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PURDUE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 10, 2015

Darrell Hazell

West Lafayette, Indiana

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to week 10 of Purdue football. Boilermakers will be heading to Evanston, Illinois, this weekend to take on the 24th ranked Northwestern Wildcats. Game time is 12:00 Eastern time, 11:00 Central time.

COACH HAZELL: Real quick, comments on last week's game. Obviously, we didn't play as well as we'd like to play or execute as we like to execute. Hard to get into a rhythm. 4 out of the first 5 series offensively were three and outs. So it's hard to get into a rhythm. Obviously, on defense, we didn't tackle as well as we needed to tackle, and we missed some gap fits, which allowed some big plays against us.

I'm confident that our team will come back extremely hungry and strong this week as we get ready for a good Northwestern team that's playing good football right now.

Q. Darrell, first off, what are the keys of maybe kind of eliminating the up and down types of performances you guys have had?
COACH HAZELL: That's the big question, Pete. You play good one quarter, you don't play well another quarter. You play good one week, you don't play well another week. I think a lot still has to do with the maturity of the football team, being able to handle that adverse situation early in football games. I think we still had a little glazed eye look after the first couple of series, and we have to be able to snap out of that, and someone's got to step up and make a play.

I think, if you can get a spark, that will get things to start to roll, but we needed to have a spark on Saturday in some phase of that game early, especially after they went down and scored pretty quickly.

Q. How do you get that spark? I assume it has to come from the players more than coaches.
COACH HAZELL: Well, you want it to come from both areas. Coaches are trying to get it sparked up from their aspect, but we also need some guys that are on the field between the lines to also provide that. You hear Frankie a lot trying to drum that spark up a lot, but we need -- and Kugler is really good at that as well. But we need more voices to be able to speak up.

But also you've got to make a play. That's part of it. It's not just talking about it or saying something, somebody's got to make a play to get that spark going.

Q. And in your mind, what are the signs that the program is moving in the right direction?
COACH HAZELL: Well, there's no question in my mind that it's moving in the right direction. The guys are so much better. The things that they're doing, obviously, coming off a loss like that, you don't feel that way sometimes. At least I feel that way, but people on the outside don't feel that way.

They're getting better in so many different things -- the way they prepare, the way they -- most of the time they're competing at the highest of levels. Sometimes they're not, but there's a lot of things that are in place right now that certainly weren't in place last year and definitely not in place two years ago.

Q. When you look at Northwestern, they're very strong defensively, maybe not quite so much offensively although they've got a good running game. What challenges does Northwestern present?
COACH HAZELL: They're really good. They are. They're very sound. They play first and second down. They're playing the zone. They're a zone team. They're playing a lot of quarters coverage. But they never get out of position, and there's a lot of hats to the ball.

They have a really good player up front, No. 94, very strong, stays on his feet, has a big motor. Reminds me a lot of Jake Replogle, but he plays on the edge. And the middle linebacker, No. 18, is a really active, fast, physical player. Those two guys, in my opinion, are probably the best two players up front.

And then they have corners that they challenge the routes. They slow pedal, and they brake on throws, and they've had a lot of break-ups because they gamble a lot.

Q. And then the last thing from me, it seems that for the most part you've played better on the road than you have at home. Obviously, you've got these two games coming up on the road. Any reason for that?
COACH HAZELL: I'm not sure there's any particular reason, if that's an accurate statement. It probably is accurate. A lot of times, when you go on the road, there's 68 guys or 70 guys in our league, much less than 110, and sometimes there's less distractions in terms of getting pictures and seeing parents and people hanging out at the hotel. So that might have something to do with it.

But our focus, no matter where we're playing, should always be the same once we hit the field. We should be as sharp and playing as fast and have as much confidence that we need to have to do a good job.

Q. Darrell, kind of piggy-backing off of what he asked you, your Indiana State game, your Michigan State game, and your Nebraska game, solid efforts. You could just kind of see the energy there. And then each time, you followed that with kind of a dud, to say the least. When you see that, as Matt Painter told us two years ago, a coach really shouldn't have to coach effort, but with that team that was struggling, he did. How do you go about coaching -- it's a different sport, but how do you go about coaching effort?
COACH HAZELL: I think we do. Especially at this junction of our program, we're 2 1/2, 2 3/4 years into our tenure here. I think we have to continue to coach effort. That is a good statement that a lot of coaches do make, and I think there's a lot of validity behind that. But for where we are and where we've come from, we have to continue to coach every single aspect of the game, whether it's how to line up quickly, how to run to a gap -- all those things that matter, we still have to coach and we have to coach them hard.

Q. And you mentioned last week's game. I think there were three or four three and outs to start the game. Is that kind of deflating in terms of that -- I mean, you could almost see it from the press box that guys were -- you know.
COACH HAZELL: You could feel it. You could feel it from the sideline. When you don't have a chance to get into some rhythm, sometimes those players, they revert back to where they've been, and that's one of the things we've got to continue saying, let's go, let's go. We're driving it home. And sometimes it gets there. Eventually, it will permanently get there.

Q. Again, Pete asked you -- you only had three of them, but it seems like you've played relatively well on the road. Is this -- I know you always like to play at home, but is this maybe a good week to take this group on the road and see if they can't get that collective mojo going again?
COACH HAZELL: We need to get the mojo going no matter where we play. I think that's very important for us. Again, the kids, our players are so resilient. I saw a handful of them coming out of the weight room this morning and talked to them, and they were fired up and ready for another challenge.

But we need to get rolling again, and the thing that you want to be is consistent. That's what you want. You want consistent effort. You want consistent performance week in and week out. That was the disappointing thing about last Saturday.

Q. You kind of mentioned this with the resiliency, but just how is the team handling coming off the big win and then the loss? We talked a little bit about it yesterday, but what are you hearing from them, and how are they handling the whole thing?
COACH HAZELL: On Sunday we met -- I met with them for about 25 minutes and went through everything. It's a down time because it's -- down mood time because of just off the game, a game that they didn't play as well as they'd like to and we'd all like to.

We were off yesterday. We saw the quarterbacks for a couple minutes, and they were in good spirits. But like I said, I saw those players this morning, and they were in great spirits.

Q. And you mentioned missed tackles. That's kind of been a recurring theme all season. Just what needs to happen? Is it just more tackling drills? More dedication to it? What is it?
COACH HAZELL: Yeah, there's been a huge emphasis on it all season long. We'll keep emphasizing it. We're going to tackle, take them to the ground on Tuesdays, and we'll do something to the pad on Wednesdays. But fundamentally on Saturday, I thought, as you watched the film, that we need to again, close the space where we were tackling. When we don't pull the trigger and close the space, it leaves that guy with much more area to negotiate, and we have to be able to close the distance and get him on the ground.

Q. When you look at this Northwestern offense, fairly strong running game. Just kind of what are you expecting from them there? And then how does that play into the weakness, I guess you could say, that you've had at just tackling?
COACH HAZELL: Well, I think philosophically for them, they're going to spread you out. They're going to spread you out. Sometimes they'll be empty and shift the back into the backfield. Sometimes they'll be in four wideout sets and try to hit you with some zone. And a horn scheme, where they're pulling guys. Those are their two lead runs, zone and horn scheme, and we've got to be able to make sure we have one extra hat in the box and close the distance and be able to come downhill and play on their side of the line of scrimmage, just like we attempted to do a week ago.

Q. In these last three weeks, is there a chance you'd roll in some younger guys at some positions? You know like some cornerbacks or something? Like Rose and Hunte and maybe more Eddy Wilson, things like that? Just to see what they have at those positions that you're losing guys for next year.
COACH HAZELL: Eddy for sure will be in the rotation. Rose has been a little bit dinged up with his lower leg. I would like to get him some playing time because I think he'll help us.

In terms of some of those other guys, I'm not sure there's anybody else available that can help us. We're still trying to win football games. We're not trying to get guys ready to play for next year. We're trying to win football games this year.

Q. You mentioned meeting quarterbacks on Monday. Is that a thing you usually do on Monday with the quarterbacks?
COACH HAZELL: They swing by when the coaches are talking, and we quick game overview and just say hello to those guys.

Q. So what are your thoughts on the free safety position spot that Gregory and Roberts are playing in? And sort of what you need from that spot.
COACH HAZELL: We have to be much more physical at that spot right now. I think that's one of the areas that I think we're struggling a little bit with that safety spot. We've got to be better. Robert Gregory, we know he can be physical. He needs to be more physical than the way he's playing right now. You might see a little bit of a change in putting Brandon there first this week, but both of those guys need to play better. They both missed tackles in the open field. We need to get guys on the ground.

Q. Is Gregory one of those guys that you're talking about sort of hesitating in making the tackle and not sort of attacking it?
COACH HAZELL: Yeah, he was one of about three or four guys that were hesitating and not making that -- closing the distance.

Q. What do you like about, at times, what Roberts has been able to do for you?
COACH HAZELL: I think he's athletic. I think he has good range. I think he's naturally a good football -- has good football instincts. But you've got to still remember, he's been on the field how many times? Six or seven times this year, six or seven games. This is really his first time out there. We're still dealing with young players, and sometimes you've got to remind yourself that, but we still have to step our level of play up.

Q. You mentioned Wilson earlier. What do you like about what he's been able to do, and what do you think his potential is?
COACH HAZELL: I think he's going to be a tremendous player for us. I think his potential is through the roof. He's strong. He's physical. He still makes young guy mistakes, but he is a guy that stays on his feet. He has a big motor when he wants to go.

Q. Just with Danny Anthrop, he's had 16 catches the last couple of weeks. You've been able to get him the ball a lot. Why do you think he's not been more productive with some of those catches?
COACH HAZELL: A lot of those third down situations we were confronted with on Saturday is because we were having one and two-yard gains, and Danny was part of that equation. They were dropping the safety down when he was releasing. It's almost like they were spying him and tackling right on the catch, which is hard for a receiver, running back, anybody coming out of the backfield.

There's some things that we have to do with him this week, I believe, to get him a little bit further down the field before he touches the ball.

Q. Is he feeling okay?
COACH HAZELL: He's sore. He gets sore, but for example, today we'll go real light with him again. Tuesdays has been a light day for him, and he's not completely back. The later in the week, the better he feels. He's not completely back yet.

Q. Going back to the up and down theme, football coaches, all coaches in general, are creatures of habit. You're doing the same -- I would imagine you're doing the same thing throughout the week every week from a consistency standpoint. I guess why hasn't that consistency kind of bled over into your team?
COACH HAZELL: It's funny that you mention that because I have tried to shake it up a little bit last two weeks, going into Nebraska, going into last week, just changing the order of some of the things we do at practice so they don't get stale.

But it all comes down to a couple things. It really does. It comes down to execution. It comes down to fundamentals. When you do it, you get momentum because you make plays. When you don't do it, the momentum goes against you, and the other team makes plays. We have to be fundamentally better at everything that we're doing, and that will allow us to stay consistent.

Q. Is that a practice issue then?
COACH HAZELL: Well, it is. It is. It's a practice issue. It's a confidence issue of understanding what your technique is and being able to execute your technique when you're going against fast guys and all those things. So yes.

Q. Whether you thought this at the beginning of the year, worst case scenario, where you would be at this point, but did you even envision your team being 2-7 and having this roller coaster of a year so far?
COACH HAZELL: No, absolutely not. I thought we'd be further along with our record, obviously, and the roller coaster is the thing that gets you a little bit as a coach. You say, hey, man, we've got to be consistent in all the things that we're doing, and I think that's the next step that we have to be able to take. Again, it comes down to what's our execution level?

Q. Granted, you've lost Ja'Whaun. That's a key injury. Jimmy's been in and out, but for the most part, you've been relatively healthy. You've had your front line guys, most of them playing the whole time, right?
COACH HAZELL: Yeah, offensive line-wise, we've played with the same guys. So it's been pretty consistent there. And they played relatively well in the run game Saturday. We needed to protect a little bit better. The quarterback got beat too many times. It puts a little pressure on the tackles. But we have to throw and catch better. I think that's part of the execution that I want to see increase as we go forth these next three weeks.

Q. With Northwestern's quarterback, he's kind of a dual threat. Not that they run him by design a lot, but he's -- when he does run out of the pocket, he can create some big plays, if you go back to the Nebraska game. Just how concerned are you about his legs as opposed to his arm on Saturday?
COACH HAZELL: He's a very, very talented young man. He can really run, and he's fast. When they get into that zone read game and he pulls it out, he races the angles on a lot of linebackers. So we have to do a great job of making sure we tackle the back but also contain the quarterback because he's made a lot of plays.

Like you mentioned, the Northwestern game, we saw him during the Northwestern game when we were scouting Nebraska, and we got some ideas from him. So we have to do a good job of making sure we keep contain on the quarterback and tackle him.

Q. What's it say about Robert Kugler, 40 straight starts on the offensive line?
COACH HAZELL: You just love Kugs, for everything he's done for this program and how much it means to him. It hurts him as much as it hurts a coach when you lose a football game.

He played last week. I don't know if you guys knew this or not, but he played last week hurt. That's one of the reasons he wasn't vocal. He dropped a weight on his toe in the weight room on Thursday, and that thing swelled up pretty good, and they had to drain it. But he was hurting pretty good. There was no way in the world, with his competitive spirit, that he's going to miss that football game.

Q. Was it similar to -- last year going into Illinois, I think he was a bit questionable because I think he got injured the week before, if my timeline is correct there. But he's a guy that you just -- he's going to be in the game, right?
COACH HAZELL: Oh, he's going to be in the game. It's in his blood to compete and to get his guys around him.

He and I talked last night. He came past the office. He was visiting with Coach Bridge, and we talked about some things. He referred back to that look that some of the guys had on the sideline on Saturday. So we addressed some of those things, and he says, Coach, we'll get them going. So he was really good.

Q. Just what will the plan be for D.J. this week? How much do you have to test him to see if he can go on Saturday?
COACH HAZELL: Today will be a big test for D.J. I'm anxious to see him back out there. I think that gives us another weapon that we can use. Markell is playing great, he really is. He's one of the guys that's been consistent throughout the course of the season, but it's always nice to have more weapons available to you. So today will be a big test day for D.J.

Q. Will Howard practice?
COACH HAZELL: Yeah, I talked to Ra'Zahn about 10:00 today. His knee is bothering him a little bit, but he said, Coach, I'll just put a brace on it, and I'm ready to go. So his mindset is good. Martesse is going to leave practice early. He got twisted up a little bit. They're going to do an MRI. He's cleared to play on Saturday, but he'll get an MRI just to check.

Q. A couple of the freshmen you have, Sindelar is obviously the big name kid. But how much do you get to watch him, or when you go back to watch tape of practice, are you watching him? What are your impressions of his season, I guess?
COACH HAZELL: I want you to watch Sindelar practice. It's a pretty amazing thing for a young guy. Any time a play's called -- and no one's told him to do it, but any time a play is called, he's 15, 20 yards behind the play, going through all the reads, whether it's a run, whether it's a pass, taking his drops. That's pretty amazing for a young guy to be able to do those things. It's very important to him to be good.

Q. He obviously was running your scout team offense for the first half of the season, and he said he watched film of the opposing quarterbacks just so he could give a better look to your defense. I don't know if that's uncommon or not. It seems kind of uncommon to me. But just kind of his makeup is showing up from what you thought it was going to be?
COACH HAZELL: Well, he's a type "A" guy that everything is extremely important. It's funny, the guys are busting his chops a little bit. A couple of weeks ago, he had missed a -- we have a Thursday quarterback meeting at 7:00 a.m., and he had missed it. I was in a staff meeting, a full staff meeting at 10:00, and my secretary comes in and knocks on the door. She's all shaken up. She goes, Elijah's in your office. He needs to see you. He needs to see the whole offensive staff. I was like, you guys stay here. I'll go talk to him.

I go in my office, and he was destroyed, just bawling because it's that important to him to do things the right way. I started laughing at him. Would you relax? It's good to see. That's what you want. That's how you want your guys to be, just so accountable.

Q. Why did he miss?
COACH HAZELL: He overslept. He overslept. We've all done it. He overslept, and he made a mistake, but the guys, they let him have it for it. The rest of the players let him have it.

Q. Evyn Cooper was a guy we talked about before the season as maybe thinking that he could bring you something this year. Has it been a process for him to be a full-time cornerback?
COACH HAZELL: Cornerback? Yeah, Evyn's got a ways to go in terms of being ingrained into the program, and that's one of the things we'd like to see him grow. All of the things he's doing, making sure his concentration is a little bit better and becoming a college player a little bit better.

Q. Athletically, there were obviously reasons why you brought him in, why you like him. Why you been able to see him use that athleticism so far in practice?
COACH HAZELL: I think you can see him run. I think the transition from being able to pedal and doing those types of things, I think it's a lot to be learned from him, but you see the natural athletic ability -- and the size. The kid is a big kid. He was in the office last night, he's 6'2"-plus and long arms. He's got the physical attributes.

Q. You're obviously playing some freshmen right now, but the guys who aren't playing, is there anyone who stuck out in watching the scout team or footage?
COACH HAZELL: Let me get back to you on that one. I'm not sure right now.

Q. What about Mendez?
COACH HAZELL: I think all those young linemen have done a nice job. McCann has done a good job, and Peyton's done a good job. All those guys have gotten better throughout the course of the year. That's a big group of guys, a large group of guys that have a chance to be pretty good, I think, a couple years from now.

Q. Northwestern's running back is pretty good. What have you thought of Jackson?
COACH HAZELL: He's very good. I thought that last year as a true freshman, I thought he was really good. I think he has ability to slow things down and see cuts and hit those things at a top speed. He's strong enough to pull through some arm tackles, but he's a really good player, and they use him the right way. I think they do a good job of getting him back there and spreading people out.

He couldn't be in a system where -- I don't think he could be in a system where it's just hammer, hammer, hammer, but the way they usually do a great job with him, and he does a nice job.

Q. Based on what you've seen from Northwestern, do you feel like their defense is the most complete defense you guys are going to face so far?
COACH HAZELL: Certainly one of the best we've seen, and I think, because of what they do, like I said, schematically, they want to keep those ends wide. They're going to play a four-man front. They're going to let their backers slide in and out of the box, and they're going to give you an umbrella with cover four, and they're all running through the ball. They play some really good sound defense.

Q. And their defenses only gave up nine yards on the first four drives last week. You guys have had problems with starting off slow. Just maybe something different this week? Or how do you try to combat that?
COACH HAZELL: We have a couple things that are a little bit different. Yeah, we do.

Q. Fair enough.
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