EMU Postgame Presser Transcript: Players

Denard Robinson and Vincent Smith

When you guys went exclusively to running in second half, how much of that was by design, and how much of that was your reads? Denard: “Reads. I mean, most of the time it was just reads, and that’s what happened.”

Why did that happen? How did this game turn into having to run the ball a lot in order to win the game? Denard: “We just go with the flow of the game, and what happens happened.” Smith: “The big guys up front, they did an excellent job of blocking, and we just took what the defense gave us. Eastern came out and played a good game of football.”

Vince, how many carries can you handle per game? Smith: “Whatever the team needs to win, I’m there. However many carries I need for my team to win, that’s how many carries I can handle.”

You had more than 100 yards rushing, which is usually really good for a running back. Is it intimidating that your quarterback has nearly twice that? Smith: “Not at all. We don’t even look at it that way. It’s whatever for the team. If we need the quarterback to score a touchdown [rather] than the running back -- we both compliment each other on the game.”

Can you comment on your slow start on offense and how important the 97-yard TD drive was? Denard: “We came out a little flat, but on the 97-yard drive, we picked up some momentum, and that kept us going the entire game.”

Does starting slow bother you? Denard: “We wanted to come out fast, and that’s what we’ve been focusing on everyday. Talking about coming out fast and getting off to a good start.”

Is there a reason? Denard: “No, there’s no reason. There’s no reason for it.”

Can you comment on Thomas Gordon’s 1-handed INT? Smith: “I saw it from the big screen. It was a great catch.” Denard: “When he first came in my freshman year I saw him do crazy stuff like that, so I knew he could do it.”

Can you breakdown the TD pass to Dileo, and can you talk about other throws today where you were off? Denard: “The pass to Drew Dileo. It’s a read, basically. I just read it out, and he came open and I gave it to him.”

Vince, do you feel like you have to prove you’re an every down back? Smith: “Just like I said, it’s all about the team. Whenever we needed a running back to step up when the game’s not going well, we feel like whatever for the team. Somebody’s going to step up and get the job done.”

How did you feel about your performance in passing game? Denard: “I mean, I always have time for improvement and room for improvement, so that’s the biggest room.”

Coach wanted to get tailbacks going. How big was it to get Vince going? Denard: “It was big, I mean, when he starts running well, they start crashing down on him, I can get the ball and read it out and get the ball and run some. When things like that start happening, it’s kind of hard for the defense to stop.”

What do you think you need to do better in passing game? Denard: “Come back on Sunday and come to work. Do everything coach tells me to do.”

Anything you want to address specifically? Denard: “We’ll see on film. Have to see the film first.”

Did you feel like you’re seeing the receivers and the passing lanes all right? Denard: “Oh yeah, oh yeah. We’ve been practicing for weeks, so I can see pretty good.” Looked to me like you were throwing behind guys a lot. “No. I don’t think -- no.”

Your numbers were like some games last year. Did you feel like last year or was it different? Denard: “I don’t know. I get caught up in the game, so whatever’s going on is going on.”

You had that one long run where you cut across the field. What did you see? Denard: “Which one are you talking about?” It was your longest run, I believe. It was 53-yarder or something? “I was kind of being patient. I thought ‘Tree was probably going to push the guy down or something. I should have just sped up and gotten up there and not taken the side.”

After the Notre Dame game, was it a little bit tough to get going in a noon game? Denard: “Everybody was just getting ready for the game. We had Kevin Koger in the locker room talking to us. We call him Hypeman86. We were just ready to go. We have another chance to play football, and that’s what we’ve been working on all summer.”

(more after the jump)

Thomas Gordon and Jordan Kovacs

Talk about fumble recovery and INT? Gordon: “Kenny Demens [Ed: I think it was actually Jibreel Black] -- he made a big play and forced a fumble, and I was just fortunate enough to be in the right position and pick it up. On the interception, they gave us a little bit of a funky formation. The backup quarterback was in and we kind of keyed that, so we knew something tricky was up. The guy released and I just ran with him and made a good play.”

Did you think you had a shot at the ball in the air? Gordon: “Not at first. I thought it was going to be an overthrow. But I just stuck my hand out and it came down in my glove.”

Talk about atmosphere at beginning of this game vs. end of last game? Kovacs: “Obviously it was much different than last game. I think we came out a little flat. Got off to a rough start again, so there’s definitely some things that we need to do. We need to come out and just put that intensity in every game.”

You were still able to make some key stops on some big plays. What does that do for your defense as a whole? Kovacs: “I think today we did a good job of causing turnovers, even on And the turnovers on downs. Anytime you can cause turnovers, you’re likely to win the game. That’s a stat that we’re always trying to win. I thought we did a good job today of causing turnovers, and that came up big for us.”

Comment on in-game adjustments? Gordon: “I think that’s just every game. We came out a little flat, and they were running the football. I think at the end of the first quarter they had 100 yards rushing. We came to the sideline, and Coach Mattison just talks to us and gets us in the right places, and we just adjust and go out there.” Kovacs: “To piggyback on that, I think that the coaches did do a great job making some adjustments. [Eastern] gave us some funky formations. They kind of came out and threw the kitchen sink at us in the first half and some formations we’d never seen. We stayed calm and knew that eventually they were going to have to play some football. We just relaxed and were ready for them.”

What’s the key to having strong starts on defense? Kovacs: “I think you just have to come out with some energy. They’re a good football team. We have to give them a lot of credit. We can’t be getting behind at the beginning of the game. If we want to be a great defense, we have to stop them in their tracks at the beginning of the game. So that’s one area we have to improve on no doubt.”

What was it like defending against Alex Gillett? Gordon: “He’s a real versatile guy. We knew coming into the game, from watching film, that we were going to have our fans full. He lived up to it. Like I said, we made adjustments trying to stop him, and that’s what we did.”

Talk about your work over the summer to get you to this point? Gordon: “Since Coach Hoke got here, he’s been in my head about becoming more of a football player. That’s including on the field, off the field, watching film, and being more dedicated in the weight room. The coaches have done a good job of making me more explosive and being a better football player overall. It’s finally proven.”

At the beginning of each game, are you spending more time trying to read offenses than dictating to them what they can do? Kovacs: “I don’t know. We might be thinking a little too much out there, but I think every football player gets a little more comfortable as the game goes on. We did a good job making some adjustments to some of the funky things they were throwing at us.”

Talk about Raymon Taylor? Also, Frank Clark? Kovacs: “I think Ray’s been improving every week. He’s one of the younger guys that’s shown flashes throughout fall camp. Frank’s the same way. They’re both some good football players, and I think the coaches are excited about the future and trying to get them some experience right now.”

Can you talk about emergence of Hawthorne? Kovacs: “He had a great summer and a great spring. He’s kind of continuing that. He’s playing hard. He’s a fast linebacker, and he’s smart, too. He knows his responsibilities and does a good job making plays out there.”

Talk about goal-line stop on fourth-and-one? Kovacs: “Every defensive player wants to be in a fourth-and-one situation. We had them right on the goal line. What more could you ask for? I was blitzing. I think the D-line did a great job of stopping them up front. I just read a down block -- the ball’s going away, and I just kept coming hard and made the play on the edge.”

Seemed like there were several plays where you lost contain. They had too much space on the edge. What did you do to fix that up? Kovacs: “We made some good adjustments at halftime. I don’t know if it was guys just not understanding their responsibility … we were getting a lot of different things than what we expected out there. That jet sweep was giving us trouble at first, but we made some good adjustments off that. It was just the adjustments at halftime. Guys honed in on their responsibilities and knew what to expect.”

Kevin Koger and Patrick Omameh

Talk about blocking for a guy like Vince Smith. Omameh: “We had some pretty good success on the ground, more late than early. Offensive line was doing some good things. On those read plays, you’re not really sure who’s going to come out with the ball, but we’re doing our best to get movement, and we were able to get Vince some yards today.”

What does Vince do to be productive? Omameh: “Today I guess he just came out. He was making the right reads and he was getting downfield, and he was reading off the blocks well and finding those creases and having himself a successful day.”

Was there a moment in the second quarter where the coaches said, we have to run Denard? Koger: “There wasn’t really a point they really announced it. It kind of just happened. You started seeing more of the quarterback runs. You started seeing Denard run more downfield, and I think that’s what helped us get going on offense.”

Is it frustrating when balls are thrown too high? Koger: “No. It’s not frustrating. I’m aware of what we can do. We've done it in practice, we just have to show everybody on Saturday what we can do, but the ground game is working really well for us, so we’re not going to deter from that too much.”

What was the huddle like when you were struggling to move the ball? Koger: “I thought it stayed positive. We never got down on each other. The defense did a great job today, so they helped us out a lot. We stayed positive, just letting everybody know we should do what we can do, and let’s just calm down.”

Why do you think Denard is struggling so much with passing? Koger: “Just a tempo thing. Just execution. It’s not just him, I mean, it might be a receiver not running a route the right depth, but he gets the blame because it’s an incomplete pass. Maybe [the receiver] didn’t run the right route or didn’t run deep enough or short enough, so it’s not just all on [Denard].”

What can receivers do to help him out? Koger: “We just have to get open. I thought we did a pretty good job with that today. We just weren’t on the same page, and it’s going to be like that sometimes. We’re not perfect, we’re human beings. There’s going to be  games like that where one aspect isn’t working well and it’s up to the ground game to get it going, and that’s what we did today.”

Vincent Smith is a tough guy in pass protection. How does that impress you, and were you pleased to see him get yards? Koger: “I was very pleased. I see him everyday in practice and how hard he works. It’s just a testament to what he does everyday. He comes in and works hard, and it’s great to see him getting a couple more carries. Him running down the field a little bit more is definitely exciting. He’s a shifty guy, so he makes a lot of guys miss.” Omameh: “Speaking on behalf of the offensive line, Vince is one of those guys who you see every day who is not scared at all to put his face on Mike Martin coming up the middle -- somebody who might be twice his size. He’s just a real gritty guy. Loves to do the dirty work, which you don’t always see in every dude who is a dude that’s primarily in a touchdown-scoring position. And so it’s nice to see him get some of those stats as well.”

What changed for offense in terms of running football? Omameh: “In our case, most of our struggles are brought upon us by ourselves. We came off the sideline, and the coaches coached us up. We made some adjustments that told us about mistakes that we might have been making. Eastern had a pretty good scheme, and their players were playing hard. In some cases we had to come up with some adjustments to counter what they were trying to do to stop us, and after that we were able to have some success.”

Talk about Kevin Koger’s leadership today. Omameh: “Yeah, Kevin Koger, you know, he wasn’t elected captain for no reason. He’s got the team behind him, he knows what to do to get us motivated. He’s the kind of guy who, when he felt the need, he tried to get us up. Everybody was getting fired up and we knew it was time to go, time to play.”

Why did you feel the need, Kevin? Was it because you feared it would be a letdown? Koger: “No, I didn’t expect a letdown. I just felt like it was my time to say something. I don’t really say too much -- in the past you could probably tell that. I did feel like it was my day to step up and lead not just by example but also vocally. I just felt like it was my time to say something for a change.”

Did you have to think twice about blocking for Denard when your helmet came off? Koger: “You really don’t think about it. I did notice my helmet came off, but the main thing is protecting Denard. I want to think about him before I think about myself, and if I get hurt then on to the next man. Brandon Moore would do a great job being a tight end.”

How good does it feel to get back in the endzone? Koger: “I love getting into the endzone. Not just scoring, but watching other people score. I tried to be the first one there when I saw Drew Dileo streaking to the endzone, but it was a lot of fun. I caught two balls today, I think it was. So it’s fun catching the ball. I hope to see a lot more of it.”