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00:00 that first quarter when you guys were struggling to move the ball and what changed over the course of the game that allowed you guys to start generating some offense?
00:09 Yeah, I wouldn't say it was the jitters. I think we just, you know, we just let some plays out on the field. I think that's just what happens and, you know, that's football.
00:17 And so we had to find a way to, you know, it's the first game and some mistakes are bound to happen.
00:21 And we have, you know, we have a long season and, you know, we're ready to get back to work on Monday to prepare for Richmond.
00:27 But overall, I say, you know, we made we made some great plays out there, but we left a lot out there as well.
00:32 So it's definitely fixable.
00:34 I know to add on to that, was anything said in the locker room?
00:38 Because you guys look like a different team in the second half.
00:40 And really, what do you credit that second half to?
00:44 No, nothing that nothing outstanding.
00:46 You know, the main message was do your job.
00:49 And that's what Coach Tuck tells us to do.
00:51 And that's what we relate to our teammates as well, which is do your job.
00:55 You know, if everyone does the job correctly, the plays are going to be made.
00:58 And so we just did it better in the second half.
01:01 Hi, guys.
01:02 Congratulations on your first win, opening up the season.
01:05 This question is for both of you gentlemen.
01:08 You go through the whole offseason, high anticipation, first play of the game, one of your teammates goes down.
01:13 Unfortunately, he was able to come back.
01:15 What does that do for you mentally to see a player go down and you think about injuries and he gets to come back?
01:20 But how do you reset from something like that?
01:22 I'm just curious to know what both of you have been thinking about that.
01:24 It's tough to see.
01:25 You don't want to see your teammates go down.
01:27 It's your brothers.
01:28 And you want them to stay healthy for every weekend.
01:31 I mean, it's part of the game, though.
01:32 Injuries are part of the game.
01:33 They happen.
01:34 They happen in practice.
01:35 And it's just things that happen.
01:36 And I think you just kind of got to hope that he's okay and hope that everything's okay.
01:40 But then you got to get back to reality.
01:41 We're still in the game.
01:42 We still got to take care of business.
01:44 Yeah, exactly what Cal said.
01:46 You know, it was good to see him come back as well.
01:48 And he came back in the second half.
01:50 So seeing him on the sidelines and stuff like that, knowing he's okay,
01:53 that was a good thing to see.
01:55 But, you know, that's just football.
01:57 It just happens.
01:58 And so we're trying not to think about it.
02:00 You don't go in the game thinking about getting injured.
02:02 And so as long as everyone's not thinking like that, you know,
02:05 we're trying to move on, make sure that guy's okay.
02:08 And we still got to take the game.
02:11 Daniel, I'm a friend over here.
02:13 I was wondering when you found out you were going to start?
02:19 I think it was like a week or so before the game, a week or two.
02:24 I don't even remember.
02:26 Okay.
02:27 And then, you know, you talked earlier about kind of the rough start off.
02:30 I mean, how much confidence did you gain in the second half?
02:33 Big play, a couple of dispatchers.
02:38 Did you gain confidence as the game went on, you know,
02:40 knowing this is the first start and all that?
02:42 Yeah, I would say I never lost my confidence.
02:45 I was confident going into the game.
02:46 I was confident, you know, when we had a three and off.
02:49 I was confident either way because I know, you know, the plays are there.
02:53 It's not like we were just throwing the ball.
02:56 Like it's not like we were just making dumb mistakes like that.
02:58 It was just like one guy here or there, me missing a pass or whatever it was.
03:03 It was just something, little, every single play.
03:05 And I knew everybody on the side line was, you know,
03:08 on the same page where nobody was out going crazy like,
03:11 "Oh, what are we doing?
03:12 What are we doing?"
03:13 No, we know we can make the plays.
03:14 We've seen it.
03:15 There's nothing to prove to anybody.
03:17 We proved it to ourselves in practice.
03:19 And so everybody was confident to go on to the next drive
03:23 and, you know, hopefully just make the play the next drive
03:26 and everyone was on that same page.
03:28 Something for each of you.
03:29 Cal, can you grade the defensive effort tonight?
03:32 And do you secretly want to be a DB in the other interception?
03:36 Yeah.
03:37 In the first half, we had a little bit of a slow start.
03:40 I mean, they're a great team.
03:41 They came out and they played a really good game.
03:43 We respect everything they do because they came out
03:45 and they had a really good game plan.
03:47 I mean, effort-wise, everyone was playing to the ball
03:50 and trying to do it, but it's the first game
03:52 and there's things that happen.
03:54 It's the first game, so people getting back out there,
03:56 it's kind of--it's just different than practice.
03:58 And so you've got to think of it as similar to practice as possible,
04:01 like missing tackles, making sure communication goes through.
04:04 I think in the second half, it picked up.
04:06 I mean, we just followed the plan, made some adjustments,
04:08 but I think overall it was okay.
04:11 We had got a lot of cleaning up to do, I would say.
04:14 But second half, we made it.
04:16 Noah, can you grade the offense?
04:18 And how big were those catches that Glover made on that drive
04:21 to end the first half?
04:23 Yeah, I think it's hard to give ourselves a grade.
04:27 I think that would just relate back to what I was saying earlier.
04:30 Like, you know, we left plays on the field,
04:32 but we made some good plays.
04:34 And, you know, we have some good receivers, we have good running backs,
04:37 we have a good O-line, and good tight ends.
04:40 And, you know, the plays are going to be there,
04:43 and we're going to make those plays.
04:44 And, you know, as the weeks go on, the more we're practicing,
04:46 the more we're going to make those plays.
04:48 But, yeah, Ryan, those catches were big.
04:50 You know, I think he's a sophomore, and I think it's his first start.
04:55 And so him making those big plays, gaining that confidence,
04:58 is just going to carry on to the next game and the next game and the next game.
05:01 You know, it could be a really good thing for him.
05:05 Cal, over here.
05:09 This way.
05:10 Over here.
05:12 In that first part of the game, especially the first quarter,
05:15 things weren't clicking for the offense.
05:18 As a defense, do you guys kind of talk amongst yourselves and say, hey,
05:21 we've got to hold it down until those guys can get into a rhythm
05:25 and get everything going?
05:28 We kind of just got to focus on our job.
05:30 We want the offense to move the ball.
05:32 We want everything.
05:33 We want the best offense to run the ball the whole entire game.
05:36 But we can't let that affect the way we play.
05:39 We just got to go out and do our job and take care of business
05:42 and then get the ball back to the offense.
05:44 That's kind of the goal of defense.
05:46 So we don't try to let it affect us, how the offense is doing,
05:50 good, bad, or in between.
05:52 We just go out and do our job and focus on what we need to focus on.
05:56 Right in the middle here, as for your second half adjustments,
06:00 what did you guys feel like you did greater,
06:02 keeping Burt Manuel kind of more in the pocket
06:05 and kind of make him become more of a caster than that dual threat quarterback?
06:09 We just made some adjustments.
06:12 We knew he was fast.
06:13 He got outside, and we just needed to keep him in the contain.
06:16 So we tried to make sure that we could go for the outside leg,
06:19 maybe try to cut back, keep him in the field, give our guys a chance
06:23 instead of letting him get outside because he was a really good runner,
06:26 really good on the speed.
06:28 Just made it tough to stop.
06:33 Noah, I'll come to the other side, the run game for you guys,
06:37 what did Nathan bring, and how much did it help to have him
06:42 and Burt go one-two and kind of keep each other fresh?
06:46 Yeah, I think that's big.
06:47 I mean, I think all of our running backs run hard,
06:50 and that's one thing that we've been coaching our backs to do is just run hard
06:53 because the seams are going to be there,
06:55 and Coach Tuck has been showing us videos like as a running back,
06:58 you only need 18 inches of daylight.
07:00 And so just hit the hole, run hard, and feel like one guy tackling you.
07:04 I think all of our running backs can do that, and they will do that,
07:07 and they'll show that throughout the season.
07:11 Noah, right here.
07:12 I'm just wondering for you, you've been here four years,
07:14 and so this is your first start.
07:16 Just to be a starting quarterback, you know, and everything that comes with that,
07:18 how does that feel when you're sort of taken away from this experience
07:22 and being back in this position again after a little bit of a break?
07:25 Yeah, it feels great.
07:27 I mean, I feel like it was all earned through practice,
07:31 and so it's not like I've got to do anything extra just because I was named
07:35 a starting quarterback.
07:36 It's not like I've got to do any of that.
07:37 I have some great teammates and great leaders along with me like Cal.
07:40 And, you know, it's not like I can lead a team by myself.
07:44 It's a collective group, and we're looking to be a team, a player-led team.
07:48 And I think we have that right now, and it's going to continue to be that way.
07:52 And if we continue to do that, we can be a really good team.
07:55 Just a personal satisfaction for you to go after, you know,
07:58 just under way your career has gone to now be back at that position again?
08:01 Yeah, for sure.
08:03 I try not to think of it too much of a satisfaction deal because, for me,
08:07 it's just we've done--you know, our season just started.
08:10 And, yeah, there's no time to rest.
08:13 We'll be satisfied.
08:15 We have a long season ahead.
08:18 You know, the two fourth down plays that you had, were they set plays
08:22 or were they plays that were kind of based on what you saw the defense
08:26 they were--their percentage was playing?
08:29 I don't know.
08:32 I think we just trust our guys to get it done.
08:34 And I don't exactly remember--I don't remember the exact play.
08:38 I'll have to go back and watch that on film.
08:40 But, yeah, I think if it gets to a situation like that, we trust each other.
08:45 And coaches trust us, and we trust them to make the right calls.
08:48 And if it's on fourth and one or fourth and ten, you know, our job is to get it done.
08:54 Anything else, guys?
08:59 Noah, was there a single play where you felt like, "Okay, I got it going now"?
09:03 Or was it more of a gradual thing?
09:05 Do you remember one play that sparked you?
09:08 I think it was just a gradual thing.
09:11 A big part of it was probably watching our defense, how hard they played,
09:14 and getting all those stops.
09:16 It definitely added fuel to the fire for not just me but everybody.
09:19 You know, you see your teammates going out there and they're battling,
09:22 and that definitely helps the offense get going.
09:25 And, yeah, I guess I don't know what completion it was that started everything,
09:30 but I think just collectively we just got the juices going.
09:34 And once we were rolling, we were doing pretty well.
09:39 I can think of one.
09:40 I think it might have been third down.
09:41 I went down the sideline, and you dropped one in the bucket.
09:43 I can't--might have been a clubber.
09:45 What were your feelings around that part of the game?
09:48 Well, one, I was happy for Ryan.
09:50 You know, he just made, I think, two big plays that drive.
09:53 And then we ended up running the ball in the end zone,
09:57 and that's what we want to see from our team.
09:59 We want to run the ball in the end zone.
10:01 And so, yeah, that was definitely, I would say, was a key moment of some momentum.
10:07 You know, in the front over here, they--it looks like the line kept pretty clean tonight.
10:11 You had the one run where you got the layup hit out of bounds,
10:14 and you got a platter that was--I guess when you go through that play,
10:17 you got a first big hit you take.
10:19 Tell me what part of that was.
10:21 You know, honestly, I haven't really been hitting that long.
10:24 So, I mean, I haven't been hitting so long.
10:26 So, like, you know, getting hit again was just like a fun kind of thing.
10:30 You know, it's football.
10:31 We play football, and, you know, that's what you want to do as a child's game.
10:34 So, at the end of the day, we're going out there to have fun.
10:36 So, getting hit again was a good thing to feel, I guess.
10:40 I don't know.
10:42 But, yeah, it was cool.
10:44 All right, all set, guys?
10:45 Yeah.
10:46 Thank you.