Mike Houston’s Weekly Press Conference Quotes

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Sixth-year East Carolina Head Football Coach Mike Houston addressed members of the media Monday afternoon prior to Saturday's American Athletic Conference contest at No. 23 Army. The following are selected comments:

Opening Statement
"Before we start talking about Army, tough news coming out of Chapel Hill this weekend with the passing of Tylee Craft. We have a couple of kids that played with him, and they've had a tough deal. Our thoughts and prayers are with Coach Brown, the Craft family and the UNC family. It's something that as a coach, you never want to go through.

"It's game week. Should be a good week of practice this week, the kids are really excited about the match up. Getting a chance to play a ranked opponent on the road is a challenge, but it's something that the players are excited about, excited to get back out on the field. Having the opportunity with the bye to be able to sit and just watch a game, watched the UAB and Army 12 o'clock kickoff on Saturday, not just looking at that game but at all their games, they are a very solid football team top to bottom, all 3 phases. Offensively everything revolves around the veteran quarterback. He's done a great job, but he has really strong players around him. They're 6-0 for a reason, they've played really good football so far this year, so it's a great opportunity going into Saturday's matchup."

On Army Running the Triple Option
"They do run some mid-line triple. That's really the only true triple option we've seen out of them. A lot of their stuff is either quarterback follow, quarterback counter, quarterback zone, they run some arc option where they pitch it to the fullback, they run toss, they do a lot of other stuff. The big thing revolves around the quarterback and the fullback. I think that 6, Udoh (Kanye), is a really good running back. They do a lot of stuff with him on dives, dive cut back, things like that. Everything in that offense revolves around Bryce and Daly and that offensive line."

On Trying to Stop the Run and Play Action Pass
"Statistically, I was looking at it this morning, they've only thrown it 30 times on the year. He's 20-of-37 for 4,882 yards so they're pretty effective when they do throw it. We've been working the last week on it and have really drilled into our secondary that their eye discipline is critical. The tough thing is being able to replicate what they do because they do get such condensed sets where the receivers are down in there. They've got receivers lined up at a tight end position, they've got slotbacks on each side, two on the same side or whatever, they're such a run heavy team. Then all of the sudden you play action and if you don't have very disciplined eyes, you look up and, just like Saturday, they cross the 50 against UAB and run a little play action, post-wheel to the boundary, and there's nobody within 30 yards of the post route. That's a very common theme that we've seen throughout the first six games on film. The challenge is our secondary is going to have to support with some tenacity because you have a 225-pound quarterback that you're trying to tackle. They've got to have great eyes so when those guys release for those play action passes, they don't just cut somebody loose."

On the Biggest Takeaway During the Bye Week
"I thought this team responded really, really well during the bye week. The leadership council asked if they could have a player's meeting last week when we started the week, because we had talked about a lot of things and that group wanted to relay things from a standpoint of what we have to do as players. They had that on Tuesday, and I thought we had a really positive week, I thought we had great enthusiasm. For the bye week, I thought we had a lot of re-centering, kind of a bit of a reset, getting back to where we want to be. We've got to have a good week of practice this week, obviously a pretty stiff test but we're excited about having the chance to go there and play this ball game."

On Being the Underdog This Week
"It's a great opportunity. Our kids have a lot of pride in the way we want to play, so it's a great challenge but there shouldn't be any pressure on us. We've got a great chance to go up there and play freely and play aggressively, go and try to do something special."

On the Similarities in Defenses
"They're not quite as diverse as us. They play more coverage than pressure as much, but there are some similarities from a standpoint of three down four down. They run a lot of nickel fire, there's some Cover 6, and a little bit of quarters in the secondary. They do a really good job of keeping everything in front of them, trying not to give up the big play, trying to make teams execute. The teams that have struggled to put together consistent drives and operate are the ones that find themselves behind pretty quickly. I think the key to them is not shooting yourself in the foot you know, going out there and operating really well. Not having sloppiness, not having penalties that set you behind the chains, you don't want to end up in third and long against them, that's when they have the advantage."

On the Positive of Having the Bye Week to Prepare for Army
"I think it's good. That's always the challenge when you don't have an extra week, it's hard to go from defending the spread offense to defending this in just one week's preparation. Having the last week to really get prepared for it, and we talked about it last night, our kids know the game plan right now, now it's can we perfect it over the next several days. They take advantage of the opponent's mistakes. You get out of position, you don't support the perimeter correctly, you don't do a good job supporting those quarterback follows with all those lead blockers up there and they give that quarterback a crease or you give the fullback a crease or you don't support the perimeter on short, that's when they have the big plays that really gas you. We'll be very prepared going into Saturday and we've just got to go execute and play our game. The key is going to be matching the physicality of that offensive line, that defensive line and executing at a high level."

On Which Quarterback Will Start Saturday
"Whoever gives us the best opportunity to go out there and win on Saturday is who will start. There's a lot that goes into that decision, but I think we have two very capable guys. Whoever gives us the best chance to win on gameday is who's going to start."

On Handling Negative Social Media Posts
"None of us were happy with our performance. I mean Pirate Nation, me, the players, none of us. We take this very seriously and the players and staff invest a lot. When your sleep at night depends on how you play on Saturday, that's pretty serious stuff. We tried to do a great job this extra bye week correcting things, addressing things, and I think that the team is in a good spot. Going into this week, I think you're going to see a group that's very motivated on Saturday, and I think you're going to see the team go out and play how we want to see them play."

On the Leadership Within the Team as Well as the Remainder of the Season

"I think the answer to both of those is that I am very blessed. We have worked very hard to put together the character of the young men we have in this program, and they don't disappoint me in that aspect. We may not have played as well as we wanted to the last time out, but them on a daily basis, they don't disappoint me in who they are. I'm not shocked to see that kind of leadership from our older players and at the same time, I'm very appreciative of it. The thing they know is we are sitting here midseason, 3-3, 1-1 in the conference. We've got six opportunities guaranteed here in the second half, half on the road and half at home, we've got to take it one game at a time. The goal this week is to go 1-0, and that's got to be our focus each week. You look at the landscape of college football and nobody on a week-to-week basis is mowing though everybody. You see a team play great one week and you see a team shock them the next. I have a lot of faith and belief in the potential of this group. I think we've got as good a shot as anybody, so we're excited for the second half of the season."

On Limiting Army Early in the Game
"That's what they're doing to a lot of people. With UAB, they go for it on 4th and 5 there on the opening drive and don't get it. Army scores on the first play. They punt, UAB stalls, and they punt, Army drives down the field and it's 14-0 and you haven't even blinked. That's what we've seen consistently, and I think they've scored on the first drive or first two drives of every game except for one. They play at a very high level, and they've got a lot of experience in that offense. They're very solid in all three phases so they get up 2, 3 scores and they put a lot of pressure on the opponent. At the same time, I don't know how much they've been challenged to play a full game yet and that's the thing where I see a lot of opportunity. Going in there, playing really well, don't give them anything. I think our bunch is going to play really well on Saturday, and we have a shot to go into the fourth quarter with an opportunity to win on the road. That's the goal for us and the players."

Related Videos

Footer