|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
ROSE BOWL GAME: GEORGIA VS OKLAHOMADecember 28, 2017Mike StoopsPasadena, California Q. There was a story, he picked it out of a hat. Did you know that? MIKE STOOPS: No. I don't believe him. I thought it was because of me. Q. He said mom put her foot down, you need to make a decision. MIKE STOOPS: Well, I like going there. I got a free meal every week. I wish she kept cooking for me, so I kept coming back. Q. He said that part of the pitch was that if there's a bunch of guys coming from Fresno, they haven't done much but you could break that trend. MIKE STOOPS: Well, Caleb's different. Just his maturity, his ability to focus on the things that were important. You know, he's a very intelligent, you know, thoughtful person. His mother has done an incredible job raising him. He was different. He was different than some of the other kids. Fresno is a tough area. There's a lot of challenges coming out of Fresno. Caleb was, you know -- you know, you're going to go on one side of the tracks or the other, and he always stayed on, you know, this side of the tracks and never got, you know, wavered in his -- I think it's commitment to his mother to be successful in whatever he does. I mean, that's the thing that I really respect about him. And football's important, but he's way deeper than that, too. I think he's got a bright future in whatever happens. Q. He said that he's a mama's boy. MIKE STOOPS: Oh, yeah. Of course I do. She used to call me -- when he was a freshman, and she was -- we were coaching him too hard, you know what I mean, and trying to get him prepared to play at this level. We're not playing in high school any more and that's the challenge of transitioning to high-profile player of his stature to our league. Those are the challenges. It's nothing like high school. You run, block and tackle like high school, but the schemes and precisions you have to play at in college is so different at this level than it was in high school. Understanding those things just took some time. Q. Do you get a lot of calls from moms like that? MIKE STOOPS: You know, all of them. We stay in touch -- I stay in touch with every one of them. So they know when things aren't going. You know, all freshmen are going to have a rough patch, somewhere. In camp it gets long and you're pushing them. So you're going to have stretches and it's good to know, you know what I mean. We talk but they don't know, you know what I mean. So you've got to pick them back up, and he was always teaching young player to do is right is critical right off the jump. That's where you try to teach them how to play the game the right way, how intense and precise you have to be and the disciplines you have to play at. That's a hard lesson to learn. But once you learn it, you have it for -- he has it for life now. He knows how to play. He can tell you exactly what he does and doesn't do right. That's what you're trying -- those are the challenges for any young player. Q. After having so many guys from Fresno that haven't had success, how much does it help you to have Caleb to point to as an example? MIKE STOOPS: Well, we've had some talented players, you know what I mean, I don't think reached their potential. Any time you have a player that understands what kind of potential he has, whether it's on or off the field, that's rewarding. It hurts that those other guys didn't understand as well as he does, you know, the importance of why we do the things we do and why it's important. You always feel frustrated when those guys don't reach their potential. We had some really good players that didn't understand the disciplines of playing at this level and what it takes and the commitment, and Caleb certainly does. Q. You've been around long enough, the way the SEC goes about things and the way the Big 12 goes about things, why is one not better than the other -- MIKE STOOPS: You know what I mean, I don't worry about -- I worry about Oklahoma, you know what I mean. We've played a lot of different styles. You know, I'm not going to talk like my brother, Bob, you know what I mean (Laughter). I don't want to get everyone riled up again. We feel like at Oklahoma, we're built like any other Southeastern Conference team, size, speed, athleticism. We feel like, you know, that's how we play. Q. Where did that start? MIKE STOOPS: You know, the quarterback play, to me, it's more than just people say -- I think the offensive coordinators in this league are very unique. You look at the head coaches, what they have done, what they have accomplished. As coordinators, it's really extreme, and well conceived, and I think just a really good job putting their team in success. And then, you know, the quarterback play is key to move any team and that's what's unique. I think the offensive coordinators really do a good job and knowing their team and what they are able to do well. Q. Did you notice after the Oklahoma State game there was criticism in how the team -- MIKE STOOPS: Oh, yeah, of course. I think winning is the ultimate goal. How you present yourself, too, as a separate entity is also important if you want long-term results and that's what we're after is long-term results and we as coaches have to look at big picture. So small picture was, you know, we won. You know, big picture, you know what I mean, we didn't play very well and gave up way too many big balls, you know, throws and that's what they do. You know, we got out of sorts and you know, kind of lost a little bit of our identity but you know, that's trying to help this play and trying to put a hole -- stop this leak and stop this leak and next thing you know, we're out of sorts and then we just kind of got back to our basics and got better technically and that's where it all starts. Q. Do you get judged by different standards or a higher bar? MIKE STOOPS: I think theres some statistics. You can do the research -- I don't need to do that for you. If the team plays 50 to 100 and we play 1 to 25, what's going to happen? We may hold them 200 yards under their average, and that's still 400 yards, you know what I mean. That's not what I look at. I look at what they average a game and, you know, we gave up, what, 380 and we had 580 -- we out-gaining teams by 200 yards a game, we ain't losing many games. That's just going to happen. Q. The perception of the Big 12 -- MIKE STOOPS: Like I say, we know what does defense is, and we know what isn't. And nobody has to tell me or any of our players what's acceptable and what isn't. At times it just wasn't acceptable. You know, those are things that, you know, you've got to look at the big picture and you've got to improve. That's our goal. So you know, that has nothing to do with what's going to happen, the 12 games it happened, you know, it's going to happen -- it's going to be different in this game. We're going to have to do things better, cover better. We're going to have to tackle better and we're going to have to get off blocks better and understand where we fit in the run game. So those are things that are going to be important for us. Q. Games like this against -- MIKE STOOPS: We've proven our point. I mean, how many times you have to prove, you know what I mean? I don't think Georgia thinks we're not a Southeastern Conference team, we can't play with them. I would be shocked if they thought them, you know what I mean. I know Coach Smart and how he feels about things. We feel like we can match up -- we're Oklahoma. We should be able to match up with anybody. Q. Are you more equipped to play an offense like this an Tech, LSU, somebody? MIKE STOOPS: I'll let you know New Year's Day about 8:00, 8:30. How's that? They have great talent. You know, their backs, it's going to be a huge challenge. It's a different challenge. That's all it is. It's just different. You know, their backs are very unique. Their line, I think Sam Pitman does a great job up front. You know, it's another challenge. It's just different. The pace of the game probably won't be what we're used to. You know, but if they are able to control the clock and control the ball for 35 minutes and you know, grind out 35 points, it's going to be tough, you know what I mean. So we have to be able to come up with critical stops. Third down is going to be unique in this game. We want to give our offense enough opportunities to move the football. Q. You mentioned different challenges. You mentioned Swift earlier. What have you seen on film on him? MIKE STOOPS: He's mature. He's everything you want. You see the speed. You see the elusiveness. His ability to catch the football really jumps out at me. He catches the football. They are going to try to get him on some matchups that I mean, we've got to be aware of him when he's in the game because they have a different style of offense they like when he's in the game. So it will be a big part of the game plan. Q. You mentioned the offensive line, how does it match up to some teams you've played this year? MIKE STOOPS: You know, we don't play anyone like this. You know, that comes at you with two tight ends, you know, downhill. Some of their 11 personnel stuff is what we see week-in, week-out. Different groupings they are in present different challenges. I think that's probably their greatest improvement. I don't think I'm saying anything that's not -- you know, I think they have done a great job up front and the way they come off the football and recognize, you know, who they are targeting is really important, and they are hard to fool. It's going to be a challenge up front. Q. What has their relationship been like -- MIKE STOOPS: They talk a lot. You see in meetings, they sit next to each other. I'm talking, they are talking. They help each other. They mirror each other in a lot of ways. But what we ask Caleb to do is a little bit different than what we ask Ogbo (ph) to do. But they talk a lot, you know, constantly and they have become really pretty close. Q. 2012, to five years later -- MIKE STOOPS: Yeah, he's been a big reason why we're here, too. That's the thing is not only his play but like I said, his maturity, his ability to be a leader, help coach the younger players. As coaches, we appreciate -- you know, as a coach, that's what you want your older players doing is showing your younger players this is why it's important. He's experienced so many things throughout his career that he's going to be a great mentor, even guys we've recruited really migrate to him whether it's Jaxon (ph) or Nick or whatever. These guys, guys that we have brought in here as backers, they all want to talk to him. Every guy on the team -- guys migrate to those guys. He does a great job spending time with them and letting them know what it's like to be here and how this program will help them grow. Q. Talking about the Georgia offensive line, they have a 6-2 guy. What is it that Isaiah does that allows him to do that at that size? MIKE STOOPS: Obviously he's built for guard but his ability to play at that height -- usually you want a guy 6-5 or better out there tackle. Obviously give him the best opportunity to have success and his ability to come off the ball and protect the quarterback has been a big part of the success. Q. Did you speak with Mark about his familiarity with Georgia? MIKE STOOPS: A little bit. Not much. You know, we have our own way. You have this much time to dissect a team, you're going to know a lot about them just by processing over an extended period of time. You can see why they didn't have success. It was pretty obvious. You know, things obviously they didn't do as well as they would have liked. But you know, we play similar styles. So you see a lot of similarities, what they like to do. So you just kind of process information. You project that information, how it's going to pertain to you in this game, and that's really all you really can do. And we are a lot more similar than people think on both sides of the ball. Some of their stuff, they came here, you can see some of our offense and what they do in their personnel. Defensively, there's a lot of similarities. Q. What's the No. 1 thing -- stands out to you? MIKE STOOPS: He just does everything well, you know what I mean. He never gets rattled. His ability, I think the best thing is to convert third downs. Put the ball where it needs to be on third downs. His ability to get the ball in the slots and I think the vertical passing game, they have done a nice job. You know, how he's handled things has been tremendous and just a great kid. And he couldn't have done it if he didn't have some unique characteristics. It was challenging. He never really -- I'm sure he got frustrated but he's really hung in there and he's gotten to be a really reliable player for us. Q. How do you get him off his game -- MIKE STOOPS: Well, I think the biggest thing is you have to get them in uncomfortable situations. They don't -- they do a great job of keeping themselves out of uncomfortable situations. No one wants third and 12, third and ten, ten times in a game. They do a good job -- second and long, getting guys into third and manageable situation. Q. Inaudible. MIKE STOOPS: We were thin at linebackers at the time and looking for some depth. We had a promising young will linebacker in Evans and the second game of his freshman or sophomore year, got a concussion and then was ruled out for the entirety of his career. Then we leaned on Emmanual and it's been a -- he's really worked hard. He's been a really saving grace for us, his ability to play a position he didn't know very well; to learn it, as well as he has and to be able to, you know, execute was a struggle his first year. But he's really settled in and become a very reliable player for us. How he's handled things has been tremendous. Just been a great kid. And he couldn't have done it if he didn't have some unique characteristics. It was challenging. He never really -- I'm sure he got frustrated but you know, he's really hung in there and has gotten to be a really reliable player for us. Q. A lot of the players have been saying that during the off-season -- as a coaching staff, how often do you guys talk -- MIKE STOOPS: I think that's an out of season, you know what I mean -- this is what we're working to. It's a goal through the summer and winter. You have to have a big goal, you know what I mean, we're just going through the grind. When you start the season and in camp, you focus on what you need to do week-to-week, you know what I mean. It's a week-to-week league and we never look at the end result. We're looking to win -- people say, you just want to win and keep moving, you know what I mean. Big goals will happen if you do your job right week-to-week. That's kind of really what we try to concentrate, what we need to do week-to-week. Q. How important is that to set a changeable goal? MIKE STOOPS: I think it's big. I mean, obviously I think it's where everyone wants to be. Are you willing to put the time and the effort and energy into it to get there, you know what I mean. Day-in and day-out, that's where the discipline, that's where the mental toughness comes in. You know, when we had stops twice -- Q. Inaudible. MIKE STOOPS: Nobody said inside the 35 two times, but you know what I mean, we did what we had to do to win the game. That's where you build some of your mental toughness. You're going to be challenged. I don't care if you're Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma; some games ain't going to go the way you want them and that's where you've got to find a way to win. That's where down deep you think of all the things you've been through and that's where it helps you. Q. Inaudible. MIKE STOOPS: It helps. You know, we see it's uniqueness every day. We see some things, just kind of shaking our head, you become kind of immune to it because it's so consistent. He's a hard guy to fool. Just very unique and very talented. Q. Inaudible. MIKE STOOPS: That I didn't already know, not much. I knew -- I could read -- I knew first day I went against him, just like Mike has a unique way of doing things. He was better than I -- you know what I mean, ever anticipated. I think his ability to adapt to his team and to his players is what I see every week. Utilizing his players, he uses his 11 guys very systematically. That's unique, and how he creates space for his players is very unique. Those are things that defensive coordinators we see pretty consistently and that's what all good coordinators do. Q. Inaudible. MIKE STOOPS: You know, I didn't see him -- how he makes the team, we kind of -- he's the head coach but we kind of talk, you know what I mean, offensive and defensive coordinator all the time, you know what I mean. He empowers, you know, it's not about him and that's what all -- you know, when he has to be the, he's always the leader. I think that's what makes him who he is. It's easy to follow a guy like that. 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
|