Northwestern University Athletics
Weekly News Conference Transcript
10/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 19, 2009
Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Weekly News Conference Transcript
Opening Statement...
"First and foremost, I'd like to extend our thoughts and prayers to Jasper Howard and his family, the UConn football program and the university. It's obviously a very difficult situation there and I just want to let them know that our thoughts and prayers go out to UConn.
I'm excited on our end that we've had seven players nominated for Academic All-America, the most in our program's history. That shows exactly what we stand for academically, striving for excellence. To have Doug Bartels, Andrew Brewer, Stefan Demos, Zeke Markshausen, Dan Persa, Josh Rooks and Kevin Watt all nominated for Academic All-America honors is exciting for me. I'm very proud of those guys for the job they're doing in the classroom and what they're doing on the field to help us win. Our program is about trying to encourage young men to be the best they possibly can be academically and on the football field.
We look forward to homecoming on Saturday, to get back home and have a lot of our former players come back and enjoy the festivities. Our fans and our students have been outstanding. We'll have the parade and pep rally on Friday and then we'll have youth football day on Saturday morning. It's going to be a great challenge for us. Indiana played very well against Illinois and they also played very well the last few weeks with an anomaly in the Virginia game. Our focus will be on trying to get better and find a way to eliminate the mistakes we made against Michigan State."
On Indiana's use of the Wildcat package...
"I think if they only did it a handful of times it would kind of be a nuisance. But it's a major part of their offense. When they get Mitchell back there at quarterback they've got a good handful of plays and a couple schemes that they run. It's not like they dabble in it. We'll have to be prepared, have a plan for all aspects of it. They're kind of like the Miami Dolphins, they don't just use it two or three or four times, it's a major part of their offense."
On the decision to sit on the ball right before halftime at Michigan State...
"We threw a pass, it was incomplete, so now it's second-and-10, and based on our down-and-distance scout of what they were going to do, we had a pretty good idea of what to look out for. We had played so well to that point that I didn't want to take an undue risk to make a bad choice so we went out and ran the ball. I expected them to take some timeouts in that situation and they didn't, so we sat on the ball knowing we would get it back to start the second half."
On what he told Jeravin Mathews after a fumbled kickoff...
"My goal was to get his attention and to tell him that attitude is everything. He put the ball on the ground but he's been one of our most consistent, most dynamic players in the kicking game and a young man that's just done an outstanding job for us. When he came over to the sideline I told him flush it, you're going to make a big play for us next time and that's the attitude I want to see and the attitude I want you to show your teammates. Sure enough he went out and had a nice 30-yard return the next time out. I get an opportunity to coach attitude on every play and I wanted to snap him out of it a little bit. Trust me that was not the desired outcome he had for that play. I would have wanted him to sprint off the field, look at me and yell at me, but he didn't do it so I fixed his response. He's one of our best competitors and I love the way he responded and came out and made a big play."
On how he would throw the ball more if that would help the team win...
"I think I said I'd throw it 175 times. I said we'd do what we have to do to win, and if that's throwing it 175 times then that's what we'll do. I'm not saying that's what I want to do, it's what I will do."
On if he saw improvement in the running game...
"Absolutely. I thought our offensive line was two or three things away from us popping the ball. It seems when you have things spark it kind of starts the fire and we're close. Last week because of some injuries we had Neal Deiters out there starting his first game and I thought big Neal responded well. I thought Ben Burkett played his best game of the year and I thought Al Netter was pretty steady. Just have to keep going and keep getting a five-man group up there to play consistently. I'll tell you this, they're working hard at it and that's all you can ask for."
On how Brad Phillips' injury is progressing...
"I haven't gotten my injury report yet but I'd say Brad is day-to-day right now. What it forced was another man's opportunity. I thought Brian Peters played well for his first start. I thought for the most part he put us in the right checks when we had to do some things and I thought he was pretty physical. He did a good job taking over that role. He expected to have it back there with Brad but it didn't happen because of injury and I thought Jared Carpenter, like a lot of young safeties, had some plays where he did well and he had some experiences where he'll learn and grow from. It's tough to be a young guy back there. I asked Brian how it was and he said, `Well, I didn't want it at (Brendan Smith's) expense but I feel a lot more confident today than I did going into last week's game. I look at Brad and Smitty and I remember when they were young safeties going through that. But they gained confidence in their ability and in the plan and they executed. The margin for error in Big Ten football right now is pretty slim across the board so we have to make those plays and unfortunately we didn't in some instances."
On the evolution of the passing game...
"We tried to take a few shots down the field that either got rerouted or the timing and pressure didn't work itself out. But yeah we stretched the field vertically and horizontally. Michigan State had some schemes we thought we could take advantage of but we couldn't get as many down the field as we'd like. I think Andrew (Brewer) can stretch it, I think Sidney Stewart can stretch it vertically and I think Jeremy (Ebert) and Charles (Brown) can. Drake Dunsmore got down the field on some different route combinations and Zeke caught the ball well, I think 16 receptions is pretty spectacular."
On when a play should be blown dead for forward progress...
"I think those are judgment calls, they're bang-bang and it's tough. You see a young man fighting and scratching to get more yards and they blow it dead then he runs out of it and there are complaints that the ref blew it too soon. It's football and it's tough if you do, tough if you do. We had a chance to respond and we have to get off the field there (after the fumble). I love the fight in Drake for trying to make a play and unfortunately it didn't work out in our favor."
On Corey Wootton's progression...
"I was happy to see him get out on the field there Saturday. I wish it was just one thing he was fighting through but he's coming off last year (knee injury) and then the ankle (sprain) against Purdue. Nobody is trying harder than he is to help our team and make a difference. It was great to have him out there and I thought he was great on the sideline Saturday, being a captain. It's hard to be a captain and a leader when you aren't out there every play but I thought he and Smitty did a great job on Saturday."
On Indiana quarterback Ben Chappell...
"He's playing within the system. They've been doing a lot of looking and glancing over at the sideline for some plays to they're putting him in the right play and in the right protection. He's throwing the intermediate ball really well, taking what the defense gives him, getting six to eight shots deep. Against Michigan and Illinois he hit a couple balls deep so you need to anticipate that sometimes on play-action. When they go with Mitchell at quarterback in the Wildcat it gives (Chappell) a little bit of a rest and sometimes that's a good thing. You keep the quarterback out for a second, gives him a chance to catch his breath and then go out and execute the next play."
On team morale...
"I think we're great. We just had a great leadership council meeting and I asked them the same question, I said `How's the locker room?' We went around and I heard hungry, driven, can't wait to get to practice. We have a good football team but we just need to execute. The margin for error in Big Ten football is very slim and we can't beat ourselves and expect to beat our opponents. Michigan State was able to capitalize. It's a fine line and it's an exciting time to be a part of it, you just like being on the winning side. Guys are hungry, we have a great group of seniors and sand is running out of the hourglass fast. We have sense of urgency to continue to improve, we need to stay the course and it starts with your attitude. Our last five or six games with Indiana have been decided by six points or less so it's going to be a great football game."
On Zeke Markshausen's development...
"I think he's still a no-name to everyone outside of Evanston. He's making plays. He catches the ball well, takes a hit, blocks well, understands concepts, plays hard, and it means a ton to him. I'm really proud of the way he's playing and couldn't be more pleased. I think it's the opportunity to be a starter this year. Last year we had three guys ahead of him who had 100 receptions in their careers so it was hard to take them off the field for extended periods of time. He was more of a role player. But he's really taken to the role of being starter."
On his on-camera segment with Darnell Autry for Purplepalooza...
"For not knowing what we were going to do I thought I did pretty well. We went in kind of blind and rolled with it. It's hard having a sidekick like him, he took classes here for acting and I didn't take any. Tracie Hitz in our marketing department does a great job trying to have some fun and get some excitement and it's great to have Darnell giving back and getting people involved. I'll get some people from the South Side involved to make sure Darnell is painted purple when we play Penn State."
On getting former players involved with the current team...
"Darnell has gotten involved and had some time to share with the backs, Tyrell (Sutton) was here a couple weeks back during his bye week, Omar Conteh has been here a couple times to spend time with the backs. We take all hands on deck to encourage and reinforce our values and help those guys in any way they can."
