Bullets:

• Jake Ryan! Won't be back for Big Ten opener. Maybe by Penn State. "Mid-october" is the target.
• The only way Graham Glasgow gets moved to center is if there's a capable guard to replace him.

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Opening remarks:

“Good practice today. Back to basics, I think that’s what most of us do during bye weeks, especially the first couple days. Fundamentals, being sound with technique, revisiting technique is always important. I think we did that. We had great intensity. The focus was very good.”

Are there guys that are going to rest this week?

“No. I mean, everybody’s participating, some at different levels than others. Taylor doesn’t need to be out there 30 plays in a practice -- I’ll just use him as an example. You’ll do some of that, but everybody’s doing work.”

For Taylor, has this season been an improvement for him?

“I think he’s playing pretty well. I think he’s been very good as a leader. I think he’s been good fundamentally and technique. I think he’s been pretty good.”

Has he been playing hurt?

“No, I don’t think so.”

You’ve talked about potential depth chart changes. Do you do that this week?

“We would start that today. We’ll work different guys in and out. Defensively, we do that a lot because of how we play. Offensively we’ll do that a little bit.”

What positions are you thinking offensively?

“Well I think the three guys in the middle, the offensive line, are always something that we look at. There’s some guys who have played well in there but there’s great competition behind them. So if a guy has a good practice, good couple days, you may move him up.”

Is it a day to day thing with those guys?

“I think so. I think it always is. I think really at any position, I mean, we’ve had guys who have started, haven’t started some games because the week of practice wasn’t as good as it needed to be.”

Would you be hesitant to move Graham Glasgow to guard center?

“I think the only way we’d be hesitant [about that] is if we didn’t have a guy we thought could do as good a job or better.”

At guard?

“Yes.”

How have Glasgow, Miller, and Kalis responded to the last couple of games?

“Well they’re fine. They’re pretty resilient guys. They’re pretty tough guys. Tough-minded guys.”

What can you say or do with Devin Gardner beyond what you’ve already done to get him to cut down on turnovers?

“I think some of that is outside, what we do. How we compete. The different situations you put him in. I think we’ve got a lot of confidence in him. But at the same time you have to point out those flaws and the things that we haven’t done as well as we need.”

Anything like last year where you had guys carry footballs around campus if they were fumbling too much?

“No, because it really hasn’t been -- I think fumbles haven’t hurt us as much as [interceptions]. The fumble on the quarterback sneak, it was tight in there, we’d love for him to have the ball up a little higher, but he’s trying to find a seam that’s there, and a guy gets knocked backwards. It’s kind of tough. That doesn’t excuse not having the ball up here.”

Al Borges talks about not having to recoach Devin on not making the same error twice. Does that still apply?

“Recoach?”

So that he doesn’t make the same mistake twice.

“He doesn’t. But he has. So we need to, I guess, recoach. Never heard that before.”

You don’t necessarily get to pick your bye weeks, but is this a good time to have one or would you rather be back out there?

“I think this is a good time. We’re four games in. I think it’s a great week for us as a staff to look at personnel, look at special teams personnel, look at the personnel who’s played, look at guys who are improving. Guys like Willie Henry, guys like Ondre Pipkins, see where they’re at in the mix maybe a little more.”

Are the turnovers part of the cost of having a guy who’s mobile?

“Yeah, that’s really a good question. Part of it is that you have guys who are multi-talented. They have had a lot of success being -- I don’t want to say loose, but playing a little bit of sandlot football. You play good teams, you can’t do that. You play teams not as good, you can’t do that. I think it’s a fine line because you’d rather try to tame a bucking bronco than an old mare. That’s kind of what you have to do. But it still comes down to the fundamentals. Our footwork and all the things that you know. At the end of the day, it’s always, any position comes down to fundamentals.”

As somebody who spends so much time with the defensive line, how disappointed have you been in their lack of production?

“Oh I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m disappointed. I think the effort’s pretty good. I think the technique at times needs to be a little better. Would we like to have more sacks? You always do. But there’s been some pressures there. There’s been some things that have prevented us from sacking a guy, either break contain or something like that, but I think they’re working awfully hard.”

How’s Jake Ryan doing?

“Jake’s doing well.”

Is he participating?

“Mmhmm.”

How likely would he play in the Big Ten opener?

“I don’t think that would be the game.”

So more mid --

“October. October … Sometime in October.”

You got more pressure against UConn. Is that a product of what UConn did, or were you happy with the way your guys won some one-on-one matchups?

“I think we beat some one-on-ones. They would be a six-man protection not as much. Some of the play-action stuff, yes, but not something that they did a lot of.”

How do you balance physical practices with resting your players during the bye week?

“Our schedule, I think we think as a staff, is a good schedule. Because we can accomplish both. We’re going to physical. We’re going to be competitive, which I think we have to continue because your timing and fundamentals of how you want to play. At the same time it’s an opportunity to not play guys as many plays as they would in a normal week.”

What is your schedule this week?

“We go Thursday and then Friday morning.”

Is there a reason why Devin feels like he has to be superman?

“I think he’s been superman a long time. I think when you grow up being superman, you have that in your mind. He’s competitive, and the thing that I talk to him about is there’s 10 other guys. And then you have 11 guys on defense. And then you have kicking game. It’s everybody together. I think he hears that.”

So is it a little bit of a trust issue?

“Trust in who?”

Understanding the other 10 guys are there.

“I don’t think there’s a lack of trust. It’s just what’s innately in him. It’s in his DNA.”

Was there a similar mindset with Denard, and did you learn anything from him?

“Denard was very much a guy that could make a lot of plays and made a lot of plays.”

Did you learn anything from dealing with him that you can apply to Devin?

“I’ve been dealing with this 30-some years.”

You said that Fitz Toussaint will get a bit more rest.

“We’ll rest him a little bit this week. He’s one of those guys that you don’t need to -- ”

Which of the backs do you want to work in more?

“De'Veon Smith, Derrick Green. Justice Hayes ran the ball a little bit more today.”

Do you think your team got better last week?

“Oh yeah. There wasn’t any doubt. It was a much different team.”

You said the ship’s not sinking. Do you get that there’s a little sense of panic because the wins were a little too close?

“Panic by who?”

Your people. Your fans.

“We don’t really worry about it to be honest with you. We’ve got great fans. They are welcome to their opinions.”