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UNIVERSITY OF TULSA FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

August 30, 2016

Philip Montgomery

Tulsa, Oklahoma

COACH MONTGOMERY: How is everybody? Well, glad to see all your happy, smiling faces again.

Excited about the upcoming season. We've had a really good summer, really good fall camp, been competitive across the board in that sense.

Some of the things we've looked at, some things we've got to improve on, integrating new personnel in different spots. You got young guys coming in fighting for positions. We've had good competition coming through as far as that goes. I'm excited about that part of it. I think our defense has made huge strides in the spring and fall camp. I'm excited to watch them Saturday.

We have a great opponent coming in here, a bowl team that won their bowl against Georgia State. Coach has done a great job there. We've got a great test in front of us.

Obviously we've got to have a great crowd on Saturday. We need that support from them and the help they're going to provide for us. But our guys are excited and ready to go to work, ready to battle with somebody new instead of ourselves.

With that being said, I'll open it up for questions.

Q. From last year going into the season opener, first game as a head coach, to this year, is the feel different?
COACH MONTGOMERY: Yeah, I think the excitement level part of it is still the same. I still get butterflies every time the first practice rolls around, first scrimmage. That part of it doesn't change.

As far as the comfort level goes, you know, we've been to battle together now for a year. So knowing how guys are going to react on the field, knowing how certain situations are going to take place and how we'll adjust and make those adjustments throughout games. We've got great leadership on this football team that I feel coming out of fall camp.

With Trent and those guys defensively, Jeremy Brady, then when you take Dane and Belcher, guys like Keevan Lucas who are all great leaders. I feel good about that standpoint from our football team, and that's always positive when you're going into the season.

Q. Back to the first game last year. How much did that sort of lay the foundation for the season that y'all were going to have, the momentum and emotions?
COACH MONTGOMERY: Yeah, you know, I think it really did. It was obviously an overtime victory for us. Our guys really battled and fought all the way through it. That was kind of typical of our season.

We played 13 ballgames, and every one of them was a knock-down, drag-out war. Our guys knew they had to be prepared to play 60 minutes or more. I think coming out on top in that first game kind of set the tone for what we were going to build on, what we were going to become, and what it was going to take for us to do that.

Q. There are two ways of looking at this. I thought you played every bit as good on the road as you did at home, or maybe even better. Would you like to see the program become a better home program, or the team be a better home team this year than last year?
COACH MONTGOMERY: You know, I think that's kind of hard to say. You got to go back and we'll look at the schedule and see who we played at home. We played some really tough opponents at home. I thought we played well at home as well.

I think a lot of it, when you talk about sleeping in your own bed, your own food, you know what you're going to get in that sense, the best part about it is your crowd. When you fill the stands up, people are there hollering and screaming and cheering from the start to the finish, that's why it's home-field advantage. That's why we need to keep building in that. We're trying to put something on the field that fans will want to come see, that will be excited about coming to see, and keep them from sitting down, keep them standing up and cheering and giving them something to cheer about all the way through.

Q. You like to go fast on the field. The first two weeks, this being the season opener, then the big game next week on the road, will you have to remind them to play fast but stay within themselves, not get too overanxious? Is that a concern at all?
COACH MONTGOMERY: You know, I think that's probably a concern for every coach in America right now. It's been a while since they've got a chance to be on the field. They're all juiced up and ready to go. So you got to get that first hit, that first touchdown, that first first down, that first interception or turnover if you're talking from a defensive standpoint. You get those things, you can settle back into really playing football. You got to ride those waves of emotions that you get, keep them all lined up in what we got to do.

I think our team's ready. When you talk about somebody like Keevan who has been injured and back, his motor's juiced and running right now. He's just got to play within himself and be calm about it and make sure we're using our emotions to help us and not hurt us.

Q. When it comes to last year and having to kind of remold the minds of some of these young players who went through a couple losing seasons in a row, now this year where they have confidence, built off of a bowl game, any kind of difference in trying to refine now more than trying to reproach the players' minds of a losing mentality to now we can win mentality?
COACH MONTGOMERY: Yeah, I think we really saw a lot of that in spring and in fall camp. As a head coach, to be able to go back as you look at your practices in fall camp and feel like you didn't really have a bad practice leading up to it, I think that shows the foundation that we laid last year and guys understanding the way you got to work, the way you got to prepare for what's fixing to happen in the next 12, 13, 14 weeks, depending on how games kind of play out.

We've had good workouts, we've had great leadership. We have to build on the foundation we set up. We're always going to be a blue-collar kind of grinding team. That's who we are. That's our mentality.

With that being said, though, if we can get after you early, we're going to try to do that.

Q. You have some important players coming back from injury. The defense has been a focus this month. What are some of the uncertainties you're really focused on seeing play out for your team on Saturday?
COACH MONTGOMERY: Obviously you got new guys in new spots. You got young guys that are having to step up and play now. So there's always some uncertainty in that sense. The other thing is you haven't been in live action like this in a long time, so that first game, it's really more about taking care of the football, eliminating mistakes as much as you can, then being able to maximize when you get turnovers or mistakes or whatever happens.

We've got to do a good job of making sure that we're using our veteran leadership that we have to help those young guys along. From a schematic standpoint, with San Jose, there's really no tape defensively of what they're going to do. We're going to have to kind of shoot it from the hip. Coach English has been out of it now for about three or four years. Obviously he's still been in the game probably in some way, shape or form. So traveling around, kind of developing a new thought here or there. We're going to have to kind of adjust from a staff standpoint when the game starts, as well.

Q. Second year in the system for you obviously. The year of experience that the players have, how far ahead are you right now than you were the Tuesday before the first game last season?
COACH MONTGOMERY: Yeah, I mean, it's kind of night and day really. The crazy part about it is, you know, this year, being able to really install at a much quicker pace. When you walked out there the first day, you probably had over half of your playbook already in. Then it was just kind of fine tuning it, adjusting it, knocking the rust off of it. But being able to kind of to continue and keep growing and maturing in the offense has been a big factor.

Then having a better understanding of where our players are right now, what they're going to be able to do on Saturdays, how you're going to be able to attack people, knowing their strengths and weaknesses, that's a big part of what we do offensively.

Then obviously having Dane back, that's a big factor, a guy that's played in a lot of games. Really I thought had a great year last year. Now he's got to turn around and be even better this year.

So to be able to take the reins off of him a little bit, give him more freedom at the line of scrimmage to help us get in and out of a lot of things, because he saw a lot of looks last year, I think that's going to help him out.

Q. Sounds like you will draw off of and remind your guys what they accomplished last year and besting it. Is that a difference in philosophy really?
COACH MONTGOMERY: I think it may be a difference in where our programs are at right now when you look at the two. He's been there a long time, got a lot of tradition built up behind him since he's been there.

It's always going to be a new team each and every year. We're not going to live off of what we did. You got new players and new leaders and things have got to change.

With that being said, we're only year two of what we started. We've got to build on the foundation that we started on last year and continue to keep growing that and making sure that we're setting a new standard each and every time we go out, make sure we reach those things.

I think it's more of where our two programs are at now more than it is philosophy-wise.

Q. Obviously with Ron being out of the game the last couple of years, just looking over their stats, second in passing defense last year. Are they completely different philosophy-wise than what they ran last season or similar?
COACH MONTGOMERY: Yeah, that's a great question. I've been scratching my head over it for a while now, too. I still think he's going to be in a four-man front. That's about the extent that we have.

I mean, we've looked at a lot of tape depending on what he's going to do and how he's going to do it. We'll have to make some adjustments come Saturday. Those first couple of series, we have to do a good job of recognizing what they're trying to accomplish and what they're trying to take away.

I think more importantly right now for us, we've got to be us: play with speed, play with tempo, stretch the field the way we stretch it, horizontally and vertically, then plug in those runs when we got them.

Q. Does that change anything what you do offensively for the first five or ten plays of the game not knowing specifically what they're going to do, or do you go off of a script?
COACH MONTGOMERY: You know me, we don't do a whole lot of scripting. We're going to shoot it from it hip. We'll have a plan as we step on the field on how we want to attack. If nothing else, making sure we're getting to see some looks in different formations and different things to get an idea hopefully of what the rest of the game's going to be about.

Q. First game of the season, home opener, a lot of excitement. What do you expect the atmosphere to be like on Saturday?
COACH MONTGOMERY: Well, I expect it to be rabid fans, people painted up wearing white shirts. We are having the white-out for it. Families coming to games and having a ball while they're here. Being able to be a part of the TU experience, especially game day.

We'll have all of our freshmen, our newcomers to campus. For some of them, it may be their first game they've ever seen. Some of them may have been around here or there throughout as they were kind of trying to decide schools, giving them a chance to experience that. But more importantly we just want people to come, be loud, wear your white, support our football team.

Q. Anything you didn't know about this team at the start of camp that you're pretty confident in now? Anything you've learned in the last month?
COACH MONTGOMERY: A lot of those questions are going to be answered on Saturday. There's still some things that are up in the air. But I think we've placed guys in positions that they can be successful in. I've been really happy so far with our offensive line and how it's kind of gelled. It was a big question coming in, having three returning starters.

Belcher being that fourth one we can kind of work back in there. But finding the right combination of those five guys and letting them gel and having time to do that during fall camp has been big.

Then I think we're getting better and better up front defensively. That front seven has got to do a good job of limiting those explosive plays, do a good job of stopping the run, creating that pass-rush so we can get off the field on third down.

Q. You mentioned expectations. Whenever you came in here, you were trying to get the players to raise expectations they had. I heard several of them say their goal is to win a conference championship. Is that what you were hoping for that to translate into?
COACH MONTGOMERY: Yeah, we're getting to a point now, I hope, and I feel it with our football team, that we as coaches don't have to do all the correcting. We don't have to do all the cheerleading part of it either. Guys are taking ownership. This is their football team. Being able to go out, if a guy is not working at a level he needs to be worked at, I don't have to call him out, they're calling him out. If we're not attacking a workout the way we need to, those guys are taking care of it.

I think the expectation of our players is to go out and win every one of them every time we line up, and that's what you want. They have confidence in themselves. They've been on the field with a lot of good football teams. They're just ready to make their mark this year.

Q. What do you first remember about your excitement level for an opening game, whether it was your first one as an assistant coach or coordinator, maybe back to playing days? Has that feel changed at all?
COACH MONTGOMERY: It hasn't changed. It hasn't changed from the time I was a player to a coach to now. You still got that nervous energy. You still got the butterflies. I think more than anything else, it's that adrenaline. It's an adrenaline thing that you can't describe until you feel it.

As things unfold and continue to happen, it's one of those things that just keeps lining up for you. It's one of the reasons why we do what we do.

Q. Do you have a story? Did you get so excited that you tripped over yourself or puked on the sideline? Is there some story here?
COACH MONTGOMERY: No. I've never been the 'puker' if you will (smiling). That's never been my deal.

Usually for me, you know, it's sleep, those type of things. Just nervous energy at night, can't get to sleep, and the next day you're kind of running on fumes. But it's all adrenaline-based. You feel great. As soon as the game is over, after you get a win, it's like somebody hit you with a sledgehammer. That's kind of been my MO as we've gone through it.

Q. Your roster is an interesting mix of older and younger players. 17 underclassmen on the two-deep.
COACH MONTGOMERY: Never counted them. That's a lot.

Q. According to the press release here. Does it feel like a younger team or more experienced team when you're coaching them up?
COACH MONTGOMERY: It really does. It really does. I think that's a tribute to our seniors. Those guys have really stepped up and they've taken hold of this thing.

One of the things I told those guys the first day I was on campus with them was, We're going to win football games, we're going to put in a lot of hard work and do all of those things. But my job is to put the best 11 people offensively, defensively, and special teams on the field. If you're one of the best 11, I don't care what classification you are, what type of returning experience you have, if you're one of the best 11 you're going to play.

We've kept that philosophy. I think that's what has made the competition within our practices so good.

Q. San Jose State has 10 times the enrollment. I know this isn't anything new. Is it something special to go up and compete with bigger schools?
COACH MONTGOMERY: I don't ever look at it that way. If you go to the store and you're buying jelly off the shelf, I'm going to get a small plum jelly or a big plum jelly, it doesn't matter. They're both going to taste the same and they're both going to be good.

For us, we may be a small school, but we don't play like it, we don't fight like it, and when we step on the field, we're there to there.

Q. (No microphone.)
COACH MONTGOMERY: Griffin jelly? I'm going to date myself here a little bit probably. I'm a homemade jelly guy. My wife and daughter, they make it. They make homemade jam all the time. Plum jelly, strawberry jelly. We've had apple. Other stuff. I mean, they make it all the time.

Q. Do you grow stuff in the backyard?
COACH MONTGOMERY: Well, we actually used to, but not anymore. We used to have strawberry plants in the back. We ain't got 'em any more. We go to the store and make it out of that.

Q. (No microphone.)
COACH MONTGOMERY: Not going to throw it up. Hard to beat a plum and peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Q. A football-related question.
COACH MONTGOMERY: Thank you.

Q. With how much we talked about this opening game can set the tone and expectations, do you have to fight the urge to put too much on it? It is just one game, even though it's the season opener.
COACH MONTGOMERY: You know this about us, we're going to take it one game at a time. We're not looking ahead and we're not going to look behind.

This is an important game for us because it's the first one. They're a great opponent. Like I said, went to a bowl game. They got a ton of returners, four offensive linemen back, they got their quarterback back. Their tight end Freeman is back, Crawley is back. They got a ton of weapons offensively. No. 4, Tago, he has a chance to be the leading tackler in school history when it's all said and done. No. 10, McKnight, has been a stud back there for them for years.

They have great play-makers. It's going to be a great game. We got to buckle up and show up and do what we do.

Q. You mentioned it briefly a little earlier. Can you give us a better idea of what Keevan has been like here in these last few days now that it's game week. We all know how much he loves the game, how long it's been for him.
COACH MONTGOMERY: We had a scrimmage last Friday. It was a little bit more low-key than the first two. He still got goosebumps on the sideline. He's ready to roll.

I say this all the time. He really is biting at the bit to get back out there. I think he's playing with that type of fervor that you've got to have. He's ready to roll. But so are a bunch of other guys that are sitting there ready to play.

He's going to be electric. We got to do a good job of making sure we're getting him the football.

Q. (No microphone.)
COACH MONTGOMERY: Yeah, he's back. He's ready to go. I think really that was more of that nervous energy that I was talking about. He was so anxious to get on the field, by the time we got out there, he kind of got spent a little bit. That's what we got to watch with him early.

Thanks, guys.

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