CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: GEORGIA VS TCU

January 7, 2023

Joe Gillespie

SoFi Stadium

TCU Horned Frogs

Press Conference

Q. I wanted to ask you, Georgia uses a lot of tight ens play. That seems to be an evolution in college football, four tight ends.

JOE GILLESPIE: Yeah, absolutely.

Q. Tight ends are not just blocking. It's part of the passing game. Why do you think that's happening, and how does it make it difficult to stop things?

JOE GILLESPIE: I think one of the big things, and I'm not speaking just for Georgia, they may use it in a little bit different way, but for a lot of offenses now people have gotten so multiple from a defensive standpoint where you can keep the same personnel on the field and things of that nature.

It presents an issue for defenses, because now you've got tight ends that can split out. They're very much utilized in the passing game, get a lot of targets, especially like a Georgia. They've got a tight end that's kind of like a Swiss Army knife. I mean, he can do it all.

And so I think that's kind of where the evolution of football is going and trending a little bit. We've had the air raid and things of that nature. I think defenses have somewhat caught up with it, and so now to present some issues, out the box a little bit, and you can do lost of things with him.

Q. So Bowers is the Swiss Army knife I take it.

JOE GILLESPIE: Oh, absolutely.

Q. Are you saying it's mainly a matchup issue?

JOE GILLESPIE: Well, I think used to -- from a defensive perspective you became very personnel oriented, and so if you were giving us a true ten-personnel formation, then we're going to have our packages of ten-personnel defenses. You kind of get to limit them to what they do, figure out what they're doing, and so you get to defend it well.

And then offenses started putting in the tight end and things of that nature, so defenses would sub as well to defend those things. And then when they started figuring out okay, let's sub in the tight end, let's also use as a split out, and then they started making defenses get more predictable. They got defenses into what they wanted them to be in.

And so I think that's what has gotten interesting for us from a defensive perspective. I'm just talking about us at TCU, but I think across the country you're trying to match up with the same personnel on the field with the personnel group you get.

Doesn't always mean that's the best defense, but you can at least still play.

Q. They change up looks quite a bit.

JOE GILLESPIE: I think the biggest thing they do is -- yes, they will. You can have 12-personnel on the field and it would be a ten formation. They are also going to do a lot of shifting, a lot of motioning, try to get the mismatches a little bit depending on what you're in defensively.

And, you know, then for us, if you got a lot of stuff called with that particular play and they're doing a lot of the shifting and motioning, you're going to have be very disciplined with your communication, very disciplined with your eyes; everybody is going to have to be on the same page.

You're going to be a venue that is extremely loud, so I don't know that you can always hear the communication that's going on, so there will be a trust factor that you have to go through.

Q. (Regarding email or name in the portal.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Yeah, I already knew who the young man was because of being at the University of Tulsa, and we played Navy every year. I studied a lot of Navy. If we were playing an opponent that maybe -- when I was at Tulsa -- that maybe had already played, maybe was a three-down primarily, I would naturally go to Navy's film and watch that. I could get blocking schemes and what are they trying to do, how are they trying to attack the three down.

So I knew those linebackers and just watching them. I knew the linebackers' coach as well. You know, Fagot, Johnny Hodges, all those guys that were at Navy.

I knew he was a good football player, so when he hit the portal -- to be honest with you, I really don't recall. I'm sure I got the email, but I don't remember that portion of it. I just remember get to go TCU, and soon after Johnny Hodges going into the portal, and I was like, is that the Johnny Hodges at Navy?

They said yes, so my next question, so how many years does he have left, because I think he's got at least two. And then just felt -- at the time I wasn't 100% what our room really looked like. I knew some of the guys in that room because I recruited them. Obviously I didn't get 'em, you know. Didn't come to me; I went to them.

But I knew what type of football player we were going to get out of Johnny Hodges. Shucks, he's a smart kid, an academy kid. He is going to be very disciplined. He understands the game. You can tell by the way he plays it. He's a little bit of an old-school linebacker so to speak, and you can tell that he had a lot of command on the field.

And so I just felt like it was a good fit for us. I think it's always nice to have some variety in the room, and he certainly fit that piece.

Q. (Regarding the stereotype of Navy guys.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Oh, yeah.

Q. Are those the sort of characteristics...

JOE GILLESPIE: Those were the characteristics that you wanted, because they don't -- there is no quit. They don't know how to quit, slow down, or give up. So just bringing that mentality to the room, I think it was -- and then I quickly learned there is a lot of those guys in that room obviously, good football players.

Q. (Regarding the first call, offers on social media.) (Indiscernible.) Did he share that back with you?

JOE GILLESPIE: Oh, yeah, I remember that conversation. And before you sit there and reach out you're going to do your homework on guys. Naturally you're going to go to their social media and you can learn a lot about a young man. There wasn't a whole bunch out there on him, so for me that was refreshing to see.

I can figure out, we can figure out what kind of offers and how many he had and things of that nature. I think I was kind of leading up to -- I was probably fishing a little bit when I said that to him, and then I also had this concern, or not concern, but thought that once we offered there was going to be a few more that were going to start coming.

Fortunately there was a very short time frame that he had to make a decision.

Q. He said he couldn't wait to say yes. (Indiscernible.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Let me visit with my family.

Q. Yeah.

JOE GILLESPIE: Yeah.

Q. What does that say just about the portal that a guy that's talented enough to be in such a key position and play for a national championship. There weren't even any FCS offers.

JOE GILLESPIE: Yeah.

Q. And does it say just about the portal...

JOE GILLESPIE: You know, it is what it is. This is the day and age in football we're living, and a lot of people can sit there and talk about the negative of it and things of that nature. Then there is a great deal of positives.

At the end of the day, it is what it is, so embrace that aspect. I know that the players, they're embracing it. So from this side of the fence, we need to embrace it as all, utilize it to their advantage, to our advantage.

Q. There is an assumption I think that, oh, I'll just go on the portal and have all these offers, and he's a really good example of...

JOE GILLESPIE: Of that not happening, yeah, absolutely. To be real honest, had I not been playing Navy, since I've been at Tulsa and I had watched this guy, I didn't have to go pull up his stuff. I already knew who he was.

Probably wouldn't have gone on Johnny. I probably would've pulled up his stuff and said, you know, maybe. We'll keep our eye on him and he probably would've gone somewhere else or not been playing football. I don't know.

I got to watch enough of him to sit there and say, I want a guy like that in our room for sure, so fortunate to have him.

Q. Thank you.

JOE GILLESPIE: Thank you.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Yeah, absolutely. Obviously he has a phenomenal mind and they do an extremely great job of coaching. These young men execute very well, and I think from an offensive standpoint, what we gotten to go up against throughout the course of the season, there are some similarities out there a little bit. Kind of like Baylor in some aspects.

But this is an offense as a entire unit that works very, very well together. They're just going to give us an array of things from personnel packages and looks and shifts and motions, and then the run game and the passing game.

I mean, some people sit there and say there are smoke and mirrors to it. Well, it works. That's the reason they do that. And so we certainly have our work cut out for us from a defensive standpoint. They can get hats added to the box in a hurry. We're going to have to do an extremely good job of adjusting to that.

There is going to have to be a lot of communication on the field that gets entailed with some of the shifts and motions that they do. And then there will just have to be a huge trust factor among our guys. Because you start getting into an environment like that, a game like this, it's going to be extremely loud. They're going to travel well; we're going to travel well.

And in doing so, there will be a trust factor that everybody is adjusting and doing their jobs correctly.

Q. (Regarding outside receivers and man coverage.)

JOE GILLESPIE: I think the biggest deal for us is these guys can run. Number one, stay on top and work down. And then they've got length. So there will come a point in the game. I mean, it's going to happen. That's are elite athletes. We're going to have great coverage on it. They're going to come down a big time play and a big time ball.

We're going to have to line up and do it again, and we're not going to shy away from it, because that's who we are. And so when they things happen, we're going to have to learn from it and then shake it off because they're going to come right back to it.

You're one play away from making your big play, so...

Q. (Regarding tight ends.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Yeah, absolutely. You know, the thing that we're going to do from a defensive standpoint, and Dee in his role, obviously with what we been kind of facing here the last couple weeks, it makes his role pick up. The thing that gets a little bit unique with our defense, and it'll happen on Monday night as well, we're going to ask a lot of our guys to do a variety of things.

It doesn't always fit necessarily in their wheelhouse. We're not going to ask you to live and breathe out of it either. We're going to try to get there in a variety of different ways. I think that's what kind of helps us a little bit and helps him -- you know, Dee obviously had a heck of game versus Michigan and really carried out the game plan extremely really.

Those guys that were around him and in front of him helped him do those things, so it was just a great team effort. Obviously have to come out and do it again on Monday.

Q. (Regarding Tymon.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Yeah, Tymon, when we got him, we knew this young man had been coached really well and there were some things that he understood just from a technique standpoint. Obviously a young kid that has some maturing and growth to do, that's why we were excited to sit there and get him.

But he had several years to sit there and grow, but you could tell he had been coached very well.

Another thing that Tymon brings to the table is he understands the game of football. His IQ of it was a lot larger than what they thought. It's kind of hard to get those things through spring fall, through fall camp, and to hear some of that stuff.

It started to come to fruition for us when we started really game planning for people, Colorado, whoever we were playing, and you started hearing him talk about some of the adjustments that he was making up front and some of the things he was calling out because of his study of the game.

Whether that was based off splits, based off the back being is a pistol, whatever it was, he an idea already of what -- you know, these two or three things are about to come, and how to defend it really.

And so he was kind of a step ahead on some things. I think what he's done is he brought a new element to the room that, hey, there was a little bit of a coach on the field in that, and it kind of made some guys eyes wise up a little bit and go, all right now, what are you seeing and how are you seeing this, and just be a I believe to share those things.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

JOE GILLESPIE: If he has, I'm unaware of it.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Well, that's certainly where we would like for this to head. There is a good stable of noses in there. I think Tymon is one of those guys that has a skillset in this type of defense where we could play him all over the line. I mean, whether we play him at a five, 3-0s, whatever it may be.

So, yes, I think that elevation of everything should be there.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Yeah, you know, there is always a little bit of hope in there. If a team hasn't seen this type of defense you hope it throws them off a little bit, but this is a team that probably has seen it all. They've played a lot of football. Stetson Bennett has a lot experience. I mean, he is the defending national champion, and so there is probably not much he hasn't seen.

For us, and I think it's just our nature, not necessarily this game and this game plan, we're going to have to disguise our looks as much as we can and hope we hit home on them more times than we don't.

You know, we're going to have to -- and this is a case for every game - we are going to have to win on early downs. Win on early downs, first and second down. Then up to get them in a more predictable situation. You hope that you can sit there and do some things, whether it be from a coverage or pressure standpoint that it brings some issues for them.

But the bigger deal is you have to win on early downs, and that's hard to do against Georgia.

Q. (Regarding a point in the season.)

JOE GILLESPIE: You know, there was that point kind of leading up to Texas. Almost seems like a different season so I'm trying to remember. We played West Virginia, and then after West Virginia -- I'm trying to remember. Maybe it was Texas Tech and then later on Texas.

I think we kept feeling ourselves versus K-State the first time we played them, and Oklahoma State. Early on in those games we gave up some points and we got behind, and then we really kind of locked the fort down and really started honing in on what we needed to do.

We were putting good halves together. We just weren't putting the full 60 together. I think as we got into game eight, nine of the season, that's when we started saying, listen, gentlemen, if you want to be a championship-caliber team, this is when you really got to start gelling now.

I think we been compiling minutes together. It was time for us to get as close to 60 minutes as we could possibly get. So for us, I go back to the University of Texas game. I think that was game nine for us, nine or ten, and that was a very must -- we needed to go out and execute that way and have something to build off.

At that moment I think we started realizing -- they started realizing, we started realizing, hey, if we can put the full 60 together then we have an opportunity to be pretty special.

Q. At that point forward down the stretch, where do you feel like you made the most improvement?

JOE GILLESPIE: That's a great question. The biggest improvement for me, and this may not be from that point forward, I think it's been from the beginning to right now. You start talking about a 3-3-5 and stuff, and we're probably not as -- our three down scheme and how we do things is probably a little bit unconventional from what most people wit there and refer to as a 3-3-5.

But our biggest improvement from day one to this point has been the defensive line. These guys have done an extremely great job of really elevating their play. A lot of guys picking up and coming in. You can talk about the Dylan Hortons and Terrell Coopers and stuff like that. I'm talking about Caleb Foxs and the Tymon Mitchells and the Dam Williams and all of those guys.

The rotation that McFarland has been able to develop, and those guys buy into what they're role and play is what their importance is, and they see it and they see their production pick up. That allows all of these linebackers and safeties and guys to go do the things they needed to do.

In order to be successful we had to be good up front, and those guys took on that challenge and we're here because of that.

Q. Congratulations.

JOE GILLESPIE: Thank you very much.

Q. Your team came out against Michigan they were fired up ready to go. They heard all the talk about... (indiscernible.) Now you get the defending national champions. How do you prepare for the opportunity to beat...

JOE GILLESPIE: Yeah, I think this is has of been that do-your-job mentality since day one. A lot of people have asked us throughout the course of this run here, going to the Big-12 Championship game and then obviously getting to go to the college football playoffs.

I think the biggest deal, and it's been very unique for this team, is that we've approached every week 100 percent the same. If we just go out and do our job, and don't have to do anything more than that, just go do your job, and then if you do those things, then the opportunity for you to be successful will be there, and we'll see what the score is at the end of the day.

Obviously we've got some added things that you got to go do and stuff like that playing for a nature championship. These guys really haven't talked about it. They've sat there and just said, let's go out and approach day one practice the way we approached day one practice for the game before. Let's continue to do that. It's gotten us -- that recipe has gotten us to where we are, so don't start trying to add different ingredients to it.

We have an opportunity hopefully at the end of Monday evening to sit there and hoist that trophy. I hope.

Q. Max said we're no longer Cinderella here. We've earned our spot. He doesn't want to hear about the Cinderella. Thoughts about that?

JOE GILLESPIE: I think these guys certainly have, and they deserve to be here. These guys have been through a journey from day one when we got there to this point. Everything they're getting to experience right they've earned and certainly deserve it.

I think there is no doubt that they believe in their mind that they belong on this stage. I think that's an important -- I don't think that's an arrogant thing. That's a confident thing. You've going to have to have that confidence to go up against the defending national champions, and we look forward to that opportunity.

Q. Dee Winters snagging that interception (indiscernible). How many of those types of plays do you think you're going to need Monday?

JOE GILLESPIE: Well, there is certainly going to be -- we had some big time plays in that game and we're going to have come out and have some of those plays again. We talked about it before every game we played. If we can come out on the plus side of the turnover ratio, then we're going to have an excellent opportunity of having a higher score on -- when the clock clicks zero.

But you got to go do those things. We played in the Big 12 Championship game and we didn't do that. A lot of those big games we won in overtime, that we came down to the wire and last-second field goals and stuff like that, fortunately we were either able to even it up or we were able to go plus one, plus two.

We are going to have to give our offense extra possessions, and in order for us to do that, we're going to have to create some of those big plays. We are going to have to have another goal line stand or two, and if you want to go win a national championship, that's what you got to do.

Q. What is the biggest thing Georgia is doing that's making them so successful?

JOE GILLESPIE: I think the biggest thing for Georgia, and when you turn it on, and I kind of do this with every team we're playing, I mean, the first tomorrow you turn on the on your like holy moly, they're way better than you wanted them to be.

With Georgia, it was ten times that. You couldn't sit there and -- couldn't help but just sit will and always began start with the offensive line and what is their character, their identity, try to figure that out. What are they are trying to hang their hats on.

Obviously this is an offensive line that works extremely well together. They've been coached extremely well. They got a mauling mentality to them. They can do that. They come off the ball and they come off extremely low and hard.

You kind of figure that out and then you just start going from there. Stetson speaks for himself. This guy has seen a lot of play. He's got a ton of experience and there is not much he hasn't seen.

Along with that, he's a fierce competitor. He's also surrounded by a stable full of running backs, some guys that he can sit there and toss the ball up to that got great length, that can take the top of it from a speed standpoint.

And then he's got a Swiss Army knife in Bowers at the tight end who can do it all. This guy is going to split out he's going to be in the backfield, on the line of scrimmage, blocking. They're going to hand off to him on jet sweeps.

The guy do it all. This is a team that you really just can't put your thumb on, all right, these are the two or three things they're doing in this formation with this personnel. Obviously they do an excellent job of doing multiple things with the same personnel on the field.

Q. (Regarding Abe Camara.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Abe? Abe is kind of our Swiss Army knife a little bit, because we're going to use him in a lot of different ways, especially for that nickel position for us.

But Abe can go play all three safety positions for us. An extremely bright young man. Fierce competitor. One of the very first things I asked Abe when we got here, in this style of defense that we run, we're going to ask you to do a variety of things. The number one thing is are you willing to go stick your face in the fan. He looked at me and smiled said, absolutely, and he hadn't let me down one time since.

So he's a guy that can cover high, he can go down and cover man, he can go set an edge, feel the box, and then he will certainly go stick his face in the fan. We are going to need him to do it a few more times on Monday.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

JOE GILLESPIE: For Abe? Abe was honestly there was before I got there. Obviously fortunate that we have him. I think the thing that I got from it is he's an intelligent football player, understands the game of football, great skillset. Abe can run, and if you can run, then you can play ball, especially in this style.

Q. Does Georgia remind you of anybody you've faced this year? Maybe some elements of Kansas State? (Indiscernible.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Yeah, yeah. Oh, man, I'm going to go all over the place with it. Obviously I think there are some similarities to Michigan in some ways. Maybe sometimes that comes down to personnel and what you have, and maybe that's kind of a mystique and that they're known for.

You can certainly lean on a K-State. I go there from the standpoint of I think their offensive line has some similarities just because of the way they come off the ball. They have that mentality, that identity that they want to be maulers. They want to mow you down. That's kind of what K-State did. Their double states at K-State were real. That was real stuff, and so you get a little piece of that.

Also think there is some similarities to Baylor. They are extremely athletic, and Baylor had an extremely athletic offensive line.

And then, you know, just the things that they're going to do. Coach Monken and those guys do a phenomenal job, and the variety of what we're going to get to see, all the shifts and the motions and the variety of formations with the same personnel package on the field, that gets challenging for a defense.

But there is nobody like Georgia. Georgia is Georgia.

Q. You guys really didn't face many tight ends. How much of a challenge to go up against arguably the best tight end in the nation...

JOE GILLESPIE: Well, and that is. That's going to be an extreme challenge for us. That's one of the many challenges that hits in you in the face immediately when you start breaking them down and studying Georgia and the things they do. Obviously having great knowledge of who Bowers is and what he brings to the table.

After getting to go study him now for a full week, I can see why he's considered one of the nation's best. We have gotten to go up against some good ones through the course of the season, and we're going to have to lean on some of those experiences. We are going to have to do some things that are going to help young men that might a little bit different than in the past, and we're going to have to go out there and execute it and execute on the biggest stage there is.

And then you want to really sit there and refrain from getting the mismatches, because he is one of those guys that sometimes you can get a linebacker on a tight end and you still feel comfortable with your matchups and stuff like that. With this guy, it may be a little bit different.

We are going to have to do a really good job of communicating and executing and adjusting so that we don't fall into those circumstances.

Q. (Regarding facing 3-3-5.) What's the biggest challenge for an offense that's never faced a 3-3-5?

JOE GILLESPIE: Well, I think for an offense that's never faced it -- and I'm just repeating what people have said -- is that they're not always really sure. As you walk up to it your going to count the box naturally and they're going to feel like, all right, you need to run the ball and they don't have enough in the box.

And so I think the biggest challenge that they share is there is going to be hats that come to the box. It's just where are they coming from and how do you count them. That's the illusion that we want to give. I'm not lying about it. It's no big secret. People that sit there and study our defense can figure that out in a heartbeat, and that's one the many reasons we try to do that.

You hope it hits home for you more times than it doesn't. Wondered the other night versus Michigan when play one went for about 60, and -- but fortunately we were able to go next and get a big stop, yes, sir.

Q. What is the challenge of Georgia ability to change and modify plays at the line of scrimmage? (Indiscernible.) What can you do defensively when Stetson goes to the line, changing into the quote/unquote, right play?

JOE GILLESPIE: Well, and that's where we hope we haven't tipped our hat, and so probably more times than not when you kind of get into that chess match, getting into a chess match with coaches versus with a young man presents two different challenges.

The challenge with Stetson is going to be an added challenge because this guy has seen it all. Stetson doesn't get to where he is at, doesn't get his team to defending the national title again without being extremely intelligent and knowing that -- knowing what he has. He doesn't have to go win the game. He's got a lot of guys that can do that for him, but he has the ability to do it.

And so more times than not when I start trying to play that chess match it kind of backfires on me and I get a little bit curious if we tipped our hand on some things. I think what we have to do is just let our guys go play. I think that's what you do at this point. You dance with who brought you here and let these guys go play.

I reached out to several people that have been in this situation that I'm in right now, because I've never been at the national tight game and got to coach in it. So I reached out to some coaches that have been there. I wanted to know several things. What is some of the biggest pointers you can give me? The most common was the bigger the game, the smaller the plan. Let them go play.

That's kind of stuck with me. I am going to have to remember that when it comes to those times. (Smiling.)

Q. (Regarding the big stage, the big game.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Oh, I think it probably figures into things a little bit more leading up to. Or at least I hope that's the case.

I think it figures into things leading up to a bit more because of experience. Guys that have been there, they know how to approach it. Once the ball gets kicked off, I mean, they've been in big ball games, we've been in big ball games. We been in pressure games. Obviously we feel pressure with this, but this one is fun. This one is fun.

The pressure games were winning in overtime during conference play; kicking a last-second field goal as the clock winds down. Those are pressure situations. This one right here, let's go have fun. These young men deserve that. They've earned it.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Oh, absolutely. I think our approach for this week and going into this game has been no different than what we have done since Colorado game one. We just talked about that as the season went on. We got about halfway through the season. We got ourselves bowl eligible. Nobody really talked about it. Wasn't a celebration going on in the locker room of being bowl eligible. It was just another win.

That was our challenge for the week. We came in, celebrated, and then we started learning from our mistakes and going on to the next game. So that's been our approach, and we started talking about it about halfway through regular season. Listen, things are going good. Number one, stay humble, stay hungry. You got to remember when this thing started we were voted like seventh or eighth, not that that matters, to finish in the conference. That didn't mean anything to you then, so why would it now. People start talking good about you, stay humble, stay hungry. That recipe we have going is a good recipe. Let's don't start adding different things.

I think we continue to go with the same recipe. We approach each day, hey, we needed this last Tuesday's workout to be the best Tuesday workout of the season. Said the same thing last week. So that was our challenge. That was our approach: Go one day at a time.

Q. (Regarding Navy-Tulsa game.)

JOE GILLESPIE: I really didn't want it. No, I wanted the kid. I know it's a great story on Johnny. Had I not been up north and coaching at Tulsa and getting to see Johnny, I didn't know it was Johnny Hodges. I knew him as 57. Because Navy played a three-down, a very similar defense to what we did there at Tulsa, and so naturally our next opponent, if Navy had already played them, that was always one of the first games I would go pull up.

So I got to know their linebackers and their linebacker coaches well. I wanted to see how they were fitting things, and so I got to learn who Alex Fagot is and Johnny Hodges and those guys.

And so when I got to TCU soon after, Jeff Durden, one of our recruiting guys came up me, head recruiting guy, and said, hey, Johnny Hodges. Does that ring a bell? He just hit the portal. I said, yes. That's the linebacker from Navy.

He said, what do you think about him? I had already watched so much of this guy that, I mean, honestly, I had done more recruiting film on him, not that I was recruiting him, but got to see so much that I was like, this is a guy that we need for our room, and for a variety of reasons.

I was still trying to learn the room. I had just got there. Hadn't been there ten days. When I got there the kids were going back home for Christmas, so I got to spend maybe an hour with some of the kids.

And so you were still trying to learn the room, going off what people that have been at TCU are telling you about the room. I just felt from watching his play and stuff you wanted variety in the room, and he certainly fit that mold. You were talking about a kid that's honest and naturally very intelligent. He was an academy kid. You know what you're going to get out of that kid. Kid played extremely hard. Kind of has an old-school mentality to him.

And so I knew then I wanted that in the room, and fortunately, it's paid off well.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

JOE GILLESPIE: I think if you got into that, if I got into that and thought about that quite a bit you might have those days. I think right now it's just embrace the times, embrace what it is, because it is what it is.

Have fun with it. Which we do. The things that we as coaches love to do the most is go on a journeys with these young men and see how they change and become successful.

And when you stop having an impact like that and you can't see those journeys happen, then, yeah, that probably comes up a little bit in your head. But as long as we are having a good impact, a positive impact, I know they're certainly having a positive impact on my life. I am a better dad, a better husband, a better coach because of what these guys have taught me.

It's been a heck of a journey. So to answer your question, not really.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Yeah, there is a play versus Tennessee. Yes, sir. And it really -- for some reason that one play stands out to me because I knew what he could do with his feet, or felt like what he could do with his feet. The ability that he has to extend plays. This guy was done. I mean, he was done. It was wrapped up, end of play, would've been the end of the series. Might have walked away with three points at best.

Really could have change the complexity of the game. It was that one play, and he just tucked it and went running around his right side, and the speed that he had and he knew where he had to get to. I mean, he didn't score but should have. I would've contested it. Certainly picked up the first step.

I think that really deflated Tennessee at that point because they had a big time play. They had him wrapped up for about a ten-yard loss. His strength, sheer competitiveness, and you got to see it all in that one play.

From then on you start watching for it all the time, you know, and so it starts to stand out more and more as you can. But that was the one that stood out to me first.

Q. What stands out as far as challenges?

JOE GILLESPIE: Well, golly, what are the challenges? We can talk about what are not challenges and we'll be done a lot sooner. Obviously Stetson Bennett speaks for himself. This guy is the returning national champion quarterback. As I was saying earlier, there is not much he hasn't gotten to see and he hasn't been against, and so you got that challenge.

He's going to get his offense and his guys in the right position. Stetson also understands that he can go win games. He understands that, but also understands he doesn't have to because he has a stable of running backs sitting right there that can do those things for him. You got Bowers at tight end. You got stable of tight ends as well. All the receiving corps.

The biggest challenges we'll have for us is you got receives that can take the top of it, so we're going to have to work top down and keep things in front of us. We're going to have to win some challenges, no doubt.

And then we also got to understand that sometimes they're going to win that challenge. Let's make sure we're contesting it. It's the ones that go uncontested that bother you. We can't have breakdowns. Not in a game like that. So things have to be contested. If you're contesting it and they win that challenge, hey, they won on that play; et's line up, play again, and you may win the next one.

So just having that mentality. And then the biggest deal, they're going to give a vast array of looks with the same personnel on the field. You can have 22 guys in between the hashes, and then all of a sudden it spreads out sideline to sideline. Obviously there is going to have to be communication and adjustments and things with that and it's going to be in a loud environment. Those things get hard.

So everybody will have to be on a trust factor and be on the same page.

Then last, but there are several things. Going to have to win on early downs. If we can win on early downs, then hopefully we can get them in those situations that become a little bit more predictable. Then just like our game with Michigan, there will some times we'll have to have those crucial goal line stands, force some takeaways, and hopefully we can take it back for six, you know, to stay with this type of an opponent.

Q. I imagine they're talking about the challenges of your defense. In particular, with Johnny, Dee. Just felt like hair on fire the first half against Michigan. I think set the tone.

JOE GILLESPIE: Well, you know, there are a lot things, and from a linebacker corps and just taking off the coordinator hat and putting on a linebacker hat, there is a lot of pride for linebackers. They got to know the entirety of the defense because they're into the run-fit game. They got to know what the defensive line is doing and what they're trying to do for them.

They also have to have eyes in the back of their head and know where they fit into the scheme is and what those guys are checking to, because you don't always get to hear what's going on. You don't get to see the signals they're giving and things of that nature, so you're going to have to do a lot of studying and communication on your part.

You know, with just like the other day versus Michigan, we knew that we were going to have to play that way. In order for us to play that way, you alluded to do hair on fire and stuff like that, we knew that we were going to have to play that way. I'm going to tell you, our defensive line allowed us to play that way. They made things clear and clean for us.

So their production level picked up, the linebacker production level picked up, and we were able to do some things that we felt confident we could do. Didn't feel that way on play one, but after that we felt a lot better.

And then you're going to have to ask for those guys to go and make those plays. There will be some guys in the that third level, that back level that have to come and play with their hair on fire and stick their face in the fan as well. We're going to ask them to do a variety of things the other night; we're going to ask them to do a variety of things on Monday as well.

Q. How did Tulsa help you? (Indiscernible.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Oh, yeah, I think there was a great deal of confidence in it. I think that was one of the reasons Coach Dykes was willing to take a chance, a shot, a risk on me, was to come in with some of that.

We also had the ability to get in a lot of different looks. Our time at Tulsa was really good because when we started kind of morphing into this defense, Bill Young, who I'm forever indebted to, the late Bill Young, was our defensive coordinator at the time. I can remember Bill talking to us and saying, listen, gentlemen, I'm kind of on my way out, so ya'll need to figure out some of the things ya'll want to do.

If ya'll are going to become a three-down defense, what does this three-down defense look like. I'll be here help you and stuff like that. And so we did a lot of studying of a lot of different opponents and odd fronts. Just kept finding ourselves going back to 2017 Iowa State. They were kind of going through some of the same challenges that we were facing at Tulsa at the time. Just kept falling back to that.

Really broke them down hard, and then you started tailoring it into what you wanted to do. We had to go through the school of hard knocks up in Tulsa because you didn't have the answers. Sometimes only the way you get the answers is to go through the school of hard knocks. Fortunately going through those things you bring them here to TCU and you know how to adjust, how to sit there and face some of those things.

But it's a constant learning. That's what's so fun about coaching in general athletics, in particular football. This 3-3-5 is ready for us now. May be different in a couple years because everything is changing. It's just a giant circle and everything just keeps spinning. So if we're not changing, moving around, three, four, five years from now, then we're probably doing something wrong.

And so it's been challenging here, but I think we were able to go at a little bit different speed than we were able to do up north because we knew how to coach it better.

Q. (Indiscernible.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Wanted to master it? I think we've come as close as we can. We can do a lot of things now from a defensive standpoint that, hey, even six, seven, eight weeks ago we were still sitting there going, all right, let's reload this. Let's talk about this. Let's understand this. Having to walk and talk and correct and make adjustments.

They've gone through so many experiences now, so many games, got so many notches under their belt, it's been a constant installation through the course of the season that now when you start making adjustments, now when you start making tweaks and things, it comes very fast to them and they understand. They start relating it to other things. Hey, is it played like this?

When you start hearing those things come from them, you know now they've a really good understanding of the defense. I think earlier a reporter asked about the guys played with their hair on fire. I think they did because they're confident. They know what they're doing and they know all the pieces in front and behind and beside. When you start knowing those things, the game starts to slow down and you start to play fast.

We are going to have to play our fastest game on Monday.

Q. When it comes to mindset, what's the number one thing you try to instill in your players?

JOE GILLESPIE: I think probably not what the question is really directed towards, but I think the number one thing is we're going to have to come out and have to play extremely fast early. Sometimes you come out in a defensive standpoint and you want to get a feel of what somebody is going to do.

A lot of times offenses sit there and script the first 15 plays and stuff like that and go with a variety of things, see how you adjust, whether they score or don't score with it. They're basically wanting to see your adjustments.

We're going to have to withstand that initial onslaught and do our dead level best to sit there and keep points off the board. If we can do those things, that's going to be absolutely crucial.

The other big deal right now, from a mental aspect, is keep doing what you're doing. Let's don't change anything. We approached this Tuesday workout the same way we approached the Tuesday workout at Colorado game one, you know, OU, whatever it was. Let's just continue to sit there, and we understand the stage we're playing on. They deserve it. They've earned it.

At the end of the day, it's going to be a fun game. We've had some pressure games, and obviously there is pressure with this. Guys want to go win the national championship. Not always going to have the opportunity to get back. You start looking at it like that, yeah, you can say there is pressure wit is. I'm going to tell you, getting here there was pressure. There was pressure in getting here. Now let's go have fun and enjoy this, enjoy the moment, and then enjoy and embrace the challenge, because it's going to be a heck of a challenge.

Q. Maybe off topic, but the title game itself, but I cover UCLA football and deal with Chip Kelly. I was just wondering as a defensive coordinator what is your perspective of Chip Kelly and his offense over the years, maybe how he's helped shaped college football to what it is today?

JOE GILLESPIE: Obviously, I mean, you're talking about a brilliant mind. There's been a lot of people that have had a huge influence on offenses today. There are several difference offenses out there, and every one of them -- you know, they have their niche, and Chip is one of those that certainly what has his fingerprints on that.

So, you know, it depends on where you are at and what your personnel is what fits your mold, what your mentality is, and what you want that identity of the team to be.

Q. How has tempo changed over the last ten years? (Indiscernible.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Oh, not from ten years ago. I don't think it still has the same effect. You know, ten years ago defenses were almost still huddling. I can remember when we stopped huddling as a defense, and D-linemen and everybody having to look over there at the sideline and everybody had to know the signals. I mean, it was almost foreign to them then. They couldn't understand that.

And so you had to adjust because offenses weren't going to let you do that. I don't know that -- tempo has its effect, no doubt. The think the teams that use the tempo, they go NASCAR, fast, and then all of a sudden they're going NASCAR and start changing it and start checking and getting into different things, and then all of a sudden they start huddling and change the pace of that and start to huddle. They muddle huddle. That means they break out the huddle and sprint to the line and snap the ball, and then they huddle and go conventional.

To me from a defensive standpoint is the thing that probably affects defenses more than anything, is when you're just constantly changing the rhythm. Whether that's play to play, series to series, sticks to sticks, whatever it may be.

You start doing those things because it starts to throw you off. If they're going to go tempo, you go tempo. You start thinking, all right, they're going to go tempo here and they're showing you they're going tempo. You're saying, well, they're calling and balling it, so I'm going to call and ball it, too. They're not worried about what we're showing them, and we're not going to be too worried about what they're getting in.

So you're going to call it and ball it. And then all of a sudden they start changing it, and that's when they get you into some situations that get you in a defense that you didn't want to be in, and then trying to get it relayed out there to everyone to get changed gets difficult. Probably more than you wanted to know.

Q. You have a lot of first-year players. (Indiscernible.)

JOE GILLESPIE: Well, obviously it has a huge impact, hence the reason we went to the portal. I think even more so is those guy that have been here and them embracing those guys and bringing them into this program and saying, listen, we have to change this and change this now. These are the things we want to accomplish. These are the challenges that we have ahead of us.

Hey, if you want to be a part of something that we think has the ability to be special, I don't know how special, but it has the ability to be special, then you have a role and a place on this team.

I think what all of those guys, those currently already on the roster and those that we brought in, were very unselfish players. Due to that unselfishness, we got to this point.

Q. How much did you know about Tre coming in, and once got here, what did you learn about him?

JOE GILLESPIE: So you're talking about Tre Tomlinson? I want to make sure.

Q. Yes.

JOE GILLESPIE: No, no, that's fine. Yes, sir. Well, I already knew who he was because I remember us recruiting him when he was in high school. From Waco-Midway; Texas kid. Obviously know his bloodline and where he comes from. And then importance of that being at TCU.

Also knew when we got here what he had already done at TCU and what type of football player he was, but I didn't know him know him.

And so when you get here, I knew that he was a fierce competitor. I didn't know that he was that fierce of a competitor. The other portion of it is not only is he a fierce competitor, but a fierce leader and he's going to do everything right and he's very hungry for knowledge, very coachable young man. Sometimes when you have that type of talent you're not as coachable as I would want to be.

Thank you.