Marshall University Athletics
Quotes/Notes/Video from Doc Holliday's Nov. 27 Press Conference
11/28/2018 1:59:00 PM | Football
Information below
Opening statement:
Captains will be the same this week as they were last week. Malik Gant, Ryan Bee, and Chase Hancock will be captains for defense and, offensively, Marcel Williams with Jordan Dowrey. As always, with another road trip, it is important that we bring our toughness and leadership along with us. Our kids are excited to play this game. It was a different kind of situation that I have never been a part of. We were all sitting in the hotel Friday night watching that (UVA-VT) game and I was concerned about the distractions of who was going to win that game and not being focused on who was going to win our game vs. FIU. As a coach, you sit there pulling your hair out (what little I have). However, they were able to lock back in. I am proud of that. They played really hard down there and were able to win the game, which was critical. I like this team. I think we are a tough team with a bunch of guys who love to play football. If you have those two things, you have a team willing to compete. We now get the opportunity to go down to Blacksburg and compete against a Virginia Tech team who has good players. It will be a great challenge for us and a challenge that our kids have accepted. We are looking forward to it.
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On whether VT's win over UVA helped motivate Marshall to defeat FIU:
I don't think that game had anything to do with how we played at FIU. I think our kids wanted and expected go to down there and win that game. They wanted to play really well and I believe that we did. If you are a competitor and like to play, you want to play as many games as possible. Some of these guys are winding down their careers and have this one and another one left, it will probably be it for them. A lot of those guys are excited about it for that reason and a lot of our guys just like to play the game. If you get a challenge like this one, you accept that challenge and start preparing to play the best you can possibly play. We are ready to do that.
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On whether or not this feels like a second bowl game:
I guess we can call it the Blacksburg Bowl. The great thing is the exposure we will get because of this game. I think there are only 14 games being played on that day and we are one of those 14. Normally there are a whole lot more than that. There are a lot of teams out there pulling for us. If we win this game, that is one less team eligible for a bowl game. That opens up opportunities for other squads. I am sure we will have a lot of fans out there Saturday rooting for us, plus I know we will take a lot of fans. I know our fans are excited and we are selling a lot of tickets. It is going to be exciting to be able to look up in the stands and see all of that Kelly green in the stands. I know I am looking forward to it.
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On Chase Hancock:
This game is close to Beckley there. Of course his family was in Miami too. They travel wherever he goes. He has been a tremendous player for us and I know he is looking forward to it as well as all of our players.
Â
On special teams and Frank Beamer:
I never worked for the guy but they were always tremendous under him. Our special teams here for the last four weeks has been the reason we have won three games. We had blocked punts for touchdowns and have been getting hands on field goals. The punt team has been tremendous with our field position. I say it every week and it probably sounds like a broken record but if you can play great defense and do a great job at the kicking game then you have a shot to win every game you play. We have been able to do that here recently.
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On Virginia Tech:
They, of course, had their quarterback hurt early on. They've had one of the top recruiting classes in the country, every year, for the last several years. You look out there and they have good players and play extremely well. Virginia is an excellent football team. I talked to the guys down at Miami and they thought that Virginia was a really good defensive team and Virginia Tech found a way to score a lot of points. They have receivers that are very talented, good running backs, a big offensive line with strong guys, and a quarterback transfer who has played a lot of football for them. Offensively they will be a handful and, of course, defensively they are going to put nine of them up there and force you to throw the ball and make some plays. We're anxious to see what our guys can do.
Â
On facing Bud Foster's defense:
He is going to stop the run. He is going to force us to throw the ball and put those corners, at times, on islands. We have to be able to take what he gives us. You can't put square pegs in round holes with that defense. We have to be able to take what they give us and make some plays both running and throwing it when we have to.
Â
On Marshall's running backs:
I am just so proud of both of those backs. (Brenden) Knox and Anthony (Anderson) are both really physical. You don't ever see them get knocked back, they are going to go get the positive yards. We had zero sacks and a lot of that is because of those guys. They bring pressure and they are going to stick their nose up in there. They are tough guys who like to play and I am excited to see the way those guys are playing right now.
Â
On the pass protection required to play running back/Isaiah Green:
Our backs are going to have to do a great job of identifying what those fronts are. If they bring blitzes we've got to protect it and get the protection turned the right way. A lot of things are involved with that. (Isaiah Green) has done a nice job of growing up and getting the protection set the right way. He has done well as well. It will be a great challenge for, not only our offense, but our young quarterback going in there. He is playing beyond his years right now and starting to mature. I like what I see out of him and this will be another growing experience and will be a great experience for him.
Â
On Marshall's approach to the game:
We just have to go do what we do. We just have to make sure we are prepared and go play. They have a lot to play for as well. We are excited about it and are going to have a great week of preparation here. This game is no different than any other for us, it will be won by how we prepare here the next couple of days until noon on Saturday. We will continue to prepare like we always do and get our guys ready to go play. We will show up and play extremely hard and see how it ends up.
Â
Captains will be the same this week as they were last week. Malik Gant, Ryan Bee, and Chase Hancock will be captains for defense and, offensively, Marcel Williams with Jordan Dowrey. As always, with another road trip, it is important that we bring our toughness and leadership along with us. Our kids are excited to play this game. It was a different kind of situation that I have never been a part of. We were all sitting in the hotel Friday night watching that (UVA-VT) game and I was concerned about the distractions of who was going to win that game and not being focused on who was going to win our game vs. FIU. As a coach, you sit there pulling your hair out (what little I have). However, they were able to lock back in. I am proud of that. They played really hard down there and were able to win the game, which was critical. I like this team. I think we are a tough team with a bunch of guys who love to play football. If you have those two things, you have a team willing to compete. We now get the opportunity to go down to Blacksburg and compete against a Virginia Tech team who has good players. It will be a great challenge for us and a challenge that our kids have accepted. We are looking forward to it.
Â
On whether VT's win over UVA helped motivate Marshall to defeat FIU:
I don't think that game had anything to do with how we played at FIU. I think our kids wanted and expected go to down there and win that game. They wanted to play really well and I believe that we did. If you are a competitor and like to play, you want to play as many games as possible. Some of these guys are winding down their careers and have this one and another one left, it will probably be it for them. A lot of those guys are excited about it for that reason and a lot of our guys just like to play the game. If you get a challenge like this one, you accept that challenge and start preparing to play the best you can possibly play. We are ready to do that.
Â
On whether or not this feels like a second bowl game:
I guess we can call it the Blacksburg Bowl. The great thing is the exposure we will get because of this game. I think there are only 14 games being played on that day and we are one of those 14. Normally there are a whole lot more than that. There are a lot of teams out there pulling for us. If we win this game, that is one less team eligible for a bowl game. That opens up opportunities for other squads. I am sure we will have a lot of fans out there Saturday rooting for us, plus I know we will take a lot of fans. I know our fans are excited and we are selling a lot of tickets. It is going to be exciting to be able to look up in the stands and see all of that Kelly green in the stands. I know I am looking forward to it.
Â
On Chase Hancock:
This game is close to Beckley there. Of course his family was in Miami too. They travel wherever he goes. He has been a tremendous player for us and I know he is looking forward to it as well as all of our players.
Â
On special teams and Frank Beamer:
I never worked for the guy but they were always tremendous under him. Our special teams here for the last four weeks has been the reason we have won three games. We had blocked punts for touchdowns and have been getting hands on field goals. The punt team has been tremendous with our field position. I say it every week and it probably sounds like a broken record but if you can play great defense and do a great job at the kicking game then you have a shot to win every game you play. We have been able to do that here recently.
Â
On Virginia Tech:
They, of course, had their quarterback hurt early on. They've had one of the top recruiting classes in the country, every year, for the last several years. You look out there and they have good players and play extremely well. Virginia is an excellent football team. I talked to the guys down at Miami and they thought that Virginia was a really good defensive team and Virginia Tech found a way to score a lot of points. They have receivers that are very talented, good running backs, a big offensive line with strong guys, and a quarterback transfer who has played a lot of football for them. Offensively they will be a handful and, of course, defensively they are going to put nine of them up there and force you to throw the ball and make some plays. We're anxious to see what our guys can do.
Â
On facing Bud Foster's defense:
He is going to stop the run. He is going to force us to throw the ball and put those corners, at times, on islands. We have to be able to take what he gives us. You can't put square pegs in round holes with that defense. We have to be able to take what they give us and make some plays both running and throwing it when we have to.
Â
On Marshall's running backs:
I am just so proud of both of those backs. (Brenden) Knox and Anthony (Anderson) are both really physical. You don't ever see them get knocked back, they are going to go get the positive yards. We had zero sacks and a lot of that is because of those guys. They bring pressure and they are going to stick their nose up in there. They are tough guys who like to play and I am excited to see the way those guys are playing right now.
Â
On the pass protection required to play running back/Isaiah Green:
Our backs are going to have to do a great job of identifying what those fronts are. If they bring blitzes we've got to protect it and get the protection turned the right way. A lot of things are involved with that. (Isaiah Green) has done a nice job of growing up and getting the protection set the right way. He has done well as well. It will be a great challenge for, not only our offense, but our young quarterback going in there. He is playing beyond his years right now and starting to mature. I like what I see out of him and this will be another growing experience and will be a great experience for him.
Â
On Marshall's approach to the game:
We just have to go do what we do. We just have to make sure we are prepared and go play. They have a lot to play for as well. We are excited about it and are going to have a great week of preparation here. This game is no different than any other for us, it will be won by how we prepare here the next couple of days until noon on Saturday. We will continue to prepare like we always do and get our guys ready to go play. We will show up and play extremely hard and see how it ends up.
Â
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