Monday Presser Transcript 9-17-12: Brady Hoke Comment Count

Heiko

Brady Hoke

News bullets and other important things:

  • Desmond Morgan and Richard Ash should return this week. Stephen Hopkins seems probable, Brennen Beyer is questionable, and Brandon Moore will be out.

Televised presser

This filter is called "file."

Opening remarks:

“Thanks for coming. It was good to win on Saturday, obviously. We have a lot that we need to keep doing better. I think we did some things better than we did a week before, but we’re still growing as a team in a lot of ways. We have to improve every week if we want to be the team that we want to be. So we just have to keep making progress from fundamentals, from techniques, everywhere across the board, do a better job up front on both sides of the ball. You’ve heard that many many times before, and you’ll probably continue to hear it. That’s where the game is played, and that’s where it starts, and for us going on the road playing a Notre Dame that’s 3-0 and has played very well -- they’ve been in tight games. They played in East Lansing well, they had a tight game with Purdue, won the football game at the end, so you look at them as a team and their front seven on defense is playing real well together. Disruptive. And offensively I think Everett Golson has done a nice job running the offense, managing it, a lot of tight ends involved, and they’re a good football team. We’re going to have our hands full, and we need to get a lot better as a football team.”

Can you talk about the test the offensive line will have against Notre Dame’s front seven?

“Well I think it’s going to be -- seeing how far we’ve come from game 1 to game 4 is exciting. There’s no question that’s going to be a test. They’ve been very productive as a football team, as a defensive team. We’re going to have to block the line of scrimmage. We need to do a great job with protection.”

Where would you assess where you’re at with the wide receiver position right now?

“You know, the one thing last week is I think that’s probably one of the better positions on our team from a depth standpoint. Last week, watching them block on the perimeter, I thought that was exciting. Most people don’t get excited about blocking, but I do, and I thought they did a nice job on the perimeter. I think Devin and his progress is coming along. I think Gallon is a tough guy and Dileo, not the biggest guys in the world, but they’ll go out and block anybody. That part of it was good, and the depth at that position is probably better.”

Your top two tacklers are your two safeties. Is that by design or do you need to get more from your linebackers?

“Well I think I’ll always tell you we need to get more from our linebackers, but when you play Air Force, your safeties have got to be guys who make a lot of tackles. I think the last week, Thomas was a little more involved, and it was good to see him because I think he can be a real playmaker for us. Has that ability. But I think some of it’s by design depending on what coverages you’re playing, and some of it, obviously, we’d like to see the second level guys and the guys up front get off some blocks and make some plays.”

Denard spread the ball around to lots of receivers. Does that speak to his improved ability to make the right reads?

“Well I think you know, number one, I thought he really threw the ball well. He had really two bad throws. The one he kind of, you know, darted out there to Devin on the one play instead of just throwing it. He kind of aimed it. The interception he was a little bit behind the receiver, but I thought he threw the ball well. I thought his decision making was really good, and probably when you look at it, it was good to see him put that and running the ball together.”

Denard’s not running the scout team, but will it help the defense that they’ve faced Denard when they’re defending against Everett Golson?

“Yeah I was thinking about that while I was watching the tape. We see a guy like that every day. We do enough live stuff one-on-one against each other that hopefully will be some similarities there that our guys are a little bit used to the speed, but you never know until you get in that environment.”

Are you expecting Moore, Morgan, Beyer, and Ash back this week?

“Um, Beyer, I’m not sure. Morgan should be. Ash should be.”

Brandon Moore?

“Probably not.”

On the offensive line, how do you balance continuity with making changes?

“What we have determined to be our best five are playing. If someone else was better, believe me they would have stepped up, and that’s one of the things you want to see is that competition level keep going on so that there is a great competition at all those positions, but our best five are on the field.”

Can you talk about how much of a surprise Gardner and Funchess have been?

“Yeah. You know, I don’t know -- Devin didn’t really surprise me from an athletic standpoint or surprise us. We wouldn’t have moved him if we didn’t think he had the ability. I think the progression has been good. When you look at him block, he’s a quarterback, he never had to block. And now the toughness that he’s showing there. The other thing -- Funchess. He’s an athlete and can make some catches that maybe some other guys couldn’t make and also he’s a little bit of a mismatch.”

You’re finally playing a team that you saw last year in Notre Dame. How much do you rely on your experience with them from last year vs. looking at them on film this year?

“You know, you always personally, I think you always look at what they’ve done lately. It’s like anything else. They’re a different football team than they were last year, just like we are. There’s some similarities in some guys they’re playing, but at the same time from an offensive standpoint with Everett in there, could be a little bit different from when Tommy was in there. So that part of it, the first two games, they didn’t have Cierre Wood. He’s a definite playmaker. They had him last week. You’ve got to take what you see right now.”

Was last year’s game a difficult barometer because of all the turnovers and stuff?

“Well that’s the thing that they’ve done a nice job of. I think they’re plus four. Last year, the game before us, they were minus five. It’s one of those things where they’re doing a good job with the football, we’re not getting the football much right now, and that’s got to improve.”

How do you counter the fact that Notre Dame’s game plan will be to slow down Denard? Do you add new wrinkles to the offense?

“Well, you know, they obviously have some answers. They had some answers the first three quarters of last year, because we didn’t do anything if you will remember offensively and didn’t play really great defense. Al always does different things week to week that he puts in the game plan.”

How do you see Norfleet’s development in the backfield?

“You know … we’ll see, to be honest with you. He ran a couple jets in there. He’s a good athlete. We’ll see.”

You’ve been pretty critical about run blocking. How would you assess pass protection?

“Yeah we’ve got a couple issues, you know, a little bit more vs. Air Force probably. Maybe a little against Alabama, but for the most part, they’ve done a pretty good job.”

What’s your most vivid memory of playing in South Bend?

“Being up I think 14-3 at halftime and getting beat 28-24. Pretty vivid.”

Is there one thing you can point to on the defense that you can do to increase turnovers?

“Well I think there’s three things. We’re practicing the same way -- you do turnover drills and all that stuff, but we have to play tighter coverage, whether it be man coverage or zone coverage. You have to get pressure on the quarterback, and you have to get 11 bodies to the football. Those three things.”

What does this Notre Dame game mean to you personally, and how special is it to play in that stadium?

“This is a great national rivalry. We’re fortunate at Michigan because we have three great rivalry games. The storied history of both programs, on and off how this series has gone, I think it’s special. I think it’s one reason why you come to Michigan. To play in that rivalry.”

How frustrating is it to see UMass fumble the ball and not be able to recover it?

“Well I think there’s always pursuit and effort things that you look at and you evaluate. On that particular one, it kind of came right back to the guy, but at the same time, you’re always trained to evaluate that.”

What do you think of the venue of playing at Notre Dame? How intimidating is it or is it more about the players on it?

“It’s always about the players, I mean no matter what. Now you can always play on the road and being Michigan, you’re always going to get everybody’s best, and I think for us, it’s a night game, a home game for Notre Dame. There’ll be some things that will be loud, and we have to do a great job managing our communication and what we want to do.”

-------------

Roundtable

Why was Brandon Moore chosen to wear Ron Kramer’s number?

“Well because of his leadership. Brandon has done a tremendous job when you look at recognizing somebody like Kramer. There’s a lot of him being a great athlete here and obviously going on. I was a Packer fan, and I can remember watching him play, but for Brandon, he was a guy who we all thought as a staff really is a kind of guy that, you know, exuded kind of that leadership and character that you want.”

What is Stephen Hopkins’s status?

“Uh, he may be ready. ”

The new NCAA rule allows you to have four grad assistants instead of two. How does that affect your program?

“You have two more coaches on the field.”

Are you using them any differently?

“No. We have two more coaches on the field.”

In favor of the rule?

“Yes. I think it helps develop young coaches, too.”

Amara Darboh played some special teams. Is he working his way into the offense?

“You know, he’s done a nice job -- he had two tackles on the kickoff team the other day. He’s played some at wide receiver. He had a great block. I think he improves every week.”

What’s the biggest memory for you from last year’s Notre Dame game?

“I would say just how our team on the sideline was great throughout the game, communicating, believing in each other, all those things.”

What have you seen out of the tight end group to use them so much, and is this what you’d like to do with them in the future?

“I think with the development of the two young guys and Mike Kwiatkowski doing a good job, and I give Brandon Moore a lot of credit, because he’s been a real teacher to them, he’s done a good job with the young guys.”

What have you seen from A.J. Williams?

“A.J.’s a guy who’s mainly on the line of scrimmage. He’s learning how to play college football. Learning how to block and fundamentally and technique, and that’s a big part of it. He’s got great hands and he can run.”

How do you go about getting more sacks and QB pressures?

“Right now, and you gotta look at the Air Force game and you gotta take that one out of the mix, to be honest with you. I thought we had very good pressure against Alabama at times, with a four man rush. Obviously we want to be better with pressure. We’d love to have more sacks. We’d like to have more negative plays, tackles for a loss and those kind of things. I think it’s just like anything else we’re doing right now, it’s a little bit of a work in progress.”

How important is Frank Clark to your pass rush?

“Well I think him, I think Mario Ojemudia, he probably played as well as anybody up front last week. But him and Jake, when we put him down in our sub packages … Craig Roh adds a dimension in there, and Jibreel Black -- we have to count on all those guys.”

You went with Jibreel Black and Craig Roh on the interior a lot. How come?

“That’s something we’ve done since day one. Craig would play a little more outside because you had Mike [Martin] inside a year ago and Ryan [Van Bergen]. But Craig’s more of an inside guy because you’ve got Ojemudia, because you’ve got Frank Clark, Jake Ryan, and Cam Gordon.”

What do you think of Craig Roh’s play so far?

“I think he’s doing fine. I think we have to do a better job getting off blocks and holding the point better, but I think he’s doing good.”

Transition for Courtney Avery from nickel to corner, how is he doing?

“I think he’s a smart football player. That’s one of the best things Courtney has is football intelligence. I think we still use him some in the nickel situation as an inside guy, but competition on the outside with him and Ray will continue.”

Can you talk about Raymon Taylor’s progress?

“Ray is making progress, let’s put it that way. His technique’s a little better, his fundamentals are a little better, his eyes are little better, which are a big part. You play defensive back with your feet and your eyes, and I think he’s learning that.”

MGoQuestion: Will Hagerup has been booming punts these days and it often seems like nobody on the cover team is near the return man, which opens them up for big returns. Is improving punt coverage something you’re working on?

“Yeah. And I think the one that really last week was the first one when we pooched it. Matt pooched it down there and both of our gunners -- and they doubled both gunners -- which means someone else should have been clean. We’ve got to do a much better job covering. And the other one he drove, you’re not going to have great coverage if you drive a punt 60 yards.”

MGoFollowup: What can you do to improve it?

“Well I think you want to look at net punt, and number one is you get the ball up high enough, it allows some guys to get down the field, and it’s just getting off blocks.”

Is that an underrated part of losing Blake Countess?

“Blake is one of those guys that’s a starter for us. I hope we have a guy step up and Delonte does a pretty good job. He did a good job last year for us. Joe Reynolds is doing some of that for us. Furman. That’s a real pride thing. And it depends what kind of return you’re facing also. They were being double-teamed. They doubled both the gunners, that means it’s a six-man box, and you have to have someone in better position.”

UMass head coach Charlie Molnar developed his offense at Notre Dame. Does it help playing UMass before Notre Dame?

“I think they’re both different. There’s similarities in some plays, but personnel groups are totally different.”

How much of a challenge has it been to face so many different styles of offense this early in the season?

“Yeah. You know I don’t know if it’s a challenge. The Air Force one was the biggest one that challenges you, but you’re still playing blocks, you’re still, I think, setting fronts, and I’m just thinking out loud about rules and how you do things. It’s not that big a deal.”

You have countdown clocks for Ohio State and Michigan State. Do you do anything for Notre Dame?

“We talk about the series. We talk about the legacies of it. But there’s no clock.”

Would you like to see this series continue now that Notre Dame has joined the ACC?

“You know, I don’t know. They’re going to the ACC. They’ve got to do what they need to do for them. If it continues that’s great. If it doesn’t, then we’ll move forward.”

What do James Ross and Joe Bolden bring to the linebacking unit?

“A lot of inexperience and youth, but also two guys who have pretty good instincts.”

Where do you see that inexperience and youth the most?

“It varies from play to play to play-action pass.”

How important is the defensive line to allowing the linebackers to make plays?

“I think it’s really important. How you play blocks and how you demand blocks.”

You’ve mentioned work in progress week after week. At what point do you hope that you have to stop saying that? With all the young players, do you like that you’re shaping something for the future?

“Well I don’t know. I don’t know how much I look at it that way. We just have to get -- we have high expectations, and we have to get better a little quicker maybe.”

Is the middle linebacker spot more of a timeshare now between Kenny Demens and Joe Bolden?

“I don’t know that. They’re both going to play.”

Is that package-based?

“Performance-based.”

What are your thoughts on the linebackers’ hair?

“I have more important things than hair to worry about.”

Are you getting a sense that your players are getting to where you want them to be?

“I think we’ll know more about us as a football team in the next two weeks.”

Are they responding to you saying that they’re not good enough?

“I think they are. I think when we meet with the seniors on Sunday and Thursday, I think they talk about some things that are encouraging.”

Knowing that you have next week off, are you going to be more physical this week during practice?

“We’re going to be kind of like we have been. We were physical last week, and we’re going to be physical this week practice-wise.”

Comments

ijohnb

September 17th, 2012 at 3:03 PM ^

to actually engage a question and talk Xs and Os on any level, one time.  Every answer is a non-answer, and he really does not talk football.  The closest he gets is saying a player's name or saying that "blocking" is important.  At first I took it a little like Lloyd, that there was a lot going on upstairs but he just chose to say very little.  Now I am getting a teeny, tiny bit concerned that he simply does not have the information to provide insightful answers.  I know coordinators at this level can be every bit as important as head coaches, I just want to hear Brady talk some game theory now and then.  I would feel a little more comfortable.

IowaBlue

September 17th, 2012 at 3:16 PM ^

I think most of the questions he is asked are redundant and unimportant and get the answer they deserve.  Anything that would give away valuable information to a team we may be playing in the next several weeks I have no issue with him not answering directly.

He's not paid to be accountable to the media, he's paid to win games... I get a chuckle reading his responses at every presser, personally I'd probably sound more like Molk did and can't believe Hoke isn't more short with some of the questions.

M-Wolverine

September 17th, 2012 at 3:59 PM ^

At the football program with the most wins in college football history has no insight into the game of football, but blog poster dude would completely understand all the intricacies of football game planning if it was laid out for him, because, you know, he posts on the Internet, dammit!!  So the former better damn well be accountable and make the latter feel better.

Do people even read what they write?

MGlobules

September 17th, 2012 at 5:33 PM ^

ing into cliches is twenty hardassed mgobloggers showing off their testicles by slamming the guy who points it out. Takes really big ones. 

Hoke IS getting a little boring lately. I take it as a sign that he's somewhat troubled about the state of the squad. Should probably just have few pressers--I'm sure he'd rather be getting things done. 

M-Wolverine

September 17th, 2012 at 7:53 PM ^

You're still at Woodstock and "peace and love, man...I'm so evolved" you might have taken the time to actually read the comments and see people weren't slamming him for being bored by tired press conference answers, but because he insinuated that Hoke doesn't know how to coach BECAUSE those press conferences are boring. Which as dumb as your obsession with others having bigger balls.

Mon-L

September 17th, 2012 at 3:17 PM ^

Yeah. The whole purpose of these pressers is that the coach displays enough solid "X's and O's" knowledge to make you, the fan, feel comfortable. Obviously Lloyd Carr's non-answers were a sign of a greater intellect toying with the media like a cat playing with mouse. While Hoke's non-answers are a troubling look into the mind of a football dullard.

Nick Saban is positively effusive during his many tea times with the local media. 

Entitlement, thou is a Michigan fan.

Mon-L

September 17th, 2012 at 3:33 PM ^

No one hates the media more than Belichick. That's where Saban learned it from. I would much rather have a prick than a funny guy.

College Football's Biggest Pricks: Saban, Brian Kelly, Chip Kelly, Gary Patterson, Urban Meyer.

The Lone Funny Guy: Steve Spurrier.

Weird But Awesome: Mike Leach.

profitgoblue

September 17th, 2012 at 3:41 PM ^

No one is more entertaining than Montana Tech's coach (Bob Green).  If you haven't seen his pressers, check him out on YouTube.  My favorite:

"I really think that our players are ready to go hit individuals from another institution of higher learning."

Gold, Jerry.  GOLD! 

ijohnb

September 18th, 2012 at 7:34 AM ^

angry paranoid responses certainly indicate to me that you too have at least pondered my concerns.  To you then I ask, not using the word MANBALL, please set forth for me the Brady Hoke way.  As a football coach, Brady Hoke really prefers to rely heavily on _________________ for offensive production in order to ____________________ to a defense.  Brady Hoke is a master _______________________ and is known for his ____________________ as a ______________________.

If you must believe so, yes, I am a blog posting ass-hat who believes that I know football better than Brady Hoke and could have coached up the Wolverines to a win over Bama.  Also, I hate dogs and kids.  But, if you have difficulty filling in any of the blanks above, perhaps you share my concern that above all else, this team seems to lack a fundamental identity to rely on and retreat to.

And I don't hate dogs, just Pit Bulls.  Those things are scary as hell.

In reply to by ijohnb

M-Wolverine

September 18th, 2012 at 9:28 PM ^

Because, no, you are the only one who has pondered these things. But I'll play your game (even though it'd be silly to try and plug in Saban, Joe Paterno, or a whole bunch of coaches)-

As a football coach, Brady Hoke really prefers to rely heavily on offensive line domination for offensive production in order to wear down and control a defense.  Brady Hoke is a master recruiter and is known for his personability as someone who can relate to players and families.

Of course, you're missing the point. Any offense can work. Again, put in what Saban does offensively. It's all about the defense and defensive line domination and getting them off the field so the offense can do whatever it wants, whether that's a pro style running or passing game, an old Nebraska option, or spread offense with a running QB or passing spread. Right now you could plug in what Borges does...but that'll change post Denard, and will probably change with the offensive coordinator that comes after Al.

The thing that won't change is he wants big athletic guys on both sides of the line who are going to kick your ass all day long.

IowaBlue

September 17th, 2012 at 4:08 PM ^

I'd like to know his opinion of the spread punting formation; I also don't expect to get a clear and concise answer with regards to it during the season either...

I know the big punts can throw off your gunners on depth, but if we are getting double teamed each time it's probably worth trying something different to get some coverage.

I don't think we've been in jeopardy of having punts blocked, so I don't think the max protection is that big of a deal... hope they adjust somehow I just hate giving up 10 -15 free yards per kick.

bob8202

September 17th, 2012 at 4:37 PM ^

Can someone please explain to me why a punt coverage question was even asked today?

Hagerup's first punt was a 32 yard wobbler, which was fumbled in a crowd of Michigan players and recovered by Gyarmati.  His second punt was 60 yards gross, but 74 yards net, and our gunner was right there and almost recovered that one.  So, his net puinting was 53 yards per punt. 

Why are you asking about alleged problems with punt coverage? 

I think reporters are often lazy and maintain assumptions that someone else might have raised or that might have been true at some point, but aren't anymore.  For example, a RB that fumbles three in a game will always be thought of as fumble prone, even if he doesn't fumble much otherwise  DR throws off his back foot and throws balls too high?  Really?  Does he really do this often?

Someone gets the idea that Hagerup "outkicks his coverage" and every time there's a presser someone has to ask BH about it. If he punts it 50-60+ yards, so what if there's a 10 yard return? The returner has to do a great, great job for the net punt to be in the less than adequate range, and that just hasn't happened.

Our net punting nuimbers aren't great because we've had to do a few pooch punts that aren't going to be more than 25 or 30 yards net.  That throws off full punt averages.  I don't know what our full punt net punting is, but I would guess it's over 40, which is excellent.

What is the questioner even looking for? Is he even thinking, or just asking a lazy question?

Heiko

September 17th, 2012 at 5:10 PM ^

Since you put in the effort to type a 279-word comment, here is my response:

1) The questioner was me, as denoted by "MGoQuestion."

2) The question was not a criticism of Hagerup nor of any particular plays from last game. If you watched the first two games you'd notice that Michigan's punts have not been covered well. This is not an assumption or a pre-existing bias. Hoke pretty much said it himself. Brian and I just wanted to know what he thought the issue was and how he wanted to resolve it.

3) Yes, people ask about punting all the time, but the questions in the past have been more along the lines of "who is punting better -- Hagerup or Wile?"

4) I am really lazy, though. I also hate thinking. You got me there.

bob8202

September 18th, 2012 at 11:24 AM ^

Well, I'm lazy, too, so I resent that your response required me to research facts to support my thesis, namely, that our net punting is just fine. 

Hagerup's gross punt average is 49.0.  His net punting by game has been 37.1 (Bama -- average return 8 yds.), 45 (Air Force -- 0 returns), and 53 (UMass -- negative 7 yards per return). 

Wile's two punts were gross 28 yards.  Neither one was returned, so his net is also 28 yds. 

So, after doing the math (the details of which I'll omit unless questioned further), we find that Hagerup's net punt average on 11 punts is 44.7 yards.  Only four punts have been returned for positive average.  I haven't checked, but I would guess the 44.7 net that exceeds all but a dozen or two NCAA FBS teams' GROSS punting.

If you include Wile's two punts, neither of which was returned, our net team punt average is 42.2.

So, reporters, please reconsider the premises of your questions.

profitgoblue

September 17th, 2012 at 3:39 PM ^

I wish Heiko could/would include the names of the reporters that ask the questions.  I'd really like to know who asked this doozie:

"How frustrating is it to see UMass fumble the ball and not be able to recover it?"

Really?  Is this a serious question?  No wonder coaches don't answer real questions - they probably assume they're all stupid after getting peppered with questions like this one.

Mon-L

September 17th, 2012 at 3:47 PM ^

I love that question. Goes perfect with the article: "Michigan Coach Feels Great Frustation."

Michigan Head Football Coach Brady Hoke admitted that he feels "great frustration" after Saturday's 62 - 13 win. The source of his consternation was the Wolverines' inability to recover a UMass fumble. This lack of fumble recoverabilty could hurt the team as it enters a difficult showdown with Notre Dame this weekend. The Michigan coach finds this flaw to be especially disconcerting considered he has emphasized to his team that "Turnovers are a huge part of the game" for his entire tenure in Ann Arbor. Hoke promised that they will continue to try to improve on this facet of the game and hopes to see results against the Fighting Irish.

profitgoblue

September 17th, 2012 at 3:56 PM ^

This will probably offend many, but reporters are just boring.  I don't expect them to ask questions that won't be answered (e.g. "what kind of surprises do you have planned for next week?") but I do expect them not to act like idiots and ask stupidly uninformative questions either.  Asking about their hair isn't even funny!

reshp1

September 17th, 2012 at 4:09 PM ^

You can piece it together pretty easily if you read the articles that come out the next few days. It's pretty amazing how little actual work a lot of these guys do. They come up with an angle, write a form article supporting that angle, then ask a few dumb questions fishing for quotes to use in article.

Blue in Seattle

September 17th, 2012 at 6:07 PM ^

I'm guessing that this task only brings a little splinter of joy or amusement to your day, but I think many, and I know I definitely appreciate seeing a transcript of all the questions asked, and answers provided during these press conferences.

I try as best I can to hold off watching the video first, as it's usually more fun to get prepared from the transcript first, before seeing it live and inclusive of Coach Hoke's facial expressions and tone of voice.  On the Round Table, I'm assuming this is completely off camera, and is just extended time for each reporter to try and fill out their stories for the week?

Anyway, since transcribing takes away from your time, I think it's important that I comment my appreciation.

I expect many people have a hard time understanding that these questions aren't just from one reporter, but ALL the reporters, and each reporter has some different angle they are trying to wrap up with a quote.  As some commenters have suggested, it can also be fun to try and match up a series of questions and non-answers with the later articles that show up on DetNews and AnnArbor.com.  There are probably other papers in there, but I really get pretty bored after trying to get thru either DetNews or AnnArbor.com.  I guess the Daily sends some people there, but I only have so much time in my day, 

I laughed a lot more at the questions about 4 Grad Assistants rather than 2 Grad Assistants, than I did at the question on hair.  Especially since that reporter kept trying to follow it up, and Hoke made the reporter work hard for a quote on, "I think it helps coaches learn to be coaches", I'm guessing that's a paraphrase, not a quote, but I don't know what key has the paraphrase symbols.