Clay Helton held his weekly conference call tonight. Here's everything he had to say.
Opening Statement
Clay Helton: “Very proud of our football team for going on the road and getting a very tough Pac-12 victory, it seems like they’re all tough in this league and verse a good Cal football team. I can’t tell you how excited I was about our defense and how they performed in that game to hold a very high tempo, high powerful offense like Cal to 21 points, a team that had been scoring 30 plus on everybody and really to limit the play number to 61 plays in that game when they had been running almost 90 plus in some games, I thought was very, very important. Really the three turnovers in the game were critical for us and then not turning the ball over, especially Adoree’s play that I really thought really created separation for us in the game with his pick six.”
Offensively, I was proud of the offensive line and the running backs for the way they ran the ball. Most of the time, very effectively, especially in some critical situations. And was excited for Cody and his efficiency on the day. That’s two games in a row for him at basically around 78-percent and most importantly, no interceptions and he’s a 2-0 quarterback in the second half of the season.”
How the team gets to a point where it’s consistently running the ball in big situations?
CH: “I think two things, one, is the commitment to it. Not every run is going to be a home run and you gotta know that sometimes it’s going to be two, three yard runs and then you’re going to split one like we did with Ronald and split one for a touchdown. Just from a play calling standpoint, just believing in it and keeping it going and understand that not everyone is going to be perfect.
I think the other part of it is the balance that you have in the passing game, to be effective and to always have the ability to have the threat of the deep ball shot. We missed one earlier to JuJu but you always have to have that threat. I think the combination of us being able to throw the ball effectively and still stay consistent in the run, that balance is critical for us..”
Physically, can the offensive line get the push you need?
CH: “I think they’re getting some confidence about them and I’m trying to show them that over the last two games, you look at the fourth down situations down on the goal line, two verse Utah and then the one yesterday, fourth and two there and to power that football in, I think they’re gaining confidence. And then you lean on them in and I don’t know how much more confidence you can have in an offense when there’s 3:35 left on the clock, everybody in the stadium knows you’re going to run the ball and we hand it off six times in a row and get two first downs and win a big game. Our we building on that offensive line, yes. Our there things we can do to correct and get better at, yes there is, but we’re working daily to influence that.”
Is there an update on JuJu Smith-Schuster?
CH: “We’re discussing right now about a possible surgery that can happen soon to input a small plate and a screw in the bone to secure that bone and rapidly speed the recovery up. When he would be back, I’ll be honest with, I would be guessing. They say it could be quicker with this surgery. Some guys have gotten back within a couple days, sometimes it takes weeks. So I would be totally guessing.”
Is it more likely than not he’ll have surgery?
CH: “Right now they’ll be discussing it in the morning and making sure that’s the exact right option for him and if it is, we’ll proceed.”
Would you expect him to be available for the next game?
CH:“I would be totally guessing. Sometimes they say with surgery, guys have gotten back within three days and sometimes it takes a little bit longer.”
How do you feel about the rest of the receivers at this point?
CH: “Totally confident in their abilities, especially the way they’re progressing. You look at a De’Quan Hampton who’s playing better with each game, Deontay Burnett making big plays, he made three really explosive plays for us yesterday. Jalen Greene, the production that he’s shown for us and then getting Steven and Darreus back, those are guys that can really help us… We still have an effective receiving corp.”
Is it a struggle to spread the carries around?
CH: “We’re very fortunate that we have some very unselfish players that really play together as a team. To have a freshman do what RoJo’s doing right now, I really appreciate both Tre and Justin, how much they’ve helped him over this first part of the season, really help him come along and try to develop him into a complete football player, one that’s understanding pass protections, becoming better at pass protections, becoming a better route runner and catcher. Is RoJo a complete player yet? He’s working extremely hard at it to become. But I really appreciate those three guys, the way they’ve been unselfish and really playing together. RoJo, I thought played really well and really was proud of him. He had a little bit of a knee there, I was a little worried about and still, gosh dang, went out there and toughed it out and I thought did a really nice job. Tre, same thing, doing what he did with a sore knee with some bumps of bruises. To those three kids, really proud of, between them and the offensive line, they really carried us in that second half.”
What's the game plan for splitting carries?
CH: “Sometimes its a rhythm, sometimes it’s a situation, really trying to, we went into the game, two games ago with Utah, really wanting RoJo to have 15 touches, he got 15. We were hoping for the same in this game, 15 plus touches and just the knee scared me just a little bit and just him being dinged a little bit, but he fought through it, he did a great job. He’s going to progress as a player, he’s going to do great things here and his role is going to increase with each game.”
What did you think of Kevon Seymour’s performance?
CH: “So proud of Kevon and that whole DB corp to go against that group of receivers and to hold up like they did and really create the turnovers that they did. Especially for Kevon, what a great story about a kid that deals with adversity whether it’s injury and really coming back and really fighting to perfect his craft. What a big play by him yesterday, in that game. I’m really proud of him, the type of player, the type of person he is. He is a true teammate. He’s one that didn’t complain about lack of playing time or get frustrated with injuries or stuff, he just kept on trying to get better. And low and behold, you look up and you get your opportunity yesterday and he makes the most of it. And he’s a valuable member of our team and one we’ll need down the stretch here.”
Opening Statement
Clay Helton: “Very proud of our football team for going on the road and getting a very tough Pac-12 victory, it seems like they’re all tough in this league and verse a good Cal football team. I can’t tell you how excited I was about our defense and how they performed in that game to hold a very high tempo, high powerful offense like Cal to 21 points, a team that had been scoring 30 plus on everybody and really to limit the play number to 61 plays in that game when they had been running almost 90 plus in some games, I thought was very, very important. Really the three turnovers in the game were critical for us and then not turning the ball over, especially Adoree’s play that I really thought really created separation for us in the game with his pick six.”
Offensively, I was proud of the offensive line and the running backs for the way they ran the ball. Most of the time, very effectively, especially in some critical situations. And was excited for Cody and his efficiency on the day. That’s two games in a row for him at basically around 78-percent and most importantly, no interceptions and he’s a 2-0 quarterback in the second half of the season.”
How the team gets to a point where it’s consistently running the ball in big situations?
CH: “I think two things, one, is the commitment to it. Not every run is going to be a home run and you gotta know that sometimes it’s going to be two, three yard runs and then you’re going to split one like we did with Ronald and split one for a touchdown. Just from a play calling standpoint, just believing in it and keeping it going and understand that not everyone is going to be perfect.
I think the other part of it is the balance that you have in the passing game, to be effective and to always have the ability to have the threat of the deep ball shot. We missed one earlier to JuJu but you always have to have that threat. I think the combination of us being able to throw the ball effectively and still stay consistent in the run, that balance is critical for us..”
Physically, can the offensive line get the push you need?
CH: “I think they’re getting some confidence about them and I’m trying to show them that over the last two games, you look at the fourth down situations down on the goal line, two verse Utah and then the one yesterday, fourth and two there and to power that football in, I think they’re gaining confidence. And then you lean on them in and I don’t know how much more confidence you can have in an offense when there’s 3:35 left on the clock, everybody in the stadium knows you’re going to run the ball and we hand it off six times in a row and get two first downs and win a big game. Our we building on that offensive line, yes. Our there things we can do to correct and get better at, yes there is, but we’re working daily to influence that.”
Is there an update on JuJu Smith-Schuster?
CH: “We’re discussing right now about a possible surgery that can happen soon to input a small plate and a screw in the bone to secure that bone and rapidly speed the recovery up. When he would be back, I’ll be honest with, I would be guessing. They say it could be quicker with this surgery. Some guys have gotten back within a couple days, sometimes it takes weeks. So I would be totally guessing.”
Is it more likely than not he’ll have surgery?
CH: “Right now they’ll be discussing it in the morning and making sure that’s the exact right option for him and if it is, we’ll proceed.”
Would you expect him to be available for the next game?
CH:“I would be totally guessing. Sometimes they say with surgery, guys have gotten back within three days and sometimes it takes a little bit longer.”
How do you feel about the rest of the receivers at this point?
CH: “Totally confident in their abilities, especially the way they’re progressing. You look at a De’Quan Hampton who’s playing better with each game, Deontay Burnett making big plays, he made three really explosive plays for us yesterday. Jalen Greene, the production that he’s shown for us and then getting Steven and Darreus back, those are guys that can really help us… We still have an effective receiving corp.”
Is it a struggle to spread the carries around?
CH: “We’re very fortunate that we have some very unselfish players that really play together as a team. To have a freshman do what RoJo’s doing right now, I really appreciate both Tre and Justin, how much they’ve helped him over this first part of the season, really help him come along and try to develop him into a complete football player, one that’s understanding pass protections, becoming better at pass protections, becoming a better route runner and catcher. Is RoJo a complete player yet? He’s working extremely hard at it to become. But I really appreciate those three guys, the way they’ve been unselfish and really playing together. RoJo, I thought played really well and really was proud of him. He had a little bit of a knee there, I was a little worried about and still, gosh dang, went out there and toughed it out and I thought did a really nice job. Tre, same thing, doing what he did with a sore knee with some bumps of bruises. To those three kids, really proud of, between them and the offensive line, they really carried us in that second half.”
What's the game plan for splitting carries?
CH: “Sometimes its a rhythm, sometimes it’s a situation, really trying to, we went into the game, two games ago with Utah, really wanting RoJo to have 15 touches, he got 15. We were hoping for the same in this game, 15 plus touches and just the knee scared me just a little bit and just him being dinged a little bit, but he fought through it, he did a great job. He’s going to progress as a player, he’s going to do great things here and his role is going to increase with each game.”
What did you think of Kevon Seymour’s performance?
CH: “So proud of Kevon and that whole DB corp to go against that group of receivers and to hold up like they did and really create the turnovers that they did. Especially for Kevon, what a great story about a kid that deals with adversity whether it’s injury and really coming back and really fighting to perfect his craft. What a big play by him yesterday, in that game. I’m really proud of him, the type of player, the type of person he is. He is a true teammate. He’s one that didn’t complain about lack of playing time or get frustrated with injuries or stuff, he just kept on trying to get better. And low and behold, you look up and you get your opportunity yesterday and he makes the most of it. And he’s a valuable member of our team and one we’ll need down the stretch here.”
