University of Maryland Quotes

Offensive Coordinator Mike Locksley

On Kevin Dorsey’s career and dealing with change:

“I can tell you this, I’m proud of the way Kevin [Dorsey] has handled all the changes that have taken place. I know this year with the different guys that have been behind center for us he’s kind of been the one consistent force out there on the perimeter. Statistically it may not show, but he does a lot of the little things that you want out of a senior. I couldn’t be more proud of Kevin. Of all those seniors, obviously their last opportunity to play here at home, I’m sure it will be emotional for those guys. I can’t thank those guys enough for fighting through some adversity on the offensive side of the ball. They’ve had to deal with quite a lot, and they’ve come in each week and worked diligently to continue to go out and try to find ways to win ball games. I expect the same this week.”

On the difficulty of continuing to get adjusted to new quarterbacks:

“Offensive football is timing and spacing. It’s built on that, and when a guy comes in that they haven’t been playing with, there’s a reason they do so much stuff in the offseason with quarterbacks to develop the timing. For those guys it’s been an adjustment, and they’ve  taken it, they’ve made the most of it, and they’ve continued to come out no matter who’s out there. We talk about maybe having to make a tough catch because it’s not always going to be necessarily where you think it will be. Kevin has been one of those guys, Matt Furstenberg, Devonte Campbell, [Ryan] Schlothauer, all those guys have taken it in stride.”

On running the ball outside with Brandon Ross:

“I think anytime you can run the ball outside, It helps with the numbers you see in the box. That’s where perimeter blocking becomes a major factor. That’s how a guy like Kevin Dorsey has made his mark this year for us as a blocker. It takes pressure off the quarterback in the zone read game, some of the things we do because there is a threat of the ball hitting the perimeter. [Brandon Ross] has the ability to make some plays for us.”

On if they’re using around 50 percent of the playbook:

“That’s what coach said and that’s exactly what the number is. I know this we’re doing what Shawn [Petty] is capable of executing. I know that for all of us receivers, myself as a coach, often times once you get in the game plan, a lot of the creativity of wanting to do things that you think or know has a chance to be successful against an opponent, you’ve to tempo it down. You’ve got to go back and continue to ask yourself the question, ‘Can Shawn execute it?’ It’s not taking anything away from Shawn’s abilities because had he been a guy that’s been with us throughout the spring, through the fall, and all the eight weeks of practices we had prior to him playing, I think there’s a lot of things he can accomplish with his skill set. It’s so unfair to throw a playbook on a freshman quarterback that’s had three weeks to play the position. To give ourselves a chance to win, unfortunately you have to narrow it and focus it down to the bare minimum with enough to try and win the game. I’m sure like I told our receivers and all those guys, we have to do whatever it takes to try to win.  We have to do whatever our quarterback is capable of executing first and foremost, and that’s kind of been what we followed with the use of all those different guys that have played. It doesn’t always allow you to do the things you want to do, but you do what you can do.”

On if he’s been forced to be more creative than he has been in his career:

“I’d venture to say we haven’t been very creative with what we’ve done. We’re trying to do what our quarterback can get accomplished, but you also have to have enough to win the ball game. The big thing is what have you shown on tape, and how can you make it look different while doing the same things. That’s kind of the approach we have to take. We have to self-scout and say hey here’s what we’re doing, this is what they’re seeing, this is what they’re preparing for. But on the flip side of it, it’s not just getting us ready for what we can do against them, they change because all of a sudden you have a quarterback that they think isn’t a thrower. You want to run the ball to help him and now you have these creative run blitzes and eight, nine, 10 guys up at the box. They’re going to force us to throw the ball, and I think Shawn’s capable of making those plays, and I think we just have to continue to build it and give him the preparation he needs to be successful in doing some of those things.”

On if they’ll throw the ball more with Shawn now that he’s played in some games:

“Again, it’s not necessarily just his growth, it’s the protection. Unfortunately for Shawn, we’ve gone against some of the top defenses in our league. He’s moving forward, we’re getting better each week with him. Whether we’ll throw it more. We’re going to do whatever it takes to win the ball game. If the call is for throwing the ball more, that’s what we’ll do.”

On preparing for Florida State and the protection schemes:

“Well, protection obviously the most important thing we do. For us to have any chance to win, we can’t turn the ball over. If there’s been a thing that’s kind of gotten at me, regardless of your experience, the point of emphasis we’ve put on Shawn or any of the guys that touch the ball for us is we’ve got to take care of the football and give ourselves a chance to win by playing good smart sound football. We haven’t done that.”

Defensive Coordinator Brian Stewart

On the defensive seniors playing in their final home game:

“You really tip your hat off to these guys. They could very well be disappointed, and just say ‘wow look what happened to my senior season.’ But, that’s not what they’ve done. They’ve done a good job of just playing hard, fast, and everyone has bought in 100 percent. I’m pretty proud of them, each and every one of them, for their effort up and down throughout the season and how they’ve handled it.”

On how much of a struggle it’s been for Kenny Tate:

“You know we know he’s not 100 percent, but he gives us 100 percent. We’re very proud of his effort, and respect what he’s done on the field for us. I don’t know how close to 100 percent he is, or how far away, that would be something he and the doctors would have to tell you. I really have to applaud his effort, just day in and day out wanting to be there with his teammates and giving us 100 percent on every down that he’s out there.”

On Matt Robinson’s return last week:

“The timing of the game is what changes when you miss [games]. The more he went back out there, the game slowed down for him. Not that he made any mistakes, I’m not saying that, I just think he had an opportunity to play fast once the game evolved.”

On the play of L.A Goree:

“I agree with coach, I think a lot of times what happens is when you’re a backup at practice, you get a smaller amount of plays vs. the starter. So when you play behind [Demetrius] Hartsfield who doesn’t come off the field, at practice Hartsfield gets all the plays. So you’re not going to be at the same game shape as Hartsfield. I think that’s what caught up with L.A. [Goree] was that he just wasn’t in the same game shape he needed to be in. I think this week of practice should serve him well in that aspect.”

On the play of Florida State’s offense:

“I think EJ [Manuel] is playing lights out with the ball in his hand and throwing the ball down field. He has a great supporting cast to throw to. I haven’t seen anybody cover [Rashad] Greene yet, he’s still running in touchdowns. So, offensively, even though they’re missing their running back, they still have [James] Wilder, and have guys that can fill in and don’t skip a beat. As far as their offensive line goes, it’s probably going to be the best offensive line we see this year. They’re very athletic, can get to the second level, can run, so I mean it’s an exciting challenge for us, but it’s a very good offense.”

On assessing Kenny Tate’s role:

“All I can answer that question is from a perspective of this year. I feel we put him in the best position to make plays. Injuries are part of the game, and unfortunate that he has to play with lingering injuries. I believe we put him in the best position to make plays.”

On how detrimental Demetrius Hartsfield’s injury is to his chances of playing in the NFL:

“Obviously he won’t be able to do the Combine and some of those things because of the injury, but I’ve seen guys at the Combine that had injuries that people wanted to look at that injury specifically or just wanted to ask questions and interview the person and see what their football knowledge was. So, I don’t know, if somebody wants you and thinks you can play at that level, they’re going to take a chance. I think there’s plenty of stories of guys who got injured their senior year and got an opportunity. Will he be one of those? I don’t know, you’d have to talk to a scout or somebody to answer those questions. Again, it’s an unfortunate injury but if somebody wants to take a look at you they’ll do that.”

– Terps –

Offensive Coordinator Mike Locksley

On how the offensive players performed:

“Obviously we didn’t run the ball very well, so it’s hard to say if any of them did well. Whether it’s in the run game or pass game, we have a lot of work to do on the offensive side of the ball. It starts with executing our techniques and executing the fundamental things that we teach. When you go back and watch the tape as a play caller, you see that plays are there but then a guy shows up. It’s not just one guy, it’s a guy on each play, maybe not doing their job or not taking care of their responsibilities. As coaches we have to find a way to get our guys to find a way to the things they’re coached to do in games.”

On whether the breakdowns in the running game are different each time or something particular:

“That’s the point. You can’t say that it’s this type of play that we’re running. It’s individual technique and fundamental technique things that we just have to get cleaned up. The positive side of it is that our guys, especially on the offensive side of the bal,l have had a chance in every game in the fourth quarter to win. Three of the five games we found a way and made the plays whether it be in the run game, or the pass game to win the ball game and that’s a positive. That’s something that we’ll build on but the next step for us is the execution has got to be a lot better.”

On how frustrating it’s been to see the running game struggle:

“It’s frustrating, but the thing is when you’re starting young players up front, and young in the middle of your offense, you have guys who don’t have a lot of game experience. So the thing you’d like to be able to do is find a way to run the football to take some pressure off of the young quarterback. We just haven’t been able to do it consistently. There’ve been times, the opening drive of the second half, we had a series where we had been moving the ball down the field. Wes [Brown] did a good job coming in and getting the ball downhill, and I can recall having at least a drive of some plays where we were able to cover people up. If we can do that consistently than we’ll have a chance.”

On giving Wes Brown and Justus Picket the bulk of the carries:

“They make the least amount of mistakes. That’s the thing for us, when you look at us across the board, and it’s not just one guy or one position, I think that during the course of the game we have enough what we call ‘mental assignments’ where a guy goes the wrong way, blocks the wrong guy, or doesn’t take care of his responsibility. For us right now everything we call and how we go about our game plan on offense we have to be pretty perfect. Those two guys have been the most steady in terms of knowing their assignments. Albert [Reid] still has a role, and you’ll see him. He came and filled in when Wes went out for a minute, and I still think he’s in the mix as well.”

On the importance of Justus Picket:

“He’s been the guy who’s been out there when we’ve had to do it. I know in the William & Mary game Kevin Dorsey made the big run after the catch on the screen play, and Justus came back and put it in. The Temple game where we let them back in the game, and had to put a drive together, Justus was the guy who scored the touchdown. Again this past weekend, he’s been a guy who’s been pretty steady and I think it starts with his game experience. He’s only a sophomore, but he played a lot of ball last year and that lends itself to help and be able to handle the things that happy through the course of this year. Whereas a guy like Brand Ross, it’s only been his second ball games for us. Wes Brown has still only played in his fifth ball game, same thing for Albert Reid. There will be a light at the end of the tunnel for these young guys with each game gaining a ton of experience that will be fruitful for us in the future. Unfortunately now we have to get these guys to play better.”

Defensive Coordinator Brian Stewart

On the goal line stand vs. Wake Forest:

“That was awesome wasn’t it? I don’t know how I could break it down; it was just great all across the board. The defensive linemen cut their offensive linemen, which made it easier for the linebackers and secondary players to see the [running]back take a leap. I think it was [Demetrius] Hartsfield who hit him first below, and then it was Cole [Farrand] who came from the other side. They got a hit on him, and then next thing you know Dexter [McDougle] comes flying all out with his best impression of Troy Polamalu without the hair and then just did a good job of hitting. It was just an awesome play, I think that was a spark for us, a big play that was huge and it kept us rolling and I think it affected the offense also.”

On preparing for Virginia using two different quarterbacks:

“Yeah, [Phillip] Sims has had an opportunity to play in almost every game. We got a chance to see him and how he handles the offense. They’re going to run the same stuff, they do the same things, there’s not a big difference. I’m just glad I don’t have to make that quarterback decision.”

On the play of Anthony Nixon:

“Anthony has done a good job of asking questions that don’t just pertain to him, but pertain to the whole scheme. So he can understand where he fits and how he fits. At practice, when you correct him, he’ll look at it on tape and say ‘coach that’s the one you were telling me about.’ So he’s always thinking, and that’s just a testament to his high school coach, his parents, and that everything is important to him.”

On how much he’s seen Jeremiah Johnson improve:

“I just think Jeremiah is another guy where everything is important to him. When you talk to him about football, he sees it. You can talk to him and he sees it. He’s just a smart kid, good grades, and that’s probably why he’s a god football player. He knows how to study, does what he’s supposed to do, and I’m excited for him.”

On the play of Darin Drakeford:

“He’s done a good job. He’s been drawing some double teams. He’s been either drawing double teams or the backs come and chip him. So that’s slowed down his production, but it also helps the guy who plays right inside him. So whoever is on his side gets the opportunity to get a single block.”

– Terps –

University of Maryland Quotes

Offensive Coordinator Mike Locksley

On West Virginia’s defense:

“For us it’s a front that Perry [Hills] hasn’t faced. We’ve faced four down fronts for the most part, and we’ll get some three down fronts like last week in nickel situations. This team is a true 50 defense. Which for him is just another week of adding to his box of experience. You have to attack different fronts different ways, and so this week we have to prepare and come up with a game plan vs. a 50.”

On how Perry Hills bounced back after last Saturday’s loss:

“I talked to him on the phone and saw him after the game and my big thing was telling him as a quarterback it’s a natural leadership position. The other guys on the offense are going to look to him for leadership, and it’s a game. It’s one game, and obviously we didn’t play very well on offense and that’s collectively, myself included as a coach. We need to come in, he needs to come in tomorrow and put it behind us. That’s going to be our base way of doing things around here, win or lose, we have 24 hours to get over it and make the necessary adjustments we need to make.”

On Matt Furstenberg’s play and his involvement:

“There’s an effort to get the passing game going. But, with a young quarterback obviously coverages and things they do on defense dictate where the ball goes.  We go into every game with a plan to try to get certain touches to certain people. We have to make adjustments and when you have a freshman quarterback, a lot of the things that you go in planning for you see different things. It becomes a game of adjustments throughout the course of it. Matt’s a guy that the impact he’s made for us may not be on the stat sheet. He’s done a great job in the run game for us and he’s helped us in some protection situations, and we’ll continue to try and find ways to get all those guys involved. As I told our offense, especially the guys on the back end, we’ll only be able to do and go as far as far as our quarterback is able to take us.”

On having Tyler Cierski back and where the reps will go:

“It’s a great situation to have as we’ve talked about. That’s the type of situation you’d like to have at all the positions, along the offensive side of the ball. We’re fortunate to have four backs that are all capable of carrying the load for us. The competition day to day and throughout the course of a game week will obviously dictate the roles that each guy has.”

On Brandon Ross returning:

“Well yesterday was really the first day, and I thought he did well for his first day back. He’s been in all the meetings even though he hasn’t been practicing with the guys that are traveling, but he’s been there mentally throughout the course of the injury. From a mental standpoint we feel that he’s there, and then last week he was able to get some physical reps down on the scout team. From what I heard he did a great job and looked good running.”
Defensive Coordinator Brian Stewart

On how he rated the return of Matt Robinson and Isaac Goins:

“I thought both did a good job. I thought our communication in the back end was clean. I thought they did a good job of coming in where they left off and knowing what they’re supposed to do. They did a good job of making sure everybody was on the same page.”

On the difficulty of going up against WVU’s offense:

“The offense has one of the better quarterbacks, Geno Smith, in NCAA Football. Not just having him, but the tempo of their offense, they’re a fast paced offense. And then they have good skill players on the edge with Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin are going to end up as two of the better receivers. As a challenge, we’re excited about the challenge. To be the best, you have to play the best. I think it’s excited they’re on the schedule and we get an opportunity to play them.”

On the challenges the air raid offense presents:

“For the most part they can lure you to sleep, especially if their quarterback has a strong arm like Geno does, and their receivers can catch the ball. What we want to do is keep the ball in front of us, tackle the catch, and eliminate the big play. If we can get off on third down, I think we’ll have the opportunity to be close.”

On slowing down a quarterback like Geno Smith:

“I don’t think you go into it worried about slowing him down. I just think like I said you eliminate the big plays, keep the ball in front of you, tackle the catch, put pressure on him, and get off on third down. You’ll have opportunities.”

On Head Coach Randy Edsall’s insight on WVU:

“Coach Edsall knows what we do defensively, and the people we’re playing against. So, he always is going to have his name on it and he’s talked to us about it.”

On how the secondary has taken steps the past two games:

“I just think with Matt [Robinson] back as a starting safety our communication is a lot cleaner. You’re not going to get freshmen mistakes from him. Unfortunately freshmen are going to make mistakes, and they’re going to see run when it’s not run, and see pass when it’s not pass. Matt understands his keys, your keys tell you run or pass, and then you play it from there. So, I think the biggest improvement is not having mental errors in the back end like we had against Temple and William & Mary.”

On the challenge of playing a hurry-up offense:

“My first college job back from the NFL was the University of Houston. This is the exact same offense that the University of Houston employs. As a matter of fact, Dana Holgorsen in 2009 had the number one offense at the University of Houston, and then he went to Oklahoma State. The way the defense is set up with the no huddle and the wristbands that we use, it came from playing against that offense in practice. I don’t anticipate the communication being a problem. What I do anticipate is that it’s hard to practice that speed.”

On the linebacking core:

“Honestly I’d like to see more plays. We had some opportunities to make plays and it’s not anybody’s fault. We just need to understand what’s asked of everybody, and once we get that cleaned up I think we’ll be able to make some more plays. For the most part they’ve done what we’ve asked, but I just guess I’ve been spoiled.”

Quotes from Maryland Offensive Coordinator Mike Locksley and Defensive Coordinator Brian Stewart

Offensive Coordinator Mike Locksley

On Don Brown’s Connecticut defense:

“It’s definitely a headache. They play great, solid defense, statistically and on film you can see why they’re ranked where they are defensively. He outnumbers the box, he disguises well. It’s been a trying week for us offensively just to come up with a scheme for ourselves to have some success. As we get through the week we’re feeling better and better about playing, and we feel we can go out and execute.”

On if he’s talked to the veteran defensive players about Don Brown’s former schemes:

“You know some of the guys like Kenny Tate and Joe [Vellano] have come in and given their two cents as to the background of the defense and what it entails. But you can watch the tape and what you see is pretty consistent with what we’ve heard when you do your research on it. We did a preliminary game plan in the summer so we’ve had some time to evaluate it. As we get into it this week after we’ve seen the two games they’ve played really well.”

On the importance of last week’s tempo for Perry Hills:

“It’s good to see he made the strides that you like to see all of our guys making from week one to week two. I thought Perry improved, and that’s the goal for us. He’s still a guy that got off the yellow school bus last year, and our goal is for each week to give him a plan that he can go out and be comfortable with. It’s not what we want to do, it’s what he can get accomplished and what he’s comfortable with. I think he took some steps, but we have to consistently do it.”

On Hills’ ability to throw the deep ball:

“I thought all camp long he did some nice things, and that’s how he earned the right to be the guy when we had the injuries. So, when you recruit a guy you recruit him to have the skill-set to do what you want to do on offense. I’m very pleased with his skill set and how it fits in to what we do.”

On Tyler Cierski’s injury status and how the depth at tight end allowed that to not be a major limitation:

“Well any time you don’t have Tyler it’s a blow to us offensively. He brings toughness, and his ability to get us to run downhill. As you said, the luxury of having four tight ends going into the season would give us strength at that position. Having that personnel grouping allowed us to have some flexibility to continue to be able to get under center and run some of our downhill, power pro-style run plays. A guy like Devonte Campbell coming in, or a guy like Matt Furstenburg being able to fill those roles.”

On ball security and Wes Brown bouncing back this week:

“Well I think when you look at the turnovers that’s the one thorn in my side from an offensive standpoint. You can’t turn the ball over and be a good team. That’s the one thing we’ve stressed from day one, is not beating ourselves. We’ve been very fortunate here the past couple of weeks to come away with wins when you turn the ball over seven times as an offense. I think the young guys understand the importance of it. We’ve done some things to try and reemphasize ball security. I have no doubt in my mind that a guy like Wes will bounce back, those guys understand he’s been playing that position a long time. He understands the importance of it and I expect him to bounce back and as an offense the goal is to come out of this thing without turning it over and beating ourselves.”

On if he’d be satisfied with a 3-0 start:

“There’s no satisfaction because we have a long season and we’re playing a bunch of young players. It’s been my experience having done this quite a bit in my career that you like to see the consistency out of a young team where you’re able to do it. But every week is a new week with a young ball club and young players. For us, there will be some satisfaction if we can find a way to come away with the win. But it all starts back up on Sunday, when we go out and practice it’s a brand new week.”

On Kevin Dorsey and his status as a mentor to the younger receivers:

“Well I’ve seen the unselfishness, and I know our receivers would love to see the ball a little bit more. With a young quarterback I think they realize and understand it’s more about what our quarterback can execute. I think each week you’ll see us continue to be able to add or improve on what we take in based on how fast Perry [Hills] continues to develop. I’ve been really pleased with Kevin [Dorsey] and Kerry Boykins as senior receivers who’ve sacrificed for the sake of getting wins and helping the development of a young quarterback and offense. Those guys have been just tremendous from a leadership standpoint.”

On if the selflessness is something he pressed upon them or they brought on their own:

“I think communication is the key, and those guys understood when C.J. [Brown] went down, there were maybe going to be some things that would take some time with a young quarterback like Perry. It’s not anything that we had to go and talk about, but I think they understood being around the game as fifth year seniors what it takes.”

On what Brandon Ross brings to the table:

“I think because of his skill set he’s a homerun threat. I’ve been pleased with the running backs in general, minus the turnovers obviously. It gives you another weapon in your arsenal, and gives you a guy that has the ability to make some things happen. Maybe at the second level he can make a guy miss, and take it the distance. He has those types of abilities.”

On Albert Reid’s role:

“That’s the thing we talk about, roles are something that change daily based on performance and situations. Going into last week, the competition at that position has been pretty good. I like that; it’s something I wish we had at every position. Depth wise, we just don’t have it at the offensive line position, even somewhat at the receiver position. The depth isn’t there to have that type of competition, but those roles will be determined by how they practice during the week. We thought Wes practiced well last week, Albert [Reid] didn’t do anything wrong per se, but his role will be determined by how we finish up this week. This is the second day of our two really tough practices, Tuesday and Wednesday, we’ll see what his role will be when we get closer to game time.”

On percent of his job is spent recruiting vs. coaching:

“It’s 50-50, you’re doing both. I’m a big believer that to be a complete coach you have to be a guy that can go out and get the groceries and come home and cook dinner. That’s just been my philosophy, I never wanted to be pegged just as a recruiter or pegged as a guy that just knows X’s and O’s. To the young coaches that I’ve often time spoke with about the business, I think you develop leverage with the ability to do both really well. Right now I have some work to do as a coach.”

On Notre Dame joining the ACC:

“I just heard that maybe an hour ago… Any time you can bring in a product like Notre Dame to our conference it helps. For right now, all my energy and thoughts are on getting ready for UConn and trying to put an offensive plan together.”

On the feelings as a recruiter when someone signs with you:

“Well you move on to the next recruit. You don’t have a lot of time to celebrate small victories, whether it’s recruiting or a game on Saturday. It’s unfortunate, we just talked about it a little as an offensive staff. There’s very little time to enjoy the process because as soon as you get a Stefon Diggs come in, then you’re on to the next guy whether it be for next year or next week. So it’s a short-lived excitement, but I think in the end it’s what you do as a coach.”

Defensive Coordinator Brian Stewart

On the return of defensive backs Isaac Goins and Matt Robinson:

“It’s pretty exciting. It was unfortunate that Matt [Robinson] got hurt so early in training camp, but the experience he brings and the leadership he brings back there is pretty good. He’s tried to be a leader but it’s hard when you’re not on the field. Now with him getting the chance to be on the field and help out the young guys has been awesome. Isaac [Goins] had a great spring for us. We’re excited just to get him on the field to do some things with him.”

On if he thinks the secondary has been an issue:

“Obviously we’re a work in progress. I’d like to play better on the back end, you don’t like to give up touchdown passes or pass interferences. I think they’re getting better. As a group we play a lot of young guys, as we start to stabilize guys on the field the better we’ll get.”

On Sean Davis coming in and playing in his first year:

“I think he’s holding up ok. I think you guys had a chance to talk to him earlier in the week, and you see he’s a very personable kid. He’s going to do the best he can, and it’s just hard because things are a little different and faster than when you’re in high school. It’s a learning process for him, and I think it was a good process. I’d rather him get a chance to learn in a backup role rather than a starter role, but nonetheless it was a good learning process.”

On if he has seen Sean Davis grow rapidly over the past month:

“I think he did a great job. When you’re young as a whole, there’s not a lot of football experience you can go back on especially with the speed of the game at the college level. Those young guys just have to keep seeing it. The more playing time they get, the more motions they see, and the more things that happen to them the better they get.”

On what the offense can expect to see from Don Brown and how familiar he is with Brown:

“You know what, we have some guys like Keith Dudzinski who was on the staff with [Don Brown] for quite a while. He’s talked about his thought process and what he thinks Don does and likes to do. I pretty much focus on our guys and how I’m going to attack [Connecticut]. It should be fun, it sounds like there’s going to be two pretty aggressive, pressure defenses going on. It should be fun.”

On if there’s any frustration that the media is calling this game the “Randy Bowl”:

“This is the first time I’ve heard it called the “Randy Bowl”. The great thing about Coach Edsall is that we do everything the same. We practice the same, do meetings the same, recruit the same, so I haven’t noticed anything different. I just know that we have another football game against the University of Connecticut and we’re going to do everything we can to win that game.”

On why this unit has been able to come together and rank so highly in defensive statistics:

“I’m not a big numbers guy. I’m more about looking at what we need to do to win. I just think the basic foundation of our defense is if we can stop them running the ball, focus on third down, get them off the field, and not let them score, then we have an opportunity to win every game. Those are the things I focus and drive into our guys. I just really want to play our defense and get better at our defense. Winning each down one game at a time, down by down, that’s the main focus. That’s exactly what I want the players to think.”

On how Alex Twine has held up this season:

“I think Twine has played and done everything we’ve asked him to do with that position. A lot of times the coaches don’t get credit. I have to credit Lyndon Johnson, Keith Dudzinski, as well as Greg Gattuso with just coaching their guys and making sure they know the intricacies of each position.  They make sure when a guy is called to play, he can play and I can call a total menu of plays. When Twine got thrown in, he knew everything, not to mention he had the opportunity in the spring to be the starter. That helped tremendously. I think Twine, Sean Davis, and all those guys benefit from the way the coaches have taught and making sure everyone knows our scheme defensively.”