Postgame - Mel Tucker talks win over CMU
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00:00 so much for coming out, I know it's late.
00:03 So, I'll be brief, so we can get you out of here.
00:06 Really happy with the way our guys played, the effort.
00:09 Obviously, we have a lot of things to clean up,
00:11 give Central Michigan a lot of credit.
00:14 Coach McAleenan does a great job with those guys.
00:17 Outstanding coaching at the first half,
00:19 those guys played hard.
00:20 They're gonna win some football games this year.
00:26 We started slow, but we kept chomping.
00:30 We were able to execute in all three phases.
00:33 And get the win, so, this is a good start for us
00:38 with one and O, 24 hour rule,
00:40 we're gonna get back to work, get on enrichment.
00:43 We expect to have a better football team next week.
00:46 So, with that, I'll open up for questions.
00:48 Excuse my voice, it's gone on.
00:55 - About really kinda looking at the film just yet,
00:58 what do you think you can attribute the slow start to?
01:02 And what do you think changed, particularly in Noah,
01:05 that allowed him to start kinda finding a rhythm?
01:08 - Yeah, I just thought we had some jitters out there.
01:11 It's just, you know, first game, first game out.
01:14 New team, new season, you know, at home.
01:18 A lot of nervous energy.
01:20 You know, I thought Noah played a lot,
01:22 told the coach that half time I liked the way he was playing.
01:24 He threw some good balls, he had some drops early.
01:27 He played an easy bit of different half.
01:30 He could execute a little bit better.
01:32 I just think it was, you know, jitters.
01:35 And obviously, gives Central some credit in the air.
01:36 They're good players, they're gonna come out
01:38 and play on an orderly.
01:39 He was physical earlier, and they were getting out.
01:42 - Mel, the third down pass to Glover, 32 yards, I think.
01:49 How pivotal was that, looking back,
01:51 where that was in the game, being down?
01:54 - Yeah, big play, explosive play.
01:57 He didn't have some explosives, obviously.
02:00 He's a player, you know, that we recruited
02:05 because he's got a really good skill set.
02:07 His pass, that run of the pass, you know,
02:10 his spring had a good ball count.
02:12 So we were expecting him to be able to make some plays.
02:16 So, yeah, that was one of the questions
02:19 going into the season.
02:20 How often, what receivers do we have that can make some plays
02:25 and make some big plays, and obviously,
02:28 like you did that.
02:29 So it was really good to see,
02:30 but we weren't surprised that he didn't have practice
02:32 quite a bit.
02:33 - Coach Reyer, there were some moments in the game
02:37 when you could've, when your team could've gotten
02:39 to some skirmishes with Central, but they didn't.
02:42 You know, what would you say about your team's ability
02:44 to keep their composure throughout the game?
02:46 - Yeah, tough, disciplined.
02:48 Selfless, we, you know, if you're not disciplined,
02:53 then we're not gonna be very good.
02:54 And so, you know, it was good composure.
02:57 We talked about we have poise and confidence
03:00 in doing our jobs.
03:01 And, you know, discipline is, you know, doing your job.
03:06 And I don't know how you're supposed to do it.
03:08 When you're supposed to do it,
03:09 the way you're supposed to get it done.
03:10 And, you know, play through that goal and listen,
03:12 and go to the next play.
03:14 So, you know, we did have some penalties
03:17 that we needed to clean up.
03:18 And we were more disciplined in some areas,
03:20 but obviously we don't wanna give,
03:22 give them our, give yards away to the shortstop.
03:27 - Thank you.
03:27 - Thank you.
03:28 - Yeah.
03:29 - You know, I'm just wondering what you thought of Nick.
03:32 He said to you, it's a big run early, a big run late,
03:34 but, you know, top of the hundred yards in his first game.
03:37 - Yeah, I thought he came out, he was running hard.
03:40 Showed a good burst, explosive.
03:44 He's exactly what we've seen him practice,
03:47 and that's what he showed on film.
03:49 At UConn, he's a good player.
03:53 So, he runs hard and he cares.
03:55 He's a really good teammate, very unselfish.
03:58 He just does what we ask him to do.
04:00 So, we just gotta keep him healthy,
04:03 and he's gonna be a very productive player for us.
04:05 - Grant.
04:08 - Mouth to you.
04:09 I'm wondering, like, one of the things Noah just said
04:12 is that he found out a little more than a week ago
04:14 that he was gonna be the guy.
04:15 So, does that speak to where he is,
04:17 sort of he's the guy, it's not for an ongoing competition?
04:20 And I'm wondering, was there any thought
04:22 before the two Glover catches,
04:25 the way the offense was going,
04:26 of making a change there, if those hadn't happened?
04:28 - No, we didn't think a lot of that.
04:30 I mean, we thought we'd get to a start,
04:33 'cause he earned that, and, you know,
04:36 we knew we'd just level up in that.
04:38 We didn't have any plans to do anything else.
04:41 And I thought he played, thought he did a good job.
04:45 He's got a lot of talent, and you can see that.
04:48 - Hey, man, congratulations on opening the season with a win.
04:52 I know you have a high standard for yourself and the team.
04:54 How much grace can you give yourself,
04:56 the team, and the coaches,
04:57 with this being the first game of the season?
05:00 - Well, you know, football's not a game on purpose.
05:03 We talk as a staff, and we talk to the team
05:07 about this being a four quarter game,
05:11 and expecting us to go all the way down to the wire.
05:14 If it doesn't, it doesn't, but that was our expectation.
05:16 If you look at the film, and you watch those guys
05:18 like play Penn State last year,
05:20 and they went in there, and they didn't get knocked out.
05:23 It was a tough game.
05:25 And so, you know, we know that we need to get better,
05:30 and we will do that.
05:33 You know, when I watch the film,
05:35 the players were happy after the game.
05:39 It's always good to get a win.
05:40 It's not easy to get a win.
05:42 And so were the coaches.
05:43 I told them that I was proud of them,
05:47 and also the coaching staff.
05:48 But, you know, now we're gonna turn the page,
05:52 and get ready for the next one.
05:54 It's just one game.
05:56 I told them, I said, "This is not the end.
05:58 "This is just the beginning.
06:00 "It's a new season, a new team.
06:02 "One and O, good start.
06:04 "All right, now let's get the next step, let's build."
06:07 And typically, you make the most improvements
06:11 with a team between their first and second year.
06:14 So that's what we're gonna want to do.
06:17 - Thank you. - Thank you.
06:18 - Recap.
06:19 Coach, this actually may be a first for me.
06:22 I wanna talk about the other camp.
06:24 When it was, did you think about maybe going forward
06:27 before you kicked the 47 yard field goal,
06:29 or were you confident that you could go in there
06:30 and hit that?
06:31 - Yeah.
06:32 Yeah, so,
06:36 we, you know, we have,
06:39 we follow the analytics best that we can.
06:42 So,
06:44 if it's a go, we'll go for it.
06:49 If it's not, and we're in range,
06:52 then we'll keep the field goal.
06:55 So, it was not a go for us on fourth down,
06:58 and that took a distance.
07:00 I don't remember what the distance was.
07:02 - 47.
07:04 - I mean, I'm talking about like four big blocks.
07:05 - Oh!
07:06 - I don't know, I don't know exactly what it was,
07:08 but it wasn't a go for us.
07:10 I mean, it was, but we were in range.
07:13 And so, that's what we did that.
07:15 And he's got a huge leg,
07:16 so it wasn't a matter of if we could get it there.
07:20 - Stephen, now we've been asking you all year
07:25 about the quarterback position,
07:26 so now that you guys have arrived at a place here,
07:29 just wondering what made Noah the choice
07:31 in the guys to do stack?
07:32 - Yeah, I mean, it was close.
07:33 I mean, he just, you know,
07:34 he just, you know, consistency in performance,
07:39 you know, day in and day out.
07:41 And, you know, we need our quarterback
07:43 to run the offense and not try to do too much.
07:47 Just, you know, get us in and out of the right place,
07:51 you know, for a ball to go from there.
07:53 If it's not there, check it down, run it, throw it away.
07:56 You know, make good decisions,
07:58 be a good leader, be a team guy.
08:00 And, you know, we play well around.
08:02 And, you know, so, you know,
08:06 over the course of time, you know,
08:09 he won the job and obviously,
08:11 I mean, he's a, this is his fourth season with us,
08:15 and so he knows the offense.
08:17 We know him very well,
08:19 and so we feel like he's going to every win for the ball.
08:23 And he's a very talented young man.
08:25 He throws really nice balls,
08:26 got strong runs to run, smart.
08:29 And so, you know, I thought it was a good start for him.
08:34 - Two-part question.
08:37 First, the two-fourth and one calls,
08:42 I guess one, or the question about that is,
08:48 did you like those calls,
08:50 and why is going out of the gun in that situation
08:54 rather than under center calls?
08:56 - Yeah, I don't, we don't have enough time
08:58 to call all that.
09:00 (audience laughing)
09:03 So maybe another time.
09:07 - Okay.
09:09 - We didn't get those.
09:12 We need to get those.
09:13 You talked about that.
09:16 And so that's very what we do to make it work.
09:20 - The second part is Alonte Brown,
09:22 first play of the game.
09:23 Pretty vicious hit.
09:27 Pretty scary situation.
09:29 Did you walk in the process of him getting cleared
09:31 to come back in this game?
09:33 - Yeah, no, I really can't walk you through it
09:35 because it's a medical,
09:37 it's all medical decisions, right?
09:39 So it's basically, you know,
09:41 he was cleared to come back,
09:43 and then we took him out.
09:46 And so, those are medical decisions,
09:50 and I support those 100%.
09:52 It's all about the safety of the player.
09:54 He's in a misperiod.
09:57 So it's happening all the time.
10:01 - In the first quarter,
10:01 you accepted a holding penalty
10:04 that wound up giving Central another crack
10:07 at going for the end zone.
10:08 Was that also an analytics-based decision?
10:10 Or could you walk me through that?
10:12 - Just trying to move him back.
10:14 We were just trying to move him back.
10:17 It wasn't,
10:18 that wasn't like an analytics decision.
10:21 It was just a coaching decision.
10:23 - All right, last question here, Jack.
10:27 Mel, in your career,
10:28 can you remember a guy getting carried off on the board,
10:31 first play of the game,
10:32 and then comes back in and returns a kickoff?
10:34 - Can I remember that?
10:37 Not right, not right off.
10:41 But maybe, I can't remember.
10:45 You can try to guide me, Mel.
10:48 I mean, this is late.
10:50 This is late, and this is my 27th year,
10:53 so I'm just trying to think back.
10:56 I can't remember.
10:58 I'm sorry, Jack.
10:59 - You got another question you wanna ask me?
11:00 - I'm good. - Okay.
11:01 - I was gonna ask you to go into detail
11:03 on the fourth and ones, but we'll do that another time.
11:05 - Okay.
11:06 You can do that next week when Jay gets up here.
11:09 You can ask Jay to form it.
11:12 - All set, guys?
11:12 Thank you, Coach. - Thank you so much.
11:16 - Thank you. - Have a good weekend.
11:17 Go, baby.