Holtz' Weekly Press Quotes
October 19, 2009 | Football
Oct. 19, 2009
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina University Head Football Coach Skip Holtz addressed members of the media prior to the Oct. 27 contest at Memphis. The following are selected comments:
On The Rice Win:
"It's nice to win. Not only to win, but to be able to finish a game like we did. That's something that we've had the opportunity to do three or four times, but have not been able to accomplish. There have been a number of times when we have had a halftime lead and played well in the first half, but have not been able to finish. I'm excited about what this football team did not only in the first half, but in the second half as well."
On The Special Teams Against Rice:
"Our special teams are really starting to make a difference. When you look at Matt Dodge and the way he is punting the ball, he is really doing a nice job. Travis Simmons got on track with a couple of punt returns, which we haven't done in a few weeks.
"I thought Ben Ryan really did a nice job with the placekicking duties. Ben Hartman has been fighting the stomach flu. Ben did a nice job in Hartman's place. Ryan missed the one field goal that we have to be able to hit, but outside of that, he did a nice job. He took over the kickoff duties in the second half and did well there, too.
"Dwayne Harris is a kick returner. What was so great about the big return Saturday was that it wasn't just Harris making a play; there were a lot of guys making a block. A week ago, it was a great individual effort where Harris cut back, broke a couple tackles and made three guys miss on the sideline. This week, it was all about execution. It was a great job by the kickoff return team.
"When you look at our team statistically, our punt, punt return and kickoff return units are ranked in the top three or four in the conference.
"I think there are a lot of unsung heroes in those groups. Dustin Lineback was a walk-on to the program, but has been able to step up and play some linebacker for us. He has been a huge part of our special teams success.
"Wes Pittman, Leonard Paulk, Taylor Mazzone, Justin Brockmeyer, Darnel Ballard, Jacobi Jenkins, Andrew Bodenheimer, Marke Powell and many others have stepped up from a special teams standpoint. If you look back, Dominique Lindsay, Chris Mattocks and Jeremy Chambliss were all in the Dirty Dozen, playing on the special teams. The guys on the special teams are the ones who are going to be the future of this program. The young players are doing a great job."
On The Offense Against Rice:
"On offense, our line played with some energy. Sean Allen and Terence Campbell provided some great senior leadership up front, especially on the first few drives. Campbell came out and was into the game. He was pumping his fist and had pancakes on four of the first five running plays of the game. Overall, the line did a nice job of creating and opening up some holes.
"Dwayne Harris is special. He finished with 264 all-purpose yards. He's bringing an awful lot to this football team. He's really starting to play with confidence.
"Patrick Pinkney did a great job managing the game. We have to eliminate the interceptions. He did complete 69 percent of his passes Saturday.
"It was great to be able to get Josh Jordan into the game. I thought he did a nice job going in at the end of the game once he calmed down a little bit after his series in the first half. He threw a great ball to Bodenheimer down the sideline and did a nice job leading the touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. It was awfully nice to get him in the game. He's got talent; we just have to get him some game experience. We're taking the right steps by getting that done Saturday.
"We had 11 people catch passes Saturday and our tight ends got involved. Kevin Gidrey caught two passes. Rob Kass' touchdown catch meant a lot more than seven points. When he made that catch, my heart went out to him because of the commitment, sacrifices and impact he has made on this program during his four years here. For him to jump in there and make that catch was great to see.
"We had seven different guys carry the ball, too. It was great to see Darnel Ballard get into the endzone as a senior. He has been on the special teams and really done a nice job. Giavanni Ruffin also scored a touchdown.
On The Injury To Dominique Lindsay:
"It's unfortunate what happened to Dominique Lindsay. His ankle has some pretty good swelling. We're just going to have to see how he recovers. At this point, he's questionable. He has two days to get treatment on the ankle. We'll find out a little bit more Wednesday when we get out on the field.
"He's walking around on it, but I don't know how long it's going to be at this point. It might be three or four days or two weeks. We're just going to have to wait and see.
"It's a shame because he's playing with a lot of confidence. When you look at him and the other running backs, there's a huge difference in yards per carry. We're calling the same plays, running behind the same people and going against the same defenses. He's just really doing a great job for us right now."
On The Defense Against Rice:
"The defense really played well and did a lot of good things. Dustin Lineback is probably the story of the day on that side of the ball. He stepped in for the injured Jeremy Chambliss, started and played on all the special teams. His interception kind of restarted the team in the fourth quarter and gave our offense great field position. That got the ball rolling. He did a great job stepping in at linebacker.
"We started this year with Mattocks, Chambliss and Nick Johnson at linebacker. Two backups have really started to step up this season in Lineback and Matt Thompson. Unfortunately, Thompson hurt his elbow Saturday and it looks like he will be out. It may be a surgical procedure. We're not really sure at this point. That's unfortunate because he was really doing some nice things. He has given us some quality depth as well as contributing on special teams. We will miss his productivity. Steve Spence has stepped in and given us some quality reps at the linebacker position as well.
"In the secondary, the one glaring thing is the big play. That's what we keep talking about. It was nice to see Travis Simmons and Darryl Reynolds come back and play well after last week's performance. Van Eskridge and Levin Neal were their solid selves again. Emanuel Davis did not play as well as he had, giving up the one deep ball with under three minutes to go in the second quarter. Overall, I thought the secondary really did a nice job.
"Up front, Linval Joseph, Jay Ross, C.J. Wilson and Scotty Robinson were solid. Anthony Johnson hurt his knee and will be out. He will undergo surgery. The loss of him and Thompson will be costly. They provided some depth and really added a spark to the defense. Michael Brooks and Josh Smith stepped in and did a nice job.
"It was great to play so many people and see a lot of career first catches, runs and tackles. It created a lot of excitement and energy. I think the players were really proud of themselves and what they did because they finished. We won games against Appalachian State and UCF, but we hadn't played a complete game. It was great for morale Saturday."
On This Week's Schedule:
"Getting ready for Memphis, we will have a little bit of a different schedule with the Tuesday game. We've gone almost 10 weeks straight with the team without much time off. They're going to have Monday and Tuesday off, getting them as far away from football as possible.
"It's not a traditional open date. Mentally and physically, I think the players need time away. Hopefully, we can also get some guys healed up. It is an advantage for a guy like Lindsay to have a couple extra days to heal those bumps and bruises.
"We'll get the opportunity to do the same thing the following two weeks with Virginia Tech and Tulsa. There are some advantages.
"We're trying to take advantage of the time from a staff standpoint, too. The staff is out today and tomorrow to recruit. We'll come back and get together as a staff and start in on Memphis and the game plan Wednesday."
On The Memphis Offense:
"With Memphis, we're playing on the road again, which won't be easy. Memphis has one of the top five offenses in the conference.
"They have played three quarterbacks this year. I think Will Hudgens is the one they want to go with now. He is the one who has picked it up. They started with Arkelon Hall, then Tyler Bass came in and now it's Hudgens who is emerging.
"They have a great running back in Curtis Steele, who is averaging just over 100 yards per game and 5.4 yards per carry. We've seen him for a number of years.
"It seems like when you pull the Memphis file out, it's the same names. It's Hall, Hudgens, Steele, Carlos Singleton and Duke Calhoun. It's the same names who have been playing together for many years and now they're seniors.
"They're playing really well as an offense right now. When you combine Steele running with Calhoun and Singleton, the offense is impressive. Singleton is 6-foot-9 now. Calhoun has caught 40 passes this year and is averaging about 100 yards a game.
"The thing that's most impressive about the duo is that Calhoun is averaging 16.6 yards a reception and Singleton 16.3. They're not catching the bubble screens, hitches and curls; they're making a lot of big plays. The duo is third in the nation in career touchdowns scored as a tandem. They've been there forever and are doing a great job.
"Their offensive line is big and solid. They've had the same starting line for every game this season. Three of the past four years, their line has been ranked in the top 10 in the country in fewest sacks allowed, which I think speaks volumes for the unit.
"This is a very talented offensive football team. They outgained Southern Miss by about 100 yards on offense. It's not like they're getting beat up. They're one of the better looking football teams we're going to play. I think they have a lot of talent."
On Memphis' Defense:
"On defense, they have four three-year letterwinners up front. It's similar to their offense in that we have seen many of these names before. Charlie Bryant at 6-foot-8, 320 pounds, is huge in the middle. They have an awful lot of experience up front.
"They have three returning linebackers, all of which have played. Greg Jackson is the guy right now who is leading the way. He has 50 tackles already this year and made 11 against us last year. This season, he also has two fumble recoveries and an interception. He's a very active linebacker, but all three of them are experienced.
"In the secondary, they have six guys with a lot of playing experience.
"The punter, Matt Reagan, is leading the conference in punting this week with an average of 48.1 yards per kick.
"It's a very talented football team. Everybody wants to look at the record and explain it, but that's very difficult to do. They've lost a lot of close games. When they put it all together, they're one of the more dangerous teams in the league.
"It'll be a tall task for us this week because playing on the road in conference is never easy. It's going to be a challenge for us. Hopefully, we can get the team away from football for a few days and then we'll come back with renewed excitement and enthusiasm to get into the conference run."
On The Development Of Dwayne Harris:
"There are two things that are happening with Harris now. He's getting in football shape to play receiver and he's starting to understand the offense. It's not just him running a curl, it's understanding what the other guys around him are doing. That has given us the ability to move him around. He's no longer a stationary target making it easier for defenses to cover him.
"We've also put him at the quarterback position to get the ball in his hands. We've practiced him a little bit at running back. It has given us the ability to move him around much more.
"People now have to know where he is. Defenses just can't call coverage to take him away. I think it has given defenses a lot to prepare and get ready for.
"With having 11 guys catch a pass Saturday, he's also creating windows for Patrick to be able to spread the ball around a little bit more. If defenses try to roll and find Dwayne, it's opening up the running game and other receivers. It has given us a passing and running threat, kind of like we had with Aundrae Allison and Chris Johnson in the back field."
On Playing Tuesday Nights:
"I love the exposure. I know I enjoy going home on Tuesday night, eating dinner and watching the second half on TV. Now that I have to go be part of it, though, I don't think I'm as excited about it.
"It changes your schedule. We have a real unique situation because we're playing Tuesday, Thursday and then Sunday. But our next three games are also going to be on national television on ESPN. That's an exposure that you can't get on Saturday. There are certainly tradeoffs for it.
"I don't like getting home at 4 a.m. after a Tuesday night game with classes on Wednesday. There are a lot of logistical situations it creates for you as a team."
On Having His Dad Call Tuesday's Game
"He has seen a couple of games when I was at Connecticut and at the Liberty Bowl last year. I don't know if I'm going to want to go back and listen to it, though. It'll be great to see him because this time of year I don't get to be around him much because he's in Connecticut with ESPN.
"He'll get a chance to watch our football team play up close and personal. He comes every year to spring practice and usually sees a fall scrimmage. During those scrimmages, I give him a pad of paper and tell him to write down all his notes and we'll talk about it after. He has been very beneficial. It has been really helpful for me to get another opinion. It'll be great to get him an opportunity to see the game."
On Josh Jordan's Performance Saturday:
"I feel better about him going to the game. During his first series, he was in fast forward. Everything was happening so fast.
"He's such an emotional guy. I love the fire he brings to the offense. During that first series, he's supposed to read the end but he's handing the ball off and then blocking the end. He was just running around trying to hit somebody.
"He handed the ball off to Darnel Ballard near the goal line and then ran up and pushed him into the end zone instead of carrying out his fake. I love his fire, emotion, excitement and enthusiasm.
"What we have to do is put him in as much as we can, so he can calm down. We have to get him to harness that energy so it can be a positive and not a negative. It was great to have the opportunity to play him.
"Physically, he's a talent. He threw a great ball down the sideline and ran for a 10-yard gain. I wish we could have gotten him in more during the season before this point. But when you look at our wins, they've been small margins of victory.
"I wish we wouldn't have fumbled that ball at the end, so he could have gotten eight or 10 more plays. Every snap he gets, even if it's just to call the play and hand the ball off, is another one that will calm him down.
"I have confidence in his talent. I've never questioned his arm strength, athleticism or intelligence. You just need to see him do it on game day. The more reps he gets, the better he will get.
"In the Rice game, we told him he was going to play in the first half. We were going to see how the game went, but we told him to prepare because he was going to play one series in the first half.
"He was probably over in the locker room an hour before everybody else was, getting pumped up. He was excited. We'll have to look at it. I would love to get him more game reps. We haven't put together a game plan for this week yet, so we'll have to continue to see how he progresses this week at practice."
On Defending Memphis' Tall Receivers:
"You challenge your players. Calhoun is 6-foot-4 and our corners, Davis and Simmons, aren't even six feet tall. Maybe that means we have Darryl Reynolds play a bigger role as a cornerback. We'll just have to look at it this week.
"You can't put those corners on an island out there. We're going to have to roll safeties over the top, double-team them, mix up coverages and keep them guessing. That way, when our corners are out on an island, the offense can't gear into that particular play.
"I think our secondary has done a great job of mixing coverages. That's one of the reasons we have the number of interceptions that we do. With the zone coverage we're playing and the umbrella we have in front of us, the backs are doing a good job of making everything look the same and rolling coverages on the snap.
"We've played those receivers for three years. I don't know if we've played many people with receivers like we're going to see Saturday. There aren't many teams who have receivers like that running around. North Carolina had some 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-4 guys, but that's not 6-foot-9. That 6-foot-9 is nearly a foot advantage over some of our corners."
On Travis Simmons' Punt Returns:
"We've really put a huge emphasis on it and have tried to do some things to get him going. John Gutekunst has done a nice job trying to do some things to get the punt return game going.
"We've talked to Travis about doing some things to get him a lead blocker. We're going to give him a little bit of room. We think if we can just get him started, he has the talent to do some things.
"I think he gained some confidence in there Saturday. The first one was a short kick he probably should have fair caught. He didn't. He came running up and tried to catch it. The ball was on the ground, but fortunately, it didn't hurt us. We were able to get the ball back. After that, he got a little confidence going, made some catches and had two nice returns.
"The more experience he gets back there, the better he will become. When the guy is kicking the ball 50 yards, that's the one you want to return. When the ball is going 30 yards in the air, that's the one you want to fair catch. What he was doing was fair catching the ones that went 50 yards and watching the ones that went 30 yards bounce. He did a better job Saturday, but there were some mistakes we made back there, too. Those are lessons he's learning back there on game day."
On The Strong Offensive Line Play:
"I really think our offense line has been playing pretty solid, especially inside with Sean Allen, Terence Campbell and Cory Dowless. The problem last week was Dowless jumped offside on the goal line. Through the first 18 plays, Dowless had 17 plusses and was doing great. It's a great teaching tool, though. He flinched on the goal line, then we had the field goal blocked and he went in the tank.
"We always say, don't let a play beat us twice. Once it happens, it's over and we'll deal with it Sunday. They always say that about defensive backs. It's the same thing with anybody who makes a mistake.
"I think those three guys inside have played really well. T.J. Harper and Steven Heis have also played. Having guys with Doug Palmer's and Heis' experience as backups is very valuable. Those six guys inside are doing a great job.
"The area that has not been as strong is the tackle position. D.J. Scott has played a lot at right tackle. You have to remember, too, that Willie Smith at left tackle missed spring practice and is coming off Achilles surgery. He was very limited all during camp. This is really his first experience playing tackle. I think he's getting better and better every week.
"We've also experimented with putting Campbell back out at tackle. Steven Baker also played last week and did a nice job at tackle. That has given us another option.
"The tackles are starting to feel more comfortable. That's adding something to the offense. Guys like Campbell and Allen are getting more comfortable playing together as well. Plus, when you have a guy like Dominique Lindsay running, that adds excitement, enthusiasm and energy to the line. When he is making a 20-yard run and those linemen are down the field to pick him up is great to see.
"We haven't had much consistency at the running back position, which is probably more of a problem with the running game than anything else. Giavanni Ruffin ran physical and hard Saturday. Brandon Jackson looked rusty. He is not running with the same aggressiveness that he had early in the season. You can tell he has missed a couple weeks. Hopefully, we'll continue to knock that rust off and those guys can continue to improve."
