Transcript coming later but I think you can read into this that Richard Reese is going to be your starter at Iowa State or maybe your primary ball carrier.
Note
Baylor HC Dave Aranda said he's hopeful TE Ben Sims and WR Monaray Baldwin (WR) can play Saturday in Ames. Baldwin needs more tests. RB Taye McWilliams, DE Cole Maxwell and OL Khalil Keith likely unavailable.
Opening Statement
I’m excited for this week. The opportunity to go back and look at the game, I saw a lot of improvement and some things that still need to be improved on. I feel the ability to play with a little more edge on the offensive side and the reducing of the penalties and the increased discipline were all good signs. It’s a beginning and a start.
We’re definitely going to be challenged coming up on Saturday. As far as the view of who we want to be and consistently look like, I would say Iowa State kind of is that in a lot of ways. They don’t beat themselves, they’re efficient with all their movements in what they do. They’re a tough outfit. I have a lot of respect for them and a lot of respect for their coach. It’s going to be a challenge for us, so I’m excited for that and to see how much we’ve grown.
(How would you describe a typical Matt Campbell team, and will it be different without Brock Purdy and Breece Hall) They are a little different. They’ve thrown it more than they have. I think they’re blitzing more. If you infer just those pieces in terms of the last couple of years that I’ve been watching film since we’ve been here, I would say he plays to the strengths of what they’ve got. You can see that for sure. The identity of the physicality and running the ball and stopping the run and all that for sure shows up, and that is still there. The 11 personnel, the one back, one tight end and three receivers, and the throwing and how quickly the ball is coming out is different and new. I think the amount of blitzing with weakside pressure is not new but more so. As you pull away from it and look at it with a real wide lens, it fits them and allows them to be their best.
(Confidence in kicking game) Really good. There is a lot of confidence there. The ability to always go for it on fourth down is going to be a factor in some of that too, and whether it gets to that point. Hopefully the more touchdowns that come as a result of being aggressive on that particular down kind of adds up to a different end result. If we got down to it and we had to kick a 50-yard field goal, I would feel completely confident in doing that. Our guys have been doing that in practice. We go through a lot of two-minute situations. We might go through some today to start the week again. We’ve been right on with all of it, so I’m confident.
(Playing green balanced with not being too reckless) I first look at that outside of football. I think it goes to how different it has to be to have a real honest conversation that they can be forthright and say it in a way that’s not ugly and all of it. You guys are talking about stuff that’s real as opposed to maybe my ego taking shots at your ego, and your ego defending against my ego, and this whole game with a game that’s going on. I think so much of it is that. Just to get to where there is an honest conversation is way unique and I don’t think it happens very often. I think when you come across people who are authentic and genuine and not trying to be anybody else, I think that’s way rare too. In all of that there’s so much inner work that has to come that leads up to all that, especially where there are difficult situations. If you go back to the masks coming off, should I put this mask on, is it time for another mask, and this whole thing. So to get it to where there are no masks is way vulnerable for a lot of people. So I just think as difficult it is to be authentic off the field, to get to where you are that authentic and genuine on the field is just as because there has to come first of all this defense is lining up here, your eyes are here, hey be alert for this check. Or the tight end is here and you actually line up here, and if the tight end motions across, you got to shift to this. If there are no backs, we’re in this other defense. If the tight end is not attached, then we’re in this other defense. You have to go through all of that piece, and once you get through that piece, then you start playing a little bit faster. All of our young guys are going through this now. Then it becomes I’m frustrated my math class was this or I had this learning specialist tell me I have to study and do all of this stuff, and why do I have to do this. I have a class at eight o’clock. Why do I have a class at eight in the morning. Football becomes like an outlet for them. So some of the stuff you see where the guys are like running by guys and throwing their heads at guys and all the stuff that’s wrong, they’re off loading all this stuff they’ve been carrying. So that’s not it. So you have to go back to work and get it to where the playing is really an expression of your best self. That takes a lot of work to do. So to say we have a bunch of guys doing that now would not be true, and so we’re working to get that.
(Updates on Taye, Monaray, Ben and Cole) Taye, I think, is going to be a little bit longer. Cole could be a little bit longer. We’re hopeful for Ben and Monaray. There are still tests that have to be taken for them to be kind of given the green light, so to speak. But things are looking like that’s going to be the case, but not yet.
(Khalil Keith) He’s still a ways out.
(What does Richard Reese bring you) He hits the line of scrimmage fast. We’ve talked about it some before, and it’s really evident in the wide-zone play, where you’re on the track. And we’ve talked about the line of scrimmage, there can be kind of muddy water. And it sure would be great to have it really crystal clear, and it’s not a lot of times. So, to play full speed on your track, and get the one foot in the ground and go into what could be, I’m not really sure, is a whole thing in and of itself. And he can do that really well, and I think that’s something that separates him from the beginning. But then, I think, there’s such an eagerness and such a heartfelt want to get better that’s kind of driving him, and we’re way appreciative of that. But then, on the other side, there is also a – I wouldn’t say innocence – but I think all the talk and just everything about him, he doesn’t really care for it, which I appreciate so much. So, I think that just allows him to kind of be him. And it’s just so cool for that to be the case.
(Is there a change of intensity or focus going into conference play) You would like for every week to be the same. So, in how you prep and how you talk and how you structure your practices, I think the ability to not be waiting for remarkable stuff to happen, but to do the unremarkable with remarkable consistency is really what the key is. You kind of have to do the boring, mundane specific detail-oriented things, you really have to master. So, that takes a while to see those. If you’re moving too fast, and looking for big things, you’ll miss all the little things. So, I would say that. But within that, though, I have been on teams to where when you get into a week, there’s just an energy that’s there. And you feel it. So, when that comes from a team, it’s generally a good thing. I think at that point, if the team is going like this (bringing hands up high), you as a coach just kind of bring it down and give it a runway to where we’re not overflowing on a Tuesday or a Monday or whatever. I don’t know if that makes sense.
(On Apu’s growth since you recruited him at LSU till now) A lot of growth for him. I’m way proud of Apu. I think he continues to mature. A lot of maturity is just a different way of seeing. I think his perspective is broader, it’s not just all about him. And it’s starting to be like that. That’s just so neat, man, and really the stuff that’s the coolest of all the stuff. I think once we get into this part of the season, as we spoke, I think the more attention grabbers that they are, I think his growth maturity will be tested, for sure. But, I’m proud of him, because I think he’s emerging as a leader. We need one. And he’s doing it in a way that I way appreciate, that everybody can see. And I think he’s heartfelt with the stuff that he says. And he’s still going to want to river dance at certain times, so we’re trying to quell that as best we can and just keep it all on the field. But, I think he’s a guy that’s really done all the stuff we’ve asked him to do. So excited for him.
(Through non-conference, what have you seen from Blake and the offense and what makes you feel confident heading into conference play)
I think the first thing would probably be maybe some tension and anxiety. That would probably be the first two that come to mind. I think the expectations, I think all that stuff is real. And I don’t think it really does anyone any good to not talk about it. So, they’ve had to deal with that and work through not letting the outside come in and get to the inside. I think when you keep the focus on yourself and what you’re doing, there’s a chance to be way innovative. I think when the focus is on what’s on the outside and what’s being said and what’s all that, it becomes more reactive and closed-off and more protected. So, I think this last game in particularly, we were able to break through with some of that and really keep the focus on the focus, which I’m proud of. When you say offense and you say those names, it’s just a lot of youth. I think for us as coaches, someone has to teach them and somehow has to help them through all of it because it’s a lot and it’s coming fast and everything. I think at times, you want stuff, and you didn’t know this other stuff came with the stuff that you wanted. So then, it’s like, ‘Hey, dud, it’s OK. Let’s kind of roll through this together.’ I think it’s very much like that.
(What qualities does that RB room have that different people keep stepping up) The first guy I think of there is Juice. Our running backs coach, Justin Johnson. He’s got a great rapport with the guys. We talked about mentorship just now, and I think there’s very much that going on. And I think his connection with that group is very much outside of football. It connects to all parts of life. And I think when there is that, when the player feels that and knows that to be true, that I’m being seen for more than just a player, I’m being seen for a person and who I am, and then there’s just so much more of an ability at that point to show them, to reveal and put themselves out there and not hold back and not try to protect – we talked about the actors studio and all this other thing (with masks). From my seat, I can talk it all, but the greatest player development is coach development. Because when things get tough, you coach who you are. And I think Juice does a great job with that group. So, there’s a strong belief there. You’ve got guys that can be perimeter guys, we’ve guys that can be one-on-one matchup guys in the throw game. And they’re all now improved in pass-blocking and knowledge of who to pass-block and how and all of it. I think what remains to be seen is the ability to kind of be a 20-carry guy in a game, taking the hits that came with all of it and kind of being at their best in the fourth quarter. So, that’s the challenge. Now, whether that’s going to be one guy doing it or that’s going to be a staple of guys that have to do that remains to be seen.
(Dave, you mentioned the pressure point Saturday at halftime, you could almost feel something was on edge. As someone with your background and what you study, was that cleansing? Did people kind of release the tension, the pressure, the expectations and clear it?) Appreciate that, I think we’re still in the process of doing that. We’re speaking about halftime, I could really sense at halftime just the coaches were like this and because of that the team was like this. And so I forget exactly what I said, but it was something like “just drop it man.” Instead of being like this, you’d love to be just like that. And I just think you can play green if that’s the case. I think there has to be an emphasis on growing and improving and that has to be over proving to others that you are worthy or proving to others that you’re worth it. And I think we might be tilted too much in this area and it needs to be more of an intrinsic thing. I showed it to the staff, I showed there’s a scene in the Matrix, one of my favorite movies, there’s a scene where Morpheus and Neo, they’re on the street and they’re in the matrix and they’re walking this way, just those two, and everyone on the street is walking the other way. And they’re bumping into guys trying to walk on through and so that’s what it is. So that’s hard, to be intrinsically and to be focused on who you are as a result of all of it. And to be process-oriented when the outcomes are so out there. Just to walk against the grain. But that’s the fight, we talk about the task within the task, that is clearly it. We can’t lose that in the face of these games. That we'd love to win, but could very well lose and don’t control the outcome with all of it. We keep the focus on these things, we’ll continue to get better throughout the end of the year.
(Dave, you mentioned that you want to kickoff at the one, play with more edge. Practically, how do you go about coaching that in practice?) I think that’s tied with what we just talked about. When guys are not playing with edge, I think they are carrying other things and they have to drop what they’re carrying. And that could be the feeling of overwhelm whether it’s school now and the daily schedule that guys have, it could be expectation and stuff that they’re putting on themselves, it could be the tenseness and anxiety that is passed over from a coach. A player is not going to prove he belongs by perfection and doing everything right. You don’t play football by paint by numbers. The stuff is going to go outside the lines, just be you and all of that. Let go of the stuff you’re carrying and I think that’s a general thing, but for each dude, it’s way specific, you have to see where guys are at and meet them there and work it out at that level.
(Dave, we are in Hispanic Heritage month. You're one of the few in division one football that’s a Hispanic head coach. Is that something that you’re proud to represent?) I don't think about that. I don’t know if that’s wrong to say in this month. I do though, when you pause and step back. When our punter got married, this spring or summer, my wife and I, Dione, we went to the wedding. I forget the name of the town, it's down south. We got in on Friday night and the wedding was on Saturday morning and it was right by the water. Dione and I get out, we get a cup of coffee and we’re just walking on the water there and I remember seeing there’s Mexican American people there and I remember seeing a Mexican American in a suit. And it paused me because when was the last time I've seen a Mexican dude in a suit? I went back to when I was in school, I was in high school. When I lived back home, where I'm from, in Redlands. As you probably saw one of my family, generally [when] you see Mexicans, I don't really see that. And so I remember seeing a guy in a suit and I keep walking and then there’s another guy and I don't know maybe it was something going on, maybe there’s some type of conference or something. But I'm just seeing it and it pauses you. I remember telling my wife what was going on and (I’m hoping everyone’s keeping up because) she was struggling to keep up with it, but it’s just when I could be that person in the suit that’s just way strong and that is a real thing.
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