Coach Hill Press Conference Transcript

Opening statement

It probably sounds like a broken record, but it's just another week and another game that we have to get ready to play. It's another really good team coming in here. Losing three games in a row, you have to find a way to get back to work. You have a bad taste in your mouth. We'll get back to work like we always do. I feel like we've prepared well every week this season. I don't expect anything different.

Where is the team progressing?

I think if you look at our defense, it played a really good game. We gave up too many big plays. We didn't make them work. We gave up 11 first down and they only had 18 possessions. There were five or six three-and-outs in those possessions. That's our deal, staying focused on every play and not giving them any easy ones. I think we've definitely gotten better. Our linebackers have played really well. There's always a lot of positives. Offensively, I thought we did a better job of controlling the line of scrimmage and establishing the run game. We've gotten better. It just comes down to being able to close out games and stepping up and making a play. When things are on the line you have to step up and make plays. That's for all of us. Coahces included. We've just got to keep going. There's five games left and we've just got to keep getting better.

What are the statuses of some of the injured players?

The two that sat out, Daquan Isom and Jonathan Mixon, we'll see them both do more this week. There's a better chance of them playing this week than last week. Jimmy Jones will be doubtful. We've just got to see. He's down in the training room now. He's been in a walking boot. Connor Iwema is probably a little further along than Jimmy. It will just be how they respond in the next few days. I hope to get a few guys back, especially a couple of the running backs. We'll see about the two that got hurt in the game and how they respond this week.

What happened with Iwema?

He hurt his foot on the play of the first half when he got drug down at the half yard line. He got pulled back. He didn't play the entire second half.

The defense got a couple of big stops in the second half but the offense wasn't able to do anything with it. Have you looked at why that may be?

It was a one of those situations where we were getting stops but they were at midfield and they kept pinning us deep. We just weren't able to get anything going right there. When a drive needs to be made we weren't able to do it. You can look to a lot of things. I think there were about three drives in a row where we weren't able to go down and score and we had to punt. On a couple of them it's just executing the plays that were called. We took some shots down the field and we weren't able to be productive on first down which hurts you, especially when you're backed up on second and ten. I don't think we were good on first down until the final drive.

What challenges do you think Indiana State's wide outs present?

They're good players. I have a ton of respect for their coaching staff. They do a great job every week. Everybody in the league sees each other play so much on film. Going back to the last two years as an offensive coordinator, watching coach Sanford and those guys put together a plan to get those guys the ball. Some of the stuff we do is similar on offense. They do a great job getting those guys matchups. They always do a good job of putting those guys in position to make plays. We have to make plays at some point in the game. If you throw the ball down the field at some point you're going to have to play man-to-man defense and trust your technique. It's a good offensive team coming here to play.

How hungry is the team to get their first conference win?

With everybody there has to be a sense of urgency. Nobody is around here to be 2-4. That's not our expectations. There's no moral victories, or hey, we're playing them close. People are tired of hearing about that. We have to go out and get results. That's the expectation from me all the way down. We have to practice that way. Learning to win is a process. We talked about that in fall camp. We have to learn how to win and expect to win in tight games. We've lost nine games by one possession. You have to find a lot of small things to turn that around, and that's what we have to do. We have a coaching staff that is going to keep going until we figure out what that is. Nobody is going to come here and pat each other on the back because we're playing teams close. We have to find a way to win in these close games. When we do that then the wins start to pile on. You get confidence and the mindset starts to change. That's what you have to try to do when you're turning a program. That's on everyone including me. We know the urgency to do that. I think that there is a sense of urgency around here to go out and play our best ball.

Is the team doing anything different or special for homecoming?

There will always be more guys around, especially on Friday and Saturday with past players coming in. It's always nice to see the past players here. I know that Billy Patrick's chili cook off is a big deal to everyone involved. I feel like our job on homecoming is to win and go out there and put a good product on the field for everyone else to have fun. That's our job. If you get caught up thinking about pep rallies and stuff you're not going to be locked in. Our number one job is to be locked in on Saturday and give everyone that comes back something to be proud of.

How different is Indiana State's new quarterback compared to last year?

It's a little bit different. Last year he ran the ball really well. He had a really long touchdown run last year that hurt us. He did that consistently last year. I think Harker does a really good job. I think they put him in a lot of good spots. They're coached really well. I think they do a really good job with their quarterbacks. This is three years in a row with a different quarterback that is producing. It's a good system and he does a good job of making it go. He does a good job at hat they're asking him to do.

How do you feel about your depth at running back?

It's important, especially this time of year. If you don't have much depth all over your team, you're going to get in trouble. I can't say enough about Cam. That's a guy that has played a lot here. He was down on the depth chart but he's never complained. He's been locked in the entire year. He starts just about every special teams. He's kind of owned his role. He had a really good game for us. He will continue to do that. And we're going to need him again next week. That football. You're never going to go through a season with all 22 starters staying as starters. There's going to be injuries in football and the next guy has got to be ready to go.

There have been a few long field goals blocked. Are you thinking twice about going for it now in that situation?

You've always got to kind of evaluate. We've had a couple of long ones blocked. The longer ones come out lower because they feel like they have to hit it that way, but that's not an excuse. We have to prove that we can do it and do it consistently. We just can't get that many field goals blocked. It played into that decision to go for it on that fourth-and-long at the end of the game. We had the wind but we felt like we needed to go for it there. That's stuff you have to continue to get better at. Our specialists have to play well.

How would you rate your special teams?

I think our special teams have been really good. Especially our scheme and our preparation. Jay Nunez is a great special teams coach. That is his deal. He loves special teams. A lot of times you on a staff you see guys that coach special teams to get a job. Jay Nunez does a great job coaching special teams. He does a great job coaching the tight ends too. In other staffs you might break it up, but he game plans for it all. He's don't a great job. Our coverage on kickoff has been really good. I think our specialists have to get better. I think we've been good at times but we have to get better just like a lot of places on our team. We've been good enough to win with the specialists. We've still got to get better because that can help you win games. We have a lot of specialists in this league that are really good. Lane is doing a good job, but he knows he can be better too. That comes with game experience. I think Sotiropoulos has done a good job. He's still perfect on field goals and he missed the two extra points against Murray, but he came back nicely and I'm not sure how many in a row he's hit since then. Overall, we're doing a good job but we have to be better.

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Players Mentioned

Daquan Isom

Connor Iwema

Jimmy Jones

Jonathan Mixon

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