Transcript of Chad Morris AAC teleconference
Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 3:57 pmWell, we obviously, again, had a heck of an opponent this past week: Baylor, a very talented team. I thought we played well. We made some critical mistakes at very inopportune times. (The score was) 6-6 at half, and the first time in eight years that Baylor has not been scored on in the first half of the game ... or has not scored a touchdown in the first half of the game.
You know, we had four or five plays throughout the course of the game that really ... that they were able to make, and we were unable to convert on. Our inability to score in the red zone — to score touchdowns in the red zone — was very critical. We had a couple of opportunities ... first-and-10 on the 18, and came away with no points, and first-and-10 on the 12, and came away with no points, and actually took points off the board because they were able to create some turnovers with interceptions, which ... we had a chance to tie the game, late third quarter, but was unable to do that.
But played extremely hard. It was a 26-13 ballgame, midway into the third — or fourth — quarter, and they made a few plays and pulled away. Now we have Liberty this week at home.
Question: Wanted to get an update on Matt (Davis), and if Ben is starting again this week. What did you see in what he did against Baylor that gives you optimism for (Hicks') development moving forward?
Well, we're still waiting on Matt, and it's kind of day-to-day, but I would say with Ben, I thought he played at — in the first half of the game — extremely well. He played like a veteran player, and I would say as the game went on, especially when he made a couple of throws he wishes he would have had back — we all wish we would have had back ... we had a wide-open receiver in the back of the end zone, he just underthrows him and gets intercepted, and he threw a pick-six. So I thought that he made some mistakes that a lot of young kids make, but he definitely proved that he's got a great future ahead of him.
Question: Is that one of those things that going back and watching film and having another week of development will be beneficial for him as he continues to mature?
Well, I think any time that you ... the way you gain experience is through playing, and now that he's had the opportunity to play in some big games of that magnitude — it's just unfortunate he had to start in a game against a top-20 team — but that's the way it goes, and I think he'll only continue to get better. He's just a freshman, and I think, in due time, this kid's going to have an unbelievable career.
Question: Coach Turner Gill, at Liberty, has made a point of recruiting in Texas — his home state — really trying to find some diamonds in the rough in that area. You have made a very big effort of recruiting in Texas and making sure kids from that area know that they can come there. What is it about making sure Texas is a battleground state for recruiting and doing well there and building a program?
Well, it's easy, from my standpoint. I was a high school coach in this state for 16 years, or 18 years — 16 of those as a head coach. That part is easy. I was on the board of directors for our high school coaches association, and being from this state, I firmly believe that if I'm going to build this program from the ground floor up, you've got to start with in-state kids. You've got to capture the in-state coaches, and we've got that, and the excitement level we're building this program with , and it's a direct reflection of the players in our state. They're well-coached. Football in this state, as it is across the country, is so vital, but particularly in the state of Texas, because I've lived it for so many years. I mean, it truly is a lifeblood.
Question: Just wanted to get your thoughts on Ke'Mon Freeman and his development over the first two weeks of the season, and Braeden West and [inaudible] expanded role with Xavier (Jones) out.
Yeah, I thought Ke'Mon — you know, a phenomenal player from Liberty-Eylau — played quarterback for those guys up there, and we knew he was a talented athlete, but I think he has definitely showed that he's got a great future. Again, true freshman, to run the ball as well as he does ... he runs extremely hard, he's got great balance — unbelievable balance — and I'm excited to see where he is. Braeden West is another young man that has had to fill in the role with Xavier being out, and did a really good job the other night. He's so smart, and he's very sound in his pass protection. So that's exciting to see, those two young men. Excited to get Xavier back this week and get him going — three solid guys we're excited about. We've got another freshman right now that we're trying to redshirt, but we'll see how it goes.
Question: I wanted to follow up on something you were talking about earlier in regard to recruiting in the state of Texas. Obviously Jerry Jones has beautiful facilities with the Cowboys — I know there's high school games that happen there. How much of a recruiting tool does that serve for you, being in Dallas, just the allure of the Cowboys and their facilities?
Well, I think more so just the city of Dallas is a great sports city. SMU is right here in the heart of Dallas, and you know, me growing up in Dallas, this is a great place to live. You can ... in building this program, selling our city, selling what we have, the different things to do just in close proximity to our campus is easy — easy sell. But as far as recruiting our state, that's been our biggest emphasis ... selling the fact that players can come here, they can play early, they can help us build something special in a town that — as we have seen, with what Larry Brown did in basketball here — a town that really captures the excitement level at SMU.
Question: Where do you feel like your kids are at right now, in terms of ... I know you have come in, you're trying to rebuild the program, get them back at a certain level of competitiveness ... where do you feel like your guys are at now in relation to where they were at last year?
Well, I don't think there's too much comparison to last year's team to this year's team. When you look at the same two opponents that we've played, at the same point in time, a year ago to where we are right now, I think that this is definitely a better football team. We're playing better, we're faster, we're more athletic, so I think we're definitely trending in the right direction.
You know, we had four or five plays throughout the course of the game that really ... that they were able to make, and we were unable to convert on. Our inability to score in the red zone — to score touchdowns in the red zone — was very critical. We had a couple of opportunities ... first-and-10 on the 18, and came away with no points, and first-and-10 on the 12, and came away with no points, and actually took points off the board because they were able to create some turnovers with interceptions, which ... we had a chance to tie the game, late third quarter, but was unable to do that.
But played extremely hard. It was a 26-13 ballgame, midway into the third — or fourth — quarter, and they made a few plays and pulled away. Now we have Liberty this week at home.
Question: Wanted to get an update on Matt (Davis), and if Ben is starting again this week. What did you see in what he did against Baylor that gives you optimism for (Hicks') development moving forward?
Well, we're still waiting on Matt, and it's kind of day-to-day, but I would say with Ben, I thought he played at — in the first half of the game — extremely well. He played like a veteran player, and I would say as the game went on, especially when he made a couple of throws he wishes he would have had back — we all wish we would have had back ... we had a wide-open receiver in the back of the end zone, he just underthrows him and gets intercepted, and he threw a pick-six. So I thought that he made some mistakes that a lot of young kids make, but he definitely proved that he's got a great future ahead of him.
Question: Is that one of those things that going back and watching film and having another week of development will be beneficial for him as he continues to mature?
Well, I think any time that you ... the way you gain experience is through playing, and now that he's had the opportunity to play in some big games of that magnitude — it's just unfortunate he had to start in a game against a top-20 team — but that's the way it goes, and I think he'll only continue to get better. He's just a freshman, and I think, in due time, this kid's going to have an unbelievable career.
Question: Coach Turner Gill, at Liberty, has made a point of recruiting in Texas — his home state — really trying to find some diamonds in the rough in that area. You have made a very big effort of recruiting in Texas and making sure kids from that area know that they can come there. What is it about making sure Texas is a battleground state for recruiting and doing well there and building a program?
Well, it's easy, from my standpoint. I was a high school coach in this state for 16 years, or 18 years — 16 of those as a head coach. That part is easy. I was on the board of directors for our high school coaches association, and being from this state, I firmly believe that if I'm going to build this program from the ground floor up, you've got to start with in-state kids. You've got to capture the in-state coaches, and we've got that, and the excitement level we're building this program with , and it's a direct reflection of the players in our state. They're well-coached. Football in this state, as it is across the country, is so vital, but particularly in the state of Texas, because I've lived it for so many years. I mean, it truly is a lifeblood.
Question: Just wanted to get your thoughts on Ke'Mon Freeman and his development over the first two weeks of the season, and Braeden West and [inaudible] expanded role with Xavier (Jones) out.
Yeah, I thought Ke'Mon — you know, a phenomenal player from Liberty-Eylau — played quarterback for those guys up there, and we knew he was a talented athlete, but I think he has definitely showed that he's got a great future. Again, true freshman, to run the ball as well as he does ... he runs extremely hard, he's got great balance — unbelievable balance — and I'm excited to see where he is. Braeden West is another young man that has had to fill in the role with Xavier being out, and did a really good job the other night. He's so smart, and he's very sound in his pass protection. So that's exciting to see, those two young men. Excited to get Xavier back this week and get him going — three solid guys we're excited about. We've got another freshman right now that we're trying to redshirt, but we'll see how it goes.
Question: I wanted to follow up on something you were talking about earlier in regard to recruiting in the state of Texas. Obviously Jerry Jones has beautiful facilities with the Cowboys — I know there's high school games that happen there. How much of a recruiting tool does that serve for you, being in Dallas, just the allure of the Cowboys and their facilities?
Well, I think more so just the city of Dallas is a great sports city. SMU is right here in the heart of Dallas, and you know, me growing up in Dallas, this is a great place to live. You can ... in building this program, selling our city, selling what we have, the different things to do just in close proximity to our campus is easy — easy sell. But as far as recruiting our state, that's been our biggest emphasis ... selling the fact that players can come here, they can play early, they can help us build something special in a town that — as we have seen, with what Larry Brown did in basketball here — a town that really captures the excitement level at SMU.
Question: Where do you feel like your kids are at right now, in terms of ... I know you have come in, you're trying to rebuild the program, get them back at a certain level of competitiveness ... where do you feel like your guys are at now in relation to where they were at last year?
Well, I don't think there's too much comparison to last year's team to this year's team. When you look at the same two opponents that we've played, at the same point in time, a year ago to where we are right now, I think that this is definitely a better football team. We're playing better, we're faster, we're more athletic, so I think we're definitely trending in the right direction.