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Highlights from Tom Herman's press conference on Thursday

Anwar Richardson

Well-Known Member
Staff
Apr 24, 2014
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Here are the highlights of Tom Herman’s press conference on Thursday:

- Herman said his team had a really good week of preparation for Saturday’s game against Kansas. The players had a great amount of energy, good focus, and Herman is proud of how his team comes to work every day, regardless of the result on Saturdays.

- Herman said he briefly spoke about the big picture to his team on Sunday. He said, “The big picture is four losses are against the number five, number six, number 11 and number 15 [teams] after 10 weeks in the college football playoff poll. We played with, and against, some really, really good football teams. We’ve got an opportunity to go 1-0 this week against a Kansas team that can run the football. Against a Kansas team that I believe is fourth in the country in red zone defense, with some really hard playing guys up front on defense. They understand that if they want to send these seniors out the right way, this is the first step in heading to a bowl game.”

- Sam Ehlinger participated was allowed to participate in the thud portion of practice on Wednesday because Herman did not want the quarterback’s first contact to occur on Saturday. Herman said Ehlinger did well in practice.


- Herman said Denzel Okafor was banged up against Baylor and missed reps last Tuesday. Herman liked Okafor’s energy level during this week’s practice, but wants the offensive lineman to have consistent intensity. Okafor is making progress in that area, according to Herman.

- Davante Davis and Josh Thompson will play on Saturday. Herman plays to rotate both cornerbacks and see who is playing well. Herman expects Davis to start, but said Thompson has made a lot of progress this season.

- Outside of winning on Saturday, Herman wants to see his offensive group play with confidence.

- Kicker Mitchell Becker received first-team reps in practice this week. However, Herman said he will chart Becker’s and Joshua Rowland’s kicks during warmups before deciding who will participate against Kansas.

- Herman said Shane Buechele is growing into his leadership role: “It’s tough to lead when you’re on the bench, which he was for an extended period of time. He’s been back out there for a couple of weeks. He’s finding his sea legs a little bit when it comes to that, and doing a better job. I heard him more today, which was good. More than I had in the last couple of weeks. A work in progress, but headed in the right direction.”
 
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