Oct. 6, 2008
- KSU Media Luncheon - Coach Sherman (mp3)
- KSU Media Luncheon - Def. Coordinator Kines (mp3)
- KSU Media Luncheon - OL T. Schneider (mp3)
- KSU Media Luncheon - WR J. Fuller (mp3)
- KSU Media Luncheon - QB J. Johnson (mp3)
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Head coach Mike Sherman and selected players met with members of the press on Monday at the weekly football media luncheon on the Texas A&M campus.
Click the MP3 links above to listen to audio from the press conference. A transcript of Coach Sherman's comments is listed below.
Is Jerrod Johnson going to be the starting quarterback Saturday?
"Well, we really don't know enough about Stephen's (McGee) situation just yet, not having thrown the ball yesterday or today. So we'll evaluate him tomorrow. We'll probably have a good feeling tomorrow as to what his status would be, and we'll make decisions as the week progresses."
How's Jerrod? Is he okay?
"He took a couple shots in the ballgame. He made some big plays when he did take those shots, ironically, but health-wise he's no worse for the wear. He's a little sore like any quarterback would be but I thought physically he was okay."
How did you think the offensive line performed against Oklahoma State? They were banged up the week before but it looked like they came out and played a little better...
"Yeah, I would agree. We really challenged them during the week and told them they need to step it up. I didn't think there were a whole lot of rushing opportunities against West Point. I think as a group collectively they played a lot better. Kevin Matthews in particular really stepped up and played at a level that I expect him to play. Some of the other guys improved as well but I think Kevin jumped out there from where he was the week before to where he was in this ballgame."
Can you point to a specific situation as to where you see that improvement?
"I thought they pass-protected better this week. I thought the quarterback had time to throw the football. Jerrod didn't trust the protection a few times and jumped out of there when he shouldn't have. And then from a running-game standpoint, I thought we blocked a lot better in displacing people. Against Army specifically, we were getting up the right guys but I didn't see any space or movement. We were stopping our feet in the hole and we never displaced anybody. I felt like in this last ballgame it was much improved. Sometimes we took advantage of that and sometimes we didn't, but it was much improved."
With the inexperience and youth of that group, how much did you expect to have some growing pains?
"I have such high expectations of everything. I expected us to be ready to roll come the first of the season. My expectations were pretty high, but I did understand in preseason camp--as I watched our growth and development--that there were going to be some struggles there, and there have been. I hope as we continue we can build off what I thought they did in this game last week and get better at it this week against Kansas State. I did see marked improvement. Part of it is familiarity with me and their coach and each other and what we're trying to do, and the other part is just getting a fire up their butt and playing harder. I thought they had it this week, and I'm not so sure that we had it before--for whatever reason."
On Mike Goodson's 80-yard touchdown, were there any particular blocks that sprung him?
"When we had that second play of the game, that jailbreak screen against Miami, I wouldn't say that was particularly a well-blocked play as much as it was Goodson making people miss on that play. But this was a very well-blocked play from every position--cutting guys from the back side, and (OL Lee) Grimes was downfield leading the way. I wouldn't hate to point one person out over another, nothing specific, it was just a play where you had 11 guys doing their job. That's what happened on that play. In football, very seldom do you have 11 guys doing what they were supposed to do. It doesn't happen that often, believe it or not. That's why you don't score touchdowns on every play. But on that play everyone did what they were supposed to do and did it well."
You talked about your disappointment in special teams and maybe making some personnel changes. Have you given some more thought to that?
"Yeah, we spent a lot of time looking at what we did and didn't do. Take no credit away from their punt return group, but we had him corralled and let him out (Dez Bryant on OSU's 78-yard punt return for TD on Saturday). We had a chance to make that play and we didn't. I haven't come to a final conclusion on the personnel point of it. Our punter is punting the heck out of it. Sometimes he's out-punting us. We're not downfield fast enough to cover the distance on his punts sometimes. We were on that play. He should have been tackled, there's no ifs, ands or buts about it. As good a player as he is, we made it easy on him by missing tackles and taking bad angles. I can't honestly tell you specifically who's going to be doing what--we talked about it last night and we'll talk more about it today, but we have to make sure we have the right guys out there. We had an injury and we had a couple guys out there that shouldn't have been out there."
Deon Murphy at K-State is a guy that's already returned one for a touchdown this year...will that make you put more emphasis on the kicking game?
"Well, we couldn't have any more emphasis against anybody than we did last week. They were averaging 24 yards a punt return coming in to the ballgame, one of the national leaders. We certainly did put a lot of emphasis on it, but unfortunately they got the best of us. Yes we will address that as well, as we did last week."
Was kick return coverage equally concerning for you?
"Well, Arkeith Brown made a great play on the first one, really did a nice job. We just didn't have consistency there, and that's disheartening. We'll look really good at times, and other times we gave up some big plays. Our return game looked okay at times--we had a good return, then we didn't. Yes, there isn't one aspect of special teams--other than our actual punter--that I'm particularly pleased with right now. So we're going to keep working on that."
You mentioned injuries, can you talk about (Matt) Featherston and those guys and how they are?
"Nothing more than I told you the other night after the ballgame. We're going to continue to evaluate them. There's nothing more serious, no surgical remedies that we need to rely on. It's just sprains and bangs that we need to recover from more than anything right now. I wouldn't rule anybody out just yet."
The defense was able to get off the field a lot in the first half. In the second half that changed. Can you pinpoint anything about that?
"Really I struggled with that too after the game, but I came in and watched the tape that night and a lot of it had to do with moving guys around when we lost some. I'm not making any excuses--we have to be able to stand up regardless of the situation--but we lost a couple guys there and we moved some guys to different positions, and then we didn't fit up the way we needed to fit up on the run game. Part of it was that. It wasn't a lack of effort or desire. I thought the guys played just as hard in the second half as they did in the first half, but we just didn't fit up on the runs the way we need to fit up on the runs. And that's our fault."
Coming back home after the conference opener, is it important to pick up a win and try to even the slate?
"I never look at it that way. I look at every win as equally important. I don't see one as more important than the other. It was important for us to win on the road up there last week, and it's important for us to win this week. I take each game one at a time and try to win them all. They're all important. You only have 12 opportunities, so every single one is important. At the end of the season you look back at every one as an important win."
How would you rate Von Miller's progress at linebacker?
"I think he's made some progress. He's a very good athlete. He hasn't really played the position very much, it's relatively new to him. He's an excellent pass rusher when we put him down in those situations. I think at times within our scheme he struggles sometimes, just because everything is new to him--which is understandable. He gives great effort and chases the ball down well. He's just a young player playing a position he's really not that familiar with."
Can you talk about (KSU's) Josh Freeman at quarterback and some of the problems he may present your defense?
"Well, the problems he presents are multiple in the sense that there's not a throw on the field that he can't make. If you're on this hash over here, he can throw the out over there. Most college kids don't have that arm strength--and, a fair amount of NFL players, if they were put on this hash over here they would struggle to throw that out. But he has a very strong arm. He fits well with their system. He does a nice job with play-action pass. They're not unlike the Indianapolis Colts offensively, in some aspects of their game. They're a great play-faking team and then go for the explosive play. They will spread you out, very typical of spread offenses, but they have a little different nuances in their offense that other teams don't. They want to throw the football. As opposed to Oklahoma State who wanted to run it first, this team wants to throw first. Their philosophy is a little different that way. But he's a very talented young man."
They do a pretty good job of protecting him, don't they?
"Yes they do. They don't have a whole lot of protections. A lot of protection issues I've always found can come back just to the quarterback. Yes, the O-Line did a good job of protecting him but he gets the ball out pretty quick too. He's a hard guy to sack because of how he plays the game."
Coach what do you tell the team to get rid of any frustrations? If you take away a handful of turnovers the season could look different...
"I think that's an important question and it's something I spend a lot of time on. I think players play off of how I act and how I handle things. If I act frustrated or discouraged I think they'll play that way. Yesterday we watched the first quarter and we broke up as an entire team, just to see where our problems are and to hold people accountable to where the problems existed and how close (things were). You know, a score like that certainly doesn't indicate that you think you could have won that game, and many people would disagree, but it's a play here or there or a mistake here or there that can make all the difference in the world and how that can snowball into something. Again, take no credit away from Oklahoma State, they deserved to win that ballgame. But I think the head coach is responsible for how his team handles success and how it handles defeat. You really have to consciously have a plan on how you're going to unfold their attitude during the course of the week, and how they're going to bounce back from the disappointment of a loss like that. Kids today I've found are fairly resilient. It's almost sometimes the other way. There's no do-overs. This isn't playing Atari football where you can say let's start over again and make the score 0-0. It's over. I've found kids are fairly resilient. At the same time, there's probably 20 percent of your team that really hangs on (to a loss), particularly if somebody didn't play well. You have to bring them back in and get their confidence level back. And that's my job to do that."
(DB) Danny Gorrer had a rough night the other night, how do you get him back and how has he responded?
"Well it's hard to say how he'll respond because we haven't done much yet. We have to look at how he prepared and his mindset. I think things kind of got into his head a little bit. We put him on their best receiver, so you have to take that into account. On one of the plays we weren't aligned correctly, the safety should have been in the middle of the field so it looks like he screwed up. He wasn't perfect but, again, he should have had help on the first touchdown. We have to do some mental massaging with him and make sure he gets his confidence back. And that takes some work through the course of the week. you just can't hit them over the head with a stick and get them well. At his position you're going to be exposed. And a game like that and playing against a player like that is a challenge. He'll be measured by how he bounces back from this. As I told him yesterday, and I really do believe this, there are correlations between how you handle things and how it plays out in the rest of your life. If you have struggles like we are having this year, how we handle them as men in that room down there--we're the only ones who can fix our problems. Mom and dad can't fix them, Uncle Fred, grandma, the media can't fix them. We've got to fix them in our own room. We've got to be accountable and honest for the mistakes we make as players and coaches. We have to figure it out. I told them there is a correlation. If you can handle this stuff and get things right and keep your focus, and not point fingers and blame others for our misfortunes and that you are accountable, it does play out in your life, and in your marriage and how you raise your kids and so forth. We're learning some hard lessons. I hope we can grow, not just as a football team, but as men as well."
How difficult is it for you personally to not get frustrated at this point?
"(laughing) You want my wife's number? I'll give it to you (laughter). I come home at night, they're all on toes. They lock the knives up in the cabinet (laughing). It's very frustrating because the expectations are so high as they should be. I told myself that I was going to take it a day at a time. I guess what keeps me going is I believe in the process. I believe in the people I'm doing it with and I believe in our plan. If I thought for one second one of my coaches wasn't on board or wasn't dealing with things the way I wanted them done I'd probably be a little more frustrated. But I feel confident that we're going to get to where we need to get because of the people that we have on board and the plan we have and the support. But it is frustrating because you put so much into it. As a football coach, you live in this building 80 to 90 hours a week and it's disappointing when it doesn't play out. Coaches are overpaid, no question about that, but I always say you get paid for dealing with your team and getting up in front of them after you lose a ball game and being able to handle that and bring it back. You wouldn't have to pay me to win a game, it's dealing with the adversity that I think is what you get paid for."
How much would a win at home in conference play help these guys from an attitude or confidence standpoint?
"I think a win anytime is good. I'd take it anywhere. At home, away, in the backyard--it doesn't matter. We just need to win a football game. It is nice to walk off this field with these fans having achieved that goal. That's hard for me. That was one of the hardest things for me was having to walk off after that first ballgame after a loss, and the second time as well. Certainly that'd be a big plus for us and it's something we're shooting for this week."
Do you remember where you were when A&M won the Big 12 title 10 years ago and how proud you were of those guys?
"It's funny you say that. Sirr Parker made that play...I was in the NFL somewhere, and I was watching the game and I remember being excited for A&M. I can't remember where we were. We were playing, I was in a hotel room somewhere I believe. I remember being excited for A&M, and (Coach) R.C. (Slocum), that whole thing. That was great. You kind of wish you were there for it."
What would you tell the Aggie fan who's trying to decide whether or not to spend $150 on a couple of tickets this weekend?
"Well, my message to them would be to come watch this team get better and grow. We're playing a lot of young kids and they're giving everything they've got, I promise you that. They're giving what they got. I know we don't always do things the right way but I think you can be proud of the effort. Actually I would say come watch us practice, and watch us prepare. Watch the coaches coach during the course of the week. Watch the players and their preparation. I think you'd be very proud of what they put into it. If you've seen the preparation that goes into each game, you'd want to see the outcome. Just like I do. You'd pay for that ticket. You don't have to pay anything, come watch us practice--it's free--and I think you'd say `Wow. They really do know what they're doing.' They're working hard. These are good kids. They are trying. When they walk out on the field they jog out there. They don't dilly-dally out there, they get right to work. If you listen to the language on the sidelines during practice, they're talking football, being coached. I think they'd say, `Okay, this is good stuff. Let's see what's going to happen.'"
Talk about Ryan Tannehill...is he a true receiver at this point?
"You know, I tell you about Ryan, he goes out there on Thursdays as our backup quarterback, and does a great job throwing the football. Then he's running over there, catching balls. He was walking off the field with Coach (Tom) Rossley and he said, `Man, I just had a great time at practice today.' Tom asked why and he said, `I was playing quarterback. I was playing receiver. I was busy all the time.' He's just a neat kid. A pre-med student, the guy's got it all. I can't say enough about the impact he's made on our team, his work ethic, his attitude, his willingness, his unselfishness, he's been nothing but a positive player to be around and to coach. He's very bright. He'll make a mistake and you'll correct him, but he'll self-correct himself. He knows the game of football. I would never ask him to get into coaching because he's too bright for coaching (laughing). He needs to go solve cures somewhere or help society. But he'd be a heck of a football coach because he gets the game. He knows coverages. He knows how to sit down in holes. He knows where the windows are. For a young guy, he's very impressive on his knowledge and is very exciting to be around."
How did you think about putting him out there?
"Well, when I'm out there waiting for guys, I kind of watch and see how they mesh with everyone else. You watch how he catches the ball when it's thrown back to him, and you watch him run some things at practice and scramble around, and I see his quickness and things like that. I didn't want to do it until the competition had been resolved. The minute it was I went to him and told him I would get him involved somehow. The opportunity was there for him to do it as well, so that was part of it. We needed some help there."
Last week it looked like Dez Bryant was who you had to worry about out there, this week it looks like Brandon Banks...
"He reminds me of those receivers at Texas Tech. He's a guy that knows how to get open. He's very talented and fits in to what they're doing. They want to get him the football and he fits in to what they're doing very well. He and Freeman seem to have a pretty good connection."
You know Ron Prince? Ever come across him?
"Yeah, actually I have, at the Big 12 meetings. He seems like a very, very intelligent coach. He has a lot of ideas that make the game better. He has a lot of respect for the game of football, which I appreciate. I was very impressed with him."
Since your next two opponents played each other the other day, does that help any with preparation?
"It would have helped a lot better if they had knocked out each quarterback in that game (laughter). That wish didn't come true (laughter). But yeah, it helps me as a head coach in preparing because I've seen Texas Tech on offense already playing against that defense. Next week will be a little easier as far as going back and forth between tapes. So from that standpoint it helps."
Did you get a pretty good gauge on how (DB) Trent Hunter did against the pass?
"He did okay. The thing about Trent is he's very aggressive and has great range. There was one play in particular, right before their first touchdown I think, where they end up catching it but throw the ball out of bounds. It was on Danny's (Gorrer) side. And he came over and hit that kid, and his range from that point to that point, which was probably about 24 yards, he was right on it. He showed great range as a safety. You always want to have a safety that has the ability to find the right angle and track things down. I think he can do that pretty well."