[Fuller]
Just kind of talk about how your guys are coming along a little bit through three games.
“Yeah, the guys are working hard. You know, we just keep pressing them every week in practice, keep telling them to challenge themselves every day and hopefully it translates on the weekends. They’re working hard.”
Jourdan was saying on Monday that he thinks the secondary could be the best in the country. Is that sort of an attitude that you promote?
“Well, that’s what we want them to think and, you know, certainly the work and what they produce has to match that. But we absolutely want that attitude from those guys. It helps. Certainly their position requires that kind of attitude. They’ve got to have a short memory at that position and put things to the side and go play the next play. So, it’s all about attitude, it’s all about challenging yourself every day and just trying to get better and better and win every play.”
Talk a little about the challenge they’re going to get this weekend.
“A big, big challenge. I mean, those guys [are] 6’6”, 6’5”, 6’3”. Really big receivers, good athletes, decent speed; I mean, they’ve got it all, and they roll in those guys. They’ve got four or five really good receivers that they’re rolling in every down, so they’re going to be fresh. We’ve got a big challenge ahead of us.
“Just physically, when you line Jourdan Lewis up against a 6’6” guy, as scrappy as Jourdan is, that’s a tough matchup. But that’s how we’re going to play it. They’ve got to fight.”
When a guy makes a couple big plays like Channing did last week, what does that do for his confidence and how he’s able to play?
“You know, hopefully. When you do things right you get confidence, and he’s been doing things right. Throughout camp, Channing has probably had the best camp out of all the guys. He’s just worked hard. He had one bad day, had one bad scrimmage in the summer there. Other than that he’s been playing really hard and really well. I think he realizes, and I’m hoping that all of them realize, that you don’t arrive. You always have to get better, because somebody’s chasing you.”
[After THE JUMP: Covering big receivers, the importance of eyes, and seam responsibility in Cover 3]
What have you seen out of Keith Washington so far?
“Keith, he’s going to be good, I’ll say that. I think he just got caught in the freshman trap and right now he just can’t adjust to things in the mind. In the classroom he’s great, but he gets on the field and his movement- he’s got to be able to adjust better as far as our adjustments go. His man skills, he’s got them but they’re just not there yet.”
Is Wayne Lyons a guy who’s still bouncing back and forth in the secondary a little bit?
“He’s more of a utility guy. He’s staying in that nickel/safety box there- hasn’t gone back out to corner- but I think he’s better suited for that. Seems to be more comfortable there.”
What made you guys decide to move him to that spot?
“I think just his body type, his play type. He seems better in that area, in the box. He’s a very physical guy, so we thought he can help us in that area.”
He’s not the only one who’s made a move in the secondary. You’ve also had Brandon Watson go down to corner, Peppers go up to safety, Terry Richardson was practicing at corner prior to the game the other day; what’s sort of the reason for all those switches? Is there a criteria that you look for in those two spots?
“We just try to, based on what we’re getting out of our guys, we’re trying to do what’s best for the team and move guys to positions we feel that they can help at. That’s basically what it is. Just evaluating their talents and, ‘Hey, this week we’re doing this. You can help us here.’”
After the Utah game Peppers made the comment, ‘I tried it my way and my way didn’t work.’ Can you talk about the process for any young player in taking that coaching and…?
“Yeah. Young players, especially a guy like Pep- Pep is physically probably one of the best guys on the team physically, you know what I mean? He just has all the tools and he’s extremely fast, but what Pep did not have is great eyes. Pep just in high school, I’m sure when Pep played high school he was able to just go play and make plays, because he was the best athlete, the fastest kid out there. Things level out here, and he has learned and is learning to play with his eyes. Eyes are an important part of every player on this team. You have to have great eyes to play this game.”
Have you seen your guys get more aggressive, whether it’s in practice or on the sidelines they’re more excited to get a stop and get the ball back?
“Yes, I do. I think since spring ball there’s been an increase in that and again, it’s something you want to build on. We’ve got a long way to go, but that’s something we want to build on.”
Thoughts on Jeremy Clark at corner so far?
“Yeah, like him. I mean, geez, you look at that guy, that body style, that body type; 6’3”, big guy that can run, long. Yeah, that’s…love to have all corner like that.”
Is he likely to be busier against BYU guys who are 6’6”, 6’5”?
“Uh, we’re going to keep the same rotation the way we’ve been doing it, you know. Not going to take out guys. Jourdan’s been playing really well. Strib’s been playing really well, and Strib and Jeremy have a nice rotation going so we’re just going to keep it the same.”
Is there a mentality taking on BYU, something that’s grown with them that they want this challenge? You guys obviously haven’t faced a big passer yet this year, or not like this.
“Well, yeah, not like this guy. This guy can both run and pass. Really strong arm. I don’t know if you’ve seen much film on him, but especially running around the pocket. He’s got a hell of an arm. This will be a really big challenge.
“I think last week was something to build on. I told the guys, they all played pretty well but it’s over. Last Saturday’s effort won’t win this Saturday’s game. It’s just a matter of coming out Monday, Tuesday, today Wednesday. You’ve got confidence? Okay, great. Let’s build on that confidence. Keep doing the things that got you to this point and get better.”
You talked about discipline, guys using their eyes and things like that. When you have a quarterback who can get out of the pocket and give a play a second chance, things like that- sort of the maturity of your guys back there. Is this one of the bigger challenges they’ll face?
“Absolutely. It’s hard enough playing man throughout a normal down, and then when you’ve got a down that’s extended you have to have great eyes to keep on your guy. It is tough. It’s a lot tougher, absolutely. That’s something we are stressing this week in practice.”
Can you simulate that in practice?
“We’re trying. We’re trying the best we can. We’ve got a young quarterback, Johnny O’Korn, and he’s got a pretty good arm. He’s pretty athletic, so in certain situations when we have time in practice we work a scramble drill just to get him moving around and guys running vertical routes and taking off from short routes. We’re trying to duplicate it. It’s a hard thing to duplicate.”
I read that he was more productive when he rolled to the right side out of the pocket than out to the left. Is that something you’ve seen on film?
“Well, yeah, most guys are. If I’m left handed I’m going to roll to my left, so it’s kind of common. Yes.”
When’s the last time you’ve seen a quarterback have two consecutive finishes like that? And almost last week too.
“And last week too, I know. It’s pretty unheard of. You watch the Nebraska game, just [an] unbelievable play. Unbelievable throw. You watch the Boise game, there’s more than just the last play in the Boise game. There’s three or four third-downs where he’s running, scrambling, and connecting on third and long and just breaking the back of Boise. It’s tough to watch, especially as a secondary coach to see those kind of throws from the quarterback. But it just adds to our challenge.”
You said Sunday on the show that you always work on Hail Marys with the defense. Has that always been a staple of your coaching?
“My coaching and certainly coach Durkin. You know, you play hard the whole game and you’re winning by one, two, three, maybe five points, whatever it is, you’d certainly hate for that last play to put the stamp on-”
Is it something you practice every day?
“Last two days of the week, yeah. Last two days of the week, so we’ll get some tomorrow and then Friday.”
MGoQuestion: In Cover 3, who’s supposed to cover the seam if a tight end or slot receiver goes vertical right away?
“Well, it depends on the formation. So, it could be a safety or it could be the nickel. Depends on whoever’s down in that seam area.”
Seems like Hail Marys are happening more and more often. BYU had those, and there were some at halftime last week I think. Why do you think that is?
“Personally, I just think guys relax. Guys think, ‘It’s not going to come my way’ and they don’t do what they’re supposed to do. If you watch the Nebraska game, and I’m not picking on anybody because it certainly can happen to anybody, but one guy’s just watching. He’s watching the game, you know, and you just can’t do that. That’s why we stress it and why we practice it.”
How can somebody just watch it?
“I don’t know. I wish I knew that. I mean, I’m sure all coaches wish they knew that, but it’s hard to watch. I know that.”