Tom Herman should be starting up in a couple minutes. I'll post live updates on this thread.
Really excited to get a road win in an extremely difficult environment. Tech is a really good football team with one of the top offenses in the country. They proved why. Proud of the way guys jumped out, the defense although gave up quite a few yards, forced three TOs and had a fourth down stop. Thrilled to death to see the guys finish, see them respond. That's a couple times they've been able to do that, couldn't be prouder of the guys for their fight.
Injury update ... Davante Davis MRI on knee and ankle. Bone bruise on knee, strain of muscle in ankle. Hoping to have him, but will be end of week before they know.
Brandon Jones running well straight ahead. Next step is to stop and cut. Feel like Wednesday is a good target day for him.
Same with Collin Johnson. Scheduled for an injection today, hoping the knee swelling goes down and he'll progress after that.
Caden Sterns should be ready for Saturday if everything goes according to plan.
Josh Thompson's ankle looks worse today than yesterday. Not looking great for him to play on Saturday.
Keaontay Ingram re-aggravated hip pointer. Think he'll be able to work back in mid-week.
Looking forward to game this weekend. Senior night. ISU is one of the best teams in the country, top 25 team, won five straight. A lot at stake in terms of conference rankings. Has a tremendous amount of respect for Matt Campbell, what he's been able to do in bringing in talent and developing talent. Best defense in the conference on paper. Offense will be challenged, have their work cut out for them. They're excited as all get out. When you win, extra bounce in your step.
On Ehlinger's growth and continuity in the staff ... There's a technical side, Sam has done a good job of compacting his base, his lower body throwing motion. Thing he's done on a continual basis, he's holding the ball high, allowing him to get it out quicker. Has made a concerted effort to do that. Intangible factor for his success is trust. Trusts Tim Beck, trusts his WRs and OL, and trusts himself more than he did in the past. When you trust your knowledge of the offense, you can be more aggressive. He has a lot of freedom to make changes at the line of scrimmage and for the most part he's been spot on.
On ISU last year ... was the unveiling of the dime package of theirs that has flourished last season and this season, making them the best defense in the conference. They've evolved. Last year, clouded the corners nearly every snap. This year, more multiple, more quarters and halves in coverage schemes. Not a lot of man, but are pressuring a lot more. Thinks the scheme makes it very difficult. It's similar to WVU a little that you'll feel like their are 8 guys in the box against the run, but when you drop back there are 8 defending. One thing they're doing much better than last year, even in drop 8 coverage, more multiple. Have to really make sure they don't overload the players with too much new game plan. ISU does a good job of mixing coverages and mixes pressures.
On crossing a psychological barrier in snapping the two-game losing streak ... would be naive to say that's not real. Psychologically, may have been on a bit of shaky ground with two tough, close losses. They still have work to do. Certainly things the offense can do better to help the defense. The defense in the last 5 weeks have played 4 of the top 10 passing offenses in the country, 4 of last 5 have been top 12 nationally in total offense. Playing a bit of a MASH unit. Expect to play much better defense this week. They'll learn from the things that went wrong. Also going to enhance what they did right. And they should be getting healthier.
Feels if they get in a shootout, it is okay. They're not going to be a throw it every snap team. They want to run the football, do it with tempo, be a pro-spread run game with NFL tendencies. If need be, which was the case the last couple weeks, they'll call more dropback passes on first and second down. Did more of that the last two weeks than previous 8 weeks combined. They've been able to protect Ehlinger well, and they're pretty talented on the perimeter.
On secondary ... a lot of moving parts in the second half due to injuries and necessity. Weren't able to see the culmination of the week of work because so many guys got knocked out, but feels the defense was more comfortable and allowed them to play faster.
On Boyd ... Thought Boyd played great against WVU. As an offense coach, there has to be a massive discrepancy in talent between two different corners to target one guy or not target one guy. They don't have that. Thinks when balls get throw at Boyd, they're thrown because that's what the route scheme was the intended place for the ball to go. Doesn't think teams are specifically targeting Boyd.
On pass rush ... Credit to Orlando and Giles. Let guys come on obvious passing situations. Omenihu off the edge was important, as was getting Roach back. Schematically, put guys in a good position to make plays. Thought Omenihu, Hager and Roach all played well, and Nelson got good push up the middle.
On senior day ceremonies ... Doesn't expect any juniors to participate, as was the case last year. Their intention is to redshirt Jamari Chischolm and John Burt, have both those guys back next year. Both have two games left to play this year.
On Brock Purdy and Hakeem Butler .. Recruited Butler at Houston. Great kid, basketball guy, extremely talented. The thing he's developed is his physicality. He's a punishing blocker on the perimeter. Purdy is undefeated. Has a ton of moxie, nothing fazes him. Has the it factor, can make plays with his feet when things break down.
On mixing defensive fronts ... they have mixed quite a bit. Just because you only see three down linemen doesn't mean they're not in four down spacing. They have been multiple in terms of their front presentation. In a league like the Big 12 where there are so many good passing teams, you're going to want some DBs on the field, going to want to be in that lightning package. What offenses have done is done a good job of running the football. Have to make sure they're more sound in their dime packages against the run.
On playing games that go down to the final seconds and being able to come out on top ... It's awesome. Have a great group of captains. Those guys have seen a lot on the Forty Acres, been through a lot, sacrificed a lot. It's not just the captains. Lots of senior leaders on the team that have been very dialed in. Jerrod Heard was offensive MVP last week for switching positions and coming up huge for them. Now is the time to put the pedal to the mettle. 12 days left in the regular season and hopefully a couple post-season games. These guys are fully aware of what the team is capable of doing, they know the potential of this team. Thinks they're hell-bent on making sure the team achieves its potential.
On Texas turning into the prototypical Big 12 team ... Doesn't bother him. They're going to win the game in any way it can be won. Still not where they want to be running the football, not there yet. Best players on offense are WRs, QB and TE and RBs out of the backfield. Not going to turn into a throw it 70 times a game team. They understand that no matter what they draw up on defense, they're playing some of the best offenses in the country, you're not going to win those last few games 17-14. That's not going to happen. The offense understands that early in the week. Game plan always starts with being balanced but as the game unfolds, you have to adjust.
On Breckyn Hager .. Legacy, father was a tremendous player. Breckyn is a ball of energy, is a guy that if you want to look up the definition of the word passion for your school, your team and your teammates, you don't need to look any further than Breckyn Hager. They'll be excited to hopefully send him off the right way, but lots of football left to be played.
Having two weapons the caliber of LJH and Collin Johnson helps, and they're not worried about awards. Splitting receptions may hurt their chances at awards, but they don't care. They complement each other very, very well. Excited to have some individual success, but more importantly have that individual success lead to team success.
On trick plays ... They carry them every week, had a couple called last week that they had to check out of. Those will continue to be a staple of their offense.
On ISU and what they did vs WVU ... ISU pressures 12-15 percent of the time. Against WVU, pressured about 40% of the time, many of them exotic. Their D-coordinator was in a great rhythm in that game.
On which senior will need a tissue more than the others ... Hager certainly comes to mind. Elijah Rodriguez is a pretty emotional guy. If there are any tears with him, it'll be tears of gratitude to the school and the coaches. Such a humble guy, very faith-driven individual who doesn't mind showing gratitude to program and the coaches.
On 500th game at DKR Saturday ... First he's heard of it, but DKR-Texas Memorial is one of the icons in college football. It's a stadium that for a long time was just Texas Memorial Stadium, the decision was appropriately made to add coach Royal's name. Honored to be a part of any milestone at this great stadium.
That's it for today.
Really excited to get a road win in an extremely difficult environment. Tech is a really good football team with one of the top offenses in the country. They proved why. Proud of the way guys jumped out, the defense although gave up quite a few yards, forced three TOs and had a fourth down stop. Thrilled to death to see the guys finish, see them respond. That's a couple times they've been able to do that, couldn't be prouder of the guys for their fight.
Injury update ... Davante Davis MRI on knee and ankle. Bone bruise on knee, strain of muscle in ankle. Hoping to have him, but will be end of week before they know.
Brandon Jones running well straight ahead. Next step is to stop and cut. Feel like Wednesday is a good target day for him.
Same with Collin Johnson. Scheduled for an injection today, hoping the knee swelling goes down and he'll progress after that.
Caden Sterns should be ready for Saturday if everything goes according to plan.
Josh Thompson's ankle looks worse today than yesterday. Not looking great for him to play on Saturday.
Keaontay Ingram re-aggravated hip pointer. Think he'll be able to work back in mid-week.
Looking forward to game this weekend. Senior night. ISU is one of the best teams in the country, top 25 team, won five straight. A lot at stake in terms of conference rankings. Has a tremendous amount of respect for Matt Campbell, what he's been able to do in bringing in talent and developing talent. Best defense in the conference on paper. Offense will be challenged, have their work cut out for them. They're excited as all get out. When you win, extra bounce in your step.
On Ehlinger's growth and continuity in the staff ... There's a technical side, Sam has done a good job of compacting his base, his lower body throwing motion. Thing he's done on a continual basis, he's holding the ball high, allowing him to get it out quicker. Has made a concerted effort to do that. Intangible factor for his success is trust. Trusts Tim Beck, trusts his WRs and OL, and trusts himself more than he did in the past. When you trust your knowledge of the offense, you can be more aggressive. He has a lot of freedom to make changes at the line of scrimmage and for the most part he's been spot on.
On ISU last year ... was the unveiling of the dime package of theirs that has flourished last season and this season, making them the best defense in the conference. They've evolved. Last year, clouded the corners nearly every snap. This year, more multiple, more quarters and halves in coverage schemes. Not a lot of man, but are pressuring a lot more. Thinks the scheme makes it very difficult. It's similar to WVU a little that you'll feel like their are 8 guys in the box against the run, but when you drop back there are 8 defending. One thing they're doing much better than last year, even in drop 8 coverage, more multiple. Have to really make sure they don't overload the players with too much new game plan. ISU does a good job of mixing coverages and mixes pressures.
On crossing a psychological barrier in snapping the two-game losing streak ... would be naive to say that's not real. Psychologically, may have been on a bit of shaky ground with two tough, close losses. They still have work to do. Certainly things the offense can do better to help the defense. The defense in the last 5 weeks have played 4 of the top 10 passing offenses in the country, 4 of last 5 have been top 12 nationally in total offense. Playing a bit of a MASH unit. Expect to play much better defense this week. They'll learn from the things that went wrong. Also going to enhance what they did right. And they should be getting healthier.
Feels if they get in a shootout, it is okay. They're not going to be a throw it every snap team. They want to run the football, do it with tempo, be a pro-spread run game with NFL tendencies. If need be, which was the case the last couple weeks, they'll call more dropback passes on first and second down. Did more of that the last two weeks than previous 8 weeks combined. They've been able to protect Ehlinger well, and they're pretty talented on the perimeter.
On secondary ... a lot of moving parts in the second half due to injuries and necessity. Weren't able to see the culmination of the week of work because so many guys got knocked out, but feels the defense was more comfortable and allowed them to play faster.
On Boyd ... Thought Boyd played great against WVU. As an offense coach, there has to be a massive discrepancy in talent between two different corners to target one guy or not target one guy. They don't have that. Thinks when balls get throw at Boyd, they're thrown because that's what the route scheme was the intended place for the ball to go. Doesn't think teams are specifically targeting Boyd.
On pass rush ... Credit to Orlando and Giles. Let guys come on obvious passing situations. Omenihu off the edge was important, as was getting Roach back. Schematically, put guys in a good position to make plays. Thought Omenihu, Hager and Roach all played well, and Nelson got good push up the middle.
On senior day ceremonies ... Doesn't expect any juniors to participate, as was the case last year. Their intention is to redshirt Jamari Chischolm and John Burt, have both those guys back next year. Both have two games left to play this year.
On Brock Purdy and Hakeem Butler .. Recruited Butler at Houston. Great kid, basketball guy, extremely talented. The thing he's developed is his physicality. He's a punishing blocker on the perimeter. Purdy is undefeated. Has a ton of moxie, nothing fazes him. Has the it factor, can make plays with his feet when things break down.
On mixing defensive fronts ... they have mixed quite a bit. Just because you only see three down linemen doesn't mean they're not in four down spacing. They have been multiple in terms of their front presentation. In a league like the Big 12 where there are so many good passing teams, you're going to want some DBs on the field, going to want to be in that lightning package. What offenses have done is done a good job of running the football. Have to make sure they're more sound in their dime packages against the run.
On playing games that go down to the final seconds and being able to come out on top ... It's awesome. Have a great group of captains. Those guys have seen a lot on the Forty Acres, been through a lot, sacrificed a lot. It's not just the captains. Lots of senior leaders on the team that have been very dialed in. Jerrod Heard was offensive MVP last week for switching positions and coming up huge for them. Now is the time to put the pedal to the mettle. 12 days left in the regular season and hopefully a couple post-season games. These guys are fully aware of what the team is capable of doing, they know the potential of this team. Thinks they're hell-bent on making sure the team achieves its potential.
On Texas turning into the prototypical Big 12 team ... Doesn't bother him. They're going to win the game in any way it can be won. Still not where they want to be running the football, not there yet. Best players on offense are WRs, QB and TE and RBs out of the backfield. Not going to turn into a throw it 70 times a game team. They understand that no matter what they draw up on defense, they're playing some of the best offenses in the country, you're not going to win those last few games 17-14. That's not going to happen. The offense understands that early in the week. Game plan always starts with being balanced but as the game unfolds, you have to adjust.
On Breckyn Hager .. Legacy, father was a tremendous player. Breckyn is a ball of energy, is a guy that if you want to look up the definition of the word passion for your school, your team and your teammates, you don't need to look any further than Breckyn Hager. They'll be excited to hopefully send him off the right way, but lots of football left to be played.
Having two weapons the caliber of LJH and Collin Johnson helps, and they're not worried about awards. Splitting receptions may hurt their chances at awards, but they don't care. They complement each other very, very well. Excited to have some individual success, but more importantly have that individual success lead to team success.
On trick plays ... They carry them every week, had a couple called last week that they had to check out of. Those will continue to be a staple of their offense.
On ISU and what they did vs WVU ... ISU pressures 12-15 percent of the time. Against WVU, pressured about 40% of the time, many of them exotic. Their D-coordinator was in a great rhythm in that game.
On which senior will need a tissue more than the others ... Hager certainly comes to mind. Elijah Rodriguez is a pretty emotional guy. If there are any tears with him, it'll be tears of gratitude to the school and the coaches. Such a humble guy, very faith-driven individual who doesn't mind showing gratitude to program and the coaches.
On 500th game at DKR Saturday ... First he's heard of it, but DKR-Texas Memorial is one of the icons in college football. It's a stadium that for a long time was just Texas Memorial Stadium, the decision was appropriately made to add coach Royal's name. Honored to be a part of any milestone at this great stadium.
That's it for today.
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