Head coach Nick Hill press conference transcript

Head coach Nick Hill met with the media Monday to discuss last week's loss vs. Youngstown State, the upcoming season finale at Western Illinois, the quarterback situation, and much more. Below is a partial transcript.

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OPENING STATEMENT

Going back to the game against Youngstown, it was another tough, one-possession game here at home. It's been the story of our home games here in the league. It's the third one we've lost by one possession. We have to continue to get back and look at the fundamentals, how we're going to get those games flipped. You can always go back and see the few plays that can help us flip those games. But our guys responded with what we asked them to do from the Missouri State game to this game. It was a different type of game. Against Missouri State, there was some lack of discipline. There were things we needed to get corrected, and the guys corrected them. We won the turnover battle (against Youngstown State), which we challenged them to do. We had three penalties for 30 yards. We were disciplined when the game could have gotten out of hand. There could have been a personal foul or two, but we kept our composure and kept playing. We won in the explosive play battle. That's tough. The guys did what we asked them to do, and we still got beat. We have to keep working. We have to get better. Our youth has showed up in a lot of areas, but we have to keep working and keep fighting, and that's what we're going to do.

This is another great opportunity. It's our last chance to be together as a team. A lot of guys have put in a lot of hard work, and we're continuing to grow as a program. We'll take every practice, every opportunity we have to get better, and that's what we'll use this week to get a win and end the season strong with a win at Western Illinois. It won't be easy. They're a really good team. I have a ton of respect for Coach Fisher. Getting to know him through meetings and on the recruiting trail, he's been in this a long time; a lot longer than me. There are always guys that you look to and think, 'That's how I want to be talked about in the coaching world.' I don't think anyone has anything bad to say about Charlie Fisher. It's always positive. He's a positive guy. He's always in the head of FCA on the national level. He's a good football coach and a good man. I have a lot of respect. He's done a great job up there. They have a really talented team with a lot of people back, pretty much everybody on defense. Their front seven is as good as anyone that we've seen. They have a lot of experience back. Their linebacker might lead the country in tackles. He tackles everybody and is always around the football. And I think No. 99 — we just made a cut-up of him for our guys to see — is as disruptive of a guy as there is in the league. He's an excellent defensive lineman. Their quarterback is really good. The receiver leads the league in receiving yards. McShane is a weapon in the return game and they will run the ball. They have a lot of offense in, some pro style and some spread. The will run the football; they will be under center; they will be in shotgun. We have a lot to prepare for in a short amount of time. I expect our guys to be ready to go, just like they are each and every week.

Do you think Matt DeSomer gives you the best shot and quarterback?

I do. Matt will start at quarterback. He's proven that. He's a good football player. He deserves that. Tanner did everything we asked him to do. It hasn't been an easy spot for either one of them. I'm not saying that. It's a tough spot to be thrown in, and then split time. But going forward, evaluating it, Matt gives us the best chance. He's not just a runner. He can throw the ball down the field. He has a strong arm. Given the chance, he can make throws, and we have to continue to expand that package. Both of them have to be ready to go this week. It's just like (against Youngstown State) in the second half. That wasn't designed, but Matt had to leave the game because of two injuries. He's a beat up guy. On the long run, he tweaked his knee again that's been hurt since spring ball. He's a tough kid. Tanner has to be ready to go. That could happen in the first quarter, and (Hearn) has to be ready to go. Both of them have to be ready, but Matt will start.

What did you think of Matt's passing performance?

The stats don't show (the story). We got into some low-percentage throws. We threw a lot of fades. I thought he did a good job. He made a couple throws. There were a couple we could have had back. I keep saying this, back to when he was a freshman and sophomore; he's a smart kid. He can do it just like the rest of them. This week, getting the starter reps will help him. He will get more reps in practice, expand that package of plays that he feels comfortable with. We will get to Friday and see how he feels, see how we feel, and we will put together the best game plan possible.

You are uniquely qualified to answer this. Do the last three games show the importance of the quarterback position?

I've been asked this since Sam (Straub) went out. My belief is that if we're going to be a good program, what happens next year if somebody gets hurt Week 1? Are we just going to fold the tent and not be able to win seven or eight games with a good backup quarterback? We should be recruiting good players. By year 3 and 4 in recruiting classes, you should feel good with your true freshman quarterback. We do feel that with Brandon (George), but at this point, you're not going to put Brandon in there and burn a year. That's not fair to him. But yeah, your quarterback, it's why he gets a lot of the credit when he probably shouldn't and he gets the blame when it might not be his fault. When you look at championship teams, they probably have a pretty good (backup quarterback). When Sam went down, he was probably playing as well as anyone in the league. Stat-wise, he had two top-10 games in school history, Illinois State and Indiana State. When that leaves you nine plays in against South Dakota, we've had to do some soul searching on offense. We still have good players on offense. I've been just as disappointed. It hasn't gone through my mind, 'Dang, let's just chalk this up to not having Sam.' We should have won the last two weeks with the guys we have. That's the expectation. That's the expectation for this week, too. Go on the road to a tough place against a good team with Matt and Tanner ready to roll.

How does (WR Jaelon) Acklin get so many more receiving yards than anyone else on their team?

No. 1, they have balance. They have a good quarterback, running back and wide receiver, and a good, experienced offensive line. They have a lot of returners back on the line. Going back through the history, Coach Fisher wants to run the football. They're going to attempt to run the football, and they're going to stick with the run. That sets up big play-action passes. When they've had big successes, they have hit play-action passes. Acklin has been the recipient of most of them. He's done a good job making plays with his feet and breaking tackles, too. He makes tough catches. The quarterback makes them go. He's a really good quarterback. He's tough. He's played for three years now. He can run the ball himself a little bit and pick up third downs. You have to defend so much of their offense. You can't take away one thing, because they can do some other things.

Can you talk about Anthony Knighton's development?

I don't know what the record is for freshman sacks, but he's probably pretty close. If you go back, he could probably have three more, where he's had hits on the quarterback or close. Last week, he hit the quarterback and the ball went straight up in the air. He's probably a tick away from another strip-sack. He's doing a really good job, and he's just a freshman. He's just a baby when it comes to playing football and what his future could be. He's a guy that didn't play football until he was a junior in high school. This is the third season ever playing football in his entire life. He's a basketball player. He thought he was going to play basketball in college. We signed him two months after the signing day in 2016. He was a kid I knew and knew was available. We had a scholarship come available, and he came on a visit during spring ball 2016. He was a late sign, and now he's as good as any freshman in the league.

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