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PURDUE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 27, 2015Darrell HazellWest Lafayette, Indiana THE MODERATOR: Welcome to week eight of Purdue Football. We will get an opening statement from Coach and then open it up for questions. COACH HAZELL: It's good to be back in game mode after giving our guys a couple days off. There was a tremendous energy in the building on Sunday as we met for the first time after the break and had a little workout on Sunday, but the guys are ready to go and get back into game mode against Nebraska. Q. First, how is D.J. healthwise? When do you expect him back? COACH HAZELL: If you're asking about Knox's availability, we still don't know right now exactly. He ran a little bit yesterday in the pool. We will see today how much he can do and then make a determination later this week, whether he will be available or not for us. Q. The run defense shows substantial improvement against Wisconsin. Where do you see it at and where does it need to be? COACH HAZELL: You're right, Pete, it did and it all starts up front. Finally after three years you start to get those players that are playing at the Big Ten level that you need 'em to play at. Evan Panfil's and Ra'Zahn Howard and Jake Replogle were playing in the backfield -- as well as Ryan Watson were playing in the backfield against Wisconsin. If you can disrupt the run game and also put pressure on the quarterback, that's where it all starts. It takes so much pressure off the linebackers and the secondary. I thought those guys played maybe their best game up front. Q. You're playing a Nebraska team that could easily be 6-2, 7-1. What do you see in terms of them? What do they bring to the table? COACH HAZELL: Well, very bizarre year for Nebraska football right now. You watch their games, all phases, and you're right, you shake your head at the last 3 minutes of about four or five of those football games where they had a chance to win them and fell short. They still have a lot of good players on the field, and they can hurt you, and I'm sure Coach Riley is pulling his hair out because of some of those lose that they've had. Q. When you were on the break, I know you had a chance to do some recruiting. Were there any particular positions you were emphasizing? COACH HAZELL: I think our needs right now as we look at our roster going forward, we need some interior defensive linemen, we're going to need some offensive tackles, and probably -- obviously we need a kicker for next year, so those are some of the priorities that we're looking at. Q. The announcement of the facility upgrade, your thoughts on that and how much of a boost will that be to the program? COACH HAZELL: Can't tell you how excited I am about that new facility we're going to get, Pete, if it's approved by the Board in December. Much needed. We're behind, obviously, and it will help not only our current players but the future Boilermakers and help us win some championships, so I'm really excited and thankful to the president and to Morgan Burke for seeing the need of this new facility. Q. Darrell, you said when you met Sunday night there was a lot of energy. Bye weeks are strange things, sometimes they help teams, sometimes they hurt teams. Did this bye week emotionally more than anything help this team? COACH HAZELL: I think when you are recordwise where we are, I think it's time -- there comes a time to step back and really take a hard look and take a deep breath and refresh your mind and your body. So I think for us, you're right, there are certain times when you're rolling you don't want to take a week off, but I think for us, where we are, where we were coming into this bye week I think it was good for us to get away. I know it was good for me. Q. You talked all season about having what you call a "good locker room," any issues you may have had in year one or before you even started coaching. Do you feel like you've got that part of it where you wanted it with guys understanding the big picture of what it's going to take to win here? COACH HAZELL: Absolutely. I think we have a close-knit group of guys in our locker room, and they haven't wavered from this, and obviously when you're not as successful in the win/loss column, there are always guys that think they should be playing to help the team, and that's normal everywhere you go, but in terms of cohesion within the locker room and the players, and you are supporting each other and working at the high level that they continue to work at, it's still there. Q. I watched a lot of the Nebraska/Minnesota game and what you're saying about they could be 6-2, 7-1 is absolutely correct. It's been a bizarre -- you talked about it's a bizarre year for them, but it's an opportunity for them and this is a big opportunity for you, as well? COACH HAZELL: I think it's a big opportunity for both programs, you know, Coach Riley in his first year there, and us in our third year here, and the programs are moving in directions, and I think this is a big game for both programs right now, because they're reeling a little bit and we obviously need to get a win, so I think it is a big weekend for both of us. Q. What did you feel like you accomplished during the bye in terms of maybe reloading for the last five games of the year? COACH HAZELL: I thought, you know, you need to get a rest and drop your shoulders a little bit, I think that's probably the biggest thing is just the decompressing a little bit, because everyone is working so hard, and you're so tight you're not getting the result that you want. I think you have to be able to step back, but obviously we worked on fundamentals last week, didn't have any scout teams. We did it all against each other, offense and defense, and we started really concentrating toward the back end of the week in terms of Nebraska. Q. Do you feel like your issues are in scheme and personnel and mental approach and all of the above? What do you feel like your issues are? COACH HAZELL: Probably a little bit of all, all of the above. I think there are some schemes that you can do a little bit better. I think sometimes, you know, you fall off on some technique assignments, so that's personnel. Then, you know, I think you've got to probably be a little bit more aggressive where we are right now, and in some of the things that we're doing. We've taken a long look at that. Q. You are talking about aggressive in terms of schemes? COACH HAZELL: Schemes, yeah, all phases. Q. What would those be? COACH HAZELL: We will be a little bit more aggressive in schemes, all phases. Q. I feel like trying again. COACH HAZELL: Good luck. (Laughter.) Q. What did you want out of the offense coming off the last game? What do you need to see out of it? COACH HAZELL: Obviously we have to be able to produce time on the field above all else, before we start producing points. We're having those three and outs, three and outs, shortens the field for the defense. When you're in a 10-7 ball game against a good football team, and all the sudden you feel your back going closer and closer to our own goal line, and then all of the sudden you punt out of your own end zone, and ball is on the 34 yard line. That's hard for anybody to play. So you have to be able to stay on the field to call more plays, so in that sense, there are some things that you have to do a little bit differently, offensively. Q. Speaking of the punt, you had another delay there, unintentional delay on that punt, and you've had a couple of those this year -- COACH HAZELL: Had two, yeah. Q. -- what has happened on those plays? COACH HAZELL: We have two different personnel groups for punts. One is a what we call a snipes personnel group, where we have all speed guys on the field, and then we have another, which is our base personnel group. Well, one of our young men was -- should have been in the huddle. We tell them all to get in the huddle at one point in time. Q. What do you want to see this week coming off the bye, and then in the last five weeks that will make you feel like you've had some success down the stretch? COACH HAZELL: Obviously you want to win, but I think -- if I think I hear what you're asking, I want to play good in all three phases of our football team. I think we have to put together a compete game with the offense, the defense, and the special teams and really hit on all cylinders. Obviously, you're not going to play a perfect game, but I want to see us hit all of our marks on all three of those phases. Q. Do you feel like you need to do that to come away from the season to feel like you have had some element of step forward and success? COACH HAZELL: No, I don't look at it that way. I feel like we are making some strides. Like I said, I feel for the first time some of those third-year guys started showing up the way you thought they would show up, and sometimes they arrive a little bit later than what you hope, so I'm seeing that progress, even -- not only the defensive linemen but some of those secondary guys started playing at a high level, so some of those younger, secondary guys, but I just want to see us play a complete game, three phases. Q. A lot of people don't want to hear about success and lesser results and victories. You understand that point of view, certainly? COACH HAZELL: Oh, absolutely, I understand that point of view. Q. Who are you looking at number two running back in case D.J. can't go? COACH HAZELL: We will look at Yancey and we will look at both Keyante and Byars today, and see who rises to the top if D.J. cannot go, and hopefully we can get him back as fast as we can. Q. Would it be a situation where if D.J. can't go, you're giving more of the carries to Markell and not looking to that number two guy, probably as often because he is less experienced? COACH HAZELL: That would be 100% accurate. We would probably go with Markell until he needed a blow, uh-huh. Q. Any update on Jimmy Herman? COACH HAZELL: Talked this morning at our staff meeting at 8:30, and Jimmy was a little bit better. We will see how much he can run around, he's still having some hamstring issues, but might cause us to do some things a little bit differently defensively, something that you've seen before this year, it's nothing new, but in terms of packaging our defense. Q. You mentioned that the defensive line a couple times, but Panfil in particular raised his game, it seemed like, and sort of had an ability to not only follow his assignment but be productive out of it. Just what was different with him and why did he take such a big step forward? COACH HAZELL: Like I say, you never know when guys are going to arrive. He's always had the energy, sometimes he was always out -- sometimes he was out of control, and he's got such a great "want to," his motor is spectacular, but sometimes you've got to settle guys down, and that's where I think he finally settled himself down and was able to make some of those plays that he hadn't been making before, and he did it consistently. I thought he played physical, I thought he played fast, and look for him to continue to get better. Q. Austin Appleby's status? COACH HAZELL: Austin is free to go, completely clear. Q. Did Ja'Whaun end up having surgery? COACH HAZELL: He did. Ja'Whaun had surgery -- what's today? Yesterday morning. And he should be back on campus today, and his mom is up for the week, and she will take care of him, and we'll get him better. Q. Normal timeline of recovery for him? COACH HAZELL: Yep, normal timeline. Q. You talked about being more aggressive in certain areas, but I'm going to ask about offense. Beginning of the year you wanted to play a little bit faster. Do you feel like you've reached your ultimate tempo at any point this year of how fast you wanted to play? COACH HAZELL: No, we want to -- we talked about that extensively yesterday, about creating more of a tempo. Obviously last week against Wisconsin it was a certain goal that we felt like we had to do, which did not apply the tempo that we wanted to apply, but I think going forward, we have to -- I think it reduces the amount of defense that you can call if you're in tempo offense. Q. You talked about paring down the playbook after the Minnesota game and that applied to the Wisconsin. Are you still at the pare-down level you want to be or was that just a one-game situation? COACH HAZELL: I think my request for our guys was to find the seven or eight concepts that we do in the run and in the pass and get to that. That's what we need to do to operate at a high level. So to answer your question, yes. Q. What was your message to David Blough, what he needed to work on in the bye week to come back and give this offense a jump start? COACH HAZELL: Well, I continued to stress the importance of playing the game and not the play. I think that's so critical for a young quarterback. We all -- we inserted David into the lineup, he's played for three or four weeks as a starter, and we have these high expectations, we all do, myself included, but we've got to remember that he's been in the lineup at a Big Ten major league college football for three weeks. So he has to learn how to play the game, not just the plays. I think that's a huge part for a young quarterback. For example, we're in a two-down territory on the plus 37 yard line, it's third and 5, let's go get the first down. Let's not try to chunk it, get a big chunk deep on a go route. It's learning how to play the game and not just the play. Q. Do you get a sense it might be a little bit of frustration for him because he wants things to happen right now? COACH HAZELL: That's natural for a competitor, I think it's frustrating for all that are involved that when you don't get the results that you do get a little bit frustrated but you work through it and you find out where you can get better at all those things, but he will become a really good player, once that -- same thing as like with those other guys, the light clicks on and all of the sudden, I get it. So he's not at that "I get it" moment yet but he's working to it. Q. Completely off the wall question. Since you're playing on Halloween what was your favorite Halloween costume growing up? COACH HAZELL: I will not reveal that at a press conference. (Chuckles.) Q. I thought it was something like your mom's wig or something. Haven't we asked this before? COACH HAZELL: Someone has asked that before, yes. Q. When you mentioned seven or eight concepts that you do and do well, shouldn't you know that by this point? COACH HAZELL: Well, we've done a lot of concepts and I want to look at the numbers. I don't want to hear that okay I think we do this well and this well, I want to look at the numbers and say this is what we actually do well on game day, because there are certain things you do well in practice that don't always translate to Saturdays. I want to look at the numbers and say okay here are the things that we're effective and efficient at, and that's why you have a bye week, you go back and your self-scout, and look at all those things. Q. Sitting at 1-6 going into the bye from the outside looking in, doesn't sound like there were sweeping changes. I mean, are you just steady as you go and tweaking here and there? COACH HAZELL: A lot of tweaks. Q. Should there have been more drastic changes being at 1-6? COACH HAZELL: No, I don't think so. We're not going to push the panic button, we understand where our shortcomings are, and we're going to fix them, and you're getting so close in all those situations, you've just got to take the lid off of it. Once the lid comes off, watch out. Q. I know a couple of weeks ago you mentioned it was blocking and tackling that were kind of holding you back. Do you feel the same way? COACH HAZELL: No, actually we tackled very well last week. We fell off some blocks in some critical situations against Wisconsin, some backside blocks particularly, but that area has improved and that needs to continue to improve but, yeah, that area has improved. Q. Who did Ja'Whaun's surgery? Was it Shelbourne? COACH HAZELL: It was, uh-huh. Q. Can you be specific about what you expect from Nebraska's defense? COACH HAZELL: Yeah. Four-man front team, they play quarters, coverage, on first and second down. They play man free on third down a lot of times with press coverage on the outside. They have an outstanding defensive tackle, No. 7, who in my opinion is one of the best in the country, and the other guy's a good player as well but they like to put a lot of pressure with those interior players. Not a huge pressure team but they're pretty good up front, that's the strength of their team, defensive team. Q. I think I read somewhere that the secondary is struggling a little bit. Do you feel like we could potentially see a different game plan than we saw last week, where maybe you waited a little bit to throw and tried to establish the run, but maybe there will be opportunities for David in the passing game this week? COACH HAZELL: You will see a different game plan only because -- not because of the secondary but because of those outside linebackers that Wisconsin had. You know, the whole purpose of not pushing it down field is we didn't want to put guys on one-on-one match-up with those two players, potentially NFL players, but the game plan will be different because of those two guys, not necessarily our secondary. Q. What do you expect from their offense, schematically? COACH HAZELL: You know, it's funny you watch their offense, and they're if a lot of different formations, it's not a typical Nebraska team where they're going to be in so many different formations, three or four personnel groups, and they're running a lot of motion, things off the motion, they have a jet sweep, that's one option. They have a jet sweep, but they -- a zone with a back is a second option. Then they have a jet sweep with a fake to the zone, and then they have a jet sweep with a fake to the zone and a quarterback keep power off that, so a lot of things running off of that and a lot of different formations. And I think the big thing with their offensive football team is you better stay in coverage with that quarterback, because he scrambles around, slides to the right or left and all of the sudden he throws it down the field for 60 yards, and we have to make sure he's not able to do that. Q. You said you're not pushing the panic button, talking to the guys every week that seems to be their mentality, even after a tough loss, we're going to come back and win the next one, always optimistic and you said a bit of a change in mentality over the bye week, just refocusing. With as optimistic as they were before that, where is that change and from what you've heard from them how are they approaching the last five games? COACH HAZELL: Like I said, the energy was out of the room on Sunday when the guys came in there, and they understand that they're getting better, they're playing a little bit better. They realize they've got to do things a little bit differently so I like where their heads are and their approach has been. Q. You look at the Nebraska offense, seems fairly balanced, I mean, they have a solid run game but the quarterback is not afraid to pass at all. Where is your focus as a defense and what have you seen from them on film thus far? COACH HAZELL: I think always you have to start by stopping one element of their offense and that's always stop the run. So they have a good receiver in Westerkamp, No. 1, who has 40 receptions for the year. The next closest guy I believe has 17, so that's their go-to guy, but if you don't stop the run it takes your will away from you so you better stop the run first and then play good tight man-to-man coverage on the outside. Q. Coach, with Nebraska, they've been giving up a lot of offense or excuse me, passing. Not so much running. So with that being said are your guys kind of looking forward to throwing a little bit more compared to Wisconsin? COACH HAZELL: I know our receivers want to get more involved with the game, that was one of the things -- I had an exercise that I had all the position groups do two Sundays ago. Coaches went out on the road, and I met with the team, and I said I want each group to watch the film together, and I want you to say the three things you did well, the three things you didn't do as well as we would like to do and then summarize your position group. And I think the receivers said, "Coach we feel like we need to get more involved in our offense to help us get that win," and, you know, I appreciate that statement. Q. Coach from the fans' perspective, coming off the bye week at 1-5, some of them may be not quite as excited going into this, but Nebraska travels really well, so it's important that they show. What are you looking for from the fans this week as well? COACH HAZELL: I hope our fans come out, I certainly hope our students come out. This is Halloween weekend. Wear your best costumes and have some fun in the stadium. It's going to be a great environment. We're looking for a win, and we're looking forward to getting back out there and playing in Ross-Ade Stadium. Thanks for asking that question. THE MODERATOR: Anything else? Coach, thank you for your time. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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