Weekly Press Luncheon Quotes
December 01, 2008 | Football
Dec. 1, 2008
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina University Head Football Coach Skip Holtz addressed members of the media prior to this week's Conference USA Championship game against Tulsa. The following are selected comments:
On The UTEP Win:
"When you look back at last week's game, and it being Senior Day, I'm really proud of these players and the way they went out there and competed. To hear the things they were saying before the game about making sure we sent these seniors out the right way made it just really neat to see this football team come together.
"It was definitely a team win with the way everybody went out and played. The offense came together with its most productive day of the year so far and the defense continues to be a staple of consistency for us. It was also nice to see the special teams step up. The kickoff and punt return teams made some things happen and set up a couple of scores."
On The Offensive Play Against UTEP:
"When you look at it offensively, Brandon Simmons, a senior, went out there and had the game of his career. I'm really proud of him and what he accomplished. The offensive coaches, Coach Fitch and Coach Shankweiler, put a game plan together where we really said we were going to come out and try to run downhill. We were going to take the bigger back in Simmons and utilize him in a power running game with some play action passing. I thought Simmons did an excellent job. He ran physical and hard.
"I thought Patrick Pinkney was really dialed in. As a quarterback we didn't ask him to do as much, but what we asked of him, he was very consistent with. He threw the ball very accurately. As I said earlier, he was very dialed in to what the defense was doing. "The young receivers in Joe Womack and Darryl Freeney continue to grow up and are doing some good things. To see Alex Taylor make the big fourth-down catch is also great. Those guys are starting to gain more and more confidence as they continue to play. It's really nice to see those two freshmen [Womack and Freeney] continue to mature.
"Kevin Gidrey and Jason Simmons played a prominent role in this game as fullbacks. They played about 55 plays and until this game, I don't know if they had played 55 plays at fullback all year. But we've kind of been forced into this offensive formation and personnel groupings due to some injuries. I thought the offense really did a great job of adjusting.
"The offensive line had what I think was its best day and game of the year. They created some great holes and did a really nice job. We had zero pressure and allowed no sacks the entire day. Pinkney had a lot of time to throw the ball. That's one of the reasons why he was as accurate as he was. You don't talk much about the offensive line, but I thought they were the key to the offense's success. "Sean Allen, Doug Palmer, Stephen Heis, Fred Hicks, Cory Dowless, T.J. Harper and all those guys are really playing well inside at the guard positions. Terence Campbell and D.J. Scott at the tackle position are also playing well. It was great to get Willie Smith and Steven Baker about 35-40 plays in the football game and give them a chance to get their feet wet and gain a little more confidence.
On The Defensive Play Against UTEP:
"On the defensive side of the ball, it starts with the front four. Zack Slate, another senior, is doing some good things for this football team. It was great to have him back out there. C.J. Wilson, along with Jay Ross and Linval Joseph, are playing really well for us, too. I think those four are becoming a pillar of strength for us right now as a defensive unit with what they're doing up front. They controlled that game early with the number of sacks and pressures they got, which changed the way UTEP called plays the rest of the game. UTEP started changing their protection, keeping everybody back, leaving a running back in to add protection and going to their max protection sets. They wanted to try to double-team each of those guys up front.
"Those changes reduced UTEP's passing game, making it a lot easier for our secondary. I thought the front four probably made as big of an impact on a football game as I've ever seen them have from a defensive standpoint. I thought they played very well.
"Nick Johnson continues to play extremely well for us at the linebacker position. Jeremy Chambliss played well as did Chris Mattocks, who was converted from safety to linebacker, and he continues to do some good things for us. Dustin Lineback continues to rise to the occasion and play well. It's great to see him out there. He's a great success story right now, not only with the hill he has climbed to get to where he is, but also with the way he is performing when he has been giving the opportunity.
"Austin Haynes had a big hit on fourth-down. Those guys are making a big contribution at the linebacker position along with Steve Spence, Matt Thompson and a lot of the younger guys.
"In the secondary I think Travis Simmons is really stepping up with some of the injuries we've had at that position. He was able to step in and played a key role not only as a corner, but as our top punt returner. He did some really good things for us. Dekota marshall got hurt so then Derek Blacknall stepped in for him.
"Emanuel Davis did not play in this game. He had a family situation on Thursday where he had to go back home and miss practice. He did dress and we felt like we could have played him if we needed to. But with where he was from a mental state, we didn't know if that was the appropriate thing to do so we sat him out and let those other guys play, who I thought did a really nice job.
"Leon Best, who had just a great game, and J.J. Milbrook, two seniors who were playing their last game in that stadium, really stepped up and played an excellent game. We also got Julian Carter and Devon Wallace some reps. Then to see Spencer Hampton go in there and get the interception at the end was great. Those guys are working just as hard as the starters who are playing every down, and it's nice to be able to reward so many guys on this football team with the opportunity to play at home in front this great crowd."
On ECU's Injuries:
"For the first time, I believe this whole year, I can say there were no significant injuries from the game that are going to linger on from last week to this week. Dekota marshall should be okay and cleared to play. Not only that, but on another positive note, we will get Pierre Bell and Cliff Perryman, two linebackers, and Scotty Robinson, a defensive end, back for this weekend. Emanuel Davis will also be back with us, not that he was out because of injuries but because of his family situation. Having those four back into the defensive lineup should help strengthen and bolster us a little bit, and we're going to need everything we can get this weekend."
On Tulsa's Offense:
"When you look at Tulsa, the numbers are staggering. They're like video game numbers, almost unrealistic. They're averaging 49 points a game. We scored 53 on Friday, and to think that's what they've been doing for 12 weeks of the year is absolutely incredible. They are averaging 578 yards per game, 259 rushing and 319 passing. They're a very balanced football team as they average 5.6 yards per rush.
"They also convert 59 percent of their third downs, which is absolutely unheard of. The next closest team in Conference USA is at 50 percent, roughly 10 percent behind where Tulsa is right now. They've scored 81 touchdowns, which I thought was a misprint when I first read it. We've scored 33 and they've scored 81. To put it in perspective, Ben Hartman has kicked 79 PATs in his career, and he's a junior. They've scored 81 touchdowns this year alone. This is kind of a David and Goliath story when I sit down and look at Tulsa's numbers and what they're doing right now.
"When you look at Tulsa's defense, they're second in the conference in rushing defense and second in kickoff returns. This is a football team that doesn't have many weaknesses. They're very strong in what they do.
"From a personnel standpoint, they are huge on the offensive line, with tackles weighing 355 pounds, 308 pounds and 305 pounds. They return four starters on the line and they're a great zone blocking football team. They're big and get on you.
"I think they've also got a very accurate passer in David Johnson, who is kind of running the show right now as a senior. When you look at their tailback, Tarrion Adams, he's averaging nearly six yards per carry. He's a physical slasher and great zone runner who has great balance. He does a very nice job for them.
"Then they've got two of the best big-play receivers in the conference in Damaris Johnson and Brennan Marion, who averages 27.1 yards per catch. They drop back and throw the ball way down the field and Marion goes and gets it. They give you some scheme problems; when you get your secondary involved, they throw the ball over the top. I think Coach Graham has done a really nice job of putting this thing together."
On Tulsa's Defense:
"Defensively their strength is in their front. They give you a different front, three-down line, which is very similar to what West Virginia ran. They do give you some complications and problems with what they do. Their nose guard is 322 pounds and is very big and physical. They're big, strong and physical up front and cause you problems. They make a lot of tackles with their down, interior people.
"Mike Bryan, the middle linebacker, is the quarterback of the defense. He has over 100 tackles and is tough, durable, physical and can run. He's a great player in their front. When you look at James Lockett, their spur, he comes off the edge quite a bit and has eight-and-a-half sacks. They play about five defensive backs and are very active with what they do. Like I said, I think the strength of their defense is their run defense, which goes to show why they've done as well on offense as they have, because they force you to be a passing team. They force a lot of three-and-outs and get the ball back to their offense. They haven't had many close football games so far this year. They're very explosive in what they do.
"This will be a heck of a challenge for us. But when you get into a championship game, you don't expect it to be easy. You know you're going to play the best team in the league from the West Division. Tulsa is that as they won the division. We had to sit around and wait to see who that was going to be on Saturday. For a while you thought it was going to be Houston, then Rice, then Tulsa. The more you come in here and learn about Tulsa, the more impressed I have become with that program."
On This Year's ECU Team:
"I'm really pleased with this football team and the attitude it has and the way it has really come together through an awful lot of adversity. When you go back to the sixth game of the year when we lost three in a row and had some of the injuries that we did, a lot of the young guys have stepped up. I think this football team has done an excellent job of staying together and becoming very close.
"You want to be playing some of best football at the end of your season and right now I think it would be hard to argue that we didn't play our best game on Friday."
On Making It To The Championship Game:
"I think it speaks volumes for players and what they're doing, the depth that we have, how we've overcoming some of the adversity we've faced and how some of the young guys have stepped up. It also speaks to the players and their desire, strength and mental attitude. They have stayed focused and in this thing the whole way.
"It also speaks volumes for the coaching staff. They not only developed relationships with some of the younger players to keep them involved when they weren't playing early, but the coaches also helped develop those players.
"How many players have stepped into new roles this year and played a prominent role in our success that week? You can look at Emanuel Davis earlier in the year and then Travis Simmons doing what he has done. Simmons has been about our fourth or fifth punt returner this year and he's stepping up and being very productive. You can also look at Joe Womack and Darryl Freeney with the way they caught the ball on Friday.
"I just think it speaks volumes for the players and their attitudes and drive. They set out what they wanted to do at the beginning of the year and they haven't let anything get in their way. We talked about this being the end of the dream, that we simply made it to the championship game, or just the beginning of it because there are still some things on the table that we would like to accomplish this year. We know we're going to have to play one great football game in order to accomplish those things."
On Trying To Recreate Friday's Offensive Play Against Tulsa:
"Every game has a little of a different flavor, scheme and game plan to it. You have to look at where you feel your best matchups are, whether that's your offensive line against their defensive line. With them being as strong against the rush as they are, I don't know if we'll be able to just line up and say that we're going to do what we did Friday. There will, obviously, be some things that remain similar, but there will be some things that you'll definitely do that will be different to take advantage of the different scheme that they run and the different personnel they have from UTEP."
On Recovering From Losing Three Straight Earlier This Year:
"We had a lot of individual and group meetings. We met with the seniors and talked about what we were trying to get done and how we were going to get there. We also challenged the seniors a little bit about where we were. I think the thing that frustrated me was not being 3-3, but was the togetherness of this football team. I think as we lost the N.C. State game in a very difficult fashion, it was a very hard loss for a lot of these players because so many of them had set such lofty goals with how we started the season. What bothered me a little bit was that I felt like we weren't very together as a football team.
"That was one of the biggest challenges with what we've tried to do is just build a bond. From my perspective as a football coach, I don't think there has been a better lesson of team chemistry than this season has been. The thing that I tried to do more than anything was not to repair the X's and O's or the scheme, but to try and have this team play together again. We had some incidents where there were some heated arguments between teammates and things along those lines, things we felt we needed to repair.
"I think it speaks volumes for this senior class and the way they have been the glue, especially these guys who have played throughout the course of the season. Pierre Bell and Zack Slate have done a great job as captains of the defense. Leon Best and J.J. Milbrook have also done a fine job. Really, those are the only four seniors who are playing for us right now on defense, even though we came in with a huge list of seniors.
"I think the same thing is true on offense. With T.J. Lee and Stanley Bryant going out and losing a couple of key players that were seniors on offense, it speaks volumes for Patrick Pinkney, Davon Drew, Fred Hicks, Brandon Simmons, Jason Simmons and the guys who have kind of been the glue and kept this team together as we went down the stretch and got into the conference race."
On The Mental Focus For This Week:
"Everybody talked about last week not meaning that much because if we won we went to the championship and if we lost we went to the championship. But the talk among the team was about having the opportunity to win eight regular season games, build upon where we were and have a nine or 10 win season. They were extremely focused on that game.
"I don't think last Friday's UTEP game was one that they just wanted to get through and then look to the championship game. I thought we were very focused. I think this week they will really be dialed in. We had a team meeting on Sunday and we had 125 guys with 125 sets of eyes burning a hole in the back of your head. Everybody was really dialed in and sitting on the edge of the chair thinking, `What do I have to do?" They've worked very hard to get here. But they understand the challenge that we have and what we still want to accomplish. I don't know if their focus will really change that much this week because I was really proud of approach focus last week."
