I know ultimately that's what you were looking for. What did you think of the performance?
The guys did a good job. They did. We responded. We responded well. We really wanted to get off to a fast start and we were obviously able to do that in the game, build up a lead and then obviously did a good job in the second half closing the door, being able to extend it and finish the game off the good things on all three sides. I thought we handled, they're one of the best punt block teams in the country, so I thought we handled that, which was definitely a key to the game. I thought that the physicality that program is known for, we wanted to be able to match and exceed that. I thought our guys, in large part, did that and then we didn't beat ourselves a lot, which is again, that's a team and a coach that typically prey on that and so I thought the guys took the keys and the emphasis points for the week. They really did it well. I thought we played a really physical game, a very complete game and yeah, obviously proud to get the win and obviously excited for that to be able to jumpstart us here for this back half
Tell us about Makai Lemon's role?
Yeah, the kickoff return was a big play and we decided that we were going to try to split that up. We've obviously been putting a whole lot on Zach there and so wanted to split that up and Lemon did a good job. He hit the first one pretty good. We were actually one block away from popping the first one and then he just did a great job seeing that the backside was over pursuing and it was just a good heads up, just natural play and he made a great move and we had some great effort and obviously that turned into a big one and offensively he had some big plays. The ball found him a little bit and sometimes it does and he was open, he made some competitive plays, obviously some big plays after the catch and those are some of those big plays that when you make those and now all of a sudden you don't have to go execute seven or eight or nine or 10 plays in a row to go score. It takes so much pressure off your offense and I think we saw the opposite defensively. We gave up a few too many third downs, but the thing that we did, we were really stingy in the red zone and we didn't give up a ton of huge explosives so we made Rutgers kind of earn every bit of it. So that was definitely key to the game, our ability to be explosive offensively and do a pretty good job against it defensively.
How'd you evaluate your quarterback's performance on Friday?
He played well. He did. You're spot on. He was, I thought, very in control. I thought the whole line did a good job of making him feel comfortable. We were able to get multiple parts of the offense going in large part due to the way that those guys played and yeah, he did. He made good decisions or was really no ball. That was even close to turnover range. Gave our guys chances to make plays. Obviously had a couple big plays with his feet, which was great to see as well. So no it was he came back and played extremely well.
Question about having a WR1
Not necessarily. I mean I think just that you've got enough good skill sets in the room that you feel like you have some advantages on the field that you can go tap into and that you can go put people in a position where they've got to make some tough decisions defensively. And so I honestly like it how we have it with this group where a lot of guys have stepped up, a lot of guys have had big games. I think we're a pretty multiple group to defend. It's not like you can go defend us and just zero in on one guy. That makes it a lot tougher and yeah, sometimes that's just the way that these games go, but I think never complaining about having an alpha, but when you've got a good complete room, I feel like we're really starting to become, that can be even tougher to defend
What was the mindset going into those series after Rutgers scored in the third quarter?
Yeah, the guys did a good job. I mean, again, there was really no panic on the sideline when we gave up the score. We did a good job going out there and rallying, like you said, coming and getting that explosive play right off the bat in that series. I agree that was definitely one of the more important points of the game. You got to be able to go respond and you're correct. Obviously punching that one in getting the stop and really grabbing hold the momentum and really never letting go of the rest of the game was absolutely the key.
In your offense, how important is it to have a guy like Woody back there, especially alongside Miller who's in his first year as a starting quarterback?
Very important, very important. He has been, I've said it a lot, he is been one of our most steady players throughout the year. You see the versatility that this guy brings to the table and he just doesn't have many bad days. He doesn't have many bad practices, he doesn't have a lot of bad plays and games and that's one of the first things we talk about with our teams or when new players come into our program is to win. You got to first learn how not to lose because so many people just beat themselves by not being ready or not being consistent or not having the right mindset or not working hard all the time. And Woody, he's such a steady player and he's such a steady worker and teammate that his game mirrors that. And as you know, you guys have seen, I mean the best players, we've said it on this show, the best players don't make all the highlight plays. Those are just players that are capable of making great plays. Great players are the ones that are steady and they're accountable and they just do it over and over in their mistakes. One don't happen very often and typically they're not the type of mistakes that kill you and it's a really good category to put Woody in.
How important from a bigger picture sense are the young defensive pass rush to develop?
It's important for this year. It'll be important as time goes on. I think we've felt like that some of the more gifted pass rushers that we have right now are some of the younger guys, but those guys have to earn through trust and the way they work and the way they prepare to go get those snaps and have those opportunities. And I think you're seeing some guys like Sam Greene and Kam Fountain and guys like that on our practice field have shown that they can rush the passer that there's a lot more to play in that position and a lot more to the trust of you being out there and having those opportunities. So they've been developing behind the scenes, those guys have been working hard. It's fun to kind of see them get out there and start to cut loose and play and gain steam and confidence. I put Devan Thompkins in that mix as well. These guys have got the ability to make some plays that really impact our defense and our team in a positive way and they're starting to become more consistent and learn what we do so that their mistakes conversely don't really hurt us. And so it's fun to see the evolution of those guys.
The guys did a good job. They did. We responded. We responded well. We really wanted to get off to a fast start and we were obviously able to do that in the game, build up a lead and then obviously did a good job in the second half closing the door, being able to extend it and finish the game off the good things on all three sides. I thought we handled, they're one of the best punt block teams in the country, so I thought we handled that, which was definitely a key to the game. I thought that the physicality that program is known for, we wanted to be able to match and exceed that. I thought our guys, in large part, did that and then we didn't beat ourselves a lot, which is again, that's a team and a coach that typically prey on that and so I thought the guys took the keys and the emphasis points for the week. They really did it well. I thought we played a really physical game, a very complete game and yeah, obviously proud to get the win and obviously excited for that to be able to jumpstart us here for this back half
Tell us about Makai Lemon's role?
Yeah, the kickoff return was a big play and we decided that we were going to try to split that up. We've obviously been putting a whole lot on Zach there and so wanted to split that up and Lemon did a good job. He hit the first one pretty good. We were actually one block away from popping the first one and then he just did a great job seeing that the backside was over pursuing and it was just a good heads up, just natural play and he made a great move and we had some great effort and obviously that turned into a big one and offensively he had some big plays. The ball found him a little bit and sometimes it does and he was open, he made some competitive plays, obviously some big plays after the catch and those are some of those big plays that when you make those and now all of a sudden you don't have to go execute seven or eight or nine or 10 plays in a row to go score. It takes so much pressure off your offense and I think we saw the opposite defensively. We gave up a few too many third downs, but the thing that we did, we were really stingy in the red zone and we didn't give up a ton of huge explosives so we made Rutgers kind of earn every bit of it. So that was definitely key to the game, our ability to be explosive offensively and do a pretty good job against it defensively.
How'd you evaluate your quarterback's performance on Friday?
He played well. He did. You're spot on. He was, I thought, very in control. I thought the whole line did a good job of making him feel comfortable. We were able to get multiple parts of the offense going in large part due to the way that those guys played and yeah, he did. He made good decisions or was really no ball. That was even close to turnover range. Gave our guys chances to make plays. Obviously had a couple big plays with his feet, which was great to see as well. So no it was he came back and played extremely well.
Question about having a WR1
Not necessarily. I mean I think just that you've got enough good skill sets in the room that you feel like you have some advantages on the field that you can go tap into and that you can go put people in a position where they've got to make some tough decisions defensively. And so I honestly like it how we have it with this group where a lot of guys have stepped up, a lot of guys have had big games. I think we're a pretty multiple group to defend. It's not like you can go defend us and just zero in on one guy. That makes it a lot tougher and yeah, sometimes that's just the way that these games go, but I think never complaining about having an alpha, but when you've got a good complete room, I feel like we're really starting to become, that can be even tougher to defend
What was the mindset going into those series after Rutgers scored in the third quarter?
Yeah, the guys did a good job. I mean, again, there was really no panic on the sideline when we gave up the score. We did a good job going out there and rallying, like you said, coming and getting that explosive play right off the bat in that series. I agree that was definitely one of the more important points of the game. You got to be able to go respond and you're correct. Obviously punching that one in getting the stop and really grabbing hold the momentum and really never letting go of the rest of the game was absolutely the key.
In your offense, how important is it to have a guy like Woody back there, especially alongside Miller who's in his first year as a starting quarterback?
Very important, very important. He has been, I've said it a lot, he is been one of our most steady players throughout the year. You see the versatility that this guy brings to the table and he just doesn't have many bad days. He doesn't have many bad practices, he doesn't have a lot of bad plays and games and that's one of the first things we talk about with our teams or when new players come into our program is to win. You got to first learn how not to lose because so many people just beat themselves by not being ready or not being consistent or not having the right mindset or not working hard all the time. And Woody, he's such a steady player and he's such a steady worker and teammate that his game mirrors that. And as you know, you guys have seen, I mean the best players, we've said it on this show, the best players don't make all the highlight plays. Those are just players that are capable of making great plays. Great players are the ones that are steady and they're accountable and they just do it over and over in their mistakes. One don't happen very often and typically they're not the type of mistakes that kill you and it's a really good category to put Woody in.
How important from a bigger picture sense are the young defensive pass rush to develop?
It's important for this year. It'll be important as time goes on. I think we've felt like that some of the more gifted pass rushers that we have right now are some of the younger guys, but those guys have to earn through trust and the way they work and the way they prepare to go get those snaps and have those opportunities. And I think you're seeing some guys like Sam Greene and Kam Fountain and guys like that on our practice field have shown that they can rush the passer that there's a lot more to play in that position and a lot more to the trust of you being out there and having those opportunities. So they've been developing behind the scenes, those guys have been working hard. It's fun to kind of see them get out there and start to cut loose and play and gain steam and confidence. I put Devan Thompkins in that mix as well. These guys have got the ability to make some plays that really impact our defense and our team in a positive way and they're starting to become more consistent and learn what we do so that their mistakes conversely don't really hurt us. And so it's fun to see the evolution of those guys.
