University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Todd Monken Weekly Media Conference
11/3/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Opening statement...
"We got through the UTEP film yesterday. Made the corrections. Let the guys go and moved on to Marshall. Doc Holliday has done a tremendous job there. He's in his fifth year. The players that are there now are guys he recruited. They are really good on both sides of the ball. They are athletic. They are well coached. They have a senior quarterback in (Rakeem) Cato that gives you problems - run and pass. He is a guy that can extend plays. They do a really good job defensively. They are not complicated. They just play hard. I think they have good players and they are well coached."
On the challenge of facing an undefeated team for Homecoming...
"It is always good to come back home. Marshall is a really good football team. I have voted them in the Coaches' Poll every week from the get go after playing them last year and knowing what they had coming back. They are a really good football team. It is a challenge for us, but one we are excited about."
What did you take away from the UTEP game...
"Our defense played well and I thought they would. Our guys up front played well. I thought our front seven played more downhill. We didn't give up as many big plays as we did against Louisiana Tech. That is the key - how do you eliminate the explosive plays. On special teams, we offset each other. We had a big play blocking the field goal, but we give up a kickoff return (for a touchdown). We didn't do a very good job of coverage. I don't even think we made him hesitate. Offensively, we did everything in our power to not play well. When you think about the possessions we had. Two of the possessions were turnover on downs. Five turnovers. Three straight in the first half were we got offensive holding calls by receivers that put you in 3rd and 17, 3rd and 23 and 3rd and 25. You are not going to score very often. Every time we would get something going and get to midfield, we would turn it over or find a way to not give ourselves a chance. You aren't going to beat anyone like that irrespective of who's playing. We have to do it better. We've made a lot of strides as a program and as an offense. We ran the ball better, but you can't do those things. Dumb loses more than smart wins and you just can't do those types of things."
On the challenge of facing Rakeem Cato...
"The biggest challenge in facing a guy like that is he is a very confident player; just the way he carries himself. He has a belief in himself, which is a start. I think the guys feed off of that. The toughest thing in defending him is not necessarily him running with the ball. The threat is always there. With him, it is getting him to the ground because when he moves, he looks to throw. That is where those guys are dangerous. When the pocket breaks down and he gets outside and he is able to extend plays. That is really the toughest thing. I think who he is, his core make up as far as his confidence, and his ability to extend plays."
On the status of Nick Mullens...
"We will have to evaluate him tomorrow. When we get to practice and see if we can get him out there. We don't know right now if we will have him or not. "
On your overall assessment of the team so far...
"We are so much better than we were. We are on the right track. It is frustrating because this is a no non-sense business. We have to find a way to win games. I feel like (we had a chance) the last couple of weeks, losing Nick (Mullens) stings. He is arguably our best offensive player. But that has nothing to do with playing good football. That has been the disappointing part of it. I do feel our guys have continued to play hard. I know we are on the right path. Now we have to find a way to play collectively better. It is going to come. We are just not there yet. I like our guys' attitude. It has been great. We continued to fight all the way up to the end of the game the other night. We just didn't do things well enough."
On the team responding to Cole Weeks...
"Cole is highly respected with our team. Cole is a hard worker. Nobody wants to play better than Cole. Cole has been around here now three years. There is a belief in Cole. Obviously, our sample size is small. Some of the mistakes he made are because he just hasn't played. Did we probably put too much on his plate? Yes. Did UTEP have something to do with that? Yes. The mistakes that we made collectively around Cole that didn't help. Everything. It's coaching. It's playing. All of the above."
On homecoming week...
"It is special in terms of what it is going to mean to (the team) when they come back and what it means to the former players and students that come back and the memories that they have. The memories they'll have when they come back for their homecoming games. Other than that, I can't tell you. I know it is another game against a really good Marshall team. A ranked Marshall team, deservedly so. We have a real challenge in front of us. Our challenge is putting this one behind us and moving forward (towards this week). What does Marshall present to us irrespective who you play, offensively, defensively and special teams so we can do it better.
On the play of freshman DB Cornell Armstrong...
"Cornell comes from a really good program in Bassfield. He doesn't say a word. Just works hard every day. You are going to see improvement. He has length. He has speed. He has competitiveness. He just hasn't played. That is it. He made the tackle on the reverse for a loss yardage play that looked like it was going to be a big play. Sometimes a fumble recovery just happens to be in the right spot. He has the ability to be a really good football player. He has all the intangible things and he has raw makeup athletically."
On the play of WR Casey Martin...
"He likes to play. He just gets it. He has enough body quickness. He can get open. He comes to work every day and practices hard. Flawless? No, but, for a number of our guys who have been leading us in receptions, he is one of those guys and he wasn't here in the spring. He has been a real positive for us. We have tried to utilize him and use him to his strengths."
On punter Tyler Sarrazin...
"He has all the talent in the world. He really does. He has a strong leg. It is just consistency. He has the capability of being special as a punter. I thought he did a good job (at UTEP). Our guys did a good job of covering. I think our net for the game was 41 or 42, which if you have that every week, you are going to be in the top five or 10 in the country. That was a positive for us. He is only going to get better as he gets experienced."
On the initial plan to redshirt Sarrazin last season...
"The plan was to redshirt him and then (Matt) Moseley got hurt. It kind of pushed that to the forefront. When we took Tyler, we knew he could punt, but we thought he would help us more with kickoff and maybe be a placekicker. With Moseley getting hurt, we have gone in that direction with Corey (Acosta). He is a great kid who wants to be a great player. It is just a matter of time."
