Coffee and Doughnuts with Coach

[GoRedGoBlue]

Coach was 'excited' about this season, expressing real optimism, but with the understanding that this team is very young (41 of the scholarships are Freshman (RS and HS).

The incoming WRs and DLs will play this season...the plan is to redshirt anyone who is not going to contribute significantly...so they are hoping to RS Richuel and the LBs and the DBs. Bennett was extremely high on the LBs - that if we weren't stable at LB, Cory Muse would start. Instead he will redshirt. He also mentioned that Darrin Johnson is improving and he indicated that he will be 'sending donations to SMU in the future'.

He seemed to indicate that Tech's Defense was not as strong as in the past and we need to be able to run against them...he was also very respectful of Tech's offense (return 9 starters, including 3 WRs). The only X-Factor was the QB, so if the QB was good, he seemed to think that Tech would be good on offense.

The key was to control the ball and keep Tech off the field.

He also mentioned that Wolcott is likely to be redshirted, and that Mentzel is the backup kicker...McMurtray has hit like 16 of 17 from pressure situations.

Bennett announced a transfer that will redshirt this year (CHARLES XXX?).

Chris Phillips was tentatively announced as third team, because of his mobility.




[This message has been edited by GoRedGoBlue (edited 08-25-2003).]

[SWC Grey Hair]

If you want Coach to have these coffee talks, you better stop posting what he says on the boards. These are supposed to be somewhat condidential talks for Mustang Club members only. If this continues he won't tell us anything of interest and I wouldn't blame him.

[Nacho]

Thanks. Much appreciated. Couldn't make it today but I'll be there for some of the talks.

[GoRedGoBlue]

Nothing that was said was anything he hasn't said in the papers

[GoRedGoBlue]

Here's 5 with Phil, see if what I wrote was too revealing relative to this published article:

Where do you think you team is most improved?
At wide receiver, I think we've made our biggest improvement. Not to put pressure on Coach James, but I want to see it in the games. A year ago, you could see how teams would load up on us and we weren't able to make them pay for it. As much as we all believe Richard (Bartel) has improved, our receiving has improved more. With a couple of roster moves from defense to offense, we've helped ourselves. And, with recruiting. We have Chris Cunningham back, which is very important to us. He's full speed, a very mature, very experienced guy that is hungry to play. Matt Rushbrook moved from defense late last year and played in the last three games and has improved, but has to stay healthy. Trey Griffin is a guy who has had outstanding two-a-days. Trey came to life in the Rice game last year with eight catches. He has continued to impress us. He reminds me a little of Cody Cardwell a year ago. Trey has really stepped up and given us something we haven't had at that position. Wesley Medlock is in the mix and we have three freshmen who will play and will be in the mix on Saturday.


Do you see Richard Bartel's teammates looking to him more as leader now?
Yes. Richard is a competitor. He's still inexperienced and he's going to make some mistakes. I have to understand that. He is improved, but we all have to have patience. He's talented and has some things going for him, but he's still inexperienced. We have to hope that his mistakes are not big mistakes – deadly mistakes. Last year we threw four interceptions for touchdowns to defensive ends. We can't live like that. Richard is a guy who is adored by his teammates. I think they feed off him. What I want Richard to do is understand that he's got some guys around him that can help him. I've always said a good quarterback makes a good play a great one, a poor play a good one – and he doesn't get you beat.


After going toe-to-toe with Tech a year ago, how do you feel about being a three-touchdown underdog?
It doesn't surprise me, but I don't worry about that. I was sort of expecting it. Tech is a team that averaged over 40 points (a year ago). I think we can do some things differently than we did a year ago. Last year, we didn't know our players as well. In my years at Kansas State, we were able to take some things away from them. We are heading that way. I think we are a capable team. We fully anticipate having a chance to win this game. I am looking at the long term, so I want my kids to be relaxed. The things that concern me are the kicking game and the turnover margin. I think we'll go out and compete and I think it will be a heckuva game, I really do. That's what I expect.


How do you stop Texas Tech?
We have some guys who have played on defense. A year ago, we gave up too many big plays. That's an area that we're spending a lot of time on, an area we've got to get better on. Texas Tech, offensively, has nine starters back. They've got a new quarterback. They're very good at the skill positions – Taurean Henderson at running back caught 95 balls, Wes Welker, I believe, caught 86. They distribute the ball very well. One of the keys is we're going to have to do a good job tackling because so many of their routes are what we call "run" routes. They hit 'em on the run and we've got to be in position and be aware of tendencies, so when they catch the ball we can get them down. The other unknown is their quarterback. We don't know a whole lot about him, other than looking at tapes of when he played late in the year. I've heard good things about him, but he just hasn't played a whole lot.


So, what are some of the keys to the game?
We can't go to Lubbock and win that game without winning the kicking game. You know it's a tough place to play. They're dedicating their new press box. It's going to be a big day for them. We're not going to have a whole lot of margin for error. We've got to go out – especially defensively – and not give up big plays, tackle well, make sure we keep everything in front of us. Offensively, there's going to be some guesswork. They've hired (defensive coordinator) Lyle Setencich, who I have known for years. He was out of football last year, so we didn't have a team to look at to know what he was doing. We've heard bits and pieces. There's going to be some guesswork on what their scheme will be defensively. That puts pressure on our offensive coaches to make quick adjustments to see how they will defend us with their package. It helps us a little bit to have nine or 10 guys who have played so, hopefully, we can make those adjustments fast.