Glad to be back in game week
6-game run that’ll be challenging but fun
“Any time you can welcome a No. 1-ranked team into your own stadium you face a great challenge but with great challenge is a great opportunity.”
His history with DeBoer goes back to his South Dakota State days
“We’ve been a spirited team and a competitive team.
“What my message to them has been is that we can’t skip any steps.”
“He was always someone who stood out as a good person first and a really skilled football coach. Every step along the way he’s proven tha.
OFFENSE
Grinding out clock is part of the strategy
But they need explosive plays too
Need to stay on schedule
Referenced penalties and mistakes that put them in long yardage situations
That’s not a formula going forward
The drive when McVay scored is what they want to be
They have to possess the ball and accumulate state
JALEN MILROE/RYAN WILLIAMS
You have to be careful not to over-compensate
To neutralize a player like Jalen you can lose your base structure and identity
Milroe challenges you to be best at fundamental, technical aspects
Every time the ball is snapped there is a chance at an explosive play
You can’t always have an extra guy for the QB
You have to minimize his run lanes
You have to close the middle
Milroe can hurt you evading the pass rush
Once he pierces the pocket he can circle a defense
PENALTIES BUT ALSO LACK OF TURNOVERS
They’ve been disciplined with respect to penalties in their past
They’ve spent the bye week trying to emphasize cleaning those up
They’ve had officials at practices
They’ll harp on that but those problems aren’t solved on game day
They had some defensive holds today in 1-on-1s and that’s not acceptable
They won’t play a perfect game and they won’t solve it by yelling and screaming in games
They can’t get called for unsportsmanlike conduct/late hits
They expect that to be gone
INJURIES
Good, not perfect
They’re returning to a level of health that’s exciting and the full report will come Wednesday
But most guys are back and available, no one’s been added in two weeks
HOW DID THEY HANDLE THE BYE?
THey’ll look to create turnovers on defense and limit explosive plays
And win field position
That’s their identity, when they play that way they’ve got a chance to celebrate (a win)
We have to be smarter and smart teams win
They came back Sunday after a day off Saturday
HANDLING RYAN WILLIAMS MOVES
Jokes it reminds him of some of the moves he made in the flat when he played
He’s got some of the best body control he’s seen
He makes plays on the ball as his body contorts and the ball bounces around
He had a TD against WKU when he split defenders and spun around
Their offensive production from Georgia just screams that it runs through Williams and Milroe
They can make you pay if you aren’t aware of where they are
Be aware of his opportunities to catch the deep ball
Sometimes it’ll take two guys to stop him
You can’t fully simulate his speed, radius and balance and body control
But they can show it and try to put them in the best position
It takes teamwork and he doesn’t want to see situtaotis of 1-on-1 shots and no one is around to help
WHEN A QB IS MORE A THREAT IN THE RUNNING GAME THAN THE RB…
Wants to be really clear their RBs are really good, jokes to Billy that he won’t take the bait there
You want to be careful not to abandon your structure
They don’t want to play “hoping” something works
They want to understand strengths and weaknesses and build a run wall inside out and be great in pursuit
An 8- or 12-yard gain doesn’t beat you, it’s the ones when you’re out of structure
You can’t design your total package about taking the ball out of his hands
He’s dangerous in escaping and throwing too
They can add people to the rush that are responsible for spying the QB
But just to spy him is not to account for him, it’s about taking space away with other things too
He doesn’t believe in voiding the rush either to reduce escape routes
It’s about pocket compression and finding finish points on the ball
When he gets a breakout it’s about how you leverage the ball down the field
WHICH PLAYERS HAVE SHOWN SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT?
Jaylin Lackey mentioned, he talked about how he noticed him today
It’s easy to be discouraged if the snap count isn’t there
It takes a tough person to focus on work to be done
Brycen Coleman, Joseph McVay have stood out on and off field
For them to be successful they must look at their roster
Outarra stands out, his physical tools are starting to take over
MITCH LIGHT WITH A QUESTION ON BALL BOYS, DOES HE NOTICE THEM?
You notice it
On the whole, those guys are pros in the way they work
It’s one of those things that may not make sense but it’s how you view business
Sometimes you get a chippy ball boy that creates angst (laughs)
On the whole there are few problems
Most of the time when there is it removes quickly
There’s a lot of emotion on the sideline
It’s an interesting part of the game but it doesn’t impact much
Focus continues on getting the most out of t
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