Monday Presser 9-29-14: Brady Hoke Comment Count

Adam Schnepp

hoke 9-15

file

Opening remarks:

“Number one, thanks for coming. I know there's been a lot of talk, a lot of speculation, a lot of rumors, innuendo, whatever on what happened and what's going on with Shane.

Obviously I can tell you from my perspective of being on the sideline what I know and I'm going to touch [on] some of those things a little bit, but at the same time I think there's other experts that will also have a statement and an opinion.

I'm a football coach. Some of you don't think we’re doing that very well but that's what I do. I don't make decisions who plays, who doesn't play as far as when there's injuries and particularly if there was any head trauma or head injuries. And for those of you who know or don't know I would never put a kid in that situation. Never have and never will because you get into this to coach kids, believe me. And that's what this game is all about, and helping those guys in a lot of different ways. So we are not going to– as a staff I can assure you that's never going to happen.

“The one thing I can tell you is during the process of… let me share this first. Number one, we practiced yesterday. We practiced last night and Shane Morris would have practiced were it not for a high ankle sprain, and that's one reason I'm telling you that is because that's what I've been told and a high ankle sprain, they have a new word for it that I can't really pronounce but he would have practiced if it wasn't for that.

During the course of the game when Devin lost– and I think that's where the critical junction is for some of you, but the…Devin's helmet comes off and my intention is to go out and I get the referee’s attention who I think, by the way, is one of the better referees in this league, and I want to buy him back with a timeout. That, and when I say that- and I've talked to the Big Ten about this, I've talked to Bill Carollo last night about this, I was told I couldn't buy him back and I said, ‘Yeah, I can buy him back,’ so him and I had a little bit of a discussion because you can buy back in because of the helmet, not because of any injury but because of the helmet coming off.

Well, the linesman comes up and him and I, I say ‘I want to buy him back,’ and the referee says you can't do that’ and the miscommunication or whatever it might be, the head linesman says, ‘Yes, you can’ and so by that time Shane’s on the field taking one more snap, handing the ball off, [and] Devin gets his helmet back on. That's how that sequence went.

What I can tell you is we would never, ever put a guy on the field when there's a possibility of head trauma and we won't do that. Guys play beat up every day. If they’re not beat up a little bit, they’re never 100%, then we need to – then they’re not doing much. Guys also have nicks and bumps and bruises and strains and everything else. I can also tell you that football is a sport where guys have got to be highly competitive and they are highly competitive because they love to play the game and they love to compete and that's just part of their DNA. And I think it's different, obviously, than a lot of other things and professions and those things.

“Let me finish with we've got to do a better job of playing football, coaching football and being a team. We get to go to Rutgers this week and we’re excited about that. Had a good practice last night. Focused on the fundamentals and the techniques that you need to have and that is what this game is. We played a little bit- and I know Jack Miller said this after the game, offensively we played a little bit of 10 man football and you can't do that. Every guy has a responsibility. Every guy has to do their job.

“Defensively, I think the disappointing thing is our tackling and leveraging the ball. I don't think and we don't think we did a good enough job there and that was addressed last night and will be addressed throughout the week. We’re excited about going to Rutgers. These are the two schools, besides the Ivy League schools, playing football. I think the history of those two schools playing football besides the Ivies, so that's exciting and it'll be a new environment so we’re excited to get on the road.”

[Much more after THE JUMP]

 

Brady, going back to Shane: how do you rule out that there is a head issue, a concussion possibly? Did he go through the protocol on the sidelines?

“Like I said, you’ll have a statement from our medical department.”

Brady, you said after the game that you didn’t see Shane’s reaction to that late hit when it happened. I’m guessing you’ve seen it since. Hindsight being 20/20, do you think-

“I'm not going to – hindsight is good. It's easy today. It’s easy yesterday So, you know, as far as seeing the film I saw the film yesterday and saw the coaches copy and obviously we turned in the hit.

But what I was going to ask is do you think he should have come out immediately and stayed out?

“Again, you're being hypothetical, and we’re not going to work in hypothetics”

 

Brady, you say that the head coach shouldn’t be making those type of calls, you have other experts to make those type of calls.

“Yes sir.”

But shouldn’t the head coach oversee this since you are the guy who’s in those recruits family’s-

“Well, I'm not going to – I think you're wrong there because I'm not going to, if our trainer says one thing I'm not going to say the other because he knows that. If our doctor says one thing and this guy has studied in the field and knows that, it'd be like him telling me run a zone blitz on third down. What does he know about a zone blitz on third down? So to me that doesn’t make any sense to override [a medical decision].”

The perception is you were not aware that this was a possibility, and shouldn’t the head coach be aware?

“Well, that’s your perception. Not my perception. I knew the kid had an ankle injury. That’s what I knew.”

Brady, before he gets hit high and falls down, and before this whole head injury thing begins he appeared to have some sort of ankle injury [or] leg injury as you said. Why was he still in the game at the point when he-

“Because he felt like he could still play. When the injury happened, and I’m not going to get into all this, I’ll let our medical people talk about it but when the injury happened the first time he came back and could play on it. Guy’s a competitor. He feels he could play on it. He comes in- when he comes back in [he] hands the ball off, checks the play, he checks it the right way [and] does everything he’s supposed to do.”

And then when he does come out of the game why is he still allowed to even have his helmet at that point? Why is he-

“He hasn’t been diagnosed- again, you’ll get it. Sometime you’ll get it.”

Brady, I was going to follow up: he has not been diagnosed with a concussion? Can you say that?

“Everything that I know of, no.”

Can I just follow up on the hit: you did send something to the Big Ten? You thought that was targeting?

“Yes.”

So when Shane, after that hit when he’s on the field, is there a doctor telling you there’s no chance of a head injury? If he stays in that game how do you know there’s no chance of a head injury?

“Again, I’ll let them- their statement will speak for itself. Okay?”

Just one more follow-up, Brady. You said you didn’t see him wobbling per se, but you were assuming that everything he was going through was because of the ankle and nothing else?

“Correct.”

You were assuming that because of what you saw-

“Correct.”

…and not because of what someone told you on the sideline?

“Well, that’s what the kid- when he went like this to the trainer [/waves hands across each other] that he was fine, that tells you something.”

After that high hit was there any communication between yourself and Doug Nussmeier, who was very clearly interacting with Shane Morris as he was stumbling around the field?

“Say that again.”

Was there any communication between you and Doug Nussmeier, who was communicating with Shane Morris on the field?

“Well, Doug and I were talking, yeah, about how he was doing. And the kid, when he waved off the trainers, kind of told you how he was doing. As far as communication about that, no, not as much.”

Brady, the video afterwards is kind of what’s drawn a lot of the criticism. Did you see him stumble? Where were you looking when he was stumbling? Were you doing other things on the sideline, and did you see that afterward and what was your reaction to it?

“The video of…?”

Of Shane; one of his linemen holding him up as he sort of stumbled and looked woozy.

“Well, that wasn’t- his ankle gave out. That’s what he told me, so, you know. Did I see that? Yeah, I saw Ben Braden there. But I didn’t see the hit either because I was traveling the ball down the field.”

So the stumble: he said that was a result of his ankle and not his head?

“Yes. Yeah, he said his ankle hurt.”

I won’t pretend to know your system, and I know that you as a head coach have a lot to do one the sideline but don’t you have people dedicated during the game-

“There are.”

…to watching for possible injuries like that and then fully checking them out, and did that happen?

“I would assume, yes. Because they do every other time.”

And since all of this has happened have you personally talked with Shane Morris?

“Yeah. I saw him yesterday. Saw him this morning.”

Since it may not be possible for the coach to see everybody’s reaction to every possible hit on every play from where your vantage point is, do you want your players to be more proactive in signaling to the sidelines if a lineman is having to help the quarterback stay on his feet, to get the sideline’s attention and say, ‘Hey, this guy needs to be out of here.’ Are your guys conditioned to do that or-?

“Number one, I think the mentality is as a player and I think how the players are, they love to compete and they love to play. So if you’re asking about that mentality I think that’s what they all have. That’s what they’ve done since whenever they started playing the game. I think they also know if the injury is one where you don’t think you can continue to go to go down.”

Brady, you said just a couple of answers ago that you assume he was checked on the sideline and cleared to go back in.

“They would- yeah.”

As the leader of this team, the ultimate man that’s accountable for the kids [and] the program, will you in the future if a situation like this were to arise again do you think that you should and will handle it differently?

“Well, I don’t know. I think that’s a little bit hypothetical. I do know one thing. When a guy is out of the game they tell me. And they have consistently for the last three years when a guy’s been ruled out.”

Brady, you said you didn’t see the hit.

“Correct.”

Is there a way you could fix that in the future? The question’s out there: the whole headset thing. Will you put your headsets on now?

“No. Thank you.”

Is this criticism that’s coming from some quarters, is this unfair?

“Well, I don’t know. I think there’s things were there should be some criticism when we talk about the performance, and that’s me and coaching. I understand that. But when your integrity and character is attacked, I think-that is really unwarranted.”

Your interest in the well-being of these student-athletes: is that paramount?

“That’s why you coach. That’s why I got into coaching. To help kids. Well, helping kids is also their welfare and their health. I mean, we would never, ever, if we thought a guy had a concussion, keep him in the game. And never have.”

Brady, you just said health and welfare is the number one priority for you, but do you feel that your staff, your sideline-

“Yes.”

…needs to do a better job-

“Well, I’m not going to say yes. No, I think they do a good job. I’ve never had a problem. Never had a problem. They’ve always been- when a guy goes down and a guy can’t come back, or they think that he’s done for the day or whatever…I mean, I’ve always been alerted to that.”

I guess at what point then…you say a lot of it is up to the kid and how he feels, but at what point-

“I mean, there’s some of it. Obviously we’re going to be smart enough if a guy can’t run right or has a problem somewhere- obviously head injuries are a totally different thing, because a lot of those guys are playing with bruises and bumps and stuff like that.”

But that’s sort of my point, though. It appeared that he wasn’t mobile, didn’t appear to be able to run at that point. Do you not have to get him out of the football game before the head hit even happens?

“Well, I don’t know about that because they tested him out and checked him out.”

Can you just kind of touch on how this has been handled internally in terms of how it’s been addressed with Dave Brandon [and] the university. How’s that play out-

“I’m getting ready to play Rutgers. That’s what I’ve been doing. Getting ready to play Rutgers. Getting the staff and the team ready to go play Rutgers. That’s what I’ve been doing.”

So, Brady, you haven’t had any conversations with Dave Brandon, or have you, about this or about job performance in general?

“No.”

In the last day or two…

“No.”

So he wasn’t involved in the discussion about the Shane Morris injury?

“Not that I know of.”

Comments

maracle

September 29th, 2014 at 9:22 PM ^

What was idiotic was starting him in the first place.  I'd like to know what was beind that decision.  Is Hoke saying that Gardner is a hopeless case and they might as well abandon the rest of the season to get Morris some experience?  Surely they didn't think Morris could be better than Gardner.

I guess an alternate theory is that they were trying to give Gardner a wakeup call.  But all in all, it makes almost no sense.

BlueMan80

September 29th, 2014 at 5:42 PM ^

No offense to the MGoLawyers out there, but Dave B is a corporate guy and this smells of corporate handling.  They are being very careful not to say anything that could lead to a future lawsuit.  Stick to your story and let's get the guys around you to issue statements about their role in the whole affair.  Wow.  This is college athletics and needs to be treated as such.  The corporate treatment won't play well on the recruiting trail either.  It's an epic fail across the board and as the head coach, he needed to step in instead of trusting his delegates.  If he didn't take the input of others, he needs to say that.  Can't say much of anything given the strategy they are taking.

I just hope Brady has apologized to Shane and to Shane's parents and fallen on his sword over this with them.  They deserve the truth and some contrition on his part if the public view of this is going to be handled this way.

WolverineInCbus

September 29th, 2014 at 5:52 PM ^

I honestly don't understand what everyone wants from him as far as the concussion incident goes.... Shane personally told him the issue was his ankle, the training staff told him it was his ankle. If shane is checking out without a concussion that apparently he doesn't have an f ing concussion! People need to stop acting like they're doctors. Everyone thinks they can diagnose a kid that they haven't personally examined or even talked to better than trained professionals that have personally examined him. Drew sharps comments really pissed me off which is not Surprising considering what a dumbass he is. If shane wanted to come out then he should've signaled that he wanted out. Should brady have taken him out for precautionary reasons when he got blasted? Obviously yes. But stop trying to say that brady is lying about Shane having a concussion when u have no information on the story.



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bjk

September 29th, 2014 at 6:25 PM ^

was visibly wobbly after a severe head shot.

If Hoke isn't up to it, SOMEONE needs to intervene and get him off the field for a timely evaluation.

If Hoke has no recollection of a conversation with anyone about a evaluation, then it means that no-one intervened on Morris' behalf in a situation that clearly warranted it.

If this is the way it is everywhere, then CFB is extremely lucky not to have been sued into oblivion by now.

bleed_trueblue17

September 29th, 2014 at 6:37 PM ^

Think the vast majority don't care whether Shane was concussed or not. It was that after a brutal hit he couldn't even stand and just cuz it's an ankle that's okay?! The poor kid didn't walk off that field for Christ sake!!!! Whether or not the screened him or it was JUST his ankle those coaches failed him. Shane was a warrior to the end and those coaches let him die out there basically before they said "you know he's not looking too good" whether protocol was followed(which there was not nearly enough time to do a proper eval) or not the coaches kept sending an injured player back into the game. So hop off ppl who are angered by this. This situation no matter how you look at it, is very bad. I feel for Shane

BannerToucher85

September 29th, 2014 at 8:57 PM ^

Do you know how many boxers would make the ridiculous choice to continue fighting in the belief that they weren't concussed? That's the entire point of having a ref in the ring. You can't trust the judgement of someone who has just taken a serious blow to the head. Hoke saying that it was Shane's choice to stay in the game is a total cop out and demonstrates a clear lack of understanding of the severity of the situation.

The fact that Shane wobbled could be explained by his bad leg, but in the wake of the blow to the head it's just as equally attributable to a concussion. The Hoke apologists need to stop grabbing at straws. A serious lack of judgement occured and someone should be held accountable.

bronxblue

September 29th, 2014 at 6:19 PM ^

Man that was painful to read. Both sides have their talking points and nobody is really discussing anything. They're just repeating themselves for 30 minutes or whatever.

maracle

September 29th, 2014 at 9:19 PM ^

They're saying he stumbled because his ankle was in a lot of pain, and it follows from that that he might have needed to come out due to the ankle.

At this point it hardly matters, the media including Brian and Ace have their pitchforks and are happy to play this up to any extent to get the new coach they've been hoping for.  And Hoke and the University are going to be as oblique as possible since there isn't any benefit to addressing "concerns" that aren't really concerns.

We may as well all check back in a few weeks from now for some actual content...

ClearEyesFullHart

September 29th, 2014 at 7:46 PM ^

If/When it comes out that Morris was never concussed, do the Mom's basement crowd publish a retraction/apology, or do they hold themselves even less accountable than the toxic mainstream media they so despise?  There is a chance that the torch and pitchfork crowd come out looking pretty stupid on this one.  The stink of it is, if Michigan keeps losing nobody is going to hold them accountable anyway.

In reply to by ClearEyesFullHart

Avant's Hands

September 29th, 2014 at 9:02 PM ^

Another person that doesn't understand that whether or not he is concussed doesn't matter. This isn't results based charting. It was handled poorly and it's only gotten worse with everything they have done since. The fact is Morris took a wicked headshot and was never given a proper concussion check. That's not right.

In reply to by ClearEyesFullHart

Blueisgood

September 29th, 2014 at 9:12 PM ^

It doesn't matter if he was concussed or not to me. He shouldn't have been in the game in the first place at that point. He was a sitting duck. The oline can't block and you let him limp around out there. It was inevitable that he was going to get blasted. It doesn't matter if Shane waved them off, he's the head coach. Take the kid outta the game before it gets to that point. Regardless of all that, he should be fired anyway. Year 4 should be a lot better then this.

ClearEyesFullHart

September 29th, 2014 at 9:50 PM ^

And I hope like hell they can find a better coach.  But who was he supposed to put in?  Do you really want to risk Gardner(who for better or worse gives Michigan the best chance to win games in the future) down 30pts?  Do you want poor Bellamy to embarass himself further?  Poor guy couldn't even find his helmet.. It was a bad situation, granted it was caused by Hoke failing to build a good team, but Brian and Ace have really dragged Hoke's name through the mud.  Trashed the man's character.  Possibly without cause.

buckeyedude

September 29th, 2014 at 9:22 PM ^

I'm a Buckeye fan but I never like to see players get injured, for ANY team. I felt really bad for Shane and if I was his dad, I'd be making a lot of noise to the B1G and NCAA. The offficials completely shit the bed on that one.

Bradley Roby was ejected from a game last year for a similar hit(actually, I don't think Roby's hit on the receiver was that bad. He got more of the receiver's shoulder than helmet). If Shane didn't have a concussion, I would be absolutely shocked. That hit was vicious, malicious, and the Minnesota player should have been ejected. How more obvious can it be? A decapitation?

FatGuyLittleCoat

September 29th, 2014 at 10:56 PM ^

I really, really, really dislike the way this press conference, this team, this coach, this season and this program is going. It seems pretty apparent that Hoke is going to make this worse before it is finally made better (by his resigning, firing, etc.). He is acting extremely stubborn and brazen, and I'm not a fan. To me, he's lost that "good guy" card and just needs to go at this point. He'll land on his feet somewhere, maybe, but that isn't Michigan's problem. I don't care who does it, but it is time to end this misery and let Hoke go.

uncleFred

September 29th, 2014 at 11:06 PM ^

At some point we'll get the medical staff's report. Unless it shows a concussion most of you will say it doesn't matter because yada yada yada... OF course shuld it show a concussion that just more tire for the fire. 

Neither the head coach, the OC, nor the DC saw the hit. The OC in his presser said that even had they been looking at that part of the field it was obscured and not within their vision. The OC explained the protocol about player injuries and that players are taught that if they are hurt to stay down and wait for the trainers. Despite this Seth dumped on Brady's comment that player are not told to come off the field if they are hurt. Seriously? 

You are pouring all this anger and angst that surrounds a, so far, losing season into an all out effort to toss Hoke under the bus. Worse yet Brian and his staff are leading the charge, without waiting for all the data to come in. Anything that suggests that this might be far less serious than the spin machine wants it to be is dismissed as lies and cover ups. 

I've been a Michigan fan since the 60s. I graduated in 1977. In what has proven to be my hubris, I foolishly thought that I was part of a fan base that held itself to a far higher standard of behavior  and understanding than almost any other. I am paying the price for that now. 

Organizations are complex things. Maybe, and despite the ever repeated gif of the hit (which by the way deliberatley neglects to show Shane's near perfect performance on the next play), no one actually screwed up. Still based on what we have learned about the division of responsibilities between the medical and coaching staff, it is highly unlikley that the screwup, if it occurred at all, falls on the coaches. That may not be a very popular assessment given the overwhelming desire to burn the program to the ground, but in my unhumble opinion it is probably true. 

We could wait for all the information and then discuss if the current division of responsibilites in this area are the best for the players, but that mught actually be productive. Instead most of you are going to stoke the tire fire and scream in the echo chamber to burn the program down again. Who cares the level of personal vilification towards a man who has always given everything he has to this program.

I guess many of you are right being a Michigan man or woman is unimportant because you are demonstrating it is dead. The remaining MIchigan men and women are soon to be lost. The notion of holding one's self to a high standard of integrity and honor and rational judgement has been sacrificed to a relentless desire for immediate gratification and an emotional rush to judgement. 

I wrote else where that one reason I love Michigan is that it inculcated me with a set of values and standards that I have found immensely valuable through out my life. I deeply regret that your time at Michigan failed to provide that to you. 

Brian wrote a piece entitled "This is not Michigan" had he entitled it "This was not Michigan, he'd have been right but not in the sense he meant. We should be better than this, a lot better, but unfortunately we aren't. This tire fire, created only out of the personal pique of the most vocal here, truly is what Michigan has become. This is Michigan and we are all the worse for it.

This is a very sad time for MIchigan and the least of the reasons are the record or the events on the field last Saturday. 

TheJuiceman

September 30th, 2014 at 3:02 AM ^

Lmao. Hate 2 gloat so much and keep saying "I told you so", but after being called a "fake insider" by the MGoShitheads, see Magnus and other MGoLemmings, (a star player is my roommate) and a fake student after my graduation when most of you fools could NEVER get into MY alma mater, I find it very comical that you've gained a clue. Now you guys are so surprised Hoke's a POS. Lolololol.

Icehole Woody

September 30th, 2014 at 8:23 AM ^

Hoke's words are meaningless. Probable mild concussion. What a mess. And who is putting a plan together on how to salvage the football program? Brandon? Something has to happen this week.