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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEAugust 28, 2018Kliff KingsburyLubbock, Texas Q. So what's the scouting report for the receivers for Ole Miss, guys like A.J. Brown and Metcalf, how do you prepare for guys like that? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, I don't have an answer for that one. Those are three, you go Lodge in there, and they have got three NFL Draft picks, probably top-three-round-type talent. You do the best you can to try to get your hands on them and be physical and hang in there as much as you can, but you don't stop guys like that. You just try to slow them down as much as you can. When you watch their offense, to me, that's what jumps out more than anything, just that overall wide receiver talent. They are a good offense everywhere, but that is elite talent at that position in the country. Q. Da'Leon, has he acted differently or is he ready to go? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: He's been himself. He's never wavered from that, and just focused on academics and football. Q. Would you say you're playing with more of a chip on your shoulder entering this season? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: I don't know more. I think I've said it all along, more experience. There's definitely a more veteran group here, guys that have played as freshmen, sophomores, are now juniors and seniors and been through a lot. I don't know if it's a chip on your shoulder but it's a more experienced group that feels like they have something to prove. Q. You have day Leon starting, but what's the battle like for the backup spot with Trey and DaMarcus? Are they still battling right now? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, they are. Both guys, we know, can carry the load for us. They both have done it before and started in Big 12 games and played well in Big 12 games. We are going to get them both reps and go from there. They have both worked hard, both seniors both know what we expect from them and it's a good issue to have, kind of that second and third guy to have that type of experience. Q. I know we have not mentioned his name a lot but Donta Thompson, what's his advancement been with how you are trying to tailor the offense now? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, he was our most improved player in the spring, voted on by the coaches, playing some tight end stuff, special teams-wise, he can split out and play the Y, as well. He has a versatile role that allows us to do some things and really proud of his development and the perseverance and how far he's come. Q. You have Carter listed in the 2-deep, can you talk about his development? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, he's got great football IQ. Any time we put something new in, he picks it up quickly, pays attention. All I heard him say, he's said two years since he's been here, "yes, sir," that's all I'll get out of him. He works hard to make sure he learns it, knows it and he's very, very fast. Really excited about how quickly he's come along and I think he'll continue to come along. Having Austin, a sixth-year guy ahead of him has been huge, because he's seen it all, done it all and knows it inside and out and I think that's helped his development, as well. Q. And Taven at the kick returning spot? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: Taven, we are going to use him. At times, I don't know to what extent yet, or when, but you know, he's a good player with the ball in his hands and he's still coming along. Got to learn our system. We'd like to get him some touches here and there if we can make that work. Q. When John Bonney came to your team, how close was he to game shape? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, he's been in camp. He worked out all summer, so he didn't skip a beat. Q. How much practice time has Jah'Shawn gotten in the last couple of weeks and what's his status? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: Johnson, he'll be a game-time decision. He's been working back in there more and more as we go. So we'll see how we feel toward the end of the week and go from there. Q. If he were not available or limited, who would be likely to start in that spot? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, it's really, you know, between Dorsey, Bonney, Quincy and then Leggett would be kind of those four guys that we would work in there. Q. And how much of a, if, Ke'Sean is absent or limited, how much of a setback is that for you, at any time, let alone against a team with their calibre of receivers? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: Obviously you'd like to have your starters. Losing Oc as a starting corner is tough and if you don't have your starting safety, that's not a great thing, but I like the depth, bringing Bonney in really helped us and those young guys are coming along, so we'll have other guys step up. Q. You recruited DaMarcus Lodge here, did you not? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: I think everybody did. Q. What was your experience like with him? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: He was really good. A really good player. We obviously would have liked to have him but he's had a nice career there and good kid. Very, very talented. Q. We've heard about how with the defense, things have changed. Is it an opportunity to get a team like Ole Miss, SEC team, on ESPN and show what this team can do? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: It's a great barometer where you are at, no question. All those guys, they are a very talented team, all the guys returning on offense. Defensively have some great D-linemen coming back, all the experience in the secondary. It's a talented team. They have high expectations, as do we. The excitement has been there since the game got made and glad it's here. Q. How much has Octavious been in the meeting room and practice? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: He's been dealing with surgeries and practice and doing that, so we've been bringing him up and making sure he's staying involved and focused on academics and things he can handle but he's been getting himself right and he'll get back with the team here pretty quickly. Q. Does the team know who the quarterback is going into Saturday's game? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: You never know how much they are paying attention, but I would assume some of them have a pretty good idea. Q. Ideally, how many of those three would you like to see play on Saturday? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: I'd like to see all three, if we can make it work, but I don't know if that's going to happen or not. They all three have worked really hard, have got a ton of reps and I think they all three can manage our team. It's just we've got to go with one and kind of make a decision from there. Q. I know it's been awhile but did you have a favorite memory from your 2002 game against the Rebels? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: I don't. I don't remember much from college, actually. It's been a long time I remember Eli played and that was always cool because he was such a great player and still is a great player. Other than that, not really. Q. That two though two game, that was one of your best games that year, was it not, because y'all were pretty much clicking on all cylinders? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: I think we were pretty good that day. Had a couple that year that were pretty good, but that was a quality team. They were a really good football team with Coach Cutcliffe and Eli and so that was a big victory. Q. How much pride do you and BJ take in being -- having beaten Eli back-to-back years? Do y'all talk about that when you see him? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: I think BJ, he probably took a little more pride than I did, that's a lot of yards. I remember how good he was. You could just tell he had it, when you watched Eli play: Decision-making, the way he dropped, the way he moved. You could tell he could be a great player and he has been. Q. Who is No. 1 at quarterback? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: Y'all will see Saturday (Laughter). He'll jog out there and we'll go with him and start there, and then see where it goes. I've said all along, all three could end up playing. You'd like to just have one that just takes it and runs with it, but I'm open to whatever's best for the team. Q. You're going to feel like this is a litmus test for this offense line, especially with the defensive line Ole Miss brings in? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, I'd like to see how much we've improved bringing everybody back. You hope that the off-season workout, the rigors of last season, the lessons learned, could carry over and improve that group as a whole. From what I've seen in camp, they are better, but this is a talented defensive line, one of the better ones that we will have gone against over the last couple years, so they will have their hands full. Q. Paul Stawarz has stepped up his game, not a very vocal guy, but he's stepped up in that sense to control that line. HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, he leads in his own way and from day one, setting foot on campus here, I would have said he's never going to play here. So for him to continue to do what he's done, continue to get better; learn our offense to where he's a leader on the offensive line, making all the calls, couldn't be more proud of his development and how far he's come. Q. Game is just days away, after the long off-season what would you consider the team's strengths to be? What do you hang your hat on right now? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: The lines, honestly. The offensive line, all those runners and same with the D-Line. You add Preston and Joe Wallace, who are dynamic players in that front. It's going to start up front with both those groups. Got to stay healthy and got to continue to get better, but I like where those groups are at. Q. Better than in years past maybe? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: Years past, I think offensively is all about skill players running around and making plays, and whether the line was blocking or not, Pat was out there doing his deal; and then you get it to Kiki and Jakeem (ph) guys like that. So to have an offensive line we feel like we can lean on more, is a positive with the inexperience at quarterback. Defensive line-wise, we've been chasing that for a while trying to have eight to nine to ten bodies to rotate through, playing these tempo offenses, and we feel like we're at that point. Hopefully that pays off. Q. Playing in Houston, a big recruiting hotbed. What advantage can you get out of that? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: It's huge, just to have that logo up for the last five, six months, to make our imprint in Houston. National TV game, 11:00 a.m., ESPN. Game Day rolls right into it. Great spotlight for our program, no question. Q. What's it like to have a player so end and I believe like Dante Thompson? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: It was huge. It was something we envisioned when we recruited him here to have a hybrid-type. The last one was Jason Morrow and Jason Morrow was a monster. Dante has a ways to go to get to that level but he's worked, he's worked, he's worked and now he's a contributor on this team. I'm anxious to see how his role can expand and where it can go. Q. We hear a lot about Ole Miss wide receivers. What have you seen from their defensive capabilities and what stands out about where their strengths are on defense? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: I think those two guys up front are dominant players. They are interior guys and speed off the edge that can get home on the pass rush. Veteran secondary, they play a lot of man coverage, get down in your face press, get their hands on you and young, fast linebackers that can run around. They are disruptive. They get in your face. They challenge you each and every snap. Coach McGriff, you can tell, has done a great job the way they play with energy and passion and fly around the football. It's a challenge all the way around. We're going to earn every inch we get -- Q. A lot of the early focus has been on Ole Miss's receivers versus your secondary, but since you talked about how physical their secondary is and how much they challenge people, what have you communicated to a group of receivers that are somewhat unproven on your side? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: -- yeah, I think just what's coming. They are going to walk down your face and you're going to have to get off press coverage and they are going to have their hands on you each and every snap and you're going to have to earn it. We have some veterans that have played a ton and we have some guys that haven't played a bunch. It's going to be a game where there are not going to be a lot of easy access for routes or releases. You're going to have to earn every release or catch you get. Q. The new redshirt rule, to what extent does that effect how you might rotate players or use players, or does it have much effect? HEAD COACH KLIFF KINGSBURY: I think it will be a game-by-game basis to kind of see where you can fit them in. But we have some experience depth this year, so it hasn't become too much of an issue for us as far as, hey, they are going to play that many snaps this game. We are just going to take it game-by-game and see how we are health-wise and see where our depth is at. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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