WKU Hilltoppers College Football Pregame Quote, 12/03/2024

We‚Äôre very excited for the opportunity to be in the Conference USA Championship game, and we have tremendous respect for the opponent in Jacksonville State and their staff. It should be an exciting game. It‚Äôs been a long season to get to this part of it, and the season’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. We just wanted to get to this part, and we’re close to the finish line. Hopefully, we can get across with a win, but we‚Äôre really excited for the opportunity. Our guys are excited for the opportunity, and it should be a great game. We‚Äôre really looking forward to it.

On start of coaching tree with recent promotions of former coordinators:

I’ve never really thought about that. That’s really cool. You’re making me feel old, to be honest with you. [Zach] Kittley and [Ben] Arbuckle are young young bucks, you know. I‚Äôm so excited for those two men. First of all, they’re first-class people and very talented, and very much deserving of the opportunities that they’re given. Everywhere they’ve been, they’ve excelled, and I was just glad to be a part of their experience and their career. I expect both of those guys to really do a great job at the schools they’re at. I don’t want to play against them. I know that. They have a lot of answers, and they’re hard to deal with, but I‚Äôm really excited for those guys.

On challenge of playing just six days after first matchup with Jax State:

To me it’s just halftime of a continual game. The first half was at our place, and the second half is at their place. You’re getting two weeks of preparation. They have an excellent staff, and they’ll make adjustments. We’ll make adjustments. I would say you’re 50% of who you are, and you do what you do. Then, the other 50% is off of what you saw from them in the previous game, and then you‚Äôve got to guess how they adjust, what new wrinkles they throw in and all that. I’d rather just hurry up and get it here and go play.  We’re at the point of the season where our guys are anxious. Everybody knows what to do and how to do it. It‚Äôs just the adjustment piece more than anything.

On growth of quarterback Caden Veltkamp:

Yeah, I’m just really excited for him. Caden is the type of guy who‚Äôs had to earn everything he’s gotten. Nothing’s been handed to him. He came here as a backup and was a guy that was always trying to fight to get the reps. There was always somebody in front of him, and then he finally got his turn in the bowl game and wins that game. TJ [Finley] got hurt and Caden stepped in right away and didn‚Äôt miss a beat. He‚Äôs done really well for us.  He’s a different style of player. We’ve had to adjust some things to his strengths. He’s a guy that’s just going to continue to get better. He’s got a quiet, calm confidence about him. He just kind of finds a way, somehow. It’s not always pretty, but he finds a way to win more often than not. We’re happy that he’s our quarterback.

On streak of high-performing quarterbacks:

I‚Äôve been a part of a lot of systems and a lot of really good offensive minds. Those experiences led to me learning first, how to identify a quarterback that can win, and second, positioning the guy to be successful in what you do. The other piece a lot of people don’t look at is having a coaching staff that can bring ideas and know the strengths and weaknesses of a quarterback. When you‚Äôre trying to develop a guy or recruit a guy, everybody knows what they’re looking for. They know how to position the guy to be successful. We‚Äôve been fortunate. We’ve been able to find those guys that fit our style of play. We’re not a group that just does it one way. We can adapt and evolve, based upon who the quarterback is.  

Caden, for example, is a good game manager. He’s a quality thrower. You can run him a little bit. He’s still developing, but we’re going to play to whatever those strengths are and try to limit the opportunities for whatever his weaknesses are. Once you have a good quarterback, and you have that history there, I think it also helps you to get other good quarterbacks, too.