Nov. 3, 2015
Opening Statement
We are really happy with [being] 7-2 overall. If you make some comparisons from last year to this year, I think we're making some really nice strides. We are 4-1 in the conference.
We're 10th in the nation in fewest penalty yards per game and first in the Big Ten in that category, so when we talk about being a real disciplined football team, I am really proud of that stat. We are 17th in the nation in turnover margin, and third in the Big Ten behind Iowa and Michigan State.
Those are two areas that we take a lot of pride in and we think are really important to our program, on the field as well as off, the discipline aspect. I think that's been a real secret to our success, not beating ourselves with turnovers and penalties, and we need to continue to do those things.
Speaking of winning grades, our players are graded by their position coaches [after each game] and we had a season-high 32 winning grades. So, I thought that was real positive and we want to continue building on that.
Defensively, obviously the shut-out [was the headline]. We did a great job with our pursuit, our tackling and our execution grades. We eliminated big plays. Only gave up two big plays in the game, what our defense considers big plays. We were disruptive; nine tackles for loss, four sacks, and we were really good; 71 percent on 3rd down.
Individually, Carl [Nassib] is still doing some great things that are allowing him to be first in the nation in sacks, and tackles for loss, and [third] in the nation in forced fumbles. What a great story Carl has been and will continue to be because of his approach and his attitude.
Offensively, we had 14 explosive plays in the game. We also had another nine plays of 9 to 11 yards, so you can talk about a bunch of big plays in the game. A stat that I think is an exciting stat is we're eighth nationally in plays of 30 yards or more. So we've been one of the most explosive offenses in the country and that's really exciting to see.
We were seven for seven in the red zone with five touchdowns and two field goals against Illinois. This season, we're at 91 percent in the red zone, which is really good. Then, we had a great balance [offensively] on Saturday with 37 runs and 33 passes.
Areas to improve: When we didn't have success on offense it was because of droped passes, penalties, turnovers and sacks. We have to do a better job with those things. We had some easy drops and had some penalties that hurt us. We fumbled the ball twice on Saturday, but that hasn't been who we've been. We need to continue to do a good job of [not turning the ball over]. It was one of the few games this year that we actually lost the turnover battle, so we need to continue focusing on those things.
I love the effort and energy that Nick Scott and Koa Farmer are bringing to our special teams. If you want to watch something and study something, go back and watch the game again, watch those two guys on kickoff coverage, not just the tackles but even the ones that are kicked out of the end zone. They're racing down the field to see who can be the first one to that end zone and really having fun with their roles.
I am really proud of Tyler Davis. His number gets called, he comes in, does his job and does it extremely well. He is an example of a guy preparing and making sure he's ready when his time comes.
Offensive player of the week was Christian Hackenberg. Defensive player of the week was Troy Reeder. Special teams player of the week went to Koa Farmer and Nick Scott. That's the coaching staff's players of the week.
You look at Northwestern, Coach Fitzgerald is second longest tenured coach in the Big Ten with 10 seasons at Northwestern. The offensive coordinator is Mick McCall and the defensive coordinator is Mike Hankwitz, and special teams they [coach] by committee. They are a very well-coached, sound team. Very rarely do you watch the tape and they are out of position or not lined up correctly, so we've been impressed watching them on tape.
The thing that probably stands out as one of the big differences is that they have 12 senior starters on their team compared to us having five. So that's kind of where we're at. Everybody knows that. But I always kind of look at that each week because I think that experience matters.
If you look at turnover margin, we have an advantage. In penalty yards per game, we have the advantage. Field position, we have an advantage. Those are the things we look at each week
We have a real opportunity against a great opportunity to go on the road in the Big Ten and we are looking forward and are excited to doing that.
Q. How has Geno Lewis handled his decreased playing time and numbers, and what does his success the last week say about him?
JF: I'm really proud of Geno, no different than I just mentioned about Tyler [Davis]. I'm really proud of Geno because he hasn't had as many opportunities this year as he's had in the past, and to be honest with you, I think he's handled it really well. Is he happy about it? No. But does he have a great attitude? Does he come and work hard every single day? Yes. What we talk about is you can't always control the amount of touches you're going to get as a running back or the how many catches you're going to get as a wide receiver, but what you can do is make the most of the opportunities you get.
You could make a heck of an argument he's made the most out of his opportunities, especially in the red zone with going up and catching the ball and high-pointing the ball and creating touchdowns off of fades and things like that.
I'm proud of him. His attitude has been great at practice every single day. His work ethic and body language, all those things that coaches talk about, have been really good. He's taken a challenging situation for some people and turned it into a real positive, and I'm really proud of him and his growth. I also think that speaks for our team.
A lot of times when those things happen and you don't have a healthy team, you see groups of guys starting to group together; like guys that don't feel like they're getting enough playing time or things like that. Then it can start to fester, but we don't have that. We have a bunch of guys supporting one another, and what was great was when Geno scored [vs. Illinois], how all his teammates reacted. That's because he's been a great team guy. So I'm really, really proud of Geno and I'm proud of our team for how we're handling things like that.
Q. I wanted to ask you about Garrett Sickels. He's kind of the guy that gets a little bit overlooked on your defensive line. What have you seen from him on the practice field and in games this year, and how would you evaluate his year?
JF: [Garrett] just keeps growing. You could make some arguments that he's at a similar point this year to where Carl [Nassib] was last year. That may be something for you guys to do, comparing where Carl was last year at this time to year to where Garrett is this year. He works, his motor, those are the thing that's always kind of stood out about [Garrett]. His motor, how he works at practice, how he competes. He has a lot of things that you're looking for in terms of attitude, body type, athleticism and quickness. He obviously is in a great situation in terms of being able to grow in the program and in the defensive scheme while being able to be mentored by some older players that are having a lot of success.
I think you guys have heard me talk about this before with our players about leaving a legacy, and leaving legacy is not just about wins and losses, it is about how those guys approach practice every single day, how they approach the weight room and how they approach their academics. Three years from now, guys are going to be talking about when Carl Nassib was here, this is what he did and this is how he worked. I heard similar things when I first arrived at Penn State about Michael Mauti and guys like that. They leave a legacy from a leadership perspective and from a work ethic perspective.
Q. Sort of building off what you were saying about Geno, for you as a coach, as a psychology major, what have been some of the keys over the years in helping a player get through a rough stretch on the field, whether it's a guy who's been around for a while or a guy in his first game?
JF: I think the biggest thing is to create a family environment that is focused on improvement and supporting one another, and critiquing the performance and not the person. I think that's important. I think how you do that - the environment and culture that you create in your offices, in your meeting rooms are really important. I think the other thing is learning how to handle competition throughout the program. It's only going to get more and more competitive every single year, and that's kind of what's happened right now. We have more and more competition at every position and guys are handling it very well and stepping up.
I think Geno is a really good example of that. He just kind of keeps working, and obviously based on his production the last couple weeks, his role and his opportunities will continue to grow.
I think more than anything, it's having coaches that truly care about their players and the relationships that they have with their players. It's about being able to have honest, open conversations. Those conversations aren't always necessarily what you want to hear, but they're up front and they're honest.
No different than when we look back when we were younger and you had a conversation you didn't like at the time, but you look back five years later or ten years later and you get it now and you understand it.
It all starts with relationships and building that trust with the position coaches, the assistant coaches, the coordinators and the head coach. We work hard at those things every single day.
Q. What kind of changes do you plan to make this week at practice to factor in the fact that you're playing a 10th straight game?
JF: It will be very similar to what we did last week. We had a lighter Sunday. The focus was more on meeting time and walk-throughs with the vets, the travel squad guys. The non-travel did a scrimmage. Kris and I have been having some discussions about maybe opening one of those to you guys to allow you to come to and watch the non-travel scrimmage and watch the young guys go out there and play. We're looking at doing something like that.
Monday is a normal off-day, and then Tuesday, we'll go helmets and shoulder pads instead of full pads like we did earlier in the year. We'll still get some banging in there but not a lot. Wednesdays are normally helmets and shoulder pads, we'll take them all off and just go helmets and do more of a jog-through and full speed skellies and things like that.
Last week, I thought we could have done a better job of taking the running off. I thought we limited the banging but we still probably had a little too much running. So we will look to cut the running back a little bit with the skill players this week. Then, Thursday will be a normal Thursday for us: helmets and shoulder pads. We will bang a little bit on Thursday, but it'll be quick whistle, and we won't be on the field very long. We'll cut back a little bit more this week again, and find a way to go into this game physically prepared and mentally prepared. I think it's important, that at this point of the season we look at doing some of those things.
Q. Has Tyler Davis won the starting kicking job, and how has Joey [Julius] handled his struggles since Saturday?
JF: Like I mention to you guys every week, we'll look this week and see how it goes at a number of positions, kicker being one of them, and we'll see how those guys do during the week.
Obviously, Tyler came in and did a great job on Saturday, and we're really proud of him. Obviously, Joey was disappointed with how it played out on the field with the kick out of bounds and the two low kicks that were blocked. It was a combination of things. They did get push on those two [extra points], but they were very low kicks, as well. He's disappointed because he knows he can play a lot better. But Tyler did well and we'll evaluate those guys this week and see who we think gives us the best chance to be successful on Saturday.
Q. The secondary really played a solid game on Saturday against a really good passing attack. I just wondered how much of a step forward you think they took in that game, and could you also talk about the way the reserves are playing, like Malik [Golden], John [Reid] and Troy [Apke]?
JF: I think that's a good point. I think John Reid is playing a bunch of football right now as a true freshman and doing well. Troy Apke is playing more and more each week and gaining coach Shoop's confidence, which is difficult to do. [Shoop] is not a guy that likes to play a lot of guys. He wants to keep the starters in the entire game, so getting Apke some reps has been really good in building that confidence.
And then Malik Golden is kind of the same deal. He's really earned a lot of people's respect in our program. He's practicing at a really high level right now and doing some good things. So I am very pleased with those guys.
I thought we had a good plan [against Illinois]. We knew we were going to have to play a little bit more man coverage in and not give Illinois the free-access throws, which Lunt is a guy that will hit a lot of those. We knew we had to tighten the coverage down. They were still going to complete some passes against us, but I thought overall they did really well. I thought our linebackers -- obviously Reeder getting the interception and the return for over 40 yards was a huge play. The, our defensive line is always a factor in our success in defending the pass because of the pressure that they're able to get on the quarterback.
Q. Northwestern has a redshirt freshman quarterback. He's a dual-threat guy. How similar is he, and kind of compare and contrast him to the dual-threat guys that you've faced recently.
JF: He is big, strong and athletic. He's a redshirt freshman, so he's still gaining experience. They did a little bit of the zone read stuff early on in the season. They've went away from that. Most of his big runs are really just from scrambles off of drop-back passes, and he's made some really big plays there.
We anticipate and are preparing all week long that they are going to run the zone read, so that's what we'll be working on all week long for these guys. We think that's what they're going to do against us based on what they've shown and on them studying our film. We'll be working on that heavily this week. In practice we're going to do a period where our second offense with Trace [McSorley] and Tommy [Stevens] running those plays against our first team defense to make sure that they're getting the speed that is hard to get from the scout team. On top of that, we'll call our offensive plays so they're not reading a card. They'll run those plays that we have in our system to allow those guys to get that look in practice. I think that will be really helpful.
He's a big, strong guy. We were aware of him through the recruiting process, which kind of helps you get a perspective on guys you're facing. We're going to have to be ready. They're a very good football team that's won a bunch of big games already this year, and obviously we're going to play them on their home turf, so it should be exciting.
Q. Your passing game is starting to hit its stride a little bit, but statistically speaking Northwestern's pass defense has been quite strong all season. From what you've seen on film, is this one of the better pass defenses you've seen, and if so, what are they doing so well?
JF: I don't think it's one specific thing [their doing well]. I think they're good on defense because they're similar to our defense. They don't give up a whole lot of big plays. They're not out of position very often. I read Coach Fitzgerald's quotes and watched his press conference, and he talked about how we're taking a lot of shots and making big plays down the field. That's kind of what they do really well is not give those types of plays up.
So that's going to be a challenge. Their defensive line is able to get pressure on the quarterback and in the back end they keep everything in front and they tackle extremely well. They do a great job of tackling in the open field, so they'll give you the hitch and you think you're going to get eight or nine yards after the catch, but you only get six yards because they tackle well. You get a ball on the perimeter and the safety runs the alley and makes a really good tackle. They do a good job.
Their defensive coordinator has been doing it for a long time. I have a lot of respect for him. I know a bunch of guys on the staff, as well. We're very similar us in a lot of ways in terms of how they approach defensive football.
Q. Could you assess the performance of the linebackers, specifically in the context of some of the changes that have gone on since last year when you had Bell in the middle and Nyeem on the outside?
JF: Losing Nyeem [Wartman-White] and losing [Brandon] Bell at times this year and having some young guys on the field, we have performed overall really well. I think Brent Pry has done a great job of teaching fundamentals and making sure those guys are sound technique-wise, but also giving them a really good understanding of the scheme and what we're trying to get done and where the strengths and the weaknesses are of the defense and then being able to be the quarterback of the defense and make those calls on the field.
You look at Troy [Reeder], he's a guy that still hasn't played a whole lot of football. You look at Jason [Cabinda], he is a second-year player. Those guys are playing at a really high level. Manny [Bowen] is starting to come on. Jake [Cooper] is starting to come on for us right now. Getting Bell back closer to healthy has been significant for us because he's an experienced player.
I think overall the group has played really well. Von Walker is a guy that we don't talk about a whole lot but has really matured as a player and a leader in our program. Those guys are doing extremely well.
Q. What does it do for the locker room when a guy like Geno [Lewis] battles his way back into a major role on the team after struggling?
JF: Again, I don't see it that way. He's worked really hard all year long. He's had a really good attitude all year long. Has he wanted more opportunities? Yes. But the word you used, I haven't seen that. I haven't seen that. He's worked really hard at practice. I thought he's handled it extremely well. When he had an opportunity to make plays, he's made plays, and when that happens, your role is going to increase.
I've been pleased with him, but I haven't seen it the way you described it.
Q. From the nitpicking department, both kickers put a kickoff out of bounds last week and it seems to have been a problem in multiple games this year. Are you directional kicking on purpose? Is that something you feel you need to address in practice?
JF: Yes, we are directional kicking on purpose, but the direction of choice is not out of bounds.
I think you guys have heard me say this before, whether it's punt or whether it's kickoff return, kicking the ball down the middle of the field to one of probably their best athletes on the team and then putting stress on 10 guys to cover 53 yards is not ideal. So we're going to keep working on it.
Our whole kickoff coverage and our whole punt coverage designs and schemes are about defending a third of the field or maybe two thirds at the most, so those things are important for us.
Obviously you never want to kick the ball out of bounds, but sometimes against some of the opponents that we're going against, especially in punt return, [kicking it out of bounds] is not the end of the world. You punt the ball for 37 yards and it goes out of bounds with zero return, I don't know if that's a whole lot better than a 40-yard punt and the guy returns it a few yards, then you give the opportunity for a huge return.
There's a fine line. We've obviously got to get a lot better at it so we can swing the field position, which is an area we haven't been great at all year long We're making some progress, and we're making some progress slowly but surely. Saturday obviously didn't show up the way we'd like it to.
Q. You said about the linebackers earlier, I know you're a positive guy, but when Nyeem [Wartman-White] went down, did you think that Jason [Cabinda] would have stepped into and embraced this role as well as he has?
JF: Well, now it looks that way. I didn't feel that way, nor did any of us, the first game of the year when two of your more experienced players on defense go down.
You guys have spent some time with Jason during interviews or in press conferences, he's a sharp guy. He's charismatic, he's intelligent, he's confident, and he's really been that way since the day he showed up on campus. He's also a guy who already looks like a junior or senior in college in terms of how big and strong he is.
You never know until the guy gets out there and actually does it, but he had enough of the things that you're looking for in terms of traits or characteristics for that position. He had them. We also have always felt like he was a middle linebacker, although our weak side linebacker and our middle linebacker are basically both box linebackers. We try to keep them in the box as much as we possibly can, unless the ball is in the middle of the field and we're playing a true spread team. Then you're probably not going to have that guy in the box.
But we've kind of always felt like he was probably more of a middle linebacker anyway. We're able to get away with it because our weak side linebacker plays in the box so much anyway.
Q. Pat Fitzgerald labeled [Penn State's] defensive line the other day as a nightmare. I'm just kind of curious what your reaction is to hearing another coach say something like that, and as far as defenses go, where does Northwestern's pass defense rank in terms of other ones you've faced this season?
JF: I think as head coaches, you turn the film on either and take a peek at the team you're going to play, and probably the two things that jump out to you right away are the fronts, the offensive line and defensive line, and how they're playing because it all starts there. Then obviously are there any space players that scare you, a guy that gets his hands on the ball in space that can make big plays. They're the things that jump out to you right away before you kind of start looking at things in depth.
Obviously, the production that our defensive line has had with the sacks and tackles for loss are things [that jump out]. They're plays and they're stats that can significantly impact a game.
I understand what he's saying. I think they have a very, very good defensive line, as well. I think they play very good on defense. They do a great job of not giving up big plays, and whenever you can limit chunk plays, you're going to have a chance to be successful.
One of our [defensive] stats is to have three explosive plays or less a game, and when we've done that, we've been pretty successful on the defensive side of the ball. Our offensive goal is to have eight explosive plays, and when we've done that, we've been successful on offense.
They do a good job of forcing you to just take what the defense gives. You're not going to be able to do that consistently enough to beat them, and then they do a great job of tackling with fundamentals so that when you do complete one of those throws, they're going to get you on the ground without it having a significant impact.
They do a really good job. It's going to be a real challenge for us. We're going to have to be balanced like we were on Saturday and be able to run the ball, be able to mix in the high-percentage throws and then find situations where we're able to take some shots and create some explosive plays.
Q. Last week on the teleconference Bob Shoop told us that on the bus ride back from Temple Jason Cabinda approached him and said, "Put me in there." I was wondering what your reaction was when you heard about that yourself.
JF: Like I mentioned, because of his personality and his demeanor and his leadership abilities, it doesn't surprise me at all. I really hadn't heard that until someone mentioned it in the press conference, but it doesn't surprise me at all.
I also think that's where the development in your program is important, so when you do have a significant loss, you have somebody prepared and ready to step in. That's not always the case, but that's where development comes in to play. That's where recruiting comes in, because this is a contact sport and a violent sport, and you're going to lose guys from time to time. That's where that game depth that we talk about is so important, and I think we have that on the defensive line and we have that at linebacker now.
It's going to be real fun when you get Nyeem back, as well, and you have all these guys out there competing at practice every single day and competing to get the best three linebackers on the field.
Q. Saquon [Barkley] had a tremendous game against Ohio State. Then the run game has kind of struggled against Maryland, but had a decent week last week. What do you have to do to get Saquon back on track, especially facing such a stingy defensive front in Northwestern?
JF: To be honest with you, I think he's doing really well. I don't know what the stats say, but I'd have to guess he's one of the more productive backs in the Big Ten, one of the more productive backs in the country, and I think probably one of the most productive freshmen backs in the country.
I don't see it that way. I think he's doing well. I think there's also the part of what we've already all talked about; this is 13 straight weeks [counting training camp]. You're talking about a high school guy meeting the demands that we have academically, the demands that we have socially, the demands that we have from a football standpoint .That can be a lot for a true freshman.
You also had the point where he had an injury and was out a couple weeks and is still working back through all those things. We're just going to keep allowing him to grow and get opportunities, like our other running backs, carrying the ball and making plays in pass protection.
I'd say Saturday, that's probably the area it probably showed up for the first time this year where he made some mistakes in pass protection. I think if you're watching the film and don't know or watching the game and don't know what we're doing or what the play was called, which is a lot of times -- people thought Paris Palmer gave up some sacks, and they weren't Paris's. It was at the running back position.
With what we were doing and some of the movement, we were getting the quarterback on the move, and the tackle has to step down and protect the defensive tackle first and then hinge back out on the defensive end, and the running back is supposed to be right on his hip, and they kind of end up double-teaming. The running back would kind of chip his outside and tackle is on his inside, and that didn't happen a couple times.
We just keep maturing and keep growing and keep allowing them to impact the game. As we all know, he's got special abilities. The R. Kelly "I Believe I Can Fly" play down in the red zone, he's got a lot of ability. So to see him continue to grow and continue to get opportunities is going to be important for all of us.