BAD BOY MOWERS PINSTRIPE BOWL: MINNESOTA VS. SYRACUSE

December 22, 2022

Kirk Ciarrocca

Yankee Stadium

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We have Coach Ciarrocca with us. We'll take questions.

Q. Kirk, what are some things you noticed while preparing for Syracuse?

KIRK CIARROCCA: It's a very unique defense, one that we haven't seen anything even similar to this. It reminds me of some of the defenses you see in the Big 12. A lot of multiple looks, a lot of line stunts with it.

I mean, we've seen line stunts and that type of stuff, but not like this, not with the velocity that they move their people with. They do a great job of playing to their D-line strengths, which is their ability, their athleticism, to use their athleticism.

Q. Coach, Syracuse has a bunch of players that entered the transfer portal. How are you preparing knowing that some guys will be stepping up that don't have a lot of film or have gotten a few pieces of experience?

KIRK CIARROCCA: Yeah, it's definitely a little bit different. We're probably a little bit more focused on the scheme, even though they're going to have a new guy calling it. We really don't have a real idea of what he really likes, what's his twist going to be to the package.

But the package is the package, is the way we're kind of approaching it. So we're focused a lot more on scheme. We'll have to adjust to some of the matchups as we get into the game and we see who we're playing against, what their strengths and weaknesses are.

Q. Having an interim defensive coordinator for Syracuse, don't really know some of the wrinkles he might put in, what does that do for you in preparation?

KIRK CIARROCCA: Yeah, I always feel like from a schematic standpoint, tendency standpoint, it's really advantage him with it. Everybody has tendencies. He's looking at my self scout right now. We have tendencies, right? Some of them I don't really care that that's a tendency. That's the way it's going to be. He knows that.

He doesn't have any tendencies. I don't have any idea what he likes when he's under pressure, what is he going to call, what's he going to do. It's definitely an advantage to them.

I don't know Nick personally. Guys on our staff know him. I know he's a good coach, a really bright guy. We have to be ready to react.

Their scheme is enough of a headache for us, to be quite honest with you. We're working really hard on the different multiple looks they might do, the different line games they're going to do.

Q. You signed two transfer receivers yesterday in Corey Crooms and Elijah Spencer. What did you like about them?

KIRK CIARROCCA: I think that both have been productive already in their careers, very productive. I liked the way they competed against their Power Five opponents. I think they're established players already. They catch the ball very well. They look to me on film like they both have a natural feel for the game in space.

I'm really excited about it.

In doing our research on them, we know they're very committed. They got a great work ethic. That was important to me, too. What are we bringing into the room physically from a physical talent standpoint, but what am I bringing into the room from a culture standpoint and how are they going to fit into the room and how are they going to rub off on the room.

I'm very, very impressed with both guys physically and emotionally and where they're at from a maturity level.

Q. Kirk, Mohamed Ibrahim is wrapping up his career with the Gophers. When did you first notice him? What has he meant to you over the years?

KIRK CIARROCCA: Probably the first time I noticed him was when he was a true freshman, as we were doing the Sunday Night Football. As the season was wearing on, I noticed his acceleration into the hole. I noticed his pad level, that he was always falling forward. He still didn't understand the blocking schemes yet, but those two traits right there made me say, Huh, this guy has a legitimate chance at some point.

Who knew what his work ethic was going to be like, his football IQ. We didn't know that at that point in time in his development. It might have been like midway through the season. It was probably near the end of the season because it's usually the end of the season where they start to get comfortable and you start to really see things in certain guys.

By the way, he's meant everything to the program, everything to me. He's the best back I've ever coached and been around. I feel lucky to have been around him.

Q. When you look at Athan, how he has progressed this year, what are the biggest strides he's made? Where do you want to see him continue to strive going forward?

KIRK CIARROCCA: I think he's made a lot of strides, a lot of strides. But he probably starts with the process of how to get ready for a game as the starter, right? He's made a lot of strides in that area. Made a lot of strides in learning how to practice better so he can maximize those opportunities to continue to improve.

It's really been a race against time with him. That's the way I looked at it starting last January with him. He's more comfortable with his reads now, which allows him to be a little bit more poised and a little bit more confident. He's always had a great arm. He's always had the ability to be very accurate when he's confident with where he's going to do with the ball.

His pocket movement has improved. He's improved in every area, every area. It was probably somewhere watching the Iowa game on Sunday where I came away from that game saying, You know what, he's ready. He can do more for us. Let's let him go a little bit more with it.

I'm always going to err on the side of protecting a young quarterback, always going to be that way. Been that way my whole career with it. But he's just grown by leaps and bounds. It's a credit to him, honestly. Like, he sees this potential that he has in him, and he's been able to put the action behind that potential to turn it into productivity.

This is going to be a real challenge for him, this bowl game. The multiple looks he's going to see, the different pressures, the ability to call the protections the right way. It's going to be a challenge. They do a great job of disguising their coverages. I watch the film and I'm sometimes like, I'm not sure what coverage.

I know most of the time pre-snap you don't know with it. It will be a great test for him. I'm glad we have a little bit of extra practice time for him.

Just everything. I mean, I know that's not the detail that you want to the answer to your question, you probably want something more specific, but I've just watched him improve in every aspect of the game.

We really focused on in the bowl prep the first 10 days of the bowl prep, we just focused on not Syracuse. We focused on just principles of football and base rules and protection calls, our RPO game. I tried to use it, like, as another crash course. The more times you give it to somebody, the more they absorb it.

When you're training a quarterback, once he understands why he's making a certain call or why you want him to see something a certain way, then he can really apply it constantly and it's not memorization anymore. That's really what we've been working really hard on, is understanding the why, so he can think deductively and solve the problems in real time.

Q. Syracuse's defensive line has struggled against the run this season. When you look at that unit, what do you see? Is there a certain aspect you're looking to attack?

KIRK CIARROCCA: I mean, we really approach it the way we approach every game this year. We make no secret about it, we want to establish the run game. We've gone into every game that way. Mohamed is our best player. I want to give him a chance to influence the game. Our line has done a really good job all year run-blocking. We're going to want to establish the run game.

They're going to want to stop the run. Just like the way we went into the Wisconsin game, we went in there wanting to establish the run game, they wanted to stop the run. They did a pretty good job against the run, but fortunately we were able to probably surprise a lot of people and throw the ball pretty well against them, make some explosive plays.

We want to establish the run. Their line stunts, they're going to want to line stunt. They're going to want to use their athleticism, that's their advantage. We're going to want to use our size, that's our advantage against them.

It's like a boxing match. They're going to want to dance around the ring. If we let them do that, it's going to be advantage them. If we can pin them against the ropes, it's going to be advantage us.

They're not going to want to let us do that. That's what the game is going to come down to, how do we handle their line movements. They're going to be how do they handle our size is really what it's going to come down to.

Q. We heard you evaluated Drew Viotto in a driving rainstorm. What do you remember about that workout and what stands out about him?

KIRK CIARROCCA: I remember I was really cold while standing out in the rain. I didn't have any rain gear with me (smiling). I was like, Holy crap.

He didn't want to move it inside, but I did. I just remember he knew that everybody was there to see him. I loved that. He knew that I was there to see him. He knew what was on the line, that he was going to need to really impress me for me to do anything to get an offer from us.

I thought for him to perform like that under those conditions with that type of pressure on him, that was impressive. He really spun the ball great. He's got a strong arm, but his accuracy was really good under those conditions with it. That's really what it comes down to.

When you're evaluating a guy throwing in person, I'm looking at how does the ball spin coming out of his hands. If you have better rotation on it, it's easier to catch. It's that simple. I'm looking at his arm strength, then I'm looking at his accuracy with it. That's really what you get out of an in-person evaluation. It's not the game of football, but you get a good feel for their skill set.

We came back, put the game film on, watched that, decided to offer him because he has a great football intelligence, too. He's what I consider a gym rat. Every time I call him, I'll be like, What are you doing?

He's like, I'm watching football.

It wasn't an accident that I would call him on Sunday. I just wanted to see whether he was watching football or playing video games. He'd always tell me he's watching football.

What game?

He'd spit it out.

What's happening in that game?

He would tell me. I was like, Wow, okay, he's into it. He definitely loves the game. He's real committed, has worked really hard to put himself in this type of position to be in.

I'm just real impressed. Like I said the other day, impressed with his physical skills, with his mental makeup, how committed he is to being the best he can possibly be. When he gets here, we'll find out how he adjusts to the speed of college football.

That's the thing you don't know with the high school guys. You know they're talented, they have the physical skills you're looking for, you know they have the intangibles, but how are they going to do when the game's a little bit faster.

It's the same thing when you go from college to the NFL. How is that quarterback going to do when the game is a little bit faster, process the information. I'm excited about getting an opportunity to work with him, though.