University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Football Coach Todd Monken's Weekly Media Conference
8/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss football coach Todd Monken addressed the media here Monday with his first weekly media conference, previewing the Mississippi State game which will be played at Carlisle-Faulkner Field this Saturday on the Golden Eagle campus.
Here are some of Coach Monken's statements:
Opening Statement...
"We are excited to get the 2015 season kicked off. It started last winter with the hiring of Zac Woodfin as our strength and conditioning coordinator and was a change we felt like we needed to make there. We have had a great off-season, a great summer and a really good last four weeks. We've done a good job here in terms of changing over the roster to give ourselves a chance to have success every week. We feel good about all the players that we have. I like the direction we have taken and Saturday will be a barometer to how far we've come. It was obvious we hadn't come far enough when we went up there last year and played.
"Coach Mullen has done a great job. His staff has been tremendous in terms of recruiting and creating a culture of not accepting mediocrity. In my mind they were one game away at the end of the year from playing in the tournament and giving themselves a chance at a national championship.
"This will be the fourth time in five years that I've been a part of a team that has faced a Manny Diaz defense - twice when I was at Oklahoma State and last year when he was at Louisiana Tech. He does a great job creating pressure and getting you in loss yardage situations with turnovers. That's what this game is about and he does a great job of that. This will be a challenge but it's one that we are looking forward to as I know our fans are and our players are. I know we are significantly better. All we have to do is have a great week this week and see where we are Saturday night but I'm excited about our team."
Contrast how you are feeling going into this year from how you felt last year...
"When you are around your guys all the time and you practice against each other, it's really hard to assess where you are. There are no preseason games or jamborees, so you only know what you know. Coaches are the ultimate optimists `if we do this and we can do these things right we can give ourselves a chance to win because there are a number of ways to win games.' I can tell you that I'm a better head coach, we have done better with things this offseason. We have recruited better and we have more talent. Now we have to be able to put it on the field. Every day since the winter we have had fewer offseason issues, not in terms of mistakes that a couple of guys made but in the little things. Going to class and being on time to things, we had fewer of those things and it was a sign of maturity."
Is there a part of you that is amped up about going against a defensive coordinator that is good at what they do?
"Sure, there is an excitement to that. It's fun to go against somebody that challenges you as an offensive coach and forces you to execute, so there is a challenge to that. There is a challenge to the scheme they present and the players they have. I felt a lot like in 2011, when I was at Oklahoma State, we won big because our defense created turnovers. We led the nation in creating turnovers. We were really good on offense but we created a bunch of turnovers. Louisiana Tech was good on offense but they were really good at changing the game and changing the momentum of the game. That's why I think very few people do what he does, but that's the reason you have success. It's fun and I thought we had a pretty good plan last year, but losing (starting quarterback) Nick (Mullens in the game) obviously stung us a little bit. It will be a lot of fun Saturday night."
Is it possible both quarterbacks see time or will it be one guy?
"It's possible. We anticipate both to play, because both are good players."
What do you have to do to slow down Dak Prescott?
"First of all, he is a tremendous football player. When you talk about him getting his opportunity you mention how he is one of the rare examples of a young man buying his time and working hard. So many people today want to quit and change. They want it now. He has worked hard to get where he is and that's a credit to him and his staff around them up there. He took advantage of it. They have taken off up there since he started playing. What he does is he doesn't make mistakes, he is accurate and he can beat you with his feet or his arm. That's a difficult proposition but I do think they do the right things with him. They run him when they have to run him, but he is a tremendous player and obviously they have taken off since he became their quarterback. I give a lot of credit to him. What I would like to see with our young people today is if they don't have success immediately then they fight, scratch and claw to get where they want and to not give up and that's what he did."
How do you balance Dak Prescott and keep him in check since he can run and throw the ball?
"First of all, he is hard to bring down and those guys like him that are bigger and can carry their pads like he does with deceptive speed. The biggest thing is to not let him get going. Bigger backs and bigger receivers you have to make them stop and start because they aren't start-stop guys. Not that he can't, but when you get those big guys rolling you have to do a great job of gang-tackling and put pressure on him. I don't care if it's Dak Prescott or anyone else that we are playing the whole idea is that you have to affect the quarterback. That's what they do so well with Manny Diaz, they get to the quarterback. If you look at the games where they have had success they are affecting the guy that has the ball. Ultimately it has a huge effect in the outcome so it's how do we affect him that he can't sit back there and get settled or comfortable. Defensively that's part of it. Part of it is we have to do better offensively than we did last year in terms of six-straight possessions with three-and-outs or turnovers. We have to put more pressure on the opposing coaches to make calls and the opposing players to make plays when it matters. Everybody can call and make plays when it doesn't matter. You have force them to make plays when it matters and he has done a great job of that. So we have to continue to apply that pressure."
Some of the players from will get to play against their teammates from high school and in from of their home fans. Do you see that being a big deal?
"It's always important when you play in front of your family and friends and against your peers. It's a matter of pride so there is no question that all plays into it. Obviously whomever you play first to start the year off right with is important. This just happens to have a little more hype and build up around it since it's on national TV. We obviously didn't put our best foot forward last year and I expect that to be different."
How do you keep the kids from being overwhelmed on a big stage?
"I don't know, we have played on some pretty big stages. We played at Alabama, Nebraska, and up at Mississippi State. The neat thing is we get to play them here. The thing is, one of the things that if our conference wants to take a step forward, and our school wants to take a step forward, then you have to get those teams to come play here. You have to recruit talent, you have to coach them up and you have to give yourself the best chance to win by playing at home and we did that. Getting those guys to come here this weekend gives us the best chance to win besides what you can control like your personnel and how you develop them. Outside of that, can you get them here in front of your home fans? It makes it very difficult and hard on them to function. When you're playing those teams on the road you are already at times at a disadvantage, some matchups more than others. That's what is the biggest difference from last year, just playing them here."
What will have to happen for Southern Miss to be 1-0 for the first time since 2011?
"It's really simple, I say it every year and it comes down to five things - turnovers, explosive plays, third-down conversions, score zone and lost yardage plays. Who wins those categories wins the game. It comes down to who executes their game plan better. That's the bottom line to what it is and if we excel in those areas then we will have a good chance to win the game."
With the late kickoff, is the team planning to do something different later on the week?
"We have already started that with our scrimmages going later, each one of them was an hour later. The last one, we played at nine. Obviously that's the only thing you can do with class (schedules). If you didn't have school then you could plan the week and say `Hey, every day this week we are going to practice at nine.' That does not bode well, though, with 8 a.m. classes. As you get later on in the week, you try to get them to sleep in if they can, especially on Saturday. We will get them up a little bit later. Obviously you have to hydrate and do a great job of keeping their minds off their anxiety of the game and waiting around all day. They have to deal with the same issues we do and that won't be an issue one way or another. The team that prepares the best and plays the best will win."
