Tuesday Press Conference Quotes

Head Coach Mel Tucker

Opening Statement
"Today was a good day for us, and I say that because these are the types of days that really test you, coaches and players. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are our really hard days. We call them 'bloody Tuesday' and 'bloody Wednesday' but we really get after it with the pads on. Coaches and players try to find ways to get better and improve, individually and then collectively as a team. Sometimes it's very difficult to find that improvement because it really comes down to the fine details, the inches that you need. When you're competing at a high level, success is measured in inches. And we see it week in and week out in college football and pro football, it comes down to one play here or there. I felt like there was a sense of urgency in the meeting room this morning and on the field, from our coaches and our players. I told them this morning 'This can't be just another Tuesday'. Even though we work really hard, it has got to be more than that. That was the demand, and I felt that on the field today."

On The Offensive Line's Play Against Air Force
"We had tough moments for the entire squad, whether it was O-line or D-line, but I don't see anything that I'm overly alarmed about. If it were things that weren't correctable and I felt like we were stuck and weren't going to fix it, then I would be alarmed. I don't feel that way."

On His Relationship With Herm Edwards
"He's been really good to me over the years and he's been very supportive. He's a role model, so to speak for me. I actually know coach [Marvin] Lewis better. I was at Ohio State in 2001 and then he came to the Bengals, so I got a chance to spend time with him over the years. And then once I got to the NFL in 2005, we were in the same division. Those two guys, they looked out for me."

On Facing Penalties Against Air Force
"It's been a point of emphasis for us. We have some things that we think are going to help us to eliminate those types of penalties, whether it's a procedure, or whether it's a misalignment or miscommunication on defense. Those are self-inflicted wounds, death by inches, paper cuts, so to speak. They all add up to making it hard to be successful against really good teams. We're addressing those. I don't really want to get into the specifics because it could go into a little bit of game planning and scheme and things like that. Yesterday's practice and then today's practice were long and very physical, very intense. We're addressing those issues and making sure that we can get those things fixed. When you see a lack of execution, if you see a mistake on a play, it's either mental, physical or structural. Every player is evaluated that way. Is the player capable of doing it mentally? Was it a lack of focus? Or does he not understand? Do we have to do a better job teaching it? Was it a physical limitation? Can't win the one on one? Not quick enough? Not strong enough? Not fast enough? Or is it something structural with his game, where maybe we could put them in a better position to help them. We evaluate every play like that. And then sometimes you make personnel changes. Sometimes you make scheme changes. Sometimes we've got to do a better job of teaching and we have to approach it a different way. Delivery of information is very important. Everyone learns in different ways. As we learn more about our football team, in-game situations, we're gathering, more information on our guys as we go and that helps us prepare for the next opportunity."

On Running The Ball On His Terms
"As you go through the game, you're evaluating and you're trying to correct things, you're making adjustments, it goes back and forth. They're physical on defense, we're physical on offense, it gets like that. In some cases, just maybe the time of the game has something to do with it when it's the fourth quarter and you're trying to exert your will on them, and they're trying to push on you."

On Starting Hotter As The Season Progresses
"I'm not sure if it ever becomes easier, it's just what's required. We have to make sure that we're executing our schemes, you know, offensively and defensively. Starting fast was a point of emphasis last week, and even though we got a drive and we scored, it didn't feel like it was sharp. Sometimes, even though the end result is a touchdown, it's still not what it needs to be. Like I said before, after the Colorado State game, winning is not always enough. The end doesn't always justify the means. So, we have to be realistic. We're a very realistic coaching staff, in terms of what we need to do better. Starting fast on both sides of the ball is critically important, especially when you're on the road. So, not to go into detail, but there's nothing I would like better than to come out on offense and start really fast. It's just an ongoing thing. And like I told the players, it's hard but it's fair because that's what it's all about. This is not for everybody, but we're going to get it, we're going to find a way to get it and get it done. We're going to get it done out here on the practice field, we're going to get it done in the meeting room. It's like you're heating up that steel, you heat up the iron, and you're just hammering it until you get it the way you want it. And you keep hammering, keep hammering, keep hammering. The thing about this deal is it never ends. There's no finality to it. It just keeps going on to the next season and is just a perpetual motion that never stops and that's why I love it."

On Structural Changes To The Secondary
"Yeah, it's just next man up. I've talked about it all the time with our players. We need everyone. We coach everyone. We coach our walk-ons. We coach everyone on every play, every day, all the time. And because football, unfortunately, is a game of injuries, that's the nature of the game. Guys get banged up, and the next guy has to step up."

On If Anything Changes In Preparation For Conference Play
"I mean it shouldn't. Every game is important. There shouldn't be a difference in how you approach your preparation. If there is a huge difference in preparation your program is not functioning properly, in my opinion. You have to win your conference and win your division if you want to make a significant impact. Obviously, conference games are really important."

On What He Has Learned From Two Overtime Games
"Whether it is the first quarter or overtime if you execute you have success. If you don't execute, and you are playing a good team, you aren't going to have success. I know we can play four quarters. I know we can play overtime. There is no lack of ability to strain and finish, physically. There is no lack of stamina. We can go as long as we need to go. That is not going to be an issue. It is going to be about execution and consistency. How you go about doing that is really the art of coaching and teaching. How do you move the needle? How do you capture someone's mind to get them better on a day to day basis? I really love to coach and I have a passion for coaching because coaching is teaching."

On Preparing For High-Temperatures
"We make sure we are well hydrated. That's important. You can't wait until the morning of the game and start to hydrate. We have to make sure we emphasize hydration. The way we practice is important. The template in which we practice, how we run to the ball, how we finish, our GPS numbers, and those types of things. There are some little detail things maybe. If you walk through at the hotel and normally go outside, maybe you don't go outside. Maybe you stay in and do it indoors. Just little things like that. This is an all-weather football team. That's what you have to be, heat, rain, snow or whatever. It shouldn't matter. Everyone is going to be at the same temperature."

Colorado Players

Steven Montez, Sr., QB

On Bouncing Back After Last Week's Loss To Air Force
"We came back Sunday and did our rehab circuit. Everybody showed up, did a good job, and got their bodies healthy. Then we came back Monday with some good tempo. We were in helmets so we weren't hitting or anything, but we were just mentally going through it and cleaning up our mistakes, and then we started putting in stuff that we're going to use against Arizona State. Today, it was a fast practice. Everyone was flying around and there was a lot of physicality and a lot of hitting. So, it was good. I liked how we looked the last two days after coming off that loss."

On Keeping The Same Mentality
"It's the exact same. After the game, once those 24 hours are up, you have to just wipe it clean and make it a clean slate. You have to start getting mentally prepared to play the next opponent, which this week it's Arizona State and they're a very good football team. That's what we're doing right now. We're mentally preparing to play them, and we don't have any thoughts about what happened in the past."

On What He Would Like To Improve Upon On Offense
"Just urgency, urgency at the line of scrimmage. I think our execution obviously needs to get a lot better. A few of those plays in the Air Force game we're that close to breaking a big run or to completing a big pass, so we're close, it's not like we're a long way away. We just need to clean up a few things technically and I think we'll be in good shape. I think we just need to do a better job of executing."

On What Stands Out About Arizona State
"They do some weird stuff up front. Obviously, they've had a coaching staff change as well, so they're a little bit different now compared to who they were three years ago. They still do some weird stuff up front, and they have a good defense. They have a good front seven, but they also just play good football. They're physical, they fly around the field, and they have good athletes. We're going to be prepared for that."

On The Last Two Offensive Drives Against Air Force
"We had urgency at the line of scrimmage. You can kind of tell watching the film that we're just kind of slow to get to the ball, slow to get the line of scrimmage, slow making our calls, and slow making our checks and a lot of that's on me as well. We just need to be faster, quicker, and we need to run at a higher tempo so we can keep their defense off balance. Once we start going fast, we can switch tempo and go slower, and then we can speed it back up and go fast so we keep them on their heels. I think that we need to do a better job of doing that and getting set up."

On Bouncing Back Personally
"As a senior quarterback, a lot of the time when things don't go your way in a game, it's on the quarterback. I take all the responsibility that's given to me and I go out there and try to do my best. When things don't go our way and adversity hits us, like last week, we have to bounce back and we need have to come back and work. I think that's the biggest thing, just coming back, putting in the work, putting in the time, and then I think good things will happen for us in the future."

On Starting Conference Play
"I think we approach it in the exact same way we prepare for every opponent, unless it's a Friday game because obviously we would move the week up by a day. We go through the exact same process every single week. We have helmets on Mondays, on Tuesdays we have a bloody Tuesday, which is full pads, then bloody Wednesday, and on Thursday we have no sweat Thursday's, which is no helmets, no shoulder pads, no pants, just jerseys and walk through shoes. On Friday we come back and we speed the tempo up. We go helmets and we're out there flying around. So, it's the exact same week that we have for every single opponent, it doesn't matter if it's non-conference or conference play."

Laviska Shenault Jr., Jr., WR

On The Loss To Air Force
"It's football. Bad things happen and good things happen. You can never look at the bad things and try to live your life based on that. You have to look at the good in everything. Everyone saw how we looked when we looked good. We just have to do the little things right."

On ASU's Defense
"They are a hard-playing defense. They're all ball hawks. They all go hard on every play. We just need to make sure we come in with a good mindset and a good scheme."

On A High-Tempo Offense
"We are strongest when we are going tempo and going fast, fast, fast. It wakes defenses up. I don't think they are ready for it. When we do get the tempo, it's a good thing that we have to do to help our game."

On Expecting ASU To Be Focusing On Him Closely
"I definitely expect that. That's why it is a 'team' sport and not an 'I' sport. We got the guys who can do it. Anybody that comes in can get the job done. Everyone has to execute."

On His Relationship With ASU RB And Fellow Dallas Native, Eno Benjamin
"We're not that close, but we are good friends for sure. I hung out with him at the event (PAC-12 Media Day) we went to. He is a cool dude and a homie. We are going to compete on Saturday."

Mikial Onu, Sr., S

On The Defense
"We have to limit big plays. If you take out explosive plays on defense, we've had some really good games. We have to start faster. We have started pretty slow on defense. They got a touchdown in almost all of the first drives in the first couple of games. We have to work on starting faster and limiting busts in the secondary. You do that by communicating. We have to be sharper at that this weekend, especially with [Safety] Aaron (Maddox) being gone. We have to make sure we are all up to speed. Communicating is the biggest thing for us and making sure we are lined up and ready for any adjustments. We will make sure we are ready for that this week and will be ready for the game."

On Safety Derrion Rakestraw
"He is a great player. Everyone was competing in fall camp and everyone is ready. We could have rolled anyone out there for that first game. He is a player that has some experience and is going to play well. He is going to be ready. The biggest thing for him and the biggest thing for the secondary is continuing to communicate and trying to be physical. We want to be physical. We want that to be our brand and identity. Being physical in the back end and physical in the front seven. He is going to do a great job in that, and we have the trust and confidence in him to be able to make plays."

On Getting Into Conference Play
"It is just continuing to focus. It is the start of conference play and you want to tighten your focus a little bit. You want to be a little bit more detailed oriented. For myself, I went back and watched the last couple of games and wanted to find three things that I felt like I could do better on. I want to focus on that this week. The biggest thing is always looking for ways to improve, especially going into conference play. I have a lot of areas to improve on. As a team and defense, we have a lot of areas to improve on. We are going to focus on getting those areas up this week heading into conference play. We want to play our best football going into conference."

On What He Looks To Improve Upon
"My stance needs to be better. Sometimes I get a little lazy. I get a little tired and get high. You never want to get high. You lose steps and football is a game of inches. Secondly, I want to focus on my pursuit. I have given up some touchdowns this year where maybe I was jogging or not running as fast as I could to get to the ball. Maybe if I was running my full seed the entire play I could have gotten there. Third, I want to have a lower pad level. I want to make sure I am focused on the little things every single play. It is easy to do it on the first play of the game, but can you do it play 50 and 60? I want to make sure that this week in practice I am focused on the same thing."

On Safety Sam Noyer
"He is excited. He is a big, physical, and very athletic guy. He is also my roommate. He always talks to me and is always looking to get better. We watch film together and he'll ask questions on certain plays and stuff. When he gets out there, he'll do well. We have all the confidence in him, just as much as anybody else. He has done really well so far and I'm proud of him. We are going to continue to get better, all of us."

Colorado University Athletics

Head Coach Mel Tucker

Colorado Players

Steven Montez, Sr., QB

Laviska Shenault Jr., Jr., WR

Mikial Onu, Sr., S

Players Mentioned

Steven Montez

Sam Noyer

Mikial Onu

Derrion Rakestraw

Laviska Shenault Jr.

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