Colorado University Athletics
Photo by: Andy Schlichting
Tuesday Press Conference Quotes
October 15, 2019 | Football
Colorado Head Coach Mel Tucker
Opening Statement
"Good morning, thanks for coming out. I felt really good coming off the practice field today. Lots of focus. Guys were dialed in, really good tempo in practice. We got good work in pads, really good work in our run game, run defense, had some good thud work in, guys were playing fast. Got our game plans in for these guys on both sides of the ball and special teams. We've had good meetings and good practice so we're on track for this week."
On If It's Easier To Shake Off A Big Loss
"No, I mean, this is not easy to shake off, but you have to turn the page nonetheless. So, that's what we do. Anytime you don't have success, if it doesn't bother you then something is wrong. There's a time to think about it and reflect, and then obviously from a coaching standpoint, you have to analyze it, break it down, grade film. Give a guy a percentage grade, you know, just overall themes of the game. On offense, defense, and special teams. Then when the players come in on Monday, a lot of them have seen it already, then you review the game with them and make the corrections, you have a correction period, and then you move on to the next opponent. It's really systematic. You have to turn the page because you have another game to play."
On How To Limit The Amount Of Penalties With The Team
"You don't make wholesale changes, because we emphasize discipline and being accountable and attention to detail every day. But you do have to make some changes and you want to make changes that you think are going to make a difference and are going to be effective. It depends on the player or the nature of the penalty or whatever it is, and then you just find different ways to get them better and eliminate them. Sometimes it's communication, you've got to have dialogue with guys, you have to show guys what they did. Sometimes that's embarrassing to guys, they feel like they let themselves down or they let their teammates down. You just have to keep it progressive and you can't keep doing the same thing over and over expecting different results."
On Facing The Air Raid Offense
"They're just throwing the ball all over the lot. They run it some, and he's [Gordon] back there and he's slinging it. They've got receivers all over the place, they're wide open. It's the pure air raid, it's not like a version of the air raid, it's just a real air raid. They really have it down to a science and they have a quarterback that can run it. He can run the offense, he knows how it works and he can put a lot of pressure on your defense. It's certainly a different type of offense and I give Coach Leach credit, he believes in what he's doing and he always finds a way, no matter where he is, or who he's got, he finds a way to move the ball and score points."
On Keeping Talent Like Max Borghi In Colorado
"We start in our state first and we're evaluating as many guys as we can. As a matter of fact, when we go back out on the road we're putting more and more coaches in the state. We need to fan out to more places, some of these places aren't easy to get to. But we've got to get to them because there's players all over the place and you don't know exactly where they're going to be. You don't want to miss guys, and then when you evaluate them, we have to know what we're looking at. That's a big part of it. Evaluating talent is a talent and a skill in itself. And so, if you see a player and you feel like he can make your team better then you got to do what you got to do to sign him. We're doing that, we're offering guys in state, we're offering guys early, we're not waiting for someone else to offer them and then say 'okay maybe we should offer them'. Some of the players are interested, some are not. And the ones who are not we're trying to get them interested, and we're continuing to recruit them, and our goal is to keep the best players in the state that can help us win, keep them home."
On Preparing For WSU's Offense
"I'm not sure if it's freelancing or not but they do have quite a few patterns that we need to match. I think he (Leach) was at Kentucky when I went against him when I was at LSU. They got receivers all over the place. I remember he had a big quarterback I think his name was (Jared) Lorenzen. He was slinging that thing all over the place. It was tough. When you have a quarterback that can really throw it and then you have about seven or eight receivers that can play. They got it. They can run it enough and that puts a lot of pressure on your defense. That is the one thing about college football. You can see a different offense every week. It's not like the NFL where guys line up in I-Pro and I-Slot. You can see wish bone one week and the next week is air raid. It is just different. You have to have enough flexibility in your defensive schemes to be able to handle it and just be comprehensive enough where your kids aren't confused. There is a challenge that is great. I love coaching defense It is a different challenge every week."
On Interesting Mike Leach Soundbites And Their Relationship
"I have kind of noticed that. How does the conversation end up going in that direction? That is pretty interesting. I really didn't know Coach Leach and I really hadn't meet him until PAC-12 media day. We had some meetings down in Arizona where all the coaches were thee. We haven't really had a conversation. He introduced himself and I introduced myself. Nice to meet you, good to know you and that type of deal. He seems like a really nice guy. He is a very interesting guy. I have a lot of respect for him. When you do what he is doing for this long that means you know what you're doing. Whatever the style is and whatever his personality is, it really doesn't matter. He gets the job done. He is very effective with what he is doing. He believes and his players believe in him. They play hard. That is the key to the drill. Everyone is different. I have a lot of respect for Coach Leach, his program and how he has stood the test of time."
On Being A Football Coach
"I had fun today in practice. Coaching is a challenge, it's very competitive. You put yourself out there and your team out there. Your resume is on the field. The higher you go, the more you are exposed. I like that challenge. When we stumble, what is next? How are we going to get this right and fix it? The only ways to fix it is in meetings or practice. Those are the opportunities you have to do it. I can't wait to get on the field and coach these guys, and really coach them. These coaches are really coaching these guys, getting after guys, teaching guys, making corrections, and getting the tempo going. I told them this was a good practice today. That is what we need to do. This is what we need to do. We need to practice like this and then tomorrow do it even better. We are going to watch the film this afternoon, grade it, plus-minus everything, take it to the players tomorrow, and then go again. Then we are going to take this show on the road. We will see what happens. That is the beauty of it. No one knows what is going to happen. This time next week we will be talking about it.
On If He Has Concerns With QB Steven Montez
"I don't have any concerns. We had a rough day but we have moved on, he looked good today and yesterday. I don't have those concerns. He is a really good player. Everyone has issues all over the country. Win or lose you are always trying to fix problems. We are no different. We stay the course and make changes along the way. There is a way to do that. Our structure, our foundation. The way we have put this thing together and how we coach our players allows us to stay the course. It is not a different message every day. It is not a different theme every day or week. It is a consistent message about how to get the job done and what we need to do to get the job done. We aren't always able to do it and execute it, but we know what it is. We can coach to that. How do we get them to that point? This is what we need to do. We know what we need to do. We need to play mistake free football. That is very important. We need to win the turnover margin. We need to do those things. We need to be able to run the ball and eliminate the explosive plays. We already know that, talk about it, and drill it. When it doesn't happen, we have to say, 'How can we fix it and get it back on track? How do we get it there?' That is where sometimes you have to make some adjustments and changes. Maybe you have to give them the overall message in maybe a different way. He is a good player and we have some good players around him. We all have to execute better. He is no different than anyone else. Whatever the mistakes he has made, he has to clean them up. He is going to do that. If he wasn't deliberate about getting better or if he didn't care than I would be concerned. He is far from that."
"Good morning, thanks for coming out. I felt really good coming off the practice field today. Lots of focus. Guys were dialed in, really good tempo in practice. We got good work in pads, really good work in our run game, run defense, had some good thud work in, guys were playing fast. Got our game plans in for these guys on both sides of the ball and special teams. We've had good meetings and good practice so we're on track for this week."
On If It's Easier To Shake Off A Big Loss
"No, I mean, this is not easy to shake off, but you have to turn the page nonetheless. So, that's what we do. Anytime you don't have success, if it doesn't bother you then something is wrong. There's a time to think about it and reflect, and then obviously from a coaching standpoint, you have to analyze it, break it down, grade film. Give a guy a percentage grade, you know, just overall themes of the game. On offense, defense, and special teams. Then when the players come in on Monday, a lot of them have seen it already, then you review the game with them and make the corrections, you have a correction period, and then you move on to the next opponent. It's really systematic. You have to turn the page because you have another game to play."
On How To Limit The Amount Of Penalties With The Team
"You don't make wholesale changes, because we emphasize discipline and being accountable and attention to detail every day. But you do have to make some changes and you want to make changes that you think are going to make a difference and are going to be effective. It depends on the player or the nature of the penalty or whatever it is, and then you just find different ways to get them better and eliminate them. Sometimes it's communication, you've got to have dialogue with guys, you have to show guys what they did. Sometimes that's embarrassing to guys, they feel like they let themselves down or they let their teammates down. You just have to keep it progressive and you can't keep doing the same thing over and over expecting different results."
On Facing The Air Raid Offense
"They're just throwing the ball all over the lot. They run it some, and he's [Gordon] back there and he's slinging it. They've got receivers all over the place, they're wide open. It's the pure air raid, it's not like a version of the air raid, it's just a real air raid. They really have it down to a science and they have a quarterback that can run it. He can run the offense, he knows how it works and he can put a lot of pressure on your defense. It's certainly a different type of offense and I give Coach Leach credit, he believes in what he's doing and he always finds a way, no matter where he is, or who he's got, he finds a way to move the ball and score points."
On Keeping Talent Like Max Borghi In Colorado
"We start in our state first and we're evaluating as many guys as we can. As a matter of fact, when we go back out on the road we're putting more and more coaches in the state. We need to fan out to more places, some of these places aren't easy to get to. But we've got to get to them because there's players all over the place and you don't know exactly where they're going to be. You don't want to miss guys, and then when you evaluate them, we have to know what we're looking at. That's a big part of it. Evaluating talent is a talent and a skill in itself. And so, if you see a player and you feel like he can make your team better then you got to do what you got to do to sign him. We're doing that, we're offering guys in state, we're offering guys early, we're not waiting for someone else to offer them and then say 'okay maybe we should offer them'. Some of the players are interested, some are not. And the ones who are not we're trying to get them interested, and we're continuing to recruit them, and our goal is to keep the best players in the state that can help us win, keep them home."
On Preparing For WSU's Offense
"I'm not sure if it's freelancing or not but they do have quite a few patterns that we need to match. I think he (Leach) was at Kentucky when I went against him when I was at LSU. They got receivers all over the place. I remember he had a big quarterback I think his name was (Jared) Lorenzen. He was slinging that thing all over the place. It was tough. When you have a quarterback that can really throw it and then you have about seven or eight receivers that can play. They got it. They can run it enough and that puts a lot of pressure on your defense. That is the one thing about college football. You can see a different offense every week. It's not like the NFL where guys line up in I-Pro and I-Slot. You can see wish bone one week and the next week is air raid. It is just different. You have to have enough flexibility in your defensive schemes to be able to handle it and just be comprehensive enough where your kids aren't confused. There is a challenge that is great. I love coaching defense It is a different challenge every week."
On Interesting Mike Leach Soundbites And Their Relationship
"I have kind of noticed that. How does the conversation end up going in that direction? That is pretty interesting. I really didn't know Coach Leach and I really hadn't meet him until PAC-12 media day. We had some meetings down in Arizona where all the coaches were thee. We haven't really had a conversation. He introduced himself and I introduced myself. Nice to meet you, good to know you and that type of deal. He seems like a really nice guy. He is a very interesting guy. I have a lot of respect for him. When you do what he is doing for this long that means you know what you're doing. Whatever the style is and whatever his personality is, it really doesn't matter. He gets the job done. He is very effective with what he is doing. He believes and his players believe in him. They play hard. That is the key to the drill. Everyone is different. I have a lot of respect for Coach Leach, his program and how he has stood the test of time."
On Being A Football Coach
"I had fun today in practice. Coaching is a challenge, it's very competitive. You put yourself out there and your team out there. Your resume is on the field. The higher you go, the more you are exposed. I like that challenge. When we stumble, what is next? How are we going to get this right and fix it? The only ways to fix it is in meetings or practice. Those are the opportunities you have to do it. I can't wait to get on the field and coach these guys, and really coach them. These coaches are really coaching these guys, getting after guys, teaching guys, making corrections, and getting the tempo going. I told them this was a good practice today. That is what we need to do. This is what we need to do. We need to practice like this and then tomorrow do it even better. We are going to watch the film this afternoon, grade it, plus-minus everything, take it to the players tomorrow, and then go again. Then we are going to take this show on the road. We will see what happens. That is the beauty of it. No one knows what is going to happen. This time next week we will be talking about it.
On If He Has Concerns With QB Steven Montez
"I don't have any concerns. We had a rough day but we have moved on, he looked good today and yesterday. I don't have those concerns. He is a really good player. Everyone has issues all over the country. Win or lose you are always trying to fix problems. We are no different. We stay the course and make changes along the way. There is a way to do that. Our structure, our foundation. The way we have put this thing together and how we coach our players allows us to stay the course. It is not a different message every day. It is not a different theme every day or week. It is a consistent message about how to get the job done and what we need to do to get the job done. We aren't always able to do it and execute it, but we know what it is. We can coach to that. How do we get them to that point? This is what we need to do. We know what we need to do. We need to play mistake free football. That is very important. We need to win the turnover margin. We need to do those things. We need to be able to run the ball and eliminate the explosive plays. We already know that, talk about it, and drill it. When it doesn't happen, we have to say, 'How can we fix it and get it back on track? How do we get it there?' That is where sometimes you have to make some adjustments and changes. Maybe you have to give them the overall message in maybe a different way. He is a good player and we have some good players around him. We all have to execute better. He is no different than anyone else. Whatever the mistakes he has made, he has to clean them up. He is going to do that. If he wasn't deliberate about getting better or if he didn't care than I would be concerned. He is far from that."
Steven Montez, Sr., QB
On Washington State's Defense
"I see a good defense and a team that definitely has the potential to get pressure up front. I think their DB's and their corners are pretty good players."
On Bouncing Back And Not Repeating The Last Time They Played At Washington State
"I think we avoid what happened last time by coming in and working every single day in practice. Coming in hard, with the right mentality, and putting in the time and work. I think that stuff definitely combats losing control and spiraling out of control, like we did last year. From what we had at practice yesterday and today, our dudes are focused and locked in. Everyone's really excited to play Washington State and to get another opportunity to play football. So, we're excited and hopefully we'll make the most out of it."
On Coach Mel Tucker Talking About The Pain Of Disappointment
"It's not just been something that he said after this game, that's something that he's been saying all the way up until fall camp started. I'm pretty sure he's been saying that since the spring. The pain of discipline or the pain of disappointment, I mean it's really true. It's really true when you sit there and think about it, so we want to put in the pain and discipline right now in practice and get these hours in and put in the hours watching film and make sure we know our opponent, so that we don't have the pain of disappointment later on. It's definitely a real and true message that resonates with us."
"I see a good defense and a team that definitely has the potential to get pressure up front. I think their DB's and their corners are pretty good players."
On Bouncing Back And Not Repeating The Last Time They Played At Washington State
"I think we avoid what happened last time by coming in and working every single day in practice. Coming in hard, with the right mentality, and putting in the time and work. I think that stuff definitely combats losing control and spiraling out of control, like we did last year. From what we had at practice yesterday and today, our dudes are focused and locked in. Everyone's really excited to play Washington State and to get another opportunity to play football. So, we're excited and hopefully we'll make the most out of it."
On Coach Mel Tucker Talking About The Pain Of Disappointment
"It's not just been something that he said after this game, that's something that he's been saying all the way up until fall camp started. I'm pretty sure he's been saying that since the spring. The pain of discipline or the pain of disappointment, I mean it's really true. It's really true when you sit there and think about it, so we want to put in the pain and discipline right now in practice and get these hours in and put in the hours watching film and make sure we know our opponent, so that we don't have the pain of disappointment later on. It's definitely a real and true message that resonates with us."
Aaron Maddox, Jr., S
On Washington State's Air Raid Offense
"It's a little bit different than other teams. They pass the ball 65 or 70 times a game and they don't run a very complex formation, they're fairly simple. They run a lot of mesh concepts and vertical concepts, so we're just staying focused and listening to our coaches about our techniques. We're just making sure that we're staying on top of each route, being able to read some of the crossing routes, because some of it can get confusing at times. Just being able to rep it over and over, walk through it before practice, going to extra meetings and coming in late at night to fix problems we messed up on in practice. That's just kind of how we've been working, just repping things out until they become natural."
On Not Having An Interception Against Oregon
"Oh, it's very important. When you win the turnover margin, you win most of your games. At the beginning of the season we started off really strong, but sometimes things don't go our way. We're just going to go back to the film and focus on why we're not getting those interceptions and what's going on. But yeah, it's a 14-point margin when you get a turnover, which is like taking seven points away from them and seven points given to your team, so it's very important to come up with those turnovers."
On His Game Last Year Against Washington State
"I have confidence going into any game, but it feels great to be able to have a game like that against a quarterback like that, but I'm not a big newspaper type of guy. That game is over, and I've moved on. But this year, it's not quite the exact same offense as last year, but it's very similar. The coaches are doing a great job of preparing me and letting me know what's going to come at me. The game last year was one of those games where the coaches kind of let me loose because sometimes I would come in on third downs and then come out, and sometimes I would only get about 15 minutes a game. The coaches did a great job of helping me prepare. I wanted to be excellent so I would come in extra and see if I could polish myself up and see if there's any anything I didn't quite know or anything I'm unsure about, just so I can play fast on the field.
On His Injury That Came Against Air Force
"I ran to the sideline, someone blocked me and kind of pushed me in the back, and it brought my momentum forward. There was a big fan on the sideline and it probably had like a four or five inch little base, so my legs slid under that base. The fan had wheels and they had a stopper on the wheels so that they can stop the wheels from rolling, and it was all metal. I found out my leg got cut on the metal, but initially I didn't know happened. I didn't feel anything and I didn't know anything was wrong. I was about to get back up and run back over to the sideline, but I saw Air Force's sideline react and they were all closing their eyes and looking away, which frightened me a little bit. When I looked down, there was a huge gash in my leg. It was really big, to the point where whenever I would bend my knee, you could see the bone. That's kind of where the confusion came from, because I was thinking I broke my bone or something like that. But I didn't hit any nerves, any arteries, and the bone didn't chip or anything. I was extremely fortunate. I initially thought my season was over, and I'm a very positive guy, but it was a very freak accident. I honestly reacted the same way Air Force reacted. I didn't really quite know if I maybe did something to my ACL or something else, but the trainers did a good job of keeping me calm in the ambulance and letting me know that everything was going to be okay. When I got to the hospital, they were checking it out and saying 'Wow, you didn't hit anything at all. This could just be a deep laceration'. I prayed on it and was thinking in my mind that I'll be fine. It ended up being a deep laceration. There was a about three weeks before coach let me get back rolling on the field, but the trainers did an excellent job of getting me back and having me do different treatments on my leg. I would come back in three times a day just to see if there was anything I could do that would help the healing process and get out there as soon as possible, but the trainers did a great job of helping me with that."
On What They Learned From Last Year On Letting The End Of The Season Slip Away
"A very important thing that I've learned from last year is that everything's not going to go your way and sometimes it's just about moving forward and continuing to get better every day. Getting at least one percent better every day is very important if you want get your craft right and get your craft better. Just coming in and working hard and being able to have that amnesia. It's just like playing defensive back, sometimes you get beat and you don't like it or want it to happen, but you have to move on to the next play. We're not really grieving on what happened last week, just locking in and moving on."
Players Mentioned
S
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