How would you evaluate the cornerbacks and what do you want to see from them going forward?
"I would say just like consistency of play. We've had some really good moments, some really strong individual plays. I feel like the group, we have a little bit more depth than we had last year. We're also in some ways maybe a little more unproven, but we definitely have more depth. I feel like that group is really primed to take off and play well the second half of the season. I think we all figured there was going to be a little bit of an adjustment period with that group. I mean, Blackmon obviously played so well for us last year and was such a mainstay. We do feel like some of these guys have progressed. I think the thing that you would love to see and what we're pushing to see here in the second half of the year here is finishing some of the plays. We have some really good length in that room, we have some guys that are starting to really get comfortable and we've had some opportunities to really finish some great plays and I think we're capable of that. So I think the consistency and then making some of the big plays we're capable of, because as you mentioned, we are going to get tested there at times like everybody is. When you can not just hold up but when you can make some of those plays yourself, it changes the context of anything. We absolutely have guys in that room capable of it.
"And then obviously I think the hope is too that we can stay a little bit healthier there. Even kind of fall camp and then through the first part of the year, I mean it's just been, we haven't had much consistency. I don't know if we've had one guy that's been available for every game, which has been, just kind of the lineup has fluctuated. And not so much the lineup from what you guys see on Saturdays, but just the practice, the consistency of practice being able to be there. Roland-Wallace is really the one guy that from really fall camp on has probably practiced every single day. And you can tell kind of with his consistency his play he's really starting to take off, and we need that certainly from Domani and Ceyair and Jacobe and Prophet, some of these other guys -- just the consistency in their reps and experience will add up because they do have ability. And they've all had some phenomenal, some great snaps this year. Need to get healthy, need to get consistent and when we get an opportunity to make some of the plays that we're capable making, we need to settle in and go make those plays because those are game-changing type plays."
There were six handoffs to RBs after halftime, what goes into that balance on deciding when to lean on the ground game down the stretch or trust the passing attack?
"Yeah, we didn't have as many plays after halftime. Just the simple math was part of it. We had a couple of big plays, we had two three-and-outs and then we had a turnover on a first play of a drive, so there wasn't as much of anything in the second half. And then, we've got to run the ball better -- we didn't run the ball very good, I mean, is pretty much the simple answer. I know I talked about it at length after the game, we've got to do a better job as coaches, we missed some cuts up front, we had a couple that were going to be big plays that we had bad snaps on, and then we obviously didn't do a great job finishing blocks up front. We've got to do it better and we've got to stay on the field. That's the No. 1 thing. We've shown we're certainly very committed to having a great run game here and we've been committed since the day we walked in the door here, and I think the results have spoken for themselves there. But we didn't do as good a job of it Saturday and we need to do a lot better job here this Saturday."
Building off that, where can MarShawn Lloyd continue to get better to feel comfortable trusting the run game more?
"Yeah, I mean, it's a double-edged sword. You've got to do it efficiently. You've got to be able to stay on the field. I mean, we have trusted him. He's gotten the bulk of the carries here the last few weeks. Again, when you're playing some of the low number of snaps that we've played, I mean, it's not like our starting tailback is getting 15 carries but we're throwing it 65 times. That's not, we have had a decent amount of balance there, we just weren't as efficient with it in the game the other day, which obviously would have been helpful for a lot of reasons so we want to do it better. We're still scoring a point or two, so I don't think it's broken, but we definitely need to do it a little bit better."
How do you balance the matuirty of being 5-0 but also not feeling you're good enough yet?
"Definitely get the question: first, 5-0 is good enough because you can’t do any better than that. I’ve tried hard to win six in five, but you still can’t do it. So 5-0 is plenty good enough. The question is the execution, has it been perfect? Is it going to need to get better? Of course. And that would be the answer regardless – I don't know what our average margin of victory is right now is, but if it were 15 points more, that would still be the same answer. You’ve gotta continue to get better. You’ve gotta own the good with the bad, you have to own both. I know that’s been our message, I know you’ve heard that from us, but that really is the truth and that’s really how we've been approaching it with our guys. Our guys, they want to continue to get better, they want to continue to play better. They understand that the season is a climb and there’s a lot left for this team in terms of fulfilling our potential and we want to keep taking steps there. So i feel like the team has been very bought in with it, they’re excited and appreciative to have won every single game that we’ve played that we also know just internally for us, we can absolutely be a lto better, there’s a lot out in front for this team that we’re going ot have to go take. Obviously people are not going to hand it to us. I think we’ve been very motivated. I think they’ve been very excited, I think they’ve practiced well. I think we’ve learned a lot in the last couple of weeks from being in some of these different situations as a team and I do feel like it’s strengthened our bond, it’s strengthened our resolve and the week of practice from what i’ve seen and the intent of this team to go attack those areas I think has been very apparent, so we’ve gotta go take that and go put that on the game field here in these upcoming SAturdays, but I like the vibe of this team, I like the desire of this team. They’re appreciative to be 5-0 but also very excited and motivated to continue to improve, which is right where we want them to be."
Dedich said Caleb is making more checks at the line, how do you take input from players during the week on gameplan?
"Yeah, it’s different with – we always ask opinions of our guys. Now, we don’t always listen to them, but we always ask. It comes in two different ways: you’ve got the younger, inexperienced players that you’re making sure that they’re comfortable and confident in the execution of it. Then typically it morphs into, like with some of our more experienced players like a Caleb or like a Justin, of it’s good to have ones that they really believe in and they really see. It tends to get more – it’s less like, a young player’s confidence and it’s more like, these guys have had a lot of reps, they know what they like, they kind of know what they’re good at, it can be a little bit more of an in-depth discussion I guess if you will. So yeah, our guys come up with some great ideas at times or great thoughts for adjustments. We’ve got some really smart players, so it’s good dialogue. I think with anything, you’ve gotta – there’s gotta be – there does have to be one decision maker at the end of the day. At the end, we’ve gotta make a decision and all go with it, but we have some great guys on really both sides. You see that more in year 2 across the program. We have experienced players now defensively that have been in our system for a few years that can provide some of that feedback to our staff defensively, same offensively. So I think those conversations, probably as a whole, feel a little bit different than they did 12 months ago."
Thoughts on the Big Ten schedule release, not getting to play the other West Coast teams every year?
"Yeah, yeah, I had a chance to look at it. I don’t have any serious complaints, there’s a couple of things on the sequencing of home and away, especially with some of the teams that are in our league, that we didn’t agree with, but at the same point, you understand, part of it you understand, it's not going to be just perfect for anyone and i think the west coast piece, just the way that it’s sequenced out where us and UCLA went in first and then the other two teams went in after that, I feel like it was going to be difficult to honor without having divisions and all of that, I just feel like it was going to be very difficult to honor, to try to fit that much west coast in when you have so many other people left to play. I get the one with UCLA because of the rivalry, the history and the sequencing of how we were accepted into the Big Ten. I just think it was going to be almost impossible to do some type of arrangement like that with the other two west coast schools and still get the coverage of our entire league. So I honestly felt like from the west coast piece, I think they did what they needed to do. The reality is we’re still going to play half of our games and in most years a little over half of our games on the west coast, so i don’t think we’re going to be hurting for it here. I thought overall, I mean, it’s kind of a new concept, there’s a lot we’re going to learn once we get into it. I think for the most part, other than some of the home and home or multiple away visits in a row, I thought it was pretty well done."
"I would say just like consistency of play. We've had some really good moments, some really strong individual plays. I feel like the group, we have a little bit more depth than we had last year. We're also in some ways maybe a little more unproven, but we definitely have more depth. I feel like that group is really primed to take off and play well the second half of the season. I think we all figured there was going to be a little bit of an adjustment period with that group. I mean, Blackmon obviously played so well for us last year and was such a mainstay. We do feel like some of these guys have progressed. I think the thing that you would love to see and what we're pushing to see here in the second half of the year here is finishing some of the plays. We have some really good length in that room, we have some guys that are starting to really get comfortable and we've had some opportunities to really finish some great plays and I think we're capable of that. So I think the consistency and then making some of the big plays we're capable of, because as you mentioned, we are going to get tested there at times like everybody is. When you can not just hold up but when you can make some of those plays yourself, it changes the context of anything. We absolutely have guys in that room capable of it.
"And then obviously I think the hope is too that we can stay a little bit healthier there. Even kind of fall camp and then through the first part of the year, I mean it's just been, we haven't had much consistency. I don't know if we've had one guy that's been available for every game, which has been, just kind of the lineup has fluctuated. And not so much the lineup from what you guys see on Saturdays, but just the practice, the consistency of practice being able to be there. Roland-Wallace is really the one guy that from really fall camp on has probably practiced every single day. And you can tell kind of with his consistency his play he's really starting to take off, and we need that certainly from Domani and Ceyair and Jacobe and Prophet, some of these other guys -- just the consistency in their reps and experience will add up because they do have ability. And they've all had some phenomenal, some great snaps this year. Need to get healthy, need to get consistent and when we get an opportunity to make some of the plays that we're capable making, we need to settle in and go make those plays because those are game-changing type plays."
There were six handoffs to RBs after halftime, what goes into that balance on deciding when to lean on the ground game down the stretch or trust the passing attack?
"Yeah, we didn't have as many plays after halftime. Just the simple math was part of it. We had a couple of big plays, we had two three-and-outs and then we had a turnover on a first play of a drive, so there wasn't as much of anything in the second half. And then, we've got to run the ball better -- we didn't run the ball very good, I mean, is pretty much the simple answer. I know I talked about it at length after the game, we've got to do a better job as coaches, we missed some cuts up front, we had a couple that were going to be big plays that we had bad snaps on, and then we obviously didn't do a great job finishing blocks up front. We've got to do it better and we've got to stay on the field. That's the No. 1 thing. We've shown we're certainly very committed to having a great run game here and we've been committed since the day we walked in the door here, and I think the results have spoken for themselves there. But we didn't do as good a job of it Saturday and we need to do a lot better job here this Saturday."
Building off that, where can MarShawn Lloyd continue to get better to feel comfortable trusting the run game more?
"Yeah, I mean, it's a double-edged sword. You've got to do it efficiently. You've got to be able to stay on the field. I mean, we have trusted him. He's gotten the bulk of the carries here the last few weeks. Again, when you're playing some of the low number of snaps that we've played, I mean, it's not like our starting tailback is getting 15 carries but we're throwing it 65 times. That's not, we have had a decent amount of balance there, we just weren't as efficient with it in the game the other day, which obviously would have been helpful for a lot of reasons so we want to do it better. We're still scoring a point or two, so I don't think it's broken, but we definitely need to do it a little bit better."
How do you balance the matuirty of being 5-0 but also not feeling you're good enough yet?
"Definitely get the question: first, 5-0 is good enough because you can’t do any better than that. I’ve tried hard to win six in five, but you still can’t do it. So 5-0 is plenty good enough. The question is the execution, has it been perfect? Is it going to need to get better? Of course. And that would be the answer regardless – I don't know what our average margin of victory is right now is, but if it were 15 points more, that would still be the same answer. You’ve gotta continue to get better. You’ve gotta own the good with the bad, you have to own both. I know that’s been our message, I know you’ve heard that from us, but that really is the truth and that’s really how we've been approaching it with our guys. Our guys, they want to continue to get better, they want to continue to play better. They understand that the season is a climb and there’s a lot left for this team in terms of fulfilling our potential and we want to keep taking steps there. So i feel like the team has been very bought in with it, they’re excited and appreciative to have won every single game that we’ve played that we also know just internally for us, we can absolutely be a lto better, there’s a lot out in front for this team that we’re going ot have to go take. Obviously people are not going to hand it to us. I think we’ve been very motivated. I think they’ve been very excited, I think they’ve practiced well. I think we’ve learned a lot in the last couple of weeks from being in some of these different situations as a team and I do feel like it’s strengthened our bond, it’s strengthened our resolve and the week of practice from what i’ve seen and the intent of this team to go attack those areas I think has been very apparent, so we’ve gotta go take that and go put that on the game field here in these upcoming SAturdays, but I like the vibe of this team, I like the desire of this team. They’re appreciative to be 5-0 but also very excited and motivated to continue to improve, which is right where we want them to be."
Dedich said Caleb is making more checks at the line, how do you take input from players during the week on gameplan?
"Yeah, it’s different with – we always ask opinions of our guys. Now, we don’t always listen to them, but we always ask. It comes in two different ways: you’ve got the younger, inexperienced players that you’re making sure that they’re comfortable and confident in the execution of it. Then typically it morphs into, like with some of our more experienced players like a Caleb or like a Justin, of it’s good to have ones that they really believe in and they really see. It tends to get more – it’s less like, a young player’s confidence and it’s more like, these guys have had a lot of reps, they know what they like, they kind of know what they’re good at, it can be a little bit more of an in-depth discussion I guess if you will. So yeah, our guys come up with some great ideas at times or great thoughts for adjustments. We’ve got some really smart players, so it’s good dialogue. I think with anything, you’ve gotta – there’s gotta be – there does have to be one decision maker at the end of the day. At the end, we’ve gotta make a decision and all go with it, but we have some great guys on really both sides. You see that more in year 2 across the program. We have experienced players now defensively that have been in our system for a few years that can provide some of that feedback to our staff defensively, same offensively. So I think those conversations, probably as a whole, feel a little bit different than they did 12 months ago."
Thoughts on the Big Ten schedule release, not getting to play the other West Coast teams every year?
"Yeah, yeah, I had a chance to look at it. I don’t have any serious complaints, there’s a couple of things on the sequencing of home and away, especially with some of the teams that are in our league, that we didn’t agree with, but at the same point, you understand, part of it you understand, it's not going to be just perfect for anyone and i think the west coast piece, just the way that it’s sequenced out where us and UCLA went in first and then the other two teams went in after that, I feel like it was going to be difficult to honor without having divisions and all of that, I just feel like it was going to be very difficult to honor, to try to fit that much west coast in when you have so many other people left to play. I get the one with UCLA because of the rivalry, the history and the sequencing of how we were accepted into the Big Ten. I just think it was going to be almost impossible to do some type of arrangement like that with the other two west coast schools and still get the coverage of our entire league. So I honestly felt like from the west coast piece, I think they did what they needed to do. The reality is we’re still going to play half of our games and in most years a little over half of our games on the west coast, so i don’t think we’re going to be hurting for it here. I thought overall, I mean, it’s kind of a new concept, there’s a lot we’re going to learn once we get into it. I think for the most part, other than some of the home and home or multiple away visits in a row, I thought it was pretty well done."
