Oct. 19, 2011
Vanderbilt Interviews & Quotes
Vanderbilt will host Army for homecoming at 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPNU) at Vanderbilt Stadium. Before traveling to Nashville, Army Head Coach Rich Ellerson and select players met with the media during the team’s weekly press conference.
Army Head Coach Rich Ellerson
(Ref.: opening statement)
“The bye week is a fundamental opportunity, a chance to go back to training camp if you will. We’re treating the second half of the season as a season unto itself. We made this absolute commitment, regardless of the situation, regardless of the scoreboard, regardless of what happened last week, we are going to treat every game like a season unto itself. We are going to stay in the moment. This is the most important game of the season because it’s the one we have this week. It’s Vanderbilt and it’s a tough one. They came out really strong this year, have struggled the last couple of weeks to get a win, but they’ve played really well against good competition. They are explosive and do all kinds of things on offense. They were explosive last week in the kicking game – blocked a kick, faked a kick, returned a kick for a touchdown. They do all the things that make you crazy in the special teams area. Defensively, they have battled everybody to a standstill. They’re a really good football team and we’re playing on the road. We’re taking a team now that’s no longer a rookie team. This is a team that’s been around the block together and knows what’s waiting for them. We may be a little bit physically immature, but we are a veteran outfit. We’re not going to use that word (immature) about ourselves anymore. We have been there, done that. It’s time for us to play Army football every week, every snap.”
(Ref.: how the team and coaches spent time during the bye week)
“For this football team, it was an opportunity to really focus on ourselves. Some of the things that have been frustrating us in that `last season’ were largely fundamental. Some of them were a result of people bouncing around to different positions and us trying to find ways to maximize what we are. I’m mostly talking about the defensive side of the ball. As a result of that, we found some guys in positions where fundamentally, they were at a disadvantage. This gave us a chance to go back to training camp and fine-tune some of those fundamentals, while getting some guys fresh and healthy along the way as well.”
(Ref.: is there an intimidation factor to playing an SEC team?)
“I think our guys are excited to play. It’s an exciting place, a great facility and a good football team. All these guys playing college football got into it for opportunities like this. We’ll be excited to play. As I said, it’s the most important game of the season for us.”
(Ref.: steps he wants to see the team take in the second half of the season)
“We want to consistently play like the Army team. We’ve seen what that looks like and know what it feels like. As I say, we don’t have anybody with wide eyes anymore. We know what’s in front of us and how challenging and demanding of a game it is. Nothing is going to surprise us. We know what it feels like to play our kind of football. We know what it’s like to be the Army team and we’re determined to be that given the next opportunity.”
(Ref.: how much will playing on the road be stressed to the team)
“We won’t say much at all. Frankly, Gen. (Ray) Odierno visited this past week and he made the comment that we always play on the road. We never play at home. We never want to play at home. I don’t think that’s been an issue. It’s incidental to the outcomes that we’ve experienced. I really don’t think that’s the cause. I think it’s happenstance. We have to handle things better in the days and moments leading up to those games. We know how to do that, so I’m not going to make a big deal about it at all.”
(Ref.: do you prepare for two Vanderbilt quarterbacks this week?)
“Yes, and you’re going to get some wildcat. They do a lot of stuff and they’re going to do some things that we haven’t prepared for. They are going to look at us and say `aha, we’re looking for an excuse to try to run this.’ They will get some of that. As I said, they will get unbalanced lines, empty sets and get in wildcat formation. They will run the ball with finesse and run the ball with power. They throw the ball in front of you and make you miss, and they throw the ball over your head. There is evidence on tape of them doing all of those things and doing them well.”
(Ref.: what has he learned about his team’s identity at this point in the season)
“This team doesn’t have a history. This week, we’re wearing the patch of the 101st Airborne Division. Their motto is `We don’t have a history, we have a rendezvous with destiny.’ We’re going to determine who we are going to be going forward. I talked earlier about playing Army football. We’ve seen what our football team can do when it’s focused in the moment, when it’s resilient, when it’s determined, when it turns off the scoreboard and the outside voices and decides to play like the Army team on the next snap. We know what that feels like, and that’s what we’re determined to be snap in and snap out as the season goes forward.”
(Ref.: the health of the team)
“We’ve had a number of guys that are lost for the season and a number of guys who are nicked up. I would like to think that four or five days off would cure all that stuff, but the truth is, we’re still carrying some wounds from the first half of the season. We are better. We certainly took advantage of it (the bye week) and it helped.”
(Ref.: assessment of Vanderbilt and head coach James Franklin)
“This team is a reflection of the coach’s personality. He’s a very aggressive, enthusiastic and energetic guy. You can see his team has fed off him. They are blowing up all over the place. Sometimes they blow up in their own face, but they’re aggressive and playing with a lot of emotion. He coaches with a lot of emotion. That has made them more competitive this year.”
(Ref.: junior QB Trent Steelman playing in his home area and where his game is right now)
“We’re not surprised that we can throw the ball a little bit. That’s something that’s been evident at practice. We try to pick our times to do that. Trent will be excited to be home and will have a few more people in the stands. But he has a pretty loyal following of family that sees him play pretty much every week. We’re going to lose ourselves in this one moment, and certainly he’ll be excited to play as he’s ever been. But, so will we all.”
(Ref.: junior QB Trent Steelman’s transition from high school to the Army offense)
“There’s a long history of guys being successful in our style of play who frankly grew up with it. Trent was used to using his legs and I think as a junior in high school, he was in the mesh. They ran some traditional triple option much like we do, so he had a better background. He had a diverse background coming out of high school and obviously had a year at the prep school in the offense. He’s started 31 games in a row now, so he’s as veteran a quarterback in this offense as there ever has been. That is a huge advantage for us. It needs to be an advantage this week. We are playing a talented opponent who we really don’t know how they will try to defend us. It will be up to us to adjust as the game starts out, recognizing where the opportunities and challenges lay.”
(Ref.: development of freshman C Ryan Powis and his transition to starting at center this year)
“We think Ryan is doing a fine job at center. That’s a key position for us, just like any guy who’s right down the middle of your team – pitchers, catchers, goalies or offensive centers and quarterbacks. These guys are key and the ball goes through his hands every play. He’s right at the heart of the offensive effort and the good news is, he has a year under his belt playing at the prep school. We had high expectations of him when he got here. He has stepped into that role and we’re not surprised that he’s being effective there. Frankly, I think we’re fortunate that he has matured as quickly as he has into the demanding Division I football game at a line position as a freshman. It’s one thing to go out there and play receiver or running back as a freshman. It’s a very different thing to play at the heart of the offensive line. It’s very demanding physically. His success speaks well of him in terms of physical toughness and overall maturity.”
(Ref.: the progress of senior LB Andrew Rodriguez coming back from missing last season with a back injury)
“He’s a solid contributor. He’s not as dynamic as he has been in the past, but he’s one of those stabilizing influences we have out there on the defensive side of the ball. If we’re going to play well on defense, and there’s an `if’ associated with that, it will be the resilience and steady hands from guys like Andrew, like Steve Erzinger, like Josh Jackson. It doesn’t matter what happens out there, those guys have been there, done that. People look to them for guidance. Andrew is a guy that is recognized by his peers as a leader both on and off the field. The fact that he’s on the field for us as much as he is is a bonus.”
(Ref.: sophomore RB Raymond Maples separating himself as the team’s go-to running back)
“We don’t try to force the ball into anybody’s hands given the nature of the offense. He is a guy we’ve always felt had some great upside. He’s starting to experience some of that. There’s still an awful lot more there I think. Ray would be the first to say that. We like the ball in his hands, but we like the ball in a lot of guys’ hands.”
Junior QB Trent Steelman
(Ref.: how the bye week helped the team)
“It was pivotal. It came at the right time, I believe. We had a couple guys banged up. It was good to get everybody back and get everybody rested up. We’re going to need these guys to come back in order for us to be successful in the second season.”
(Ref.: importance of winning on the road against an SEC school)
“It’s everything. It’s a chance for us to get our confidence back up. It’s a chance for us to make a statement on the road against a quality opponent from the SEC. It’s just big for the attitude and demeanor of this team. We have to be able to play in any adverse situation all over the country. Going on the road shouldn’t affect us at all. We’ve been in these types of situations. We’ve been in adverse situations, but we just need to be able to handle them a lot better.”
(Ref.: the emergence of the passing game)
“It’s a big part of our offense and it’s definitely something to build on. We know we have the receivers capable of making the plays and we have the offensive line capable of protecting. It’s just going to be another big asset to our offense. It complements our run game that much better. If we can go out and hit eight or nine passes during the games, it will improve us.”
Freshman RB Larry Dixon
(Ref.: goals for the second half of the season)
“I’m not where I want us to be. No one is happy with the 2-4 record, so all we’re concentrating on now is winning every week.”
(Ref.: playing against Vanderbilt)
“It’s Division I football, so whenever you get to take on an opponent like Vanderbilt you kind of realize that you’re playing Division I football. I’m happy that we have the ability to play an opponent like that, and we just have go out and play a good football game.”
(Ref.: what the offense has to improve in the second half of the season)
“Ball security is what we’ve been talking about all week. We’re in the top five in the nation rushing, so I believe if we just hold onto the ball a lot of those games are ours.”
Senior LB Andrew Rodriguez
(Ref.: what the defense has to improve on moving forward)
“As a team, we’re just focusing on what we can do this week. We talk about it being a new season because we had our bye week right in the middle; it splits it up six and six. In reality, the only game we can control is this week. We’re trying to prepare for a lot of the different weapons that Vanderbilt has, and see what we can do to minimize what they do and get our offense a few more opportunities to play.”
(Ref.: preparing to face the Vanderbilt offense)
“They have multiple sets, they use a lot of different personnel, who are good at different things. They like to utilize and take advantage of that when they can. They’re a well-coached team with some good schemes and some good athletes.”
(Ref.: playing both linebacker and defensive end)
“It’s a lot of fun to be able to do a lot of different things. It creates a lot of complexities for the defense and hopefully screws up the opposing offense. That’s what we’re trying to do there, just mix it up a little bit and keep them off guard.”
