Transcript From The September 23rd Ohio State Football Press Luncheon – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 23, 2003
TRESSEL: Well, it’s a new week for us at Ohio State in that we start class tomorrow, which will be an exciting thing for some of the guys that it’s their first year here. Obviously as guys progress towards their degree and they enter the next level of competition in the classroom, it will be a new challenge for them. And I think in a lot of ways, and you can ask these guys here in a couple minutes, if they’re kind of looking forward to it, because I think some of our guys really are anxious to get going on that and spread their wings a little bit.
I think once you begin classes, you do a better job with your time management because you have less time available. And usually when you have less time, you’re more efficient and maybe even get a little bit more rest and so forth. So that’s a major moment for us. And of course we start Big Ten play. We all know that no matter what goes on in the preseason, if you will, that the Big Ten teams play one another extraordinarily. They bang each other up, they knock each other off. Every game, you better play four full quarters if you want a chance to be the Big Ten champions.
So as we talk about what has led up to our opportunity now to begin our conference play, we finished the preseason and one of the things we wanted to be when we were done with these four early games was be 4-0 and we were able to do that. We wanted to get better in every phase of our game. We wanted to get continually better in everything we do and I think there are some areas where we’ve made marked improvement. I think there are some areas where we need to make more rapid improvement, and obviously we need to know and I would really like to believe that our guys do know that you need to play 60 full minutes when you play a Big Ten team if you want an opportunity to be successful.
The ball game against Bowling Green was a tough ball game. Both teams played hard. We gave them some opportunities. They earned some opportunities. And it turned into a whale of a game at the end of the day.
We had some guys — the three players of the week are with us today. Mike Nugent was our special units player of the week. He did a great job of knocking through a 47-yarder. He also hit all of his extra points. We talk about every point is crucial, and he did an excellent job with kickoff placement and gave our guys a chance to pin them in, inside the 15 twice, which is huge when you talk about field position.
A.J. Hawk was our defensive player of the game. A. J. had, I think, 8 tackles and a couple assists and a tackle for loss and a pass broken up and a big interception that gave us an opportunity with great field position and continues to grow and do a great job at that linebacker position. And A. J. was our defensive player of the week.
Nick Mangold, a sophomore center, did a great job of stepping in for Alex Stepanovich on a full-time basis. Nick has played a lot, but when Alex was no longer there, Nick needed to take over the generalship of the offensive line and make the calls and play the entire game and Nick graded 88% and just did an outstanding job in the football game and he’ll do nothing but get better because he studies the game and works in the weight room and does all the things you need to do to be an outstanding football player.
The offensive lineman of the week graded 88% and that was Adrien Clarke. Adrien played both left guard and left tackle. He shared the left tackle time with Robbie Sims, he shared the left guard time with Adam Olds and did an excellent job in both roles.
Over on the right side, Brice Bishop and Mike Kne shared the right guard duties, and both graded solid, and it was good to get more people in the flow. As we prepare ourselves for the Big Ten, we’ve got to make sure we’ve got a lot of guys ready to roll when we get into this upgraded competition.
The attack force player of the week was Will Smith. Will continues, I think, to do a great job leading. He’s a force. He’s a guy that plays a lot of different things and can do a lot of different things. He had, I think, three or four tackles and a couple sacks or tackles for loss and graded in the high 80s or low 90s, just did an outstanding job. But I think the role he’s playing as captain and one of those leaders on defense, the guys that play alongside of him respect the way that he plays, and that’s very, very important if you’re going to be a good leader.
The scout team players of the week — the special teams player was Marcel Frost. Marcel is a freshmen defensive end. He’s going to be a good, good football player and he did a great job on the special units testing us this past week.
Scout team defensive player of the week was Anthony Schlegel. Anthony kind of runs the scout team down there as he spends his sit-out year transferring from the Air Force Academy and does a good job getting guys lined up and goes hard every play and really makes things tough on our offense, which is good for us in practice.
Offensive player of the week was Troy Smith. He did a good job of coming down, emulating Josh Harris, moving around, making sure we had proper leverage, making sure we did a good job of not allowing guys to get out of the pocket. And perhaps one of the keys, I think, to our defense this past weekend was that Josh Harris didn’t have any big runs. And if you look at their victories, while he threw for a lot of yards in every game, the big wins were the ones where he ran for a lot of yards as well. And Troy Smith did a great job of emulating that and he was given the scout team offensive player of the week.
The challenge beating Northwestern, last year at this time, if you look back at their games leading up to us, the teams were similar, the scores were different. Air Force beat them 50 to something. This year they should have beat Air Force. They had them 21-9 and threw an interception for a touchdown and ended up losing a heartbreaker 22-21. They played Duke a year ago, and it was fairly even. They dominated the Duke game on Saturday. It was 28-10. Never in question. There’s no doubt about it who was the better team. And then, of course, we all know that when we went there to play for game five, it was a battle. It was one of those ones that had to be 60 minutes. It ended up 27-16, but it was tighter than that, and probably the thing that was most apparent as you studied that game, Northwestern did an extraordinary job on the special teams against us, long kickoff return, long punt return, they did an outstanding job. And I think we all know or at least we better know by the time we take the field is that when you play in the Big Ten, forget about what you’ve seen on film. Forget about whatever it happens to be. We’ve got to worry about us becoming a better team and understanding what it takes to win the Big Ten conference.
With that, Bowling Green and/or Northwestern questions? Please include my guys.
REPORTER: Coach, Maurice has decided to sue the National Football League, asking them to throw out the three-year rule. What would be your reaction to that?
TRESSEL: Well, I heard that 5 or 10 minutes ago. I don’t know really much of what’s behind the decision, so I don’t know if he’s testing the waters, how he’s approaching it, so I really don’t have much reaction because I don’t have much information.
REPORTER: With school starting tomorrow, have you been given any indication whatsoever on his plans?
TRESSEL: On what?
REPORTER: On Maurice’s plans, what he plans to do. Is he going to enroll?
TRESSEL: I talked to his mom last night, and she said he’s all set to begin classes and so forth. So as far as I know, yeah, he’ll be in class tomorrow.
Let me start over. I’ve got three guys here that did a great job last week against Bowling Green, and I’d be happy to answer anything, too, about the Bowling Green and the Northwestern.
REPORTER: Any update on how Craig is progressing and whether he might be able to play?
TRESSEL: Craig threw lightly yesterday. We’ll find out what the trainers and doctors let him do today. I don’t know that we would know prior to Thursday because you need to practice, certainly, and when it comes to timing things and so forth — but we’ll know by the end of the day Thursday if he’ll play significantly, play sparingly, not be able to play at all. But he did throw lightly yesterday.
REPORTER: So is he going to work his way into practice over the next couple of days?
TRESSEL: Again, that will be up to the doctors. If they say he can go, you know him, he’ll go.
And while we’re on injuries, Alex looks better. I think, again, not that my predictions have been great, but I would call him questionable for Saturday. Darrion Scott, I would call doubtful. Who else have we got, guys?
REPORTER: Adam Olds?
TRESSEL: Adam Olds, I would call probable. Branden Joe, definite. Is that one of the categories, definite. Branden Joe has been cleared to go.
REPORTER: I know last week you went outside and did a lot of sweeps. Will you continue to go through the tackles now that you’ve got a solid fullback back there?
TRESSEL: I would hope we never stop going around the tackles, because I have never been part of a championship team that couldn’t go through the tackles. Branden, I hope will be able to contribute, but remember we had 29 practices and then four weeks worth of four practices. So that’s 45 practices that he’s been in four or five of them. So I don’t know that you can say, boy, he’s going to run in there and play 50 plays. But I think we need to ease him into the situation, and anytime you get good guys added to your group, I think it’s going to help you.
REPORTER: Jim, is there any thought on your part to being cautious with Craig given the fact that you have an off week next week?
TRESSEL: Only if the medical people would say that that’s what needs to be done. If the medical people would say to me, he’s ready to go, there’s no chance of further injury, we’re not going to be cautious. We’re playing in the Big Ten. And this is no time to be cautious. But if medically they say they’re not sure whether he should go or not, then I think that’s when caution enters.
REPORTER: Is there any thought to when Stepanovich does come back, maybe putting him at guard since Nick’s played pretty well, or is that an automatic decision he’ll go back to center?
TRESSEL: Nick, do you want to answer that? Nick’s probably given some thought to it. MANGOLD: I have no idea.
TRESSEL: You know what, we want to be able to have our best guys on the field and we did a lot of Alex at guard and Nick at center leading up to this. And I think what you have to do is evaluate what’s your best lineup, and Nick’s getting some valuable experience, and he’s given every indication to anyone that’s watching closely that he deserves to be in there. Is.
REPORTER: Nick, what’s the difference between Craig and Scott? Are they the same kind of guy when you’re on the line, or are they different?
MANGOLD: I would have to say the difference is more personality. Scott — Craig is more of a mind guy. He’s incredibly smart with everything he does. He’s a little bit more, I wouldn’t say focused, but he looks at more things like sitting in the huddle. But Scott’s more of a fun guy, I would say. He likes to keep things up-spirit and keep things going. So I think that would probably be the difference. Scott just has a little jokingness to him.
REPORTER: Jim, as you evaluated Scott on tape after the game, is there anything more you can say about his performance than you did Saturday?
TRESSEL: Scott graded just under 80%. We feel we need our quarterback to grade around 85%, to get what we call a winning performance, which I think is pretty solid for not having played a 67-play game since he’s been here. There are a couple of plays that he would tell you that he wishes he had over, and likewise, we feel the same way. I thought he did some good things. I thought he was in command of what we were trying to do, and he played solid. And I think he gained some confidence, and as I watched the film, he looks like a guy that can contribute what we need from that position.
REPORTER: Where he fell short of a winning performance, obviously the interception, are there any other areas you can —
TRESSEL: Well, two turnovers, he had an interception and he fumbled once. So I don’t know if you can get a winning performance if you have two turnovers with the grading scale, the weight that is put on things like that.
REPORTER: Did you all take some of the weight off his shoulders though, going to the running game more, or was that per the plan anyway?
TRESSEL: Well, it’s always the plan to try to be balanced. I think we came out, I don’t know, in the first seven plays, we took it right down the field and ended up fumbling. I don’t know how many were runs and how many were passes, but we went into the game thinking we wanted to do both, and as the game evolved, we thought that the way they were lining up and the way we were doing some things that we could run the football. But, again, we’re trying to establish the fact that we can run it and that we can throw it efficiently, but maybe most important is that we need to establish the fact that we don’t turn it over. That’s, to me, more of a discussion item than how’s your run game or how’s your pass pro.
REPORTER: Can you talk a little bit about A. J.’s development, and A.J., you can discuss how you’ve played so far.
TRESSEL: A. J. was a guy, when he came here, he got comfortable very quickly. He’s a bright guy that picked up defense. He comes from a great program. He knew a lot about football when he arrived. He’s got an older brother who’s a quarterback that used to beat him up in the yard all the time on routes and so forth. So he knew a lot about the game, stepped in and played behind Cie Grant and studied and watched and played a lot himself. I think his progress has been outstanding, and to me, the best part about it is he wants it to be even better.
HAWK: I think any kind of — if I have any kind of personal success here, it’s at least 99% I have to attribute to the defensive line in front of me. If you look at who’s playing in front of me, it’s unbelievable. We have the best D line in the country, in my mind, and I think a lot of people think the same way. They take a lot of pressure off me and let me run around and try to make plays. I think I’d have to attribute most of my success to them.
REPORTER: Jim, does Northwestern use the no-huddle significantly less than they did a year ago, or is that a change they made from two years ago to last year? A. J., maybe can you talk about what they do offensively.
TRESSEL: They seem to be not as much of a hurry-up offense as they have been. They were still last year when we played them. They’re in traditional or conventional formation, you know, whether it would be conventional to us old-timers, maybe more than what they were a year ago, but that doesn’t mean they won’t come out and be no-huddle and be spread out all over the field and throw it in three-step every snap on Saturday. We’re now at the calendar style of our season where our guys come in Sunday and we get to work out and watch ourselves; then we don’t have them come in at all Monday. So these guys will not see film unless they’ve seen it on their own until after the press conference, but A. J., anything you can share about them?
HAWK: From what I’ve seen so far, I watched a lot of their Kansas game that they played. Their running back is obviously a great player. He’s really improved since last year. They like to spread it out a little bit and throw it around. They’ve established that. I think the running backs had 300-yard games already this season, so that will be our first priority is stopping the run.
REPORTER: John Kerr, will he be able to start practice tomorrow, or is he around?
TRESSEL: John Kerr?
REPORTER: Is he allowed to be here?
TRESSEL: He was allowed to be here after the first game, and he’s been here, A. J., hasn’t he, three weeks, four weeks. Schlegel’s little brother.
REPORTER: Is that the agreement for the scout team?
TRESSEL: Joe Bradley does a great job down there, but I think Nick would tell you, the defensive front we’re working against is pretty good. Sian Cotton is a pretty good player. Brandon Maupin is doing a good job there, Marcel Frost, who else did you go up against?
MANGOLD: Derek Coker.
TRESSEL: Derek Coker is in there. We’re going against a good group, I think that will help us.
REPORTER: Nick, how did you feel about the progress in the running game this past week?
MANGOLD: I felt real good about it, I think it’s going to help build a little confidence there, if there was any lack of that. But I think it gives us something to build on definitely after watching the game. It gives us a lot of things to work on blocking-wise, but I think it’s a real boost for us, and hopefully we can build on that.
REPORTER: Nick, what do you specifically attribute the success of the Bowling Green game to and what do you think the offensive line is going to have to do in Big Ten play to open some holes or increase yardage without Maurice Clarett?
MANGOLD: I think one of our big things we worked on this past week was everyone being on the same page and not having the plays where four guys do something right and then one guy slips off. So I think that was a big part of our game where we were — everyone was doing the right thing at the right time. So I think we’re going to continue with that, keep working on doing the right thing at the right time and then always getting lower and going harder.
REPORTER: Jim, their defensive numbers are a lot better than they were a year ago. Is that because everybody they have has gotten older, or are they doing anything different?
TRESSEL: They played a lot of guys last year because they had some injuries, and while you have to suffer through that at that moment, all of a sudden you’ve got a lot of veterans. They do have a little bit of a new scheme. You’ve kind of seen our guys in it, where you have the three-men line and linebackers walking in and out and blitzing and not blitzing and so forth that seems to be a little bit new. I think maybe in response to defending their own team because they have the responsibility to spread it out so well, they, against Air Force, for instance, played a lot more of their traditional defense and played it well, much better than they played it a year ago against them.
And then really, if you look at Miami and Kansas and Duke, they had a great ability to change up what they’re in. So they do give you some different looks. It’s a little bit of a personnel match-up kind of thing, like we do a little substitution defense kind of thing. This past week, for instance, we were only in our regular defensive group five plays out of 70-some plays. So it’s according to how people play against you. But they do have a little bit of a new look, and their numbers certainly are better. But part of it, as A. J. mentioned, they are running the ball better; and when you run the ball, life is better across the board.
REPORTER: Did Miami just throw it all over the place against them? That seems to be the one game that’s gotten away from them.
TRESSEL: Yeah, Miami just did a great job of making the plays that were there. The week before, Miami didn’t make the plays against Iowa and threw four interceptions, and Iowa took one back to the one and that type of thing. Against Northwestern, everything clicked for them. They ran well, they passed well, their special teams did well. They went over there and just played a whale of a football game. I think the fact that they showed balance gave them a chance. Duke never really — or Kansas never really was able to show balance. Air Force had opportunities, but did not make the plays, and that’s why Northwestern very well could have won that football game, but Miami made the plays. And that was the key to that game.
REPORTER: Mike Nugent, since you’ve been pretty quiet, can I ask you this question? If you had a preference between the north and south end zones for kicking, which would you prefer?
NUGENT: Really, to be honest, when I go into a game, I don’t think that has any kind of factor except for which way the wind’s blowing. I go out and talk about the wind with Coach Tressel and which way the sun’s facing like on kickoffs and everything because pretty nice to hit a high ball in either end with the guy looking up at the sun. So that’s pretty much the biggest thing that determines which end we’re going at is pretty much the wind.
REPORTER: Jim, you felt good about Mike. Any difference about how feel toward his kicking this year as opposed to last year with him?
TRESSEL: I think Mike is doing an excellent job of doing just what I hope our team will do, and that’s working on little things, little technique things, and if things aren’t going just exactly the way he wants them, he’s studying it and working on it, and he’s becoming better. As you look at his progress really through preseason and through the first four games, I think he has shown improvement each week, which is — you know, that is what we need to begin doing for four quarters, in everything we do. So if we’ll all improve at the rate that Mike is, then we’ll have a chance.
REPORTER: Jim, what is your analysis of fourth quarter the last several weeks? What do you come away thinking?
TRESSEL: I think you see two different scenarios, but they do have some similarities. In both — well, in the North Carolina State, you can’t turn the ball over like we did. The special teams punt drop, and the quarterback throws the interception. You can’t do that. I mean, NC State, if you give them the ball in the red zone, they’re going to get three anyway, and they’re going to get their share of sevens. Whereas the Bowling Green game — and I should go back. There was one long drive in that NC State game against us in the fourth quarter, which really didn’t happen the rest of the game. You go to the Bowling Green game, really, it was precipitated by a long drive, they were on their own 20 and drove it 80 yards. We weren’t doing a whole bunch of things differently; we were missing some tackles. They caught a little route on 3rd and 10, and we had them hit at 7, and they would have had the punter go for it on 4th, and we might not have had that situation but broke a tackle and got the 1st. We missed a tackle a little later down the field on a route. Missed a tackle on the touchdown route. So a little bit different makeup, but still the same general thing. If you’re getting better every snap you take, that shouldn’t happen, and that’s where we’ve got to get offensively, defensively, special teams. If we improve every snap each day we’re out there, practicing and during each game, you’d like to think your fourth quarter is going to be your best quarter. Like we say, our last game should be our best game if we’ve progressed the way we’re capable of doing and that’s got to be something we focus on.
REPORTER: Coach Tressel, also for the players, you’re talking about your best game being your last game. Because of that, how do you feel you’d grade this team this year? What are the things that are really .
concerning you besides the turnovers?
TRESSEL: Well, I guess we could look at each individual position and say we need to do this better at this position and this better at this position and this better. I have concerns in everything we do, to be honest with you. We have not become the best we can be in anything we’re doing, starting with coaching, to technique, to offense, to defense, to special teams. My greatest concern is that we get on the mode that we’re getting better at everything we do on a day-to-day basis, on a play-to-play basis. Then I don’t think you have a problem in the fourth quarter.
REPORTER: Is it simply execution or focus or a combination?
TRESSEL: Oh, like everything in life, it’s a combination. Nothing is the reason.
REPORTER: And what about the players? How are you feeling regarding this year’s team’s performance in getting better?
TRESSEL: Nuge, you’re the old man up here.
NUGENT: It’s one thing, I’ve heard a lot of people say, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, and I really agree with that when people say that because I kind of try to apply a lot of things with, let’s say a game that I’m kicking. I don’t care if I miss six field goals, but I make the game winner, as long as we come out with the win. If I look at that individually, it’s not how I started the game, it’s how I finished the game. And I kind of apply that to the way the rest of the team works. It’s not how we begin the season but how we finish it.
HAWK: I can’t speak for the offense, really, but for the defense, it’s kind of what Nuge said. We have to come out and finish a lot better. Last couple games in the fourth quarter we’ve left the team back, missed a couple tackles. I think we need to put them away in the end and make the game not so close, I think.
MANGOLD: I’d probably have to say for the offense, we’re working on holding the ball in the fourth quarter, not to give them the chance to even come back, not to turn it over and just keep the drives going. So I think that’s the big thing we’re working on is working hard and staying with that and then keep running the ball and passing the ball to keep drives going so that they don’t have a chance to come back.
REPORTER: You say the Big Ten is a new season. That being said, have you implemented new things that maybe we haven’t seen yet, or are you sticking with the same format?
TRESSEL: I don’t know if you keep much back, but you evolve. The more you get into game situations, the more you see the various things we can get good at, and you build something off of something. And if you run this out of this formation, maybe you run that now out of the formation. And so I would hope you’ll see some things you haven’t seen on both sides of the ball because the teams that we’re facing are well-schooled. They know us better than those first four teams did. Northwestern knows Ohio State better than any of those four teams we just played. So we better be at our best from an execution standpoint .
and believe that even if they know what we’re going to do, we’re going to do it so well that we’re going to be effective, and I think we have to always be able to show them maybe something they haven’t seen. And that will go with them, too. They’ll show us something about them, you know, that we haven’t seen, but that’s what the evolution of a season is all about.
REPORTER: So there are plays that you purposely hold back in the first four games that you don’t show so when you get to the Big Ten you have a different philosophy.
TRESSEL: I don’t know about purposely. You sit down and watch a team and say, these are the things we should do, offensively, defensively, special teams. And then you evolve from that, but you don’t — for instance, in the NC State game, I did hold one play back for the 2-point play, didn’t want to show it, held one play back. I don’t know that we do that week to week. Held one play back that we practiced all week, but when we devise a game plan, offensively, defensively, or special teams, that’s the plan we go use. And maybe we don’t use it all. Was that holding it back? Maybe we use it next week, now we’ve practiced it two weeks. So it’s an evolution.
REPORTER: Is Craig in pain, or is it just discomfort? It’s one thing that it’s probably not good for his injury to throw, but I just wondered if it causes him discomfort while he’s throwing.
TRESSEL: You know, I didn’t see him after he threw yesterday, so I don’t know the answer to that. But when the trainer said he threw lightly, and it seemed to go fine — but I’m sure any trauma you have, exactly what it is, I don’t know, but any trauma you have, there typically is soreness and pain and discomfort that goes with it. I don’t know that it would be an excruciating toothache kind of thing, but I’m sure there’s discomfort.
REPORTER: Do you have a sense of what he did? Did he throw 10 yards, lob it, or do you have any idea?
TRESSEL: Wasn’t even out there. Just on the training report, they reported this morning that he threw lightly.
REPORTER: Just one more question on Maurice. This lawsuit, does it in any way violate any of the parameters that you set forth for him coming back to the football team a year from now?
TRESSEL: No. Never discussed that.
REPORTER: Jim, you mentioned the turnovers a couple times. Are you concerned about guys maybe developing a reputation as fumblers and maybe this week, especially with what Northwestern did last year, stripping Maurice three times, and I think they lead the Big Ten in fumble recoveries this year?
TRESSEL: They do a good job stripping the football, and that’s something we’ve really got to count on our scout team to overemphasize that. They need to strip, strip, strip. And I don’t know that I would worry about anyone being thought of as being a fumbler. Michael Jenkins has caught hundreds of balls and happened to have a fumble this game. Scott McMullen had a fumble. He was out there with live .
bullets more than he’s been. And Maurice Hall had a fumble. I don’t know how many fumbles, if he’s had one or two or what this year. But, no, I’m not concerned about a guy getting a reputation like that. I’m concerned about a guy not fumbling. Whoever has the privilege of carrying the football needs to hand it to the official.
REPORTER: Jim, you’ve mentioned McMullen having a fumble a couple of times. Are you referring to the fumble at the end with Lydell? Was that a pitch problem?
TRESSEL: Oh, no, he was back to pass, and as he stepped up, one thing you talk about is keeping the ball tight and in front, because the people strip. They’re taught to strip as they come around the edge, and you might have good protection, but they’re taught to strip, and you’ve got to strip. And it’s just something that you have to avoid. You’re going to have people slapping at you.
REPORTER: Did he save himself an interception on the one where he, like, threw it into the ground?
TRESSEL: I’m kind of glad he threw it into the ground. I’m not sure which — I didn’t even ask him which guy he was going to, but I was hoping it wasn’t the guy I was thinking, but at least he knew enough to not let it go there.
REPORTER: Looking back now, what kind of luxury is it to have a senior, though, in that position that’s been around?
TRESSEL: Well, you know, Scott knows what we’ve talked about for years and years here at Ohio State about what it takes to win, and I think he truly understands what his contribution needs to be. And I think the other things that’s need about it is the fact that we talk about teaching lessons, we talk about being role models, we talk about that type of thing. And here’s a fifth-year senior who has given five years of his life to playing at Ohio State in the shadows and so forth, and he got his opportunity to go out there as the starting quarterback at Ohio State. I think that’s a message to any youngster that gets a little bit impatient, that if you keep hanging in there, typically your day or your days will come.
REPORTER: Coach, what was your evaluation of how Maurice Hall, Lydell Ross did, the yardage they piled up?
TRESSEL: You know, I think they’re both coming along. As we mentioned a week ago, when you miss a lot of practice, the games become your practice. Well, that’s not a great place to practice, in the games. But they’ve gotten more practice. They’ve gotten in there more. They’ve missed less practice. I think they’re coming along, and they need to come along a lot more. They know it. We know it. Just like all these guys, all of us have to come along. But I feel good about the direction they’re headed.
REPORTER: A. J., what is it about 24-7? Is that a bad number for you guys? Is there any let-up involved in that kind of thing?
HAWK: I don’t think so mentally. We have great senior leadership on the defense. It always keep us focused. Will Allen, Will Smith, Tim Anderson, all those guys make sure everyone’s focused, but I don’t .
know, we just haven’t been able to put teams away in the fourth quarter. Last game, we missed some tackles. We let a couple big plays happen, so I don’t think it’s any mental focus; it’s just something we have to emphasize more towards the end. We’ve got to tackle a little better and maybe try to get a couple turnovers earlier.
REPORTER: Jim, how would you compare this year’s defense to last year’s?
TRESSEL: This one has only been through four battles, and the tough thing, I think, about playing defense in college football is that every week is so different, and the group, a year ago, had 14 battles that every week it seemed they were able to adapt and improve at the same time. I think we’ve got the makings of an outstanding defense, and people can talk in the winter about which one was better, the 2002 or the 2003 one. But right now, the 2003 defense needs to get better.
REPORTER: Jim, are you guys progressing the way that you, like, talked about improvement in every play and every snap. Compared to last year, it seemed like you guys did get better as every game went on.
TRESSEL: Well, last year the fourth game was no box of chocolates, and I think if you went back and watched all the film, there were times in the early season, where we did improve at the rate we’d like, and there were times we didn’t. And I’m sure in the mid season you’d find the same. And I’m sure in the late season, there were some significant number of things that we did not improve to the point that we would like. But I like the approach that the players are taking toward their desire to improve. I like the approach that their coaches are taking towards their understanding of what we need to improve upon. And now we’ll find out if we do. That’s why we play, and that’s why we practice, and that’s why we put so much time into this, is to try to get better.
REPORTER: When you guys finished Saturday, you had the opportunity, if you wanted to take it, to watch two of your Big Ten rivals play on television, Michigan-Oregon, Iowa-Arizona State. Do you grab every conceivable opportunity you can to scout, even though TV filming may not be as useful to you as film study, or do you take those hours after a game on Saturday to relax, if that’s maybe your only time during the week to relax?
TRESSEL: The 1968 team had a banquet, which I had to go take part in, so I didn’t really get a chance to watch much, because by the time we — where’s my friend Jeff Hogan here? By the time we taped the TV show and then got over to the banquet, I didn’t really see much of the Michigan game. Who was the other one you talked about?
REPORTER: Iowa-Arizona State.
TRESSEL: I didn’t see any of that one. But you can ask these guys. Nuge, did you study the approach?
NUGENT: Actually, I kind of just take it as if I get a chance to watch teams play on TV, but most of all, just get all the chances we .
can get while we’re in film, the week that leads up to the game. So I think that’s our biggest opportunity to look at the teams.
HAWK: Ye, I actually watched all the Michigan game when I got back to my place. I watched mostly Iowa. It’s a little different watching the film we have from the side and end zone cameras that we have. But you can kind of see what — get a little gist of what they’re going to do. But, yeah, that is relaxing to me to sit back and watch other teams play football. That’s what I’ve done all my life. If you can get a little scouting out of it, you can kill two birds with one stone, I guess.
MANGOLD: Yeah, I watched Michigan/Oregon while I was back at the house, but I had a lot of family and friends there with us so it’s watching it, and it’s able to watch football because it’s a game we do and love. But I don’t really watch it for the scouting purposes, just to get an idea what’s going on, how they’re doing, things that happen in the game.
REPORTER: Jim, given what happened last weekend with the upsets with Pitt going down and Alabama and K-State and the close calls that you guys have had, do you feel fortunate to come through those first four lucky or whatever and having dodged that because obviously a lot of teams have gone down when nobody expected them to.
TRESSEL: I don’t know if I’ve ever looked at it as feeling fortunate. You know, I don’t think that we have coached and played yet as well as we’re capable of doing, but yeah, we’re 4-0. Does that mean we feel fortunate? I guess I’m looking at, how can we get better? But anybody can beat you, if you turn it over and you don’t, if they win the special teams and you don’t. If they can run the ball and you can’t. I don’t care who you play. We’ve got to make sure we can do all those things that it takes to win, and then you evaluate it later, I guess.
REPORTER: Do you guys have any thoughts on that one?
MANGOLD: Pretty much the same on that. I don’t think there’s really much difference there.
TRESSEL: Do you want to give the guys about 10 minutes? We’ve got a meeting coming up, so 10 minutes with these guys one on one.
