down 21-0 and come back to win the game the way they did with a two point conversion shows you the character and toughness they have as a team. It is a direct reflection on him as the head coach. We are going to have our hands full. We will get their best shot, we just have to make sure they get ours. It is important that our fans show up, and I know they will. It is amazing to see the way we travel on the road. We have so many fans who follow us. We had more fans at Western than what NC State brought here, which is a credit to our fan base. It's a Friday night game and the weather is going to be great. We have to pack this place on Friday and find a way to win this game. It's a conference game and you have to play it like a championship game and we have to have championship fans here. We have to play really well and see if we can go 2-0 in conference.
On Alex Thomson:
Alex Thompson is getting close (to 100 percent healthy). We are going to play the best players we can possibly play who gives us the best chance to win. If Alex gets to the point that we feel that way, then he will be the first one to run out there on Friday or we will sub him in and play him. He is getting close.
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