Carson-Newman Football vs Newberry Week Seven Press Conference Transcripts
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – As the Eagles hit the road for a battle against the Newberry Wolves, Carson-Newman head coach Mike Clowney
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – As the Eagles hit the road for a battle against the Newberry Wolves, Carson-Newman head coach Mike Clowney addressed the media before a Saturday matchup against Newberry on Saturday.
Mike Clowney Opening Statement: Newberry, we're heading back to my neck of the woods and I know my momma will be all fired up about us coming down that way. It's always fun to go down to Newberry and play. We used to call it "the graveyard" down there and it is always a good environment. We're looking forward to getting on the bus and spending some time together on Friday before playing a good football game on Saturday.
Q1 Newberry is a very challenging place to play. What about that environment makes it such a difficult place to play?
They do a good job in regards to their fanbase and their talent year in and year out. When you go down there, you know you are going to play a talented football team. It's kind of like what we've alluded to before in terms of Carson-Newman. When Carson-Newman shows up, it's a big football game. They work and respond to that.
Q2 How do you avoid letting the Lenoir-Rhyne loss beat you twice?
For us, it's about continuing to keep our heads up, continue keep up our spirits, and continue talking about the things we did well. Being able to go out to practice today and create the energy we need in order to move forward. One thing we talked to our guys about in a meeting yesterday: we have four football games that are promised to us right now. They're going to be the best four football games we go play, one way or another. That means from an effort standpoint, from us displaying who we really are on the inside, essentially it's a character check. They always say what's on the inside eventually comes on the outside. We're going to press them and see what we get.
Q3 You look at Saturday and obviously a lot of frustration from that loss. Upon digesting film, were there some silver linings that were apparent when things were happening on Saturday?
There were, especially from a defensive standpoint. You go look at a lot of guys that we got in position to make plays and unfortunately, we did not make them. Callum Clements is a freshman safety, and he's one that really sticks out to me. A couple times he comes down and we got the hole way too wide and we've got to hit it tighter and give him a chance to play in a better situation. He goes and makes the tackle; doesn't bring his hips, doesn't break his feet and he kind of just falls off of it. Two years from now, I think that kid makes that play if he does what we coach him to do, goes into the weight room to lift and run. Ja'HQuavis Davis is someone you watch inside against an older line and you see some movement and the work to get off. Jacorey Long over here on the sideline, he turns and runs back to make a play and knocks the ball loose. The two we were able to knock loose unfortunately went out of bounds, but some of that was good. You talk about Jackson Ward on the interception. He's working the cover guy, comes off, and goes back inside to make a play.
So, when you look at it, there are things there that are encouraging. Overall, it was frustrating. Up front, with a young offensive line, it really showed in that football game and we have to continue to be gritty and grow there.
Q4 You talked about the young offensive line. Through the six games thus far, you have not started the same six guys in the same position. That's probably difficult to see some continuity in that.
When you're just watching the game, there are a lot of things that you just do not see. It's like when I'll go in and talk about on Sunday or Monday being really proud of the offensive line because of what you talked about. We got freshman playing in there and we're moving them around. We've had to do so much with them. The thing that makes you proud of those guys is they don't bat an eye. They just go do what you ask them to do and are they doing it the way we'd like to see it done and moving people like we'd like to see people move. You can tell their heart is there and if you get that part of it, the talent and everything else is something we'll be able to develop.
Q5 How do you work through the frustration of having four straight weeks of growth and then having a setback?
We had four weeks of growth, something we challenged them to work on. This past week comes up, and we played a really good football team. Sometimes you hate saying that but it's true, we played a good football team. You want to be good enough to match that, but there are still some things that when you look at this film, we still need to continue to grow on. In order to figure out where you're at, some times you have to run up against a test. A real test to figure out exactly where you're at and where things are. It can be frustrating, but if you figure out the answers you know and the answers you don't know, you have to go back and study to learn the information for the test until you get to the point where you can pass it.
Q6 Defense has been on the field for 170 plays and 80 plus minutes over the last two weeks. How much of a challenge is that right now for your staff?
The amazing thing, and I know defensive players get frustrated, but I'm really proud of our guys defensively. They've done a good job of convincing those guys that you can control what you can control. As an offensive coach, if it's not going well, you get three plays and then you punt. Defensively, you don't get that option. You have to stay out there and continue to fight. There are two ways to respond, you either continue to fight or you continue to fold. That's one thing is that we have given up the points early in the game. Last week it was frustrating because we get the ball in good field position and we can't put the ball in the end zone. The offense got more frustrated than the defense because they want to finish those drives. Defensively, there was a point in time where it was frustrating but I think they came back and continued to fight and play with pride.
Q7 How much of this frustration you allude to can be alleviated by the offense finishing these drives and taking some pressure off the defense?
It's always encouraging to go on the field after something good has happened. In that game, we probably could have kicked a couple field goals and put points on the board, but you want to go win the game. Regardless of the situation, that is the fighting mentality you want to have and that we're going to have. It's kind of like you get stuck with zero because we're going to keep punching and fighting. That's the mentality I'm going to coach with, that's the mentality I expect the players to play with. It's what we have to do. I don't think our kids are not trying not to score. Unfortunately, we continue to do something to kill ourselves. The most frustrating part was getting the ball on the 8-yard line and not being able to punch it in. That was probably the backbreaker for us offensively. It put the kids in a situation where they're frustrated, both offensively and defensively. That's no fun and we have to find a way to finish it. We get excited with another drive later in the game and we think we'll be able to finish that one out, and we fumble the football. We continue to find a way to shoot ourselves in the foot, over and over again.
Q8 How encouraging is it that teams of late seem to not have an answer for the return game? How encouraging is it for that special teams unit to provide a little bit of an upper-handing in these games?
That was one thing that was unique in watching them (L-R) literally try and figure out what they were going to do. It's a testament to those guys on that unit and I think that shining light is what you want the entire team to begin looking like at some point. There are 11 guys out there that believe every time the ball is kicked into the air, they're going to find a way to score and be productive. We got to a point where we just started declining the out-of-bounds because they believe in what we're doing and you can see something special. Leonte Dudley had success against Catawba returning the ball, but when they kick the ball short and he's not returning, he's still able to be out there and be blocking. Elijah Davis got a big block for him at Catawba, so watching him return the favor and spring EJ with a block. Then, at the end, he's still downfield pushing to help get another three yards. That's what you want this team to look like from an entire unit standpoint. I think those guys have brought a great spark that what hasn't been the most "fun" season but they give you something to look forward to every time the ball is kicked. We just have to stop letting people kick it so much.
Q9 Elijah Davis is an example of a player going to Coach Goss's office and asking how he gets more reps on ST and even RB? How important is it right now for these guys to have the mentality "I have to get on the field, no matter what it is, so I can show the coaches I deserve time in my role"?
He's one that I point out because it is just so obvious and he's been like that since he got here. He has had so many challenges like not playing in the spring due to COVID and then having some issues during the fall that would take him in and out. To watch his resilience and his mindset of "I'm going to try and find a way to contribute," he also practices like this. That has worked for him and he tries to work on being that premiere guy, but he has that capability. The biggest thing is his effort and his heart, which you cannot ask for more in a guy.
Q10 This week you are on the road again. Is there a benefit to being on the road and getting away from here after a loss like one last week?
I think you have to respond either way. A lot of times in coaching, you have to take a film like that and I even debate it, back in the old days you had VHS or DVD where you could just toss it in the trash and forget about it before moving on. There are things for us at this point that we need to fix, but at this point, you want to do the same thing and trash it. Keep a little bit of that taste and fire so you can go fight, but I don't think it matters where you play. This team has done well on the road from the standpoint of being so new and so young that they actually get to spend time together. That's the best benefit of being on the road. A lot of times when we're at home and we come to practice Friday, everyone still goes and does their routine of sitting down and eating dinner with family, which is also something we get to do on the road.
Q11 It seems like the SAC has transitioned from a "pass happy" to run dominant league this season. Newberry has a great 1-2 punch in Dre Harris and Mario Anderson. What do you see out of these two?
Two really good athletes. Dre Harris, as the quarterback, is a phenomenal athlete. I think that's one of the biggest things when you look at the runs and the rushes in the league overall, so many of the quarterbacks are starting to contribute to what's happening there. It does a couple things defensively and removes some guys from the box. Like, how do you respond to him so that he doesn't hurt you? Just like Catawba and their quarterback, drops back to throw the football and when nothing is there, you end up watching him run over and over for yardage. Newberry is the same situation. We have to make sure and continue doing a good job up front and work to change the line of scrimmage. We have to do a good job of keeping gaps tight and fitting in where we need to be. We can't play with high eyes, which is one of the things that got us in trouble against L-R. Losing things and not necessarily seeing things we need to see. We have to do a better job of seeing that, running to the football, and playing with a team mentality.
Q12 It seems like they have some receivers who have been there for an eternity. Bobby Irby and Bryson Woodruff are two examples of this. Give me a review of what their receiving corps have and what that allows their offense under Dre Harris is able to do?
It forces you to not just focus on him. You have to cover those guys and he's a good enough passer that he can get them the ball and they do a good job of making plays for him. When that happens, you have those guys out there on the perimeter and you have him who can run so it's not like you'll be able to sit and lock them up all game in man. We have to be able to do a couple different things and still know where he's at. It's a pretty good challenge.
