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Dave Aranda Presser before Texas State (TRANSCRIPT)

k lonnquist

Well-Known Member
Mar 10, 2009
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Again, we hope to get the transcript at some point today and will post.

One notable is that RB Taye McWilliams and WR Monaray Baldwin are considered questionable for Saturday against Texas State because of that hard shot he took.

An interesting way to put the passing game...



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Dave Aranda

Opening Statement

The review of the game was humbling, but at the same time it was a great learning experience. A lot to be improved upon. Coming into those situations, just real honest about what your motivations are about what you’re getting into, not bringing your ego into it, and kind of how hard it is to have an honest conversation. I think those are things that are really the task within the task for us in terms of where everything is at with staff to staff, staff to players, players to staff, and so we’re really looking at that as an opportunity to bring this team closer and to grow as a team.

Looking back at all of it, a lot of praise and recognition to BYU. I thought they played hard, and it was a tough environment. It was a home-field advantage there. Collectively for us, we let the outside affect the inside. With that, still continuing to battle and to bring it into the late stages of the game like we did I think is a credit to the team. Like I said Saturday night, it’s very difficult to be in a game with the ups and downs and all of it, and being in a game where two field goals from however many yards out were missed. To be in a game where we were still kind of battling and all of that takes a lot to get to that point. It’s one thing to be at that prior to a loss, it’s another to address the shortcomings and the issues and to get better as a team, but still bring that belief and still grow that belief or that connection. So that’s the challenge that we got.


(Addressing penalties during the week) I think we’re 126th if I’m not mistaken out of 130 teams. It’s funny in last year’s BYU game we had no penalties. That was after I think being 126th again. I was talking with one of our academic people about a sophomore now that was a freshman last year. He’s playing now and in the rotation and everything. He commented, and our academic person was in the room when he was commenting to it, and he was saying I wasn’t playing last year, and in meetings I wasn’t really paying attention because it had nothing to do with me. Unfortunately, that makes a lot of sense. I think human nature is that way, it’s always me first, me over everything. Please let’s talk about me, can I get a little more me. Especially from a young person’s perspective, it makes a lot of sense. I think it’s like the circumstances that we’re in now because we’re doing it all over again, learning the rules of the game, so to speak. We talk about penalties every day. We show examples and all of it. We’re just going to have to double down on that. I think it really gets to the part to be honest where we have to wake up, and when we’re talking about it, we’re talking about it to you. I think sometimes that learning unfortunately takes hard lessons to learn that, and we’re not at the point yet to where it does not. So it’s something still to aspire to there.

(Was the team prepared for BYU atmosphere) That’s a good question. We would have from the very beginning of camp a cadence that was really kind of designed for that environment. We would have sound and practice sessions and noise and all that. I can remember being in the huddle of our offense on the sideline. I can remember being on the sideline, the huddle of our team, and the huddle of our defense and just seeing real big eyes. Any time you see big eyes that generally tells the story. We could have done more. I think the things that really have to transpire are that they are there and to play in those environments and to really succeed in those environments is part of it. I think moving forward we’ll be better equipped. I think it probably takes the real thing to get the message all the way across.

(Ran the ball 52 times vs. BYU, was that the game plan, creating an identity, or based on what BYU showed) I think it was a bit of everything you said there. I think there was some uncertainty and some timidness in the throw game, on the throwing and the receiving and the blocking part of it. While that was being addressed and coached, and I’m sure guys were learning and trying to apply as the game went on, I just think it’s hard to explain that when you’re in it you just have a feeling that yeah I’m saying it and they’re not in their head and we ain’t getting it, man. So that was the feeling. It felt that the run game was there. I think it really boils down to that’s where the experience is, that’s where the guys have been in those environments before, and those are the guys who kind of played through all of that. We talked about the freshman who became a sophomore who never listened and never applied, those guys have been in it and applied. So we were really kind of leaning on them. I don’t think the decision in the moment was that, but it just kind of felt that way. I think a couple of the runs that were five or six possibly could have been more. We kept trying to find that one big run that never quite got there.

(Did you say anything to Blake after the game to calm him down) I look at all of it as far as, you try to prepare the folks as best you can. For as young as we are, should I have made more of a point of showing up and the courage that it takes to show up? A lot of my language going into the game was, ‘Hey, this is going to be a fight and prepare yourself for . . . back when I was growing up, it was a 15-round fight, and what that entails. Taking a hit and getting back up. (Thinking about) whether that was the right thing or not, whether or not that’s the level of maturity we’re at or not? So, a lot of what we’re doing right now is difficult to talk about because everyone has a part in it. It’s not just this guy’s deal or Blake’s deal or that guy’s deal. It’s all of ours deals. And I look at myself in terms of doing better with my part of the deal. I think early in the game, you could sense the big eyes. They could feel that crowd and that environment, and I think when you let outside stuff get in the inside, there’s things that you can’t control that are kind of pulling the levers and pushing the buttons. And it’s hard to kind of get control of that again. I think we were all trying, and I think Grimey (OC Jeff Grimes) was trying with his play calls and all of it to try to get it right. And I go back again to just the competitiveness and the heart of this team, because in a lot of ways – and this is giving full credit to BYU and what they were doing – but we were not at our best, still trying to duke it out.

So, I give a lot of credit to the guys for that. And I look at all the offseason kind of playing into that. There’s some particular players where, here’s a clip in practice where we did it right; and here’s a clip in the game where this is not right. Here’s a clip in practice, here’s a clip in the game. Stuff like that is hard to talk about. I think it has to be talked about, and from the coaches’ view, it can’t be brought with any ego or any kind of flex. It has to be brought from a genuine humbleness and a genuine willingness to try to teach. I think if it’s brought that way, then I think the player can see that, ‘Hey, this person is for me, this person’s not trying to blame or shame or any of this. And then, I can really say, ‘Hey, you know what, this might have been a little big for me, but I’m better because of it now.’ And it would be great if we can get to that part, that’s the challenge. But, just being on a bunch of teams, that generally doesn’t happen. A lot of times, the ego kind of takes control. You’re in a thing, and you’re causing other things. So, we’re trying not to do that.

(Was the coverage just that good? Longest pass play was 19 yards, and the sacks seemed to be coverage sacks) I would agree with the sacks. I think we’ve got to do a better job of getting rid of it. A lot of them were out of the pocket sacks. So, that has been talked about and recognized, and we’re going to have to apply that moving forward. But, I think the routes and the discipline to the details of the routes and the speed in which we’re running the routes, all of it has a lot of room for improvement. I think from where we were Game 1 in terms of that environment and the execution to where we were Game 2 in this particular environment and how that affected the execution is something that we have to clearly see and agree on, so that we can move forward and talk about real stuff. I think (the receivers are) a group that wants to establish itself and do well, and everyone in there wants to be that guy. And I want that so desperately for them. But, this is all a part of it.

We talked prior to the game about just saying yes to things, even the things that are embarrassing or hurtful. I think if you say yes to it, really what you’re doing is you’re getting your ego out of it. You’re taking the emotion out of it, so you can see the realness in it. Like I say, very hard to do. And I think that room, in particular – there’s other rooms, too – but they have to do that. So, we’re aiming to get that done.

(Players talked about the OSU loss being a turning point last year. How can you do the same thing with this loss) It’s all very difficult, I think, because we showed that game and talked about that game on Thursday or Friday prior to this game we just played. And talked about how pressure can create abnormal behavior, and how you have to keep your focus on the focus. Otherwise, kind of what we talked about, other things can push buttons on you. I think it’s human nature to hear some of that stuff but not really understand it. And I feel like sometimes it takes hurt and suffering to kind of get the understand ding to sink or seep in. If there’s positives off of this, it’s that real true learning can occur. And I’m hopeful that all the way across, there’s no flexing on any of it or ego validation, and we can all get better from it. I think that was able to happen last year, with last year’s group, but we’ve got a way different group. So, whether or not that happens this year I think really goes to the connection that the team has, the connection that the coaches and the team has and their ability to trust each other. So, that will be tested.

(On Devin Neal) He is smart, he’s instinctive. I think he hedges his bets. I think there’s good athleticism in him. But what aids with all that is his predictive knowledge. He’s able to see this down and distance, this formation, this split, this receiver, this tight end, this back equals this play. And he’s playing a couple steps ahead. So, just very cool with just ability to kind of grasp information and then apply it. I think we’ve got a few guys that can just teach the whole thing, and he’s one of them. So, it’s pretty to see. I’m excited for his progress.

(Update on Monaray) He's in the same boat as Taye and so we're waiting to hear back on kind of how that transpires. We're hoping for the best and for all of it for Saturday. I think for him, his role in our fly sweep game or our option route game, kind of our vertical game, it's been a big one. I think Jordan Nabors is kind of in that role as well. We're hoping to get Jordan back for Saturday too. And so, we've got to get over the injury bug that we got right there. In the meantime, Gavin coming in and really making a critical catch and doing well with blocking and all of it was really good to see. I think he continues to impress and will continue to push for more and more playing time. I'm proud of his effort.

(Third and short, almost the best time to run it?) There was a fair amount of … and we've been operating this way and BYU does too, and they do a really good job of, fourth down, going for it and all of it. So, if it's first-and-10, you start with that for sure. But then there's the number of, ‘Hey, we've got to get to third and whatever, whatever that number is to go for it on fourth down.’ Analytics helps with that. And that’s still decision that, there was one decision like that where we punted it in this game, it was at the end of the game. They ended up driving it and missing the field goal at the end, off of the punt, but it was recommended to go [for it] and we didn't go on that time. So, you still have a decision to make. But if it is a third and say it's a third-and-five or a third-and-six that says go, and it's third-and-three, that gives you the ability to run it because it's third down, but it's really second. So, you have another down and so a lot of it is that.

(Was Blake’s arm cold down the stretch after running so much late) No, I appreciate the question. I think some of what the run game can do is it can settle things for the throw game and clear up windows and all of it. And so, I gave you the example, the very first play of the game was a glance to our X-receiver, I want to say. BYU came out and they were in three weak I want to say, and the safety, off the run action, it was an RPO, off the run action, started getting depth quick and was in the window, and I don't think Blake saw him. And it was incomplete. And I think it was in the hands of … I think it went to Seth, so it probably was our Z [receiver] and it went to the hands of the Z. It was kind of overthrown and thankfully so, because the safety was in the window, and there was no real bite of the run. There was just kind of a retreat to be in the window. Now, that window is something that we've taken advantage of throughout the last year and however many games and so, there is some opponent scout that goes into all that. But there wasn't a bite on the run. And so, when you can run it and be effective with it, and I think with all of it, we would have liked to have been more effective than we were. But then you can get those windows bigger with safeties coming down. And now you've got that glance that you want, or the slant or whatever you want to call it. And so, I think it started from that piece. I think the aid in some of that was to kind of, you know, ‘Hey, there's some jumpiness here, at this position, there’s some jumpiness at that position. There's some inconsistency at this position.’ All of them are kind of populated by young guys. And so, ‘Let's settle some of that down, let's lean on some of the veteran guys.’ I think it was also aided by that, too.

(To lose Doyle late in that game, prep for that position this week) I think I might have mentioned it Saturday night. I think Dillon's got a reputation where when that happened, they go, ‘Is he okay? Because I know Dillon’s kind of a great – you know? They’re all making judgments on the character, [which] I thought was pretty cool. And so, I think, Dillon, he’s kind of heartbroken about it. It's one of those things to where you slow it down, you can see him leave his feet, you could see the launch and all of it. I think it's just, it's hard when a guy is up high and he's coming down low. I think it's just always gonna work out that way. And I think it's for the best, because you want to keep people safe that are unprotected. And so, I think it's just one of those things, unfortunately, for us. And I think it gives an opportunity for some of our younger guys to be able to step up. I thought the run game when Dylan was in there was one thing, when he wasn't in there, I think it was another thing. I think we lost a notch or two. And so, I think the ability for our guys to take this week and really kind of get better as a team. With just the increased depth that we can create with all this is a good thing.

(What are you wanting to see this week, that will make you feel confident that they've learned the lessons that you wanted them to take away from this?) Well, no, I appreciate that question. I think we need great energy. We need great execution. There was a quote we used from Bruce Springsteen. We had to talk about the boss song because I think we had one guy that knew who he was. And so, there was a quote that he had, about how he doesn't see concerts as just a routine. He sees it as a renewal. And he talks about how he's playing “Born to Run'' however many times, but it ain't like that. Each time, it's a new time because there's someone bringing somebody for the first time that listened to him. And it's like, ‘They're gonna see the boss dude’ and they're gonna be there and that's gonna be their thing. And it's like, you never know whose first time it is. You never know the impact that you make.

And I think it's the same way with practice. You could look at it as, it's a Monday thing or it's a here's another Tuesday. But we just talked about the linebacker position, [which] is that everyone needs to be going hard on that Tuesday to give that linebacker that's playing now that's a starter now, the best look, and the best view so that he can be at his best come Saturday. So, there's a renewal every time. So, you'd like to see that. And I think you'd like to be able to see, in the heat of the moment and when we create pressure and competitiveness in practice, you like to see an attempt at discipline. Where it's not just the nodding of the head and all of it but the application of it, and see if that can pass over to Saturday.
 
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