Boston College Week Presser 8/26/19: Justin Fuente

Publisher's Note: Leo Peschio contributed to this transcription.

Alright, welcome. It's game week. Obviously we open up with a conference game at Boston College. Coach [Steve] Addazio has done a great job with that program. You know what you're gonna get, a tough, physical, well coached football team. Gonna present challenges in all three phases of the game. We'll have to be thoroughly prepared, first thing you see is obviously their tailback is a fine player, probably as good as there is in the country at that position. He's got everything. He's got speed, size, and athleticism. And plenty of components around him with the quarterback and tight ends and skill players so certainly gonna be a challenge for us. On the defensive side of the ball, kicking game they've been very, very good. Very sound and physical and tough. And then defensively you know what you're gonna get too from just a hard nosed defensive front. I thought they were as good a defensive as we played last year. Have a few new guys in there this year, but I'm sure it will be the same type of mentality. So we'll have to have a great week as we continue to prepare to go on the road up there.

Starting off with our typical question about Brock Hoffman. I assume you have not heard anything?

I forgot to mention that in the opener. No, I do not know anything.

Just with the depth chart I see you got [Zachariah] Hoyt one and John Harris two, will Brock continue to get reps this week? I mean could it be possible that if a decision comes down this week he could play or do you have to move on in preparation to get those other guys ready?

In short, he'll still get reps 'till we know what the deal is. If he's, if he's eligible to play I would imagine barring any unforeseen circumstances he'll play.

Justin you mentioned the running game, 216 yards given up last year on the ground against Boston College. I know you like to kinda keep your nose out of what happens on the defensive end of things, but has there been conversations about that's gotta be a point of emphasis is slowing down and stopping that run game?

Well, absolutely I mean that's the point of emphasis every single week here. Actually doing it is a challenge. When they need to they can get the quarterback involved in the run game as well, which poses a whole other set of issues, but we certainly know, that's one of the keys to the game is trying to find a way to slow down the rushing attack.

Chamarri Conner got listed ahead of Khalil [Ladler]. What did he do to kinda earn that spot, that starting spot, he was a starting player from last year that got displaced, so what did Conner kinda do to win that job?

Well, Khalil is incredibly valuable first of all. Can play all three safety positions, starter on special teams. Went through huge sacrifice last year playing beat up. So Chamarri's been working at that spot since the spring and you know continues to improve every single day. We have total confidence in being able to put Khalil in there at any time as well.

I think you've spoken in the past about the cut ups of early season games, about mistakes the teams make. Probably no shortage of material from the Miami-Florida game. Gonna do that again this year and when do you kind of get a sense of your team won't make those kind of mistakes? Or do you have a feeling going into the year?

Well, I would say it's been a point of emphasis. It's situational football, intelligent football. We try to highlight those throughout the year, throughout fall camp, throughout the spring time to continue to generate discussion about situational football and what is smart football. And it's easy to execute those things when it's seventy degrees and you're sitting and resting in a chair. But when you're out there in an emotionally charged, physical game sometimes those things don't go well and getting our kids to the point where they, they can execute what we're asking them to do in those environments is kind of one of the challenges of coaching. So we try and educate them throughout the year and throughout fall camp. When the seasons begin that's a great opportunity for us to, to capture those video clips and show it to them. So absolutely we'll do that. Every Friday we have a lengthy meeting about things that happened in the previous week. Like, I charge everybody in our staff if they see things in games that they're watching to send me a text and we just go about compiling those for the entire week. I watched the game and there's plenty of material on that game so we'll certainly use that. You know and hopefully you get, when they start to see what gives them an opportunity to win or what are, you know, winning attributes and it hasn't been knock on wood hast been an issue for us here but I think when they start to understand that it does help everybody by playing intelligent football that the light kinda goes on and they have a chance to kinda execute that on a more consistent basis.

Have you had teams that surprise you like this is a veteran team and expect them not to do that stuff or a young team?

Yeah like the one that comes to my mind is the, I was really shocked. You know when we started at Memphis it was learning how to win. You know, so it was a constant battle and by my third year we pretty much had a better understanding of all those things. I was a little shocked at the Tennessee game my first year here. You know, shocked in a bad way because I thought we were a very mature football team we jumped out to a big lead, not a big lead, but we jumped out to a lead and we sortta lost our composure out there. That was the biggest thing we talked about after that game was just our overall lack of intelligent decisions. So, anyway that was a little surprising cause I kinda felt like that group was a lot further along and when we were really pressed at that time we didn't do enough but I felt by the end of the year we were where we needed to be.

You've talked about TJ Jackson, how competitive was that right guard spot and how important, you know he's a veteran presence there you know, immediately has the most years under his belt, experience wise what did you think that kind of does, brings to the line with him starting at right guard?

Well, he's been a guy that's slowly moved into playing time, you know. He's played on special teams, he's a starter on two special teams so he's got some athletic ability. He has continued to work hard this has become important to him. We have several other scenarios where guys could move around and all that sorta stuff, but you know it's been, I'm glad we've got him and this is his time you know I guess is the biggest point you know. He's had that growth and maturation time. When we recruited him he was, you know, to say he was raw would be an understatement. I mean he was a big, athletic kid that has continued to stay after it and has earned himself an opportunity to get some playing time.

Coach back here. First of all I gotta ask you Steven Peoples one of your former players getting into the coaching game, coaching at his alma mater at Galax. Just your thoughts about him getting into the coaching game and number two did you give him any advice about coaching?

I'm awfully happy for Steven. One of my favorite people that we've ever had here or anywhere along the line. I mean just truly a guy that's worked for everything he's ever gotten whether it's scholarships or graduating from college. So happy for him. I think he'll do a fine job. He'll set a fine example. I know he's not afraid to roll his sleeves up and go to work and I do think he's passionate about the game and I think those young kids will probably be drawn to him because he's got a presence about him and I'm happy to have another ex-player in the profession. I think that's good.

Did you give him any advice?

No, not particularly. Steven is, you know he doesn't use a lot of words period. You know so his conversations are pretty brief when we do have them, but no but I am I heard that the other day or a couple weeks ago and I was awfully happy for him.

Other than the tight end spots and running back spots where you have an or between those two guys and I'd imagine that's just personnel packages and how you determine open the game. The only other first team guys that it looks like you have an or between are [Jermaine] Waller and [Jovonn] Quillin. Was it primarily those two guys competing at that one spot or were those four guys including [Jeremy] Webb and [Armani] Chatman sort of interchangeable in that one spot?

What was the question again? I mean you went through the offensive side of the ball all the ors and then you got to corner and then you asked me about the guys that weren't ors. So catch me up again one more time. Like who competed at corner, is that what you're asking me?

Well you got Waller and Quillin there and I was wondering about Webb and Chatman because all four play that one spot?

Right corner or left corner. Yeah.

So it's really four guys that are ors? More or less.

Yeah whatever. Jermaine or Jovonn will start at one corner and Caleb will start at the other. okay? The rest of the guys are competing to play right or left corner.

So it wasn't just Quillin and Waller competing at that spot?

Yeah all the guys get reps. So they are all competing.

Understood. I'm just talking about that one spot though.

I know. The differentiation between left corner and right corner is not that big a deal is what I'm trying to get at.

With the running back strategy kind of remains go with the hot hand. Did you hope somebody would kind of solidify themself as the top guy or do you feel good with what you guys have kind of done in terms of carrying the ball around?

Oh, I mean yeah I would like to have one guy that carries it 35 times and if we don't then we won't. I mean kind of, you just can't, you have what you have and you go make the best of it. I've been really pleased with Deshawn [McClease] and Jalen [Holston]. I've been really, really pleased with those guys. So we'll see how it goes. And they have both earned opportunities to play, and they are both going to play.

It sounds like Austin Cannon, Caleb Smith, and Ishmiel Seisay have been put on scholarship recently and you guys sort of publicized video of that. Do you gather the team for something like that?

We did briefly the other night. I can't remember how long ago it was. Usually I don't, but this time we did.

How valuable was a guy like Dashawn Crawford coming in as a JUCO guy and slotting him into a starting defensive tackle position a position of need?

Sure, it's been huge. That's the one spot where we knew we were going to have to play new or inexperienced people coming into this season. So getting Dashawn here and getting him working out and in our off season program and getting him acclimated to division one football it has been big. So having an extra spring with him has been very beneficial. He has benefitted from that dramatically.

Was it just Cannon, Smith and Seisay who were put on scholarship or did we have anybody else?

That day, that's it.

Anybody else any other day this preseason?

We'll see. I don't know. You never know.

Defensively, going into the opener a week before with all that experience you guys got last year and kind of the different makeup of the defense, what's kind of feeling, like, is it different? I mean last year you had no experience.

So was it different this year? Yes.

How does that manifest itself? I mean is the team more confident? What's different? How is it different?

I would say they're more confident. Yeah. I mean they're correct more times on the field. Does that make sense. When they're at practice they are doing it correctly more often than 365 days ago. Which you would hope would happen. Right? Like, they have got experience more experience at least and ya know seem to be on the same page. We'll need to stay healthy in some spots, but there are some places where we can get inexperienced quickly.

Lemme try this one a different way.

Okay.

If you're in game week now and you have already been through all the off season and you still have an or between the two guys at the one cornerback spot, what are you looking for upon game week from who your starter is there?

Like why do you guys get so hung up on who starts. Like that drives me nuts. I'm serious. Like they are both gonna play. Like who cares who takes the first snap. I know that's what I'm saying. Like I don't understand they're both gonna go play. Like I don't know how many snaps one is going to play or the other. Like I don't know how that's gonna work out but like who trots out there as the starter to me is almost irrelevant.

They care though don't they?

I don't know. I just think they want to play. I really do. Ya know like I think I'm not criticizing you guys. I think you make a much bigger deal out of it than it actually is. They're both gonna play. They've both earned the opportunity to go play. So like I don't know that anything is going to happen this week to decide who's going to play more or less. Like they're both gonna go play.

Isn't it nice based on that you have to answer all these questions about ors basically off one week?

Well we won't put another one on there again as long as I'm here I can promise you that. I'm gonna put a one deep out and a zero deep out. No I'm just kidding. Like seriously they're both deserve to play and it's not like they're sitting there chewing their fingernails wondering who's gonna go trot out there first right now. They both want to play and they're both gonna play, and that's the way it is.

This is the third straight year that you guys have opened with a semi-high profile opener. You don't have a lot of control over that, TV dictates a lot of it. Do you prefer it that way or kind of want to dip your toes in?

I feel comfortable either way. If you really think about it like our first year here we opened with Liberty and then had the, not that Liberty is not a big game, but then had the biggest game in college football history the second week and probably underperformed in that game. I think everybody would agree. Then you look at the other years you play a big game right out of the box and maybe overperformed some. So I don't know. Whatever it is we try to make the best of. I do like our philosophy and how we prepare for the first game. Meaning I think our guys are fresh and have a decent idea on what to do by the time our first game rolls around. It probably depends on the team you have and how you feel about that on any given year. How much experience you have. But Boston College would be a tremendous challenge if they were week 1, or week 6, or week 9, or 12. So we know well, they happen to be week one, so we're gonna get ready for them.