October 27, 2025 • 30 mins
Listen to Coach Sarkisian's Monday news conference live each week on AM 1300 The Zone!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Playing a very good Vanderbilt team. I think Clark Lee
has done a tremendous job with this program. This this
this team is it plays like a team. You know.
They they they they they they know their style of play.
They minimize possessions. They they they they huddle, they shift,
they motion, They do a lot of different things offensively, uh,
(00:21):
but they limit your possessions. They're very efficient offensive football team. UH.
And then conversely, defensively, they play really well. They they
play collectively together. They've got an elite field goal kicker,
they've got an elite kickoff returner. UH. So they're they're
an all three phase team. UH, and it's gonna take
all three phases to to battle and compete. Obviously, the
(00:42):
quarterback uh is the tip of the spear.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
He's one of the more competitive, you know, players that
I've I've competed against.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
He's their leading rusher. He obviously passes the ball. UH.
He makes plays at critical moments when they need to
have it. And so he's a guy that uh, you know,
he's getting all the all the praise that he's getting
is well deserved. He's a very good football player. And
I think you know, one thing about playing quarterback. It's
not always about the passes you throw, it's not always
about the runs you make. It's about instilling belief in
(01:12):
your teammates, and instilling belief in your organization, instilling belief
in your fan base. And I think Diego Pavia has
done that for that program, and so all the credit
in the world to him, all the credit in the
world to to Clark and the start that they've had
to the season. So it's gonna be a heck of
a challenge for us looking forward to it. Like I said,
I think we've got a re energized team looking forward
to getting back home at.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
DKRU Steve the run game when it's at its struggles
this year, just curious, what do you see that you
can kind of get that going forward? And secondly, I
guessespecially you know, the last four weeks of facing three
of the top fifty run defenses, So how crucial is
going to be to have a run game, especially in
(01:54):
early downs.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Yeah, you know, I think one of the keys is,
you know, the run game. It needs to be in
Unison and we're we're you know, I thought we blocked
some runs really well the other night, and we ran
some runs really well the other night, but consistently we
aren't quite in unison that the way we need to be. Uh,
there's run timing that's involved, it's runner setting blocks, it's
(02:17):
linemen and tight ends, understanding angles of where the runs
are going, where they should hit. And so we need
to spend more time on that. You know, we need
to be we need to be diligent. And and again
to your point, you know we need the run game.
And again I thought the run game was relatively effective,
but then the game went the way that it went
and we had to kind of divert away from that,
(02:38):
and then we snuck some runs late. You know, Trey
had a couple of runs later in the game when
when we were when we were throwing it. And but
we got to be able to run the football, and
we need to be able to play second and five,
second and four football that allows us to have the
whole playbook at our disposal. Second and ten, second and
twelve is not where you want to live. And same
with being said, you know, when we call some of
our play action passes, it's okay to check the ball
(03:02):
down too, and you can find you can find hidden
yardage and checkdowns in the passing game on first and ten,
because we just don't want to be a run, run
pass team. You know, that's that's not advantageous either. We
need to have that, we need to have the right
type of balance. We need to utilize all of our
offense that way. And so that this week's going to
be very important because we need to be very efficient
as an offensive football team because the possessions are probably
(03:25):
going to be limited. You know that we're not going
to go out there and run eighty plays this week.
We're probably going to be somewhere between fifty and sixty five.
And so when you think of it that way, that's
about an eight maybe ten possession game, and so you've
got to maximize your possessions when you get them far left.
Coach did Arch practice this morning? He did not. He's
in protocol right now. We'll have more information as the
(03:48):
week goes.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
Back, Are you right, Danny?
Speaker 6 (03:52):
See if I'm sure there's challenges when you're preparing for
the other quarterbacks you face the season, But is there
anything uniquely challenging about pairing for Diego and what he
brings for this offense?
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Well, I think there's layers to what you have to
prepare for with him is one the pass game, you know,
and and his ability to find the big receiver, his
ability to find the tight end, and they're very creative
and getting him the ball. I think Two the triple
option aspect of their offense and him making those decisions
in the option game. Three is the direct quarterback run
(04:26):
game that they use and the quarterback powers and things.
And then four the ad lib plays that that he makes.
He's very good at ad lib plays. The first touchdown
last year against US was an ad lib play with
the sprint out that he ends up you know, ends
up scoring on. So you have to you have to
defend him kind of in layers, and you've got to
be very detailed. You got to have great eye discipline
(04:47):
against this group and against him, and you got to
make sure you do a great job set in your
edges or that he can get on the perimeter on
you quick middle terry coach.
Speaker 7 (04:57):
In the normal game, you'll have five to seven players
who are highlighted because of what they've done in the game.
I counted eighteen against this game. These players are all
highlight reel players. When you watch the tape, can you
talk about some of those players who had a massive
impact on the game, like forty, like fifty one, who
they won't make highlights, but they were the determinants.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
And yeah, the first guy I'm want to touch on
is Jordan Johnson Rebel. He was one of our players
of the game on special teams. And there's a guy
who didn't play on defense. All he did was play
on special teams and had a fantastic football game. You know,
he has a great tackle on kickoff coverage on about
the twelve or thirteen yard line. He has a critical
block on the big punt return that Nibblet scores on.
(05:41):
So that's an easy one to touch on right off
the bat. Marshall Lambweer another guy who was very critical
forcing those punts, the low line dry punts with a
critical block on the long punt return. Lace Jackson another
guy you touched on who I thought, you know, it
wasn't about. You know, I always say to the player,
don't count your reps, make your reps count. And you know,
(06:03):
he doesn't get as many reps as maybe as some
of the other guys, but when he gets in the game,
he's impactful. Matthew Caldwell same thing, you know. I mean,
he's an easy one to point out. And so again
there was a lot of guys that kind of fell
into that, into that mold in the game, you know,
again like Jack injuries. You know, he didn't have you know,
seven catches for eighty five yards, but he but he
(06:24):
passed protected better than he ever has for us all year.
Saturday he had some really critical catches underneath and coverages
to move the chains forward. I thought, he's he's growing
into a role that feels very comfortable for him. So again,
it's easy to point to your to the highlight guys,
but there was a lot of guys that did some
good things for Saturday night that we can build upon.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
The back left Jack.
Speaker 8 (06:48):
Uh Sark after the game, you told us you can't
keep living like this, waiting to the fourth quarter to
really crank up the intensity. Yeah, does that surprise you
that that is an issue that you're you're having to
correct now? And what are the first steps to get
in that figure?
Speaker 1 (07:00):
You know, I don't know. I mean every year you
have issues, you know. I'm sure this time last year
I was talking about something else, you know, like something
we needed to clean up or get better. At So
every year you have things, and I think that's our
job as coaches to identify where your issues are and
then try to put a spotlight on them and then
(07:20):
try to improve upon them. I say it all the time.
We as coaches get what we emphasize. So if we
want to emphasize starting better in the game, we have
to look at maybe the game plan itself. B what
are we calling in that game plan to put our
guys in position to play a little little faster where
they can go get it? And then see on the players.
You know, the players have to be energized and engaged
(07:41):
and ready to go. And I don't think that we
weren't ready to go the other night, because clearly we
started pretty fast, but then we hit a lull in
the second quarter, and so it's keeping that flame lit
and burning hot for four quarters. I have a feeling
we'll be ready to go Saturday at eleven am. You know,
we've we've been a very good morning you know football team.
We've we've performed well at at eleven a m. Especially
(08:04):
at home, and so we've got to we got to
wake up early and get ourselves ready to go. And
we're gonna have to play from the beginning. This is
gonna be a fourth quarter game. That doesn't mean you
have to wait for the fourth quarter. We need to
play all four quarters with the right right sense of urgency. Uh,
if you will, you know from from the opening kick Thomas.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
So, I guess with with arching in the protocol. This
is first time Caldwell's worked with the Ones on a Monday.
What have you seen from him and what's the challenges
of even a veteran working with the Ones for the
first time.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Well, I think that the good thing for Matt. He's
a very even, keell guy. I thought he had a
great practice today. I think, you know, the players have
a lot of confidence in him. I think it's his maturity,
his approach. You know, he's very engaged even when he
doesn't play. If you ever watched our sidelines in game eighteen,
is probably the most engaged player on that sidelines. He's
(08:58):
always picking guys up offense, defense, special teams, you know,
And so he's got a really good relationship with the guys.
And so I don't think it's like, well, who's this guy.
You know, he's in a lot of faces a lot
of the times, and so it felt very comfortable. I
felt very normal today. I thought the bigger thing for
today was that kJ Lacey got reps with the twos,
and I thought that was that was really good for him.
You know, he's a very talented player who's been growing
(09:20):
and getting better, so it was fun for us to
see him get more reps today.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Coach kind of the same thing, just what what do
you like about Caldwell when you when you brought him
in here?
Speaker 1 (09:30):
What has he shown you?
Speaker 4 (09:31):
And how much confidence do you have in him?
Speaker 1 (09:34):
You know, I think like to my point, you know,
he's a guy that has been in a variety of systems.
He he has athleticism. H it was a really good ball.
What I liked about him on his visit was probably
the biggest thing was just his demeanor, you know, his
approach to it. It didn't seem too big for him here.
(09:55):
He didn't feel entitled by any means. He was a
guy who just wanted an opportunity and and that's what
we were looking for. A guy who had taken some
snaps in college football. And then that's how he's performed,
you know, since the day he got here. That's the
way he's worked at it. Throughout camp and throughout the season,
and he's making the most of his opportunities. He's played
well every time that we've put him in the game,
you know, whether it's been at the end of games
(10:16):
with the long runs, with the passes, whether it's been
at Florida where he had to come in and throw
a ball to Ryan Wingo on an in cut, whether
it was this game. And so, you know, what gives
me confidence is who he's been, you know, and so
feel very comfortable with with Matt whenever he's in the ballgame.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
The guy seemed to gravitate to him when he comes in,
and he's come in under some adverse situations. Do you
feel that from the other guys when when he's in there.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Yeah, I think what he's done is earned the respect
of his teammates. Like I said, I think his demeanor,
who he is as a teammate. I think his relationship
with Arch is very important to that. I think I
think they have a lot of respect for him him
that way. And then you know, when you when you produce,
you get respect too, because his teammates know that's not easy,
you know, to come in off the bench and to
do what he's done in a couple of different games,
(11:09):
and so uh, they respect the fact that that he's prepared,
that he's ready, and that the moment's not too big
for him. You know, he's and so and I think
he's got great rapport with the guys, like I really do.
I just think he's an awesome teammate with these guys,
and so uh, they enjoy, they enjoy seeing him have
that success and celebrating with him.
Speaker 9 (11:30):
And yeah s, Deevel, wouldn't how many transferred quarterbacks you
even looked at before deciding on Matt And did you
find something in that offense, with the spread game, in
the passing game that you're going to incorporate more. I
don't think you're going to air rate.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
You know. I think with the thing, you know, we
we looked at a few guys. You know, everybody was
looking everywhere. I mean, everybody's trying to figure out who's
your backup whatnot. And it's hard to, I think, in
this day and age, to keep multiple really you know,
high level, five star type quarterbacks. So you got to
look around. I think no more is more telling than
what old miss you know figured out with their guy.
(12:07):
And so you know it was just felt like the
right fit honestly with Matt, you know, for us passing
game wise, that was what was needed in the moment,
you know, And we've we challenged oddly enough, we challenged
the receivers and the quarterbacks Friday night about the way
(12:28):
we needed to play the game. And I played a
fair amount of older clips, some from here of other players,
some from the last place I was at with some
of those players, and some from the current guys on
this team, of similar plays we wanted to run and
how they needed to be ran. And that was the expectation, right,
That's why they were brought here. And to those guys credit,
(12:50):
they really responded. And they didn't play perfect, you know,
there's there's there's plays they that they'd love to have back,
but man, they competed and they played fast. And we're
at our best when we play fast on the perimeter.
Speaker 8 (13:02):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
And then when the quarterback trust that play speed that
they're playing with. And I thought Art showed a lot
of trust in those guys uh Saturday, and and their
play speed and their play making showed up. You know,
Like I said, there was a couple of those those
first those two touchdown catches by Parker and Emmett. I
mean those are elite catches. Those are about as high
level catches as you can make in the red area
(13:25):
tight quarters. You any bobble in either one of those
is not a touchdown. And so the ability to make
those strong catches were big and that just builds confidence,
and that builds trust for the quarterback.
Speaker 9 (13:36):
Roger Srk.
Speaker 10 (13:37):
For a month, you've been preparing to go on the
road every week, and that mentality you need to take
on the road. Now you you come home, you're excited
about that? Is there kind of an emotional shift? Okay?
Now we got to approach it with the with the
friendly confines as opposed to be in the enemy.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
I think there's a fine line, you know, And and
games like this, I I listen to other coaches talk
a lot of the time about relying on the fans
to provide the energy into the stadium. And I know
Longhorn Nation is going to show up Saturday at eleven am,
and but we need to make sure we provide energy
for them too. And and part of that is our
is our style of play, the how the speed in
(14:15):
which we play with the violence in which we play
the game with you know, that keeps the crowd energized.
And so it's a two way street there. And so
we can't just go into this thinking, hey, we're at
home and now we got our fans and everything's going
to be great. No, they're just a they're an added bonus.
We still need to play, you know, our brand, our
style of football against a very good football team.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Right.
Speaker 11 (14:35):
Hey, Kurt, So what's kind of the plan for for
Arch this week? And you have like maybe in the
protocol you have like a cutoff point. I don't that's
for the doctors, okay. And then the second part is
for kJ Lacy. What has he done over the last
couple of months you've had him traveling. What has he
done to kind of move into that number two role?
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Yeah, he's done a great job. You know. I think
one thing with kJ every time we've been in scrimmage
settings and things of that nature, call it periods on Mondays,
we do a lot of work when it's twos on twos,
threes on threes and we let these guys play. He
really performs at a high level. He's he's a gamer,
He's got a natural feel for passing the ball, he's
(15:18):
got a natural feel in the pocket and anticipating throws.
He uses his legs really well, and so to that point,
it was like, man, I can feel like, Man, the
more of this guy grows within our system, he's going
to really elevate his game as he continues to go.
And that's what he's done, you know, he's continued to improve.
I do think he's got good rapport, especially with those
(15:39):
younger receivers. Those are the guys he throws to a lot,
but there's there's great rapport that he has with those guys,
and the ball moves forward when he plays, and he's
he's a lot more vocal guy in those moments on
the field than he is off the field, and so
I know what's in there and so very encouraged by
what he's done up until this point.
Speaker 6 (15:58):
You left job not to get into the eligibility discussion.
But Vanderbilt's a really old team. They've got like fifty
guys who've or at least juniors are above. What type
of advantage in that system does that give to them?
And then how do you I guess, maybe going forward,
get an old team.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Yeah, I think that I think it's probably a somewhat
at an advantage regardless of the system. You know, veteran players,
guys who have you know, have seen more things in game,
able to make maybe quicker adjustments in game, are some
advantages to that. Older, stronger, you know, things like that.
(16:36):
You know, it's such a fine line. We want to
recruit high school really, really well. And you know, for
as long as I can remember, you know, of being
at Alabama or being on some of the best teams,
when when you recruit really well and players perform well,
a lot of them leave early to go to the draft.
When you recruit well and maybe players aren't playing quite
(16:57):
as much as they would like, they want an opportunity
to play, they leave too. Guys transfer, and then you
try to recruit really good high school kids, and so
you you know, one of the drawbacks of that is, yeah,
we're one of the younger teams in the country, and
so there's always that fine line of okay, do you
take more transfers. You know, there was a reason we
took so many, you know, interior defensive linemen transfers, and
(17:20):
we tried to get older there a little quicker, and
so I guess it's kind of on a yearly basis
of where you're at as a team and what type
of leadership you have and where's your maturity. But I
don't know if we'll ever be one of the older
teams in the country. You know, I think we'll probably
if we can continue to do what we've been doing,
we'll always be on the younger side. But I think,
(17:41):
you know, it's always nice to get older at key
spots when when you can through the.
Speaker 12 (17:45):
Portal coach last year you talked about Matthew Golden needs
some time to ramp up in the offense. It felt
like you really hit it stride around October and kept
going with it. Are you feeling that same way about
mm Mosley after a game like this where we made
some pro level catches and routes.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Yeah, no, I thought it was big it, you know.
I mean, it's been a tough, tough go for him,
you know, with the injury basically all throughout training camp
and early point of the season, and a guy that
that just didn't have the exposure to the offense and
didn't have those those those uh you know, thousands of
reps with arch and catching balls and so finding his stride,
(18:20):
finding his rhythm. I think has been big. I think
we all can see the talent now all the things
we were talking about. As much as it was a
great catch by him on that fade ball, was the
release that he used at the line of scrimmage to
create separation. I don't think we've gotten the best version
of him yet. I think he's even a better blocker
than we've gotten, which is a big component of why
(18:42):
he's here. But he is. He is a very talented player.
He's got the right mindset and approach to it all.
I think he's got good rapport in that room, and
those top four guys I think really work well together.
And it's been a nice rotation for us with Ryan
Emmett Parker and then with DeAndre and the slot, and
(19:03):
and with with Dalen being kind of that fifth guy.
And so this is kind of what we were hoping for.
It took a little longer to get to this point.
Same thing at running back, right, It's taken at a
little longer to get Cedric and Trey and there together.
But that doesn't mean it can't hit right for us now.
And so we've got to push that and we've got
to be aggressive with that of finding that right mix
(19:23):
of guys and playmakers and how we're utilizing them in game.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
David Hey, Steve with with everything that's new about college football,
I think there's been a lot of discussion to the
different ways that you can construct a really good roster.
I'm curious if there are any components that haven't changed
for you that, Hey, if you're gonna win at this level,
this this still has to be true as you look
at both of you and Vanderbilt coming into this weekend.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yeah, I mean, I think it's I think it's there's
a lot of ways of skin a cat when it
comes to building a roster, you know. And I've just
still believe in developing players in your program. I still
believe in recruiting high level high school kids.
Speaker 13 (20:06):
UH.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
And we can here at the University of Texas. You know,
we're very fortunate we've got a tremendous product to sell
to parents, to two student athletes, to to high school coaches, UH,
to agents for that matter nowadays. And then and then
you lean into your developmental process, whether it's in the
weight room, on the football field, in the classroom. UH.
With our Forever Texas program, as men, and we see
(20:30):
the benefits of those guys that come into our program
and where they get to and where they get to go,
whether it's further in their their playing career in the
NFL or or in life and opportunities uh In and
around austin the state of Texas and around the country.
On the same token, on the flip side, there's opportunities
in the portal that that you can tap into. And
(20:50):
there's plenty of schools around the country that they live
in the portal and they do a great job in
the portal. And I don't know Clark's roster well enough
to to to speak on his and Van Buil's done
a great They've built the heck of a roster, but
there's schools that live that way. I'm just not of
the mindset of living there now. We do portal recruit,
(21:11):
but I just think it's really hard to recreate our
culture every year when you're bringing in thirty new faces
from other schools who have learned a certain way. I
can bring in five to ten every year, and I
can get them assimilated to our culture because it's so strong.
But the moment you start going higher than that, whose
(21:31):
culture is it? Right? Or am I getting some other schools.
Culture is it ours? And I think about guys like
Cole Barvard, I think about guys like Hero Canoe. I
think about em at Moseley, who now they're making our
culture even better because they've bought into it, they've grown
within it, and they realize the power of it. And
(21:52):
so there's a fine line. I just know that where
our balance is, and there's gonna be years. Right. Some
years we may take four or five or transfers. Other
years it might be eight, nine, ten to eleven. I
get it just depends on what do we need as
a team. But at our core, our culture is so important.
I just don't think I can go, hey, we're just
going to the portal and we're gonna roll the dice
(22:13):
and hope they all work out, because they don't all
work out. And when they when transfers don't work out,
that's when you end up with disgruntled employees in your
locker room, because why did I leave the last spot?
If I just came here and I'm not doing what
you said I was potentially do well, they have to
do their part two. And that's why we're so selective
when it comes to the portal We've been very fortunate.
(22:35):
We haven't been perfect, but for the most part, it's
gone pretty good for us.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
Hey, coach Michael Taft took on more of a coaching
role in this last game.
Speaker 8 (22:45):
What impact did he have on the game and.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
That, well, you know, his leadership is tremendous, you know, Michael,
it was almost back to where he was day one
when he first got here, when he was the walkdown
that wasn't gonna play. He didn't change, you know, he believed,
he was confident, he knew the defense. He was always
a guy that picked other people up, and so he
just went right back into being Michael Taft, the guy
that wasn't playing. And you know, he's obviously earned a
(23:09):
lot more respect over time to where he is today
than where he was five years ago. But he's got
a ton of respect. He's constantly communicating with those guys,
you know, so that that I don't think it was
very difficult for him. It was it was just kind
of natural, And I don't think it felt odd to
the players that that Taff was in their face, you know,
talking about adjustments or how we needed to play, and
(23:33):
and so again, I just felt it was kind of
natural for him to do what he did. He could
probably be a great coach someday. I hope he goes
and does something way bigger than being a coach, right.
He deserves more than that than do what the heck
I'm doing right now, that's for sure.
Speaker 13 (23:48):
Yeah, coach, you made the change to put Aj Millwey
back up in the box on Saturday. What went into
that decision? And also what kind of impact does he
have having been up there previously with you and obviously
the years with him.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Yeah, So you know, Aj obviously was a coordinator in
his past at Akron, and then you know, we were
together at Alabama for a couple of years and had
really good rapport there, and when we first got here,
he was up top, and then I'm trying to think
of it was two years ago, a year I don't
(24:21):
remember the time. I felt like Quinn needed to have
somebody on the sidelines with him to really talk to
because I just wasn't as accessible being the head coach
and doing that. So we brought him down and there
was great rapport there. And in our five years here,
Mike Bamonte has been in our program. He was an
analyst when he first got here and now because there's
(24:41):
no limitations on coaches, you know, we made him the
assistant quarterback coach this offseason, and Mike has always been
up top over the past couple of years, and so
as as the season went on, I just felt like
man Aj knows me so well. We've been together so
long that I felt like so of the information from
him was going to be helpful for me in game
(25:04):
and real time and allow him to watch the game
as opposed to being on the sidelines with the same
view that I had. On the flip side of that,
I thought Mike could provide a little more energy and juice.
He's got great rapport with all of our players, not
only Arch, but all of those guys on offense, and
so I thought it was a win win and going
into it, and it proved that way. I thought Aj
(25:27):
was very helpful for me on game day being up top.
I also think Mike Mamonte was very helpful for our
players in the midst of the adversity we were getting
faced with. I thought his energy was really helpful, And
in turn, I don't think we missed anything with the
communication with Arch on the sidelines and making adjustments and
the iPads and things like that.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Got time for three.
Speaker 13 (25:47):
Last ones back by the camera Cord.
Speaker 14 (25:49):
Hey, coach, I know you mentioned how much of a
challenge it was. He's last couple of weeks. He's being
on a road for so long. What did you find
out about your team or your staff throughout this time period?
And also are you surprised people are still kicking the nibblet?
Speaker 1 (26:03):
You know what I found out is we are a
really close group. We're a tight knit group, and these guys,
you know what I enjoy about football. This is the
ultimate team sport. And it's not just about the saturdays
on you know, when the balls kicked off. It's it's
all the time that we spend together, and it's it's
(26:26):
all walks of life coming together, pulling for a common goal,
being committed to a common goal, picking each other up,
supporting one another. And this team does that. And you know,
you look at that locker room after the Kentucky game,
and and and how that defense never once pointed one
finger at the offense and picked those guys up, that
(26:48):
we're a team, to this locker room this weekend, to
the offense pointing out to the defense getting those stops
and how critical they were. That's that's what I love
about this group. It's it's the connectivity. This is the
closest coaching staff that we've had. You know, these guys
are these guys are in it together. We've got great
rapport with one another. They've got great connection of the players.
(27:09):
The players have great connection with one another. I feel
like there's not a guy on the team that if
he had an issue, wouldn't come to me. And so
I feel like my connection to them is very close.
And so that's the part you love in general about coaching.
But that's what we've created with this team, and this
team's had its own unique challenges. We're not perfect, but
(27:29):
that that is definitely the part that I do love.
You know. It's it's it's easy to say, don't punt
it to them, right, but you risk the you risk
the challenge of hey, we're gonna punt it out of bounds. Well,
now are you gonna you're gonna be okay with a
twenty yard punt if he doesn't hit it perfect? And
so I think, you know, the people are trying to
directional punt, We're trying to be creative and how we're
(27:52):
rushing punters and how we're blocking people and doing different things,
and a credit to coach Banks with that. I think
that group in general, confidence is of very powerful thing,
and that group is very confident, not just Ryan, all
all eleven guys are playing a very confident brand of
football and they're maximizing the opportunities. He got two punts
to really feel to return. You know, I felt like
(28:14):
the first one he might have had it had a
better chance to score on. We just didn't quite get
to the to the return. The second one he did,
and so you you only had two shots and and
one of them and one of them, you know, he
was able to score on. So I don't know, maybe
we'll only get one this week, and so we got
to execute at a high level to to try to
make it happen.
Speaker 6 (28:33):
Or a couple of days later, I'm wondering what you
think today of the hit on Arch and did you
raise it with the league at all.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Yeah, we've turned in a few plays and that's that's
not uncommon, and we're always trying to find just to
make sure that we're we're understanding of the rules. You know.
The last thing I want to do on game day
is be complaining to the officials the whole time. And
so I just want to make sure that I know
how we're officiating certain plays so that that I can
(29:02):
complain when it's appropriate, you know. And that's not a
coaches do that. We do it all the time. But again,
I don't want to waste time complaining, and so a
lot of the plays we send in is not to
say see I told you so, is to get back no,
this is why it wasn't called, or yes, it probably
should have been called. And so I haven't gotten a
ruling back on that yet, but that's why we do it,
(29:24):
and just so that the next week, when I meet
with the officials before the game, I can have that
discussion on certain issues that has arise not only in
our games, but in other games, maybe it's the opponent
that we're getting ready to play or other games around
the league, just so that there's a level of consistency
in the officiating and then I know how much time
to spend complaining. In game last one, on.
Speaker 15 (29:46):
Your right hip, Steve, you had Nick Brooks and Connor
Strow both at left guard. Can you talk about what
went into that rotation and our guys like Neto and
Nate Kibble pushing for playing time at that spot.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
So Connor was out. You know, obviously he was injured
before the plan was to play him some We went
into the game and you know, it was kind of odd.
We were planning on rotating them and then DJ got
nicked up and so Connor had to go in there.
And then then Connor went over to left guard, and
I just felt like Connor was playing better. We kind
of was like one of those go with the hot hand.
(30:23):
I thought that kind of worked out for us there.
At the end of the day. Those are the three guards,
and those are the two at left guard, and and
Nato and Nate and the other guys are all working
and if their numbers called that you got to be
ready to go. Thank Ardelle, thank you all right.
Speaker 13 (30:36):
That's long Ones head coach Steve Sarkisian
Playing a very good Vanderbilt team. I think Clark Lee
has done a tremendous job with this program. This this
this team is it plays like a team. You know.
They they they they they they know their style of play.
They minimize possessions. They they they they huddle, they shift,
they motion, They do a lot of different things offensively, uh,
(00:21):
but they limit your possessions. They're very efficient offensive football team. UH.
And then conversely, defensively, they play really well. They they
play collectively together. They've got an elite field goal kicker,
they've got an elite kickoff returner. UH. So they're they're
an all three phase team. UH, and it's gonna take
all three phases to to battle and compete. Obviously, the
(00:42):
quarterback uh is the tip of the spear.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
He's one of the more competitive, you know, players that
I've I've competed against.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
He's their leading rusher. He obviously passes the ball. UH.
He makes plays at critical moments when they need to
have it. And so he's a guy that uh, you know,
he's getting all the all the praise that he's getting
is well deserved. He's a very good football player. And
I think you know, one thing about playing quarterback. It's
not always about the passes you throw, it's not always
about the runs you make. It's about instilling belief in
(01:12):
your teammates, and instilling belief in your organization, instilling belief
in your fan base. And I think Diego Pavia has
done that for that program, and so all the credit
in the world to him, all the credit in the
world to to Clark and the start that they've had
to the season. So it's gonna be a heck of
a challenge for us looking forward to it. Like I said,
I think we've got a re energized team looking forward
to getting back home at.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
DKRU Steve the run game when it's at its struggles
this year, just curious, what do you see that you
can kind of get that going forward? And secondly, I
guessespecially you know, the last four weeks of facing three
of the top fifty run defenses, So how crucial is
going to be to have a run game, especially in
(01:54):
early downs.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Yeah, you know, I think one of the keys is,
you know, the run game. It needs to be in
Unison and we're we're you know, I thought we blocked
some runs really well the other night, and we ran
some runs really well the other night, but consistently we
aren't quite in unison that the way we need to be. Uh,
there's run timing that's involved, it's runner setting blocks, it's
(02:17):
linemen and tight ends, understanding angles of where the runs
are going, where they should hit. And so we need
to spend more time on that. You know, we need
to be we need to be diligent. And and again
to your point, you know we need the run game.
And again I thought the run game was relatively effective,
but then the game went the way that it went
and we had to kind of divert away from that,
(02:38):
and then we snuck some runs late. You know, Trey
had a couple of runs later in the game when
when we were when we were throwing it. And but
we got to be able to run the football, and
we need to be able to play second and five,
second and four football that allows us to have the
whole playbook at our disposal. Second and ten, second and
twelve is not where you want to live. And same
with being said, you know, when we call some of
our play action passes, it's okay to check the ball
(03:02):
down too, and you can find you can find hidden
yardage and checkdowns in the passing game on first and ten,
because we just don't want to be a run, run
pass team. You know, that's that's not advantageous either. We
need to have that, we need to have the right
type of balance. We need to utilize all of our
offense that way. And so that this week's going to
be very important because we need to be very efficient
as an offensive football team because the possessions are probably
(03:25):
going to be limited. You know that we're not going
to go out there and run eighty plays this week.
We're probably going to be somewhere between fifty and sixty five.
And so when you think of it that way, that's
about an eight maybe ten possession game, and so you've
got to maximize your possessions when you get them far left.
Coach did Arch practice this morning? He did not. He's
in protocol right now. We'll have more information as the
(03:48):
week goes.
Speaker 5 (03:50):
Back, Are you right, Danny?
Speaker 6 (03:52):
See if I'm sure there's challenges when you're preparing for
the other quarterbacks you face the season, But is there
anything uniquely challenging about pairing for Diego and what he
brings for this offense?
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Well, I think there's layers to what you have to
prepare for with him is one the pass game, you know,
and and his ability to find the big receiver, his
ability to find the tight end, and they're very creative
and getting him the ball. I think Two the triple
option aspect of their offense and him making those decisions
in the option game. Three is the direct quarterback run
(04:26):
game that they use and the quarterback powers and things.
And then four the ad lib plays that that he makes.
He's very good at ad lib plays. The first touchdown
last year against US was an ad lib play with
the sprint out that he ends up you know, ends
up scoring on. So you have to you have to
defend him kind of in layers, and you've got to
be very detailed. You got to have great eye discipline
(04:47):
against this group and against him, and you got to
make sure you do a great job set in your
edges or that he can get on the perimeter on
you quick middle terry coach.
Speaker 7 (04:57):
In the normal game, you'll have five to seven players
who are highlighted because of what they've done in the game.
I counted eighteen against this game. These players are all
highlight reel players. When you watch the tape, can you
talk about some of those players who had a massive
impact on the game, like forty, like fifty one, who
they won't make highlights, but they were the determinants.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
And yeah, the first guy I'm want to touch on
is Jordan Johnson Rebel. He was one of our players
of the game on special teams. And there's a guy
who didn't play on defense. All he did was play
on special teams and had a fantastic football game. You know,
he has a great tackle on kickoff coverage on about
the twelve or thirteen yard line. He has a critical
block on the big punt return that Nibblet scores on.
(05:41):
So that's an easy one to touch on right off
the bat. Marshall Lambweer another guy who was very critical
forcing those punts, the low line dry punts with a
critical block on the long punt return. Lace Jackson another
guy you touched on who I thought, you know, it
wasn't about. You know, I always say to the player,
don't count your reps, make your reps count. And you know,
(06:03):
he doesn't get as many reps as maybe as some
of the other guys, but when he gets in the game,
he's impactful. Matthew Caldwell same thing, you know. I mean,
he's an easy one to point out. And so again
there was a lot of guys that kind of fell
into that, into that mold in the game, you know,
again like Jack injuries. You know, he didn't have you know,
seven catches for eighty five yards, but he but he
(06:24):
passed protected better than he ever has for us all year.
Saturday he had some really critical catches underneath and coverages
to move the chains forward. I thought, he's he's growing
into a role that feels very comfortable for him. So again,
it's easy to point to your to the highlight guys,
but there was a lot of guys that did some
good things for Saturday night that we can build upon.
Speaker 5 (06:46):
The back left Jack.
Speaker 8 (06:48):
Uh Sark after the game, you told us you can't
keep living like this, waiting to the fourth quarter to
really crank up the intensity. Yeah, does that surprise you
that that is an issue that you're you're having to
correct now? And what are the first steps to get
in that figure?
Speaker 1 (07:00):
You know, I don't know. I mean every year you
have issues, you know. I'm sure this time last year
I was talking about something else, you know, like something
we needed to clean up or get better. At So
every year you have things, and I think that's our
job as coaches to identify where your issues are and
then try to put a spotlight on them and then
(07:20):
try to improve upon them. I say it all the time.
We as coaches get what we emphasize. So if we
want to emphasize starting better in the game, we have
to look at maybe the game plan itself. B what
are we calling in that game plan to put our
guys in position to play a little little faster where
they can go get it? And then see on the players.
You know, the players have to be energized and engaged
(07:41):
and ready to go. And I don't think that we
weren't ready to go the other night, because clearly we
started pretty fast, but then we hit a lull in
the second quarter, and so it's keeping that flame lit
and burning hot for four quarters. I have a feeling
we'll be ready to go Saturday at eleven am. You know,
we've we've been a very good morning you know football team.
We've we've performed well at at eleven a m. Especially
(08:04):
at home, and so we've got to we got to
wake up early and get ourselves ready to go. And
we're gonna have to play from the beginning. This is
gonna be a fourth quarter game. That doesn't mean you
have to wait for the fourth quarter. We need to
play all four quarters with the right right sense of urgency. Uh,
if you will, you know from from the opening kick Thomas.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
So, I guess with with arching in the protocol. This
is first time Caldwell's worked with the Ones on a Monday.
What have you seen from him and what's the challenges
of even a veteran working with the Ones for the
first time.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Well, I think that the good thing for Matt. He's
a very even, keell guy. I thought he had a
great practice today. I think, you know, the players have
a lot of confidence in him. I think it's his maturity,
his approach. You know, he's very engaged even when he
doesn't play. If you ever watched our sidelines in game eighteen,
is probably the most engaged player on that sidelines. He's
(08:58):
always picking guys up offense, defense, special teams, you know,
And so he's got a really good relationship with the guys.
And so I don't think it's like, well, who's this guy.
You know, he's in a lot of faces a lot
of the times, and so it felt very comfortable. I
felt very normal today. I thought the bigger thing for
today was that kJ Lacey got reps with the twos,
and I thought that was that was really good for him.
You know, he's a very talented player who's been growing
(09:20):
and getting better, so it was fun for us to
see him get more reps today.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Coach kind of the same thing, just what what do
you like about Caldwell when you when you brought him
in here?
Speaker 1 (09:30):
What has he shown you?
Speaker 4 (09:31):
And how much confidence do you have in him?
Speaker 1 (09:34):
You know, I think like to my point, you know,
he's a guy that has been in a variety of systems.
He he has athleticism. H it was a really good ball.
What I liked about him on his visit was probably
the biggest thing was just his demeanor, you know, his
approach to it. It didn't seem too big for him here.
(09:55):
He didn't feel entitled by any means. He was a
guy who just wanted an opportunity and and that's what
we were looking for. A guy who had taken some
snaps in college football. And then that's how he's performed,
you know, since the day he got here. That's the
way he's worked at it. Throughout camp and throughout the season,
and he's making the most of his opportunities. He's played
well every time that we've put him in the game,
you know, whether it's been at the end of games
(10:16):
with the long runs, with the passes, whether it's been
at Florida where he had to come in and throw
a ball to Ryan Wingo on an in cut, whether
it was this game. And so, you know, what gives
me confidence is who he's been, you know, and so
feel very comfortable with with Matt whenever he's in the ballgame.
Speaker 5 (10:35):
The guy seemed to gravitate to him when he comes in,
and he's come in under some adverse situations. Do you
feel that from the other guys when when he's in there.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Yeah, I think what he's done is earned the respect
of his teammates. Like I said, I think his demeanor,
who he is as a teammate. I think his relationship
with Arch is very important to that. I think I
think they have a lot of respect for him him
that way. And then you know, when you when you produce,
you get respect too, because his teammates know that's not easy,
you know, to come in off the bench and to
do what he's done in a couple of different games,
(11:09):
and so uh, they respect the fact that that he's prepared,
that he's ready, and that the moment's not too big
for him. You know, he's and so and I think
he's got great rapport with the guys, like I really do.
I just think he's an awesome teammate with these guys,
and so uh, they enjoy, they enjoy seeing him have
that success and celebrating with him.
Speaker 9 (11:30):
And yeah s, Deevel, wouldn't how many transferred quarterbacks you
even looked at before deciding on Matt And did you
find something in that offense, with the spread game, in
the passing game that you're going to incorporate more. I
don't think you're going to air rate.
Speaker 1 (11:47):
You know. I think with the thing, you know, we
we looked at a few guys. You know, everybody was
looking everywhere. I mean, everybody's trying to figure out who's
your backup whatnot. And it's hard to, I think, in
this day and age, to keep multiple really you know,
high level, five star type quarterbacks. So you got to
look around. I think no more is more telling than
what old miss you know figured out with their guy.
(12:07):
And so you know it was just felt like the
right fit honestly with Matt, you know, for us passing
game wise, that was what was needed in the moment,
you know, And we've we challenged oddly enough, we challenged
the receivers and the quarterbacks Friday night about the way
(12:28):
we needed to play the game. And I played a
fair amount of older clips, some from here of other players,
some from the last place I was at with some
of those players, and some from the current guys on
this team, of similar plays we wanted to run and
how they needed to be ran. And that was the expectation, right,
That's why they were brought here. And to those guys credit,
(12:50):
they really responded. And they didn't play perfect, you know,
there's there's there's plays they that they'd love to have back,
but man, they competed and they played fast. And we're
at our best when we play fast on the perimeter.
Speaker 8 (13:02):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
And then when the quarterback trust that play speed that
they're playing with. And I thought Art showed a lot
of trust in those guys uh Saturday, and and their
play speed and their play making showed up. You know,
Like I said, there was a couple of those those
first those two touchdown catches by Parker and Emmett. I
mean those are elite catches. Those are about as high
level catches as you can make in the red area
(13:25):
tight quarters. You any bobble in either one of those
is not a touchdown. And so the ability to make
those strong catches were big and that just builds confidence,
and that builds trust for the quarterback.
Speaker 9 (13:36):
Roger Srk.
Speaker 10 (13:37):
For a month, you've been preparing to go on the
road every week, and that mentality you need to take
on the road. Now you you come home, you're excited
about that? Is there kind of an emotional shift? Okay?
Now we got to approach it with the with the
friendly confines as opposed to be in the enemy.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
I think there's a fine line, you know, And and
games like this, I I listen to other coaches talk
a lot of the time about relying on the fans
to provide the energy into the stadium. And I know
Longhorn Nation is going to show up Saturday at eleven am,
and but we need to make sure we provide energy
for them too. And and part of that is our
is our style of play, the how the speed in
(14:15):
which we play with the violence in which we play
the game with you know, that keeps the crowd energized.
And so it's a two way street there. And so
we can't just go into this thinking, hey, we're at
home and now we got our fans and everything's going
to be great. No, they're just a they're an added bonus.
We still need to play, you know, our brand, our
style of football against a very good football team.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
Right.
Speaker 11 (14:35):
Hey, Kurt, So what's kind of the plan for for
Arch this week? And you have like maybe in the
protocol you have like a cutoff point. I don't that's
for the doctors, okay. And then the second part is
for kJ Lacy. What has he done over the last
couple of months you've had him traveling. What has he
done to kind of move into that number two role?
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Yeah, he's done a great job. You know. I think
one thing with kJ every time we've been in scrimmage
settings and things of that nature, call it periods on Mondays,
we do a lot of work when it's twos on twos,
threes on threes and we let these guys play. He
really performs at a high level. He's he's a gamer,
He's got a natural feel for passing the ball, he's
(15:18):
got a natural feel in the pocket and anticipating throws.
He uses his legs really well, and so to that point,
it was like, man, I can feel like, Man, the
more of this guy grows within our system, he's going
to really elevate his game as he continues to go.
And that's what he's done, you know, he's continued to improve.
I do think he's got good rapport, especially with those
(15:39):
younger receivers. Those are the guys he throws to a lot,
but there's there's great rapport that he has with those guys,
and the ball moves forward when he plays, and he's
he's a lot more vocal guy in those moments on
the field than he is off the field, and so
I know what's in there and so very encouraged by
what he's done up until this point.
Speaker 6 (15:58):
You left job not to get into the eligibility discussion.
But Vanderbilt's a really old team. They've got like fifty
guys who've or at least juniors are above. What type
of advantage in that system does that give to them?
And then how do you I guess, maybe going forward,
get an old team.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
Yeah, I think that I think it's probably a somewhat
at an advantage regardless of the system. You know, veteran players,
guys who have you know, have seen more things in game,
able to make maybe quicker adjustments in game, are some
advantages to that. Older, stronger, you know, things like that.
(16:36):
You know, it's such a fine line. We want to
recruit high school really, really well. And you know, for
as long as I can remember, you know, of being
at Alabama or being on some of the best teams,
when when you recruit really well and players perform well,
a lot of them leave early to go to the draft.
When you recruit well and maybe players aren't playing quite
(16:57):
as much as they would like, they want an opportunity
to play, they leave too. Guys transfer, and then you
try to recruit really good high school kids, and so
you you know, one of the drawbacks of that is, yeah,
we're one of the younger teams in the country, and
so there's always that fine line of okay, do you
take more transfers. You know, there was a reason we
took so many, you know, interior defensive linemen transfers, and
(17:20):
we tried to get older there a little quicker, and
so I guess it's kind of on a yearly basis
of where you're at as a team and what type
of leadership you have and where's your maturity. But I
don't know if we'll ever be one of the older
teams in the country. You know, I think we'll probably
if we can continue to do what we've been doing,
we'll always be on the younger side. But I think,
(17:41):
you know, it's always nice to get older at key
spots when when you can through the.
Speaker 12 (17:45):
Portal coach last year you talked about Matthew Golden needs
some time to ramp up in the offense. It felt
like you really hit it stride around October and kept
going with it. Are you feeling that same way about
mm Mosley after a game like this where we made
some pro level catches and routes.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
Yeah, no, I thought it was big it, you know.
I mean, it's been a tough, tough go for him,
you know, with the injury basically all throughout training camp
and early point of the season, and a guy that
that just didn't have the exposure to the offense and
didn't have those those those uh you know, thousands of
reps with arch and catching balls and so finding his stride,
(18:20):
finding his rhythm. I think has been big. I think
we all can see the talent now all the things
we were talking about. As much as it was a
great catch by him on that fade ball, was the
release that he used at the line of scrimmage to
create separation. I don't think we've gotten the best version
of him yet. I think he's even a better blocker
than we've gotten, which is a big component of why
(18:42):
he's here. But he is. He is a very talented player.
He's got the right mindset and approach to it all.
I think he's got good rapport in that room, and
those top four guys I think really work well together.
And it's been a nice rotation for us with Ryan
Emmett Parker and then with DeAndre and the slot, and
(19:03):
and with with Dalen being kind of that fifth guy.
And so this is kind of what we were hoping for.
It took a little longer to get to this point.
Same thing at running back, right, It's taken at a
little longer to get Cedric and Trey and there together.
But that doesn't mean it can't hit right for us now.
And so we've got to push that and we've got
to be aggressive with that of finding that right mix
(19:23):
of guys and playmakers and how we're utilizing them in game.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
David Hey, Steve with with everything that's new about college football,
I think there's been a lot of discussion to the
different ways that you can construct a really good roster.
I'm curious if there are any components that haven't changed
for you that, Hey, if you're gonna win at this level,
this this still has to be true as you look
at both of you and Vanderbilt coming into this weekend.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Yeah, I mean, I think it's I think it's there's
a lot of ways of skin a cat when it
comes to building a roster, you know. And I've just
still believe in developing players in your program. I still
believe in recruiting high level high school kids.
Speaker 13 (20:06):
UH.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
And we can here at the University of Texas. You know,
we're very fortunate we've got a tremendous product to sell
to parents, to two student athletes, to to high school coaches, UH,
to agents for that matter nowadays. And then and then
you lean into your developmental process, whether it's in the
weight room, on the football field, in the classroom. UH.
With our Forever Texas program, as men, and we see
(20:30):
the benefits of those guys that come into our program
and where they get to and where they get to go,
whether it's further in their their playing career in the
NFL or or in life and opportunities uh In and
around austin the state of Texas and around the country.
On the same token, on the flip side, there's opportunities
in the portal that that you can tap into. And
(20:50):
there's plenty of schools around the country that they live
in the portal and they do a great job in
the portal. And I don't know Clark's roster well enough
to to to speak on his and Van Buil's done
a great They've built the heck of a roster, but
there's schools that live that way. I'm just not of
the mindset of living there now. We do portal recruit,
(21:11):
but I just think it's really hard to recreate our
culture every year when you're bringing in thirty new faces
from other schools who have learned a certain way. I
can bring in five to ten every year, and I
can get them assimilated to our culture because it's so strong.
But the moment you start going higher than that, whose
(21:31):
culture is it? Right? Or am I getting some other schools.
Culture is it ours? And I think about guys like
Cole Barvard, I think about guys like Hero Canoe. I
think about em at Moseley, who now they're making our
culture even better because they've bought into it, they've grown
within it, and they realize the power of it. And
(21:52):
so there's a fine line. I just know that where
our balance is, and there's gonna be years. Right. Some
years we may take four or five or transfers. Other
years it might be eight, nine, ten to eleven. I
get it just depends on what do we need as
a team. But at our core, our culture is so important.
I just don't think I can go, hey, we're just
going to the portal and we're gonna roll the dice
(22:13):
and hope they all work out, because they don't all
work out. And when they when transfers don't work out,
that's when you end up with disgruntled employees in your
locker room, because why did I leave the last spot?
If I just came here and I'm not doing what
you said I was potentially do well, they have to
do their part two. And that's why we're so selective
when it comes to the portal We've been very fortunate.
(22:35):
We haven't been perfect, but for the most part, it's
gone pretty good for us.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
Hey, coach Michael Taft took on more of a coaching
role in this last game.
Speaker 8 (22:45):
What impact did he have on the game and.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
That, well, you know, his leadership is tremendous, you know, Michael,
it was almost back to where he was day one
when he first got here, when he was the walkdown
that wasn't gonna play. He didn't change, you know, he believed,
he was confident, he knew the defense. He was always
a guy that picked other people up, and so he
just went right back into being Michael Taft, the guy
that wasn't playing. And you know, he's obviously earned a
(23:09):
lot more respect over time to where he is today
than where he was five years ago. But he's got
a ton of respect. He's constantly communicating with those guys,
you know, so that that I don't think it was
very difficult for him. It was it was just kind
of natural, And I don't think it felt odd to
the players that that Taff was in their face, you know,
talking about adjustments or how we needed to play, and
(23:33):
and so again, I just felt it was kind of
natural for him to do what he did. He could
probably be a great coach someday. I hope he goes
and does something way bigger than being a coach, right.
He deserves more than that than do what the heck
I'm doing right now, that's for sure.
Speaker 13 (23:48):
Yeah, coach, you made the change to put Aj Millwey
back up in the box on Saturday. What went into
that decision? And also what kind of impact does he
have having been up there previously with you and obviously
the years with him.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Yeah, So you know, Aj obviously was a coordinator in
his past at Akron, and then you know, we were
together at Alabama for a couple of years and had
really good rapport there, and when we first got here,
he was up top, and then I'm trying to think
of it was two years ago, a year I don't
(24:21):
remember the time. I felt like Quinn needed to have
somebody on the sidelines with him to really talk to
because I just wasn't as accessible being the head coach
and doing that. So we brought him down and there
was great rapport there. And in our five years here,
Mike Bamonte has been in our program. He was an
analyst when he first got here and now because there's
(24:41):
no limitations on coaches, you know, we made him the
assistant quarterback coach this offseason, and Mike has always been
up top over the past couple of years, and so
as as the season went on, I just felt like
man Aj knows me so well. We've been together so
long that I felt like so of the information from
him was going to be helpful for me in game
(25:04):
and real time and allow him to watch the game
as opposed to being on the sidelines with the same
view that I had. On the flip side of that,
I thought Mike could provide a little more energy and juice.
He's got great rapport with all of our players, not
only Arch, but all of those guys on offense, and
so I thought it was a win win and going
into it, and it proved that way. I thought Aj
(25:27):
was very helpful for me on game day being up top.
I also think Mike Mamonte was very helpful for our
players in the midst of the adversity we were getting
faced with. I thought his energy was really helpful, And
in turn, I don't think we missed anything with the
communication with Arch on the sidelines and making adjustments and
the iPads and things like that.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Got time for three.
Speaker 13 (25:47):
Last ones back by the camera Cord.
Speaker 14 (25:49):
Hey, coach, I know you mentioned how much of a
challenge it was. He's last couple of weeks. He's being
on a road for so long. What did you find
out about your team or your staff throughout this time period?
And also are you surprised people are still kicking the nibblet?
Speaker 1 (26:03):
You know what I found out is we are a
really close group. We're a tight knit group, and these guys,
you know what I enjoy about football. This is the
ultimate team sport. And it's not just about the saturdays
on you know, when the balls kicked off. It's it's
all the time that we spend together, and it's it's
(26:26):
all walks of life coming together, pulling for a common goal,
being committed to a common goal, picking each other up,
supporting one another. And this team does that. And you know,
you look at that locker room after the Kentucky game,
and and and how that defense never once pointed one
finger at the offense and picked those guys up, that
(26:48):
we're a team, to this locker room this weekend, to
the offense pointing out to the defense getting those stops
and how critical they were. That's that's what I love
about this group. It's it's the connectivity. This is the
closest coaching staff that we've had. You know, these guys
are these guys are in it together. We've got great
rapport with one another. They've got great connection of the players.
(27:09):
The players have great connection with one another. I feel
like there's not a guy on the team that if
he had an issue, wouldn't come to me. And so
I feel like my connection to them is very close.
And so that's the part you love in general about coaching.
But that's what we've created with this team, and this
team's had its own unique challenges. We're not perfect, but
(27:29):
that that is definitely the part that I do love.
You know. It's it's it's easy to say, don't punt
it to them, right, but you risk the you risk
the challenge of hey, we're gonna punt it out of bounds. Well,
now are you gonna you're gonna be okay with a
twenty yard punt if he doesn't hit it perfect? And
so I think, you know, the people are trying to
directional punt, We're trying to be creative and how we're
(27:52):
rushing punters and how we're blocking people and doing different things,
and a credit to coach Banks with that. I think
that group in general, confidence is of very powerful thing,
and that group is very confident, not just Ryan, all
all eleven guys are playing a very confident brand of
football and they're maximizing the opportunities. He got two punts
to really feel to return. You know, I felt like
(28:14):
the first one he might have had it had a
better chance to score on. We just didn't quite get
to the to the return. The second one he did,
and so you you only had two shots and and
one of them and one of them, you know, he
was able to score on. So I don't know, maybe
we'll only get one this week, and so we got
to execute at a high level to to try to
make it happen.
Speaker 6 (28:33):
Or a couple of days later, I'm wondering what you
think today of the hit on Arch and did you
raise it with the league at all.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Yeah, we've turned in a few plays and that's that's
not uncommon, and we're always trying to find just to
make sure that we're we're understanding of the rules. You know.
The last thing I want to do on game day
is be complaining to the officials the whole time. And
so I just want to make sure that I know
how we're officiating certain plays so that that I can
(29:02):
complain when it's appropriate, you know. And that's not a
coaches do that. We do it all the time. But again,
I don't want to waste time complaining, and so a
lot of the plays we send in is not to
say see I told you so, is to get back no,
this is why it wasn't called, or yes, it probably
should have been called. And so I haven't gotten a
ruling back on that yet, but that's why we do it,
(29:24):
and just so that the next week, when I meet
with the officials before the game, I can have that
discussion on certain issues that has arise not only in
our games, but in other games, maybe it's the opponent
that we're getting ready to play or other games around
the league, just so that there's a level of consistency
in the officiating and then I know how much time
to spend complaining. In game last one, on.
Speaker 15 (29:46):
Your right hip, Steve, you had Nick Brooks and Connor
Strow both at left guard. Can you talk about what
went into that rotation and our guys like Neto and
Nate Kibble pushing for playing time at that spot.
Speaker 1 (30:01):
So Connor was out. You know, obviously he was injured
before the plan was to play him some We went
into the game and you know, it was kind of odd.
We were planning on rotating them and then DJ got
nicked up and so Connor had to go in there.
And then then Connor went over to left guard, and
I just felt like Connor was playing better. We kind
of was like one of those go with the hot hand.
(30:23):
I thought that kind of worked out for us there.
At the end of the day. Those are the three guards,
and those are the two at left guard, and and
Nato and Nate and the other guys are all working
and if their numbers called that you got to be
ready to go. Thank Ardelle, thank you all right.
Speaker 13 (30:36):
That's long Ones head coach Steve Sarkisian
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.