They just sent the official transcripts, here you go: An Interview With:
COACH KILL
COACH KILL: Well, we appreciate everybody coming out and to go back to last week's game, and I'm not going to spend a lot of time on that because it's over.
But I think that thought we played much better in the first half than we did the first game. The second half, I don't think we performed as well. And after watching the film, I think a lot of it just had to do with not having been in that situation that often.
And I just think we weren't as intense as we need to be in the second half, and you can usually tell that by execution on offense and missed tackles on defense. I just think it was a lack of intensity, and we need to learn when we do get up on somebody, we need to take care of business and not let things kind of hang out.
But we'll continue to improve on that and move forward, and we have a big game coming up. They are all big, but this one is on the road, our first road trip; and playing TCU, a team that has been tremendously successful over the last long time. I think that Coach Patterson feels like they are going to be really, really good because they are healthy and they weren't that way last year.
They have got a great football team. We know that. We know what challenges are ahead of us, and we look forward to it. We'll see where we're at.
Q. Could you talk a little bit about Coach Patterson as far as each of you in each other's wedding parties and can you talk about your feelings in playing against such a good friend Saturday?
COACH KILL: Well, I wouldn't let him come to mine no (laughing). I got married when I was 21 and my wife was 19, so I didn't even know Gary at that time.
But it's like anything, just like you all, you build a relationship. We built it through and Coach Franchione. Coach coached me, and Gary and him worked together and that's how that bond started.
I was an offensive coordinator at the time well, I was defensive coordinator actually, and he was on the defensive side of the ball and shared ideas, and then I went to offense. And then he became I would tell you, I think most coaches in our profession, he's as good a defensive football coach as there in the country and I think everybody knows that.
So we shared ideas and just got to be friends through that and stayed friends. Then when he got the head job at TCU, I was actually at Emporia State. He had offered me a job as the offensive coordinator there, but I also had an opportunity to go to Southern Illinois.
And through him and Coach Franchione's advice was if I wanted to be a head coach, he goes, "You're not going to get any of those other jobs, so you'd better take one and turn it." So that's what I did. And then we stayed in touch. Our staff has been sharing ideas and Coach Claeys has been going there every year and we've doing that for years. So that's it.
Q. Can you give an update on Mitch Leidner and status of his knee?
COACH KILL: He'll practice today. He's a tough son of a gun and that's straight up. Everybody wants to know, oh Coach; no, that's straight up. I told you he was tough and he's tough.
Q. If you were worried at all, would you hold him out Saturday for the long term of the season?
COACH KILL: Well, I won't know that until the week goes. I mean, you've got to see his progression, but he's going to practice today, and we certainly won't wear him out today. Wouldn't be very smart. We'll give Chris Streveler a lot of reps. And we've been doing that, anyway, because of nature of the game which we have to do. And Jacques has had some reps, too. But he'll practice today.
I mean, I'll tell you that we'll limit some of the things because I don't want to wear him out and be smart. But we'll see how it goes. I can't guarantee anything, but I can guarantee you that he's going to practice today and that will help us determine some things. But, you know, he's tough. Been on the phone with Jordan Lynch. Jordan is pretty tough too. I don't know what they talk about but evidently it's pretty good. So we'll see how it goes.
Q. Is he ready to go or is it still?
COACH KILL: No, we won't know until we get him out. I can just tell you he's running and moving around. He actually moved around on Sunday. So he's a tough cat.
Q. If you have to go to Chris what have you seen from him just in the way he's developed?
COACH KILL: He's done a good job. He's been red shirt. He's got four years left. He got an opportunity to play in both ballgames and he's done a good job. He's executed well. He can really run. He's got great speed and he's developing as a quarterback.
But I mean, it's not like having a junior or senior. He's still a freshman. But he's worked hard. He's been here all summer. He's worked with Mitch. So that's part of college football. You've got to biggest thing in this game, got to stay healthy and got to be lucky and stay healthy. So hopefully he can play but we'll have Chris ready if he needs to be and if Mitch is not ready.
Q. We hear a lot about TCU's defense and they switched coordinators on offense. Do you have a good read on them offensively right now or do you feel like you're still
COACH KILL: I think we've got a pretty we know who they hired. So we know enough about who they hired from Houston and Texas Tech when we were playing in the Bowl game.
So you're going to get Baylor speed of no huddle. So they are going to snap it about every 15, 16 seconds. It will be a lot like that. I think that's what we've got it down to. But they are going to be with the Bowl game, I think everybody has seen Texas Tech. It's going to be like that because that's where all the ties tie in.
So we've got a pretty good idea. I mean, I know Gary well enough that he'll come out and do some things that he didn't show in the first game.
It's a little bit different situation because they play in the first game, and then they have got an off week. And I promise you, he worked on us all spring. So I know how he does that with opponents and how he does preparation. That's what makes him so good. But he's been working on us for a long time and that extra week doesn't help us, you know, having two weeks to prepare.
Q. Have you talked to him at all before he made that changes or did it surprise you at all that he made such a radical change?
COACH KILL: You know, I think that he not a lot really to tell you the truth. But I think a lot of it has to do with the conference and what they are doing and what they are seeing defensively. That allows them to work against each other, you know what I mean. It helps the offense and the defense. Most of those teams are all spread.
And so I think trying to prepare for just like us, our defense trying to prepare for the no huddle is not easy. If we were no huddle all the time on offense, you know what I mean, you could get prepared easier so I think that has to do with it, and then their athletes. They have got athletes and you can spread the field with the guys they got, and I think it fits their personality with what they are recruiting right now.
But we haven't talked a ton about that. Since we are playing each other, we more just talk out of friendship and just give each other a hard time. We haven't as far as football stuff, you know, we haven't talked a lot of football stuff because of the situation.
Q. Going up against a team that's as good defensively on the road, but then especially with a bye week, do you think this is the toughest non conference game you've had since USC in 2011?
COACH KILL: Oh, there's no doubt about that. There's no doubt about that. Plus we're playing there. So there's a twofold deal. I know he's healthy this is the whole thing. Last year, they got all kinds of injuries and so forth and they lost the great defensive end, but he felt like they had the best front four they have had in a long time and he's still got three of them standing there. So the other three didn't go anywhere. There's no question about that.
Q. Do you go with one offensive game plan that you would expect either quarterback to execute or do you have 1A and 1B?
COACH KILL: No we'll have the same game plan. They both can execute.
Q. You played, what, eight true freshmen? How many would you typically play in a year?
COACH KILL: Yeah maybe three or four and right now we are in that spin, it's hard to explain. But the cycle of where we had empty, we had empty classes caught up with us a little bit. This is where, that big class of freshmen and you have that separation. So that's what's happened.
But injuries have hurt us there, too. We had some injuries and had to do that, because we are playing most of them on defense right now. And we are playing one on offense and three or four, we're kind of seeing what happens. So hopefully we're done playing a freshman, but I can see us with one or two more possibly.
Q. Is there something that you do to prepare the guys for weather a little more?
COACH KILL: Not going to talk about it. I mean, the more you talk about something, it's like fumbling the football; the more you talk about fumbling, the more they fumble it.
I think we've been preparing for all is that situation since most of it's about nutrition and how much water you take in and things of that nature. With a couple kids that happened to on Saturday, you know, you look into that. And I won't say all, I'll just say sometimes they don't eat as properly and take as much water in and so forth.
So when it's the temperature it was on Saturday and you cramp, there's more to it. But at the same time, I grew up in that area and so forth. You've just got to take care of it. I know Ed had mentioned that the Gophers went down to Miami when he was a trainer and didn't have a lot of trouble with some of the preparation they did before.
So I just told him, we don't need no LeBron James deal. If we need to drink pickle juice the whole time, we'll drink pickle juice. We'll see. You can't control the weather and all those kind of things. You can control how you play. We have to do a good job and who we're travelling and special teams and things of in nature and we have to got have some guys step up to take some plays off people that are starting.
Q. With Nick Rallis's injury, what is your comfort level with second line at linebacker?
COACH KILL: Nick's out. I think everybody I think that leaks out. He's done for the season. Tough thing is he worked so hard and has really, really played well. So it's just, again, I mean, you can't afford to lose depth.
So we pulled a red shirt off Everett and he's got to step up. That's really all you do. Certainly he can play all three spots. That's what made him special. I feel bad for him. He's worked so hard and so forth. You don't want to see that happen to kids but unfortunately in this game, it happens.
Q. Knee injury?
COACH KILL: Yeah.
Q. Do you have a reaction to Penn State's Bowl ban being lifted?
COACH KILL: I didn't pay I really haven't thought about it to be honest with you. I've been too busy, caught up. So I really I mean, I walked by yesterday and went down to the training room and I see they took it off.
I think they, you know, whatever, what happens happened to them the last two or three years, what's best for I always go by what's best for the players and what's fair and all that kind of stuff and I'll let people that handle that, handle that. I don't know that much about it.
But I'm not going to complain and moan and grown and all that kind of stuff. They certainly got punished and it's not as long as it was. Sometimes you have those things happen and it's not the kids that were you know what I mean. Some of that stuff's out of their control.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports ...
An Interview with:
COACH TRACY CLAEYS
Q. Tracy, with Nick going down, another guy you lose on defense. How are you feeling right now in terms of just depth overall, defensively?
COACH CLAEYS: Just gets you a little younger. But when Everett played in the game he played well. And move the next guy up, just keep rolling.
Q. How do you feel about their no huddle, watching that tape. Obviously this isn't something new anymore. It's different especially in the heat.
COACH CLAEYS: The heat we can't control, so you just play with it and just see how it goes. Our secondary has played quite a few snaps the last two games and so you worry about things you can control. So the tempo will be like Texas Tech from the Bowl game and that and hurry to the line and so it will be a little faster than what we're normally used to. But in the past, sometimes it takes a couple of series to get adjusted just how fast that's going to go.
You hope you can survive those first couple of series and hang on and move from there.
Q. How much would you say you've learned from Gary Patterson's staff over the years and is it as much as anybody you've been around in college football?
COACH CLAEYS: Some games, the way we've played he probably wouldn't want me to say I've learned anything from him because we haven't played as well as he has. But it's easily close to 90 percent.
One time I was down there eight of 10 years in a row and the first time I became defensive coordinator, there spring ball, I spent 10 of 15 practices down there for spring ball and I've learned a tremendous amount from him and his staff. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the way they coach defense and how they do things.
Q. Do the defenses line up similar? If they watched TCU and watched you, would people say it's very similar?
COACH CLAEYS: He runs what you call a 4 2 5, 5 defensive backs. We're a 4 3. We use three linebackers. When you go one back, it's all the same. You all line up the same. Even though we're doing it out of the 4 3, 4 2 5, there's a lot of the same principles we still do that we learned from Gary.
So I mean he's going to have a great understanding of how we line up and what we play, but it still all comes back down to kids executing on game day and playing hard and tackling. But, yeah, it's a tough I haven't been able to go the last two years. And I've missed that and because it's a staff that we've always worked with as far as exchanging ideas on how to defend things and it's been good, I think, for both of us and now the fact since the contract was signed, you know, haven't been able to do that.
Q. What was your biggest takeaway from last Saturday? Did you come away a little put off by the way the second half unfolded?
COACH CLAEYS: I look at it more as like I thought the first half we played extremely well. I think they were two of eight on third downs and everybody tried to make more of it. It's how well you play on third down. It really is.
Second half, I don't know if we stopped them on third down. Maybe once in the second half. And so when you don't stop people on third down, you play a lot more snaps and have more opportunity to score points. But I still think the value that's come out of that is that each of the first two games is the last series or two we've been able to play a lot of young kids.
Because of our injury situation, that's going to pay benefits to us down the line because those kids are going to have to play. So we need to play in the second half better than what we have. But at the same time in the first half I think that our kids compete awfully hard.
Q. Turnovers, you guys are creating.
COACH CLAEYS: Here's the thing about that: It's helped us. And you always try to get turnovers. But I don't want to be a bad defensive team that relies on turnovers to get us out of situations. And that's what I appreciate of the kids. It would be nice to get turnovers and play good defense the whole time. And like in the first half, we played pretty good. T.C., quarterback pops, Damian catches the ball. Those are all good defense.
In the second half, you know, the one got us out when we were struggling and that. And so we gotta have turnovers. It's all about getting the ball back for the offense. At the same time I don't want the turnovers to be something that covers up, because we're not worth a damn on defense. We have to play better on defense.
Q. How frustrated were you with the containment in the second half? I know you got pressure and all of a sudden quarterback steps up and he's breaking and it makes it tough on the secondary?
COACH CLAEYS: He made a couple of skirmishes. Damarius Travis falls down on the 1. Can't keep your feet as a DB you're in trouble. He fell down on the 1. Quarterback scramble got us a little bit. And this week's quarterback is as good as a quarterback we're going to play at quarterback. That's a little bit of concern.
The thing, though, again two halves there's two things. We didn't play as well on third down and we had more missed tackles in the second half. I've said all along these teams that spread the field and hurry it up, they're getting their people with yours in space. If you miss tackles you're in for a long day. It won't be any different this week. This will be as fast a team offensively as we've played since I've been here.
They're going to put four wide receiver out there. Most of them former track players ran awfully well in the state of Texas. Our string, I think we run well enough in the secondary, I really do. We'll find out, because this will be as fast a team as we played all year long.
Q. You brought to the table for a party like this you can do some things you couldn't do in the past with your secondary?
COACH CLAEYS: It really is. I agree. That's why I say it would be a good test for us. We have the secondary people to do it. They're thinking in the second half, and we gotta coach better but they're getting better as the young kids, the D line, that's the first time Gary Moore played in a game and we moved some people around.
The one thing that concerns me conditioning wise we did take out some kids on the D line a little earlier than we did the first game. But that was because we just can't afford to lose another first round once the game has been decided.
We can't afford to lose another D lineman right now. A lot of opportunities for the younger kids and hot stove theory is the best way to learn, in my opinion, is you get burnt, you learn how to stay away from that mistake again. Hopefully they got enough of those in the last half last week that we're ready to go with some of the younger kids. And they will, they'll play better.
Q. What's your evaluation of Steven Richardson so far?
COACH CLAEYS: He played well. Did awfully well. He'll be fine. He'll hold up Big Ten season just fine. It's all a matter of getting the guys behind them ready to go. But I thought he did awfully well for a first game.
Q. What's his strength been?
COACH CLAEYS: His strength is his pad level. He's just so strong and athletic. He can run.
Q. There were several plays like you say that the athletic quarterback had a time, with containment, is that one of the things that a young defensive lineman
COACH CLAEYS: That's one of the hot stove theories. Is that you work on things and say, hey, we'll let him scramble this way but don't let him scramble that way and you get in the heat of the battle and that doesn't happen, and so obviously we didn't coach it well enough and didn't get executed well enough. So we gotta do better I guess on both sides of it with the kids and us on that.
Q. You have three true freshmen in the game at the same times?
COACH CLAEYS: I think so. If we didn't take Steven out, we would have had four. I know that Andrew and Gaelin and Gary Moore were all out there at one time.
Q. (Indiscernible)?
COACH CLAEYS: Probably so. Yeah. But the good thing is as I say again they all have athletic ability and they're all capable of playing and I'd rather have that than three guys out there who can't play at all, because injuries. At least they can play.
Q. You had as many as five or six total, right, at one time?
COACH CLAEYS: Yeah, towards the end. John's out there and Everett's out there, and Craig's out there. So at one time there would have been six true freshmen on the field at one time out there playing.
And so there's going to be some learning experiences involved with that when that happens but it's all about getting ready. We're going to try like we always do to win every game, like this week. Our kids will be excited to play. We gotta get ready for the Big Ten as we're doing that. And that's our goal with the younger kids because they're going to have to play.
So we're probably going through a little bit more finding our identity with some of those younger kids than what I had thought we'd have to at this time of the year. So difference, D lineman we can't ask Steve to necessarily do everything that Scott did if he's not capable. We've gotta find his strength and Andrew's strengths, when those kids go to the game we have to play to their strengths. We're working on it.
Q. Heading down to Texas are you worried about the cramping?
COACH CLAEYS: I think we'll do everything we can to prevent it and I think it says something about right now they predict it's going to be in the 70s or 80s we've been in that weather. It doesn't bother me. If it gets into the 90s it would bother me more, probably, this time of year. But we'll do everything within our control to do that.
And part of that is going to be playing more kids, obviously. And so much of that depends on how the game goes, are they going to have 10 or 12 play drives or three to 5 play drives. So much of that. But the good thing it's not going to be in the 90s so it's not going to be as big and with the game starting at 3:00, it's going to cool down, as the day goes on, as opposed to everybody says, oh, 11:00 game, what's the problem with 11 or noon game, it gets hotter as the day gets on.
We don't have any control. All that and Ed and the training staff and our weight strength conditioning staff that's their job on the cramping part.
Q. Patterson said (indiscernible) it's a possibility. Are your preparations this week with that possibility, the field on the quarterback?
COACH CLAEYS: Played last week. They did the same thing. Most of those teams do the hurry up offenses. It's a style. It's a philosophy. And I just don't see a lot of changes.
And here's the thing is that I can sit up here and coach can stay up until three in the morning, draw a thousand plays. The bottom line is they played one ballgame and they got an extra week off. They changed completely new offenses. They got up big early.
The chances of us seeing everything they're going to do are slim and none but at the same time I'm not going to know everything they know. That's the nice thing having an experienced secondary getting them lined up feet in the ground and know how to play football and let them play. So it's a tough it's a tough deal to prepare for. You'd rather have two games rather than one especially with all new offense. But at the same time it will be a great learning experience for our kids and we need to play a game like this. And I think they're excited to play this type of game.
And as I said before, especially got tremendous amount of respect for what Gary and his staff have done there and you're going to see a beautiful stadium that they made a commitment to that they've built facility wise and all that. So it will be a good game for us.
An Interview With:
COACH LIMEGROVER
Q. TCU’s defensive line is pretty impressive.
COACH LIMEGROVER: Well, we are definitely going to have our hands full this week. Going to be the best group obviously that we have faced so far this year.
So I think those guys understand now and we made that pretty clear on Sunday to them, even though we have not watched a lot of film on them yet as a group. But guys up front, it's definitely going to be a step up for them. So they are looking forward to the challenge.
Q. Sounds like you guys are getting two quarterbacks ready, obviously just in case, how much of a challenge is that going into TCU?
COACH LIMEGROVER: You always have to have two quarterbacks ready. At this level, you've always got to be prepared for whatever is going to come your way in any given game. So as I've said before, with the young men that we have, it isn't a radical departure.
It isn't as though you have any completely different game plan for Quarterback A, Quarterback B and Quarterback C. You put together the best one to go and try and beat TCU and your guys work it all week. That's the way we have done things for quite a while and we will continue to do it that way.
Q. Does your gut tell you Mitch be ready to go Saturday?
COACH LIMEGROVER: Yeah, my gut, the medical report, everything. I mean, I'm a business as usual guy until told otherwise, and so we're business as usual. We're in there preparing right now for practice and expect to be at full force.
Q. If at some point you need to go to Chris for an extended time, where is your confidence level in him right now?
COACH LIMEGROVER: Well, you know what, I think one of the big things is that any opportunity a young man has to play and go out and do some things and have some success, it's something you build on. I think he's able to build on that.
He's a very confident kid. Been successful in everything he's done. In his mind, you know, hey, just let me get out there and let me get under center and let me do my thing, so you always like that from your quarterback for sure.
Q. What have you thought of Chris from the time you have seen him on the field?
COACH LIMEGROVER: I think there's a little bit there, as with any young player, getting his first chance to get out there and play. There's going to be some jitters and things. He looks at film and says, geez, I could have done this a little bit better and could have done this a little differently.
He's no different really in that regard than a fifth year senior as far as learning from the film, there isn't as much for a guy like him to draw from. He is able to take what he did and really be able to dive into that, and he has. So you like that when a kid has that kind of awareness.
Q. How good is David right now?
COACH LIMEGROVER: You know what, it's nice having him in maroon and gold, that's for sure. He's a kid that he makes you better as a unit and that's something you really like from a kid at that position for sure.
Q. Did you spend a little more time getting Jacques ready?
COACH LIMEGROVER: I think you just keep working your plan. You've always got to be if you're not ready for option B, C and D, then you haven't done your homework and you haven't done what you're supposed to as a coach.
We go into every week saying, okay, how much, what percentage is the starter going to get, what percentage is the bakup and what percentage is the No. 3. We try and keep that pretty standard as we go through.
So the nice thing is, you know, Jacques, even though he's a kid that is a true freshman, he's been here through the spring and was at a lot of practices through the spring and was able to observe here in the summer. He's a little bit accelerated in that manner and so that definitely helps in the process.
Q. Does his poise seem really exceptional to you given who he is?
COACH LIMEGROVER: Oh, yeah. He's a pretty cool customer, which is nice. He just goes out and does his thing and doesn't let a whole lot bother him.
Q. What's more difficult when you're coaching a quarterback, the X's and O's of the other team or keeping their confidence up?
COACH LIMEGROVER: I think there's a balance between both sides of that.
You know, each week, you're going to see what you see on film but at this level with defensive coaches and defensive coordinators, they will have different things each week like we try to offensively. There's the hey, let's get down what we know, let's take care of the known and let's try and prepare as well as we can and be able to initially survive and then thrive in the unknown.
And so that's always that balance. And sometimes a kid's confidence will get a little shook early on in a ballgame or in a season with all the different things they are seeing and then there's kind of that deep breath moment where it's like, okay, I've kind of got this thing figured out and then here we go.
Q. Inaudible.
COACH LIMEGROVER: I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that you have a lot of confidence in a guy and your turnaround and giving him the ball and he's churning out what he was. That definitely changes how you approach things.
So that was important. But you know, as like last non conference schedule, we don't want to just be relying on the run. We want to be able to throw the football. But given the way that game worked out and what David was doing, we always talk about when you get a guy sweating when you get a guy going, until that water runs dry, you're going to stomp all the mud out of it. That's kind what have we did with David on Saturday.
Q. At the same time, Maxx Williams, how important to get him more involved?
COACH LIMEGROVER: That's always I've talked a bunch about it since the end of last season. We have more young men we feel are playmakers and so the important thing is, finding ways to get them the football and so there were some things that we had from Maxx that we actually ran, and it was taken away, and so some other reads had to be made and some other throws had to occur.
So you know, when you throw it 11 times, we had him targeted a few more times and we probably need to continue to up that percentage because the one time we were able to get him broke free, it was a big play.
So that, and getting Donovahn Jones going early, continuing to put Berkley Edwards in position where he can make plays and still making sure that a guy like David Cobb is getting the carries and the touches he needs to do his thing.
So it's a challenge but it definitely beats the alternative as far as trying to find ways to do that.
Q. You've been alternating at fullback from game one to game two. Is that something you expect to keep going throughout the season, or would you like to find that guy?
COACH LIMEGROVER: Yeah, I think that eventually maybe one of those guys will jump up, but neither one really has and neither one has fallen off either.
So when you have production from two guys and it's very similar and you're in a position where you can alternate them and keep them fresh and let them get out there and get involved, it's something that until one guy either jumps way ahead or one guy falls way off, I don't think that will change necessarily any time soon.
Q. If needed, could Donovahn Jones play quarterback for a series or a package
COACH LIMEGROVER: No comment. No, you've got KJ Maye, you've got Donovahn, you've got some different things those guys who have been quarterbacks, high school quarterbacks, and now are playing receiver and know our offense.
So, you know, those conversations come up quite a bit as you go through the course of a week.
Q. Your offensive line, what was your evaluation?
COACH LIMEGROVER: You know what, I think that both I thought Jonah played better in game two than he did in game one and I think maybe some of that had to do with not playing the entire game, and getting back into it. They played pretty similar. There wasn't one, kind of like in the fullback vein, there wasn't one that jumped out off the charts good or off the charts bad.
So I liked our production overall from the right tackle spot over the first game. So you'll see more of the same. I feel like that's getting guys out there and keeping them fresh and keeping them going, as opposed to just trying to get everything you can out of one guy and him dying at the end, wilting at the end.
Q. If you had to use option B, C or D at quarterback, would you be more inclined to really ease them into the game or might you go for shock value?
COACH LIMEGROVER: Long bomb, first play. Make sure you get that out. No, you know what, we don't look at it as, oh, my goodness. There's a bigger picture game plan that we put together to, like I said, to move the ball and score points against an opponent.
This week it happens to be TCU and you don't want to necessarily go, oh my goodness, we need to really pull back because he can't do this or that or that. I think you continue to run your game plan and do what you need to at whatever point somebody else is coming in to play for you.
FastScripts by ASAP Sports ...
