University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Football Coach Todd Monken Weekly News Conference
11/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Opening Statement...
"We quickly had to put the Marshall game to bed with the short week. We came in last night and had a little bit of an extended Sunday. Basically just a walk through last night. Moved on to UTSA. We are excited about the opportunity to play on Thursday night. We will leave here Wednesday. Most important thing is how we get our guys' legs back and our mind back. We have two more opportunities left so that is where our focus is. (UTSA is) A team that has a number of seniors that really started this program with Coach (Larry) Coker, who has done a great job. They want to go out the right way. I know they have had a tough back end of the season with some quarterback issues. Playing the young guy as the older guy got hurt. We expect them to come out fired up and ready to play just like we will be."
After watching the film from Saturday, what was the biggest issue...
"The biggest issue is you only have so many opportunities against a really good team to seize momentum. The whole idea of the week was to score more, longer. That was the theme. We don't want to give them the ball very often. That means we have to be able to run the football, which we did, and sustain drives, which we did at times. The problem was we were going to onside kick it until we didn't get it. We were going to keep going. The sad part was, it started off the right way, but we have a mental mistake that stops us from getting the ball back. We don't do a very good job from there for the next 15 minutes of playing good football. After we have to kick off from the 30, they get the ball at the 45 and score. They kickoff to us. We go three and out. We have a 25-yard punt that gives them the ball on the 50. They score. We get the ball back and have a fourth and inches and fumble a QB snap and they get it on the 30. Next time we get the ball, we get a field goal. We kick it off and they return it to our 45. We did everything in our power to not allow ourselves at home to capitalize on the momentum. We didn't get them enough in third downs. Even with that being said, right before the half we have an opportunity. Four straight times we had the ball on the 50 or closer and didn't get any points. That has been kind of, unfortunately as we are going through these growing pains as a coaching staff and playing, we don't find a way to score enough on opportunities we've been given. We, for the last five or six weeks, have done a pretty nice job of moving the ball. We just haven't been able to sustain those drives and consistently get touchdowns. That is just the way it is."
On the quarterback situation...
"We anticipate Nick (Mullens) will play."
On having Nick Mullens back...
"We don't know yet. Last night was really just a walk through, so we will have a better idea today. Actually, tonight. For our guys, it is a big day of the week for them. Monday is a big day of the week for our guys in terms of labs and class. We are going to go tonight at 9:30. We will go out for an hour tonight and get after it. It was either get them up early this morning after being here last night or come again tonight. We will have a better idea (on Nick) tonight."
On having a short week...
" think you do a lot more stretching. You give them a lot more rest in terms of how much you really ask them to run. When I was with the Jaguars, we would have a Sunday / Thursday game. That is one day shorter. That is a real nightmare that turnaround. Playing Saturday night is a short turnaround. Bottom line is you have to do what you do. In a short week, just like when I was there, you have to play to your strengths that your players will know. You don't have a lot of practice time to come up with a lot of things that are new because you don't have a lot of time to work on them. Maybe it is a good thing we don't have a lot of time to create things. Do what we do and do it better."
On running the ball...
"We have tried to do that. With Cole (Weeks) when he was playing, our sample size was small. Sometimes our ability to run the ball; it doesn't matter what you are doing. The better you can run the football, the more you are going to call it. When you find yourself behind the sticks a little bit, then you don't feel as inclined to call the run game. Some of the other games we have been behind, so that added to it. If you look at the last five or six weeks, when the game has been in the balance, we have tried to run it. We have tried to run it and stay in front of the sticks. We just did a better job at it the other night. Didn't do a very good job of it two weeks ago calling it. We have to be able to run the football. There is no question. We have gotten a lot better up front. I think another week with Norman (Price) at right tackle and Jerry Harris help. We will see this week."
On what challenges does the UTSA defense pose...
"They play awfully hard defensively. They have seven or eight senior starters with a number of senior and junior backups. That is one thing you can say about them. I don't think they are very complicated, but I think they are very sound in what they do. They play hard and they challenge you. They play off of each other very well. I think that is the biggest thing. That is usually most defenses. Ones that are really good usually do what they do and do it really well. "
On deciding who is going to get the ball with four running backs...
"Some of it dictates (with the) flow of the game. Some of it dictates who is available. George (Payne) had a nicked up shoulder so he couldn't go (against Marshall). Some of the carries that Ito (Smith) got in short yardage, probably would have been George. We were in a number of those early in the game that would have been for George. It just turned out it was Ito. We went into the game thinking we were going to be able to have George, but he wasn't able to go. He was dressed. That is where that came from. Ito is a good runner. You just have to be careful of getting too many carries for him. He has an explosive burst and has a way of finding seems. He just does. He is a guy that has created explosive runs for us no matter who we went against."
On the improvement of Ito Smith since the beginning of the season...
" he has gotten better. I think we blocked it better. A guy that is a jump-cut running back, if you put people in their face, they are going to want to naturally make a cut. It is his nature. You have to be careful. There were times in other games where you put someone right in his face, he is going to make a move. We didn't have that as much. He had space to get downhill and I think he's done a better job of that. Plus he is healthy. There was a moment earlier in the year where he was a little nicked up, but he is healthy."
On going against a coach like Larry Coker...
"Coach Coker has done a great job. He did a great job at Miami. It is not easy to start a program and then jump right into Division I. They had a tremendous year last year. That is not easy. They are always well prepared. It is not like they are doing unsound things. They have just had some unfortunate things happen to them at the quarterback position. Momentum is a powerful thing because they are still a number of those players that are playing from early in the year but all of a sudden, you are not playing as well and for some reason or another you can't get it back. I can't speak for them, but I know they have good players. I know they have good coaches. We are excited to play them and we are expecting their best. We have to do a great job, as they do, of putting the game last week behind us and move forward."
