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UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCESeptember 21, 2015Paul ChrystMadison, Wisconsin THE MODERATOR: This week the Badgers play their final nonconference game on Saturday hosting Hawaii at 7 p.m. at Camp Randall Stadium in a game televised by BTN. Head Coach, Paul Chryst is here. We will have opening comments and then take questions. COACH CHRYST: I thought there were positives that came out of the game. It's fun when you play in the season and I told the kids after the game and truly believe you've got to appreciate those games where you win. What's fun is each game is different and it takes -- you win different ways, and I thought that we were able to do that. I liked the way the guys prepared all last week and played, and we were tested in different ways and guys showed resolve. I thought defensively it took us a little bit of time to adjust to the rhythm of our opponent and they had to communicate and kinda had to work through it, and that's good. So you can kind of find some areas where you improve, looks different than what it might seem on the outside. I thought it was the same thing offensively; I thought we ran the ball a little bit more consistently, I thought the backs, Dare and Taiwan were more patient, and there are a lot of areas I think we can get better at and that also, I like that as a coach. The thing I appreciated from our kids is they know can it and they see it and they want to get better. Looking forward to this week, I think we're playing a talented, physical team in Hawaii, and so this will be a good week for us. Q. Paul, after the game when you were asked about the two targeting calls, you talked about the belief that you teach your guys to play physical but safe. You're curious to hear back from the League, I think you were talk about? If you had time to review it, were the guys executing the techniques that they were taught, and what do you think of the two calls? COACH CHRYST: I had a good chance -- I think there is a good process in place for as far as us as coaches, spoke with the Big Ten office and Bill and went through it, and the thing I like talking with Bill about is I think he respects the game a ton and certainly sees it from how do we best officiate it, and like I said before, there is no one in coaching, no one playing that isn't in favor of player safety. As you alluded to, we want to make sure we're doing everything we can to help our guys play it the right way, and we take pride in that, and for a long time here at Wisconsin being physical and playing the game the right way and coaching it. I think that, you know, the instincts of our guys -- that's why it's so important to practice and go with it and we always talk about seeing where you're hitting and keeping your head up. Yet, I think there are -- football is such a reactionary game, and I had a good chance to talk with Bill, see what they're saying, and saying, "Bill, where do you think we're at on this?" And with Leon, it's just making sure his head is truly up, and, you know, we have been spending a lot of time on working on getting him to the side, and that's easier said than done, when it's a split-second decision. We're going to communicate well, we always do with our players. This is what's being officiated, targeting is getting more talked about for us. We talk about it when it's not us, and other penalties, and we want to be a team that doesn't hurt itself. I thought that's one area we can get better in. Defensively we had some false -- you know, I think Vince had one, Cichy had one, Chikwe had one offensively, those "controllable penalties" we call them, and then there are some that happen in the course of the game that are -- come out of being aggressive, and I think there is no question in my mind that both Leon and Derrick were trying to play the game the right way, and that you appreciate that. Guys weren't trying to take a shot and be cheap. Q. With all of that said, after having two guys ejected Saturday, are you worried about guys getting hesitant in any way? COACH CHRYST: I think that's our job to make sure we're letting them -- that's one thing I like about these players; they're smart kids. You can talk to them and explain it. I don't think so, Jay, but we gotta make sure we're communicating and reinforcing with what we're practicing. That's the best way to take the hesitancy out of it. Then you keep reinforcing it, we do it every day. It's just kind of hammering it again and talking through it again and making sure to show it. I don't think the guys will be hesitant because of it. Q. Since it hasn't been instituted here since they instituted the rule -- we weren't sure whether there was an appeal process. So Tindal is -- as of now, he was not eligible until the second half; is that correct? COACH CHRYST: Correct. There is not an appeal. The one way that you can appeal is if the review isn't working in the stadium and therefore -- in essence, the review happens game day, and everything is looked at by Bill and then they go through it and -- but there is no appeal process. The only way you would have an appeal process is if the system in place wasn't working. Q. Paul, have you crossed paths with Norm Chow? What kind of background do you have together? COACH CHRYST: Never worked with Norm, coached against him, and he is a very good friend with one of my real good friends. Couple times I thought I might be working with him, but he's really well respected in our profession, and he's been a really good coach for a long time and a really good person. I have a lot of admiration for Norm. Q. You said during fall camp you weren't exactly sure what you were getting out of Chris Orr when you came in. How did he grade out on Saturday and how do you like what he gave you on Saturday? COACH CHRYST: I think Chris, what I have liked, he continues to work to get better. He loves the game and I think one of his strengths is his instincts. There are certain areas that he can improve upon, and really every game he's done some good things, just played a little bit in the Alabama game, played more against Miami, and certainly got more snaps, and I think that allowed him to get into the rhythm of the game. He's got really good instincts. I thought he was doing a better job of attacking early, and it's not atypical but was trying -- he doesn't want to be wrong. I think it took away some things, but I think he was trusting what he was seeing and playing downhill. Chris is young, same thing could be said with T.J., T.J. has good instincts, and I like the way they're working, but they can still get a lot better and that's encouraging. Q. Paul, both you and Joel after the game said the third down conversion rate wasn't what you wanted it to be. When you reviewed plays, what were things that could have been done better? I know couple guys caught passes but stopped short of the sticks, for example. COACH CHRYST: Yeah, really what got us into trouble, I think we had five, third and mediums. The first one was we had -- we didn't get a chance on the shotgun snap, and then we had one that got tipped, Joel thought he could get it up and over, and the one with Fum, where we caught it and were underneath it, another one where it gave us a chance to go for it on fourth down. You look at all those, that's one of the -- I think we had 54 plays on offense, and everyone wants to get into a rhythm and one of the ways of getting into a rhythm is it staying on the field, and if you don't convert on third down that's hard to do. So I think there are certainly areas that we gotta get better at, and everyone can own it, you know, from play design to play execution, everywhere in between. Q. Paul, when you first met with Austin Traylor this off-season, did you suggest to him that he should he try to catch 100 passes a game, and in what way have you seen him develop from spring until now? COACH CHRYST: Actually Rudy is the first one that brought that up, and there was something that he did with Lance Kendricks and, Austin, you know, he is -- this team means a ton to him, and he is like a lot of the guys. He wanted to do whatever he could to be the best and for a number of year Coach Alvarez used to talk about this, if we're going to have a good team our seniors need to have their best year. And when you say that to a guy like Austin, he listens, it means something to him. He did it. He did more than that. But that was an example of where he's going to take it literally and do everything he can to give himself a chance to be the best he can, and then there are other guys on this team like that and that's why it's a fun group to coach. Q. Whether you watched the game broadcast or listen to analysts, you seem to have a reputation for getting the most out of your quarterbacks over the course of your career. Why do you think that is? COACH CHRYST: I have been lucky to be with some really good quarterback and guys that work at being the best they can. I think that's why I've -- if that's said, I think it's because I've been around some really good ones. Q. Paul, you guys have had a couple of long touchdown drives in the halves the last two games, what goes into having the success in the 2-minute drill and how much do you guys work on that during the week? COACH CHRYST: We work on it every week, and we also work on third and medium every week. (Laughter.) What made it successful is guys making plays. I think it's guys -- you want your players to be prepared for as many situations that come up, and I think that's something that fits Joel's personality. He's not a guy that gets rattled, but you gotta make plays. One day I was proud of him, he overcame -- we had a set-back, I think it was first and 25, and that's something to build on, is that when something doesn't go your way, you just keep playing, you keep going, and I think that was the best part of that drive. Guys gotta -- guys making plays. Q. Every coach has their own style with running out with the team, leading the charge or being the last guy out. Your route seems to be different. What has been your philosophy with wanting to run out with the team or go back where you seem to take the long route around and hide. COACH CHRYST: Still getting used to this, but what I believe is that game day -- the thing I love about game day is that the players are the ones between the lines, and the game's a great game. Love the game, and love being around players and coaches that love and appreciate the game. I just think that that day is about them. Now, I have always felt as a coach that you can still have an important role on game day, it's not like you're trying to check out, but they've got a small window of time where they're playing this game, and we're lucky to be able to do it here. Coming out on to the field at Camp Randall Stadium, the best thing about our team is our players, and I have always believed that, and it's true here. We have some great young men, kids that are playing and representing this University, and I like it when they lead the team on to the field, and I want to be with them and I want to help them and do everything I can, but the game is about them. I guess that's why I'm not the first one and I kinda want to get out there, but I don't want to -- it's about them. Q. A little late you were presented with a game ball for your first victory by your team. What did that mean to you to get that from them? COACH CHRYST: Anytime you get anything from your team it means the most, and you know that it's symbolic more than anything. I really didn't do much. They're the ones that tackled, they made the plays, they played. Coming from -- Mike presented it on behalf of the team; it means a ton. They all know that -- and it was all of us. I think anytime you get something from your players as a coach, to me that's the most meaningful. Q. Paul, with Daronté's experience with Hawaii, is there anything you can gain from him in preparing for this week? COACH CHRYST: I think Daronté certainly knows some of their players and we've got three games from this year to watch on them, but he can give you a little bit of an idea, you know, who they are as players, you know, but I think other than that, it's a whole new defensive staff, so I think there is nothing like the tape to help you prepare. Q. The offense has been a work in progress and you haven't had Corey. How important is it going to be to get him reps before the Big Ten season? COACH CHRYST: I think we will get him reps this week, he finished up last week doing more, and, he felt, making progress, so I think it's whenever he is ready. It's not just about for the Big Ten season. I'm anxious -- and he's anxious. More than anything he wants to play and help this team. We will see how this week goes with him, but he was certainly encouraged and guys were encouraged seeing him doing that and they know when he's feeling better. They feel good when their friend, their teammate is making progress. We'll see how the week goes. Q. Paul, Hawaii hung with Ohio State two and a half, three quarters, and how physical is this team from what you've seen? COACH CHRYST: I think it's one of their strengths. I think they're a team that loves the physical part of the game and they've got some guys that -- I think their schemes play to that and I think they've got some really good football players. We talked about Norm and their coaching staff, really good, respected coaching staff, different guys on our staff have played against different members of their staff and our guys will watch the tape and they will see it and they will be ready to go because it's a good team. Q. Paul, you don't get a ton of night games here. Is that always something that you look forward to and takes on more meaning? COACH CHRYST: It certainly is a different atmosphere, the ones that I've been in. I've been lucky, the night games that I've been in here, even goes back to as a player, I think I was in one of the first ones and it was a great atmosphere, but you talk about more meaning? Every game is really meaningful. I've enjoyed every game day here at Camp Randall. It's different, but it's -- I think they're all pretty darn good. Q. Just to follow up, the players said that the night game one of the challenges is sitting around all day and waiting and thinking and trying to relax and their process. Is it a good thing, bad thing, tough challenge for you guys as coaches what you have the night game? COACH CHRYST: I think we have already had one this year, and I think guys having through it and we follow a schedule that I first got when I had a chance to work for Coach Alvarez, and a lot of thought went into it, and he would tweak it a little bit, but the main gist of it is you know just what they said, guys look forward to playing the game and when you have to wait, that's different. So you do some things to kinda help them through that. I think we've got a pretty good plan and you want a team that, no matter what time kickoff is, no matter what the conditions, they're excited to play and ready to play and that's our job this week, to make sure that happens. That's one of the things I like about this group and that's what leadership is, and we've got good leadership, and it's a fact, and you have a plan for it and you handle it, and time to go is time to go. Q. After the game you said you didn't focus on Kapoi obviously during the game, but how did he hold up in his most extensive action at guard? COACH CHRYST: I thought Micah did some really good things, kind of like what Chris went through when you really start to develop a rhythm. It was good. It was good to get Jacob in, Hayden did some good things, and a lot of times we were talking about the right side, and Michael Deiter is a freshman, playing, and I thought he did some really good things. So we have all -- everyone has got for growth, but I thought Micah -- it was fun to see him play, and I thought that he kind of turned it loose at times, and I think that will only improve with rotation. I think there is a lot to be said about preparing -- we talk and put a lot of stock into preparing for a game and I think once you go through it, now, you as a player can do a better job of preparing. You know what it is you did well that helped, you know where you can do a better job, so that should be good, sizable improvement with all the guys as they're starting to figure it out. That's good. THE MODERATOR: Anything else for Coach? All right, thanks, Coach. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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