Nov. 3, 2015
Mason | Sims, Kentera & Williamson | Gameday Central
Head coach Derek Mason, running back Darrius Sims, wide receiver Kris Kentera and safety Andrew Williamson met the media Tuesday to discuss Vanderbilt’s next game at No. 11 Florida. The SEC matchup is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.
Opening Statement:
“This is the University of Florida week. It is a new month, time for us to ratchet up our efforts in terms of what we need to do and what’s out there. In making a couple of comments, I want to talk first and foremost about Coach (Frank) Beamer and is impending retirement at the end of the season. Coach Beamer is a man of integrity; a fantastic coach. He’s coached a lot of players, coaches and done extremely well throughout his career and I wish him nothing but well. He is one of those guys, one of those men that I’ve looked up to. He is one of those coaches who over the years I’ve had a chance to watch his teams and emulate some of the things he’s done on special teams and on defense. The game will miss him.
“I just heard about an hour ago about Coach (Ken) Whisenhunt. Coach Whisenhunt is a great man, a great friend and a good coach. He’s been in this profession for a long time and I wish he and his family well as they look for new ventures. This game is an extremely tough game and what we try to do as coaches is lead our team as best we can. All best wishes to Coach Whisenhunt.
“I want to talk about our injuries as well. We’ve had some injuries here and I want to speak to Nigel Bowden and Justin Skule. Those two young men will be out for the remainder of the year and we look forward to getting them back next season. With that, we are just going to continue to push forward. We’ve had our fair share of injuries this year, but this team needs to continue to understand that it’s the next man up mentality and we are going to continue to move in that direction.
“As I look at the Houston game we look to put that game behind us in terms of what it is. We took one on the chin. It was a tough game, but here is what I know: I woke up Sunday morning and the sun was shining and we had to get back to work and that is what you do. You take a tough loss and there is a lot to be learned in a tough loss. Turnovers played a factor in that, miscues, not playing well on third down. We all know those things. Those things are evident; It’s on paper. I think what you look at are teachable moments in this ballgame and what you can take from a ballgame like this to help your team move forward and we are going to do exactly that. We are going to take everything that can be taken from the game and let’s move forward.
“As we look at the Florida Gators and Coach McElwain. Coach McElwain has done a terrific job in his first season of getting his football program heading in the right direction. He’s had to deal with issues such as multiple quarterbacks and some injuries up front on defense as well, but he’s found a way to maintain the focus of that Florida unit and they’ve gotten better as the season has gone on, just in terms of gaining confidence. With that, it is going to be a good football game, a tough football team to play in The Swamp, but that is our challenge this week. Can we eliminate the mistakes? Can we take care of the things we need to take care of, including the football to give us a chance to play down in The Swamp. For us, let’s continue to get better. Let’s focus on the things that we can.”
On the team missing Nigel Bowden:
“In missing Nigel, his leadership and his in locker room intangibles that he brings to the table and who he is are always sorely missed, but as far as playing the game, this group has really adapted to who is in the locker room now and what they’ve had to do in terms of personnel changes. As we continue to move forward, this group is going to continue working hard, play well and hopefully work toward playing good defense.”
On if Nigel Bowden can get an additional year of eligibility:
“I don’t know that as of right now. We will explore all options and file any paperwork needed to do so, but as of right now, I’m still more concerned with Nigel getting back in the flow and doing what he needs to do as a student here at Vanderbilt.”
On Adam Butler’s status after injury:
“Adam was back at practice today and moved around well. We just have to continue to monitor him over the next couple of days to make sure he can push off and do the things he needs to do inside. Obviously, as an interior defensive lineman there is a lot of contact in there so with that, we just need to make sure he can play the game he needs to and not put him at risk. Today was a good step in the right direction for that.”
On rebounding after a loss:
“Coming off the game we came off of last week, it kind of brings everything back to center. It is just about playing the game and making sure that we are focused and that we play the game the right way and we understand what the job description entails and let’s play with the kind of energy and passion that we need. With that, we can’t get too far outside ourselves.”
On the quarterback situation this week:
“For us, we have to put the best quarterback on the field who gives us the best opportunity to be a good football team. Right now, we keep talking about eliminating the bad ball, but the thing that keeps rearing its ugly head are the turnovers. The turnover battle for us has been our arch nemesis. If we take care of the football, we put ourselves into position to be in ballgames, so for me it’s about which quarterback gives us the best opportunity to manage that. We all saw what happened to Kyle (Shurmur). We understand that he is day-to-day in terms of his process right now. Whether it be Johnny (McCrary) or Wade Freebeck, our situation is such that whoever steps on the field has got to be someone who manages the game, and believe me, we will have a game plan that will allow the quarterback to manage the game. We will put ourselves in position to score points. The thing that we have to do is take care of it.”
Darrius Sims, Jr, RB/WR
On offensive options left this season:
“There’s always room for improvement. No matter if it’s the passing or running game, there’s always room to improve. Like you said, we’re exploring options and digging deep high and low.”
On RB Ralph Webb returning to Gainesville (his hometown) this weekend:
“Well me and Ralph always have these conversations and he always loves going back home and playing in front of all his family. I’m pretty sure he’s stoked about going back there even though it was one of his dream schools, and that puts another edge on his back so I expect Ralph to run well.”
On he and Webb as a backfield offensive combo:
“We feed off of each other, but it’s not just us it’s the whole running back crew. If I’m not having a good game I’m pretty sure Ralph will have a good game and it’s vice-versa for the whole group. We just all feed off of each other.”
On playing predominantly as a RB and less on defense (near he played in 2014):
“It really calms things down for me, but they wouldn’t put me in a position that they think I wouldn’t dominate in so being a running back is really good right now; just lining up plays and being both a running back and receiver has really moved me all over the place and given me different looks in different areas of the field.”
Kris Kentera, R-Sr., WR
On causes for the recent lack of offensive production:
“We haven’t put up points which is a big deal for us. We’ve done everything that we can for us to fix that and were set up this week to be able to score some points. We have a good game plan in and I feel like cutting down on those turnovers and being able to execute in the red zone will really turn that around for us.”
On offensive plays that have not been implemented in games:
“There are plays, of course it’s our job to make the offense go. Coach (Andy) Ludwig is able to call what he wants to call and it’s not our job to speculate what he’s calling or what he hasn’t called. All we have to do is go out and make the plays.”
On frustrations over abundance of team injuries:
“You can never think like that. It’s the next man up mentality, whoever it is or how young, the next guy up has to be able to prove his worth and step up into that role.”
How QBs Johnny McCrary and Kyle Shurmer differ stylistically:
“They both have very strong arms. I used to play quarterback and watching those two throw the ball is unbelievable to see how strong an arm they have. They can make any throw on the field and are both great athletes, there’s really no difference between the two.”
Andrew Williamson, Sr., safety
On making defensive stops after turnovers:
“I mean pretty much when we hit the field that we have to keep them out of the end zone. When one side of the ball is struggling, the other side has to be there to pick it up. We’ve been pretty good at keeping them out of the end zone when we’re backed up in the red zone. While that wasn’t the case this past weekend, we just have to be better on defense.”
On Zach Cunningham (So., ILB) becoming big-play contributor on defense:
“You can just go out there and watch that man play; he’s fast, he’s physical and playing in this league at linebacker if you’re fast and physical you’ll be able to make plays. And as you can see he is making plays sideline to sideline.”
On having issues on with penalties during the Houston game:
“We just have to be better, you know. Like I said we’ve been good in the red zone, and we just didn’t get it done last game. Well bring out focus back to practice this week to be better this weekend.”
Keys to defeating the Gators:
“Last time we really just went out there and executed a game plan and played at a high-energy level, and really that’s what we have to do now. We have to match the intensity and that’s what we’re going to do.”
