file because I need to remember to shoot landscape next time

News bullets and other items:

• Jabrill Peppers was held out of the second half to immediately receive treatment
• Yet it was not classified as a boo-boo
• Delano Hill, Graham Glasgow, and Peppers are all expected to be available against Notre Dame
• Kyle Kalis’ back is fine
• Hoke said Ray Taylor may have played his best game at Michigan against Appalachian State
• Hoke took Devin Funchess off special teams. Funchess got mad, so Hoke put him back on
• Hoke said there’s a plan for how to use Glasgow
• All of the coaches mentioned a plan. Hoke said it’ll be a good one. No one cared to share what it was.

Opening Remarks:

“Number one, thanks for coming out. It was good to get the win last week. I think one thing was, part of that was that the crowd was into it. I think there was a lot of energy. The students, I know our guys feed off that so it was a great energy throughout the whole game. That always helps you as a football team.

“We need to build off of what we did on Saturday and continue to get better and improve offensively, defensively, and in the kicking game. Offensively, we have to be more precise in the precision in our passing game. That’s one thing that coming out that the offensive coaches and Doug [Nussmeier] really felt that the precision needed to be better. That’s mechanics, route running, the spacing that you need to have.

“The interior of the defensive front needs to be better. They got some yardage in there as far as through the middle of the defense. Some of it’s just fits, some of it’s not getting off blocks. That’s going to be a real emphasis and needs to be. And then winning the fourth quarter’s always huge and we didn’t do that as a team when you look at points in the fourth quarter. Those things we’ve got to do a better job. Turnover battle- we turned the one over, didn’t get any turnovers. You know, you don’t want to play football that way. You want to be on the plus side of that if you’ve got a chance to win so that being said those are things we need to do. We’ve moved to a new opponent, obviously. It’s one of the great rivalries in football and we’re excited about it.”

Can you talk about how the offensive line graded out on film and will we see any changes this week?

“Well, the guys up front all did some real good things and did some things they’ve got to do a better job of. We’ll have a plan for what we want to do this week.”

With Jabrill [Peppers], it didn’t look like he came out in the second half. What was the reason for that and this week are you going to limit him at all?

“He’s been in there all morning getting treatment. We haven’t started school yet. We decided- I made a decision at half time because they could start treating it right then not to come out in the second half. You know, [instead of being] in a boot on the sideline start the process of healing. So we’re excited and we’ll evaluate every day but he’s working hard to get better.”

You mentioned interior defense. Have you guys had a chance to look at Notre Dame’s running backs at all?

“Yeah. We started that yesterday, yeah. I think that they rushed the ball pretty well against Utah State. I think that have two backs that are a little bit similar and one that’s a bigger bruiser guy and they ran the ball pretty well.”

So with Jabrill would you say he’s a question mark for Saturday?

“I don’t think it’ll be a question mark. I think he’ll be ready to play.”

Did he go yesterday with you guys?

“No. no.”

You mentioned the offensive line. Where does Graham [Glasgow] settle in here?

“Well, we’ve got a plan for it and we’ll go through the week.”

Do you want to divulge what that is?

“No.”

[After THE JUMP: evaluating the defense, scouting Notre Dame, and the inevitable Nussmeier-on-the-sidelines questions]

Delano Hill- will he be available?

“Delano will be available and ready to go.”

There were a number of starters on special teams. The thought behind that and the risks involved and how do you balance that?

“Well, I think there’s always risk. It doesn’t matter. They could get hurt on any play.  A guy could come down the street and step off the curb and get hurt. We made a decision that if you’re not good enough to start on offense or defense you’re not good enough to start on special teams. A lot of the starters are on there. It’s an important phase of the football game. I think we played a lot of different guys through the game and were able to do it so you got some other guys evaluated off of tape and I think we’ll stay with what we want to do as far as those guys on there. I think we’ve also got some guys who are coming along and competing well.”

But the mentality that comes with being a special teams guy, and starters may look at it differently or something like that. The motivations behind the players that have to be okay with it…

“I don’t know. I don’t know what your question is. Because Devin Funchess, I took him off the punt return because I thought, ‘well, he’s doing enough.’ He got mad and got mad at me and I put him back on.”

That was kind of the questions. Are there guys actively looking to get…

“Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah.”

Obviously motivational things are big in college football. How much do you, should you, will you address the last game with Notre Dame and the fact that they’re ending the series. I assume that’s going to be a topic for you guys?

“You know, we talked yesterday and gave a scouting report last night. They understand it’s the last game. I think they also understand they need to play a lot better than we did a week ago because Notre Dame’s a good football team. They’ve got good players. So from the standpoint of it being the last game, who knows when it’s going to be the last game. We just know we’re not going to play them in the near future. But I think that’s a good question to ask the kids. They’re pretty smart kids and they understand those ramifications.”

Jeremy Clark seemed to have a presence Saturday. Did the film bear that out?

“Yeah. I think Jeremy’s come a long way and we’re excited about his development. He made some plays. There were some things from a leverage standpoint that we need to do a little better but we’re real happy with his progress.”

And then the linebacker play, can you talk about that?

“Yeah. I think we played a lot of them. Especially we got to play some guys in the second half a little more. But I think that Jake [Ryan] and Des [Morgan] and James Ross and Joe Bolden, Royce [Jenkins-Stone], got to play him which he’s earned that right, he’s competed and challenged every day. We were pretty pleased with their efforts. It needs to be a little stronger at the point of attack. Some of the things we addressed with the interior of the defense. Front’s got to get off blocks a little better, hold the point better, and we’ve got to fit the run a little better.”

How did Mason Cole grade out when you looked at him?

“He played a pretty good football game. He gave up one sack. But overall, for his demeanor, I think that was really the only thing that stuck out. He got pushed back once or twice but for a first start we thought he did pretty well.”

Ray [Taylor] had a lot of tackles for you. Were you pretty pleased with his play? Talk about specifically what you liked.

“Ray Taylor?”

Yes.

“I think Ray played his best football game maybe. It’s hard for me to throw that out there all the way but he’s had a great camp. Leadership, his work ethic, fundamentals and techniques have improved immensely. He’s worked hard at it and Roy’s [Manning] worked hard with those guys. They’ve had a little more time to do that so I think he’s done a really good job.”

When you took a step back and were able to watch the film did anything stand out to you offensively. Did anything stand out to you like, ‘oh, that’s what was missing last year’?

“I think the biggest offensive play of hte game was when Devin [Gardner] checked us out of a play on third-and-one in the third quarter and checked us into a great play that goes for 60 and it was communicated all the way down the front, to the mike point, to the receivers how that was going to block out. The tackle, Ben Braden, and AJ [Williams] did a great job of communicating and it really was one of the best plays we had all day. When you look at that communication, his awareness, that was big.”

How confident are you with DeVeon [Smith] or Derrick [Green] at least being able to give you 2,000 [yards] on the ground or at least come close to it combined and really be a force this season, and is there any new designation for #87 now that Devin’s [Funchess] not wearing it?

“No, there’s not as far as the Kramer jersey. How confident are we…”

…that Derrick and DeVeon can combine for….

“We just started the season. I think they’re good backs but we’ve got a long way to go.”

Nothing on #87? No one will wear it?

“No.”

On [Kyle] Kalis- how’s his back? Is this going to be kind of a you’ll see how it goes each week?

“No. He’s fine. I mean, his back’s fine. He held up great during the game.”

Will he start Saturday?

“We have a plan. It’ll be a good one.”

Does the plan include Glasgow?

“Well, we have a plan.”

Will we see him on the field?

“He’ll be there at the game, yes.”

A couple days removed from it, kind of contrast the energy and communication Doug Nussmeier can bring being on the sideline versus being up in the box. Pluses and minuses of that?

"Well, the minus – it's only a minus if you're not getting good information from up above. And with Heck[linski] up there, Jeff does a really good job, always has, with some of that information. So from that standpoint I guess my only thoughts are he's with the whole offense. I think it's important, I've said this before, for Devin, for their first year of being together. Now, if they had been together maybe three years, four years, if Nuss were more comfortable going up there we probably would have done that. But I think overall their communication and the communication with everybody else was positive.”

Specific to Derrick and DeVeon, it seems like it was kind of, ‘anything you can do I can do better.’ You know, there was a long run and then a long run by the other. Was that kind of the vision you wanted even with rotating guys in on the D-line, at linebacker, that competition could really bring out the best...
"Well, I mean, you said it right there. The competition between the both of them. I don't think– you're not in their head. I don't know if Derrick had a good run and thought to himself, ‘okay, DeVeon, you've got to do that.’ The explosive plays, I think we had 17 of them, a lot of that is the job the receivers did downfield. Those guys really did a nice job. I think we talked after the game a little bit that DeVeon and Derrick both are big backs but they are different in some ways. Again, we've just played one football game. You got to continue to compete."

Last season you opened with a big win against Central. This season you opened with a sizable win against Appalachian State. This season do you have more confidence, do you feel a difference with the way you started this season than last season? Your team, that is.
"The only thing I can judge it by is how hard these guys have worked all through camp, all through summer and they really have been a hard-working group and I expect that to continue.”

Could you talk about the progress that Jack Miller has made from last home opener to this home opener, and how important the center position is to stabilizing the offensive line?
"Yeah. I think there's always a maturity with Jack. He's kept maturing. There's been some setbacks that I think any guy goes through during a four- or five-year career here. A setback mostly in the middle of the year last year. But I think his attitude, his work ethic, how he's prepared himself from a mental standpoint has really been something that I applaud Jack for and how he's gone about every day going to work."

With a lot of young players, do you have some apprehension taking them into a tough Saturday night environment, or do you feel like you have enough veterans like Devin Gardner who have played in that that you're not asking…
"You know, I don't think you know the answer until afterwards. It's a great environment to play in. It's a great environment to coach in. I'll be honest with you, I think it'll be interesting to see how some of them react. And you talk about it as coaches, how so-and-so will react and that's why we try to put as much stress as we could on them all through fall camp. Some of the things you do in the summer to see how they'll react.”

You guys do some advanced planning in the off-season obviously for some of the early-season ones. Notre Dame's secondary looks a lot different after two weeks with the suspension and the injury. How does that change what you guys are looking to do?
"I think, number one, you've always got to do what you do best and if you don't you try and create too many things. I'll be honest with you, I'll meet with Doug later tonight on some of the things that he's looking at but we've got to do what we do. Our kids– it doesn't matter what we know. It's what they know and how they go about it and how they execute it. So I don't know that that's been a big component of the talk yet."

The receivers’ blocking on Saturday – were you pleased with their effort?
"Yeah. I don't think there's any doubt you don't have explosive plays if guys aren't down the field, Even in pass plays. The off receiver who's not carrying the ball, they're trying to get in front of a guy and run through him. I thought they did a nice job with that part of it."

And Everett Golson, [Ed.- inaudible]?
"Well, I think he had five touchdowns on Saturday. He's athletic. I always thought he threw the ball pretty well from a mechanical standpoint too. I was a linebacker so I can't profess that, the mechanics of a quarterback, but he's an impressive guy. You know, he can beat you with his feet, he can beat you with his arm. Their offensive line is powerful, especially through the interior of it, hence the concerns we have about how we need to play. Defensively, they’re big up front. They can run. This is a different ballgame."

Saturday was the first time that I can remember that Norfleet felt like he was an actual member of the offense because before he was out there when there was a special package. What have you seen from him and what has he changed in the way he plays?
"I think one thing, he's always – he's a year older so he's more mature. He has energy and you talk about it, he's probably one of those guys who… Yeah. He loves to play the game of football and he loves to practice the game of football and he's just one of those infectious guys who has great energy and you want a guy like that on the field."
As he slowed down some? Does he play too quick maybe because he has so much energy?
"He's matured."

With Jake Ryan, how did he look on film and how did the defense flow from him?
"Well, I think Jake would probably tell you that he didn't play as well as he needs to. He would say that. I thought he did a nice job of what we asked him to do. I think he did a nice job in being aggressive and flying around."

Frank Clark said he noticed a different energy or a different vibe, I think he said, in the locker room or just in meetings. He said it was the build up of a lot of small things. He mentioned you taking the locker room, stuff like that. Is that something that you’ve proactively been cognizant of trying to change or effect?
"We've got great leadership throughout and that's a big part of it. There's obviously philosophies you believe in and things you aren't going to change but it's also seeing where they’re at a little bit."
Just seeing where they're at, what's been your take away?
"I think it's been positive."

Notre Dame has always sort of been an early season barometer for both schools but not necessarily determining what you're going to do in the Big Ten. How do you look at this game as a measure for where your team’s going to be right now?
"Well, I think you said it a little bit. I think it’s because there's guys they've recruited that we've recruited, we've got guys that they recruited so I think to some degree the talent level, there's some similarities. That being as much as anything else. You get a little bit of an idea."