Marshall University Athletics
Quotes/Notes/Video from EKU Press Conference
9/5/2018 10:33:00 AM | Football
Information below
Marshall Head Coach Doc Holliday
September 4, 2018
Opening Statement
As for as the Miami game goes, I was happy with how our team handled the adversity of sitting in that locker room for four or five hours. It makes things tough when you're on the road with those delays and then having to go out. I thought we came prepared to play and started fast, which is good. The biggest thing to come out of that game was, unfortunately, they didn't turn the ball over but neither did we. I thought, offensively, we took care of the football, which was huge. We have to create more turnovers on defense and we have to fix a couple things on special teams. For the most part, I was pretty pleased with the first performance. This Eastern Kentucky team when you watch them on tape, their starting nose gaurd was once starting at Notre Dame at one time. They have a linebacker from Tennessee and the starting tailback Scott was the guy who started for Louisville a couple years ago. They also have two defensive ends who can play for anyone. They had five sacks against Kentucky a year ago and had a chance to beat them on the road. This team can come in here and play. They have good players and are well-coached. This week will be no different than any other week. We have to make sure we do a great job preparing for these guys and be ready to play. I come in here all the time and say someone will get beaten this week who shouldn't. If you look at last week, there were about three or four FCS teams that beat FBS teams and it will happen again this week somewhere. We just have to make sure that isn't us. Our captains this week: Malik Gant will represent the defense along with Chase Hancock, and Jordan Dowrey and Tyre Brady will be the two captains on offense.
On EKU's rushing ability:
It all starts with the guy they hand it to. That Scott kid is a good player and they have two or three tailbacks that can play for about anybody. They run extremely hard. You put the tape on from a week ago, or even against Kentucky last year … someone people think are pretty good and they do a good job running the football. They are committed to doing that and I am sure they will come in here and try to run against us.
On Marshall's running game:
It's something we have worked on since last spring. Anthony Anderson is a big back whose skill set we take advantage of. Tim (Cramsey) has done a nice job at developing some goal line packages, as well as Greg Adkins, who brought some things with him as well. We had a couple of four-minute situations that we would have liked to finish, early on, coming out from the goal line. We would have liked to get the first down there. Same thing towards the end, which we ended up running it out. For the most part, I thought we ran the ball pretty well. We are doing a good job at getting Keion (Davis), Tyler (King), and of course Anthony involved. All four of those tight ends played and they all bring something different to the table. I thought Tim did a nice job mixing and matching those guys and putting them in positions to make plays.
On EKU's Scott:
He is a big back and a talented guy. Like I said, he played at Louisville at one time and was a starter there. They liked him. We talked to people there at Louisville, and of course, their strength staff used to be our strength staff. They think he is an extremely tough, talented guy that has a lot of ability. We are going to have to do a great job at getting him on the ground and tackling him this week.
On Isaiah Green's performance:
I thought I saw a kid that was extremely composed for a freshman … to be able to go out and take care of the ball the way he did. I felt that was number one and, number two, that he made good decisions. When things broke down, good things happened. It seemed like he found a way to keep his eyes down the field and was able to make plays, which I think is huge for him as a player.
On how Tyre Brady's catches looked on film after the game:
Well I am glad he is on our team. We talked this morning, and will make a point of it in our team meeting this afternoon, prior to going to practice. We just watch that guy go to work every day. You guys are around here who write the stories know that, thirty minutes after practice, he's down there working on his game, catching balls off the machines. He just loves the game and works extremely hard at what he does and is good at what he does. Whatever he gets, he deserves cause he sure works hard at it.
On Malik Thompson's first start:
He's a guy that didn't play a single snap in the first game last year and was really disappointed, but he didn't pout. He kept working extremely hard and, by the end of last year, he was one of our better defensive linemen. He just continued to work extremely hard and wanted to get better as a player. He is playing at a high level for us.
On young players earning more playing time:
It's a huge message. Most of the kids that get recruited at this level have played their whole life. Then they get to that first game and they end up watching and it is hard on them. They have to learn to grow up. We have a couple guys, for example Steven Gilmore went in on that punt return and had a key block to spring Tyler and that helped us win the game. Now Gilmore will play more. He showed us on special teams that he can go in there and make a play and help us. Now he will earn our trust to go out and play more on defense and more special teams. There are a lot of examples like that that happen on Saturday. We take great pride around here in earning the trust of young players on special teams. Joe Early, and a couple other guys, did a really good job on special teams that helped us win that game. Young players will earn playing time on offense and defense by the way they perform on special teams. If they do well there, they will get more playing time.
On Ryan Bee's status:
I will tell you if it is a situation where he is out for the year and that's not the case at all. He will be back soon. I don't know if it will be two days, three days, six days, but at some point he will be back and will be fine.
On the Miami game:
You get to the point in that game where you worry because our guys ate pregame meal at 11:30 in the morning and at six o'clock, almost seven hours later, they haven't eaten anything. Of course, Mark Gale did a nice job and we had a lot of things in that locker room for them in terms of snacks and those types of things. You just know when you have long delays like that, it becomes an issue with guys hydrating and cramping. Of course, our strength staff did a tremendous job with these guys and they are in shape. I thought we handled it a little better than Miami did because they had a couple guys who cramped, but we didn't have anybody. But yes, I was concerned about it.
On Xavier Gaines:
Like I mentioned earlier, all four of those guys (tight ends) played and they all played well. Cody Mitchell brings a different skill set than Xavier and, of course, Armani (Levias) is a little bigger body and a little combination of both. Then we have the young freshman in there, Devin Miller, who is a good football player. He went in there and played a couple critical snaps on the punt team, but he played a couple snaps on offense too. Those guys all have a different skill set and Todd (Goebbel) and Tim (Cramsey) have done a good job of mixing and matching those guys, taking advantage of their skill sets.
On Saturday's game:
You better play your best players and you better be prepared to play or you will get beat. We are going to do whatever to win the game and if they (true freshmen) can help us win that game, as Gilmore did on Saturday, then yes, they will play. I am not going to put a kid in there who isn't ready to play. As we go along, if need be we will play those guys. If not, then they won't play.
On Kaare Vedvik:
We are praying for him. What a tremendous kid, and what a sad situation that is. We just hope he recovers. I know Mark Gale and Todd (Goebbel) have been in touch with the people there at the hospital, but I don't know exactly where that situation is right now. It's just a sad deal and a shame that he is going through that. Number one, he is such a great kid but also because he had such a tremendous camp and was putting himself into a positon to be a kicker or a punter on someone's roster. You don't know where that's going to go now. He just has to get himself healthy and then worry about football.
September 4, 2018
Opening Statement
As for as the Miami game goes, I was happy with how our team handled the adversity of sitting in that locker room for four or five hours. It makes things tough when you're on the road with those delays and then having to go out. I thought we came prepared to play and started fast, which is good. The biggest thing to come out of that game was, unfortunately, they didn't turn the ball over but neither did we. I thought, offensively, we took care of the football, which was huge. We have to create more turnovers on defense and we have to fix a couple things on special teams. For the most part, I was pretty pleased with the first performance. This Eastern Kentucky team when you watch them on tape, their starting nose gaurd was once starting at Notre Dame at one time. They have a linebacker from Tennessee and the starting tailback Scott was the guy who started for Louisville a couple years ago. They also have two defensive ends who can play for anyone. They had five sacks against Kentucky a year ago and had a chance to beat them on the road. This team can come in here and play. They have good players and are well-coached. This week will be no different than any other week. We have to make sure we do a great job preparing for these guys and be ready to play. I come in here all the time and say someone will get beaten this week who shouldn't. If you look at last week, there were about three or four FCS teams that beat FBS teams and it will happen again this week somewhere. We just have to make sure that isn't us. Our captains this week: Malik Gant will represent the defense along with Chase Hancock, and Jordan Dowrey and Tyre Brady will be the two captains on offense.
On EKU's rushing ability:
It all starts with the guy they hand it to. That Scott kid is a good player and they have two or three tailbacks that can play for about anybody. They run extremely hard. You put the tape on from a week ago, or even against Kentucky last year … someone people think are pretty good and they do a good job running the football. They are committed to doing that and I am sure they will come in here and try to run against us.
On Marshall's running game:
It's something we have worked on since last spring. Anthony Anderson is a big back whose skill set we take advantage of. Tim (Cramsey) has done a nice job at developing some goal line packages, as well as Greg Adkins, who brought some things with him as well. We had a couple of four-minute situations that we would have liked to finish, early on, coming out from the goal line. We would have liked to get the first down there. Same thing towards the end, which we ended up running it out. For the most part, I thought we ran the ball pretty well. We are doing a good job at getting Keion (Davis), Tyler (King), and of course Anthony involved. All four of those tight ends played and they all bring something different to the table. I thought Tim did a nice job mixing and matching those guys and putting them in positions to make plays.
On EKU's Scott:
He is a big back and a talented guy. Like I said, he played at Louisville at one time and was a starter there. They liked him. We talked to people there at Louisville, and of course, their strength staff used to be our strength staff. They think he is an extremely tough, talented guy that has a lot of ability. We are going to have to do a great job at getting him on the ground and tackling him this week.
On Isaiah Green's performance:
I thought I saw a kid that was extremely composed for a freshman … to be able to go out and take care of the ball the way he did. I felt that was number one and, number two, that he made good decisions. When things broke down, good things happened. It seemed like he found a way to keep his eyes down the field and was able to make plays, which I think is huge for him as a player.
On how Tyre Brady's catches looked on film after the game:
Well I am glad he is on our team. We talked this morning, and will make a point of it in our team meeting this afternoon, prior to going to practice. We just watch that guy go to work every day. You guys are around here who write the stories know that, thirty minutes after practice, he's down there working on his game, catching balls off the machines. He just loves the game and works extremely hard at what he does and is good at what he does. Whatever he gets, he deserves cause he sure works hard at it.
On Malik Thompson's first start:
He's a guy that didn't play a single snap in the first game last year and was really disappointed, but he didn't pout. He kept working extremely hard and, by the end of last year, he was one of our better defensive linemen. He just continued to work extremely hard and wanted to get better as a player. He is playing at a high level for us.
On young players earning more playing time:
It's a huge message. Most of the kids that get recruited at this level have played their whole life. Then they get to that first game and they end up watching and it is hard on them. They have to learn to grow up. We have a couple guys, for example Steven Gilmore went in on that punt return and had a key block to spring Tyler and that helped us win the game. Now Gilmore will play more. He showed us on special teams that he can go in there and make a play and help us. Now he will earn our trust to go out and play more on defense and more special teams. There are a lot of examples like that that happen on Saturday. We take great pride around here in earning the trust of young players on special teams. Joe Early, and a couple other guys, did a really good job on special teams that helped us win that game. Young players will earn playing time on offense and defense by the way they perform on special teams. If they do well there, they will get more playing time.
On Ryan Bee's status:
I will tell you if it is a situation where he is out for the year and that's not the case at all. He will be back soon. I don't know if it will be two days, three days, six days, but at some point he will be back and will be fine.
On the Miami game:
You get to the point in that game where you worry because our guys ate pregame meal at 11:30 in the morning and at six o'clock, almost seven hours later, they haven't eaten anything. Of course, Mark Gale did a nice job and we had a lot of things in that locker room for them in terms of snacks and those types of things. You just know when you have long delays like that, it becomes an issue with guys hydrating and cramping. Of course, our strength staff did a tremendous job with these guys and they are in shape. I thought we handled it a little better than Miami did because they had a couple guys who cramped, but we didn't have anybody. But yes, I was concerned about it.
On Xavier Gaines:
Like I mentioned earlier, all four of those guys (tight ends) played and they all played well. Cody Mitchell brings a different skill set than Xavier and, of course, Armani (Levias) is a little bigger body and a little combination of both. Then we have the young freshman in there, Devin Miller, who is a good football player. He went in there and played a couple critical snaps on the punt team, but he played a couple snaps on offense too. Those guys all have a different skill set and Todd (Goebbel) and Tim (Cramsey) have done a good job of mixing and matching those guys, taking advantage of their skill sets.
On Saturday's game:
You better play your best players and you better be prepared to play or you will get beat. We are going to do whatever to win the game and if they (true freshmen) can help us win that game, as Gilmore did on Saturday, then yes, they will play. I am not going to put a kid in there who isn't ready to play. As we go along, if need be we will play those guys. If not, then they won't play.
On Kaare Vedvik:
We are praying for him. What a tremendous kid, and what a sad situation that is. We just hope he recovers. I know Mark Gale and Todd (Goebbel) have been in touch with the people there at the hospital, but I don't know exactly where that situation is right now. It's just a sad deal and a shame that he is going through that. Number one, he is such a great kid but also because he had such a tremendous camp and was putting himself into a positon to be a kicker or a punter on someone's roster. You don't know where that's going to go now. He just has to get himself healthy and then worry about football.
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