WKU Football: Recapping the Game 4 Press Conference for UAB
On Monday afternoon, head coach Tyson Helton held his weekly press conference to recap the bye week and preview the UAB game.
On Monday afternoon, head coach Tyson Helton held his weekly press conference to recap the bye week and preview the UAB game.
Guys are very excited about playing UAB
They (UAB) haven’t lost a step after losing a lot last year
Steven Duncan’s surgery is season-ending. He’ll have two years of eligibility left and potentially follow Brandon Doughty’s footsteps of playing six years
Still working through quarterback situation
“I have an idea of what I'm going to do”
Ty Storey is the obvious choice but we do have other guys that bring a lot to the table
Could see multiple guys out there at quarterback
“We’ll stay with the hot hand at QB”
All can run & can throw.
Package doesn’t change for each guy
Gametime decision on who plays quarterback
Got a lot done during bye week. Was able to evaluate quarterbacks which was needed
Able to get a jump start on UAB prep
“We’ve reevaluated some things defensively and get some tweaks ready”
Our assistants were able to get out to recruit over the weekend
“I’m looking forward to playing at home again”
“We’re 1–0 in Conference and we want to keep that going”
Guys are excited at being back at home
UAB’s front four controls the line of scrimmage
This week’s game will be won in the trenches
“If we can go out there and win this will give us a lot of momentum”
Winning solves a lot of problems
“Our guys are very anxious to get back out on the field and play this game”
Steven Duncan’s morale has been very good despite the injury. He was watching film the day after surgery preparing like he is still the quarterback
“I don’t like that we’re 1–2”
“I expect to win every football game we play in”
“We’ve learned a lot about our football team”
It’s time to take a big step and get momentum for the rest of the season
It’s about putting the ball in the endzone
You’re not going to beat a good football team kicking field goals
Worked versus FIU, won’t work versus UAB
Have to limit plays that (Tyler Johnston) makes downfield
They’ll get their fair share of plays but we have to limit them
“We have to create big-play on offense”
“We have guys that are capable of it (big plays)”
“We are scratching the surface of what we can be offensively”
“Need to start making plays we’re capable of”
Need to be able to run the ball, need to reestablish run game against UAB
“The number 2 running back roll is by committee based on the hot hand (after Gaej Walker)”
McLendon did a nice job against Louisville
Gaej is going to have to make some tough runs (3–4 yards) and also break some long runs as well to help open up passing game
Here are some post-press conference thoughts:
As usual, there were a lot of generalities thrown into the press conference. The quarterback situation is the number one take away. I think he’ll do pretty much the same thing with Storey as he did with Duncan. Storey will get the overwhelming majority of reps but he wants to keep Shanley and Kavaris Thomas ready in case.
Hearing that Duncan can potentially have two years left is also big should Storey take the job and run with it over the next nine games.
Let’s hope the bye week was as useful as Helton made it out to be. Last year’s post-bye week performance against Charlotte has me worried
Helton mentioned Gino Appleberry’s last name when discussing the backup running back by committee, this is the first time we’ve heard about him this season after a solid debut season (196 yards, 3 touchdowns) as a freshman
Tune back for a lot more coverage for this big matchup against the defending C-USA Champions. This is a big opportunity for WKU to start off 2–0 in the league and get the fans back on board heading to a crucial October run.