STANFORD UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 28, 2023

Kalen DeBoer

Postgame Media Conference

Washington 42, Stanford 33

KALEN DeBOER: Way to win those close ones here tonight, and I guess to me, there is just a great belief and trust when it comes to those moments. Yeah, there are some times when we could have kept ourselves from being in that moment. Couple turnovers in the fourth quarter where we didn't get any points ought all in the red zone.

But the fight and the belief and trust and everyone just continued to forge ahead. Defense, you know, in the fourth quarter, just getting off the field there, they played a lot of snaps tonight. They did a good job controlling the football. We struggled in the first half to just make some plays and stay on the field offensively.

So just a gut check all around. I'm proud. We fought to the end and found a way to make enough plays to get it done.

Q. Mike said that he's been sick. I think seems like he's still sick. Did that affect the way that you guys approached it at all, the way he played?

KALEN DeBOER: I think there are just things throughout, especially the early part of the week when, you know, just reps and rotation of guys and guys who were maybe dinged up and you were hoping they were going to play, and some guys who have battled it out and gutted it out to get on the football field, even tonight, you know.

Proud of just the way that it's really important to them. If they have even a chance to get out there they're going to do it. Some of the rhythm and things, you can see it. It's just there is some plays that we always make very easy have been harder the last couple weeks.

And so just different personnel kind of groupings and guys that maybe don't even practice together much or in those spots lending to it just it being harder.

Mike's situation with his just -- his feeling good, you know, certainly throughout the week, just keeps you from having three, four solid days of practice.

So it was harder tonight than you want it to be.

Q. A win is a win. Is there any concern that two weeks in a row against (indiscernible)grind to the end?

KALEN DeBOER: I think a lot of it has to just do with getting some of our guys, getting the right guys out there and playing together. There is a little bit of rhythm and being in sync and stuff like that.

And so, you know, I guess to me, next week will be its own week, and I know we go into it always looking to improve, and I think that we did improve from last week to this week in a lot of ways.

So we'll go clean those things up and get better. Every week is going to be a dogfight.

Q. On the defensive side of the ball you talk about guys playing total. Was Michael practicing with the ones all week? (Indiscernible.)

KALEN DeBOER: Yeah, he was practicing all week with the ones, so that was -- couple different personnel groups depending on their personnel they put on the field. Even had a three linebackers out there at a time, playing at the same time.

Q. Any update on those three guys?

KALEN DeBOER: Yeah, so I think Asa and Kam Fab will be day-to-day throughout the week. There was no way that they could play this weekend for sure.

Q. Jalen just couldn't go after...

KALEN DeBOER: Yeah, he's just been battling -- you know, probably early in the week didn't really feel like it was going to be a go, and then as the week went on here the last part, picked up some steam and was feeling good. Got out there again tonight and just kind of -- it's just small tweaks, you know, and just trying to get over the hump.

So he's super frustrated. He had just a crazy positive attitude about really trying to get out there and help us tonight, and he was trying to will himself to get on the football field and get it done to get all our guys kind of working together.

Germie is a guy that didn't practice hard at all during the week and was a big deal for him to gut it out, and I think he feels better now than he did going even into Friday's practice.

Just one of those things out there where the adrenaline kicks in, and really proud of the way he fought tonight and helped us win.

Q. How was it with your guys in the locker room? You won the game. Were they able to celebrate?

KALEN DeBOER: Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I think -- I mean, I think last week was the one that was probably a little bit harder. I think the guys just understand we're going to get everyone's best shot. Yeah, there are things we can improve on, but there was some stuff in the third and fourth quarter where I felt like we were starting to get back into doing what we do and, you know, the turnovers in the red zone certainly were costly, right?

I mean, those are drives we're going down the field and we didn't get any points, even a chance to t kick a field goal. So felt like we were in control as the game went on more and more, other than the scoreboard, which is obviously the most important thing.

Q. That fourth down that Stanford goes for, kid drops it. What was your reaction to that play? Obviously it opened...

KALEN DeBOER: Yeah.

Q. What you did see there? What was your response?

KALEN DeBOER: Yeah, you know, a lot of guys committed to the run. Good call by them. You put a lot of pressure on people and throw was a little bit low, and got guys that aren't used to doing that.

Some of the same things when we draw those plays up happen to us. Doesn't go, especially in the heat of the moment, like I hoped it would.

Q. Were you surprised by some of the explosives they were able to hit in the pass game? You hadn't gave up a lot of those this year.

KALEN DeBOER: Yeah, we'll have to look at that. Again, just combinations of guys that haven't repped as much. Yeah, I mean, I think we'll look at those and know that's where it starts. We have to limit those explosives and, yeah, I think it was just a grind over the week, all week long, just with the health of our team.

So some of that showed as far as the execution on both sides of the ball when it came to playing tonight, so I think there will be a few guys that hopefully get back and could be fresh, Tooley being one of them.

That would be a really important guy for us, especially with stopping the run, maybe getting a little bit more pressure and finishing plays in the backfield and taking a few reps off some other guys up front as well.

Q. Tooley was obviously here. Was it a game-time decision for him?

KALEN DeBOER: Yeah, as the week went on it just kind of felt like at the end that it was only an emergency situation where he could give us a couple snaps. The risk of like long-term health existed a little bit.

But I think just going into next week -- he was smiling because he knows I think that he'll feel pretty good about being back and rock and rolling throughout the course of the week. Really just didn't take any reps hardly at all throughout the course of practice.

Q. Just to clarify, there were things Michael couldn't do in practice this week that he maybe would've done otherwise?

KALEN DeBOER: No, I mean, he practiced. He practiced all week. I think there was just a lot of moving parts, personnel groupings and things like that, and some of those throughout the week changed, and they changed going into even the game.

Then it changed in the course of the game, so the guys you're used to throwing to -- yeah, there is just going to be a lot of things I think that will be settled going into next week, hopefully when there is a rhythm we can build off from today's game.

Q. So he sounded sick when he was talking to us.

KALEN DeBOER: Yeah, he's not feeling good. He's definitely not feeling good. But he's not going to make excuses and we're not either. He was out there and threw the ball. There are a couple things, he's battling through it.

Q. (Indiscernible.) Will you talk to the guys ahead of the time about how to handle that or let them manage themself?

KALEN DeBOER: The only thing I will say on Sunday is what I say pretty much every week. Just if you win, take care of business. Things will happen and take care of itself. So we really won't get caught up in that because we know that we have to continue to win, and the rest will all work out.

Q. (Regarding the running game.)

KALEN DeBOER: I thought it got better as the game went on. Talking about us offensively? Yeah, it was frustrating early. Beginning of the third quarter even trying to commit to that a little bit.

But we won the game with it, running out the clock. I thought, you know -- just I think there became a little bit more confidence and just slowly wearing them down a little bit I think was helpful.

But it wasn't early on in the game what we would hoped. We were a little frustrated by that for sure.

Q. You seemed to be riding Dillon quite a bit on that, a little bit more speed there.

KALEN DeBOER: Yeah, yeah, Tybo, I think is a guy that we would like it utilize for that purpose with some speed. Will is doing a good job. Just I think trying to find that rhythm and trying to find enough reps and giving Dillon a chance to get his pads down and get some a little -- get lathered up as they say so he can get into a rhythm.

But when you're not on the field a lot and there is a limit number of plays it's hard to get that. So we have all the confidence in him as well as Will and Tybo and the rest of the crew. Great catch by Sam out of the backfield early in the game. Took a big hit.

Proud of the way he held tonight football there. So all of them contributing.

Q. Thoughts on Stanford's quarterback?

KALEN DeBOER: Yeah, obviously threw the ball down the field and made some big plays. I thought we were just right there a couple times and they found way to make some nice catches. We need to get our hand on it. Our hands were right there. Just attack the ball and break up the pass.

But credit to both of them, because you could see that they came in and fit roles that their coaching staff has for them and kept the chains moving with some of the runs in those situations.

But I'll credit our D. We found a way at the end when you kind of know what's coming and getting it done there on those final possessions.