Purdue Postgame Presser: Jim Harbaugh Comment Count

Adam Schnepp

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[Fuller]

“No air conditioning in this locker room.”

[Ed. A- This presser took place in the back corner of a room adjacent to the sweltering visitor’s locker room]

Was that done on purpose or—

[Smirks] “There just wasn’t.”

How’s Wilton [Speight] doing?

“I think it’s—I don’t think it’s anything structural. I think it’s soft tissue. We’ll find out more.”

Where?

“Yeah, he’s just working through something. Yeah.”

Can you tell us where?

“Nah, nah. I’ll let you know when I have more information.”

Wilton going down was unfortunate but then John O’Korn came in. This was the biggest crowd Purdue’s had in over a decade. Hostile environment with a lot of pressure in his face today, he made a lot of third-down conversions, throws on the money. What did you think about his performance physically and mentally today?

“I thought John was really playing great. He was seeing things really good right from the time that he came into the ballgame. Ran the offense well. Made big plays. Throw that he hit Gentry on the seam route down the middle, that was a big-time throw. And he had others. I thought he played great. I’m really proud of him. Proud of the whole team. As you say, when you go beat another man, gotta do that in a football game. Then you’ve got to go against the crowd, as you mentioned, and you’ve got to beat the elements. Nothing can make you feel more like a man than that, all three of those things.”

[After THE JUMP: halftime adjustments, O’Korn’s day, and what Harbaugh learned about his team in the crucible of Ross-Ade]

What did you think of his ability to escape some sacks and then turn them into big-time plays, especially the third down in the third quarter in particular?

“Yeah, that was a big play. That was a long drive. Couple 80-some-yard drives by the ballclub and key play was when John was able to escape what looked like a sure sack and find Donovan and get us back into sequence and first down. Did that a few times during the game.

“Had to overcome some 15-yard penalties. We were having trouble. Guys, they were getting tired and we had guys cramping and they dug deep today, and John did a lot to make up some of those deficits from penalty and keep the team on the move.”

Looked like you physically wore them down. They only had 10 total yards in the second half.

“Don made some great adjustments at halftime. I think they came with a total of double-digit trick plays on the day and they got us on a couple of the high plays, but third down, pitched a shutout. I think we were 13-0 on third downs defensively. That was huge, so give a lot of credit to Don Brown, these coaches, and the players. Most all the credit, greatest share, to the players. They had to dig deep today. It was a test.”

What did you learn about your guys today?

“That they can win in the late rounds. That’s a great thing to learn about your ballclub. You never know quite what the character is of the team when things get tough. Lot of people start groping for alternatives and our guys dug deep and finished them off in the late rounds of the ballgame.”

Devin threw a lot of those punches. Talk about all that he did today.

“Devin Bush? Yeah. He really played well. Played really smart the entire ballgame. He’s a heck of a good football player. Comes from great bloodlines. Just darn good. A lot of guys. Every guy out there, they left it out there on the field today.”

The endurance that they had, guys were coming strong right to the end.

“Yeah, yeah, they sure did. They were not looking to tap out. Our guys were looking to tap in. I was really proud of them.”

Jim, you mentioned Don’s adjustments as the game went on. In the second half offensively you had almost 300 yards. What did you adjust offensively at halftime?

“Went a little more to the play-action pass. And we kept running the ball, too. We stayed patient with the running game and brought a little more play-action, especially on first down. Took some shots to loosen them up a bit but just stuck with—yeah, made a few adjustments and the guys adjusted well.

“But yeah, it was good. Greatest share and credit to the players. They’re the ones out there. We had some guys cramping on the offensive side of the ball and they’re limping and they’re going back in and I was really proud of them. They weren’t looking for a soft landing place.”

Talk about your tight ends and what they gave you today.

“Yeah, they played a lot. That was part of the plan, to go with a bigger personnel group. Had extra O-linemen in there at times. Cesar Ruiz did a real nice job there. The tight ends: Bunting, Wheatley, Gentry making the big play, hitting McKeon in the flat a few times was critical. McKeon had a heck of a day. Yeah, they’re all acquitting themselves well. Can’t have too many of them. They’ll all play in our offense.”

Did you think that was a late hit on Wilton and they had two targeting calls, so it was sort of a chippy Purdue defense. Chop blocks, too.

“Eh…huh? They had some chop blocks, yeah. And a couple late hits.”

There was one where [Wilton’s] sitting and he’s hit by a second player. He looked like he was fine when he was sitting up

“I didn’t see that. That’s the first I’ve heard of it, too.”

What does a battle like today do for your team going forward? How does this move them forward to the next step they’re going to have to take?

“Onward. Move on with humble hearts and have a happy flight home will be what we do next. Next week we have improvement week so we’ll set our sights on that for next week and then onward to—back to action.”

Does John’s performance today reopen the quarterback competition?

[laughs]

Had to ask.

“He played great, yeah. He really did. John played a heck of a ballgame. Really proud. Happy for him. Like I said, he came into the game seeing things really well right off the bat. Acquitted himself great.”

Chase Winovich again, another big game for him. Talk about him.

“Yeah, Chase was…to have his high motor still, the way he was hustling. Hustle, hustle, hustle from him. Had a great game and looked like he was in great shape. Looked easy for him and it wasn’t.

“Those were tough elements. He played great though. All the guys on the defensive line, they all did. Somebody asked earlier, ‘What do you think of your ballclub?’ I didn’t know until today. What’s the character of the team like? You got a great glimpse of it today, what it is. They dug deep and won the ballgame.”

You’ve been very public in supporting your former quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Do you agree with the President that he should be fired and that he’s disrespecting the country?

[Stares]

Those are comments made last night about Colin Kaepernick and other football players who kneel, and I know you wrote something supporting him.

“No, I don’t agree with the President. That’s ridiculous. I mean, check the Constitution.”

Did you get a sense of how long Wilton’s going to be out?

“No, I don’t know.”

I know you had a lot of obstacles in that first half and second half. Do you feel like this team grew closer?

“Uh…I would think so.”

Any update on Kekoa [Crawford]?

“No, not yet.”

Why are you rotating Runyan? Is he giving you a different—what is he doing when he comes in, because you’ve been doing it a lot.

“Yeah, we were trying to keep Mike fresh, you know. So we’re platooning other guards. Took place a bit today. Old school.“

Last week settled for field goals in the red zone quite a bit. This week capitalized on touchdowns. What adjustments allowed for that and what kind of confidence do you have in your offense going forward?

“I thought it was really good. Three for three in the red zone. Felt like those would come and they did today.”

Comments

mastodon

September 24th, 2017 at 1:31 PM ^

Trump was in campaign rally mode.  He said "wouldn't it be great", not: I am ordering all owners...  He obviously let it be known how he feels about it, but let's not stretch it into the government denying 1st amendment rights.  Everybody take a breath.

PowerEye

September 24th, 2017 at 1:28 PM ^

 

 

 

There are those of us on this blog who are not dumbasses about what the constitution says or does not say. If you wish to keep the conversations on football, please do not begin your comments with a law lecture.

It is obnoxious.

Also, there are those of us on this blog who are not dumbasses about what the constitution says or does not say. If you wish to keep the conversations on football, please do not begin your comments with a law lecture.

Lakeyale13

September 24th, 2017 at 12:49 PM ^

Yeah, I don' think Trump has a firm grasp on the Consitution, but here is the great thing.  The First Ammendment allows football players to kneel during the National Anthem and for Goofball Presidents to say ignorant / abrasive things.  That is the beautiful thing about our country.  Make your own statements, own them, and then you have to be accountable for the waves they may cause.

Waldorf Wolverine

September 24th, 2017 at 1:32 PM ^

Tump as a private person may, but the president cannot.

18 U.S.C. § 227 - U.S. Code - Unannotated Title 18. Crimes and Criminal Procedure § 227. Wrongfully influencing a private entity's employment decisions by a Member of Congress or an officer or employee of the legislative or executive branch

 Whoever, being a covered government person, with the intent to influence, solely on the basis of partisan political affiliation, an employment decision or employment practice of any private entity-- takes or withholds, or offers or threatens to take or withhold, an official act, or influences, or offers or threatens to influence, the official act of another, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than 15 years, or both, and may be disqualified from holding any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.

 In this section, the term “covered government person” means--a Senator or Representative in, or a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress; an employee of either House of Congress;  or the President, Vice President, an employee of the United States Postal Service or the Postal Regulatory Commission, or any other executive branch employee (as such term is defined under section 2105 of title 5, United States Code ).

Chipper1221

September 24th, 2017 at 12:19 PM ^

Wish someone would've asked about John's confidence. Guy was making guttt throws off his back foot. Threw a tight one to McKeon inbetween 3 defenders. Throws on the run were accurate. I want to know if he's like that in practice or was this a pleasant surprise.

redwhiteandMGOBLUE

September 24th, 2017 at 12:33 PM ^

Some players light it up in practice and struggle on game day. For some others it's the reverse.

We don't get to see how these qb's perform in practice but JOK certainly got himself and this offense into a rythem we've yet to see so far this year and it couldn't have come at a better time. This was a very welcome surprise.

champswest

September 24th, 2017 at 12:29 PM ^

and they like late hits and targeting hits. Just more reasons why I am glad we kicked the shit out of them. And 10 yards of offense in the second half and no third down conversions constitutes an ass whipping.

ST3

September 24th, 2017 at 2:03 PM ^

I have trouble enough with my 225 pounds on a hot day. I can't imagine what it's like to lug 350 pounds around when it's 90 degrees. The weather is changing. He should be good going forward stamina-wise. I do like Runyan, though. And I wonder with all the time Ruiz is getting at blocking TE if they are considering moving him in at RT. Think of it this way, we have a couple dozen TEs on the roster, why burn Ruiz's redshirt to have him play TE?

Big Boutros

September 24th, 2017 at 12:34 PM ^

Coach, your name is Jim. Talk about that.

I noticed that Michigan wears blue jerseys at home and white jerseys on the road. Talk about that.

They say pork is the other white meat. Talk about that.

Toby Flenderson

September 24th, 2017 at 12:54 PM ^

Free Speech does not equal "I can do and say whatever I want and there will be no consequences". The first amendment protects private individuals from the State if an individual wants to protest or speech out against a certain cause. The first amendement does not mean that an individual can do whatever they please and everyone around them has to accept it. If I go into work tomorrow with a "Bros for Bernie" shirt, my manager says "take it off" and I dont, me getting fired is not a violation of the first amendment.

7words

September 24th, 2017 at 1:23 PM ^

Saw the question about an update on Crawford and Jim said "nothing yet" .   During the game it just looked like he had a calf cramp.  He was stretching his foot like how people do when they cramp up.  Maybe Jim hadn't had an update yet before the presser.