WKU Football: Recapping the Game 9 Press Conference for Florida Atlantic
On Monday afternoon, head coach Tyson Helton held his weekly press conference to recap the Marshall loss and preview the crucial matchup…
On Monday afternoon, head coach Tyson Helton held his weekly press conference to recap the Marshall loss and preview the crucial matchup against FAU.
Here is a recap of what he said:
Got another big conference game this week against FAU
Really fired up for that opportunity, should be a great conference game
“Going head to head in the East with us, them and Marshall.”
Canned food drive, if you bring three canned goods you get a free game ticket to help local families
Need fans to come out and support us because this is a big one
“Guys really handled it like pros (the loss to Marshall)”
Didn’t bat an eye. In the locker room, nobody got down.
It was a hard-fought game that went back and forth
“The kid made a good kick at the end of the game”
“There’s nothing else you do, everyone laid everything out there”
“We got on the bus and everyone was very positive”
Had a good meeting day yesterday
“I think they’ve already moved on and they’ve got their minds on FAU”
“We didn’t help them (the defense) offensively in the first two drives”
Turned the ball over on first two drives
“They had momentum (Marshall) coming out of the gate”
“When you play good offenses you’ve sometimes got weather the storm”
“I felt like our guys have really done that”
“After the first two scores, it felt like our guys settled in and calmed down”
second half they were outstanding
only gave up two field goals and put us in a position to try and win the game
May have to weather the storm again this week
FAU has a good offense
Coach Kiffin does a really good job with his football teams
“They’ll really test us defensively”
“Offensively this is another game where we’ve got to try getting 30+ points”
“If Defense plays solid and holds them to 20 something then we’ve to get 30 something”
“If we can do that we feel good about that”
“They’ve got two good quarterbacks”
“The first guy (Chris Robison) is very, very good. He’s outstanding in my opinion”
Backup (Nick Tronti)is really good. He’s a good runner, good thrower and can create plays.
“I don’t think they’ll change much whoever the quarterback is”
“We’ll just gameplan for whoever the guy is going to be”
“It’s always good to be able to battle back. That’s the expectations we have”
“At halftime, you couldn’t tell if we were up or down. Guys were looking for their adjustments.”
“Our guys handle things like pros. They work extremely hard”
“We preach getting to the last five minutes of the game and try to win it”
“They understand that formula.”
“If it goes like it’s supposed to this week it should come down to the last series or two.”
“I’m very proud of him (Lucky Jackson). He’s really put in his time and works extremely hard. He’s like a coach on the field for some of our young wideouts.”
“Ty is very comfortable with him. He’s looking for Lucky on some plays”
“It was great for him to have that day. We need him down the stretch”
“They played softer coverage. They gave us underneath stuff.”
“We told Lucky and all the receivers, when you’re on the outside it will be your type of game”
“It’s a one game at a time mentality for us”
“If you get six wins it doesn’t mean you’re going to a bowl”
“You have to get seven to be guaranteed to make a bowl”
“Right now we’re in the conference hunt and that’s our main goal”
Need to focus on FAU and then move onto the next one
“He was outstanding (Ty Storey), he’s always been a tough kid.”
“Game by game he has gotten better and better and better”
“He’s our leader and he’s going to take us where we want to go”
“He does a good job of leading our offense”
(on Josh Simon) “When you cross the 50-yard line or get in the redzone you think about getting Josh the ball”
That game was different and was an outside receiver-type game
“We did try to do a couple of throws to Josh that didn’t work out”
“We’re always looking for Josh and sometimes it doesn’t work out”
“Being as young as he is, I don’t want to put too much on his plate”
“He’s always on our minds”
“This offense is always going to spread the ball around”
“The last game (Charlotte) was the first game that he saw everything (Gaej Walker)”
“This game he saw everything perfectly”
“He made guys miss on the second level”
Had two huge touchdowns in the red zone
“It makes it easier for you as a playcaller to not have to go to goaline offense and grind it out every trip to the red zone”
Keshawn McClendon got a chance and made a really nice run
Made an explosive play
“We’d like to roll him out there more and more”
“I don’t want Gaej to get totally banged up. I’d like McClendon in there more if we can”
(Back to Gaej Walker). “He’s understanding where you are going to hit the hole and the weaknesses in every defensive front”
“Game by game he’s really starting to see and understand what is going to happen before it happens”
Overall it was good to hear how the team handled the loss and the respect that Helton has for a formidable opponent in FAU. I wish the media would have asked Helton about some of the offensive line’s challenges but it was good to know how they game planned for Marshall and judging by the production this was another sign of the team's growth offensively.
Tune back for a lot more coverage for this week’s game against the Owls. WKU still is very much a part of the Conference USA East race. A win against FAU will put themselves in good shape before they’ll have two weeks off from conference play (Arkansas game and Bye week). Should Marshall drop another game (Louisiana Tech or FIU) it’s very possible that WKU could still play in the Conference Championship game if they can finish 7–1 in conference. Stay tuned for much more coverage of Saturday’s huge East division showdown.