Blake Countess, Jake Ryan, Jehu Chesson

Blake, earlier this season I remember talking to you about the secondary being a strength. Are you guys still confident that the talent’s there? I mean, you guys have given up some big plays now and then. Are you still as confident in the secondary as you were four or five weeks ago?

BC: “Oh, no doubt about it. We’re a group that’s growing just like the rest of the team and we definitely have the talent to do it. It’s just about getting better every week and proving it, but absolutely. My confidence in my secondary has not wavered at all.”

Coach Hoke has been taking a lot of heat, obviously. What do you guys talk about in the locker room? Do you guys rally around him a little bit at this point?

JR: “Yeah, I mean, we’re just trying to stick together as a team. You know, we can’t let last week affect us. We’ve got to hold our heads up and move on. It’s Big Ten season.”

[Ed. Totally inaudible, sorry]

JR: “You can’t listen to that. You know, you can’t be affected by that. You just have to block it out and, you know, these people don’t know what we’ve done behind the scenes. They don’t know what we’ve done in Schembechler Hall, but we’re just going to keep taking those necessary steps forward that we need to take to improve every single day.”

Does it tick you off, though? When you read the tweets or…

JR: “You can’t- I don’t go on the message boards and read all that stuff. You can’t do that. That’s just people’s opinions.”

[More after THE JUMP]

Blake, just going back to the secondary. The play that Jourdan made was obviously one of the better defensive plays of the year even though it was to save what could have been a 90-some yard touhdown. Have you guys talked about that a little bit? Is that something that you can use to rally? Like, you might be down but you’re not completely out.

BC: “Absolutely. Just, plays like that are- the big play happened because of a miscommunication but the good thing about the play was that we have guys that are getting to the ball and Jourdan came, as a backside corner, came and saved a touchdown and they only got three points out of that drive. So when we get the miscommunication corrected then that big play won’t happen but we still have guys going to the ball. That’s something that will go down in history, you know, because we’ve got guys that are getting to the ball and things like that. That’s definitely one of the small things that can be corrected and we’ll get everything else handled.”

Can you specify what the miscommunication was on that play, because it looked like Jake was in on a blitz on that side. Was the safety supposed to come over, or what happened there?

BC: “Maybe Jake can-“

JR: “I just think it was just a miscommunication throughout the whole defense. Maybe someone didn’t get a signal, maybe some didn’t- it was just kind of a fluke thing that shouldn’t have happened and every single day, like I said, we’ve got to improve and get those little things in.”

Going back to last year, Mitch Leidner- it was a win for you guys, obviously, but Gophers quarterback Mitch Leidner…you guys beat him up pretty bad but he stood tall. Is that something you guys have talked about as far as you’re going to go against a quarterback this week, possibly, that can take out the punishment you can dish out?

JR: “Yeah, absolutely. He’s a good quarterback. I actually didn’t play last year in that game but he’s a good quarterback and I remember him and he’s been rushing for a lot of yards this year. We’ve got to play as a defense, play our technique, [and] play our position and I think we’ll be good.”

[Ed. Another inaudible question. Sorry again]

JR: “I think our defense is a load to take down, too, so I think we’ll be alright.”

Jehu, talk a little bit about the offense’s struggles and how you guys are kind of staying together and what needs to change, I guess.

JC: “Well, it’s pretty apparent that we’re struggling a little bit but I feel that our offense is pretty confident in what we’re doing. Coach Nussmeier has a great scheme out there. It’s just a matter of execution. I mean, you look at all the games we’ve played; if you don’t win the turnover battle, it’s one of the most telling statistics that you’re probably not going to win the game. We just need to execute when we have opportunities and keep our defense off the field.”

Jehu, Coach Hoke was talking about deciding quarterbacks on Tuesday. Does that kind of competition or indecision right now change the way you guys prepare for this coming weekend?

JC: “No. Personally, not at all. As a receiving corps, same answer. Our expectation at the wide receiver position is obviously block down the field and make plays when the ball comes your way, so regardless of who’s throwing the ball you still have to make plays.”

From a wide receiver’s perspective, what does change when you’re catching balls from Shane? Is there a difference in a lefty quarterback, or do you have to make adjustments when he’s on the field?

JC: “No, not necessarily. It’s not that complicated. I probably caught some balls from left-handed quarterbacks growing up, so it’s just a matter of keeping your eye on the ball, watching it through and being strong with your hands. There’s not much else to it.”

Does the ball spin differently?

JC: “Oh, well, yeah. There is a different spin.”

[Inaudible, but something about the spin of the ball]

JC:“Um, no, not really. It’s just coming so fast and you never really see the ball leave the quarterback’s hand so you don’t really have time to look at the spin.”

Jehu, as a wide receiver what do you see as the strengths of Devin and then what do you see as the strengths of Shane?

JC: “So first off, Devin Gardner and Shane, they’re both very smart quarterbacks. They wouldn’t be here if they weren’t. They both can read defenses pretty well in terms of what coach Nuss is telling then, and DG, obviously he’s very mobile with his feet and we all know that Shane has a cannon for an arm and so looking at those strengths, they play very well in our offense regardless of which one plays.”

For any of you guys: Greg Mattison came in here a little bit ago [and] was very emotional when talking about this, kind of fired up. You don’t want to lose your composure- you guys seem calm, cool, and collected- but 2-2 start, you’re getting ready for Big Ten play. Does there need to be a little fire? Have you seen that? Have you said anything to anyone maybe in a fired-up manner to get things going and show a little sense of urgency?

BC: “I think the biggest thing is we know what we have the ability to be and we haven’t put that product on the field game in and game out, so that’s the most frustrating thing with us. But in the grand scheme of things for the season, it hasn’t affected our goals yet. We’re 0-0 in the Big Ten and we’re looking to be Big Ten champions, so if we handle our business from here on out then that’s all that really matters then. But we have learned from those two losses that we did take and we’re definitely not where we want to be, but we’re capable of getting where we want to be. I think that’s how the team feels about the rest of the season, and I know that’s how I feel about the rest of the season.”

Jehu, coach Nussmeier and coach Hoke were both talking about inconsistencies and little things that keep cropping up. As an offense and as someone who’s been around a while, how do you go about eliminating those?

JC: “Attention to detail from everything you do, from how you come out to practice to your enthusiasm for the game. We’re playing football, you must be excited. Just the love for the game. That in and of itself isn’t enough. You can know all your checks, all your blitzes, fire zone scrapes, all the things defenses are going to show you but when you get out there Saturday it’s just a matter of executing. The biggest thing in that aspect is communication, so every day we must be loud, talk to each other because obviously it’s loud in the stadium which we play in and I feel that if everybody gets on the same page not just in the box but also on the perimeter, I feel that we can be a force to reckon with.”

Blake, to build on your last answer: locker rooms can be a fragile thing sometimes when things don’t go well. How much do you kind of keep an eye on making sure the locker room doesn’t fracture or some guys don’t start trying to go out and get their own stuff done and stuff like that? How closely do you pay attention the dynamics of your locker room right now?

BC: “I pay pretty good attention to it, because being a leader on this team, being a guy that’s been here, you’ve got to make sure that everybody is still believing and everybody’s still into it, which they are. The moment guys start to waver, that’s when you go downhill and so we haven’t been wavering at all but definitely being an older guy I have to keep an eye on it than some of the younger guys because they don’t notice it as much, but yeah. It’s definitely something I pay attention to and I’m sure the other older guys are as well.”

Jake, you said your defense is a load to take down too when asked that question earlier. What is your confidence level in this defense and do you feel like it is where you thought it would be at this point?

JR: “I mean, yeah. Like I said before, we’re improving every single day. We go out to practice [and] we are taking those necessary steps forward to improve and I’m confident in this defense. We have the guys, we have the depth, we have the front seven that can do this and can win the Big Ten championship and vice versa, so I have all the confidence in the world in our defense.”

I know you don’t read the message boards, you guys don’t listen to talk radio but there has been some booing in the stadium that may be directed at the coaches. What’s your reaction when you hear that?

JR: “You just have to block is out. Like I said, they don’t know what we do behind the scenes. They don’t know what this team has done at Schembechler Hall. You just block it out and keep playing your game.”

JC: “At the same time though, we love our fans. We respect them. We love everybody who comes and watches us play in the Big House, but like Jake just said the only thing that really matters is the guys who are actually on the field and the coaches and our families and our loved ones. We love them, we respect them, and everybody’s entitled to their own opinion so there’s not much you can say about that.”

JR: “And we did notice them on third down, too. They were loud, so I did notice that.”