Sept. 6, 2005
Head coach Denver Johnson held his weekly football press conference Tuesday at noon in the Kaufman Football Building. Johnson and players addressed questions about the Iowa State game and the upcoming Drake game on Saturday, September 3. Coach Johnson was joined by Gateway Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week Laurent Robinson and sophomore linebacker Kye Stewart. Here are the quotes from the press conference:
Sophomore linebacker Kye Stewart on grading the defense against Iowa State:
"I'd say we graded around a C. Even though we played hard, we still had a lot of people out of their gaps. Our hard play overshadowed the mistakes."
Stewart on the new 4-3 defense:
"I think the change was good for us. Our major problem last year was giving up the deep ball, and that wasn't a factor in this game. So overall it was a good change for the defense and the team as a whole."
Stewart on the linebacking unit's performance:
"I feel pretty confident. We've only played one game to this point, so its hard to judge. In order for this defense to play its best, the linebackers have to step up and play well. So right now I'm pretty confident."
Stewart on the let-down factor:
"If we go out and play to the best of our ability each game, then it will overshadow the competition no matter what level we're playing against."
Stewart on defensive adjustments before the Drake game this week:
"I think we need to finish the game better. If we start strong, then we need to finish the game strong or even stronger than we started it."
Stewart on Iowa State:
"I think they thought they were going to be able to run over us because we were a I-AA team. It doesn't matter what size or division your school is, if you come out and play hard, then there's no telling what could happen."
Junior wide receiver Laurént Robinson on offensive adjustments before the Drake game:
"We need to come out faster. Last week we came out slow and picked it up in the second half. If we can start the game like we played in the second half, then we'll be ok."
Robinson on the passing attack in the second half at Iowa State:
"Well, the run was shut down in the first half. In the second half, we established a little run game and that allowed us to use the play-action and go deep a couple times. It was part of our game plan to go deep and when the corners started playing off, the passing game worked."
Robinson on his development as a player:
"I've been trying to get stronger and the new weight room is something that has really helped me. I just try to keep working hard and try to develop a relationship with the quarterbacks to get the timing down. As the years progressed, I just took it upon myself to get better and keep working hard."
Robinson on lining up one-on-one with a defender:
"We do one-on-one drills every day in practice and we switch it up to get as many different looks as possible that we could see in a game. I feel that when a person is trying to guard me, that they are just an obstacle in the way of me achieving my goal."
Robinson on playing Drake:
"We just have to make sure we don't underestimate them. We have to play every game like it's against a D-I opponent and just come in with that mentality. If we do that then everything will work out."
Robinson on lessons to be learned from the I-A games:
"We just have to come out and learn from our mistakes we saw on film. We're just going to come out and execute in practice and work hard to correct the mistakes to get ready for Saturday."
Head Coach Denver Johnson on getting ready for Drake:
"We'll we're anxious to play again. Coming off a loss, there's really nothing that can ease that pain except getting back out on the field and practicing and getting ready for another game. We're excited to open up the home season and we're hoping for great weather and a great crowd. Drake is a worthy opponent and they gave us a good game here a couple of years ago. They are ranked pretty high in some publication's preseason rankings so we need to get to work and get better as a team."
On what can be learned after playing a D-I team:
"The good thing about playing a team like Iowa State or Minnesota is that it illuminates what you need to work on. It shines a bright light and shows where you're good and where you need to improve. I think we have a good idea of what those things are and that will be reflected in our preparation for Drake."
On underestimating Drake:
"There's always that possibility, human nature being what it is, but the thing we're trying to do with our kids is have that consistency with preparation and have that sense of urgency and mental preparation every week. Without question, Drake is a good enough team to come in here an beat us. We need to have a sense of fear and urgency to go out and take care of our business and play well. If you play well, you will win the ones you're supposed to, and every once in a while you'll win the ones you're not supposed to."
On playing well in the non-conference schedule:
"The non-conference schedule gives you four great opportunities to improve your football team before Gateway Conference play. Our biggest objective this week is to improve our football team and if we can improve and take the field a better team than we were last Saturday, then things will run their course and come out the way they are supposed to and hopefully they'll come out in our favor."
On limiting big plays:
"If you're doing some things well, then big plays seem to present themselves to you. We try to be opportunistic and we caused the fumble and Jesse was there to pick it up and return it for a touchdown. We felt like we had the opportunity to make big plays and we did that. We just have to keep looking for those opportunities and our kids have to take advantage of them when they appear."
On Luke Drone's slow start:
"I don't know if Luke was nervous, but I was. You have a sophomore quarterback who has never started a college game and the first time he takes the field, he's on his own 20- yard line and staring at a very good Big 12 defense. He also had a new center, a new left guard and two new tackles, so there was a lot of newness there. I do think that he got better. He didn't complete a pass on his first couple of tries but once he completed one, he turned the ball loose with a little more confidence. As the game progressed, Luke started to grow up and showed signs that he will be ok."
On needing work on special teams:
"I was disappointed with our special teams. I thought that if we had an area that would help balance the scales a little bit with Iowa State, it was our special teams. But our opponents had a lot to do with that. We started with bad field position and Iowa State has a lot of great special team performers. They showed us what we need to work on this week and that is what we'll focus on."
On the team's run defense against Iowa State:
"Historically, we've been good against the run, but we always used an eight man front. Now, moving to a seven man front, the fact that we were able to hold up against the run was good to see. To hold Iowa State to under 100 yards rushing was encouraging."
On the toll of playing a D-I team:
"We're healthy in that we're bruised, but not broken. When you come through training camp and start off with this kind of game, playing a team like that with the wear and tear it takes, it is almost like playing two games. We're going to try to catch up physically in practice this week and get ready to play Saturday. Once again, I credit our training staff and strength staff for keeping these guys in such great shape."
