Opening Statement: Condolences and Injury Updates
Answer: I just want to send condolences out to Lee Roy Jordan’s family. Just with a passing over the weekend, and so just a huge part of this program and the past here and I want to send from our coaching staff and our team, our condolences, and then just heading up the injury updates ’cause I know you guys will ask on those.
Jamarian Latham, he had a lower body injury. You know, we’ll see how he progresses. Be day to day throughout this week, and then Isaiah Horton, you know, we’re really proud of the way he fought through a lower body injury that he had, but just kept fighting through Saturday was certainly limited, still feeling that a little bit. But he just continued to compete and he’s someone that doesn’t surprise me that that’s what we saw, but he’ll be expected to be full go by the end of the week. We’ll build up, you know, as he can tolerate here early on.
For Ryan [Williams], we’ll go through the concussion protocol throughout the week. You’ll have a day-to-day situation. Jae Roberts, I think everyone probably saw it last week. He was fully cleared. He’s been out there on the practice field for some time now, but just for everyone to feel good and taking, you know, full go reps, he traveled, he could gone in the game if we needed to. But didn’t did have him play out there.
Tim Keenan, week-to-week just kind of moving forward, but he’ll still be out this week. And then Jam Miller still week to week come along real nicely with his progression. So optimistic there here in the short future.
Question 1: Most, if not all, coaches and stats - when they grade individual players - they track most or instances of lack of effort. Did you see much of that when you looked at film, on the defensive side of all?
Answer: Yeah, there was, you know, you were certainly disappointed enough of some effort situations that happened. I think they came in different ways. Some of it’s just flat out, got to pursue, got to get there. And you know, it surprises you, sometimes when it happens, especially with certain guys, because of the effort that they put in, day in- day out, but, and I think there were some other things that come across as, you know, hesitancy, as the way I kind of put it. And I think after the game, probably would follow that up and say that there was a couple times where we’ve just got to be quicker to get to a spot and do our job, you know. We might be setting an edge, and just again, hesitant with the communication, kind of confirming, or just, you know, we believe and have that confidence in what we’re doing. There really wasn’t much. It was really, I think I spoke maybe that there was a couple looks that we hadn’t really practiced. I don’t really feel like it's really bad at all after watching the film.
Question 2: How well did the team prepare for the game, and why didn’t it translate to the field?
Answer: I thought we did a good job preparing. I thought the guys had a great week. Now you just got, you know, translate the numbers that you see on the football field, that were in different jerseys, and believe that that scheme, those Xs and O’s that you saw in your week of preparation is who it is in a Florida State uniform. And, you know, just I think you saw it as the second half went along. They started really kind of getting into it. It was too late, you know, it just put us behind the eight ball. Now you gotta be perfect and everything you do. And put us us in a spot where we had to play catch up and on the road, that’s certainly hard to do. And you know, those guys were feeling it. They were with Florida State. You know, there was a chance for them. you know, again, together as a team, we got to find a way to overcome one side of the ball.
When you need that drive for a touchdown, getting it done defensively, when you get that big stop, getting getting it taken care of right there. We’d short way back in the game. That’s what you got to do when you have a 17 point deficit a game, we shouldn’t get to that spot. But inch or away, you know, something that we did better than I felt pulling the off season.
We’ve talked about, you know, in the Oklahoma game last year, how you got to try to get seven points, make it close and put some pressure on them. And we were right there, you know, 24-17. really, we should have the ball third and 11, you know, on defense with nine minutes to go. And you know, just how far we had come and that probably previous 10 to 15 minutes of the game, you know, I’d have felt I’d have felt like, man, this thing’s gonna happen, you know, and that there’s a real belief in confidence that I think was building on the sidelines. So, we got to finish, you got to get the stops, it comes back to just that effort, but it has to happen from the very first play.
Question 3: Kind of sticking with that. When you say you’re surprised by some of the lack of intensity from the players you’re not expecting that from, what do you do to kind of combat that moving forward?
Answer: Yeah, I mean, these guys they’re great kids, they got high character. They want it bad. And so it’s just showing them have been, you know, a lot of times they already know, and, you know, making sure that, you know, we continue to be intentional. That’s a word that I use a lot, and it’s going to be something I use a lot more this week again, just being intentional on what we were trying to accomplish with quality reps, you know, and making sure that every rep is done at a high level from, you know, the effort to the execution.
Question 4: How was Ryan’s performance inside before his injury, and how will you utilize him once he returns?
Answer: Yeah, I think we’ll continue to work and figure that out. You know there’s been so many bright moments with him inside. He never really got going, you know, in the game before getting hurt. So, you, we’ll continue to have to make sure we’re moving him around and you know, last year we had a great season, you know, and had a good foundation as far as us understanding what he can do on the outside. We really felt like what we’d seen, especially in the fall, limited practices in the spring, but in the fall, really liked how he could get matchups in our favor and really post some problems. You know he can get him from one side of the field to the other, you can get him deep, you can get him, you know, out in the flat quick and so there’s a lot of different directions he can go, you know, get the ball, even in the run game a little bit, you. So we’ll keep his testing that, you know, as we go through here, you know, this week we’ll be a little trickier again with him getting limited opportunities, but that’s going to allow someone else to step up and, you know, it’s kind of continue to figure out the dynamics of how we feel best with our receiving core and the people that should be out there in those spots.
Question 5: You mentioned the great week [of preparation] before the game, just how much do you self-scout the preparation before games and other times as a coach where maybe you noticed during a week that things might not be going the way that you want to?
Answer: Yeah, I mean, I think our guys’ data, defensively, I felt like we were pretty honed in, gone back and actually looked at the practice film on some of the reps that we took that that we’re pretty much identical to what we saw, and just trying to figure out, you know, why were we one step or why was our communication just a little bit slower? So it’s just, you know, again, these guys have already shown me yesterday how bad they want it and how they’re going to respond. And so, you know, I really feel like the tone in the locker room after the game, at least from my standpoint, and how I can address the team is completely different than it was a year ago. And so you know, we don’t need to speak in those terms, but it just, it feels different. There’s more of a, like just flat on upset.
You know, I can use a lot of different words to explain it. But this, you know, really upset about how it went. You know, these aren’t learning moments anymore, you know, this is us and our program and, you know, again, we understand the situation we’ve put ourselves in and that we’re in, but it is a long season, and, you know, let’s take care of business this week, and then that’s going to set up the next week, and then we’ll worry about that. That’s been our philosophy all along, but we’ve really got to live it now.
Question 6: You talked a little bit about Ty’s performance post-game, but I’m curious. He said he called every drive after the first one. He said the offense was complacent. And I’m curious to see a guy, after his first start, make those kind of comments. What does that say about who Ty is and how he kind of runs this off?
Answer: Yeah, I didn’t hear those comments of, I guess, just, you know, I mean, I guess the only thing I can look into is that human nature is that when it goes well on your first drive and you end up in the end zone, you know, that there’s something internal white. It’s just human nature, but I also know that we challenged the guys that it was a lot of work to get the ball down the field. It took nine minutes, and that, you know, as great as that was, man, that’s awesome, like, to take that much time off the clock, keep their offense off the football field, that’s what you want to do, that you had to put play after play after play. I believe it was 16 of them together. And so I guess to me, you know, we went out there and executed a lot of drives. We just have to do a better job of sustaining it, and if there’s a complacency, it's suicidal, it’s that you got to finish, you got to do it, no one else is going to go out there and magically put it in the end zone for you.
Question 7: How are you addressing the penalties that hurt the team? That was something that also hurt the team a year ago. What has been the strategy to eliminate those penalties and now that you’re into the season what’s the process of how to correct them?
Answer: Yeah, I mean, there’s a lot of consequences that go along, especially the foolish penalties. You know, the ones that you know, happened after the whistle and things like that. So that will continue to be the case. You know, there’s just got to be better judgment when we get in those spots. And you know that the quarterbacks will be protected, and you can’t live in the gray area and go all off season, that was a point of emphasis. And, you know, we can’t afford to have every guy have his one-off time to where it’s like, okay, that was his mistake, you know? Oh, next game, it’s a different guy, you know, we’ve got to learn and understand. We talked about everything from, you know, what we see in other games that happened around college football, the NFL, whether it was out of season, even here after the week zero games. And so it’s certainly addressed, and now the guy has got to do it. And when they don’t do it, and make those mistakes, then there’s consequences that we’ve had and we’ve already dealt with here, you know, going into this week.
Question 8: You mentioned that response that you want the players to have and the response they want to have. How do you maximize that to translating it to on field results comes Saturday?
Answer:Yeah, what the guys need to do is cut it loose. I just need to go play. I need to block out outside noise, whatever that is, enjoy and love the game and play it the way it’s meant to be played. And that was my message yesterday is don’t overthink this. Just go out there and ball out. And they know what they’re doing, they need a trust and belief in the training. A trust and belief in the reps and all the walk-throughs, all those, you know, all that that they’ve done, all the work they’ve put in, and go out and reap the rewards from it, and go have fun doing it. And so, you know, don’t overthink this, just go out play and do what you love to do. And don’t listen to this person that’s in your ear and tell me this and that, like, go out and just do you. And that’s that’s what these guys gotta do. And enjoy it. and, you know, play with an edge too, right? ’Cause we’ve got something to prove, you know, because you know, there’s obviously a piece for this weekend, we fell short of what we feel like we’re capable of doing, what our potential is. So go out there and prove it, too, you know, but don’t put added pressure on yourself, have fun. get it done.
Question 9: Do you believe you play like you practice, and if you do, is there anything you would change in practice day-to-day to make sure your team puts out the toughest product they can on Saturdays?
Answer: Yeah, completely believe that you play how you practice, and that’s what probably surprises you more. is like, when your assignment's sound and you have great communication, we talk about confident team, is the one that communicates, well, you know, you’re confirming what you do to the guy behind you in front of you, next to you, you’re alerting. If you’re on defense, what emotion is, when you see some guy tipping off that he’s gonna go across the formation. You’re one step ahead on what that coverage structure might roll to. You know, communication, and then obviously the effort, and so even just urgency from transitions from drill to drill, you know, it’s not going to be stressed. Can’t even say it's to be stressed any more, because we stress it every single day and every moment of practice. And so it’s just got to translate to game days and, you know, again, a lot of it is just, like, just go out there, enjoy it, and have fun. You know, you put the work in, and these guys are doing it. We know, we always got always compare the offseason training in the weight room, you know, that we’re not building to be a track team and then just take our running to more running. We’re taking our, our skill sets, our body, and how we’re developing, and then also the urgency in this transitions from one station to another, we got to translate that to football. You know how you run on the field, how you run off the field, you know how you start, how you finish, the mindset that goes into all that. And so, I really believe our guys do that at a high level. And so, you, we got to make sure we keep stressing those things that we’ve stressed. and, you know, make the corrections here going into this week.
Question 10: How did Ty Simpson perform in terms of decision-making, including handling pressure and knowing when to move - Not just where he went with the football, but feeling pressure and knowing when to get out of the pocket and move.?
Answer: I think there was a couple of times where he probably could have avoided having to get to that point by just ripping it, you know, just trusting himself. You know, the guys who really need to be. The reads happen. Just, you know, that comes along with getting into the flow and just, you know, I know they want verification on that, because this is what we practice, you know, and it’s the first game of the year. But you know, just cut it loose. Just like, when you see the read, it isn’t like they’re putting 12 guys on the field. Okay, there’s only 11 out there. And when this structure goes a certain way and it is what you practiced, you know, trust and believe it. So then, what that does, it forces him into, you know, that progression, or that read, you know, being missed, and now, you know, the next step, which I think you’re referred to, and that’s taken off and scrambling and, you know, there’s a time or two where you, made decisions that were better, but he also kept some drives alive, especially the first one. I thought he did a nice job, and came up short there right at the end of the game. That’s a tough one, you know, where? came up a few inches short, but the effort was there, you could see that trying to fight every inch he could to keep that drive alive. So he’s going to learn from it. There’s no doubt he he’s a guy that takes ownership himself and again, that’s what we do from the coaching staff on down to our players, you know, reassessing win or loss, like, what we need to get better at, what our strengths are, and then how we got to progress and what the plan should be moving forward.
Answer: I just want to send condolences out to Lee Roy Jordan’s family. Just with a passing over the weekend, and so just a huge part of this program and the past here and I want to send from our coaching staff and our team, our condolences, and then just heading up the injury updates ’cause I know you guys will ask on those.
Jamarian Latham, he had a lower body injury. You know, we’ll see how he progresses. Be day to day throughout this week, and then Isaiah Horton, you know, we’re really proud of the way he fought through a lower body injury that he had, but just kept fighting through Saturday was certainly limited, still feeling that a little bit. But he just continued to compete and he’s someone that doesn’t surprise me that that’s what we saw, but he’ll be expected to be full go by the end of the week. We’ll build up, you know, as he can tolerate here early on.
For Ryan [Williams], we’ll go through the concussion protocol throughout the week. You’ll have a day-to-day situation. Jae Roberts, I think everyone probably saw it last week. He was fully cleared. He’s been out there on the practice field for some time now, but just for everyone to feel good and taking, you know, full go reps, he traveled, he could gone in the game if we needed to. But didn’t did have him play out there.
Tim Keenan, week-to-week just kind of moving forward, but he’ll still be out this week. And then Jam Miller still week to week come along real nicely with his progression. So optimistic there here in the short future.
Question 1: Most, if not all, coaches and stats - when they grade individual players - they track most or instances of lack of effort. Did you see much of that when you looked at film, on the defensive side of all?
Answer: Yeah, there was, you know, you were certainly disappointed enough of some effort situations that happened. I think they came in different ways. Some of it’s just flat out, got to pursue, got to get there. And you know, it surprises you, sometimes when it happens, especially with certain guys, because of the effort that they put in, day in- day out, but, and I think there were some other things that come across as, you know, hesitancy, as the way I kind of put it. And I think after the game, probably would follow that up and say that there was a couple times where we’ve just got to be quicker to get to a spot and do our job, you know. We might be setting an edge, and just again, hesitant with the communication, kind of confirming, or just, you know, we believe and have that confidence in what we’re doing. There really wasn’t much. It was really, I think I spoke maybe that there was a couple looks that we hadn’t really practiced. I don’t really feel like it's really bad at all after watching the film.
Question 2: How well did the team prepare for the game, and why didn’t it translate to the field?
Answer: I thought we did a good job preparing. I thought the guys had a great week. Now you just got, you know, translate the numbers that you see on the football field, that were in different jerseys, and believe that that scheme, those Xs and O’s that you saw in your week of preparation is who it is in a Florida State uniform. And, you know, just I think you saw it as the second half went along. They started really kind of getting into it. It was too late, you know, it just put us behind the eight ball. Now you gotta be perfect and everything you do. And put us us in a spot where we had to play catch up and on the road, that’s certainly hard to do. And you know, those guys were feeling it. They were with Florida State. You know, there was a chance for them. you know, again, together as a team, we got to find a way to overcome one side of the ball.
When you need that drive for a touchdown, getting it done defensively, when you get that big stop, getting getting it taken care of right there. We’d short way back in the game. That’s what you got to do when you have a 17 point deficit a game, we shouldn’t get to that spot. But inch or away, you know, something that we did better than I felt pulling the off season.
We’ve talked about, you know, in the Oklahoma game last year, how you got to try to get seven points, make it close and put some pressure on them. And we were right there, you know, 24-17. really, we should have the ball third and 11, you know, on defense with nine minutes to go. And you know, just how far we had come and that probably previous 10 to 15 minutes of the game, you know, I’d have felt I’d have felt like, man, this thing’s gonna happen, you know, and that there’s a real belief in confidence that I think was building on the sidelines. So, we got to finish, you got to get the stops, it comes back to just that effort, but it has to happen from the very first play.
Question 3: Kind of sticking with that. When you say you’re surprised by some of the lack of intensity from the players you’re not expecting that from, what do you do to kind of combat that moving forward?
Answer: Yeah, I mean, these guys they’re great kids, they got high character. They want it bad. And so it’s just showing them have been, you know, a lot of times they already know, and, you know, making sure that, you know, we continue to be intentional. That’s a word that I use a lot, and it’s going to be something I use a lot more this week again, just being intentional on what we were trying to accomplish with quality reps, you know, and making sure that every rep is done at a high level from, you know, the effort to the execution.
Question 4: How was Ryan’s performance inside before his injury, and how will you utilize him once he returns?
Answer: Yeah, I think we’ll continue to work and figure that out. You know there’s been so many bright moments with him inside. He never really got going, you know, in the game before getting hurt. So, you, we’ll continue to have to make sure we’re moving him around and you know, last year we had a great season, you know, and had a good foundation as far as us understanding what he can do on the outside. We really felt like what we’d seen, especially in the fall, limited practices in the spring, but in the fall, really liked how he could get matchups in our favor and really post some problems. You know he can get him from one side of the field to the other, you can get him deep, you can get him, you know, out in the flat quick and so there’s a lot of different directions he can go, you know, get the ball, even in the run game a little bit, you. So we’ll keep his testing that, you know, as we go through here, you know, this week we’ll be a little trickier again with him getting limited opportunities, but that’s going to allow someone else to step up and, you know, it’s kind of continue to figure out the dynamics of how we feel best with our receiving core and the people that should be out there in those spots.
Question 5: You mentioned the great week [of preparation] before the game, just how much do you self-scout the preparation before games and other times as a coach where maybe you noticed during a week that things might not be going the way that you want to?
Answer: Yeah, I mean, I think our guys’ data, defensively, I felt like we were pretty honed in, gone back and actually looked at the practice film on some of the reps that we took that that we’re pretty much identical to what we saw, and just trying to figure out, you know, why were we one step or why was our communication just a little bit slower? So it’s just, you know, again, these guys have already shown me yesterday how bad they want it and how they’re going to respond. And so, you know, I really feel like the tone in the locker room after the game, at least from my standpoint, and how I can address the team is completely different than it was a year ago. And so you know, we don’t need to speak in those terms, but it just, it feels different. There’s more of a, like just flat on upset.
You know, I can use a lot of different words to explain it. But this, you know, really upset about how it went. You know, these aren’t learning moments anymore, you know, this is us and our program and, you know, again, we understand the situation we’ve put ourselves in and that we’re in, but it is a long season, and, you know, let’s take care of business this week, and then that’s going to set up the next week, and then we’ll worry about that. That’s been our philosophy all along, but we’ve really got to live it now.
Question 6: You talked a little bit about Ty’s performance post-game, but I’m curious. He said he called every drive after the first one. He said the offense was complacent. And I’m curious to see a guy, after his first start, make those kind of comments. What does that say about who Ty is and how he kind of runs this off?
Answer: Yeah, I didn’t hear those comments of, I guess, just, you know, I mean, I guess the only thing I can look into is that human nature is that when it goes well on your first drive and you end up in the end zone, you know, that there’s something internal white. It’s just human nature, but I also know that we challenged the guys that it was a lot of work to get the ball down the field. It took nine minutes, and that, you know, as great as that was, man, that’s awesome, like, to take that much time off the clock, keep their offense off the football field, that’s what you want to do, that you had to put play after play after play. I believe it was 16 of them together. And so I guess to me, you know, we went out there and executed a lot of drives. We just have to do a better job of sustaining it, and if there’s a complacency, it's suicidal, it’s that you got to finish, you got to do it, no one else is going to go out there and magically put it in the end zone for you.
Question 7: How are you addressing the penalties that hurt the team? That was something that also hurt the team a year ago. What has been the strategy to eliminate those penalties and now that you’re into the season what’s the process of how to correct them?
Answer: Yeah, I mean, there’s a lot of consequences that go along, especially the foolish penalties. You know, the ones that you know, happened after the whistle and things like that. So that will continue to be the case. You know, there’s just got to be better judgment when we get in those spots. And you know that the quarterbacks will be protected, and you can’t live in the gray area and go all off season, that was a point of emphasis. And, you know, we can’t afford to have every guy have his one-off time to where it’s like, okay, that was his mistake, you know? Oh, next game, it’s a different guy, you know, we’ve got to learn and understand. We talked about everything from, you know, what we see in other games that happened around college football, the NFL, whether it was out of season, even here after the week zero games. And so it’s certainly addressed, and now the guy has got to do it. And when they don’t do it, and make those mistakes, then there’s consequences that we’ve had and we’ve already dealt with here, you know, going into this week.
Question 8: You mentioned that response that you want the players to have and the response they want to have. How do you maximize that to translating it to on field results comes Saturday?
Answer:Yeah, what the guys need to do is cut it loose. I just need to go play. I need to block out outside noise, whatever that is, enjoy and love the game and play it the way it’s meant to be played. And that was my message yesterday is don’t overthink this. Just go out there and ball out. And they know what they’re doing, they need a trust and belief in the training. A trust and belief in the reps and all the walk-throughs, all those, you know, all that that they’ve done, all the work they’ve put in, and go out and reap the rewards from it, and go have fun doing it. And so, you know, don’t overthink this, just go out play and do what you love to do. And don’t listen to this person that’s in your ear and tell me this and that, like, go out and just do you. And that’s that’s what these guys gotta do. And enjoy it. and, you know, play with an edge too, right? ’Cause we’ve got something to prove, you know, because you know, there’s obviously a piece for this weekend, we fell short of what we feel like we’re capable of doing, what our potential is. So go out there and prove it, too, you know, but don’t put added pressure on yourself, have fun. get it done.
Question 9: Do you believe you play like you practice, and if you do, is there anything you would change in practice day-to-day to make sure your team puts out the toughest product they can on Saturdays?
Answer: Yeah, completely believe that you play how you practice, and that’s what probably surprises you more. is like, when your assignment's sound and you have great communication, we talk about confident team, is the one that communicates, well, you know, you’re confirming what you do to the guy behind you in front of you, next to you, you’re alerting. If you’re on defense, what emotion is, when you see some guy tipping off that he’s gonna go across the formation. You’re one step ahead on what that coverage structure might roll to. You know, communication, and then obviously the effort, and so even just urgency from transitions from drill to drill, you know, it’s not going to be stressed. Can’t even say it's to be stressed any more, because we stress it every single day and every moment of practice. And so it’s just got to translate to game days and, you know, again, a lot of it is just, like, just go out there, enjoy it, and have fun. You know, you put the work in, and these guys are doing it. We know, we always got always compare the offseason training in the weight room, you know, that we’re not building to be a track team and then just take our running to more running. We’re taking our, our skill sets, our body, and how we’re developing, and then also the urgency in this transitions from one station to another, we got to translate that to football. You know how you run on the field, how you run off the field, you know how you start, how you finish, the mindset that goes into all that. And so, I really believe our guys do that at a high level. And so, you, we got to make sure we keep stressing those things that we’ve stressed. and, you know, make the corrections here going into this week.
Question 10: How did Ty Simpson perform in terms of decision-making, including handling pressure and knowing when to move - Not just where he went with the football, but feeling pressure and knowing when to get out of the pocket and move.?
Answer: I think there was a couple of times where he probably could have avoided having to get to that point by just ripping it, you know, just trusting himself. You know, the guys who really need to be. The reads happen. Just, you know, that comes along with getting into the flow and just, you know, I know they want verification on that, because this is what we practice, you know, and it’s the first game of the year. But you know, just cut it loose. Just like, when you see the read, it isn’t like they’re putting 12 guys on the field. Okay, there’s only 11 out there. And when this structure goes a certain way and it is what you practiced, you know, trust and believe it. So then, what that does, it forces him into, you know, that progression, or that read, you know, being missed, and now, you know, the next step, which I think you’re referred to, and that’s taken off and scrambling and, you know, there’s a time or two where you, made decisions that were better, but he also kept some drives alive, especially the first one. I thought he did a nice job, and came up short there right at the end of the game. That’s a tough one, you know, where? came up a few inches short, but the effort was there, you could see that trying to fight every inch he could to keep that drive alive. So he’s going to learn from it. There’s no doubt he he’s a guy that takes ownership himself and again, that’s what we do from the coaching staff on down to our players, you know, reassessing win or loss, like, what we need to get better at, what our strengths are, and then how we got to progress and what the plan should be moving forward.
