Explaining the Wildcat and why he likes it.
“First of all, the premise behind it is this: When you use a traditional offense and the QB takes a snap and hands it off, he serves no other purpose. You’re playing with 10 and they’re playing with 11. When you line up in the wildcat and you split QB out wide, they will typically cover him with a defensive back. Now it’s back to 10-on-10.”
“The ball carrier has to be able to eliminate one. Run him over or make him miss. That’s the premise behind it is to just level the playing field a little bit and it’s a nice little changeup. You have to have some things to complement it, because you’re one-dimensional. But to me, it’s about mentality — we’re running the ball down your throat right now, and you can’t stop it. When you’ve got Bill Belton who threw for 2,000 yards as a high school quarterback, and Nick Scott who played QB, that helps as well.”
Wanting to see more out of the nut return game?
“We’ve fair caught 99 percent of the punts. It’s hard to have a great average when you’re not returning them. I think JDV’s done a great job in terms of decision making. There’s a couple short punts we need to run up and grab to get some field position. We’re working some other guys back there; Belton, Hamilton, some of the younger guys If we get to the point we feel comfortable from a decision making and consistency standpoint and we might get some more juice, great.”
Why the run defense is ranked No.1
“I think No. 1 our DC Bob Shoop has a really good scheme. It’s not overly complicated. A lot of times coaches are their worst enemy because we make the game harder than it needs to be. On defense, line up, get the guys to line up and be sound and in good position and then let them run to the ball. I think it always helps when you’re good up front. Our d-line has been borderline dominant from the beginning of the year, and we’re going to go as well as our defensive line plays. Our linebackers are playing well, the secondary is playing well. It’s amazing that the d-backs seem to play the ball better when the quarterback is running for his life.”
With getting back scholarships, how do you plan on spending them?
“The way it’s being reported is a little bit different than reality. They say we can get back to 85, we really can’t. Once you’ve been in our situation, been down so many years, you can’t make it back in one class. You can only sign 25 in one class. We’ll be able to sign 25 this year but we probably won’t be at 85. We’d love to be able to help ourselves on both fronts — o-line and d-line. Those guys take the longest to play. Those kids come in and need a year or two to get bigger and stronger and mature. You better not come up short in recruiting on the line because it’s not a problem you can solve overnight.”
Weightlifting during the season.
“Next week I’m going to be on the road recruiting. We’ll be all over the place. Next week Coach Galt will be here to visit with you guys. We actually lift more during the season than most programs. It was new to our guys. Our guys’ bench press and squat go up during the season. We don’t lift as many days or go as heavy but we lift throughout the season.”
On noon start and homecoming:
“I love noon starts. I know the fans prefer later games. I don’t ever get to see my family. I got a lot of guilt associated with that and the amount of time I spend away from my family. Saturdays give me a lot of time to coach the game, get home and spend some time with my kids and my wife, and I appreciate that. We’d love for all the fans to get there as early as possible. We really feel like we could have an advantage like nowhere in the country — third down, red zone. We’re playing a no-huddle, tempo team that does a lot at the line of scrimmage. I’d love to challenge you guys to see how many penalties you can cause. Get there early and drink some tea to get your vocal chords warmed up.”
How do you feel the running back rotation has gone?
“I feel good about it because all three of those guys are healthy and fresh and starting to build some confidence. And they’re a little bit angry, which is a good thing, because I want them running hard. Hopefully that will help us this week not only in the first three quarters but the fourth. Cole is another guy I love and am trying to hire after he graduates. His work ethic, mentality, selflessness. He’s an awesome kid.”
How do you feel about secondary play so far?
“I feel good. there’s been some times on the perimeter I think we could get off blocks a liltle faster but we’re making plays on the ball, starting to creat some turnovers. We’re staring to create some depth. Christian Campbell played well in his first game experience. Grant Haley is playing well on defense and on special teams. We’re getting a lot of value out of Grant. Marcus Allen played a lot as a safety. I’m pleased with the depth and the experience we’re getting there.”
On recruiting the Northeast:
“I feel very confident about what we’re going to be able to do within six hours of campus and nationally as well. I think you’ll see the majority of our team come within six hours of campus. What I tell our guys is it’s time to start taking pride in our part of the country, the way the teams in the south do.”
How is Dieffenbach coming along? Haven’t read anything about him.
“You won’t see it anywhere. We don’t talk about injuries. We don’t talk about who’s going to play and who’s not. I was reading an article today and people were talking about how healthy we’ve been. We’re not. I scour the internet for that information. I read all about Northwestern this week. Who might have turf toe? We’re looking for any possible piece of information that helps us. So we don’t release that information. We love Miles. Hopefully he’ll be able to come back and help us at some point, sooner than later.”
