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RUTGERS UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCESeptember 18, 2017Chris AshPiscataway, New Jersey COACH ASH: Thanks for coming as usual on Monday afternoon. Again we'll just kind of recap the game after we got a chance to watch the film and talk about our upcoming opponent. Just like I felt Saturday after the game, there were a lot of positives. It's great to get the win. It's exactly what we needed to do. If it would have been a closer game, obviously wouldn't have felt real good when it was over, but we did what we needed to do and a great win. After watching the film a lot of really good things on film. Several things we still have to improve and get better at as we move forward and we get into Big Ten play against better competition. Probably the most impressive thing on the film was the number of young players that got a chance to play and the production and performance that they put on, and that's in all three phases. We had a lot of young players play on offense, several young players played on defense: Tyshon Fogg got an interception, Rashawn Battle got his first action, got an interception, was really excited about that. We have got a lot of young players playing on special teams. Justin Davidovicz is doing an outstanding job kicking the ball off. We have got several guys covering on the kickoff unit that are freshmen or first-time players and they are doing an outstanding job on that unit. So it's exciting to see that. Johnathan Lewis, obviously four touchdowns, really good first game of substantial action for him, and I think he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week or Co-Freshman of the Week or something like that, great honor for him, but also great for the other guys that are around him. Because we obviously put him in situations pretty close to the goal line and he was able to punch the ball in, but it was because of the work of a lot of other people to be able to get that done. Offensively we ran the ball well. We always want to be able to run the ball but we have to get more bounce to our offense. If there was one thing that we needed to do better in that game was have more balance, especially in the first half. Second half, not so much when the score gets that way. But the first half and moving forward, we have to be able to play with balance. We've got to clean up the penalties on offense, too many penalties, and especially in critical situations that will get us beat and we've already struggled with that in the two games that we lost. Defensively, I think we continue to play steady. We had a mental error on the very first play of the game that gave them their biggest play of the game, I believe, on a pass play but we continue to play better steady, pretty consistent football on defense. We do need to find a way to pressure the quarterback more on first and second down, we are not getting to the quarterback and that's a couple reasons for it. Partly it's what the offense is doing with their protection and getting rid of the ball pretty quick, but we have to be more creative in what we are doing there. Special teams, really happy with the steady improvement that we are making each week from that standpoint. When you look at our kickoff team, I was not happy with our kickoff team last year, and we made huge strides in that area. It does start with the kicker, Justin is doing a great job. We got more touchbacks Saturday than we had all last season, more pin-'ems, tackles inside the 20-yard line than we had last year, so there's a combination of the kicker, we're getting really good hang time, we're getting good distance. It allows our coverage to get on the the field. And I really like the guys on the coverage unit just as much as the kicker. The attitude they are going down the field with, the fundamentals, the toughness they are displaying on that unit, there's a lot of energy and excitement, and they really want to set the tone for the game when they take the field, if they do, for the first snap. Really excited about that. We blocked another kick. Had a chance for another blocked punt, just missed it. Hunter Hayek just missed one in the end zone. That's two weeks in a row been able to block a kick and we need to keep that trend going as we go through the season. And that's really what we saw from the game from last Saturday. Quick comments about Nebraska. It's a new season and Big Ten play and non-conference is over. I really feel like we've improved a lot even though the 1-2 record in non-conference is disappointing there's a lot of areas on our football team we have improved. I think there's been some drastic improvement and it has it continue that way for us to be able to have success in the Big Ten. But a ton of respect for Nebraska. Coach Riley, their staff and just their program overall. It's going to be a tough challenge to go into a hostile environment like it is in Lincoln and has been for so many years. Offensively they can run the ball. Obviously Tanner Lee can throw the ball around pretty good, also. They have a unique style on defense that's different than what we've seen and probably will see the whole year, and they are good on special teams. They returned a kickoff for a touchdown and they do a pretty good job on their special teams unit, too. Excited for the challenge but more excited just to continue to watch our team grow and improve. It's our first road test and see how we handle that, also. With that, I'll go ahead and open it up for questions. Q. You said their defense is unique. What's unique about it? COACH ASH: A lot of eight-man drop. They rush three a lot. The way they line up some of their overhang players, their field and boundary backers is a little bit unique. A ton of drop-eight and three-man rush, more so than what you would typically see. Q. After training camp and three games to evaluate this team, what's your confidence level of being able to win some games in the Big Ten this year? COACH ASH: I think our team is confident that we're improving. Again, they are disappointed in the non-conference record of being 1-2, but I think they see a lot of improvement in certain areas. As long as we continue to do that, then they are very confident that we can go and have success. Q. What stood out to you on film from re-watching Nebraska's loss from Saturday? COACH ASH: Probably a lot like ours to Eastern Michigan. They had opportunities to win the game and didn't make them. They had several plays that were there that could have changed that game and give them a chance to win it. You look at the stats: They would say probably dominated the game statistically, but just not on the scoreboard. They are a big, physical football team up front on both sides of the ball. They have got good skill players and they have got good schemes. Again, they just didn't make the plays like I'm sure they wanted to in that game. It's probably what they are feeling, too. Q. How is the progress of Mitchell and are you expecting him back soon? COACH ASH: He's still in rehab. Q. Probably not going to play this week? COACH ASH: No, he's not playing this week. He's yet to practice. Q. Two questions that really go hand in hand. The first one is Jerome Washington, 12 catches, which is what I think your leading tight end had last year at the end of 12 games. So what's he added, and then are you getting enough production from your receivers, from the wide receivers, besides the tight ends and running backs? COACH ASH: Yeah, Jerome has been a great addition to the offense. He's a great combination of a receiver and a run blocker. He can play on the line. He can flex out. He can do a lot of things for us. He's got great hands, really good route runner and really excited. We felt like he was going to be able to do what he's doing right now, really all through last season when we watched him on the scout team when he was ineligible to play because of the transfer. We really were hoping that we were going to get this type of player, so it's nice to see that it's actually turned out that way. In terms of the wide receivers, there's a combination of things. We do want to get more production in the pass game with our wide receivers but it starts with the protection up front. We've got to be able to protect the quarterback to get that done and the quarterback has got to throw good balls, also. So there's a lot that goes into it. We've talked a lot as a staff; we have to improve our pass game on first and second down. That has to happen. If we don't have that balance, we are not going to win games. But it's not just a wide receiver deal, a quarterback deal, an O-line group; it's all of those pieces working together. That's how you have a productive pass game, and right now all of those areas have not worked together consistently enough to give us the type of results that we want in the pass game. We've been working on it, working on, and we are going to continue to work on it and it's something that's got to start to show up on Saturday. Last Saturday, we were able to run the ball basically as much as we wanted so it's a little different story, but we're not going to be able to do that moving forward. Q. How much can a win like this against Morgan State, what can this do for you guys mentally before you head into your first Big Ten game? COACH ASH: A win's a win. A lot of people say it's Morgan State. I really don't care. A win's a win. I'm more concerned about our improvement and the way we played in that win. Did we go out and execute cleanly; you know, were we playing really hard with good fundamentals. I'd say we were for the majority of that game. But to be able to go in the locker room after I don't know what it was, 11 or 12 losses in a row, I stopped counting a while ago. But to go in the locker room and celebrate like that, that's a big deal for those players. Again, I think this season, we are a different team. Our team is very confident. But we all know we need to go out on Saturdays on the field and get some victories to build that confidence. It was huge. It was a huge morale boost to the program. Q. As someone who grew up in the Midwest when you grew up in the Midwest, was Nebraska something that was part of your radar, part of your life? COACH ASH: It wasn't a part of my life. They were really good when I was growing up and I've competed against Nebraska a lot over the years. Back when I was Iowa State as a young coach; when I was at Wisconsin, we played them. Did not play them when I was at Ohio State. They were one of the best teams in the country, one of the best programs in the country. Won national championships. I think one of the first times I ever played them they were a Top-5 team. They have got great history, great tradition. Has nothing to do with this game, but have a lot of respect for that program and Coach Riley; competed against him, when I was a D-Coordinator at Wisconsin. We played Oregon twice, once in Madison and once in Corvallis. Very familiar with him and what he's done, also, as a head coach. Q. You mentioned playing all the freshman and Sam and Micah Clark played for the first time. What kind of went into the decision to play them -- COACH ASH: The score. Simple as that. Q. And as far as not redshirting them, what kind of went into that? COACH ASH: The redshirting, that's never been an option. We don't have the depth. We have to play a lot of positions, linebacker, the linebackers have been in a two-deep since really they walk on campus. Some of the offensive linemen have been in a two-deep since they have walked on campus. That's just where we're at. And some positions, wide receivers, and other ones, those are the three probably that you see freshmen at two-deep and freshmen contributing right away and playing. We knew that was going to be the case. Last year, we just didn't have the depth on the O-line, and obviously when we lost a number of wide receivers that we lost, we knew that the depth was going to come from young players. So it's out of necessity that they have to play, which is fine. But in terms of getting into the games, you know, Saturday was great to be able to give them an opportunity, for the ones that haven't done it yet, just to see where they are at. You can go out and practice and do all that, but the game experience is invaluable and to be able to get out there against somebody else and actually execute calls and get a chance to compete and perform, that builds their confidence level also to be able to do that. Then when they get to do that again, they are more prepared for the moment. Q. General philosophy when you see a team like Nebraska lose the week before, they are a talented team -- is that a good thing because it exposes some flaws -- COACH ASH: That doesn't matter. I mean, no, it's all about us. I know people talk about, oh, this and that. It's all about us. We'll worry about us and they will worry about their team and prepare their team and do whatever they need to do. They will be ready to play a really good football game and we have to be the same. Whether they won or lost, it doesn't matter. First Big Ten game for them, first Big Ten game for us. They will be ready to play a great game. We have to do the same and that's really what it's all about. Q. After three straight home games, are you interested in seeing how your team reacts being on the road, and also how they react to the atmosphere in Nebraska? COACH ASH: Absolutely. It's going to be a challenge because we are taking so many young players on the road in a college environment and they have never done it before. There are going to be a lot of players that are going to be playing out in Lincoln; it's one of the best college environments in all of college football. To be able to go out there for the first time for some of these young guys, we'll see how they handle it. I'm excited to see how they do. I think they are mature enough to handle it but sometimes it's good. I think we are ready for a road challenge, a road opportunity, a different seen. Sometimes on game day that brings out the best in people, also. I think our football team is looking forward to doing that, and why not go to Lincoln and give it a shot. It's a great place and a great environment. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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