	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 29, 2015

Tracy Claeys

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Q. How about the job that Thumper, as you call him, did on Saturday coming in?
TRACY CLAEYS: Yeah, we needed him to play well, with Cody getting knocked out, but John practices well, too, so he's played well since he's been here. That's a nice thing to have in the depth part of it. But he definitely had his most productive game since he's been here.

Q. You can use him in some nickel stuff --
TRACY CLAEYS: Most of them can do it, so that's a good thing is we're getting done some of these last drives and we're being able to keep fresh bodies on the field at linebacker for the no-huddle stuff. Hopefully we'll keep enough depth if we can do that. But we can put him in whatever we need him to do. He'll take on the fullbacks, too. He's a good 2 back, so he can do a little bit of everything.

Q. Tracy, what will you focus on and emphasize as you teach this week in regard to Justin Jackson?
TRACY CLAEYS: You know, we won't do anything special. They're a no-huddle team, and so we'll just -- I don't think there's any secret over the last couple years they've been pretty consistent in what they've done against us offensively, and you know, how you defend what they do will be pretty consistent with that, too.

More so our emphasis this week will be we're going back to a no-huddle team that plays like four or five different personnel groups. That's hard to get prepared for and how fast they switch them out. So that'll be our emphasis in practices, being able to get switched out to their personnel groups, how fast, rather than any individual guy that they have.

Q. You got some pretty good looks at that, though, earlier in the non-conference.
TRACY CLAEYS: Well, Colorado State would be the best one, but they're going to operate faster than Colorado State. Everybody else only did basically like two personnels against us, not four or five, so that's the -- since you've got four or five, you've got to practice a little bit more. You can't get caught in all the extra DBs out there, and they have two tight ends and two backs on the field, or you're going to be in trouble, the substitutions and knowing who they're running in and off, and us being able to match them quick enough is going to be a big deal.

Q. Is there going to be more emphasis on communication since you are down to some backups and don't have a lot of experience?
TRACY CLAEYS: Well, yeah, thanks for reminding me. Yeah, no question. The communication part and getting people in and out is -- it's an issue. It's an issue with younger guys who haven't played a lot.

Q. Have you ever had your depth tested like this so early in the season?
TRACY CLAEYS: Again, my memory -- I go on to the next game so much, but it's all about -- it really from my perspective is it's taking the healthy guys who are there during this week, spending time not worrying about Northwestern but finding out what those healthy guys are going to play -- what they do best that matches up to give us a chance to win. I mean, that's the whole goal for the week. You lose three starters after you already lost seven and you've got to line up and play again, and I don't know, somewhere, 15, we've got to find out the kids we have, what they do well that matches up with Northwestern, give us the best chance to win, so that'll be the priority.

Q. As good as you guys have played on defense, and we've talked about how you don't want to rely on turnovers, but is that something the last two weeks you'd like to see a little bit more?
TRACY CLAEYS: Like I've said all along, I'm not saying defense doesn't have anything to do with turnovers, but I think well-coached offenses don't turn the ball over, so I'm not one to lose as much sleep over turnovers. If we get them, it's like Christmas, okay. If not, you've still got to play football, but I think well-coached teams don't turn the ball over, so I don't want to get to where we rely on turnovers. We'll take them wherever we can get them.

Q. What was more concerning to you, the coverage breakdowns on their four-play touchdown drive or them going down over the course of 13 plays for a touchdown?
TRACY CLAEYS: Oh, I never -- if somebody is good enough to go 13, 14, 15 plays, all the power to them. That first thing was ridiculous, okay. That was giving them Christmas by blowing three or four things in a row. That's no comparison on which one. Nowadays you try to make teams -- there's not very many who can make 13, 14, 15 plays. They convert all their 3rd downs but one. The one they didn't convert, they converted on 4th down, so they executed on that drive and then they deserved that. We had our distances, and who makes plays, they made the plays that drive.

Q. How do you prepare for a young quarterback like Northwestern's?
TRACY CLAEYS: They have a system that they've had since we've been here, so it's more in defending what they do rather than worry about who's at quarterback. I mean, you can get hurt and somebody else is in the next play. So we'll defend them based on the system that they have in place that they've been running for a long time. They're very good at it. If you try one thing, you see how they come back with other answers. It's more or less defending their offense again rather than worrying about one player. We've got enough problems to worry about other than theirs.

Q. What's Thorson show you on film?
TRACY CLAEYS: You know, very productive in the times that he's gotten there when he's needed to be there, kind of a lot like Mitch has done. When they needed to make plays, they've made the plays they've needed to make in order to win the ballgame. That's the objective each week is who wins, and he's done a good job of doing that for them.

Q. Stanford, Duke, Ball State, have they faced a defense that runs some of the stuff that you guys do?
TRACY CLAEYS: Not really. Stanford is a 3-4 team. Duke is more like TCU's defense, but again, there's not going to be any secrets because we've played them the last four or five years, and they haven't changed offensively and we haven't changed defensively any. There's not going to be a lot of secrets. It's going to be all who executes.

Q. How are you holding up just with your secondary being so depleted injury-wise? Has this kind of been your worst nightmare in some ways?
TRACY CLAEYS: No, no, my worst nightmare would be to be 0-4. So no, no. Like I say, injuries are part of the game. I mean, they just are, and you line up and you play the healthy ones and you do the best you can. Our kids are capable enough to get it done. It's a matter of just coaches just putting them in the right places and finding out what they do best.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297