Coach Hill Press Conference Transcript

Opening Statement

It's another week. Glad to be back here. We're ready to get going and try to figure this thing out and get a win. We're going to continue to see some good things in our team and learn a lot about where we're at as a program and what we have to get better at. There's still a lot of fight for these guys. With four games left, there's a lot of season left. We're going to continue to get better with every day and every practice. We're looking forward to another opportunity on the road with a team that's done a great job. They have a lot of the same players that they had last year, and they've gotten better. I think Coach Steck has done a great job. They're not doing a lot of things differently. They just got better. They got stronger. Anytime you're taking over a new program and you implement your system, you can tell that they wanted to get better at the things they do. They got better at their scheme. It's going to be another tough task. We're prepared for another four-quarter game because they're a good team. We're going to prepare for them like that. I look forward to going on the road with our team and trying to get this win.

How hard has it been to get a read on their team?

I think they've been fairly consistent. Last week, the game got away from them a little bit. We know how that is. The game in the dome last week snowballed on them, and they couldn't get back in it. I thought they've done a great job all year competing. The team we just lost to, they scored 45 points on and beat on the road. You watch the Western Illinois game it's a heartbreaker for them with Western scoring with 30 second to go in the game. It was a really good game. At North Dakota State they battled with them. They really frustrated North Dakota State. Offensively, (NDSU) had a hard time moving the ball until late. North Dakota State did what they do to a lot of teams: They wore (MSU) out and then popped a couple of big runs. But for the most part for four quarters, (MSU) had (NDSU) frustrated. I think it's a consistent team that's playing well and we have to be at our best to get a win.

What does Dylan Cole bring to their defense?

He's played a lot of football and he's just a good football player. He plays hard. He plays the right way. I don't know him, but I'm sure he's one of those guys that's a leader. He's been fun to watch on film and he's always been a competitor.

What is the best part of their defense?

I think they're just assignment sharp. They're rarely out of position. Coach Steck and the defensive staff over there are doing a good job of just putting players in position to make plays. They do a good job of not making it confusing and trying to do too much. It's similar to what we do on defense. Lineup and play your gap and play sound football. Just be good football players. Tackle well. They have some good players. I think they've been in position to make plays, and they've been making plays.

What is the status of Josh Straughan?

He's full go as far as practice. His knee is a little sore, but nothing any different from a lot of people. He'll be out there full go in practice starting today.

How is the health of Mixon and Isom?

We should have everybody this week. It will be the first time in a long time that we have everybody. Even last week with Mix, he practiced the most out of any of those guys, even more than Daquan. Any time you're dealing with neck and back injuries, you're a little bit hesitant to put them in. Especially with a guy like Mixon where it's going to be fourth-and-one, and you're going to go try to run a guy over. Just getting that confidence back we felt like it was better for him unless we absolutely had to have him. I thought it was best for him and his health. He was wanting to play so this week he'll be cleared and ready to roll.

Northern Iowa had a lot of success in the passing game against Missouri State. Do you see a lot of opportunity there?

Yeah. Northern Iowa threw for 400 and something yards. I don't know if we'll do that, but they made some good throws and catches. That's really what it comes down to. You never saw guys running wide open. The quarterback for Northern Iowa had a really good day and made some really good throws. We'll stick to our game plan and I think our gusywill be ready to make those plays. You still have to be able to be balanced and when the plays are there we have to make them.

Do you think Connor Iwema is going to practice today?

Yeah, he will practice today. He will be a little bit limited, but he should be back as well.

What can you tell us about Jimmy Jones?

He will be out for the season. He had surgery on Friday and will be out 4-6 months with his rehab and everything. It's tough because Jimmy was playing as good as anyone on the team. He gave us that explosiveness on offense. We have other guys that have to step up. A couple guys made their first career catches on Saturday. It always has to be the next guy up. I hate it for Jimmy because of the work that he's been putting in. He's really a leader on our team and will continue to be. He was Saturday. He had surgery at 2 o'clock. Got out on Friday and he was there at the game standing the whole time. Saturday night he complained about his leg hurting and I told him it was because he stood the whole time the day after surgery. He'll fight back and he's a Saluki and we love him. He'll be back and ready for next year. It's a lisfranc injury. It's a foot. You see it a lot in football. It was pretty clear on x-rays that he needed to have surgery to fix it.

Where are you at as a program?

We're at a spot where you have to keep battling. We have to get better each and every week. We can't waste time feeling sorry for ourselves or not taking opportunities to get better. We have to get better at the fundamental things. Learning the game. Learning each other. I think there's a lot of bright spots, but the little things have to continue to get better. At one point in the third quarter, we had six freshman playing on defense. That's an encouraging thing, not just because we're putting them out there, because they're earning their reps. They're playing well. No one is putting anyone out there that's not playing or practicing the best. They're going out there and earning their spots. You like to see a lot of young guys. At that point in the game, there were 10 freshmen and sophomores on the field. We have to keep getting better each and every day. We're excited to come back in here. If you're in our staff meeting rooms, it's nothing but looking ahead and getting better. We're going to get this thing figured out together.

Do you expect to have some explosive plays in the run game with players coming back?

Yeah, getting some of those guys back will be big. We've found ourselves down in the second half in each of the last four games and down by two scores in the fourth quarter. We found a way to fight back to one score, but we've thrown it more than we've wanted to because we were down two scores in the fourth quarter. Consistently running the football is when big runs happen. You have to be consistently committed to running the ball. We'll continue to do that and find ways to scheme against the schemes we play. But the big way is just to consistently stay committed to it.

Did you expect to play this many young guys at the beginning of the year?

We knew we were excited about the young guys that we have in our program, but you never know until you get out there and see them consistently perform on a consistent basis, not just have flashes. Playing in college football is about being mature and staying locked in. You never know how they'll react to a full-time class schedule and meetings and all that stuff. We have a lot of them that are redshirting that skill-wise are probably ready now, but with four games to go, you're probably not going to throw them out there and waste a year on them. We're encouraged by a lot of guys that are redshirting. I don't think you can ever know for sure how many you'll play, but we knew a lot of them were talented and would give themselves a chance to play.

Deion Holliman for Missouri State has played a big role in the kicking game. How do you contain him in the return game?

You always have to know where he's at on the field and know how to scheme, how were going to control him. A lot of teams do things differently to try to contain him, so eventually he's going to get the ball and you have to tackle him. All of his runs, he's made somebody miss. We have to be great tacklers on him. He's a great player, and he reminds you of some of the guys we have. You just try to get him the ball and he makes you look good. He does a lot of good things for their team and he plays hard. We have to be aware of where he is at all times.

How do you balance packages with Straughan and DeSomer?

You kind of game plan different looks. Where do you want to get them the ball? Where do you want to use them? Once you get in the game, it's just the feel of it. When do you want to run the ball? Which looks will work? You have to get DeSomer the football. You have to get him in the game. You have to do different things to get him the ball. He's too good of a football player to have standing on the sideline for too long. He scores the touchdown then he runs down on kickoff. A lot of people don't take a snap form quarterback, run someone over for a touchdown, then jog down to special teams and run down to try to make a tackle on kickoff. He's on kickoff return. He does a lot of things for us. He's a guy you want to have because he's willing to do whatever for the team to win. We have to keep getting him the ball.

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Connor Iwema

Jimmy Jones

Josh Straughan

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