Bowling Green State University Athletics
Tuesday Press Conference Quotes
September 26, 2006 | Football
Sept. 26, 2006
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Quoting Falcon football head coach Gregg Brandon and selected players at Tuesday's press luncheon ...
Gregg Brandon
How did D.J. Young do in place of (the injured) Nick Davis) in Saturday's game?
"D.J. did OK. I mean, there were times when they blocked him. He is a good football player; he is a young and talented freshman who will only get better with more opportunities."
How are the injured players, particularly in the secondary, doing?
"Well, not having P.J. Mahone, who had won a starting safety spot in camp, and Antonio Smith has been huge. I mean, P.J. is a true freshman and we would love to have him back, but we will just throw another true freshman in there, Jahmal Brown. He has performed admirably, but again, with the youth of that group, sometimes their mistakes are exposed.
"Antonio Smith, we have had him (injured) for three straight weeks. He is obviously the most experienced kid back there, and he is only a sophomore. Antonio will be back this week."
How is Anthony Turner progressing?
"He has to have the strength, not only to make the throws, but to go in and potentially take a whack. Right now, he doesn't have it, so he will be day to day. We will see how he is doing today (Tuesday), and then we will evaluate him again tomorrow, and basically, we will continue to evaluate his progress every day."
Even with Anthony injured, did you feel OK about your personnel for the Kent State game?
"Yes. I thought we could win the game with the guys we had. Tells you what I know."
On having so many young players in key roles:
"They will learn. I mean, (On one of the plays when Tyler Sheehan was in the game), we ran a spread-out, not a stop-out. Tyler is reminded of that with a helmet bruise in the middle of his back, so he will learn. The best way for these kids to learn is to make a mistake, learn from it and know it down the road, and that's where we are right now. That's where we are as a coaching staff, too.
"There are some of these kids where I will go and put them in the game and I don't know how they will do because I have only coached them for two months. I have only had them since August. We are playing 15 true freshmen right now; that's the hand we are dealt right now. I put players in the game, because they are the best available guy. Are (the freshmen) ready and will they make plays? I sure hope so, but in reality, I don't know.
"The reason why we put Tyler Sheehan in the game is because Tyler has been practicing well and has been improving throughout camp and throughout the early part of the season, so (we thought) hey, let's give him a shot. Does that mean he is going to go out and perform? We only know when you turn on the lights."
On the play of Chris Bullock:
"Again there is another kid that has been coming on. I mean he is a redshirt freshman, another youngster, and I saw a lot of promise in him after spring football. So it's nice to see him carry the ball. He put it on the ground once, which is unfortunate -- we just have to do a better job of taking care of the football. But he ran hard and made some nice runs; ran over some people and ran around some people."
What did Bullock show in the spring?
"Well, he showed a degree of toughness. I think he is kind of a cross between a tailback and a fullback. I think he has the finesse and speed of a tailback, but he also has the power to carry the ball. I think he can carry the ball 20 times for us. He carried the ball 17 times (vs. Kent State) and caught three passes for us and didn't play the whole game but he had 20 touches."
How will the veteran players respond after the KSU game?
"I think they will respond in a positive way. They understand that it was a tough loss at home and an embarrassing loss at home. There is no other way to spin it. We have to play better we have to make plays when the opportunity presents itself and the veterans are the ones who need to do that. And even some of the young kids that know how to make these plays, the veterans need to carry them along and show them the importance of running to the football.
"If I'm a defender, I just can not stand there and watch, I've got to run to the football every snap. And offensively, I can't take a play off. I have to run a great route, whether the ball gets a chance to come to me or not. I have to block full speed every time."
How did Freddie Barnes take the loss
"Freddie and I were the last two out of the lockerroom after the game. He was really down after that game, and so was I, and misery loves company so we just kind of hung out together. But Freddie is a competitor and a winner and Freddie will bounce back. He already has put that one behind him, which is what you have to do, and he has to move on to Ohio."
Your Mom was in town for the KSU game. What did she say to you?
"She said the sun would come up Sunday morning, which it did."
What can you tell us about Ohio University?
"Ohio is an improved football team. They did a great job in the second half against Northern Illinois, moving the football, mixing up the plays, executing and scoring some points. And, they did a nice job against Northern's offense holding them in the second half and being able to get a win on the road. I thought that was very impressive. You know, the last couple weeks they have lost to a two good teams, Missouri and Rutgers, who I believe are both undefeated. They are a much improved team."
They have the nation's leading punt returner in Chris Garrett.
"He is as quick as a hiccup. He had a couple (returns) against Rutgers that were just amazing. He is just a waterbug guy who makes people miss. That is what he does."
For the most part, it seems like you have made improvements on special teams.
"Yes, I think we have our punt teams worked out. (Alonso) Rojas is doing well. He did have the one bad punt on Saturday, but aside from that he kicked the ball well. The last punt was in the wind and he hit that pretty well. Again, like all these freshmen, Rojas is no different. You have to bring your "A" game every day. You can't take a play off at this level, because everyone is good and everybody brings their "A" game. The ones who bring their "A" game most of the time are the ones who win the games, and we are continually pounding that into our young guys. You have to show up and practice with a level of intensity that will give you a chance to win a football game."
Devon Parks
What did you see in the Kent State game film?
"It was obvious to see that we did not come out with much emotion and we were just not ready to play, period."
What do you take away from a loss like this?
"We have to learn as a team how to come out completely prepared and ready to play. I think some of the players were hesitant."
How will the team redeem itself?
"It starts by going down to Athens (and playing well). They are a very good team that have played in some very tough games. They will be a pretty big test for us. Ohio is a proven team that beat Northern Illinois, who was slated to win the conference."
Kory Lichtensteiger
What do you think is wrong with this team right now?
"We are trying to decide that right now. It has not all been figured out. I know it is not anything too serious; it is not something that we can't fix."
What happened against Kent State?
"It can't be narrowed down to one specific thing. I do not think we came out ready to play. Like Coach has been saying, we turned the ball over too many times and we did not play like we know how. I would not say it was mental preparation; it was the way we came out on Saturday when game time came around."
What are your thoughts about going on the road against a very tough Ohio team?
"We will be ready to play. We are going to put this loss behind us and start preparing for Ohio."
As a team leader, what do you tell the other players at times like this?
"It is a tough thing to try to get people motivated after a loss. All you can do is keep the team believing that all is not lost and that we are still in this thing together, no matter what happened last week."
Chris Bullock
On the playing time he received in the KSU game:
"My family has always been competitive. And I always knew I could play at this level. My Dad kept telling me to stay ready, stay healthy and try to keep my head up."
"We are all going through the same thing, and getting on the field is important to everybody. I know the younger we are, the more we can build. You know you start all over with the seniors leaving and the freshmen coming in we are just starting earlier. We have a chance to build together and have a strong team."
John Haneline
What can you take away from last week's game, and how can you and the team rally?
"The main thing I am taking away from the game is that we have to come out there every day with focus and get our job done. We can't come out there lackadaisical, because anyone can sneak up on you. The MAC is wide open this year. You have to be ready to play every week. There are no easy wins this year."
What does the defense needs to do against Ohio?
"We need to go out and get stops, run to the ball, make plays and bring back a championship defense that Bowling Green has been known for."
