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UNIVERSITY OF TULSA FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 6, 2016

Philip Montgomery

Tulsa, Oklahoma

COACH MONTGOMERY: You know, guys I thought played extremely hard the other night. I thought we played at a level that we needed to play at.

You know, I thought we opened up the game in the sense of being a mature football team and trying to take advantage of opportunities that we had early. It was obviously nice to hit Keevan on one early and be able to run the football the way we did effectively, especially against heavy boxed looks. I thought our offensive line did a great job there.

I thought Dane played well. I thought our receivers played well. We've still got a lot of work to do. We made a lot of little mistakes we've got to get better at. We dropped too many balls and we've got to be more precise, especially this week playing who we're playing.

Defensively, very, very pleased with our effort. I thought that's the best as a full game our defense has played since I've been here. Coach Norwood, Coach Young, our defensive staff, did a great job of calling the game and having our guys prepared.

You know, what can you say about their performance? I thought defensive line, the linebackers, the secondary, they all played as a unit. I love the emotion that they played with and I love that they continued to stay aggressive throughout the game. So I'm excited about that portion of it.

And you know, special teams-wise, I thought we played a pretty complete game. There's some things we've got to clean up. We've got to do a better job on kickoff coverage. Especially playing the type of talent that we're fixing to face returning the football, so we've got to do a better job there. I thought Dalton did an outstanding job punting the football. I thought Red, except for one kick, had an outstanding day kicking the football. Pretty solid in those areas.

We've just got to continue to keep growing and building as a football team and trying to make sure that we're on top of all the little things that happen throughout a season.

So with that being said, go ahead, John.

Q. You talked about the things that you still feel like you need to get better on and improve. But all in all, big picture, judging off the fact that it was the season opener and the game you have this week, was that about as good of a springboard game to start a season as you could have hoped for?
COACH MONTGOMERY: You know, there's so many questions going into that first game. You know, you see yourself and you feel like you've made improvements offensively and defensively and special teams, but it's against each other. It's nice to go against someone else.

I thought our team approached the game the way they needed to, and then to see how we battled and continued to keep growing as a football team within the game, I thought was really good.

I thought our leaders and maturity on both sides of the football really did a great job of understanding where the game was. We haven't been in that situation since I've been here, so to be able to go in with a lead like that at half-time and be able to come back out and still be focused and take the first drive and go down and score and do the things you needed to do to start the second half, I thought showed a mature football team that's ready to play.

Q. Especially on defense, is a performance like that kind of give some confidence, the goal line stand, and other than the first touchdown, not many big plays.
COACH MONTGOMERY: Yeah, we did a lot of the things that we kind of addressed as we got into spring ball. We wanted to be better on the early downs but get them in third-down situations and be able to get off the field; I thought we did a much better job of that.

I thought we controlled the running game. I mean, they had a great running game last year. I think they will have a great running game this year. I thought our defense did a great job of stepping up, linebackers really playing downhill, defensive line, keeping them off the linebacker so they can do that.

And then secondary-wise, eliminating those big plays. We had one get away from us there early in the game, but I thought we bounced back in a mature fashion after that, really settled down. And all of those guys had break-ups, whether you're talking about New, you're talking about Kerwin, Mitch, J-Brady, McKinley, all those guys that came in and played, I thought they all played extremely well.

Q. Considering Ohio State had 77 points, how do you feel with your secondary going into a game where they just throw the ball?
COACH MONTGOMERY: Well, it's going to be a great challenge. Obviously Ohio State and Coach Meyers, I mean, they have got a great program. He's done a great job wherever he's been. They are always very well disciplined. They always execute at a high level and they are doing it with great players.

Everybody talks about how many guys left for the draft, but you know, they have got three returning starters on defense, I think four on offense. But with that being said, just about every one of those guys that are on the field right now, they played at some point in time throughout the season.

So they have done a great job recruiting, and the next guy stepping in is just as good as the guy that just left. It's going to be a tremendous challenge for us, especially going up there and playing them at their place. So you factor in those equations or factors into it.

So we're looking forward to it. Obviously we're going up there with the mind-set that we are going to do what we've got to do to win the football game, and in between the lines is where we'll decide whether that happens or not.

Q. You played OU last year, Virginia Tech last year, a couple big-name, historical programs. Is half of the challenge playing a team like that, forgetting the name and just going out and playing the game?
COACH MONTGOMERY: Yeah, for us, they are the next team on our schedule. We don't control that part of it. We're going to play whoever they line up in front of us.

For us it's not about the helmet. It's not about the shirt. It's about what you have to do between those lines, and we're going to approach that in the same manner as we're going to approach the next week and the next week.

Is it a big game? Sure, it's a big game. It's going to be on a big stage. Take all of those things out of it, it's still a football game. They get 11 on offense and 11 on defense, just like we do; same thing in special teams. And we've got to step out on the field and find ways to be productive and find ways that we can execute and get a chance to go get a first down or stop them from getting a first down and find ways to put points on the board.

Q. They did lose a bunch of guys to the NFL, so I'm not all that familiar with what they bring back with, other than the quarterback. From what you've seen of the guys that played last week that also played some last year, give us a scouting report, where are they especially strong? I know they are kind of strong everywhere probably.
COACH MONTGOMERY: I think obviously when you start looking at what they got coming back, and you look at their football team, it all starts with their quarterback. And J.T. is a good player. I mean, I recruited him in high school. Got a chance to know him a little bit. He's an exceptional young man. You know, really takes it seriously about being a good quarterback, not just being a quarterback but being a good or great quarterback.

I think if he's anything like he was in high school, he's a gym rat type of guy: He's in there watching tape and he's trying to find little things to make himself better. I think he's a great leader.

He played extremely well the other day. He got them in and out of plays, he got them in and out of situations, threw the ball very effectively, and he's a dual-threat guy. I mean, he's a guy that can pull it down and hurt you with hit feet just as well as he can do it with his arm.

You look at the five guys that are playing in front of him, I think two of those guys are back from last year's group. But they all look the same. They are all somewhere between 6-4 and 6-7, and they weigh between 300 and 320. They can all move and he's got great people in front of him.

The running back situation, they played -- obviously they won 77-10, so there's a lot of guys playing in the backfield. But I thought the Weber kid played extremely well; and he did some things that, you know, younger backs don't always do, as far as in the protection side of it and being able to pick up and do some things. And then, you know, their backs were effective catching the ball out of the backfield and doing that.

It's going to be a tremendous challenge defensively, because they do both things well. They run the football well and they have got big guys up front that they can push you around with, and they have got a lot of speed on the outside that they can attack and throw the ball vertically and get after you.

So we've got to do a good job of managing situations and making sure that when we have matchup pains, that we're taking care of those things and don't get ourselves in a bad matchup situation from a defensive side.

Offensively, defense, they are just -- they just get after you. They do it with good people. They do it with a bunch of different people. No. 5 is back. He's on every watch list that you can think of. Does an outstanding job of leading their defense. Hooker, I think is his name, No. 24, had an outstanding game. I mean, physical, great mobility, great speed.

Their secondary, they can match up with anybody across the country. So our guys have got to do a good job of beating man coverages when it's presented to us, knowing what they are getting from a coverage standpoint and being able to work our routes within that.

Q. Urban Meyer spoke yesterday and he was very complimentary of your team and what you did against San Jose. Does that give your program any confidence, and where is the confidence for the team after last week?
COACH MONTGOMERY: Well, I don't think what Urban says about our football team is going to change the confidence that we have or don't have. He's an outstanding coach. I'm sure he looks at our tape, and, you know, it's probably similar to other people he's played.

For us, our confidence is going to be built on what we do. We've got to be confident in ourselves, confident in our schemes and being able to make adjustments, when we get into ballgames, being able to handle the ups and downs that happen within the game.

Our football team is going to go in there confident, the way they should be, in the sense of confident in each other, confident in our family and in our brothers that we're going to play well.

Q. I think this time last week, I was asking you whether or not you draw off of successes last year or if this is considered a new season and that whole philosophy thing. The fact that you guys did go down to Norman and played them so well on the road in front of a big environment, do you draw from that, playing in front of a big environment Saturday?
COACH MONTGOMERY: You know, they are related in some sense, and I think probably the only sense is just the crowd and the noise. We've played in environments where it's loud and you can't hear, so to be able to communicate, that's always a challenging factor to a game.

But we've had to handle those situations before. I don't think that's going to be new to our football team and so we'll work and practice on it this week to make sure that we're geared up and ready for that.

But you know, as far as how we played at Oklahoma compared to how we're going to play this week, I don't know that there's any true, you know, common threads in that.

Q. So with them playing a team like Bowling Green, brought in a Texas high school guy with Texas high school familiarities and the Bowling Green coach, their new coach, similar offense; does that give you any pause for concern that they played a team similar based-offense that you guys are presenting this week?
COACH MONTGOMERY: I don't know. I know Mike Jinks. He's a good guy, good coach. You know, that's his first game there. That's obviously a tough draw right out of the box for your first game, and so I'm sure he's trying to install and get some things done that he wants to get done.

As far as the way we match up, yeah, we're going to probably be in some similar formations and things like that, for what we do and how we do it, we're probably pretty different. I think everybody kind of throws spread teams all under the same umbrella and that's not really always the case.

But Jinks and them, they are going to do a good job at Bowling Green. Give them a chance to bounce back and regroup after last week. It's one of those things -- and this is important for our football team: You've got to manage those things early. A game can get away from you early and that kind of happened with them.

They got a great play by picking off a pass and taking it back for a touchdown, and then didn't really get a chance to build on that momentum and then from that point on, it was pretty much all Ohio State.

Q. Trent in that linebacking unit looked, to my eye, at least, and I could be wrong, but quicker, faster on the field, even than they did last year. How important will that be when you're playing a quarterback like J.T. that can get out and run?
COACH MONTGOMERY: Well, I think obviously you've got to be able to contain him as much as possible.

You know, I thought our linebackers did a great job of really this year, seeing things and reacting; where last year, you're seeing it and maybe not trusting it. I think that's, year two in this defense, I think -- I thought we played really well up front defensively. And so to be able to keep Trent and Suits and Linscott open and free to make those type of plays and tackles, was a tremendous bonus for us.

So you know, I'm excited about our linebacker core. I told you that last week. They have just got to keep continuing improving. They got mistakes that they made throughout the game but overall, I love the tenacity that they played with this past weekend.

Q. How much of their offense has changed since Herman left? Is it basically the same as what he is running at Houston or did they bring in a different philosophy?
COACH MONTGOMERY: You know, I think it's pretty much the same. I think Urban has a pretty strong hold on what he wants to be. Offensively he's always done a great job as being an offensive-minded coach. So whoever is calling that offense, I think there's some basic principles that he's always going to have within his offenses.

So they do some really good things. They run the football extremely well. They ought to, especially with them big guys up front. But with that being said, they mix in the run and pass. They want to be balanced, kind of like we're balanced. If anything, I think they will lean a little bit more towards the run than we do. But I think they have the luxury of doing that.

I think it's similar from the basic principles of it. Obviously everybody from an offensive coordinator standpoint is going to bring a little twist here or there into it but I think the basic plan is the same.

Q. How important is it to continue the running success from last year going forward?
COACH MONTGOMERY: Well, we want to run the football. We want to be able to do both things well. You know, you're going to run against somebody that's going to be able to take one or the other away from you.

I thought our offensive line played extremely well and I thought our running backs did a great job of setting up blocks and being able to really get downhill when they needed to, bounce outside when they needed to, keep the chains rolling like we would like to do. So for us, running the football is just part of it.

Q. This is a two-parter. When you saw Brubaker start to flip, what did you think, and then how did he grade out on the flip?
COACH MONTGOMERY: (Laughs) Well, I thought, you know, Bru is an athlete, he really is. He played quarterback, tight end, running back, defensive end, linebacker. I mean, he played it all in high school. So he does have a unique skill set about him. You watch him throw the football, he can do it.

So you know, him making that catch and then, you know, just watching him handle the football, now I'd like it tucked away, but he did switch hands with it. He just never got it tucked away. But he saw, you know, a guy peeling back on him, he's diving for the end zone. I thought the flip part of it was just trying to get in.

But I would have graded it at least a nine, you know, at least a nine. Because you've got to think, big guy, athletic, roll, popped up and he was rolling. So you've got to give him at least a nine.

Q. Even though you want to sustain balance, does Dane have to be better than he's ever been to give you a chance Saturday?
COACH MONTGOMERY: I don't think he has to be better than he's ever been. I think he has to be consistent and he has to do a good job of managing the game, and I think he has to distribute the football the way it needs to be distributed, you know, whether that's in the run game or in the passing game.

You know, I think Dane has done a good job, at least since I've been here with him, of relaxing and playing big in big games. You know, I think he'll continue that trend. He does a great job of studying. We'll try to give him a good plan and let him go in there and execute it.

We've got to be free. We can't go in there and be hesitant about what we want to do. You know, I don't want to walk off the field and still have bullets left, so we're going to shoot them and see what happens.

Q. By nearly 20,000 people, this will be the biggest crowd that's ever seen a Tulsa football game. Whether last year at Norman or your first year at Baylor, when guys are first exposed to that crowd, 80,000, 90,000, 100,000 people, is it a little bit of a shock to them, or do you guys just handle it different?
COACH MONTGOMERY: You know what, you add another 20,000 people, at some point in there, it's loud, no matter how many people you got.

For us it's going to be about managing and controlling the things that we can control and that's going to happen within the lines, and we've got to do a good job of handling those things and not let outside forces, whether it be playing in that environment or whether that be trying to play the name on the shirt. It's got to be playing the guy in front of you, and controlling the things that we can do inside those white lines.

Q. Will you around at some point and say, "whoa"?
COACH MONTGOMERY: If I do, it will be in warmup when I walk out, because I've never been in that stadium. With all the tradition that goes along with that stadium, I'll look around the stadium and say, that's pretty cool, and we'll move on.

Q. You've talked a couple times about not playing the helmet or the name on the jersey, but when it comes to building the program and getting that national respect and relevancy, when you take on the Oklahomas and the Ohio States, is there something that be said that those games matter more in that regard as far as putting on a good show against the quote, unquote, blue bloods, or whatever you want to call them?
COACH MONTGOMERY: Well, I mean, I don't want to put on a good show. I want to win, and that's the name of this game. It's about W's, and when we step between the lines, we're stepping on the field to find ways to win football games and that's what we're talking about.

As far as the national perspective of all of that, I'll let all of y'all do that. We go up there and get us a W, then those things will happen. We go up there and you get knocked out, then you know, we're going to line up next week and we're going to play again no matter what happens, whether we win or lose. We're going up there with the mind-set to win and trying to find ways to get that done.

Q. Even when they put up 77 points and Barrett throws for six and runs for one, do you still turn on the film and see ways in which you can exploit them?
COACH MONTGOMERY: Well, they played really well. That's why they probably are going to be No. 1 or No. 2 at some point this week. I don't know what the polls are going to say when they actually come out, but they are going to move up.

Again, we're going to control what we can control and we're going to step out there and we're going to try to find little kinks in their armor that we can take advantage of.

Q. It seems like you really keep it positive with players and confidence is important and there's just kind of like year-round of confidence that's here. In a week like this, do you do anything a bit extra or anything more than you do in other weeks to try and build confidence?
COACH MONTGOMERY: You know, I don't think so. I mean, we're going to stay positive all the way through it. That's our coaching style. That's the way we want to work things here.

You know, I've always said, I think a kid learns more from me sitting down and pulling him aside and putting my arm around him and telling him, hey, this is what I would like to you do, instead of cussing and screaming and yelling at him and trying to make that part of it happen, because at some point he's going to turn that part off.

So we are going to be positive about what we do. We're going to be confident about what we do, and we're going to go in there with a good plan and try to execute that plan to the best of our abilities.

Q. You mentioned the tradition and looking around and saying, whoa. Are you a big college football tradition guy or history guy? Do you have a lot of memories of Ohio State from when you were a little guy, or not necessarily?
COACH MONTGOMERY: You know, back when I was growing up, at least where I lived, we got two channels and the third one was fuzzy. It was like it was snowing all the time. And you had to get on the roof and move the antenna around a little bit to make it come to get a little bit clearer for Monday Night Football.

Back then, there was, what, maybe two college games on the whole weekend. More times than not, they were games like Nebraska or Notre Dame or Ohio State, just those traditionally good, powerhouse teams. You grew up watching those guys.

But as far as the tradition of college football, I wouldn't be in this business if I didn't love football. So the games and the traditions and the rivalries that happen, I don't get to enjoy them like I used to. But I do still enjoy just what college football means and what it brings to the table and the competitive nature of college football in general.

Q. Haven't asked you how nice it was to see No. 2 running around out there Saturday.
COACH MONTGOMERY: It will make your heart beat. He did a great job, and it was exciting to see him back out there and working at the level that he wanted to be playing at.

Obviously as we grade the tape, and he'll look at it, he'll tell you -- he'll be the first one to tell you he's got a lot of work to do. But that's why you love him, because he's always looking for ways to get better and looking for ways to improve. He needs to have a good game.

Q. There was about 40 hours of televised college football over the last several days. How much of that did you actually watch?
COACH MONTGOMERY: I didn't get to see much of it.

Q. Did you watch Texas?
COACH MONTGOMERY: No. I was up here trying to figure out how to beat Ohio State. I usually catch up on those things like at night, I'll turn on SportsCenter they kind of tell me what I need to know and then I move on with it.

Last night, I think during the radio show, Florida State, they were playing and that was a pretty good game. I got to watch a little bit of it at the very end, but I haven't got to see much besides that, no.

Q. Even when you're watching highlights on SportsCenter, are you watching highlights like: Oh, my gosh, look at that busted coverage, what was he doing rolling over there; do you ever turn off the coach mind?
COACH MONTGOMERY: The highlight part of it, I just watch the highlight. Now when I'm just watching a game on television, then sometimes that changes and you start looking at schematically what they are doing and what you could take advantage of against this look or that look. I end up doing that more than I end up just watching the game. Always fun, though.

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