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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEDIA CONFERENCE

October 31, 2011

Brady Hoke

COACH HOKE: Thank for coming out. Obviously we have a great challenge in going to Iowa City and playing a very good Iowa team. Undefeated at home. Seems to be the way this conference is to some degree right now. But they play awfully well and are a very well-coached football team. Have been for many, many years.
It will be the most physical game to this point for us as a team. When you watch 'em, obviously they have -- personnel-wise you look at Coker and what he's done leading the league in rushing, and Vandenberg I think has done a tremendous job in there as a quarterback, and got a great (indiscernible) but McNutt, you know, obviously gets a lot of the exposure because of what he's done out there on the field.
But it's going to a great challenge for us. You know, you play these last four, and when you get into November, you play for championships in the Big 10 conference. That's kind of how it's been for many years.
So we look forward to it. We're going to have a great week of preparation, and it's going to be fun.

Q. How did the defense respond to the things that were taught in the two weeks leading up to Purdue, and where do you think you are overall on that side of the ball right now?
COACH HOKE: Well, I think, John, they responded well. I think when you look at it and you grade it and you look at it position by position, I thought up front the gap integrity that goes along with playing team defense and the approach that the guys played with, the demeanor they played with.
I think Mike no question was a factor in the game, not just in the middle, but also in his making plays down the field and those kind of things.
Linebacker-wise I thought we played downhill. I thought Desmond really did a nice job. And I though Kenny, you know, I could feel those guys out there. Jake Ryan made some plays, you know, just sometimes unorthodox, but he's a football player.
In the back end, I think the two corners, you know, J.T. had the one penalty late that hurt us a little bit obviously in the last drive, which was disappointing for us. But I think I those two guys are settling in. I think Courtney has done a nice job at nickel.
Troy for his first start back at the safety position I thought did some good things. I think there is more we can get from him there. I thought Thomas Gordon played up from where he did two weeks ago.

Q. (No microphone.)
COACH HOKE: Day to day. He ran around and did stuff last night, so we'll just see.

Q. (No microphone.)
COACH HOKE: You know, we didn't do anything different though without him. You know, to be honest with you, Mark, I think there is some leadership there that he brings. I think there is some football instinctive ness that he brings that's something that I don't know if you ever make up for whoever is in there.
But he ran around and did things last night, so I was pleased with him.

Q. You talked last week about you expected your team to come out and play perhaps its best game of the year. How close or was it your best game of the year from what you saw?
COACH HOKE: You know, it wasn't. We only got one turnover defensively; we had two interceptions that, you know, in tight games or championship games you can't have. You have to create more opportunities for your offense defensively.
You know, not getting in, scoring a touchdown at halftime, you know, bothers me, because we got three, but those four points out there can hurt you down the road.
So we've got to do ourselves better there.

Q. You said Mike Martin kind of sets the tone for what you want to do defensively. But when your defense plays like it did on Saturday, how does that set the tone for what you want to do as team?
COACH HOKE: Well, I think you caught some momentum obviously when the safety -- you know, any time your defense scores, you know, or you get a punt return or, you know...
I think just the whole attitude of your team, the morale, the enthusiasm is really good. I think Mike did that for us as a team.

Q. Coach, Purdue's first touchdown was the first play of 40-plus yards that you've given up this year. That discipline to keep everything in front, how has that helped the defense in this transition?
COACH HOKE: Well, if you can keep the ball inside and in front, you know, then you're going to have a chance. If you do that, whether you're the guy who's supporting it either way, keeping it inside and in front and getting the pursuit from the rest of your teammates you can limit that.
They caught us in a blitz. I mean, it was a good call by them. Not a great total reaction by us, but I think it's something we'll learn from.

Q. You guys have recovered a ton of fumbles this year. Is there something specifically that goes to that or is it almost in some ways just blind luck?
COACH HOKE: I think you create your luck to some degree. I think our guys have done a nice job of trying to get 11 guys to the football, you know, where you're opportunistic to recover the fumble.
We work strip drills and those kind of things during fall camp as much time as any, or in an off week. You know, those things, you try and get back to those simple basics, which really are not simple because that's the game.
But there are couple examples out there. Van Bergen against San Diego state knocking the ball out and ripping it out, and then Thomas Gordon at Northwestern, I mean, ripping the ball out of there.
So the drills are being taken from the practice field to the game as much as anything. Still, it's getting 11 guys to the football.

Q. Have you had a season like this where it seems like almost every game you at least cause one or two?
COACH HOKE: Gosh, that's a good question. Not at this rate.

Q. Just one other thing. Before the season, you said you never liked to look at expectations. Did you ever expect to be close to this position right now?
COACH HOKE: You know, never even thought about it, to be honest with you. I thought about the month of November an awful lot.

Q. What did you think about that?
COACH HOKE: That's when you win championships in this league.

Q. After Devin's interception, it seemed like we didn't see Devin again, that package, for almost a full two quarters. Was there a conversation among offensive coaches, like, Hey, let's try something else. We've been seeing obviously the packages since Minnesota. Are you at all concerned if you're trying to get Denard into a groove that maybe doing this a little bit too much?
COACH HOKE: No, not at all. And the other thing, we had exhausted to that point what we wanted to do with the two quarterback offensive personnel group.
So, no. I think there was a lot more that can be done from it.

Q. Could you elaborate on what you see in Iowa in terms of being the most physical team that you have played to this point?
COACH HOKE: Yeah, and probably a lot of it is history, but I've always loved, as a coach, watching Iowa on defense and watching Iowa on offense. You know, when we get breakdowns, if they're similar opponents and we're getting ready to play somebody that they've played, that's the first film since I was here before that I'll put on because of how they play defense and the physicalness they play with, the fundamentals and the techniques.
It's the same way offensively. You know, it's a great challenge. You know, being a defensive line coach, you watch your offensive line and how they're coached and the fundamentals and the techniques, the attitude they play with. I mean, that's awesome. Gets you excited.

Q. So getting back to Jordan really quick, what Coach Mattison had him doing blitzing and playing the box, being kind of a physical safety, do his responsibilities fall on Troy now, or does Thomas pick up some of those, I guess roles?
COACH HOKE: Well, it just depends how you're setting your subdefense and really what you think can help from looking at a protection standpoint or if it's one of those pressures that'll run pressures out of that. Just depends formationally how things will end up.

Q. So is it fair to say it's split?
COACH HOKE: Yeah, I would say that.

Q. You talked about November being when you win championships. What are the most important elements winning in November, and are those any different than they are in the first two months with the weather changing and all?
COACH HOKE: I don't know if our blueprint is ever going to be different. We want to run the football. We want to be able to possess the football. We want to take care of the football.
Defensively we want to stop the run and get bodies to the ball, create opportunities for our offense, and be sound in our special teams and try and gain some field position because of special teams. You know, I can't tell you that's any different, but it's how you have to improve on a daily basis so that you can play your best football through the month.
That makes sense.

Q. We've asked you many times about a No. 1 back, No. 1 back, No. 1 back. Can we now say that Fitz is the No. 1 back? What has he shown you versus last week that made you say, Okay, we want to give this guy 20 carries? Last week he had two.
COACH HOKE: So in a game-wise or...

Q. Did he do something to get 20 opportunities verse two two weeks ago?
COACH HOKE: Well, yeah, I think he did, but I also think the situations of where you're at in the game and what you can do to a certain degree.
But I think he played tremendously. I think he had great vision, balance. And the most exciting thing was I thought his burst out of holes. You know, the 59-yarder, he separates the safeties and has a tremendous burst as he does it.
And the other credit, you know, our wide receivers blocked down field like nobody's business. So he's a guy that will start the football game for us.

Q. If Fitz is the guy, what does that do for the offense the last four games knowing who that guy is?
COACH HOKE: Good question. I don't know what it does besides the continuity of it. But I think they're so interchangable to some degree. Fitz has been -- not Fitz, Vince was a little beat up so he didn't get as many opportunities. Mike comes in and gives you a different gear to some degree.
But right now, Fitz definitely will be the guy.

Q. Could you update us on Taylor's status, and Ricky's?
COACH HOKE: Ricky will be take day to take. Taylor is fine. I mean, you know, ankle a little bit, knee a little bit, but he's fine. He did everything yesterday, too, so...

Q. Did Ricky aggravate the ankle?
COACH HOKE: Other ankle.

Q. Back to those big plays on defense, that was a big issue last year. How important is Mallory in getting these guys in shape?
COACH HOKE: I think Curt is a tremendous football coach, and he's done a great job with the fundamentals of playing a coverage, whether it's three deep, two deep, your man free stuff. And talk about angles and support and, you know, your pursuit on the back side of the football, whether it be a cutback responsibility or a chase-contain responsibility or your arc support. You know, the last man knocking a guy out of bounds.
You know, I think the guys have done a nice job of really understanding the concepts that you have from a defensive standpoint.

Q. How would you evaluate Desmond Morgan's play on Saturday?
COACH HOKE: Well, you know, he's been coming on. He would have played a lot more earlier, but he had aggravated a hamstring during the last week of camp. That set him back a little bit, but I think he's a very instinctive linebacker. I think he plays downhill well. I think also for a young guy he's grasping more of conceptually the defense and also the opponent and studying the offense.

Q. Hagerup's punting appears to be a little off from what Angelique has seen in practice. (Laughing.) So how would you evaluate what he's doing right now?
COACH HOKE: Well, I think he had -- the first punt was a good punt; the second punt, the inconsistency there. You know, that's been consistent to that point. We've got good competition because Matt still is working on both. So we'll compete there just like we do every other position.

Q. You said you exhausted the number of plays that you had for the two-quarterback system? Do you go into a game with so many plays in that formation scripted or...
COACH HOKE: There will be -- I don't know, I wouldn't say scripted, but there are options out of it that we'll have available.

Q. How many times do you want to use that formation in a game?
COACH HOKE: I think it just depends to some degree on the game.

Q. You said that Fitz is the guy right now and that he starts the game.
COACH HOKE: Yes.

Q. A lot of times you hear in sports it's not who starts the game but who finishes the game.
COACH HOKE: Sure.

Q. Does Michigan have a definitive No. 1 tailback, or is that still an evolving position?
COACH HOKE: No, I think it's Fitz right now. I don't think there's any doubt. I think he's earned that opportunity.

Q. This is an observational question. Has nothing to do with a specific team or incident or anything. But from the moment you were a player at Ball State to sitting before us, do you think that sportsmanship and respect has diminished in athletics in general? It's a big topic right now. How do you feel about it?
COACH HOKE: Yeah. You know, I think there are a lot of reasons why maybe it isn't what it was, you know, from starting at young period, starting with what you see on TV and all those kind of things, and what's seemed accepted and not accepted, you know.
Is it probably worst? I don't know. I probably wasn't the nicest player when I played. I'll say this, too: You know about it now. It's like anything else. The 24-hour news cycle, you know, there may have been been things that happened before in games - and I'm sure it did - that no one knew about because of the news cycle, and, you know, what you guys did.

Q. Have you ever been in a position where you're fighting for a championship and you're starting this many freshman on defense?
COACH HOKE: No, probably not. I mean, the best players have to play. If we don't play the best players, no matter who they are, where they're from, what age they are, then we're cheating the program. We're not going to cheat the program.

Q. Does it change the way you coach? Do you coach your seniors more to mentor them a little bit?
COACH HOKE: Well, you're hoping they've done that since day one. You know, I mean, that's the whole deal. They're doing a good job since the day the kids got here in the summer, you know that relationship in that respect.
Then, you know, a lot of freshman hit the wall sometimes. So far, these guys have been able to persevere and keep learning and getting better from a fundamental and technique standpoint.

Q. (Question regarding scholarships changes and his approach to recruiting.)
COACH HOKE: You know, all those things are so new. You know, I haven't even taken the opportunity to -- they're complicated, there is a newness to all of it. And I'm talking about the $2,000, the APR.
Our focus last week when they came out was Purdue; our focus right now is Iowa, you know.

Q. Did you anticipate recruits bringing it up to you at some point, though as they learn about it?
COACH HOKE: No.

Q. In a noisy place like Iowa, is there a way to adjust for snap counts?
COACH HOKE: Yeah, but I think it funny that it's brought up, but you've got a good point at the same time. They were offsides three times, so timing must not all be there.
But to answer the question, yeah, there is different ways that you use, methods that you use, from a silent to guy tapping a guy, I mean, there are a lot of different ways. Two guys holding hands and one guy drops. The guard drops his hand and the tackle knows it's time to play.

Q. On television it look there was a play where Devin looked like he was going to score and it looked like looked like he eased up a little bit. Did that appear on film?
COACH HOKE: Yeah, he needs to run through that. We talked about it when he came off the field. He just needs to run through it. And I think he thought he was going to hop in kind of instead of just lowering himself and going through.

Q. Denard took a knee in the middle of the second quarter. Is he taught to do that?
COACH HOKE: I think it's some old training maybe. We'd like for him to throw it to the Z who was down the field.

Q. Your freshman linebackers right now, Jake Ryan and Desmond Morgan both playing. You talked about Desmond before, does he bring a physical aspect?
COACH HOKE: Well, you know, I think both of 'em, what I like best about 'em, is they're football players. I mean, they understand. My boy, Jake, can be -- what's the right word? He makes plays maybe unorthodox sometimes.

Q. You mentioned that before. I'm sure you have an example.
COACH HOKE: Well, I got an example of him making a football play. It was when he the knifed through and tackled for (indiscernible.) That's a guy being a football player. That's a guy saying, I'm not going to set the edge because I'll get knocked out. If I take the guys knees and go up through, I got a chance.

Q. Unorthodox though, how do you do that?
COACH HOKE: That might not be the right word, Tim. My vocabulary isn't the greatest in the world. He just makes plays.

Q. You mentioned that you felt the linebackers a little bit more against Purdue. What were they doing differently?
COACH HOKE: I think we had good flow to the football. I think we played downhill. We didn't play laterally. We played downhill, and thought we got off blocks better and I though we did a nice job of impact at the football.

Q. As far as Will, he's well below his punting average from last year. Being out the first month, do you think that's what has maybe slowed him?
COACH HOKE: No. He's punted. He might be pressing a little bit, which I think he does. It's like trying to kill a drive or an overhand serve.

Q. You don't know anything about that.
COACH HOKE: Nor do you punting. (Laughter.)

Q. As far as Vince and the ankle, is it enough that it's slowing him that he's -- is that why you're --
COACH HOKE: We try to protect him a little bit.

Q. And Lewan, is it the kind of thing where obviously he goes to practice but you keep him out of some stuff this week?
COACH HOKE: We don't have that luxury, you know, to be honest with you. We have limited numbers, so we'll try and be smart and maybe take a rep here, rep there. But our depth at our offensive line is probably as low as I've ever seen at a university.

Q. You mentioned you were pleased with Fitzgerald's bursts. Is that something you've seen in practice and were just waiting for it to transition into the games?
COACH HOKE: Well, he's made some runs like that during the course since last spring when we got here. But I think he set up blocks well. I think the receivers did a good good job. I think he stuck his foot in the ground and really had a great burst out of it.

Q. Talk about what you're seeing from Stephen at the fullback position.
COACH HOKE: You know, he's a fit guy. You know, I think I like what I've seen so far. I think he'll just get better and better. He's a tough guy. I think when you have a guy like that who is a pretty good running with the ball, also you start getting into some splitback things, you know, out of the pro sets, it opens up a whole new offense to some degree.

Q. Is McColgan still banged up, or has
COACH HOKE: I think Stephen has kind of moved ahead of him. They'll both play, but I think Stephen has kind of moved ahead.

Q. Is it more him doing things to accenuate that he's above everyone else, or is it that everyone else has just not done anything at all...
COACH HOKE: No, I think it's more him and how he's worked and what he's done.

Q. You mentioned physicality being a challenge twice concerning Iowa. Does that also mean it's a concern or just a challenge?
COACH HOKE: Just a challenge. I mean, not the way our guys have prepared, you know, what I've seen from 'em. I think they prepare in a physical manner.

Q. You said Iowa was the most physical team, and that includes Michigan State?
COACH HOKE: Oh, yeah.

Q. More physical than State?
COACH HOKE: They always have been, in my opinion. No, that's taken eight years ago or whenever it was I was here before. I always thought they were well-coached and physical. It's a fun week. It's just fun. I love this.

Q. Kids and human nature being what it is, they look and say, They lost to Minnesota; how good can they be?
COACH HOKE: Yeah.

Q. How much do you have to harp that...
COACH HOKE: Well, I think this, and we talked about it as a team yesterday: Minnesota is a lot better team now than they were -- how long ago was it we played 'em? Five weeks, something like that? Heck of a lot better. I mean, Jerry Kill is a really good football coach.
The fundamentals and the techniques that he's been striving and he's been talking about. And then Gray, looks like he's started to arrive as a quarterback. Then you're playing for rivalry game, and anything happens in those games.

Q. Talk about how physical a game it's going to be. With Taylor and Barnum being knicked up, do you give Elliott more snaps this week? Do you give Rocky more snaps?
COACH HOKE: They'll have some more, but I wouldn't say too many more. They'll get their share which they'll need to have.

Q. I was going to ask you about do you ever talk to the team about where the team stands in the Big 10? And also, do you remember going to Iowa and the pink locker rooms?
COACH HOKE: Yeah, I remember that, that part of it.

Q. Do you think it's stupid?
COACH HOKE: Hey, who am I to judge anybody? But what was the first part?

Q. Do you ever talk to them in Sunday night meetings, like we're 3-1, this is what we...
COACH HOKE: No, we don't talk about that. We talk about the opportunities that we have before us. We didn't sit up there and say, This has to happen. We just got to play our best football, play Michigan football, at 11:01, what is it, central standard daylight?

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