Marshall University Athletics
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Quotes/Notes/Video from Doc Holliday's NC State Press Conference
9/18/2018 9:34:00 PM | Football
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Opening Statement:
Our captains for this week are going to be the same guys we had set to go a week ago. Tyre Brady and Obi Obialo will represent the offense and Chase Hancock with Malik Gant will do so on defense. When we found out Wednesday that this game was cancelled, we were halfway through practice. At that point, we started preparing for NC State. We made (last) week like a bye week, which I think helped up get some guys healthy that probably wouldn't have played against South Carolina. We now have Ryan Bee back and Levi Brown, who had a little bit of an ankle problem. We are probably as healthy as we have been all year, even including the Miami (Ohio) game. We have had a great week to this point. Last night was a Tuesday practice for us and tonight will be Wednesday. We will have two Thursdays together back to back and then get ready to play what I think may be one of the top teams in the ACC. That all starts with their quarterback (Ryan) Finley. He has thrown over 80 balls and completed 74% of them. A lot of people have him picked to be the number one player in the draft. You watch him on tape and he just doesn't make a bad throw. He can make all the throws. The strength of their offense is their receivers and they're back … they are good players. Their center (Garrett Bradbury) is tremendous. He is a first team all-conference and an all-ACC performer. They are just a solid team. Defensively, they lost a lot of players but if you turn the tape on, they look the same, but they should. They are NC State. They have a big time recruiting budget, great facilities, and they recruit good players. I know our team is excited. I think it is a great opportunity for our program, our community, our state, and our fanbase to showcase Marshall University on a national stage. I know we are excited and I know our fanbase is excited. We are looking forward to Saturday night.
On NC State's third-down prowess on offense:
He is just so accurate. He reminds me of when I was (at NC State) for five years with Philip Rivers. If you look at Philip: we were pretty good at third down too because he was a really good player. He is still playing for the Chargers. Finley is that kind of guy. He will be one of the most talented quarterbacks to come play at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. He is a really good player and makes great decisions. He is well coached and has good people around him.
On NC State:
I have great respect for that program. They have such a tremendous fanbase just like we do. I am sure they will bring a lot of fans here. There a lot of really great people there. I still have a lot of great friends that are in that area. A lot of them work within the athletic department. I have a lot of great memories but the important things are that we are prepared to play really well Saturday night.
On Marshall being able to schedule high-profile home games:
I think that is just a tribute to what Mike Hamrick has been able to do with our schedule. We have a Pittsburgh team coming here in the future and Boise also coming up on the schedule. There are a lot of great games and a bunch of tremendous teams coming in here, which is good. I know our players will enjoy the atmosphere here on Saturday night and I know our fans are looking forward to it as well.
On shifting mindset from South Carolina to NC State:
It (game being cancelled) happened when I was with NC State and 9-11 occurred. We were kind of in the same boat where all the games were cancelled that next week. As soon as it happens, we just moved on to NC State. As coaches, we are in a bubble anyway. We got to work on them a little bit a week ago and got to get some people healthy. We had a really good practice last night. We are anxious to continue preparation this week.
On NC State's Reggie Gallaspy:
He is a big physical back that you have a hard time tackling. He is a downhill runner that will always get positive yards. They have good players. The thing about him is that he played a lot against us a year ago. He has a lot of experience and is a good player. Dave (Doeren) has done a great job with that program and they have good players at just about every position.
On NC State's receivers:
(Kelvin Harmon) went vertical on us a year ago. They like to get the ball to him down the field. He does a great job with jump balls and high point balls. He is very similar to (James Gardner) at Miami (Ohio), maybe a little bit faster, but very similar. He is a good player and they also have some good young players that are making plays for them. Dave (Doeren) will come out and tell you that the strength of his offense right now is the receivers and the quarterback. We have to do a great job with those guys.
On Finley:
It's so hard to pressure him because he gets rid of the ball so quickly. It's kind of like a double-edged sword, you work on trying to get pressure but you just have to mix things up. He is going to make his throws and they will make their catches but we just can't give up the big play. We just have to get them on the ground and continue to compete and play hard. I know our guys are looking forward to the challenge.
On the depth of Marshall's defensive line:
The good thing is with Ryan's (Bee) absence, Malik Thompson has come back and played a lot of really good football for us. With him, (Channing) Hames, Bee, and Ty Tyler going in some, as well as some of our young (defensive ends) coming around for us, we will be able to roll three of four guys in there and hopefully no one has to go in and play 60-70 snaps. Those guys can go in playing 35-40 snaps and stay fresh.
On NC State right guard Josh Fedd-Jackson and right tackle Justin Witt:
They are good players but they are young. Of course, we went into their place a year ago with three freshmen (on the offensive line). That being said, they are young but they are talented. They have that rock solid center (Garrett Bradbury) and that left side that has played a lot of football for them. They are a veteran group with an exception of just a couple of guys. They will enjoy coming and playing on the road and I am sure they will be prepared as we will.
On Marshall's confidence:
We are a confident bunch to begin with. Our players feel good about themselves and they are just excited for the opportunity to play, not only an ACC team or a power five team, but a really good one. One thing we all did after Saturday morning's practice was sit around and watch some football. You watch some of these teams play and there is no doubt in my mind that, watching NC State … in their league, they are one of the tops teams, if not the top team along with Clemson and some of those others.
On Marshall's wide receivers:
One thing that is different with us this year, than we were a year ago, is that Obi (Obialo) wasn't playing a whole lot. Obi is now starting to step up. Willie (Johnson) was a young guy that hadn't played a whole lot and so was Marcel (Williams) and now we have the addition of Artie Henry. Now, Xavier Gaines is starting to come around and play some really good football for us along with those other tight ends. I think we have a few more weapons than what we had a year ago when we went to NC State. We knew about Brady but a lot of the others, especially at the wide receiver positon was unknown. They have some games under the belts and some confidence so we will see what happens.
On avoiding lulls:
This is going to be a game that, in order to win, we have to be the best team on the field. You have to put all three phases together. There will be adversity in this game just like there is in all of them. We just have to keep fighting and playing extremely hard. Adversity or not, I like our team. This team is going to go out and play really hard.
On Isaiah Green:
He is a guy that can walk into any stadium and not get flustered. He is a guy with a lot of confidence in himself, who plays with a lot of poise. I am sure he is, as well as our team, looking forward to this challenge.
Our captains for this week are going to be the same guys we had set to go a week ago. Tyre Brady and Obi Obialo will represent the offense and Chase Hancock with Malik Gant will do so on defense. When we found out Wednesday that this game was cancelled, we were halfway through practice. At that point, we started preparing for NC State. We made (last) week like a bye week, which I think helped up get some guys healthy that probably wouldn't have played against South Carolina. We now have Ryan Bee back and Levi Brown, who had a little bit of an ankle problem. We are probably as healthy as we have been all year, even including the Miami (Ohio) game. We have had a great week to this point. Last night was a Tuesday practice for us and tonight will be Wednesday. We will have two Thursdays together back to back and then get ready to play what I think may be one of the top teams in the ACC. That all starts with their quarterback (Ryan) Finley. He has thrown over 80 balls and completed 74% of them. A lot of people have him picked to be the number one player in the draft. You watch him on tape and he just doesn't make a bad throw. He can make all the throws. The strength of their offense is their receivers and they're back … they are good players. Their center (Garrett Bradbury) is tremendous. He is a first team all-conference and an all-ACC performer. They are just a solid team. Defensively, they lost a lot of players but if you turn the tape on, they look the same, but they should. They are NC State. They have a big time recruiting budget, great facilities, and they recruit good players. I know our team is excited. I think it is a great opportunity for our program, our community, our state, and our fanbase to showcase Marshall University on a national stage. I know we are excited and I know our fanbase is excited. We are looking forward to Saturday night.
On NC State's third-down prowess on offense:
He is just so accurate. He reminds me of when I was (at NC State) for five years with Philip Rivers. If you look at Philip: we were pretty good at third down too because he was a really good player. He is still playing for the Chargers. Finley is that kind of guy. He will be one of the most talented quarterbacks to come play at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. He is a really good player and makes great decisions. He is well coached and has good people around him.
On NC State:
I have great respect for that program. They have such a tremendous fanbase just like we do. I am sure they will bring a lot of fans here. There a lot of really great people there. I still have a lot of great friends that are in that area. A lot of them work within the athletic department. I have a lot of great memories but the important things are that we are prepared to play really well Saturday night.
On Marshall being able to schedule high-profile home games:
I think that is just a tribute to what Mike Hamrick has been able to do with our schedule. We have a Pittsburgh team coming here in the future and Boise also coming up on the schedule. There are a lot of great games and a bunch of tremendous teams coming in here, which is good. I know our players will enjoy the atmosphere here on Saturday night and I know our fans are looking forward to it as well.
On shifting mindset from South Carolina to NC State:
It (game being cancelled) happened when I was with NC State and 9-11 occurred. We were kind of in the same boat where all the games were cancelled that next week. As soon as it happens, we just moved on to NC State. As coaches, we are in a bubble anyway. We got to work on them a little bit a week ago and got to get some people healthy. We had a really good practice last night. We are anxious to continue preparation this week.
On NC State's Reggie Gallaspy:
He is a big physical back that you have a hard time tackling. He is a downhill runner that will always get positive yards. They have good players. The thing about him is that he played a lot against us a year ago. He has a lot of experience and is a good player. Dave (Doeren) has done a great job with that program and they have good players at just about every position.
On NC State's receivers:
(Kelvin Harmon) went vertical on us a year ago. They like to get the ball to him down the field. He does a great job with jump balls and high point balls. He is very similar to (James Gardner) at Miami (Ohio), maybe a little bit faster, but very similar. He is a good player and they also have some good young players that are making plays for them. Dave (Doeren) will come out and tell you that the strength of his offense right now is the receivers and the quarterback. We have to do a great job with those guys.
On Finley:
It's so hard to pressure him because he gets rid of the ball so quickly. It's kind of like a double-edged sword, you work on trying to get pressure but you just have to mix things up. He is going to make his throws and they will make their catches but we just can't give up the big play. We just have to get them on the ground and continue to compete and play hard. I know our guys are looking forward to the challenge.
On the depth of Marshall's defensive line:
The good thing is with Ryan's (Bee) absence, Malik Thompson has come back and played a lot of really good football for us. With him, (Channing) Hames, Bee, and Ty Tyler going in some, as well as some of our young (defensive ends) coming around for us, we will be able to roll three of four guys in there and hopefully no one has to go in and play 60-70 snaps. Those guys can go in playing 35-40 snaps and stay fresh.
On NC State right guard Josh Fedd-Jackson and right tackle Justin Witt:
They are good players but they are young. Of course, we went into their place a year ago with three freshmen (on the offensive line). That being said, they are young but they are talented. They have that rock solid center (Garrett Bradbury) and that left side that has played a lot of football for them. They are a veteran group with an exception of just a couple of guys. They will enjoy coming and playing on the road and I am sure they will be prepared as we will.
On Marshall's confidence:
We are a confident bunch to begin with. Our players feel good about themselves and they are just excited for the opportunity to play, not only an ACC team or a power five team, but a really good one. One thing we all did after Saturday morning's practice was sit around and watch some football. You watch some of these teams play and there is no doubt in my mind that, watching NC State … in their league, they are one of the tops teams, if not the top team along with Clemson and some of those others.
On Marshall's wide receivers:
One thing that is different with us this year, than we were a year ago, is that Obi (Obialo) wasn't playing a whole lot. Obi is now starting to step up. Willie (Johnson) was a young guy that hadn't played a whole lot and so was Marcel (Williams) and now we have the addition of Artie Henry. Now, Xavier Gaines is starting to come around and play some really good football for us along with those other tight ends. I think we have a few more weapons than what we had a year ago when we went to NC State. We knew about Brady but a lot of the others, especially at the wide receiver positon was unknown. They have some games under the belts and some confidence so we will see what happens.
On avoiding lulls:
This is going to be a game that, in order to win, we have to be the best team on the field. You have to put all three phases together. There will be adversity in this game just like there is in all of them. We just have to keep fighting and playing extremely hard. Adversity or not, I like our team. This team is going to go out and play really hard.
On Isaiah Green:
He is a guy that can walk into any stadium and not get flustered. He is a guy with a lot of confidence in himself, who plays with a lot of poise. I am sure he is, as well as our team, looking forward to this challenge.
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