ARMY BLACK KNIGHTS FOOTBALL

October 12, 2024

Kalib Fortner

Casey Larkin

Press Conference

Army 44, UAB 10

Q. You had a great game with a couple of interceptions. What was your approach on defense going into the game?

CASEY LARKIN: Just doing my 1/11. I think that's the most important thing. I this that's every guy's mindset is doing their job on the play, and the plays don't happen unless you have all 11 doing the same thing, doing their job.

Q. What did you think about -- what was your plan going in today? You had a lot of success on defense. You've kept your opponents under 14 points this year every game. What was your approach going in?

KALIB FORTNER: Very similar to Casey, doing my 1/11 for the defense. Being in the middle of the defense right there, keeping leverage, not missing any tackles, but then also making sure everybody is on the same page out there. We do a lot of checks and just make sure the defense is honed in on the same objective.

Q. Take us through the end of the first quarter. You had an interception. Take us through that play.

CASEY LARKIN: I mean, I just came down, quarterback stared down the receiver that he was trying to go to. Everybody was doing their job. Made the play easy for me. Ball just ended up in my hands. Could have been anyone.

Q. You had a tackle for a loss when it was 20-3, forced the punt, then Army scored. Tell us a little bit about that tackle for loss that you made.

KALIB FORTNER: Yes, sir, it was a great read. I saw the guard pull and I knew I got to match the pull. The hole was wide open, and I looked to my right and I saw he was about to flick it to the receiver in motion, and I was able to make the play.

Q. Kalib, talk about gaining momentum early that first series, they go for 4th down and you guys stop them.

KALIB FORTNER: Absolutely, yes, sir, that was a great momentum shift early for us. I don't know who they thought they were going for it on 4th early like that, but obviously our defense showed up, made the play, and then we were just playing really good complementary football, so offense was able to take that momentum and put some points on the board.

Q. Can you guys talk about the goal line stand that you had after the field goal?

KALIB FORTNER: Yes, sir, they showed that formation quite a bit on film. Heavy package, puts I think it's another offensive lineman at the fullback position. We're not going to let them do that and get their way with us. We're going to bow our necks and make sure that they don't get in the end zone, so we did a really good job of holding them, so it was a good job.

Q. How would you summarize the defense so far this year? From your perspective, what do you think you guys are doing right?

CASEY LARKIN: I think it goes into the preparation that we put in week in and week out. The coaching staff does an awesome job. Coach Woody always has a great game plan that fits the scheme of their offense, and it trickles down from there. We've got guys, great leaders on the team like Kalib, Max, Kyle, all these guys holding people accountable. I know I play on the same side as Kalib and he'll let me know if I've got to fix something and it's just kind of like that on the entire defense, so I think it's a trickle-down effect and everyone is doing a great job of just mentally preparing for week in and week out.

Q. Are you guys surprised by your success so far?

KALIB FORTNER: I don't think so, sir. We know what we put into it and every week we fight and we hope to get the same out of it, and I think we're really doing that. We've just got to keep showing up and bringing our lunch bucket and just get ready to work and just keep doing it every week.

Q. We talked a little bit about the goal line stand, but if we go back to that drive, UAB was doing some really different stuff at the beginning of this drive, splitting tackles out and going with three offensive linemen, and it looked like you were having some alignment challenges, and they go right down the field into the red zone, and then all of a sudden, I want to know if you guys were as shocked as we were that they decide to run the ball straight up the middle into the strength of Army's defense down at the goal line after they had been spreading you out and moving it all over the field there?

CASEY LARKIN: Yeah, so they broke us down a little bit, and when they go down and drive, it's important like we all pride ourselves on not flinching. It's one of our rules, commandments. That's kind of like pride of the defense, and it's like an Army thing, too, so you're going to get thrown hard stuff at you all the time, especially here at the academy, and honestly when the momentum is going their way, it's important for us to shut it down, and I think we did that well.

Q. Casey, you talked a little bit about your first interception, then the second one I believe was in the red zone. Talk a little bit about that play and what you saw there.

CASEY LARKIN: Well, Trey Sofia actually put great pressure on the quarterback to kind of hurry him up, forced him to make kind of a bad throw, tipped off the tight end's hand. That play wouldn't have happened without Trey and honestly all the guys putting pressure on him, and the receiver dropped it and it just ended up in my hands.

Q. Kalib, early in the year kind of one of the -- in fact I interviewed you one day after practice and one of the things we were talking about was the lack of pressure on the quarterback, and it seemed like during that week which was Temple week, you guys really turned it around with the seven sacks and you were pressuring Kitna all day today. What's really changed in terms of your ability to get pressure on the opposing quarterbacks?

KALIB FORTNER: I would say, sir, just the offense that we're playing that week. I know Temple, the guy liked to hold the ball pretty long in the pocket, but then also Kitna out here today, he also was the same type of way. He really drag plays out.

But then also we're playing with the edge up front. I think we've been playing with an edge all season long, but I think the edge, it's grown, and getting pressure on the quarterback is really important, and we're going to -- coverages where we have to get pressure on them, so I think we're doing a great job with that, and I think everybody is finally doing their part in terms of rushing -- getting their one-on-ones, winning those one-on-ones and just getting to the quarterback.

Q. Casey, you've gone your whole Army career without a pick. You get two in one day. It's a rich day for you, right?

CASEY LARKIN: Yes, sir.

Q. What's that like for you?

CASEY LARKIN: It's a blessing. I think it's a blessing every day just to play this game for as long as I have. I've been playing since I was five years old, and to play with these guys, they make my job 100 percent easier. The picks don't happen without them. I just love playing on this team. My best friends are on this team. I'll do anything I can just to play as hard for them, and they're going to do the same.

Q. Do you remember your last interception in football?

CASEY LARKIN: Yeah, so I think it was my junior year of high school. I don't really remember it, but yeah, I think that was the last one.

Q. Kalib, you were mentioning about the pass rush and everything. It just seems like Coach Woody is turning up the pressure. Is that just a matter of his seeing something in your defense, or are you guys feeling more confident in your ability to cover your lanes and such?

KALIB FORTNER: Sir, I don't think we're doing anything different per se, but I think it's something we work at every day in practice, offense goes against the defense in one-on-ones, pass rush. People just forging their axe a little bit more and working at the fundamentals that they might have not been getting right earlier in the year and getting pressure on the quarterback, but guys are doing really well, strange to get better with pass rush, so I just think that's where it comes into play.

Q. Kalib, I'm not talking about the bowl game itself, but you qualified for a bowl game. Everybody loves that idea. What's it mean to you to get one more game after Army-Navy, maybe Army-Navy 2?

KALIB FORTNER: Yes, sir, I think it's just really important and it's what we pride our team on. This summer we were in the indoor, and we were just looking up at the big banners, and I think 2020 is the last banner there, and it's 2024. It's time we get another banner up there.

It's just an unbelievable feeling to be eligible, and just to keep the season going the way it's going is really important for us, and it's just a really exciting feeling.

Q. (Inaudible.)

KALIB FORTNER: Was I confident? Absolutely, man. I always get butterflies, but confidence has always got to be a big thing and a big part of my game. If not, I don't know what might happen there.

Q. (Inaudible.)

KALIB FORTNER: It did, man. It made me more confident. Good question, thank you.