|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCENovember 14, 2011Greg SchianoCOACH SCHIANO: Excited about the opportunity we have Saturday. Looking forward to it. I think it's going to be critical, our preparation, as it is every week. I think as you have some variables that are thrown in, we're preparing for a new quarterback, a very big, mobile guy, runs very well, so it's going to be a little different. They're a no-huddle team. They run exclusively out of the no-huddle at times, hurry up. I think it's going to be very, very important that our fans -- obviously it's senior day, so hopefully our fans will be there early to greet the seniors. But as I tell the players, let's not get too sentimental about that. Let's go win a football game, and that's what we really need the fans for; we need them there from the very beginning to the very end. They're a no-huddle team that communicates via hand signals only when they have to. If they can verbally do it, they will, so when you watch them on the road on video, they can do verbal signals unless it's so loud that they have to. We need it to be that loud every play. We need them to use hand signals every play. It's just an added dimension, and that's part of our home field advantage. I'm confident that our students, I know it's an early game. Once a year we can set those alarms and get on up. I know for this and for biology class, I guess, those are the two big reasons. We need to get our student section packed and made it loud. That noise when it comes out of the south end zone is deafening, and we need it. We can't play to play Saturday. We've got a lot of work between now and then, but excited. Q. Do you need to prepare for more gun run with the backup quarterback? COACH SCHIANO: Yes, but they did -- I mean, again, their cumulative repetitions for all other ten guys are what they are. This is game 11. Maybe it's game 10 for them. But you don't flush all those cumulative reps away. Now, they are a gun run team with Zach, but it'll probably amp up a little bit. This guy is big. I mean, he is 6'5", 205 pounds. He's a legitimate big man. Just because you're there doesn't mean you're going to get him down. When you watch the West Virginia tape, he runs some people over. That 60-something-yard run, he ran over three people. So it's a little different. Q. How much tape do you have on them? COACH SCHIANO: We have every game, so we have every snap that he's played. It's not very many. Just like last week we didn't have very many. We had 30-something plays of Santiago. You watch it and try to glean what you can. Q. What did you see on the film in terms of him being poised? It kind of sounds like once he got his footing in the second half he was able to move the team. COACH SCHIANO: I think that's accurate. He threw an early interception, just floated on him a little bit. But you know what happens. You've got your adrenaline pumping, you're in the game and you can float the ball a little bit, you can overthrow it. As he settled down, I think the best thing that the did is they ran him and he settled down. He got a few shots, and when he settled down he was an accurate passer, very good throwing on the move, which kind of fits his MO, very athletic guy, moving around, so I'm sure we're going to have to defend the perimeter, make sure that we have some -- that we contain every single time. Zach was very mobile, too. That's the thing that can't be lost. Although he did a lot of drop-back passing, very good. You watch him over the course of the year, he's under pressure, he escaped over the top of the rush, Zach did. Monte does the same thing. Q. Do you expect to be Pead to be more of a factor because of the inexperienced quarterback? COACH SCHIANO: Maybe, but he's been such a big factor as it is. I hope he can't be more of a factor. He is legitimately just the best running back that we've seen, and I thought Ray was exceptional, but this kid is strong, he's decisive, he's a downhill runner. He can outrun you to the perimeter. He's gotten better every year. He's really a premier back right now. Q. (Indiscernible) cubby hole when you left? COACH SCHIANO: I don't know. I guess legend would have it. Maybe it'll be a good story, right? I'm not sure. I was gone. Q. You left and then he came in? COACH SCHIANO: I think so. I think that's the way it went. I'm not certain. Make no mistake, they were cubby holes, though. That's for sure. It was not an office. It was a cubby at best. Q. With all the criticism the Big East has taken this year, is this the benefit, that there are six teams now that have that idea of winning a championship this late in the season? COACH SCHIANO: You know, I don't know. I've said all along, I think every coach has, this is the most balanced, competitive league in the country, and I think that makes it exciting. Some people, traditionalists like a team that runs away and hides. You're not going to get that in the Big East conference. For the fans who follow Big East football, you never know. It's like the NFL; every week is an adventure. Q. What are your thoughts on the way Chase played against Army and having him get ready for Cincinnati where he played pretty well last year? COACH SCHIANO: I thought Chase was spot-on except for a couple bad decisions, one bad decision and one -- two bad plays. Hopefully he can drop those. We're going up in class now in defense, that's for sure. This defense is very, very physical. They run extremely well. They're going to put you in positions. They're going to force your hand through pressure packages and through slanting and angle. They move. They're a very good defense. Q. To use a golf term, do you think you can be the leader in the clubhouse at 5 and 2 if you win the last two, or would you prefer to be playing that last weekend? COACH SCHIANO: I don't care. Whatever it is, it is. We need to win Saturday. That's really what's the biggest thing. Q. Is Mark okay? COACH SCHIANO: Mark? Yeah, I think Mark will be fine. Q. A lot of catches are coming from Chase, and many of those completions are to Mohamed. Why is that? COACH SCHIANO: I don't know. It's good to happen, though. Mohamed has got a lot of completions from everybody, though, right? He's got them from Gary, too. He catches the ball, Mohamed, so I know Chase is probably a higher number and all that, but Mohamed is such a dominant receiver that we just need to -- I think Frank and the offensive staff have done a great job of moving him around and getting him opportunities to touch the football. We need to continue to do that. Again, the speed of this defense, the windows will close more quickly, the windows will close much more quickly, very much like South Florida's defense, and we didn't fare well against them, so we need to have a great week of preparation and we need to go out and play our best offensive football game. We need to play our best defensive game, as well, and our best game in the kicking game, so it's a challenge, because there's no reason -- it's not a coincidence they're leading the league right now. They're a good football team. Q. You mentioned yesterday that San San needs to work on some technical things in his game. Are you confident he can get that done? COACH SCHIANO: I am, yeah, I am. This is an experienced guy. Sometimes it's kind of like a golfer in the middle of a round. You can't fix it, but if you get on the range and you work the kinks out -- he knows what the problem is, he's just got to get it grooved out. Q. Have you looked at last year's Cincinnati game getting ready for this? COACH SCHIANO: I watched it last night and it was painful. It wasn't like there was anything schematically I said, oh, man, that's a problem. We didn't execute. We didn't execute. I think emotionally I don't know where we were. It's funny, you watch the game, you watch the scoreboard, we're winning the game 7-0, kind of going like a regular game, you start early, get backed up, you get a three-and-out, and man, did it turn quickly, though. Q. I know you take the whole season into account when you want to go with more speed on defense. Was that the tripping point, Cincinnati last year? COACH SCHIANO: Oh, I think it's a big contributing factor. Any time you play as poorly as we did that day -- that's as bad as we've played since the early, early days. One of those nights. Q. With senior day being Saturday, have you ever seen in four or five years someone mature as much as Justin Francis did? COACH SCHIANO: He certainly -- you know, I can say yes, but he certainly is one of the top guys that has grown up, and I'm very proud of what he's been able to do as a young man. Again, I refuse to get into senior day-itis. I share a story with them all the time: I've seen it too many times, guys get all emotional and they're crying, and oh, my last game, and they go out and lay an egg. We cannot do that. There will be plenty of time to reminisce, I promised them that. That's all you do for the rest of your life is reminisce when you're done playing, so it's time to play. Q. Are you ever going to tell us what happened in your last game? COACH SCHIANO: Never going to tell you. Q. Will Deering get a little bit more work this week as a running back, more carries? COACH SCHIANO: Well, he led the team in carries Saturday, so I don't know more. Relative to the other backs, I think we're going to have to run them all. Again, these guys hit you now. They bring it. We're going to have to keep fresh backs in there. Q. Do you understand the Big East tiebreakers? COACH SCHIANO: I do. Q. Have you spent any time looking at the current scenario? COACH SCHIANO: A couple years back I did, so I kind of know how they work. If you tested me right now I'd probably not get 100, but I understand kind of -- I understand this right now: We need to win Saturday, so that's really my biggest focus. Q. Since you showed a wildcat look, is there any chance you might use it? COACH SCHIANO: Never know. Never know. Q. Has Jeremy improved his running style, running a little lower maybe? COACH SCHIANO: I don't know. I think Jeremy is Jeremy. One thing he is, he's decisive now. Whether he decides right or not, that's not always -- but he's decisive, and that's what I want. I want a back who sees it and does it. Whether he's right or wrong, hopefully the more we do it, the more we'll get it right, because the way the daylight closes when you're playing top-flight defenses, you can't dance. You've got to take what's there and then all of a sudden it comes spitting out. I thought Jeremy was close to popping a few Saturday. Q. You talked about on Saturday about how Mohamed is sort of focusing on being a receiver now rather than other stuff. Hows that that benefitted him, and is there a way it sort of manifests itself in his production? COACH SCHIANO: Exactly what I said Saturday. Any time you exclusively focus on one thing I hope you'd be better at it. He's always in Coach Fleck's meetings all the time now. He only works on wide receiver technique, just sheer repetition. And when you're dealing with an athlete of Mo's stature, the more you can fine-tune it, the more you can build his understanding and football IQ at that position, the more dominant he can be. Q. How tempting is it then to play him all the time and find a lot of different things for him to do? COACH SCHIANO: Well, we are. I mean, we're really -- he's touching the ball probably the average of, what, ten times a game, in the past game. Would you like to put him at wildcat? Sure you would. Maybe we will. If we do -- if not, it's probably because we don't want to get another hit on him. We'll see. Q. In retrospect, are you disappointed in the field conditions? You said it wasn't a factor, but there were huge clumps in the one end zone coming out. COACH SCHIANO: Yeah, I guess down by where the infield would be. I assume that's what it was. But it wasn't a factor. I think we both played on the same field. It wasn't any big deal. You give us a field, we're going to play. I thought overall it was just a tremendous experience for our kids and for our coaches and for our fans. I really enjoyed it. It was for me, I know that. Q. David Rowe has been kind of quiet this year. Have you got what you wanted out of him? COACH SCHIANO: Yeah, very much so. I don't think he's been quiet at all. I think he's played very well. I think David Rowe may be one of the most improved players on our football team, believe it or not. You say how does he do that after all the football he's played. He's become a really sure tackler, and that's never been David's MO. He's always been a skill guy and a finesse guy, and because of the role he's been placed, my hat's off to him because he works incredibly hard. He worked incredibly hard to get better at it. So much of tackling is a willing and a want-to because it hurts. When you have to take tackles, it hurts, and not everybody wants to put their body through that, and I'm just so impressed with how David has adapted to the position. And he's the guy -- make no mistake, he's the guy running the show out there. I'm very pleased with his performance. I mean, Saturday, that position he plays against the bone two times now, I mean, that's as hard as position as there is. That guy has more responsibility on him than any other guy at any time in our defense any time of the year, and he just did a tremendous job. I'm really pleased with David's performance. Q. What did you see in the left tackle spot since you used a couple guys there, and what do you anticipate doing? COACH SCHIANO: I don't know what we're going to do. I think we have to speak about it as an offensive staff. Obviously you don't make a move if you're pleased with the production there, so Andre, we just weren't pleased with his level of play. You know, David going in there, this is kind of a hot -- that was kind of a hot fire to walk into, so we got Andre back in playing more, and we'll see. We keep progressing David. I think the tough thing for David is he's taking some snaps at center, he's playing some left tackle, he's playing both guards. I don't know how you get better doing all that. I think we've got to lock him in and let him really improve at that position, whatever that position is, so that's one of the discussions we're in the middle of right now. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|