BYU Football Game Week — at East Carolina

“I’m looking forward to this week. Our guys put in some good work and got some extra prep started early on East Carolina. We’ll practice this week and head out a little early for the east coast travel and be ready to face a talented East Carolina team. Blake Harrell has done a great job with that program since taking over. As a head coach, I’ve seen the amount of talent they have in the program. It’s not an easy feat, but we’re going to go out there and give it our best shot. They have a seasoned quarterback, commands that offense and doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. It will be a good test for the defense because they can run the ball and throw the ball. It’s not easy to do what they just did to Coastal Carolina, so we need to be on top of everything. They have our attention and our respect. We are looking forward to that game and can’t wait to get going on practice today.”

On working on red zone offense
“We identified as much as we can from the two games, more specifically with the one against Stanford, but Aaron Roderick gives Stanford a lot of credit for what they did defensively. We have to anticipate that East Carolina and other teams will do what they did. Teams are going to try to do that to us in the red zone and we need to be ready for it, but at the same time, we didn’t help ourselves with some of the penalties and mistakes that we made.”

On defensive preparation for East Carolina
“We have a good scout team that can get us ready for the game and then there’s a shift in mindset for Jay, Jernaro and the rest of the coaches on the defensive side. When it all comes down to it, we have to be able to do some things defensively to combat the highly explosive offense.”

On difficulties of traveling to East Carolina
“Going out two days before is going to be key. But also, we can stay in bigger hotels and our budget is bigger than it was before, especially now that we are in the Big 12.”

On the growth of Cody Hagen
“Cody served a great mission. Last year, I knew he wanted to do more, but he had to transition from being a missionary to a football player. Now, he has done that completely. He is a talented man. He has speed, quickness and agility, but he also has amazing ball skills. He’s got great vision and that is why he is our kick returner.”

On East Carolina’s overall talent
“They are extremely talented. There is a ton of football talent there and a lot of football teams recruit that area heavily. I’m looking forward to the matchup and I think it’s going to be good for us to be able to see this type of opponent, because watching on film, there aren’t a lot of errors or weaknesses. We’re going to have to find a way to battle this thing out.”

On battling the two-time losing streak to East Carolina
“We are a different team now than we were back then. We are in our third year in the Big 12, and we have made some moves and made some changes. I’ve learned quite a bit as a head coach since the last time that we faced them, but it isn’t really about the opponent, it’s more about where we are currently at as a program.”

On Katin Houser’s success at QB
“He’s a legitimate quarterback. We’ve seen a lot of success that they have had this year. We recognize that it isn’t just him [Houser], but I think he has a good core of wide receivers that he is able to stay connected to. The key will be to play within our scheme. As long as everyone plays their role, that will be the answer to shutting down the quarterback.”

On goals of this last bye week
“It was consistency. Whether you are in a bye week or not, how are you attacking the week? A big thing in football is the difficulty after putting on the pads in fall camp, because we haven’t been wearing them for a year, so we also don’t want to lose that over a bye week. Having that tenacity still within the bye week and leaders being able to maintain the culture was absolutely critical.”

On what Anisi Purcell has brought to the DT room
“Anisi is an amazing man. He’s a silly individual, but he knows when to be serious. He is upbeat and happy, which adds a lot of joy into the room and is absolutely critical for the position that we play.”

On how he treats road trips and different time zones
“I try to treat it the same. I think sleep is the most important thing for recovery and keeping my mind fresh. I don’t have a set-in-stone operation, but I maintain the best health that I can and keep a good mindset.”

On the weekly leadership team meeting
“I love that we do it consistently. It speaks to the character of Kalani and wanting to have a player-led team. He has an ability to counsel with us. We have a blessing of speaking what the players are feeling and always coming out with what is best for us as a team and what is best moving forward.”

On what the bye week offered for himself
“The bye week is a great opportunity to get the body right and focus on the same team for two weeks. Individually, I’m feeling good about this week.”

On training post-mission
“It’s a grind when you first come back. I’m feeling great right now. I’m feeling faster, stronger and more polished than in high school. I’m excited for what is to come.”

On how he has polished himself into a talented WR after special teams experience from last year
“There is a big difference between a college game and a high school game. It was a great experience last year to be able to get on the field and get some reps. There is a skill difference, so it was good to get some practice to build on for this year.”

On locker room discussions of being unranked
“The goal is to be the best team we can be and be ranked. We don’t dwell on it, but we want to keep winning, keep competing and being the best team that we can be. We have a great offense, defense and overall team.”

On how Chase Roberts has helped him as a player
“He has helped me stay confident. He is a great leader and knows the game in and out. It’s great to be behind him and get reps there.”

On East Carolina’s offense
“They have a solid offense, with good weapons at receiver. They like to air it out, so it will be a good challenge for us in the defensive back field. We need to be ready and we are looking forward to it.”

On the safety rotation
“It has been great for all of us to go out there and showcase what we can do. There are a lot of us in that room that deserve and can play starting minutes, which makes it easier for us to go out there and make plays on the field.”

On road games and different time zones
“When we go to a different time zone like this, we go a day before so our bodies can get used to it. Trusting what the coaches have for us is what makes us feel great for these games. Last year, we played in a few of these games and came out feeling good. It is going to be fun for us to go out and see a different environment.”

On allowing three points in two games
“We want to keep that going and keep everyone out of the end zone. In the Stanford game, we had a good game, but we also felt like we left some things out there that we could have fixed. That is our mentality as a defense. We are happy that we did well, but there are still some things that we can improve on going forward.”