Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Coach Lennon football press conference transcript
11/17/2014 | 12:00:00 | Football
By Elizabeth Robinson
SIUSalukis.com
OPENING STATEMENT
We'll start off with some good news. We have a new addition to the Saluki family. Ashton Aikens just had a baby boy, Robert Axel Aikens, so a new addition to the family. I know he was a very nervous coach on Saturday. She had started to go into labor around game time, so he had his phone on the side just in case he received a phone call. But the timing here, with him coming along on Monday, that's a pretty good deal.
Who will you start at quarterback this week?
We haven't gone down that road yet offensively. Our offensive staff has been working on their stuff. The defensive staff--we've been working on our stuff. This afternoon we'll get together and we have to hash out some of the logistics and see where we're at and figure out what the plan is for Tuesday.
How are you treating this game? With playoffs not in the picture, what's the mindset for this game?
Well this is a big game. Number one, a conference champion could be decided in this game, so if you don't think that doesn't put some significance into it, then you don't think we're much of a competitor. Plus, we have a group of seniors and it's their last game. Plus it's been told to the underclassmen too, this is an opportunity to get the program in the right direction, to have a good end of the season going into the off-season. There's a big difference between a 7-5 record and a 6-6 record, and there's a lot of momentum that could be built off that. We can still finish in the upper echelon of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which is the best football conference in the country. So you talk about stuff being at stake, I'd say there's quite a bit at stake out here and that message has been given.
What would you say is the mood of the team right now?
I think right now they're, as they should be, extremely disappointed that the game ended the way it did on Saturday. But I also think they don't want to go out with that type of experience on the season, so I'm hoping to see on Tuesday a very determined team that's going to come out and we'll have some of our best practices of the year, which will allow us to play our best game of the year.
Is Tre Roberson, is he the most mobile quarterback you've seen, or the most dual-threat quarterback you've seen this year?
That seems to be the trend in college football right now is that type of quarterback, and we've seen some good ones. But right now I'd say he probably has the most complete package as far as being a run threat and a passing threat. His accuracy is good. He's capable of throwing the deep ball on you, and he's definitely capable of making the big run on you. So both him and their running back, that's 80 percent of their offense right there, so they're a pretty good one-two combo.
How do you compare their running back with others you've seen this year?
I think David Johnson, from what I hear and have seen, he's an NFL caliber back and there's a good chance he'll be playing in the NFL next year. So if he's compared in that category, he's pretty good. But his play, he's just a junior, and from what we saw last year to what he's doing this year, he's really stepped up his game. He's bigger than Larry, but he kind of reminds me of Larry Warner when he runs. He has that ability to change direction, he has a good burst and he can outrun you to the end zone if he gets a step on you. He's difficult to bring down, so that'll be our challenge is we'll have to get as many hats on him as we can when we tackle him.
Saturday, turnovers certainly hurt you and that's kind of been a pattern for some of the big games you've played. Do you feel like you've done everything to prepare them, or do you feel like that falls on the leadership of your team?
Every team in the country keeps track of the turnover margin because it is that important. But how much control do you have? There are certain plays that you call that may have a little more risk value, so you can be extremely conservative and take care of the football, but then you're going to have a tough time moving the football down the field. So that's part of the calculated gambles that you take going into the game. The thing that I just looked at was the points that are coming off the turnovers. This is what's really killing us, because right now we're minus six on the season. That's not a good number for turnovers, but it's not something that's crazy. The number that is crazy in the past four games that we've lost are points off turnovers. Opponents have gotten 47 points and we've only got 7. So that is the difference right there is that went turnovers do occur, they're usually being very costly to us at the worst possible place or time. Right now that's what set us back against the teams that we've struggled against.
With the turnovers do you feel like it's more stuff that you guys are doing or things that opposing teams are doing to you?
Each turnover is unique and independent. You can't clump them all together because there are different situations sometimes. It's pressure that's on you and you make a throw, or you're under pressure and sometimes you make a wrong read. Or sometimes it goes right through the hands of your receivers even though you made the perfect read, the perfect throw and the ball's not caught. Those are all scenarios that occurred with our turnovers. You try to make your team aware of it and you try to emphasize taking care of the football. If we can go through a game and only have one turnover we're going to have a chance to be pretty successful. But when you have four, when you have five, you're not going to win many games.
Toward the end of the year, your teams usually play pretty well. You're supposed to play your best football at the end of the year. Do you feel like you guys are improving in some areas?
Watching the Northern Iowa game, we gave up 27 points basically with two offensive plays; they had two offensive plays that accounted for 27 points. Watching the film, we had some of our players play their best football of the season. We had some guys that were exactly at the level that you want them to be at as a coach and you're watching that film and you like what you see. The thing that we need to do now as a football team is we have to pull it together. We have to make that complete game. You look at the mistakes that we make and why they happen and I wish I was allowed to say that magic phrase "make it stop," but when you fumble a punt in your end zone just because you don't look it into your hands, I mean that's elementary football. You can't make those mistakes. You can't throw a pick-six when you're backed up on your own six-yard line. Those are things that are obvious but those are the mistakes that we're making, which are negating some pretty good play at this point.
What's the injury update?
Again, we need to see with Malcolm Agnew would be the one I'm curious to see how he's going to be able to go. I guess it probably doesn't look good, but we'll just kind of see where he's at as the week progresses. Brandon Williams will probably be out and then I think anyone that got hurt on Saturday, we'll see how they go on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I'm thinking most of them will be back.
When you look at Illinois State is this the best offense you've seen from them?
Their one-two combo is pretty impressive. They've been in some tight battles in the conference, so that's the thing we're taking a look at. They've been fortunate to win some ball games. Indiana State had them on the ropes and they had a chance to win that ball game. Western Illinois had them on the ropes, and they had a chance to win that ball game. Northern Iowa was very impressive in their win over Illinois State. So it's a typical Missouri Valley football team where they have their strengths and that's going to be the challenge to match up with them.
Where do you see their strengths on defense?
They're pretty athletic. They run well to the ball, they seem very capable to make plays when the opportunity is there, they knock down balls which tells you that they have good instincts, a good feel for the game. Like anyone, you have to be good with your run defense even though it's usually the passing game that puts up the stats, but if you have a good run defense that's what's going to go well for you.
You were 7-5 last year, there's a chance to be 7-5 this year, do you feel like the program is where you want it to be?
No, I want us 12-0. I want us in the playoffs. I want us to win conference championships. That's where the program should be. There's no denying that. There's no trying to hide from that. I don't want to be 7-5, but again, it's pretty easy to say it. It just is what it is right now. We have to have our game at an extremely high level because this league is unforgiving and if you don't have it as one of the best programs in the country you're going to end up 7-5. That's the bottom line of it, so that's the challenge.
What doesn't the team have?
That's a very simple question because you go into the season and you hope you do have what you need to have, but until you go into the season and you see how things unfold, you just don't know. That's the thing with recruiting. Recruiting is an educated guess. You have to realize when you're recruiting they all look good. Their numbers are going to be great. But you don't know until you get them in camp, and then as the season progresses you find out the true nature of your team and how they're going to play, and then you make assessments from there. That's why they call it building a team, and once you get there it's a matter of maintenance and finding the guys who can come in and do it. That's why it's extremely impressive when you get a team like North Dakota State that's doing it. They are what they are year in and year out. Illinois State, they were 5-6 last year, so they're building on what they were doing. Not to mention Indiana State, where they were at last year to where they are this year, that's extremely impressive with their turnaround. Same thing with Youngstown. It's a process that's challenging and that's why there's always a revolving door with head coaches because there is no exact science to it.
Given the competitiveness of the conference and the teams in it, how many teams do you feel should make it to the post-season from the Missouri Valley?
I think five teams. I think if there's any less than five, the playoffs aren't being true to the best teams in the country. I think those five teams, if they get in, they'll represent the conference very well. You'll probably see some extremely lopsided scores, which is the case in the playoffs a lot of the time because there are some huge differences between conferences.
