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UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 17, 2015

Tracy Claeys

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Q. (Inaudible)?
COACH CLAEYS: The difference is he's been a head coach and part of the program and all of that. As I said before, one thing that really made me feel most proud is for all of the assistants who stay out there and stay loyal to a program and work hard and all of that. Hopefully those guys get opportunities too. So Bill has been a successful head coach, so it's a little bit different situation.

Q. Tracy, now that you're a head coach, can you talk a little bit about what your thoughts are and your philosophy may be about junior college recruiting? Do you think you come at it across the board year after year pretty selective?
COACH CLAEYS: Recruiting is all about recruiting to your needs, and so whatever those needs are, that's how we'll recruit. If you're really young in a position and you feel like you need a little bit more age, then you go after some junior college kids that can help and you make you better because you may need them to play right away.

But besides that, I don't think the recruiting philosophy necessarily will change. So depending on our needs at the end of the year when we sit down, that will determine how much we go junior college and how much we go high school. I am a firm believer that the base of your recruiting has to be high school kids if you want to be consistent at competing. I just think there is too much up and down when you take a whole class of junior college kids. University of Kansas did it a couple years ago with Coach Weis, and it's gotten them in a bind. So I think the junior college needs to be a specific purpose.

Q. You're not necessarily taking a half a dozen, depending on the year?
COACH CLAEYS: It all depends on the high school kids too that are out there. But our first preference is to take high school kids and then take junior college kids to fill in the immediate need where we don't feel like we have somebody to step into that.

Q. I'm sure your guys feel some confidence. These last two games, if you look at the game this season, this was a nasty stretch, and they were in every single game.
COACH CLAEYS: Yeah, in the situations we've been in and you look at our injury thing, and it's not an excuse. I've said all along you've got to find things your kids do well. Our kids that have stepped in playing for the injured kids, really have made some good plays and they're competing hard. The disappointment comes in the end result.

We're always judged on wins and losses, and we haven't been able to find a win. But I think any team -- most of the teams in the country that would have played that three-game stretch would have some difficulties also.

But we've had some chances and we just need to -- the last game we need to make a few more plays on defense. The Ohio State game, we need to make a few more plays on offense, so pretty soon here we need to put together as a whole team. You just keep working hard and you'll be rewarded.

Q. Did you have any chance to get back any of the starters back (No microphone)?
COACH CLAEYS: I think after Wednesday's practice, but right now I don't think any of those kids are practicing today. So it doesn't look like it.

Q. I know you can't be quoted about it, but there was a very obvious hold on that last touchdown right in front of the official. How could he miss that one?
COACH CLAEYS: Like you said --

Q. If they don't score the touchdown, you might have turned around and won that game.
COACH CLAEYS: Yep, Yep, but you've got to rebound to how it's called. I told you, I don't worry about things I can't control, and I don't have any control over that.

Q. I wonder how your life has changed this last couple weeks, if it has in terms of your lifestyle, things you're doing, sleep?
COACH CLAEYS: Sleep and all of that has been pretty good. The thing that's changed the most is the recruiting calls at night. I'm making a lot more than what I did in the past because both sides of the ball. So I literally have to set aside an hour to 90 minutes to make those extra phone calls each evening. So that's been my biggest change.

Q. How much are you involved with the defense compared to when you were coordinator a couple weeks ago?
COACH CLAEYS: Not as much. But what I do is like if I spend the mornings with one side of the ball and in the afternoon I spend the practice time on the other side of the ball. Then the next day I just alternate it. This morning I spent with the offense. Today I'll spend with the offense, tomorrow I'll spend with the defense in the morning, and believe me, it's just I feel it's my responsibility to have an idea of what's going on both sides of the ball. But the other guys are preparing the game plans and that.

Q. Is there a learning curve offensively? You've been so immersed in defense is for so long.
COACH CLAEYS: I think the guys will tell you they've enjoyed. I'm not so much trying to learn everything they're doing on offense as much to putting a defense in perspective to whether it's a motion or formation or giving them an idea of how I think they would try to stop that play. I think they would tell you they've enjoyed having me in there for that part, and I've enjoyed it also.

Q. Getting to the recruiting calls last week, did it take on a different tone after you got the job?
COACH CLAEYS: Oh, I think there is no question. It eliminates the uncertainty, so that's been really positive. Like I said, we're in a time now you can only call one time a week right now. So we've got to make sure we're organized and stuff. But I think it's important since that happened that the kids hear from me. So I'm continuing. It's a pretty big list, and I hope to be through it by the end of this week.

Q. How come the offense -- how come the offense was so good against Iowa?
COACH CLAEYS: Well, we were able to run the ball a little bit better. Obviously it's not the same front seven. I think Ohio State, a lot of people have trouble blocking their front seven. So we were able to run the ball a little better, keep them honest. Besides that, there are really not a lot of changes. Just running the ball, and that obviously opens up some of the throws.

Q. Was there a general theme that when you were making those calls to recruits that you're emphasizing Minnesota now that you're involved? I know it's probably the same under Coach Kill, but how do you emphasize or what do you emphasize there in your recruiting?
COACH CLAEYS: Mainly it's the same principles. I've said that over and over. It's a different personality when you talk to kids and their parents, it's the same principles we've been building on. The fact that graduating every kid that comes here to play football. The goal is to compete for the Big Ten Championship. So there may be a few different personality and the small changes, but the principle is what's allowed us to build this thing. We're going to keep building on those I same things.

Q. Does the defensive tackle with the two guys out, how do they feel about the job Stelter's done? When you talk about that spot, is it kind of the twos that you've got to put in now being a little undersized?
COACH CLAEYS: Yeah, I mean, Andrew's done a great job for us up front. Gaelin Elmore has played well and Shouby (Yoshoub). But those kids are still not -- they don't have the same strength that our first two guys do. So it's not that they're playing bad and you say, oh, it's killing us. Those kids are competing hard and playing hard.

But one of those things with the quarterback scrambling and a lot of that is not getting as good a push up the middle, so those kids don't quite have the power and that that Steve and Scott do to get that push up the middle. But they're competing hard and trying every day. It's giving us a chance to win. I know most people in the country probably couldn't play number 5 and 6 as much as we are and still have the success that we're having.

Q. I know we've talked a lot about Jeff Jones and his position change, when did that happen and what brought that up?
COACH CLAEYS: Don't hold me exactly to it, because I'm not for sure. But I think it was somewhere around three weeks ago. It's just one of those things that with anybody who is not right now playing on the offensive side of the ball, if there is somebody there we think can help us in the secondary or something like that, we're going to move them over and let them do some individual stuff. Just get a jump again. Talked about recruiting and filling needs. Maybe we have somebody here on the team that we can fill a need with and allow us to get somebody else. So that's what brought that on.

Q. Tracy, how much has your hand print influenced the offensive game plan or even play calling?
COACH CLAEYS: Play calling, none. I don't spend enough time. If you're going to play call, you need to be in there all the time, I believe that. But I've been able to let them give them an idea how I think other teams will try to stop something. Because eventually you're going to take away what you're doing and what's going to be your next move. Allow those guys to think about what the adjustment will be once they take something away.

So that's really about it. That's all we can do right now. So like I said, I've enjoyed being in there, and I think they've enjoyed having me in there.

Q. (No microphone)?
COACH CLAEYS: Right, right. And obviously when you get into four down territory and all that, I try to let them know ahead of time so they can call the plays appropriately and things like that. But for the -- you know, for 99.9%, they're calling the games. I'm just in there during the week.

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