CHEEZ-IT CITRUS BOWL: LSU VS PURDUE

December 31, 2022

Mark Hagen

Kieren Douglas

Rosen Plaza Hotel

Purdue Boilermakers

Player-Coordinator Media Day

Q. Mark, give us an idea of some of the issues that LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels is going to pose and how do you contain a guy like that?

MARK HAGEN: A lot of issues. He is obviously a very, very talented young man. Every game you turn on, he makes plays. He is able to escape a rush. We have used the word ‘slippery’ to describe him. Looks like defenses will have a shot on him, and he finds a way to get out of it.

Now he has taken some sacks, too. I think that maybe is one of the knocks on him is he will hold the ball a little bit too long at times. Some people have been able to get pressure and sack him and knock him down a little bit. He really is the guy that makes their offense go, there is no question about it. We have to do a good job of containing him. That is easier said than done, but our guys know the challenge that he poses.

It is not just the pass game, too. We are going to run the split-zone bluff that we call it where they will get [Mason] Taylor out in space. It looks like they are going to run a split zone, and, then, the tight end will continue to the perimeter and Daniels will keep it. We have to not only have it fit from the inside, but we have to have it fit on the perimeter as well. Certainly, a challenge in both the run and the pass.

With that said, our guys are excited to go up against not only a great play in Daniels, but an outstanding offense from top to bottom. We will certainly have our work cut out for us.

Q. You're a sixth-year senior and all that, when you look back over your career, maybe years in the future, how much do you think this game and this experience will stand out to you, even though you might not be playing for a championship, that you've got this game?

KIEREN DOUGLAS: Yeah, I think the bowl games always stand out among the rest of the games. I still remember my first year. I was at Army. We played in the Armed Forces Bowl against San Diego State and that is obviously a game that stuck out to me at the end of that season.

And then of course, the bowl game against Tennessee sticks out. Then, I know this one will stick out. They always are really special. The whole experience throughout the week and what they provide for us, it really makes a memorable experience. Of course, it is a great opportunity for our team to show what we can do.

We are looking to go and make that memory when we look back a good memory and a win. Just to know that we have done everything we can even with the circumstances that we have been given to go out and play as hard as we can to win the game.

Q. Of the teams that Purdue has faced this season, who would be the closest comparison to this offense with Jayden Daniels?

MARK HAGEN: Good question. I asked our guys early on, I think Maryland, just a team top to bottom that can do everything, outstanding quarterback first and foremost. They have the ability to run the ball. They go three-deep. Certainly Josh Richardson is a guy -- but like I said, they go three-deep at wide receivers, downhill runs, talented wide receiving crew, just like Maryland had. Then, a big, physical group up front that can move you and wall you off. I would say that is the team that probably compares the most to LSU.

Q. Have you guys found it difficult to keep focused on this game and opponent with everything going on in the program?

KIEREN DOUGLAS: No, I don't think focus -- I mean, I think focus is always a difficult task. Really, the struggle daily is focus. It is something that if it wasn't, you know, opt-outs and coaching changes. It was going to be something else. It always is something and you can ask any player and any coach and they will agree with that.

So I mean, insofar as it is always hard to focus, yes. We know that if we are able to focus. We are able to go out to practice with energy. We are able to execute the game plans in practice, then that focus is going to lead to most likely a win to be honest. The more focused team usually is going to play harder. They are probably going to win.

That is something that we know, it is something that we have known the whole season and something I have known my career. Something Coach [Mark] Hagen has known his whole career. Yeah, that is definitely something that we are aware of.

Q. No Jalen Graham, no Cory Trice. Give us an idea of some players that have to step up to fill those voids, and any other guys who may have to play larger roles than they are typically accustomed to?

MARK HAGEN: Well, I just think, KD just said it, you are going to have some guys that are not there, opt-outs, for whatever reason.

Bryce Hampton has got to step up. Not his first time out there for us. He has played significant time. Without Cory, we are not as deep as we would like to be as corner. Brandon Calloway is a guy that is on deck, and he has to be ready to go. Antonio Stevens is another guy that has played a little bit for us that is going to play extended minutes

.

Those are the guys at the top of the list, but we have guys that we have lost to injury throughout the year, and we have had down the line guys step up. Whether it be special teams, or offense, defense, whatever you want, and that is what we deal with nowadays.

We are not the only team that has had some opt-outs and injury situations. I think every team has to deal with it and it is a next man up mentality. Like KD said, we don't focus on the obstacles from day-to-day. We talked about it early on, what we need to do, and what we are expected to do. I think our guys have handled it well to this point.

We have had good practices and good work. Our season got extended by a week, by the opportunity to play Michigan in Indianapolis. You count those practices, plus the 10 or 11 that we have gotten in since that game in early December in Indianapolis. I think we have had good work, and our guys are exceeded to play Monday afternoon.

Q. As a D-Line coach, LSU played musical chairs in the O-Line to start the season and ultimately settled on two true freshmen, at the tackle spots. What have you seen from that group and the two edge guys?

MARK HAGEN: Big and physical like I said earlier. They can move people. I think they average 6-5 1/2, about 325. We have played big O-Lines in the Big Ten and our guys understand that challenge. The two tackles are very, very talented. They have gone up against some great edge people throughout the year in the SEC. They have been burned at times, but they have also played very, very well at times.

To me, they are not freshmen anymore. They have played a 13-game season and both guys have performed well and the guys understand the challenges there. We played against some good tackles in the Big Ten as well. We are excited about it from a D-Line standpoint.

This group is as good and as talented as we have played all year. We are going to have to bring our A Game to play like we want to play. Those are the challenges. That is what makes it fun at this stage. You are going up against a team from another conference that also played in their Conference Championship Game. They wouldn't be where they are today if they didn't have an outstanding front and they do a good job. But we are excited to face them on Monday.

Q. You were a part of Purdue's defensive staff for the 2000 Rose Bowl season, a team that Drew Brees led. What can you say about him joining the coaching staff 20-plus years later?

MARK HAGEN: Exciting. Fun. It has been fun to be around him. He epitomizes everything that a Purdue Boilermaker is. He has been everything for our football program, since the time I joined in March of 2000. It's just his way to give back in a time where there is some change.

We have a new coaching staff coming in. I think he has been able to come in and calm the waters and just be a great presence for our football team. The opportunity for our guys to just sit there and talk to him, especially our quarterbacks, who are getting coached by him every day.

It has been a very, very positive situation. We are excited that he is with us down here. We are excited that he is going to be on the sideline on Monday.