Muschamp's Monday Press Conference Video and Transcription
Monday, November 3, 2014 | Football
Florida Gators head football coach Will Muschamp spoke with the media on Monday about the win over Georgia and preparing to take on Vanderbilt Saturday.
Opening statement…
All right, let's get started. I'll recap Georgia quickly. Great team win. Really proud of our guys' preparation and being able to go out and execute and produce and having the ability to run it. When you run for 418 yards, you're going to win a lot of games. To stop the run for the most part as the game wore on, you know, offensively, improved on third down and did some really nice things. Special teams got back to our coverage standards and how we expect us to cover kicks. Andre [Debose] had a nice return on a punt there. As far as the offense is concerned, player of the game I really gave it to our entire offense. When you block as well as we did up front and then on the perimeter, you know a lot of explosive runs come from blocking on the perimeter and our guys did a great job of identifying the run for us and sealing the edges and continuing to climb to the second level.
Matt [Jones] and Kelvin [Taylor] ran the ball extremely well in the game, both of them did. But I felt like it was very unselfish of our wide outs and then their effort and the things they did in the game, as the game wore on, as we continued to have success running it. Obviously, they realized there probably won't be a lot of balls in the air as we move forward in the game. We had a plan for that going in, but again, as you continue to run the ball like that, don't change what you're doing. Explosive, we had 13. Kelvin had four runs, Matt had seven, Treon [Harris] had two.
Really proud of Treon in his first start. I thought he managed himself and our offense very well in the game. He was very composed in how he handled himself and his position. But I'm very proud of him in his first start.
Defensively, you know, probably started a little bit slow, but I never felt like we were getting pushed off the ball. I felt like we played the blocks pretty well. I said after the game, the touchdown run was well executed on their part as far as the blocking on the perimeter like we did. And they did a nice job sealing the edge. And Nick Chubb made a fantastic run. I wish we hadn't missed the tackle there going in the end zone. But from that point on, really settled down in the run game. I felt we played blocks well. And as the scoreboard continued to change, the game changed for them. It played in our favor.
We have a lot of very productive players. Jon Bullard probably played his best game. We played really well up front. Neiron Ball was very productive and has been all year for us. Antonio Morrison had another productive night. Very instinctive, gets off blocks, makes a lot of plays and Jabari Gorman played well as well. We gave it to the defense as far as player of the game. Some guys — when you have that much production across the board we felt like that all those guys deserved some attention. Ball hawks, Quincy Wilson had a nice strip over on our sideline. We had some good pursuit coming to the ball, we overran the fumble there. Brian Poole was a great effort play on Nick Chubb's run there in the third quarter. We got great effort coming out of the stack and Darious Cummings recovers the ball, but we had three or four other guys there, really good example of finishing the play. That's why you get yourself around the football.
Special teams-wise, Kyle Christy and Austin Hardin really handled the elements well. It was very windy on the field, and I thought both of those guys, watching them punt and kick in pregame, how they handled the wind and not let that affect them, as far as the kickoffs. Austin was outstanding with his placement, where we needed to put the ball, and Kyle punted well. Jarrad Davis had another good day on special teams. Marcell Harris got the hard hat for the game and a couple of really nice covers in kickoff, and when you're able to pin an offense down deep that's always huge. Valdez Showers had another great coverage game for us and special teams player of the game is Mike McNeely, you know, that play, that was really a credit to all of those guys across the board. DJ Humphries made an outstanding block, Rod Johnson made an outstanding block. Clay Burton made an outstanding block and the execution was really nice from our football players. Really proud of Mike.
We need to bury the game and move on. Moving on to Vanderbilt, Derek Mason was, of course, the defensive coordinator at Stanford and probably fielded some of the better defenses in college football the last three or four years. He's a really good football coach, extremely intelligent. They've scored three times on defense this year. Last year I believe they had seven or eight fifth year seniors defensively. They're a little young on defense but they do give you some issues mixing from odd and even fronts. So we've got to be able to identify the move around guys for them. Offensively they're a pro-style team, multiple motions and shifts. You've got to be able to leverage formations in the run game, have your eyes in the right spots. Karl Dorrell is the offensive coordinator, a nine-year NFL coach.
They've settled on Johnny McCrary as their quarterback. He had five touchdown passes [last week vs. Old Dominion]. He's an athletic guy with very good arm talent out of Atlanta. We recruited him. He's a good football player.
Ralph Webb is right here from Gainesville. He had 166 yards last week and he'll break the freshman record for Vanderbilt. Stephen Shue, their tight end, is probably one of their better players. He's their leading receiver, a guy that is 6-5, 250-pound guy, blocks on the line of scrimmage well, runs extremely well down the field.
Special teams, they've blocked two kicks, they've scored four touchdowns. They had two kickoff returns against South Carolina, so we'll have our work cut out for us there, 7:30 in Nashville.
Injury wise, Trenton Brown has got a bone bruise on his knee. He's definitely out this week. We'll update you next Monday to how far he will come along through the week. Keanu [Neal] has a high ankle injury, he's definitely out this week. I'll update you Monday on where that is. Gerald Willis has a high ankle. He didn't make the trip Saturday, and I will let you know on Wednesday. Right now, he's questionable at best.
On concerns about overconfidence…
We don't have anything to be overconfident about. I think that one of the things you talk to your players about is how you respond after a loss and how you respond after a win. We need to form some consistency in what we're doing. The work ethic of this football team I think will be – they'll respond the right way.
On this game providing a confidence boost…
I don't think there's any question. We needed a win like that over a good football team. So there's no question that that ought to breed some confidence in what we're trying to do. There's no question.
On receiving the game ball…
Well, again, I was more happy for our players and our fans and then to let them enjoy it as much as anything. I was standing there talking about the game and thinking about the next one to be honest with you. So you kind of move to the next. You reflect when the season is over in my opinion. But I gave it to Jeff McGrew, our equipment manager. He'll paint it up and give it to me after the season.
On paying attention to scenarios to win the East Division…
No. At the end of the day, we need to win. And that's laser focus on Florida and Vanderbilt for our football team. No scenario matters unless we win, and it starts at 7:30 in Nashville.
On making that focus clear to the players…
I haven't addressed them yet about it after the game. I will today.
On potential to lose confidence without a win Saturday…
Not with the leadership we have on this team. You talk in terms of Max Garcia and Chaz Green and D.J. Humphries and Matt Jones. Those are good guys, Antonio Morrison, all those guys are team guys – Vernon Hargreaves, Dante Fowler, Jon Bullard. They're good team guys. They are about the locker room, they're about the football team and what's best for our team. Control the controllables is something we always talk to our football team about. Never once did I think that would happen.
On having experience coaching a team that has been divided…
Not really.
On being proud of the players coming together to win…
Absolutely. It says a lot about them. You talk to them all the time. It's not all about football. It's a lot about life. Life is difficult. There are going to be some hardships that you've got to deal with. It's not always what happens to you, it's how you handle it and move forward with it. There's life lessons in all of this.
On reason for Matt Jones and Kelvin Taylor having such a big game…
We kept the ball. I mean, we had 15 turnovers in the previous four games. When you don't have ball possession, it's hard to continue to do that. The game before the Georgia game, the scoreboard changed quickly on us, and we had a hard time staying in some running-game situations. So that was difficult to deal with. But we haven't, as well, blocked up front and I think we've blocked well up front, but we had some nice running lanes in what we were trying to do. I think it was a good plan by our offensive staff to go into the ballgame. A lot of times, when you get into any game, especially coming off an off-week, you're projecting a little bit of what you think you are going to see, because you don't always see the same things every week. People change up on you. Again, hats off to our offensive staff and their plan. I think you saw the talent level we have at the position and I feel good where we are.
On the running game taking pressure off the quarterback…
I don't know of a lot of pressure with Treon [Harris] internally, if he ever has a lot. He's a very calm, composed young man. He doesn't get flustered by a lot. I saw that throughout the preparation. I saw it on Friday in our walk-through. Saturday morning in the hotel talking to him, if he was nervous he does a good job of faking it that's he's not. I can assure you of that.
On if Treon Harris minded only throwing six times…
He's a team guy. He wants to win. Nobody was happier than Treon Harris was after that game. We'll need to continue to develop that moving forward. I feel very comfortable where we are and moving forward throwing the football. It just never presented itself on Saturday. You felt like, 'why change what we're doing here?' Things were really working for us. Continuing to move the chains and convert on third down. We did not want to get in a game. They're a very good loose downs defense. When you starting cutting [Leonard] Floyd and [Jordan] Jenkins on the edge, they give you some major issues and they do a lot of different combination coverage on the back end. We didn't want to have to deal with it. We didn't want to partake in that game. We needed to shorten the down and distance. Again, I thought it was very well planned by our offensive staff and execution by our players.
On blocks made by Demarcus Robinson…
Not just Demarcus. Latroy Pittman blocked well, Ahmad Fulwood blocked well. On one of the blocks, Demarcus got two guys. That says enough about the effort. He's a competitor. He competes all the time. He's one of our best practice players and he goes out every single day and works extremely hard. Whether it's blocking or running routes, whatever it may be. Returning kicks. He's very competitive, that's one of the greatest talents he has. God has blessed him with a competitive edge.
On the receivers' blocking effort…
It's very unselfish on their part. You look at Matt Jones' touchdown run, there's three guys in the end zone with him. That's Ahmad [Fulwood], that's Pitt [Latroy Pittman] and that's D-Rob [Demarcus Robinson]. They're team guys. They understand that it's coming together for a greater purpose than themselves. That says a lot about the type of young men they are. What I would say is we're going to be able to throw the ball and throw the ball extremely well. But you get into a game like that and you need to do what it takes to win football games. At the end of the day, they all like winning more than anything else. Most of them do. And the ones who don't care about that, you don't want them.
On Vernon Hargreaves' performance this season…
I think he's handling it extremely well. Vernon's a very — you coach him hard, and he's a guy that really handles all of that well as far as those things are concerned. But I think he's played extremely well. I really do. You go back and he had one ball. We got caught in a disguise on 3rd and 9 the other day. We've planned for some more look back when we got on third down, but they didn't look back. They went quick. We got caught off in the disguise look, so that really wasn't on Vernon. That was more on game plan. They completed the dig on his there, but there hasn't been many balls completed. We had a little bit of an issue on their sideline late in the game with a communication. But he's really played well, he's a very good football player. We had a really nice play on the back-shoulder ball down on the goal line. Really, that's a very difficult play to make. Then the deep ball down their sideline, I don't know if there were any other balls his way during the game. But very pleased with how he's handled this year and how he continues to improve and get better. He's a really good leader and a very good communicator as well.
On playing Marcus Maye at safety…
We've got some other guys in the mix, so depending package-wise this week – and looking at it we'll be in a lot of regular personnel, so it'll be a lot of three-linebacker sets with four defensive backs – you know, Marcus has been able to play the nickel and the safety for us. Duke Dawson needs to continue to come on for us. Marcell Harris, Nick Washington are all guys that need to continue to come on for us and help us there. But I thought he did a good job in the game. Brian [Poole] went in and played well at the nickel. We needed that. Both young corners played well. Quincy [Wilson] and Jalen [Tabor] did a nice job. I've been pretty pleased. We've kind of performed a little better. We've improved a little bit each week, in my opinion. I thought the two young corners continue to come on and are going to need to continue to come on as we move forward in our schedule as far as teams throwing the football. But been pleased with the progress from earlier in the year.
On the impact that belief has had on the players…
Well I don't think there's any question it gives you a lot of confidence and belief in what you're doing. You know, you put in a lot of time. Football's a hard game. You only play once a week, and you sit here and come over here for four hours a day and watch film and practice and lift and do all the things that you do. You need to get some positive results from it. The only way you do that is winning. So to be able to get a quality win against a good football team as much work and as much things as we ask these guys to do, there's no question that helps.
On if the players will enter the next game with swagger…
I don't know if swagger ever won you a game. We just need to take off to Vanderbilt and go play and go play well. I believe we're going to fly there.
On the impact of Dante Fowler this season…
He's very important. He's played extremely well. I don't know what his stats are but I like the tape I see. He's playing extremely hard. You turn the tape on and No. 6 is flying around. He's a guy you have to account for on every snap. I think he's playing extremely well, very pleased with how he's playing.
On concerns about Dante Fowler getting double teamed…
Yeah, a little bit. He's getting chipped in some ways, but I think we've done a nice job moving him around enough where you can't sit there and know exactly where he's going to be. We're dropping him into coverage here and there, but not much, but enough. Playing three down and four down with him and moved him to some different spots. We've played him inside at times in a stand up look trying to get a matchup against a guard or a center. So we've got to continue to do those things and move him around, but he's getting a little extra attention but I've been very pleased with number one his effort, his attitude at practice. He goes out every single day. Again, another guy that one of the best things God blessed him with is a competitive edge. He goes out and competes every day at practice. He works extremely hard and is a great example for our young players in the program. But when he was a young player he watched Dominique Easley practice. He watched Sharrif Floyd practice, so you kind of bring that through your program. In order to be a really, really good player, you need to practice well. It's important.
On managing Matt Jones' health…
Well, we do. He didn't have any swelling on his knee from Saturday. That's something we constantly manage as far as his reps are concerned to make sure that we take care of him.
On defense dominating after the first quarter…
When I look in terms of defensive issues, are they getting a huge surge on you up front? I didn't really feel that way. They made a really nice run on the 40-yard touchdown. It was well blocked, we were in position to be there and make a play. We missed a tackle down the field. That wasn't something where we felt like we were just getting blocked. We felt like it was, you tip your hat to them and go play the next down. We had the one zone extra on their sideline that we didn't fit the right way. Our nose got reached. It was about a 22-yard run on their sideline, but we felt like we played the blocks well. You're talking about 60, 65 or 70 yards of the 100 yards rushing in the first quarter comes on two plays. The rest of it past that, we felt like we were playing the runs pretty well. The passing game, they didn't really hit anything on us in the first quarter. Let's just settle down in the run game a little bit, leverage the ball a little better and stay out of some of the middle field stuff for some of the personnel grouping we did. That was really it. We didn't make a lot of adjustments because we didn't feel like there was a bunch of explosive plays. It was really two that happened. They got a bunch of the yards late.
On reason for reduction in penalties…
I wish I could tell you something real fancy, but we just… maybe we're not making some of those knucklehead late hits and things we've sometimes done. Darious [Cummings] had an offside penalty the other day, that was disappointing. It was a good job on their part. I don't know what our other penalties in the game were Saturday. I guess our guys are getting more disciplined, I don't know. We address it all the time. It's something we talk about, it's the self-inflicted wounds of a late hit. There's a difference to me between an aggressive penalty and a stupid penalty. And a guy going and exerting to go make a play and they call, it's a fine line there. You know, the jumping off sides business we haven't had hardly any. On offense, we had one delay of game where Treon [Harris] needed to get the process going a little bit quicker. We may have gotten the call in a little slower too, so that is on us as a staff, as well. But I just think as much as anything, maybe our guys are dialed in on some things. We do a lot of hard count at practice, more than maybe we've done before, and we haven't jumped off sides as many times during the game. We do it in practice all the time, drives me nuts. I don't know. We haven't coached any differently, I guess is what I'm trying to say. I think our guys have done a better job of it. We've coached about the same way everywhere I've ever been.
On Jarrad Davis…
He's playing really well. We talked about it yesterday and D.J. [Durkin] said we need to give him some more snaps. This week, we'll be in more regular, so we'll be playing more Sam, Mike and Will as opposed to two 'backers and a nickel set. He's playing extremely well.
On Vanderbilt's quarterback as a dual threat…
He's certainly capable to do anything in the run game they need to do to be successful, as far as zone read, quarterback counter, quarterback power. He's got a knack for getting the ball vertical and taking care of the football.
On Kelvin Taylor having a breakout game…
I'm sure he's very pleased, which we are too for him. But Kelvin's a team guy. He's not a guy that has been sitting in my office complaining about this, that and the other. That's just not who he is. He's a great person. He's really happy for our football team when we have success, whether he rushes for 190 yards or 60 yards, in my opinion. But he goes out to practice every day and works hard, does what is asked of him. That's the kind of teammate you want.
On Matt Jones and Kelvin Taylor referring to one another as brothers…
I think it's more than just them. There are a lot of guys that are really close on the team. Certainly, they have a good relationship. I think any time you play the same position, and we're mostly a one-back team, there's only going to be one guy there playing the same position, you know. The admiration they have for each other is important and the support they have for each other is important.
