Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Coach Lennon football press conference transcript
11/10/2014 | 12:00:00 | Football
Nov. 10, 2014
By Matt Hampton and Rico Cruz
SIUSalukis.com
Opening statement on the passing of Southern Illinois University Interim Chancellor Paul Sarvela
"I'd like to take a minute and have the football program pay our respects to Paul Sarvela and his family. They're going through a difficult time right now, his wife, Debbie, and children Kristin and John. We lost a good man. He and his wife, Debbie, were two of the first people that my wife and I met when we came to Carbondale at a high school football game. Our sons were playing on the freshman team, and we spent some time together in the stands watching freshman football. I know for a fact that he's a good man. We just want to pay our respects."
"What's the latest on Malcolm (Agnew) and LaSteven (McKinney)?"
"Right now, we're optimistic about LaSteven's availability, so we're hoping that he'll be able to do some things here on Tuesday. With Malcolm, we're probably waiting another week."
"What's the update on Victor (Burnett), Keith Suggs, Adam (Brandt), and Mika'il's (McCall) suspension status?"
"Both Mika'il and Adam Brandt will be reinstated. They've been practicing. They've been with us. They'll be on probationary reinstatement; in other words, they'll be on a short leash, but they'll be available on Saturday. Victor Burnett and Keith Suggs have been dismissed from the team."
"What did UNI do defensively against North Dakota State to have success shutting down their running game?"
"It was an interesting game to watch on film. North Dakota State ran into something that opposing teams run into when they go into the Fargodome; the noise factor was a very big factor in the game. I know North Dakota State struggled with some of the offsides, the illegal procedures, and just some of the things that they normally don't struggle with. That's what it reminded me of is watching another team play NDSU in the Fargodome, and I think that in itself created more of a problem than what they anticipated. The strength of (Northern Iowa) is their defense. They're solid across the board. They don't make many mistakes. They make you earn everything that you get. I was a little surprised North Dakota State came out and spread it out a little bit more than they normally do. They really didn't go as much with the run game that they've had in the past. With their game plans I'm sure they felt that they needed to do some things to move the ball on Northern Iowa. I think they changed some things up more than what I would have anticipated."
"You already have a pretty heated rivalry with Northern Iowa as it is. Does the fact that they knocked off North Dakota State and Illinois State amp things up a little bit?"
"There's a lot of reasons to amp it up. We have to win. We're at that time of the season. We're still breathing. We're still competing. We've played well in the past against Northern Iowa, so I think our confidence will be good. We just need to have a good week of preparation with minimal distractions. We're also at that point where it's November and we're going to start experiencing the elements. That's what football's all about is going out there and playing in some bad weather. You've got to look forward to that also."
"It's your seniors' final home game. What has this group of seniors meant to this program?"
"I'm at a point now where everyone who I've brought in, I've seen go through. You just want to send them out the best way you possibly can. I'm proud of this group. We've been through a lot together. You just want to have a good ending. On Senior Day, it would be great to send them out with the school song."
"How do you think MyCole Pruitt has been so successful in his career with so many eyes on him?"
"You don't go about it; it just happens. You don't try to force things. Last week we didn't try to force the issue, and we just ran the ball. It was a situation where he caught one pass and it was off of a special teams play. It just kind of speaks to how good he is. I really don't think that we have ever done anything going into a game where say that we have to throw the ball to MyCole so many times to be successful. We have had success throwing it to him, but I just think that is because he has been able to get open. He just does things well from the tight end position. Usually tight ends are not that great at running routes, but MyCole is very good at running routes and is therefore more of a receiver threat than a tight end threat."
"When you recruited MyCole out of high school, did you see the potential that he might be an NFL prospect?"
"Not many people make the NFL. When you recruit, you always see the potential when you recruit that individual. We felt that we were pretty fortunate to get him. We thought that he was somebody that was under the radar that would be good. We really recognized that after the first year when he had been redshirted. We had an extremely difficult time just defending him in practice. Had we not had the tight ends that we had at that time, which we were pretty stacked at the tight end position, we would have probably played him but we just did not need him at that time."
"What stands out about UNI's defensive line?"
"Xavier Williams is one of the best defensive lineman at the FCS level. He is just a guy that has the ability to mess up blocking schemes. That is where they are strong and quick enough. Their schemes are sound enough where they can make it very difficult to anticipate what they are doing. When they can disrupt some of your blocking schemes, that is when they have success with the run defense."
"What adjustments did Cameron Walter make in the game?"
"It is not an adjustment, it is a mentality. As the game progress, good running backs keep getting tougher and finding ways to get that extra yard. That is what I saw in Cameron Walter. He got more and more confident as the game progressed. He was making cuts, keeping his feet, and breaking tackles. When you look at his number of yards and his longest run was 14, those were a lot of tough yards that he was grinding out. That is encouraging when you see a running back do that. Missouri State has a pretty good defense. It wasn't a case where we are playing a defense that hasn't proven itself."
By Matt Hampton and Rico Cruz
SIUSalukis.com
Opening statement on the passing of Southern Illinois University Interim Chancellor Paul Sarvela
"I'd like to take a minute and have the football program pay our respects to Paul Sarvela and his family. They're going through a difficult time right now, his wife, Debbie, and children Kristin and John. We lost a good man. He and his wife, Debbie, were two of the first people that my wife and I met when we came to Carbondale at a high school football game. Our sons were playing on the freshman team, and we spent some time together in the stands watching freshman football. I know for a fact that he's a good man. We just want to pay our respects."
"What's the latest on Malcolm (Agnew) and LaSteven (McKinney)?"
"Right now, we're optimistic about LaSteven's availability, so we're hoping that he'll be able to do some things here on Tuesday. With Malcolm, we're probably waiting another week."
"What's the update on Victor (Burnett), Keith Suggs, Adam (Brandt), and Mika'il's (McCall) suspension status?"
"Both Mika'il and Adam Brandt will be reinstated. They've been practicing. They've been with us. They'll be on probationary reinstatement; in other words, they'll be on a short leash, but they'll be available on Saturday. Victor Burnett and Keith Suggs have been dismissed from the team."
"What did UNI do defensively against North Dakota State to have success shutting down their running game?"
"It was an interesting game to watch on film. North Dakota State ran into something that opposing teams run into when they go into the Fargodome; the noise factor was a very big factor in the game. I know North Dakota State struggled with some of the offsides, the illegal procedures, and just some of the things that they normally don't struggle with. That's what it reminded me of is watching another team play NDSU in the Fargodome, and I think that in itself created more of a problem than what they anticipated. The strength of (Northern Iowa) is their defense. They're solid across the board. They don't make many mistakes. They make you earn everything that you get. I was a little surprised North Dakota State came out and spread it out a little bit more than they normally do. They really didn't go as much with the run game that they've had in the past. With their game plans I'm sure they felt that they needed to do some things to move the ball on Northern Iowa. I think they changed some things up more than what I would have anticipated."
"You already have a pretty heated rivalry with Northern Iowa as it is. Does the fact that they knocked off North Dakota State and Illinois State amp things up a little bit?"
"There's a lot of reasons to amp it up. We have to win. We're at that time of the season. We're still breathing. We're still competing. We've played well in the past against Northern Iowa, so I think our confidence will be good. We just need to have a good week of preparation with minimal distractions. We're also at that point where it's November and we're going to start experiencing the elements. That's what football's all about is going out there and playing in some bad weather. You've got to look forward to that also."
"It's your seniors' final home game. What has this group of seniors meant to this program?"
"I'm at a point now where everyone who I've brought in, I've seen go through. You just want to send them out the best way you possibly can. I'm proud of this group. We've been through a lot together. You just want to have a good ending. On Senior Day, it would be great to send them out with the school song."
"How do you think MyCole Pruitt has been so successful in his career with so many eyes on him?"
"You don't go about it; it just happens. You don't try to force things. Last week we didn't try to force the issue, and we just ran the ball. It was a situation where he caught one pass and it was off of a special teams play. It just kind of speaks to how good he is. I really don't think that we have ever done anything going into a game where say that we have to throw the ball to MyCole so many times to be successful. We have had success throwing it to him, but I just think that is because he has been able to get open. He just does things well from the tight end position. Usually tight ends are not that great at running routes, but MyCole is very good at running routes and is therefore more of a receiver threat than a tight end threat."
"When you recruited MyCole out of high school, did you see the potential that he might be an NFL prospect?"
"Not many people make the NFL. When you recruit, you always see the potential when you recruit that individual. We felt that we were pretty fortunate to get him. We thought that he was somebody that was under the radar that would be good. We really recognized that after the first year when he had been redshirted. We had an extremely difficult time just defending him in practice. Had we not had the tight ends that we had at that time, which we were pretty stacked at the tight end position, we would have probably played him but we just did not need him at that time."
"What stands out about UNI's defensive line?"
"Xavier Williams is one of the best defensive lineman at the FCS level. He is just a guy that has the ability to mess up blocking schemes. That is where they are strong and quick enough. Their schemes are sound enough where they can make it very difficult to anticipate what they are doing. When they can disrupt some of your blocking schemes, that is when they have success with the run defense."
"What adjustments did Cameron Walter make in the game?"
"It is not an adjustment, it is a mentality. As the game progress, good running backs keep getting tougher and finding ways to get that extra yard. That is what I saw in Cameron Walter. He got more and more confident as the game progressed. He was making cuts, keeping his feet, and breaking tackles. When you look at his number of yards and his longest run was 14, those were a lot of tough yards that he was grinding out. That is encouraging when you see a running back do that. Missouri State has a pretty good defense. It wasn't a case where we are playing a defense that hasn't proven itself."
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