Houston vs. Navy: Press Conference
11/20/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
2017 HOUSTON FOOTBALL QUOTES FOR THE NAVY GAME
TDECU Stadium • Houston, Texas • Friday, Nov. 24, 2017
HEAD COACH Major Applewhite
On the status of Mulbah Car and Duke Catalon
"Duke has been playing the last month, or longer, with an AC sprain and he aggravated it again. Mulbah had an ankle and a knee injury, but was able to come back. That's just going to happen as a running back. Davion Mitchell came in a true freshman and gave us a carry. He's going to be more in our plans knowing that those two guys are banged up."
On the chances of Mulbah Car and Duke Catalon playing this weekend
"Both of them will be available this weekend. How long they'll go and how healthy they'll be will be determined during the week."
On the other running backs available
"Davion (Mitchell) and Patrick (Carr) are the healthiest. Duke and Mulbah are the most experienced and have the most carries, but we'll have to see today, tomorrow, and Wednesday."
On things you wish had played out differently
"From a defensive standpoint, there were third downs. They had the ball around thirty six and a half minutes and usually you're going to have more points with that time of possession. There were times when we stopped them for a field goal, but at the same time they were able to take up a lot of the clock because Banks was making plays for them on third down. We could not get them off the field. We didn't contain the quarterback and we didn't tackle them in the pocket. That's very difficult and we've seen that around here with Greg. We've got to do a better job in those situations and playing that kind of quarterback. Offensively, it's all about the red zone. You have an opportunity for seven points. There were 28 potential points and we walked away with 10. All we needed was four. Four other points, but we had a penalty that makes you go back to first and goal from the 22. You end up kicking a field goal. You end up doing a sweep from the 14 or 16 and you end up scoring a touchdown. Then you turn it over on downs and then you have an actual turnover. You just can't win games with 17 points. The ball has to be a premium and you have to put in the right plays in the red zone. We've got to execute."
On Caden Novikoff
"I think that it's experience. If you watched him kick in the spring you wouldn't think it's the same person, but I saw a difference in the fall camp than I didn't see in the spring. That's credit to him for going out and working to get better. As the seasons gone on he's had the opportunity for some kicks and he's made them. Just like a shooter in basketball, the more you make them the more confidence you have in pulling the trigger. We were down early in the game and we got a 40-yarder and there was no second thoughts about getting us three."
On what the schedule will look like during the break
"Everything has been moved up a day. Tuesday is on a Monday, Wednesday is on a Tuesday, Thursday is on a Wednesday. We'll be off on Thanksgiving, have meetings, go to the hotel, then play Friday morning at 11 a.m. Everything is moved up a day, but we have a little bit of extra time on Wednesday because classes are out on Thursday.
On the seniors' accomplishments
"That's what we spoke about in the team meeting, other than addressing the Tulane game. This one is for the seniors. The seniors sit in the first row of the auditorium, so everyone on the following rows is playing for that group. At some point they'll get down to that row and will want the people behind them to play for them. Everybody owes it to those guys because they've done a lot for this program. There's no telling how many balls Linell Bonner and Steve Dunbar have caught in the stadium or how many tackles Matt Adams has had. I was talking to Marcus Oliver last night, and he's played every position on the O-line except for center. They've done a lot of great things for this university and they've been through three different head coaches and three or four position coaches at times. They've done nothing but work hard, be good citizens off the field, and represent the university the right way."
On how he will choose future team captains
"There's a lot of philosophies in terms of captains. I've grown accustomed to the captains of the week or the guys who put in the effort that week. They were preparing and practicing hard. They get the honor of representing the team on game day. Then you look at the body if work throughout the course of the season and after you've been through the battles of the season, you look at the representatives who embody how we work and how we train."
On the game against the Navy this week
"It's very similar to last week. It's the same type of game. You're going to have limited possessions, don't be surprised about it going into halftime and you'll have to win possessions. I just got through watching Notre Dame snapping the ball for the 38th time on the first snap of the fourth quarter, so don't be surprised if you have fewer possessions. Prepare yourself for what type of game it's going to be. Then you have to find out what you need to do offensively and defensively to win the game. With triple option, you have to tackle. You're going to have people assigned to dive, assigned to quarterback and have people assigned to pitch, so you have to tackle those people. You have to have great recognition in the formations and what you're getting. Then you have to be ready for the things off of the triple. Sometimes it's not the triple itself that hurts you, it's the play action, passes, and the tosses off of it. When you see a steady dose of it, and they throw one of their eight, 12, or however many passes they're averaging a game. It's usually when you have your head buried in the box and then all of a sudden, a ball's over your head. Tackling well, recognizing formations, communicating them, and making sure your eyes are in the right place for play action."
On if the team still has their foot in the door if they have fewer possessions
"That's exactly right and that's the way they want to play the game."
On the issues in the red zone
"There haven't been any in the past three games. We were 100 percent in the red zone against East Carolina and the same thing again at South Florida. It hasn't been an issue the last few games. It wasn't an issue during Memphis either. Earlier in the season, we had a turnover against Texas Tech. The main thing is that as you're getting back in, whether it's Kyle or D'Eriq coming in at quarterback. I remember my college coach making us sing `Reserve the right to kick' every time we did a red zone drill. You have to have points. The only way you can put pressure on people in this game is to put points on the board. Whether it's by three or seven, it's still points. Those are the things that are very disheartening to the team and it's almost like a block punt, because you turn the ball over without getting any points."
On his views on drastic celebrations
"It's a game and it's intense. There's always things said. Thank goodness you can't read through face masks most of the time, but there's always things said in the game. That's just part of it. Some of the other stuff, I don't really pay attention to because those are just extracurricular things. Jawing back and forth, and nodding your head at somebody if you got the best of them is just part of the deal."
