Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Head Coach Dale Lennon press conference transcript
09/21/2015 | 12:00:00 | Football
By Tony McDaniel
SIUSalukis.com
Opening Statement
It's good to be in game week. Last week, I think, was a productive week for us. We had good practices, got some guys healthy, got some young guys in the mix. We had some fun with it. Last night we had our first preparation practice for Liberty. The morale of the team is definitely where you want it to be. We're excited about the challenges of playing Liberty, who had a very good game against Montana; They will be coming in highly ranked. The challenges are definitely there. The challenge that we're looking for is playing a quality team like that and seeing where we stack up.
Q: What stands out in particular about their offense and their defense?
Offensively, they're led by the quarterback. Right now he's the active FCS career leader in passing in the country. He's played a lot of football. He's the triggerman; he makes the offense go. They have two quality running backs, both seniors that have played a lot of football. They gained a lot of yards for them. They have some receivers that are very good. One is a preseason All-American, and a couple of young guys that are going to make their mark. Overall offensively, you've got to be able to defend the run and the pass. Defensively, they're very athletic. You look at their numbers on paper, they look probably a little undersized, but what they do well is they run around very well. Their secondary is athletic. They do a good job in defense of the pass. Their up-front gets a lot of pressure. One of the reasons their run defense looks impressive is they have had a lot of sacks through the first three games. They have an individual who is that all-time leading sack leader for both Liberty and the Big South Conference. They've got some athletes that can play. Then you look on special teams they've got a preseason All-American kicker returning; their punter returns. They're about as solid of a football team as you'll come across.
Q: What were the biggest positives coming out of the bye week?
The biggest positive, number one, is just to get everyone healthy. Now we feel good about where we're at physically. I think it was a good mental break for us. The loss to SEMO definitely hurt. That took a couple days to put to rest, but that's behind us now. I do think the guys are definitely focused on the challenge ahead of us. You've got nine games to play, so within that is where the season lies; that's what we're focusing on.
Q: How is this type of game good preparation for the Missouri Valley Conference season?
Liberty is a Missouri Valley-type team. It's going to prepare us well. We've got to play on a high level, and that's our biggest challenge. We're playing good football. If somebody is going to tell we're not playing good football right now, that's not the case. We've just got to put the game together. We've got to find that extra play to close the game out. That's our biggest challenge. We had our chances to beat Indiana; we had our chances to beat SEMO, and we didn't do it. We could easily be 2-0, but were 0-2. Now we've got to find a way to get to 1-2.
Q: Did you think you had to restore the team's confidence during the off week?
The numbers speak for themselves. We're having success. Look at our numbers offensively and defensively; it's not hard to find success within our program. What's frustrating is when you're minus-9 in the turnover ratio. The confidence factor is not a situation where we don't think we're capable of playing with anybody. We've just got to take care of the football. We've got to make sure we're not our own worst enemy. That's the challenge.
Q: Is Liberty's offense similar to SIU's?
They're not as aggressive with the read option. Their backup quarterback will come in from time to time and do a wildcat version. Their quarterback, he's looking to throw. They're going to rely on the backfield to carry the ball.
Q: Is Liberty's offense pretty balanced?
They want to be a balanced. Every offense wants to be balanced. If you look at their numbers, the run game hasn't been impressive. But West Virginia had a big say in that. They played Delaware State, you can put too much into the numbers with that game. That was a game they handled fairly comfortably. Really the one game where you see them at a level where it is a true measurement was the Montana game, and you know they have some success running.
Q: Did you ever expect Black Out Cancer to grow into what it has become?
We had to clear a lot of hurdles by the NCAA to even get permission to do it. We got the clearance, which was more surprising than anything else. When we got the letter, it was granted on a one-year basis. Then we had to re-apply again and it became kind of an annual thing for us. It is surprising. We thought this would be a one-time thing. Now it's a tradition that a lot of people look forward to you.
Q: Is this game any more significant to you or any of your staff personally because of the cause?
Everyone has been affected by cancer. I don't know anybody that doesn't know someone that isn't battling cancer or has died from cancer. Personally I lost my father. I don't like talking about it, but I'll do whatever I can to support the cause. If we can raise some money playing a football game to support cancer research, then let's do it.
Q: How do you feel about the quarterback rotation?
We feel like we need to have (Matt) McIntosh more involved in the schemes that we're doing, and we've already started that preparation.
Q: How happy have you been with the plays your receivers have made in the first two games?
Very pleased. you I think some of the young guys are living up to what people had hoped to see. Jimmy Jones made some great catches against Indiana.
