[Fuller/MGoBlog]
I think it was some of your guys that said it was fatigue, maybe, in terms of the punt return. Are they playing a little bit tired at this time of the year?
“Well, let’s put it this way: in the game you’ve got to tackle, and when you get the opportunity to tackle you’ve got to tackle. It really comes down to that. It’s really difficult to ever embrace an attitude of tired, beat up, or whatever else because in November in this game everybody is. So, you know, bottom line is the games you remember are the games in November, and we’ve got to block and we’ve got to tackle and good things happen when you do.”
So they were in position on those punt returns to make plays?
“Oh, sure. You can go back and watch the TV copy or the game copy. We had four hands on him and had him halfway down. We slipped off and he pulled up. Their punt returner made a good play and we obviously did not. That’s really what happened last week.”
There’s a certain amount of togetherness or pride if you’re an offense or a defense. Is there the same kind of thing with special teams given that there’s such a mix of different guys?
“Oh, I would think so. I mean, we have really- since we got here, coach Harbaugh has given us an incredible amount of meeting time and practice time, and every special teams meeting is a team meeting, so really your special teams reflect your team and that’s the way I’ve always looked at it. If you want to see a team that’s together put on the kicking reel, and we’ve been a team that’s been together for the huge number of plays.
“We’ve had three negative plays go against us, which is unfortunate because it only takes one negative play to really put a damper on a really nice body of work, but that’s the nature of sports, I guess. But I really like our team’s attitude and their togetherness. We’ve got 10 days left in the season and we’ve got to finish it strong.”
Kick return game’s been a positive no matter who’s returning it. Are you pretty pleased with that unit?
“I am, and I have to chuckle at that because there was a day I had this opportunity to talk to all of you last spring and one of the questions came up was who’s returning and I pulled out a list and read off about 10 names. Well, you’re seeing all those names. You’re seeing Jabrill, you’re seeing Jehu Chesson, you’re seeing Dymonte Thomas, you’re seeing Jourdan Lewis. You haven’t seen Amara Darboh, but he does a really good job; you haven’t seen Drake Johnson, but he does a really good job. We’ve done a good job as a coaching staff teaching technique, teaching fundamentals, building depth, and teaching players concepts so, again, you can insulate yourself from a situation. You can insert guys and pull guys out in any situation. I’m really happy with the progress that we’ve made there.”
[After THE JUMP: Take a bow, Scott Sypniewski]
Was Lewis more about what he was doing in terms of returning kicks or giving Peppers a break?
“Um…I think both, actually. You know, there was a game a couple games ago where we needed to give Jabrill a little break and went with Lewis, but Jourdan Lewis has done a fabulous job and I’m happy that we’ve got good players and we can insert them and not lose traction. It’s been fun to see.
“And they really enjoy returning kicks here. You can see that by the way Jabrill’s gone after the ball all season and the way they field balls, whether they’re kicked opposite Jabrill or they’re kicked on the ground. I mean, it really doesn’t matter which way they’ve gone. The guys have done a really good job with it.”
There’s certain things that Jabrill does- you’ve been around so many returners, are certain things just instinct with him or is it natural or are there more things to it than that?
“Well, there’s a phrase that I like to use that says talent is the raw material but technique is the finished product. He’s an awfully talented guy, but boy he works at it. He really works at it. When you couple talent and work ethic great things happen, and he’s a real good example of that as well as a lot of other players.
“This has been a really, really, really fun team to be part of because from the time we were able to coach them in the spring and the time we were able to coach them in training camp and as we’ve gone through the season this team has embraced improvement every week. You know, we’ve had our falters, but we also coach a game that the ball is not round. You know, that is the game, unfortunately. But the bottom line is when you add up your pluses and your minuses, when you have more points than the opponent and you can learn from mistakes that don’t cost you the football game, that’s a good thing.”
Can you talk about Sypniewski gutting it out at Indiana? He had been nicked up, he was sick…
“Yeah, you know, it’s a general policy not to talk about players or whatever but I can say this: that kid gutted it out for this football team as much as I’ve ever seen a guy do it. He had a 103 [degree] temperature, couldn’t keep anything down all the way through pregame and literally kept reducing that game down to five-minute segments. You know, basically staying quarantined from his teammates because of the flu and those kind of things and fighting nausea, and you know the fatigue and the aches that come with that. And you know what, there was one snap that cost us a field goal opportunity but my goodness, to see that kid man up or however you want to put it and fight for his team, you know, it was great. Those are the kinds of things, the kinds of life skills that I think are a great part of being a coach and a teacher and seeing young people learn things about themselves.”
Did he break his thumb on the snap against Michigan State?
“No, no. Just-”
During that game?
“He never broke it.”
But he’s got a wrap on it.
“Yeah, he’s got a bruise so he’s got it protected. It’s just tape, that’s all.”
When did that happen? In the State game?
“I believe so, but I don’t know exactly when.”
For you on a personal note, you mentioned how things are coming together team-wise. You have one of the most efficient special teams in the country. I remember before the Utah game it was special for you, but this season in general, we’ve seen a lot of moments and seen a lot of growth.
“Oh yeah. Like I said, Utah now seems like it was 20 years ago. It’s just funny how the season progresses. We went to Utah really not knowing who our team was, you know, and you don’t really know your team until they’ve played a game. We’ve gotten to know this team, and they’re fun, fun guys to coach.
“So, it’s been fun for me to move back to the Midwest where I’m from and have all my family come to games and all those kind of things, but really rewarding to see this team progress. You know, we’ve got two weeks ahead of us where we’ve really, really got to work to get something done and [I have no idea what he said here].”
When you see the progress- a lot’s been said about Jabrill, but Kenny’s become a better kicker. The one-on-one stuff with the guys, what have you enjoyed most about that?
“Well, of course, here we are in spring and Kenny is a walk-on essentially backup punter to the guys that were in last year that I did not have the opportunity to coach, but I did see the results of the games and the film. But we just told all of our players, just embrace playing football. Every one of you has a set of tools and a tool box; if you bring your tools every day, we’ll find a way to use them. He certainly embraced kicking and punting, and as it worked out he became the kicker and you would have to look at correct my numbers but if you look at total shots at the poles I think he’s 53 of 57 [on] extra points and field goals. That’s fabulous from a guy that wasn’t even talked about as the kicker eight, nine months ago.
“You know, Blake has done a good job punting. We’ve just go to tackle a little better, but he’s been an effective weapon for us.”
Have you ever had an 80-some yard punt before?
“That was it. Had some 60s. Never that. That’s a big number.”
You probably don’t get Jake Rudock much on special teams, but as a guy who has the academic background in preparation and priorities and all that, what do you see of his professionalism? Everybody talks about the way he approaches getting ready for everything he does.
“Wow, I’ll tell ya, we see a lot of ‘em because we see all our players everyday. He holds for us. Blake’s the holder, but Jake holds every other one and had a bunch of guys in that competition and he won that. It’s a lot easier to use Blake, for example, as the holder because they can practice together all the time.
“He’s just an amazingly calm, consistent, mature, intelligent guy, and he’s just…a steady guy. Just steady progress. And he gets us in the right plays, he throws the balls to the right people, he scrambles when he needs to scramble, he’s a good decision maker, and my gosh, has he been a godsend to our team. Huge part of what we’re doing.”
MGoInterrupted: When you’re-*
The punt return against Rutgers was a low, line-drive kick on one hop. I imagine you’d want to get that higher into the end zone, and how much did that factor into it and do you like Kenny to kick it out of the end zone when he can?
/laughs
“Well yeah, of course! Yeah. I love that, but you know, wind is always a factor in this stadium [and] in this conference. That’s one thing that’s been interesting for me. It’s not really a factor in the west. You had altitude and light wind most of the time.
“So, yeah, he didn’t really hit the ball particularly well but let’s just also say this: that kid from Rutgers had five credited special teams touchdowns. We knew we were dealing with an explosive guy there. We knew that you’re on the razor’s edge. You know who those guys are in the NFL like that, and when you make a mistake they make you pay. So, let’s give that kid some credit and understand that, once again, that wasn’t our finest effort of tackling and closing a hole, and we’ve got to make an improvement there.
“On the flip side, we’ve got those kinds of guys for us that are a threat to go all the way. That’s football, so places where we leak oil, we’ve got to get those oil leaks patched and we’re doing that.”
We haven’t seen you since the Michigan State game. Is it one of those where you kind of rub your eyes and blink, ‘Did that really just happen’?
“Yeah. I think my reaction was pretty much the same as all of yours. It’s just the fluke of all flukes. And, you know, this is my 30th college football season and when you think you’ve seen it all, don’t worry, something else is coming. It’s a game with really neat young people and a ball that’s not round, and that’s what creates the drama.”
Were you surprised with how well Blake handled it? He was very eloquent talking to us a few days later and dealing with the social media stuff.
“You know, the thing is, you talk about another guy like Jake Rudock that’s helped the team, that’s an older guy, a mature guy- and what he said to my was, ‘Should I write a statement or what should I do?’ My only thought was talk to the media, and he says, ‘Oh, I’m going to get to?’ I says, ‘Of course you are!’ Then he says, ‘Well, good. That’s why I came to Michigan. I came for exposure. I came to play on the big stage.’ Well, that’s what you get.
“But I’m really proud of coach Harbaugh and our team and our coaches and the way guys have stood in there and addressed straightaway what has happened. You know, if you’re going to take the accolades you’ve got to take the other side, too. It’s a fun organization to be a part of right now.”
*[I was going to ask him if they have a way of charting how many yards of field position Jabrill’s fair catches have saved. Brian and Ace usually estimate it on the podcast, so I was wondering if the staff did that after games as well.]