Marshall University Athletics
Quotes/Notes/Video from Doc Holliday's Aug. 28 Press Conference
8/28/2018 4:50:00 PM | Football
Information below
Opening Statement
Our captains this week, as we kick this thing off, will be Ryan Bee and Malik Gant on defense and Marcel Williams and Levi Brown on offense. As you know, anytime you get ready to go on the road and play a good football team, you have to have great leadership and those guys have to provide that for us, not only this week but at the game on Saturday as well. Anytime you go play on the road, it is a tremendous challenge. Miami's football team is a lot like us, they have them all back. They have their quarterback back, Gus Ragland, a three-year starter who is an excellent player, as well as their entire offensive line. Their receiver, James Gardner, is a tremendous player. He creates matchup problems for us. He is 6-4 210 pounds and does a tremendous job at high-pointing balls. The running backs are back in place and the entire offensive line back intact. Offensively, they are the same team that you saw out on our field about a year ago. Defensively they lost a couple of guys but, for the most part, they are all back as well. It is going to be a great challenge for us and we have to make sure we play extremely well in all three phases. We are extremely excited and looking forward to it.
Â
On the similarity of the two teams:
They took a guy that was a linebacker and turned him into a safety and turned an outside guy defensive end and made him an inside guy. Bouncing some guys around, as I am sure we do, trying to get their best eleven people on the field. Their head coach Chuck Martin does a great job with them. They are extremely well-coached. The thing about them, defensively, is that they are always at the right place and never get screwed up as far as alignments are concerned. They tackle extremely well and are always where they are supposed to be. Offensively, Ragland creates a lot of issues for you with his feet. He can beat you with his feet and with his arm. They have two tailbacks that started for them a year ago and, of course, Gardner as well. Anytime you have a big receiver like that, it creates a matchup problem for your outside and it creates issues for you inside, as far as the running game goes.
Â
Comparisons of Miami's Ragland to former Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettleton:
That's it. He is extremely tough and you can just tell by the way his team reacts to him that he has great leadership skills and the intangibles. He finds a way to beat you with his feet, if he needs four (yards) he will go get five. He is just a tremendous player that has great grit. He is the kind of guy you want at quarterback.
Â
On when he plans to name a starting quarterback:
You are going to figure that out at the same time (Marshall Asst. AD for Media Relations) Jason (Corriher) does. That is going to be a gameday decision.
Â
On what effect, if any, the quarterback decision will have on the other offensive starters:
Whoever that guy is, of course, is starting for the first time. Our five guys up front have played a lot of football with Levi Brown and our tailbacks are all back. The great thing is that whoever it is, we are going to surround him with people who have played a lot of football. They are going to have to step up do a tremendous job, but the guys around him have to do a good job as well.
Â
On whether whoever emerges at quarterback will need to be a "game manager":
I don't really like the word "manager". I want guys who are going to go in and make plays. Both of those guys are tremendously talented so whoever (Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach) Tim (Cramsey), myself, and our offensive staff decide to go with, we will have great confidence in both of them.
Â
On the difficulty of disrupting Miami's offensive rhythm with so many returning starters:
They are going to make some plays. You line up with Gardner, Ragland, and those two tailbacks … they are going to make those plays. You have to play great defense and tackle extremely well. They are going to have running backs out lined up at the wide receiver position and they will throw them the ball and hand it to them on jet sweeps. They will do a great job taking advantage of the skill sets they have. The first thing we have to do is identify who they are playing with because there may be three backs in there. A year ago they had three or four different tight ends. We have to do a tremendous job of identifying their personnel. I think the one thing (Miami head coach) Chuck (Martin) has done, he does a great job at getting the ball to the people he has who can make plays, whether it be Gardner, any of the other receivers, the tailbacks, etc. He is going to do a great job getting the ball in their hands.
Â
On whether he has ever faced an opponent who is celebrating Homecoming on opening week:
No I haven't. I don't think that has ever happened. I don't think even back to (my) Hurricane High School days we did that. I have more things to worry about then us being their Homecoming. I don't know how you pick the Homecoming Queen when she has only been on campus for about a week. I don't know how they voted on her, nobody knew her. I guess they figured it out with a ballot where you don't show up. An absentee ballot.
Â
On punting position/special teams:
Robert LeFevre will start Saturday. I have confidence in LeFevre and I think Justin (Rohrwasser) has done a tremendous job and what a job (Kaare) Vedvik has done (in the NFL, thus far). Vedvik hopefully makes money one day doing what he is doing. He has done a tremendous job. Special teams plays such a big part in field positon. We have to have really good special teams this week in order to accomplish what we need. We work extremely hard at it and, like I said, I have great confidence in both Justin and LeFevre.
Â
More on special teams:
At the end of the day, we really emphasize that from the time they walk onto campus as young kids when they show up here. The first meeting we having during camp is about special teams and how important they are. If you want to play offense or defense, then you have to earn the trust of the coaches on special teams. They understand the importance of it. We spend a lot of time on it, we feel that we have coached it extremely well and it is going to play a big part of this game, as well as the rest of the year.
Â
On Dalton Tucker:
I like him a lot. He is a tremendous young player and probably one of the best offensive linemen, at that age, that has come in since I have been here. He is tremendous young, talented guy who could possibly play this year. He is listed as a backup right now. We have three or four freshmen that will make the trip and we will see if they play.
Â
On Marshall's wide receivers:
Obi (Obialo) has really come along. This time last year he was hurt and couldn't play. It is great to have him out there and he has practiced really well. Of course, Willie (Johnson) is back with some experience this year. Going into that first game a year ago, we didn't have Obi and Willie was a young kid just getting his feet wet. Marcel (Williams) was playing his first game and so was Tyre Brady really. For all three of those guys, this was their first game action a year ago. Hopefully, with a years' experience, those guys will play well. They have practiced extremely well, so I wouldn't expect anything different.
Â
On Kereon Merrell's development:
I think it started back in January. He has done a great job, physically getting himself stronger and making a commitment to being a great player. He has just gone to work every day, whether it was the offseason or since camp started. He works every day to become a great player and I think you can see the results.
Â
Our captains this week, as we kick this thing off, will be Ryan Bee and Malik Gant on defense and Marcel Williams and Levi Brown on offense. As you know, anytime you get ready to go on the road and play a good football team, you have to have great leadership and those guys have to provide that for us, not only this week but at the game on Saturday as well. Anytime you go play on the road, it is a tremendous challenge. Miami's football team is a lot like us, they have them all back. They have their quarterback back, Gus Ragland, a three-year starter who is an excellent player, as well as their entire offensive line. Their receiver, James Gardner, is a tremendous player. He creates matchup problems for us. He is 6-4 210 pounds and does a tremendous job at high-pointing balls. The running backs are back in place and the entire offensive line back intact. Offensively, they are the same team that you saw out on our field about a year ago. Defensively they lost a couple of guys but, for the most part, they are all back as well. It is going to be a great challenge for us and we have to make sure we play extremely well in all three phases. We are extremely excited and looking forward to it.
Â
On the similarity of the two teams:
They took a guy that was a linebacker and turned him into a safety and turned an outside guy defensive end and made him an inside guy. Bouncing some guys around, as I am sure we do, trying to get their best eleven people on the field. Their head coach Chuck Martin does a great job with them. They are extremely well-coached. The thing about them, defensively, is that they are always at the right place and never get screwed up as far as alignments are concerned. They tackle extremely well and are always where they are supposed to be. Offensively, Ragland creates a lot of issues for you with his feet. He can beat you with his feet and with his arm. They have two tailbacks that started for them a year ago and, of course, Gardner as well. Anytime you have a big receiver like that, it creates a matchup problem for your outside and it creates issues for you inside, as far as the running game goes.
Â
Comparisons of Miami's Ragland to former Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettleton:
That's it. He is extremely tough and you can just tell by the way his team reacts to him that he has great leadership skills and the intangibles. He finds a way to beat you with his feet, if he needs four (yards) he will go get five. He is just a tremendous player that has great grit. He is the kind of guy you want at quarterback.
Â
On when he plans to name a starting quarterback:
You are going to figure that out at the same time (Marshall Asst. AD for Media Relations) Jason (Corriher) does. That is going to be a gameday decision.
Â
On what effect, if any, the quarterback decision will have on the other offensive starters:
Whoever that guy is, of course, is starting for the first time. Our five guys up front have played a lot of football with Levi Brown and our tailbacks are all back. The great thing is that whoever it is, we are going to surround him with people who have played a lot of football. They are going to have to step up do a tremendous job, but the guys around him have to do a good job as well.
Â
On whether whoever emerges at quarterback will need to be a "game manager":
I don't really like the word "manager". I want guys who are going to go in and make plays. Both of those guys are tremendously talented so whoever (Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach) Tim (Cramsey), myself, and our offensive staff decide to go with, we will have great confidence in both of them.
Â
On the difficulty of disrupting Miami's offensive rhythm with so many returning starters:
They are going to make some plays. You line up with Gardner, Ragland, and those two tailbacks … they are going to make those plays. You have to play great defense and tackle extremely well. They are going to have running backs out lined up at the wide receiver position and they will throw them the ball and hand it to them on jet sweeps. They will do a great job taking advantage of the skill sets they have. The first thing we have to do is identify who they are playing with because there may be three backs in there. A year ago they had three or four different tight ends. We have to do a tremendous job of identifying their personnel. I think the one thing (Miami head coach) Chuck (Martin) has done, he does a great job at getting the ball to the people he has who can make plays, whether it be Gardner, any of the other receivers, the tailbacks, etc. He is going to do a great job getting the ball in their hands.
Â
On whether he has ever faced an opponent who is celebrating Homecoming on opening week:
No I haven't. I don't think that has ever happened. I don't think even back to (my) Hurricane High School days we did that. I have more things to worry about then us being their Homecoming. I don't know how you pick the Homecoming Queen when she has only been on campus for about a week. I don't know how they voted on her, nobody knew her. I guess they figured it out with a ballot where you don't show up. An absentee ballot.
Â
On punting position/special teams:
Robert LeFevre will start Saturday. I have confidence in LeFevre and I think Justin (Rohrwasser) has done a tremendous job and what a job (Kaare) Vedvik has done (in the NFL, thus far). Vedvik hopefully makes money one day doing what he is doing. He has done a tremendous job. Special teams plays such a big part in field positon. We have to have really good special teams this week in order to accomplish what we need. We work extremely hard at it and, like I said, I have great confidence in both Justin and LeFevre.
Â
More on special teams:
At the end of the day, we really emphasize that from the time they walk onto campus as young kids when they show up here. The first meeting we having during camp is about special teams and how important they are. If you want to play offense or defense, then you have to earn the trust of the coaches on special teams. They understand the importance of it. We spend a lot of time on it, we feel that we have coached it extremely well and it is going to play a big part of this game, as well as the rest of the year.
Â
On Dalton Tucker:
I like him a lot. He is a tremendous young player and probably one of the best offensive linemen, at that age, that has come in since I have been here. He is tremendous young, talented guy who could possibly play this year. He is listed as a backup right now. We have three or four freshmen that will make the trip and we will see if they play.
Â
On Marshall's wide receivers:
Obi (Obialo) has really come along. This time last year he was hurt and couldn't play. It is great to have him out there and he has practiced really well. Of course, Willie (Johnson) is back with some experience this year. Going into that first game a year ago, we didn't have Obi and Willie was a young kid just getting his feet wet. Marcel (Williams) was playing his first game and so was Tyre Brady really. For all three of those guys, this was their first game action a year ago. Hopefully, with a years' experience, those guys will play well. They have practiced extremely well, so I wouldn't expect anything different.
Â
On Kereon Merrell's development:
I think it started back in January. He has done a great job, physically getting himself stronger and making a commitment to being a great player. He has just gone to work every day, whether it was the offseason or since camp started. He works every day to become a great player and I think you can see the results.
Â
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