Charlotte 49ers College Football Pregame Quote, 11/05/2019

Huge win for us on Saturday. You can come back on Monday and review the film and see that there are still areas we need to improve on. But to be able to win that one, at home, in convincing fashion, is a big step for our program. I’m excited about how our guys played and how prepared, how focused we were. I think some of the things people don’t talk about as much is having only one penalty and no turnovers while winning the special teams battle. I think these were huge aspects of our game. Our team has been extremely focused. We’re not settled; we don’t feel like we’ve arrived. We got a long way to go as a football team and a program. When we got back here on Monday, we wiped it all off and prepared for a difficult test at UTEP. They’re a well-coached football team. They got weapons; they’re hungry. They got a point to prove. They’ve improved each game the last few weeks and played some guys tough but haven’t been able to get over the top in conference play but capable of doing so. I know Dana (Dimel) well, having spent time around him. I know how well-coached they are and how they will fight for him. We have not won a road game. This is to show the progress of our program. We know our work’s cut out for us. We got plenty of things to fix in this building and we’re focused on that.

Give me your thoughts on A-Mac (Aaron McAllister) and how he was able to respond on Saturday:

It doesn’t surprise me. That’s what he is every day that he’s here. I said it on Saturday, and I’ll say it again, he prepares every day like he’s the feature back. I told the team and said, if you want to see what we’re going to look like a year from now, here’s your opportunity because A-Mac is going to have to be the guy. It’s fun to see guys get rewarded, that works as hard as he does. That is as selfless as he is. I thought he played very well on Saturday. That was a special thing to see.

How did A-Mac feel in the game? He wasn’t featured as much towards the end of the contest. Was that injury-wise or was it trying to get others in there?

He’s been banged up. He’s missed the last two weeks with injuries. So, we were fortunate how that piggybacked. If he wasn’t healthy, we wouldn’t feel quite as good about it. He got banged up again on Saturday. He feels good; practiced today. He should be in good shape.

With the dual-system at the beginning of the year, can you officially say the quarterback situation is Chris Reynolds’?

For sure. I think you have to have two at this level, or any level. Because as much as Chris runs, you better have another ready one. But yes, Chris Reynolds has proven that he’s the guy.

Was that a matter of anticipated or just a matter of time?

I don’t know. If I anticipated it, I wouldn’t have started Brett Kean the first night. And I don’t regret that decision. We were going to make a change and have Brett run a couple of series at North Texas. He took a sack and we put Chris right back in and he responded. That’s what he does.

I’ve lost no confidence in Brett Kean. I think Chris Reynolds is playing that well and he’s rallied guys around him. Brett has done a great job in practice. He’s made some throws that make you think the offense could change a bit. But if something were to happen to Chris, you’d pick right up where Chris left off and be in good shape.

When you say that, how hard is it to sell that kind of patience because you don’t have Kean if he leaves another position? If you look around college football, you can see so many transfers in that position. As you said, I think coaches need two to three quarterbacks because of that injury factor, particularly when you run the football. How hard is it to teach patience when you have guys in their ear telling them to go to this place or that place?

The crazy part with Brett is that he didn’t transfer here to be a backup. He’s a grad transfer. It’s different than a high school guy. You don’t want to sign two or three guys in the same class because one’s not going to be happy and transfer somewhere. I think Brett has learned so much about himself. He’s handled the situation so well. He’s an excellent person and wants to get into coaching. I’m making sure he’s in a good position to start that. I think where he is now is like what I experienced as a quarterback and I think it’ll help him as he’s in this profession. But he’s a great teammate. He and Chris have an unbelievable relationship. Brett has worked extremely hard and has gotten better every week. He’s not been a distraction; he’s been incredible. Again, I know it’s not the road he expected to take. It took a different turn for him. Give credit to Chris for that happening. But the way he’s responded and handled this situation is unique and special.

And when you say that, how hard is it for a player who goes through that situation? How do you shift from going from player to coach?

Well right now, Brett is preparing like he’s going to be the starting quarterback. He’s not worried about that until the season is over. I think he knows to know that we have his back and we’ll help him get introduced into this profession. He can do a lot of things. He’s a really smart person. There’s no fine line. He’s a quarterback on our roster. He has to prepare like a starter because he’s one play away.

What’re some things you’re going to expect from UTEP both offensively and defensively?

They do so many things on offense. Mike Locksley’s son is their starting quarterback. He’s a really good athlete. He’s got a strong arm. They’ve got some wideouts that looks like their gelling. Their production has gone up weekly. They have backs that are really good players who had good weeks last week.

Defensively, they are multiple. One of their defensive ends in the 3-4 is probably a next-level player. They got really good skill guys and have created many big plays on special teams. They had a 100-yard kickoff return last week. They have a punt returner who wouldn’t fair catch it if all 11 men were going after him. So, they’re dynamic in the return game, as well.

And, you’re going on the road. It’s a difficult trip. It’s an exciting trip for me because we’re going to see just how good we are. But this is a football team that’s capable of wearing us out if we’re not prepared. That’s why it’s a big week of preparation.

It’s a meaningful game, you will be favored. Is it different for you in the locker room and practice?

I mean, morale is different. You win two in a row versus lose four in a row. They got a different pep in their step. I think for us as coaches, it’s been to keep the thumb down even more. They are seeing that this process works. So, we need to hold them accountable and find the little things that can turn into big things in a game. To demand more out of them. But I say it all the time, and we’re not there yet, I hope that bowl talking in November, being the favorite in a conference game ‚Äì I hope those become expectations and the norm around here. It’s not going to change how we do things. It’s not going to give us a big head. I firmly believe that this program will be favored in a lot of games in the future. We need to get ready for it. It’s not about them; it’s about us. Living that is different than me saying that against Clemson, right? Are we doing that during the week instead of just saying it? I think these guys believe it and are working on it right now. I hope it is the expectation.

Kai Locksley is their second-leader rusher; he can also throw it. Asher O’Hara and Mason Fine kind of do the same thing, both of whom you’ve faced the past two games. How much better does this prepare the defense this week?

Mason can run but he’s going to throw it 50 times and look like Joe Montana out there. Asher at times looked like Barry Sanders out there on Saturday. I think Locksley is more of a combination of both. He can beat you in the pocket. He’s a big, tall, strong athlete that, when he gets downhill, he can run over you and miss laterally. He’s got great side-to-side quickness and has made a lot of plays for them. I think he’s a combination of both and can hurt you in different ways.

Do you have someone on the scout team that’s emulating that style of play?

We’re doing some things. Joe Thompson has played some scout team quarterback for us this week. He was a high school quarterback. To simulate the run game, we do a lot of crossovers. Chris is playing against our first-team defense and Brett Kean is throwing against our first-team defense. I think that crossover, that good-on-good stuff, has helped us starting midway through the season. It’s my fault we haven’t done it longer.

When it comes to bowl eligibility, how do you balance noise and remind guys not to get too far ahead of themselves? Allowing Ben and Cam to set the tone.

You hope that you’re speaking the same language. When you have a good program, it’s when Cam and Benny are saying the same things I’m saying. I feel like that’s happening. The one thing these guys understand is learning. In one season, it feels like we’ve gone through three full seasons of learning. You start, get knocked down your pedestal, come back to Earth. Then you get the attention to detail, process-driven culture pieces back to where they need to be. Then you’re able to win a game late. You’re able to close out a game. You have a lot of experiences that our program can grow on. I tell them to get used to talking about bowl games. I want our fans and players to talk about it. But our players need to understand how difficult it is to get there. Because we can easily go 0-3 the next three weeks and say we underachieved again. The same people who patted you on the back are the same who went on to basketball two weeks ago. It’s an up and down, hot and cold profession in sport. We got to make sure and earn it again this week. But our players have handled it great. They were great yesterday, really good again this morning. They’re focused and they understand that it’s going to be a tough test. It’s all about this week because if you don’t do it this week, your chances got a lot slimmer.

Following up on the question of you wanting players to talk about bowl games. Fans have talked about it too. How do you want that balance of reminding guys of the game at hand?

Every one of our meetings starts with something from a culture piece. We call it the fourth quarter. Part of the conversation this morning was listening, if we are getting a fat head because we are 4-5, then you have different expectations than I have. For us to talk about how we overlook somebody or how we’re looking too far in the picture, we’re 2-3 in the conference and 4-5 overall. This isn’t something we should talk about. We should be disappointed that we lost five games and fix that. We should be hungrier now than ever say this is what we’re capable of doing when we’re all on the same page and prepare as we should. Now, are we going to take a team lightly because we won two games in a row? The players agree. They’re not egotistical. They’ve had their rear ends kicked just as much as they’ve won football games. This team could break the breaks off us. We know that any team is capable on any given Saturday. We’re going to their place. We haven’t won on the road all year. This team is hungry; they’re not complacent. They hear it, which is great. They’re playing for something in November. As a coach, you’re always worried about what if you’re not playing for anything in November? We’re playing for something. Our practices and our intensity should be higher. Our preparation should be higher. It shouldn’t be as difficult to motivate them. We are playing for something; our guys know that. This should add to the motivation and they’ve handled it well.