Ohio Bobcats College Football Pregame Quote, 10/26/2020

On what fall camp was like these past few weeks:

It felt somewhat like a fall camp. Although it was not as rigorous in terms of the number of practices with walkthroughs that we’d get. Coming off the spring with only two practices, none of them padded. That made a difference as far as how we were going to prepare guys early in fall camp to make sure we didn’t get rolled too soon as far as contact and have it come back to haunt us. The preparation was a little different. Attitude and energy has been the same with this group. It has been a tremendous group in that regard. They really function very well. They have a great attitude. Great work ethic. Those are all plusses to have in a fall camp.

On contact during camp:

We did get a couple scrimmages in. We also had a stations scrimmage in one of the practices. We felt like we needed to show ourselves a little bit against one other in truly competitive situations. We were able to do that. You put yourself at risk obviously when that happens. But in order to prepare your squad, that’s kind of what you have to do.

On starting quarterback situation:

It’s still tight. I think that both Kurtis (Rourke) and Armani (Rogers) have showed very well. CJ (Harris) has shown flashes at times. It looks like it’s coming down a little bit right now to Kurtis (Rourke) and Armani (Rogers). Both of them have strong plusses on their side. Both can be used not only throughout the course of the season, but really throughout the course of games if you so structure your offense that way and want to use guys that way. Right now, we are still a week and a half out. We won’t have any more scrimmages, but our practices are competitive and meaningful. The depth chart is coming together very well. In terms of who will start, we’re going to hold off on that until we get a little bit closer to the game.

On linebacker progress in camp:

I like the young linebacker group. They are in some ways young but they seem to play at a level that wouldn’t indicate that. They’re smart guys, they pick up things very quickly. I think Nate (Faanes) is doing a great job in coaching them. They run very well, they’re aggressive. It could be a strong part of what we are all about defensively. We’ll have to get a few games under our belt before we either beat our chest or hang our head. I like the way they’ve looked so far.

On who they are counting on on the offensive line:

I won’t say that’s a major concern, but it is a little bit of a concern. We didn’t move Nick Sink to left tackle. That helped solve a little bit of the issue there. The guys that are playing behind him, and there are numerous guys that we’re preparing. They need to come, no question about it. They’re going to be young in the offensive line. Not sure if it will be a situation where we will be as good as we’re going to be in the middle of the season. I’m sure these guys will keep coming. They’ve made tremendous strides here in these last couple weeks. I think Coach Rudolph is doing a great job with those guys. They’re bright, so they pick things up quickly. They are competitive. Coach won’t let them get away with not being competitive. We see progress being made there. In order just to tell you these are five guys, six or seven guys. We’ve got a number of young guys vying for backup spots. We hope will continue to come as they have in these last few weeks. If they do, we’ll have some depth there.

On who has shown the most growth since camp started:

I like the way our corners at times have showed. They got baptized some of those guys last year a little bit. It’s still a position where it’s difficult to play. You need to be ready to line up and play man to man at times, zone coverage at times, and be ready to go against the opponents. Really top athletes on opponents teams a lot of times. You see that in high school ball, you see it in college ball, you see it in pro ball. Some of the very top athletes on a team are wide receivers. So those guys are faced with some definite challenges. I like the way they’re competing. I like the speed. Most of those guys have really good length. I think we’ve grown in that spot in terms of how they’re playing.

On which cornerback has stepped up in practice:

Well the Motley twins have played well. Jamal Hudson is a guy that has experience from last year and is playing well. There are three or four other guys now that I like what they’ve been all about and what they’ve shown. We’re probably going to have depth there, which is something that I think is important at that spot. Receivers now will run a lot of deep routes and they’ll interchange receivers to keep them fresh and if you’re not careful, your corner can get beat down just like a receiver. If a receiver is running too many routes, you’re covering too many deep routes. All of a sudden that catches up to you in terms of being able to play the game and stay competitive and stay at your top speed like you’d like to have happen.

On special teams units and the pod units:

We’ve put our guys in pods as best that you can to try and make sure we’re protecting one another in a manner that is protective of the individual, but is protective as much as you can, protect your team as far as not finding yourself all of a sudden short on any one position. We’re young in all three of the snapping, punting, and kicking. That includes kick offs and field goals. We’re very young in those areas. They’ve shown well leading up to the first game. Showing well in camp and showing well for a really young player in a game is different. I got confidence in them. I think they’ll respond very well on that end of it. It’s tough to backup some of those kinds of athletes because you don’t scholarship three or four guys deep as a punter or a kickoff guy or even a field goal guy. If you get one or two guys that all of a sudden are out of it because they tested positive and they’re one of those positions, you could find yourself really struggling in that area. It’s tough. We have walk-ons that are really working hard at coming along and doing well in those areas. If they progress well, we hope we’ll have some depth. I think it’s something that all teams will face.

On O’Shaan Allison and his progress in camp:

Well when he’s healthy, he’s getting quite a few reps obviously. He’s really a highly competitive guy. He’s always out there whenever it’s possible to be out there. His work ethic is tremendous. He’ll be in pretty good shape for our first game, maybe not as good as shape as what he might be if he hadn’t been banged up a little bit. Recovering very very well. We’ll see how that plays out for him. We’re fortunate that we have a group of running backs that can be good. We’re able to put a guy on the field I think to get things done at a pretty high level. That’s one area if you need quality depth, it’s there. Those guys got the ball an awful lot and when they do, eleven guys are after him. It’s a matter of trying to stay healthy throughout the course of the year. The one thing that we’ve been able to do since we’ve had a number of quality backs on our squad in a given year is to get a lot of guys playing time. That can hurt an individual sometimes in total statistics but certainly if we have one guy who completely separates himself from the other, he’s going to go.

On how the running backs have performed in camp:

The guys have all practiced well. Coach Albin does a great job with those guys in terms of making them run plays out, being assignment-oriented, being able to pass, throw, block, running good routes. A lot goes into being a good running back. I have to give Coach Albin a great deal of credit for how he’s trained our running backs. We feel comfortable going down the list of guys on the field who can win football games for us. Obviously coming back from last year, De’Montre Tuggle really showed signs of having some specialness about him. Being able to make explosive plays. He is one of the most explosive guys we have on our football team last year. He’s back. That will be a position that we’ll be very good. Walter Wilbon III, we’ll see how things play out for him. He’s coming off of injuries. At times you can see and also know from the high school film that he can be the kind of running back you look for. It could be that we have good depth there, but we will wait and see how it plays out.

On having a six-game season:

Well you’ve had less times to get guys prepared. We didn’t have a scrimmage or a contact session in the spring. The spring is when you do a lot of your evaluation on players. That’s a chance for them to move up the depth chart. Everybody on the football team is running our offense and running our defense. As you get into fall camp, there comes a point in time where you got to start running a few, in this case, Central Michigan’s offensive plays and defensive plays. Certain guys are going to have to be running those. It comes back to not only preparing your individuals but preparing your team really well for the first game.

On starting the season against Coach Jim McElwain:

Number one, he’s a great guy, but he’s also a great coach. I think we’re fortunate to have him in our conference and be able to play against a guy of his caliber. In saying that, I think the conference is full of, I think, really excellent coaches. It’s not a deal where you look at coaches and say, wow, ok, here we go, we have a shot here. It doesn’t work that way. These guys have all recruited well. They all coach very well. They’re organized apparently in their preparation because you can see it in what they’re doing offensively and defensively. I like Jim and what he’s all about in terms of a person. I like what he’s all about in terms of a coach.

On Covid-19 testing results:

It’s gone as good as can be expected and hope for. We just got tested again today. Not a player tested positive. That’s been pretty routine for us. I’m going to knock on wood, except wood is right here, about that. With Covid it can happen anytime, to any program, to any team, any individual. I think we’re fortunate, but I think we’re also doing a ton of the right things. I complement our players for how they’ve handled it up to this point in terms of staying in their bubbles as much as possible, washing their hands, social distancing, riding in their cars with masks on when they have another player in the car. Just doing all the little things. If you’re not careful, you’ll get caught. These guys so far have stepped up and rose to the occasion. It’s so crazy that anything can happen at any time in terms of something starting to spread on a football team. I like where we’re at right now.

On staff contingency plans for players testing positive:

The plan has been to develop as much depth at every position as we possibly can and do that at an accelerated rate. If you look at our practice, we’re always having team stations. Young guys, guys with no experience are getting team work. They’re a powerful staff. Not only are the coaches coaching those guys, but the players, the experienced players are coaching those guys. We’ve always done drill work where all of our back up players, or young players, all go through all the drill work with us. So you get enough of that in. You do all that you can to prepare for what might lie ahead. Some people might get taken out of a game. It’s tricky. There’s no one foolproof answer for it. If you can add up some things that make sense, then you’re going to give yourself your best chance of being able to move forward with games. It only takes a moment to get out of whack and when that happens it can be tough.

On expectations for this season:

We’re all about trying to reach our potential as individual players, as coaches, as a football unit and playing up to the level that we know we can play. There are just some things that are uncontrollable out there that can happen to you that can take you out of a win that takes you out of a chance for being in the conference championship game. Or, if you’re in the conference championship game, or something that takes you out of a win in that game. It all comes back to feeling pretty good about yourself and what you’re all about every time you step on the football field. We’re all about trying to maximize our abilities in the classroom, on the football field, and continue with character development with our guys. That’s what our program is built around. If we can do those things, then I feel pretty good about our football team. I feel pretty good about what our coaches have accomplished and what I have accomplished. It has never to me been totally about wins and losses. You gotta win some games. It’s never totally been about wins and losses for me. As long as I know that everyone on our football teams and in our football program, is rising up to the capacity of what they are capable of doing. Continue to have a great work ethic, play your butt off, and see where things fall.

On the atmosphere at practice leading up to next week:

I always like excitement on the football field. Excitement and fun. Those are things you gotta build in to what you’re all about as a program for your players. Things can get tough. They can get long. Season can get hard. Anything can take you out. Injuries, bad penalties are so costly that you lose a few ball games, missed field goal here or there can cost you. It all comes down to how your team prepares and if they are doing the best that they possibly can and if they are living up to their expectations. Our team has great expectations of themselves and there’s great expectations in this program. I think that’s come to play from a lot of really good athletes that have come through and helped us with a lot of winning seasons.

On the team and play execution:

What you’re after is very talented athletes that can execute very very well. The talent is there. The execution part of it is, you gotta continually work on that. Make sure your guys are zeroed in on team meetings, position meetings, practice on the football field. Make sure they become finishers. Finishing drills off, finishing runs off. Defensive linemen are retracing to get themselves in great shape and teamwork after the ball is in the air or back has been by them. Just a ton of little things that can help you be the best that you can be. Our guys are devoted and dedicated to doing those little things. Usually, those things add up in the end. We’re hoping that’s the case.

On referee presence at scrimmages:

We have two crews that have come in and refereed two scrimmages for us. That’s always helpful. We’ve had a referee talk to our coaches on a zoom call about how they’re going to be looking at things this year, what there might be emphasis on, and any new rule changes. You can’t get too much of that. When we’re in a regular practice, when we’re in teamwork, we’ll have someone lined up either a coach or a grad assistant or a manager or somebody lined up to make sure that everybody’s onside on the snap of the ball. Running some offense against defense because obviously if you’re not careful, guys can get sloppy on their alignments. When someone jumps, we try to mark it off, even though it’s pretty meaningless in terms of what you’re accomplishing as far as the next play. You’re still going to run the same play no matter the distance it is to get all your plays run. A lot of that is worked on in our practices. Officials have always played a role in helping us get ready.

On standouts from the scrimmages:

You’re asking the guy that’s been in the business a long time. These scrimmages were awhile back. Armani (Rogers) is throwing the ball pretty well, but his running ability is excellent. He’s taken off on long runs in both scrimmages so far. Kurtis has really been very very good at the throwing game. He’s a tremendous thrower. Those guys automatically stand out. Cameron Odom has stood out. Ty Walton as a receiver has stood out. I think our linebackers across the board have really done a great job. Dorsa, Jared Dorsa, has great experience. Team captain. Every time he steps on the field he kind of shows what he’s all about. You look at the running backs. De’Montre Tuggle has had an excellent fall camp. The other guys, such as Julian Ross and Ja’Vahri Portis have played really well also. When you start naming names, there’s always a few that you leave out, but I feel good about the quality of players that we have in the program and how they performed leading up to this first game.

On Armani’s running capability:

A good point and a good question. Obviously, protection for your quarterback and the passing game is critical. We got a lot of things to help. We got a very good quick game where that ball can get off. I don’t care what kind of defenses they’re bringing at us and how much blitzing they’re doing. We have quick routes. We are also able to control that a little bit with some running plays that will take advantage of blitzes. There’s a lot that goes on where you can help yourself as a quarterback and help your lineman out in terms of the running and passing game. Those two quarterbacks are bright guys. CJ’s (Harris) bright. They’re all capable of getting us into the right play when they need to. We do a fair share of play action passes and so there are times where you get your running game going, that rush isn’t going to be quite as heavy as if you have no running attack and they’re just laying their ears back. That’s an important issue. Developing that running game. We have the ability for our backs to chip and also stay in and block and keep the TE in and block. If we need full type of protection on some plays and play action passes have always been big in our schemes.