ESPN - AAC Coaches Anonymous

[blackoutpony]

It's mostly all sunshine and rainbows, but always interesting to see what opposing head coaches have to say about different teams or guys (even anonymously).

Since I pay the evil empire (for some reason) here you go

http://espn.go.com/college-football/ins ... -anonymity

The phrase comes up in most college football media conferences.

"Coach, can you talk about ..." We took that broad question and went to opposing coaches to ask for their honest assessments on the hottest topics for each AAC team (teams are listed in order of predicted finish). Last week, we hit the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC.

Here's an unfiltered breakdown of how opponents view their conference brethren.


AAC East

South Florida Bulls


South Florida QB Quinton Flowers could be one of the AAC's biggest wild-card players in 2016. Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports
Quinton Flowers and Marlon Mack combined for almost 2,400 yards rushing and 20 TDs. Coach, can you talk about the one-two punch?

"They do a lot of things out of the option and the zone read. They make you pick your poison on defense." -- AAC head coach

Deatrick Nichols led the team in interceptions (four) and forced fumbles (two) and also recorded 8.5 tackles for loss. Coach, can you talk about Nichols?

"They attack the football and play with a lot of speed, effort and aggression, and Nichols is a defensive back with a lot of confidence. He isn't just an interception guy either. He's a player who makes plays at each level." -- AAC head coach

Temple Owls

Temple is old-school and runs between the tackles, and the Owls were in the top two in the AAC in run, pass, scoring and total defense. Coach, can you talk about this team's identity?

"They are one of the most hard-nosed, physical football teams we have played. They like to run the ball, and their quarterback and running back run downhill effectively." -- AAC head coach

Over the past three years, Temple has gradually improved from two wins to six to 10 last season. Coach, can you talk about Temple's emergence under Matt Rhule?

"He has done an unbelievable job rebuilding that program. Matt really preached, sold and changed the culture there." -- AAC head coach

Cincinnati Bearcats

Mike Boone had 104 carries for 749 yards and nine TDs last year. Coach, can you talk about Boone?

"He's a bigger back and a very powerful runner who is very difficult to bring down. You have to hit him before he gets his momentum going and tackle him well with multiple guys." -- AAC head coach

Safety Zach Edwards was Cincinnati's best player on defense a year ago with 93 tackles, three interceptions and eight passes broken up. Coach, can you talk about Edwards?

"He is smart, seemingly always in good position and not one to shy away from contact. He makes plays at all three levels and is a ball hawk for them in the secondary." -- AAC head coach

UConn Huskies

Arkeel Newsome was UConn's leading rusher (792 yards), its second-leading receiver (465 yards) and its top kick returner (429 yards). Coach, can you talk about Newsome?

"He has great vision and runs hard and physically despite not being very big. He is a complete back, and he also has such great hands." -- AAC head coach

The Huskies' pass defense was tied for 12th nationally with 18 interceptions (4.5 percent of opponents' attempts, eighth in the FBS). Coach, can you talk about their pass D?

"They are assignment-sound and often drop all four of their linebackers into coverage. It's very hard to find windows to throw into when eight guys drop." -- AAC head coach

East Carolina Pirates

At Duke, Scottie Montgomery ran balanced offenses with mobile QBs such as Thomas Sirk (803 yards rushing in 2015). Coach, can you talk about Montgomery's style?

"I can tell you right now that ECU will be well-coached on offense. ECU isn't a rebuild either, as they have a lot of good players returning at the skill positions." -- AAC head coach

The Pirates ranked in the top half of the AAC in sacks with 25. Coach, can you talk about ECU's defensive front?

"Defensive line is one area where they have stood out the last few years. They're not only big, strong and athletic, but they play hard. They have more than three or four guys who get after it up there." -- AAC head coach

UCF Knights


Former Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost hopes to bring some of the Ducks' high-speed offense and success to UCF. Steve Dykes/Getty Images
Oregon played fast, ranking eighth nationally with just 21.4 seconds per offensive snap. Coach, can you talk about Scott Frost's play-calling tempo?

"Playing an offense like that presents many challenges, as you need to be well-conditioned, simple in your schemes and playcalls. The simpler the game plan and more guys you can rotate in, the better." -- AAC head coach

Jamiyus Pittman, a 300-pound defensive tackle, led the team in sacks (4.5) and anchored the run defense. Coach, can you talk about Pittman?

"That is one strong kid in the middle of that defense. What makes him special is the pad level, leverage and motor he plays with." -- AAC head coach

AAC West

Houston Cougars

Greg Ward Jr. accounted for 3,936 yards and 38 touchdowns last season, ranking third in the conference in total yards and first in TDs. Coach, can you talk about Ward?

"Ward is a great, great player. I think he was the toughest guy to defend in the conference. His legs can be the difference in a game." -- AAC head coach

Last season Houston led the nation with 35 takeaways, racking up 21 interceptions and forcing 14 fumbles. Coach, can you talk about Houston's defense?

"[Defensive coordinator Todd] Orlando is a great coach. It's obvious that [turnovers are] an emphasis of theirs because they are all over the place on defense." -- AAC head coach

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Tulsa ranked 11th in passing offense (333.2 ypg) and tied for seventh nationally with 69 passing plays of 20 or more yards. Coach, can you talk about Tulsa's offense?

"Philip Montgomery is well-respected. His tempo and his willingness to take the top off the defense vertically is tough to defend. Evans can stretch the field." -- AAC head coach

Opponents liked to attack the Golden Hurricane's 117th-ranked run defense (239.7 ypg). Coach, can you talk about running on them?

"Tulsa is a team that likes to get in offensive shootouts, and by running the ball and avoiding quick possessions, you allow your defense time to rest and keep their explosive offense on the sideline." -- AAC head coach  

Navy Midshipmen

Last year the Midshipmen tied for second in the nation with 326.7 rushing yards per game and featured five players who rushed for over 300 yards. Coach, can you talk about playing Navy's triple-option?

"You just don't see it a lot. It's hard to get guys to lock in on gap responsibilities, especially with the short weeks we have during the season." -- AAC head coach

Navy tries to neutralize a lack of size through scheme and mixing defenses. Coach, can you talk about Navy's defense?

"They are multiple and can go base 3-4 and then line up a play later and go 4-3. They run different blitzes and pressures from different areas and constantly change it up, which makes it tough to decipher." -- AAC head coach

Memphis Tigers

Memphis was third in the AAC in total offense (487 YPG) and second in PPG (40.2). Coach, can you talk about Mike Norvell's style compared to Justin Fuente's?

"I know he likes to play with pace and tempo. They have good receivers, and Mike does a good job in the passing game. We expect them to be a dangerous offense." -- AAC head coach

Memphis ranked fourth in the conference with 26 sacks but gave up 48 pass plays of 20 or more yards, third most. Coach, can you talk about the defense?

"They blitzed and brought a lot of guys in pressure but were susceptible in the secondary. When we protected our quarterback, there were often receivers free downfield." -- AAC head coach

SMU Mustangs

Courtland Sutton broke out with two TDs against Baylor in his first game and 115 yards and a TD two weeks later on the road against TCU. Coach, can you talk about Sutton?

"He's a dude. He's a bigger receiver who you can just throw the ball up to and he'll go get I hope he leaves after three years just so I don't have to worry about trying to stop him another year." -- AAC head coach

DE Justin Lawler led the Mustangs in tackles (65), tackles for loss (10) and sacks (five). Coach, can you talk about Lawler?

"He's a big, long kid who is very strong and very physical with a motor. He kept coming. He's another young guy who has a bright future in this league." -- AAC head coach

Tulane Green Wave

In two years at Georgia Southern, Willie Fritz rotated two QBs who combined to average 1,388 yards rushing per year. Coach, can you talk about Fritz's offense?

"Having the quarterback as a ball carrier requires you to assign a defender to take away the quarterback's legs, which creates a numerical advantage for the offense." -- AAC head coach

Undersized (5-foot-10, 208) but productive (82 tackles, 13 TFLs), All-AAC LB Nico Marley plays a lot like his dad Rohan did at Miami. Coach, can you talk about Marley?

"Every time I turn on tape of Tulane, I see him running all over the football field and making plays. He plays the game the way I believe football should be played." -- AAC head coach

[Pony Boss]

Sutton is a beast

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

SMU Mustangs

Courtland Sutton broke out with two TDs against Baylor in his first game and 115 yards and a TD two weeks later on the road against TCU. Coach, can you talk about Sutton?

"I have no clue why they don't throw to him more but I'm glad they don't." -- AAC head coach