Sunday Night OT with Coach Claeys 10-16-2016
**Quotes are not verbatim**
Happier show tonight after a win, general thoughts about the game...
For the first time, I thought we played together. There are things to clean up, but offensively and defensively we didn’t turn the ball over. We got three turnovers, we got three sacks, and we ran the ball well. Time of possession was big time in our favor. Last week 10 of 13 were three and out’s, yesterday was 3 three and out’s. That gives the defense a break. Conor was very effective managing the game, both of our running backs got about 20 carries a piece, and the offensive line played better. Any time you go on the road it’s hard to win, but I thought we managed the game well as a team.
Game plan was to be physical up front and wear them down…
Yeah we want to get about 40 carries, and then with Conor to do some things that he does well. That last long play by Rodney was a switch by Conor, he switched to get us into a good play. I was pleased with the way he played. Offensive line wise, we still have some things to correct, but we played a lot better. Once Garrison (Wright) got injured we pulled back a little bit, we felt good being up by three scores at that time.
How do you determine which running back will be in the game…
I think it’ll be a lot more when they’re tired. To keep them fresh and get them in and out. They’ve done a good job communicating that, but we also played a lot more snaps with them both on the field. With Rodney we did a few things with in the passing game. The more they are healthy, the more we will try to do with them.
How were you able to stop their running attack…
We did a good job just making sure leverage wise we were set. We played a couple smaller guys that are able to run better. We were able to make him come back up inside where we had help. One play we got there late and Damarius Travis made a great play. They aren’t the biggest team, but they are very athletic, and I thought we handled the no huddle stuff well.
How were you able to set up the game plan for Conor Rhoda…
Back in the spring when Mitch was out, Conor got a lot of reps. Him and Demry got a lot of work, so Coach (Jay) Johnson was able to see what both of them were good at. We didn’t say a lot about him starting, we put the offense together and didn’t ask him to do too much. We felt like we could run the ball, and he made a couple good throws. There’s really only one he made that we didn’t care for, but we felt like he threw the ball to the right spots. You have to play to the kid’s strengths, and we named him captain because we felt that was important that he needed to be out there leading us.
Which OL are grading out the highest…
Coach Bart (Miller) is usually the one that takes most of the grading. After the games we meet as a staff and talk about each position. I don’t make people play certain people until they are ready to play. They are in the meetings with them, they know their job depends on it, and they will play the best people to give us the best chance to win. We get the percentages and that, I know Bart is happy with Jared Weyler, Jonah was playing at a very high level, and Garrison Wright has probably graded out the highest and been our most consistent guys.
Versatility of Jared Weyler…
No question. He can identify fronts, he’s extremely intelligent when it comes to football, and he plays smart. You need that guy in there especially in the position we are in, and he can play any of the three positions inside.
When a team like us plays a lot of true freshmen, does that help recruiting…
I think so. Kids want to play right away. A lot of it comes down to strength. A lot of freshmen don’t have the strength to play right away. The kids we put in there have the strength to play and the skill to play. The hard thing is this time of year these kids are used to only having a few games left in high school, so they run into a bit of a wall. You have to give them pep talks to get them through the early parts of the week, and make sure they don’t hit the wall early in the week and do the work they need to do.
Helps when the local kids are the one playing right away…
No question that helps. The hardest part is o-line and d-line. If you’re a skill kid and you have some strength, you can play. We almost don’t want to recruit guys that want to redshirt. You question if he is competitive enough. Not the big guys, but the skill guys. I like it when guys want to come in and think they can play right away. We have a group that we’re redshirting that are equal as athletic, but need a bit more time to develop.
I feel like we are one of the few teams that never take shots down the field…
We probably need to take a few more. Rashad Still has been our guy, and he’s missed a few games. As the running game becomes more productive that we’re going to have to take a shot or two more. But I also think you have to do it in the right situations and with the right receivers. I don’t disagree with him and that’s something we need to look at.
The status of Mitch Leidner…
They felt like it would be best for him to stay back and get rested. After today he advanced one step in the protocol, but he was better after staying home this week. On Tuesday we’ll have to see where he is at.
How does Brandon Lingen back in the lineup change the offensive approach…
One of them is the throws downfield. He can run well, and he’ll tell you he was rusty last week. I think he did a nice job, and once he gets more comfortable with his shoulder he’ll become one of our downfield targets.
Thoughts on Antoine Winfield Jr…
Each week his role expands a little bit more. He started now and has a lot to do with our coverage stuff. He’s from a football family, and we was raised right with his dad with the video and teaching him the game of football. He plays with a chip on his shoulder, he’s probably another one of those kids that if he’s a couple inches taller some other schools may have gone after him. They spent a year here, and this is where he wanted to come all along. That’s how you build a good football team, you want to get kids that want to be here. I look forward to him having a lot of good years here.
Versatility of Antoine Winfield…
He’s played safety, corner, and down at nickel for us. Once we get healthy we are getting guys back so that the roles are more solidified. He’ll watch the film each week, doesn’t take anything personal, and wants to get better each week. And he has done that.
What to expect from Rutgers…
They’re struggling a little bit on offense, they lost a good player earlier this year, so they’re trying to figure out quarterback wise who gives them the best chance to win. At the same time, they’re capable of playing well, especially defensively. They lost to Iowa the same score we did. We have to make sure we have a good week preparing and play physical. We have to get our running game going or we’re going to be in a little bit of trouble. Defensively, we are going to have to prepare for playing against two quarterbacks. We’re going to have to prepare a couple different ways. If you spend too much time on them, then you aren’t preparing ourselves. So all of our time is making sure our kids are ready to play on Saturday.
