Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcon Football Quotes: Week Three
September 10, 2007 | Football
Sept. 10, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - The Bowling Green State University football team, after a pair of games against Big Ten Conference foes, is idle this weekend before opening the Mid-American Conference portion of the 2007 schedule. Head coach Gregg Brandon's team will host Temple University on Saturday, Sept. 22, in a noon kickoff at Doyt Perry Stadium. On Monday (Sept. 10), Brandon met with the media ...
What does the bye-week schedule look like for the team?
"We are going to practice this week; not the usual hard, physical practices, but we are going to go out and run around -- pass and catch, things of that nature. My team is beaten up right now. We need to get some guys healthy and rested so that they will be fresh and ready to go next week."
Have you seen receivers such as Derek Brighton and Marques Parks embrace their chance to shine due to Corey Partridge's injury?
"We challenged that position group to step up when Corey went down. Freddie [Barnes] kind of led the charge last week at Minnesota and Marques had a good game there, too. At Michigan State, when [Eric] Ransom went out we challenged them yet again, and Brighton had a nice game there. He was the staff's selection as player of the game at Michigan State. Those kids just need to keep coming along and getting better. Tyrone Pronty caught a touchdown pass on Saturday and Zach Charles is still improving. We are going to need all of those guys if we keep getting them dinged."
With these players stepping up, how nice has it been to have multiple players catching numerous passes each game?
"It is obviously good to have that type of depth and productivity. Having those back-up kids come in and make plays for us is only going to help the team in the long run. As the season wears on, we are able to have those six, seven, or eight fresh guys to throw in there at any time and have the confidence they are going to run routes, get open and catch the football."
Considering it is a bye-week, when will the staff begin mentally preparing the team to face the Temple team that beat Bowling Green last season?
"I do not think that is something we need to bring up to the team. The minute we put the MSU game to rest after reviewing the film on Sunday evening, the immediate talk was questions of where the players could get Temple film. I do not think we need to get their attention for this one."
Do you feel as if there were some protection issues in the second half with the offensive line?
"I do not think it was all protection issues. Of course when you give up seven sacks, it is assumed you can not protect, but there were times when Tyler [Sheehan] was holding the ball and there were times when the receivers could not get open. When we lost Ransom, after already not having Partridge, we had to juggle some guys around to get them in there to be productive. We struggled in the second half with that."
Their [MSU's] defensive line was unbelievable. Usually there is a defensive lineman or two that you need to find and figure out how to get four hands on; on Saturday you faced four of them.
"Their whole team was the best-looking team I have seen in a long time of coaching. Their offensive line was massive, the two running backs were quality Big Ten backs. Plus they had a receiver that was just lights out."
Were you surprised the defense was able to not stop the run, but at least slow it down a bit?
"I thought the defense did an outstanding job keeping us in the game and giving us a chance to win it in the end. We had a very effective scheme by showing an eight-man front which Michigan State obviously had not worked on. We were also able to get our linebackers free to make some plays, and our line did a nice job with the movements and stunts. I just think we are more athletic and have more depth on our D-line now.
"In the linebacker group, John Haneline has really emerged as an outstanding MAC linebacker . [Erique] Dozier is going to be back there every week playing and Loren Hargrove is always getting better at the position since it is only his second year playing back there."
Was there any worry about the new core in the linebacker group after Terril White graduated?
"I just said that yesterday, 'Just think if we had Terril White right now, just how good we would be." I think those guys have all stepped up, Dozier, Hargrove and Haneline. Cody Basler made some very nice plays in that game, and he has really matured. He is a redshirt sophomore, and that is the time that we want these guys to come on and 'be the guy' unless they have been playing since their true freshman year."
Junior Linebacker Erique Dozier
Two games in what do you think so far about the defense?
"I think we are definitely coming along as a defense. We've made some progress from the first game in being able to stop the run. I think we are definitely making some progress. I think that definitely built our confidence. It was a measuring stick so we are more so able to see where we are at compared to good competition."
Can you take that BIG TEN experience and apply it to the MAC? If you play like you did against Minnesota and Michigan State it looks like you're going to be very competitive in the MAC.
"I think so. They weren't bigger but they were a lot more physical and the techniques we used against them we will be able to carry into the MAC play and it was definitely a building block."
Is it harder to evaluate yourself knowing that you're going against BIG TEN players, or is it harder to evaluate knowing that you're going against different competition?
"I wouldn't say it's harder to evaluate against a BIG TEN team but they have a different style of play. In the MAC we'll see more spread out offenses and going into the BIG TEN they have more fullback packages so its just different styles of offense."
Are you happy with the start of the schedule?
"Yes, I think it has definitely helped us as much as stopping the run and helping us focus on different keys with the linemen which will definitely carry over into the MAC."
After two road games to start the season how does it feel to come home in two weeks and play on the new field turf and the new SEBO center?
"It's definitely exciting I can't even explain it. I definitely think it's going to be a sell out crowd. I think it's going to be positive for the school."
How much this team has matured in the off-season from what happened last season to the type of confidence the BG defense is bringing to the field against Big Ten teams?
"I think it has built our swagger going against bigger teams and tougher competition and to see that we are able to match up well with them it has definitely built our confidence as far as a defensive unit."
Junior Wide Receiver Marques Parks
After playing two games on the road against BIG TEN schools, what do you think about the year so far?
"I think facing BIG TEN schools and being in the MAC you're going to be excited to take anything away trying to find any areas of confidence that you can. Obviously the Minnesota win is great we would have loved to have gone 2-0 so we have to find the positives in the Michigan State game. I think we're really excited about our offense. It's kind of getting back to the way it was in the old days when we would compete for the MAC every year. The defense played great against Michigan State and we're just really excited. I think we've sent a message out to the MAC and we're just looking forward to getting into conference play."
Can you talk a little bit about the second half of that Michigan State game briefly?
"I think Michigan State did a good job of holding on to the ball. You kind of get out of rhythm as an offense when you're sitting around waiting and then going on the field I think we had a couple three and out's there and we just really couldn't get anything going and then just turnovers. I really think that played a roll in changing the game."
Talk about the play of the wide outs.
"As a wide out group I think we've just really gained confidence in ourselves especially coming out in that Minnesota game. I think we played a good game. Freddie's playing really well obviously it hurts not having Corey out there he's a great wide receiver. Derek came out and did a great job. I think he had something he wanted to prove. He had a couple drops in the Minnesota game but being a Michigan guy I think he had a little extra incentive to come out there and play the way he did. That does nothing but give Tyler more confidence in us and more confidence in the coaches to continue throw the ball and we're just happy with the opportunities we have and we're going to take them for what they are worth."
Can you talk about the confidence you do have in your quarterback right now?
"Tyler is doing a great job. He knows the offense well he's reading his keys and I think the best thing about this year is we have a lot of wide receivers where we can spread the ball out. Corey was kind of the main focus last year and we got the ball to Freddie here and there but with as many wide outs as we have that are making plays he has confidence that the second and third guys are still going to make plays."
Do you think this kind of offense is going to dictate how the rest of this season goes?
"I think we're looking to throw the ball as many times as we can. We think if we throw the ball 40 to 50 times a game that's going to give us a good chance to win with Tyler doing what he's doing right now and he's going to do nothing but improve. If we keep throwing the ball once we get Corey back healthy the completions are going to be there and I think the wide outs are going to continue to make plays."
How important is it to have this bye week right now?
"It's very important. We're really excited to get Corey back and healthy and there's just typical bumps and bruises that you face the first two weeks especially going up against two big ten teams as physical as they. Going into this bye week we need to get healthy and get those bumps and bruises gone and ready to go one hundred percent against Temple. We have some payback for them and opening up with this new venue, the first home game and then its homecoming so there's a lot of things that are going to factor into this game."
Do you have more confidence now that you did at the beginning of the season?
"We had a lot of confidence in the beginning of the season. I think the attitude in camp was different than the previous seasons. The team chemistry this year we just have more faith in each other and after these two weeks it has done nothing but grown. We've put it to the test and I think we saw what we were made of."
