Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Dale Lennon Football press conference transcript
09/26/2011 | 12:00:00 | Football
Sept. 26, 2011
By Logan Lee
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Saluki football coach Dale Lennon held his weekly press conference on Monday. Southern Illinois, which is coming off a 20-18 win over Missouri State, moved up to No. 12 in both the Coaches poll and the Sports Network media poll.
On Western Illinois
I think there are a lot of similarities between Missouri State and Western Illinois. You take a look at their schedule, they've had a tough first four games, there's nothing easy about it. Their record's at 1-3 but they began their season taking a trip to Texas to play Sam Houston, a very good football program. They came home and got a win over Jacksonville, then they had to go to Columbia, Missouri to play the University of Missouri. They then had to travel to Cedar Falls this past weekend to play UNI, so they have definitely been tested. Their record kind of shows the battles that they have been in, but at the same time when you watch the film, you definitely see that they have the potential to be a very, very competitive football team. Our past lesson from Missouri State coming in here 0-3, a lot of people asked if we expected that type of game, well yeah we expected that type of game because MSU had a lot of talent and they're a good football program, and they're well coached so that's what we're preparing for.
If you look at their stats, I hope you just throw those out. Stats don't mean anything right now in trying to get a feel for WIU. Now one stat that I do look at is that they don't turn the ball over very often, they do a very good job on that end of it. But for the most part, we'll just look at individual performances when we go through and do our evaluations because we do see at every position they have some very talented players. Like Missouri State, they have a lot of players that we're familiar with that have received a lot of playing time. They did have some graduation losses from last year but they also have some key guys coming back that I think are some big-time players for their offense and defense.
Looking at their offense, I like their running back, Caulton Ray, his numbers are impressive. He's averaging 4.9 yards per carry against some pretty good competition. He's a guy that we have to find a way to slow down, because when he's out in the open field he can definitely make you pay, and he's had some impressive runs in most of the games that he's played in. I do think he's that difference maker that can put the momentum on their side. His backup is also very good, Bryce Flowers, so that's the 1-2 punch they have out of the backfield.
The receiving corps, again is very impressive, their number one guy (Terriun) Crump is a lot like the guy we faced this past weekend, Saffold, where he has big-play potential. He reminds me of their receiver from last year, (Lito) Senatus, who really made big catches, big plays, a real big-play threat. Crump is that type of receiver and he's also their go-to guy with 21 receptions. He's by far the leading receiver on the team averaging over 100 yards per game.
Quarterback position, Josh Hudson is their starter. He started the second game of the season for them and he's steadily improving. He throws the ball well, very athletic, they don't do as much with him as far as reading the zone read as the previous couple of teams that we have played, but if he needs to get out and move around he can definitely do that. I like his arm strength. He has good accuracy and I think he's a guy that can definitely give you some headaches on defense. His backup, number 19 Will Lunt, has played a lot of football during his time at Western Illinois also, so we're very familiar with Will.
Defensively, they have a mixture with five starters returning and there are probably one or more that have played quite a bit of football for them. They also have some new guys in that are contributing. They run a unique defense and they call it the "Leatherneck Defense". They'll do a lot of familiar alignments as far as a defense is concerned, but they'll also get into some that are very unique to Western Illinois. They even have a position on their defensive side called the "Leatherneck" position which usually features their best linebacker. He's the guy that's going to make the majority of plays. In fact, last year their Leatherneck was the defensive player of the year at the FCS level. It's a challenging defense to come up against, it changes a lot of your schemes that you do up front, so you need to have good preparation when you play Western Illinois. If you get to game time and you're not all on the same page, that could make for a very long evening.
And then with their kickers and punters, they do have a returning kicker in Pat Smith who handled all their duties last year for them, again they were very successful last year being a playoff team, making a run in the playoffs. They do have a new punter, who's a freshman, and just like all freshman, I think he's getting better each game with his progression.
For us, what I think we've got to do this week with our preparation is number one, we have to understand the challenges that are in front of us. This is a Missouri Valley Football Conference road game and I don't care where you're going or who you're playing, that's a challenge in itself. We have to be ready to step up and if we want to be successful in the league, you have to win on the road. It's also their Hall of Fame and Homecoming game, so this is going to be a big game on campus for them. They're going to have a lot of people there, there will be a lot of emotions during the game, so we have to know that that's in store for us. Plus, as I said in the beginning, wins and losses mean nothing. In fact, all we have to do is look to ourselves. Last year when we played them they had a chance to win the league, we were sitting at 3-6, and we beat them. That's the nature of the MVFC. You can't get caught up in statistics, you can't get caught up in the wins and losses, and if anything, they probably have some incentive to get back at us for beating them last year when they had a lot going for them. This is going to be a game that is definitely going to be a challenge for us on several different fronts.
Then we have got to improve. I think what we found out from our game on Saturday is there's a lot of things that we did well, but there's enough that we didn't do well that we easily could have ended up on the other side of the win-loss column. We're going to focus on our fundamentals. I think a lot of times some of our breakdowns that occurred on Saturday were very simple, correctable mistakes that we made, so we need to be a better, fundamental football team. And we have to improve on our overall execution. Again, we stalled several times offensively, we were moving the football, but twice we were inside the 30 yard line and didn't score. When you're in that type of field position, you have to find a way to get points on the board. There were two times we were inside the 30 and we only came away with six points. Defensively, we gave up two big plays and those two big plays accounted for over a third of their whole offense, so we can definitely get better. The whole theme this week will be that we have to get better, we have to have that sense of purpose here in our preparation that we understand the goal. That's what we'll be addressing to the team and what we're trying to accomplish this week.
Q: This year you wanted to get more turnovers and part of that is being able to strip the ball. Do you think that has to do with the tackling last game?
A: I wouldn't say that because the tackles that we were missing were open field. You never work on a strip drill with a guy when it's just one-on-one. The first guy always wraps up, the second or third guy is the one that works on the strip. We spent a lot of time working on that, but we missed some open field tackles and that's where some of the big runs came in. Some of it's as simple as pursuit angles, some of it is as simple as keeping on your feet and breaking down, coming under control. And it's a fast game. That's what you worry about when you have a week off, sometimes you get a little bit sloppy because of that, and we've got to make sure we get a little more confident in our tackling.
Q: Do you feel like the road experience of a game like Ole Miss will play dividends?
A: Yeah, that's what you want for your season. It's a progression. All the experiences that you have, the positives and negatives, you have to draw on it for the next game. I'm hoping from our situation that we see a lot of improvement from game three to game four, and being on the road shouldn't be unfamiliar to us, and being in a hostile environment shouldn't be unfamiliar to us. We have to make sure we keep the focus on what's important and not get caught up in some of the things that can easily distract you and not get concerned about whose record is what and all those other things. That a lot of times is the challenge.
Q: The offensive struggles that Western has had this season, do you attribute that to the caliber of opponents they've been facing?
A: A lot of it is the caliber. Northern Iowa, if you watch them on film, they're very good. In fact, they probably should have beat Iowa State who's having some success now, too. They've played a very challenging schedule so naturally there is some correlation there.
Q: Their special teams, kick returning and punt returning, do you think that is an area that you have to pay special attention to?
A: We have to do a better job on our coverage units and that's something that we'll spend a lot of time on this week working on the fundamentals. We have to work on our kick placements and that will help our coverage, too. So as I said there are a lot of fundamentals we need to work on.
Q: What did you determine the struggles in the redzone were and how do you fix them?
A: It comes down to execution. Sometimes it's play calling. It's a combination. Sometimes they guess right and then you go from having a second and medium to a third and long and that changes everything. You just want to make sure that you give your guys the best chance that they can possibly have with the play calling. Then at the same time you have to make the plays, you have to catch the ball. We had some dropped passes and that was discouraging. We have to make the catch when we have the opportunity to make the catch. Same thing with making blocks, a key block here or there and everything can be different.
Q: What does winning a close game mean to the team's psyche and confidence going forward?
A: Until you do it you don't know if you can, so that's probably the biggest thing. Having done it, you know you can win those games. I have people come up to me and ask "Hey Coach, do you think you would have won that game last year?" There's no way to tell, but we did win it this year so that's something we can build on.
Q: How do you like the matchup of their offensive line versus your defensive line?
A: It's tough to evaluate with the film and the competition, it's just hard to tell. The game is won in the trenches, I'll keep going back to that. We need to control the offensive line, our defensive line has to continue to do well in getting penetration and creating disruption for their offensive schemes. If we can do that, then I know we have a chance to be successful.
Q: Are you planning to stick with LaSteven McKinney at punt returner, even after his 13-yard loss on one return?
A: Yes.
Q: They've given up 16 sacks in four games, how can your unit take advantage of the opportunity?
A: Again, for this game I'm not looking at stats. When you're playing against Missouri, those stats get skewed and then you have Northern Iowa who is very aggressive. Right now, we have to see what matchups are good for us, we have to see what types of schemes. We've spent a lot of time watching pass protection and trying to find what angle and side we can attack from, and we're currently in that stage right now. We haven't put the game plan together and that probably won't happen until about Wednesday when it's all complete.
Q: What do you like about your offensive line?
A: I like the depth. I think we have a good combination. I like the attitude that I'm seeing. I like that when I look at them in game time that they're staring right back at me with confidence in their eyes. That's where I think we're starting to see the experience pay off for us.
Q: What's the status on Paul's (McIntosh) shoulder?
A: He was feeling better Sunday morning than he was on Saturday, so right now we're not anticipating that he'll miss anything and he should be able to practice on Tuesday unless something comes up. Again though with injuries, it might be something minor on Sunday but something could happen to it on Tuesday or Wednesday, so we'll be aware of it and just have to wait and see.
Q: You talked about Terriun Crump, what can you do to avoid giving up big plays to him?
A: We just have to be aware of where he is on the field. They'll line him up in different spots, plus they aren't afraid to throw to him. He's very similar to the receiver they had last year. They'll just throw the ball up and have a jump ball. Crump is that type of receiver that if the ball is in the air he has a way of coming down with it.
Q: In the last game they looked like they were doubling up a lot on Cam Fuller. Is there some way that you can align people that you can get him open?
A: I hope they do double him every game. That will open up other guys that can make plays. We're not a one-receiver corps. We just have to rely on Cam to make the plays. Now Cam is a big-play threat, so that's good that you have teams taking notice of where he is aligned, and you want to make sure that if they are paying more attention to him that makes it a little easier for us to go elsewhere.
Q: Could you go into some more specifics about what their defense is like?
A: If you had to put a number on it, it's like a 3-3-5. A lot of times their linebacker corps will be in a three-man combo inside the tackles with the three-down line look, and then their secondary will be adjusting around it. They do play enough base schemes, too. They'll be in what's called the stack and the under/over and playing shade-type defenses, too, but there's a lot more alignments that we'll have to prepare for this week.
Q: Can you talk about South Dakota being added to the conference next season? Have you been to Vermillion?
A: I'm very familiar with it. I've been playing and coaching there since 1980. I know the coach very well and I know the assistant coaches very well. Vermillion, South Dakota will be one of the most challenging places to play. I think Eastern Washington found that out when they came there to play. You can't stay there, it's not a very big town. You have to stay in one of the bigger towns close to it and bus in.
Q: Do you think they're a good fit for the Valley?
A: I think they're a good fit because of the other Dakota schools in the league. Even with Northern Iowa, I think we're developing that north-south possibility with the conference, so I think there are a lot of positives of having the University of South Dakota in the league.
Q: Is there a reason why they didn't bring in North Dakota?
A: That would be too long to explain. There are reasons there, but it would be a press conference in itself.
