BYU is back on the road to face the West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown, West Virginia on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. ET.
PROVO, Utah—BYU is back on the road to face the West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown, West Virginia on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on FS1.
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Opens in a new window Watch BYUtvThe season is flying by. We are sitting now at 5-3, and looking back on it from where we are as a program we are still in a good spot. Not happy with the results last week. Taking the emotions out of it, we are in a really good spot. I think going into that game against Texas, you wanted to be in a position where you are still in the battle. Being down two scores with 10 minutes left in the game was a good position for us to be in even considering some of the adversity we had to deal with. The disappointing part is that they made two more touchdowns, and we didn't.
I liked that the guys kept fighting. Really good team in Texas. We are trying to learn lessons from that and get better. West Virginia will be the furthest we’ve traveled, so looking forward to that. It’ll be a whole different time zone. Neil [Brown] does a great job and you can see his background on the offensive side. He is an offensive guru and now head coach, so he is establishing their identity on the field. They’ll punish you on the field in so many different ways. They are a balanced team. They have a quarterback that can throw and run the ball very well. The receivers can turn a quick throw into a big gain, with tons of talent there. I like the way their running backs run. He’s dangerous. They are playing some really good football. When watching them on film, they are tough and gritty. It will be a good matchup. In the Big 12 conference, there are not a lot of weaknesses out there.
We've got to embrace the opportunity on the road. Their fan base loves their team and it's a tough place to play. I like fans that care about their team and are passionate. Country Roads, Take Me Home, that’s a cool song. There are a lot of cool things about college football, and I’m glad that we get to go and be in that environment. Looking for a chance to come home with a victory. Hoping to have it work out on our side.
On offensive line issues
You have to look at the talent they are going against. It’s also a combination of a couple different things. It could be lacking technique or missing assignments. Texas had a really good defensive line. Their interior defensive line is dominant. We will have to establish some sort of positive yards, and that’s on first and second down. We are good at fourth down and short, and we can be better at third down and short. If we do that, I think we can be in a really good place.
On adjusting the offense
I think the emphasis is that we have to get there, and get more points. There are a variety of ways to get that done. It doesn’t matter how that gets done. It’s go time now, and it’s been go time. The way it’s been going is not the way I’ve wanted it to work. We have very smart coaches and great players so we will be able to find different ways to get more points on the board. I try to keep it as simple as possible. We need more wins on second down. We don’t have to wait until fourth down.
On injuries
Keanu Hill is the closest in the group of injured players. LJ is practicing, but it’s a close call. Travel squad will be chosen as soon as tomorrow, so there might be some guys that we can’t wait on. We have a lot of guys who are pretty banged up. We have some who are in limited practice, but didn’t play in games.
On players who are redshirting
We have a lot of really good young players. We can redshirt guys, and play them four games and even in the bowl game. We have to look at our depth there. The good thing is that our redshirt players have been training like crazy. We can put more time into their development. We put a lot of importance into their health. There will be more bodies on the field in the remaining part of the season.
On West Virginia's defense
They are physical. Their team is used to contact and they like being aggressive. They are tough guys. I am looking forward to the matchup because I respect what they do. I am hoping it can help our team take the next-best level.
On the baptism of Jake Eichorn and the support from his teammates
I love coaching these guys. They are great young men. They love each other and are there for each other. They are forming life-long relationships. When you have that type of connection, they really take care of each other. Whether it’s weddings, missions, coming home from missions there is lots to celebrate. I love coaching guys who embrace each other. I love being a part of this culture. It’s a culture of love. They are wonderful young men from great families.
On his comfort level in the offense
As far as the run game goes I feel like we are making some strides in that matter. Our rushing totals have been increasing every week since week one and we have been working hard at it in practice. The coaches have definitely put a strong emphasis on our run game and how to further develop that. The more we continue to work hard and practice at it and execute on the field, the better results we'll see.
On playing in different time zones
It shouldn’t matter. Especially at this level in the game. You have to think when you go into the NFL you might have to play in Miami one week and play in San Francisco the next week so it really just comes down to just put the ball down and play.
On coming back from injury
Obviously nobody wants to be injured. But playing running back and playing football it’s just part of the game. You go through trials and tribulations, you go through adversity. It's really just about how you respond to it. In response to my injury I just tried to keep my head in the game. Even at practices on days that I wasn't able to practice or have contact. I'm still taking mental reps. I'm still studying film on their opponent, even when I knew I wasn't playing. I was just preparing as if I was about to go into the fire that week. It’s just about keeping a positive mindset.
On West Virginia
From what I have seen, they have a pretty good defense. They fly around and they are pretty physical. I can't really get into the details of everything they do from a scouting point, but I do know that they're well coached on defense. They’ve won some close ball games, they play hard and they don’t have any quit in them. They have fight and we are looking forward to having a good ball game this coming Saturday.
On takeaways from Texas game
Going into that game, we knew it was going to be a tough game. Texas is always going to have great athletes. They're obviously doing really well this year and have had a lot of success. We knew it was going to be a bloodbath, but we knew it was going to be a fight to the end. Whoever is the more physical team is going to win that game, and I feel like especially on defense, we tried to come out with that mindset.
No matter what, no matter what college team you're lining up against, they're always going to have great players and I feel like we did everything in our power to do what we could to stop them. Obviously, certain things in the game didn't go our way, but what you learn is if you don't perform as a full team, it's very hard to go out, especially on the road against the top 10 ranked team and win that game.
On what needs to change moving forward
On all three sides of the ball, we all need to pick it up and do better. Defensively, we had a lot of missed assignments, some big plays they got on us. On special teams, the starting field position was a big factor in that game but we’re going to take it as another challenge. Going up to West Virginia, we know it’s going to be a great atmosphere and great environment for us. We just need to really thrive off of that. In terms of the setting, I feel like we just need to come in and play our game, regardless of who we are playing or where we are at.
On adjusting to the Big 12 conference schedule
We all knew going into the season that it was going to be a dogfight each week. Every team in the Big 12 has the capability and the talent to go out and win every game if they need to. Every team is going to have a great quarterback, a good running back, which we’ve experienced each week. I feel like compared to Independence where the schedule is a little bit more inconsistent, it’s a grinder going in each week, having to sacrifice your body.
On key to being successful as a defense
I think just being locked in on our assignments and trying to execute the play that is called. We have a turnover circuit every week, so we continue to work on it, and when the opportunity presents itself, we try our best to make the play.
On successful transition from FCS to a Power Five conference
I tip my hat to Coach Hill. He’s a great coach. I’ve been with him for four years and he's taught me how to practice, how to play, and how to do things right off the field. He deserves a lot of that credit. It’s football at the end of the day, so whether it be FCS or Power Five, I think being consistent and trying to make sure you do what you need to do to be able to show up every week, try to make plays and help your team win. All the coaches I’ve had in my four years at Weber and my time here deserve a lot of the credit.
On preparing for long road trips
It is a long trip. I’ve personally never been to West Virginia, so I don’t even know how long the flight is or the time change, to be honest. Our coaches tell us, “The hay is never in the barn”, so when you go on the plane, you can continue to watch film. On the bus, we can continue to watch film and study the playbook. For a long road trip like this, it’s just extra time for us to watch film and go over personnel.