University of Houston Athletics
Press Conference: Game 10 vs. Tulane
11/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
HOUSTON FOOTBALL WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES (PDF)
#RV/RV HOUSTON (7-2, 4-2 American) vs. TULANE (3-6, 0-5 American)
TDECU Stadium • Houston, Texas • Saturday, Nov. 12 | 2:30 pm CT
HOUSTON HEAD COACH Tom Herman
Opening Statement
"Nice to have a bye week. Our guys are as healthy and as fresh as we've been in a long, long time, which is very much needed. We were running on fumes the last few ball games and that stretch there in October. It was obvious that the four games in 19 days and the five games in the month of September caught up to us a little bit, and we needed to not only get our bodies right but really decompress mentally and take a nice big exhale and say alright we've made it this far, and we've got a very successful season going and need this break to kind recharge the batteries a little bit.
I was excited about what I saw last night. We had a short, less than an hour long, practice in shorts, but the guys were flying around; very energetic, very positive and very confident. I like where we're at. The work that we did last week allows us to taper off practice Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday so that when we jog out of the tunnel Saturday at 2:30 we are a very fresh, very energetic, very healthy football team."
On Na'Ty Rodgers being back from injury
"Na'Ty is back yes, and I forgot to mention Isaiah Johnson is still dealing with a concussion. Today he started the first return to play part of that protocol, so I think we might be able to get him back. He's going to miss a lot of practice, so he would be an emergency guy. Na'Ty is probably about 75%. He could go but right now Braylon (Jones) is playing better than a banged up Na'Ty, so that's why he is where he is on the depth chart."
On the biggest thing the team has learned about themselves this first half of the season
"Well it's been more than half: the first nine games. The biggest thing we learned in the second half of the UCF game is that it's still the same guys sitting in this team meeting room that pretty handedly beat Oklahoma, and went to Riverfront Stadium in a blackout and took on some adversity, trailing in the fourth quarter and came out like gangbusters and handled that adversity. We proved to ourselves more than anybody that when we go out and execute our training, and when we go and play really hard, and we do exactly what we are supposed to do play after play after play, then we are really good.
When we don't, and we turn the ball over, and we try to press and do things outside of ourselves, and when our bodies aren't quite at 100%, then we're not really good. We came away from that game, specifically in the second half, with a ton of confidence saying 'hey if we can do this against a good football team, in UCF, in one half and respond the way that we responded with hardly anybody in the stands and a lot of adversity from our own constituency,' it garnered a sense of confidence that we had at the beginning of the season."
On if that's how you find the mentality of us against the world
"You always like being the underdog. You like being disrespected. You like the us against the world mentality, because it really, really draws the bond within that locker room a lot closer."
On the energy in the conference with so many new coaches
"I was counting the west and five out of the six are in their second year or less, and then in the east with (Bob) Diaco in his third year and then Scott Frost and Scottie Montgomery in their first year's, that's nine out of 12 coaches that are three or less years at their place.
Willie Fritz is one of the greatest men in this profession today. Unbelievable role model for young coaches and has had success everywhere he has been, as a head coach for 13 years at Central Missouri. The run he had at Sam Houston and then obviously at Georgia Southern and now at Tulane has been remarkable really. I had a chance to get to know Coach Fritz a long time ago when I was coaching at Sam Houston under Ron Randleman, because he was an assistant at Sam Houston under Ron Randleman as well, and Coach Randleman introduced us, and we hit it off. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, not just in the wins and losses, but just kind of the way he conducts his business, and kids love him and, they play really, really hard for him. I know the season isn't going quite as he wished, but you can tell they are playing with a tremendous amount of energy and passion. It won't be long until they are a force to be reckoned with week-by-week in this conference."
On making adjustments in practice
"It's the amount of time, not necessarily the intensity. We will still be full pads, bloody Tuesday tomorrow and go about our business, but we've had multiple scout periods already in terms of working our offenses and defenses against the scout team and the Tulane looks. We don't need as many of them now. The intensity when we are out there will be off the charts: as intense as we've ever been. Just the sheer amount of time will be less."
On the mental aspects of having a bye week and how it's beneficial to the players
"It just gives us a chance to exhale. You know it's fourth-and-inches every time these guys step in the building here. It can wear on you mentally over and over again. To have a stretch there where we all knew we weren't playing to our level of ability, but it was because we were fatigued mentally and physically, but also because we were pressing and not responding to adversity very well.
Then to have that second half against UCF to kind of validate everything we have been preaching as coaches and come away from that game with a win. I told the team, maybe the most gratifying win in our short time here as a coaching staff simply because of how much adversity they did overcome in such a short amount of time. Now, the adversity was self-inflicted don't get me wrong. We have to clean a lot of things up, but that half leading into the bye week from a mental standpoint was really, really positive to be able to have that confidence and then build on it."
On the Tulane offense
"Their offense is very unique. Their plays are something that Willy (Fritz) has done since his time at Sam Houston State in terms of having a lot of triple option principles. He's doing it from a shotgun, a zoned and blocking scheme more than a traditional double slot scheme. The uniqueness doesn't stop there. For most option teams, they do a good job at running a traditional run game. It will be a great test for our defense. We don't need to change our defense completely, like you would for a team like Navy because of different schemes, but on every snap on defense we have to ensure that we have someone for the pitch and quarterback if they run triple option. That will bring its challenges, but I'm excited to see our defense fresh and healthy and playing the game."
On his relationship with Anthony Clarke, the maintenance worker
"My act of kindness wasn't intended for the public, but I don't mind that it has been shared. I see Anthony working so hard every day with a smile on his face. I like to reward people who work hard and don't fuss and complain about what they're doing. Our first conversation was me offering my help, and then we started to develop a relationship. From there we went to get the estimate and discovered that it was really expensive. Alone, I met up with the doctors and asked if there were any accommodations that we could make, and fortunately, they agreed. It's really gratifying knowing that you can change people's lives that deserve it."
On his commitment to love in the program
"I consider Anthony a part of the program. I consider everyone who works in this building a part of the program. If it touches our players, anything from it being the staff or someone taking out the trash, all of the other sports that we share this building with affect our players in some small way, some bigger than others, are indirectly responsible for some of our wins and losses. I wanted to show an example of being rewarded for working hard. I watch everyone in this building, because I want to know how they are affecting my team. Anthony was a guy who stood out to me, because I watched him very closely for a year and a half. It was his time."
On progression of Braylon Jones and Ed Oliver
"Defensive linemen are different from offensive linemen. Nine out of 10 freshmen register for offensive lineman, and Braylon is a unique case. He is talented and ridiculously smart; he was the valedictorian. Most defensive linemen don't play as true freshman, meaning they're lacking in something. As for Ed, he came in with minimal deficiencies. He needs to continue to develop his pass rush moves and put on about 10 to 15 pounds so he won't get swallowed when he plays against other heavy weight players. It's very unique to see two freshmen come in and have the skill set that they have with minimal technical deficiencies."
On the run game
"Our run game needs to be better. We've taken a lot of strides. Having Duke [Catalon] back was big. He missed a few cuts here and there, and slipped on a fourth down so he was a little rusty. But, to have him back now for two weeks has been good. Again, having Will Noble back at center gives us a bit of consistency up front. We're still a work in progress up front, there's no doubt about that. However, I feel good about our improvements we've made over the last week and a half. A lot of it has to do with consistency and who's in there. So much of offensive line play is interdependent. I've got to be able to communicate with the person next to me, and we have to be on the same page about how to get this play blocked. We're seeing a lot more comfort in communication and execution right now and now we have to put it out on the field on Saturdays. I feel good in terms of the direction that we're headed."
On the progress of freshman wide receivers
"If Isaiah Johnson is still out, Keith [Corbin] is going to have to play more. In this program, you must perform in practice. They're finally learning that if you have a good week of practice, guess what? You're going to play in tight spots in meaningful games. But, if you don't show us in practice that you're capable, then you won't play. Keith especially has made those strides. Courtney Lark is still a bit inconsistent at practice, but he's getting better. I'm excited to see those guys. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will be important to determine their level of playing time."
On feeling good about playing two of the last three games at home
"Absolutely. Winning is very hard, and winning on the road is even harder. Our guys are undefeated at home and that's not by accident. They get pretty cranked up to play in our stadium, and they should."
Houston Football student-athletes Josh Jones, Cameron Malveaux and Brandon Wilson also met with the media on Monday.
SENIOR DEFENSIVE END Cameron Malveaux
On getting confidence back during the second half of the UCF game
"It was a great win. Since Coach Herman has been here he said that has been his favorite win, me also. I thought second half we had all faith to play well. It feels great. We know we are capable coming into this week and it's confident."
On what clicked during halftime that led to dominance during the UCF game
"Everybody getting on the same page. That's about it."
On safety Garrett Davis' speech during halftime
"The main thing with that speech was getting everybody on the same page. Everybody was doing their own thing. It took somebody to step up. I'm glad that we do have someone like that on our team that will stick up and say that we all need to play together."
On how practice went Sunday night
"It was a fun practice. It was a Sunday practice: we didn't have pads, so there was less hitting. It was a lot of running and mental work."
On how to keep the body healthy during the bye week
"Staying in the film and treatment rooms. That was big for us. Extra ice tubs and different treatments. We went to get cryotherapy. That was neat."
On where they are defensively and what needs to happen to close out the season
"Going back to what we do, running around and hitting people. Keeping our motto and stop the run. That's how we do things."
On what cryotherapy is specifically
"It's a bunch of nitrogen, but it was cool. It was very cold, but I would rather do that than the cold tub."
REDSHIRT FRESHMAN OFFENSIVE LINEMAN Josh Jones
On benefits from bye week
"We have been going hard since fall camp, then went straight into the Oklahoma game and played game after game. We started getting banged up and had bruises here and there. We needed this bye week so we could take some time off to recuperate. We had a lot of dudes out, so we're bringing some of them back. It was much needed."
On what players learned about themselves in the UCF game
"We knew it all along. We knew how good we could be and how well we can play offensively and defensively. We had lost it. I don't know how, whether there were some things we weren't doing in the locker room or something. [The fact that] we could come out in that second half and rally back just showed we still had it in us the whole time."
On the frustration of not playing to their potential
"We go so hard in practice, and we know what we can do. We were shooting ourselves in the foot and having turnovers. We just weren't playing together as a team. It was frustrating, but now we've seen what we can do after the second half against UCF. That will be good for us [the rest of] the season."
On having everybody healthy
"It's amazing. In that first game when we had everybody [healthy], we were rolling, but then dudes started going down. Not that it affected the game, but now that we have everybody back I feel like our confidence is back up."
On the realization of the ability team has to win games
"We knew it all along. We just needed something like that second half. We had this talk in the locker room where Garrett Davis told us to play with our heart. That's one of the most powerful things you can play with in this game. We came out and played with that, and I feel like we'll play with that for the rest of the season."
On what he did in downtime during bye week
"We still had to practice and get ready for Tulane. I got off of my feet, and I went into the weight room with Coach Yancy McKnight. I did a lot of mobility. I stayed in the training room. I really worked on my body and trying to get it back, because I was really hurting too. I just did a lot of rehab with Coach McKnight to get my body back."
On whether bye week has made a difference
"As soon as we came off of this bye week and had Sunday practice, everyone was bouncing around, dancing to a little music and had a little bounce in their step."
CORNERBACK Brandon Wilson
On practice and how the team is feeling after bye week
"It was good. I know everybody is rested after the bye week."
On bye week
"I went home to Shreveport to spend time with my family. I just chilled and watched football."
On how late bye week affected the team mentally and physically
"A lot of guys were injured and beat up. The bye week refreshed us, now we're feeling great."
On Garret Davis' speech at halftime of the UCF game
"He told us we were one team, one heartbeat, and we just had to play together. What he said clicked and we came out swinging."
On how dangerous a team with the 'us against the world' attitude can be
"Us playing as one can be an elite defense. When we came out the second half of UCF game swinging, we came back."
On characteristics he's looking for to get back to an elite defense
"Stopping the run and playing good pass defense."
On key to getting back to creating turnovers
"It starts with us being discipline and doing our job. When you do your job good stuff like that come your way."
On mentally having a week off from game planning
"It was good. It was relaxing getting away and going home to spend time with family."
On atmosphere at practice Sunday night
"With the week off and not having a game coming back we had a lot of energy out there it was fun."
On Tulane version of triple option
"We saw a lot of it this year. We just need to be sound and discipline and we will do good."
