Sept. 9, 2014
Mason | Townsend & Bell | Gameday Central | Game Notes & Depth Charts
Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason, offensive lineman Joe Townsend and defensive back Tre Bell met the media Tuesday to talk about the Commodores’ next game against UMass. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. CT Saturday at Vanderbilt Stadium. The non-conference matchup will be televised on FSN.
Head Coach Derek Mason
Opening statement:
“We’re coming off a game where we faced a really good Ole Miss team and I thought (Ole Miss) played well. (Ole Miss quarterback) Bo Wallace had a really good game and defensively they got after us a bit and did a nice job getting off the field. They are a formidable team and a really good SEC team coached by a really good coach in Coach Freeze. I thought we were inconsistent defensively in getting off the field at times and that led to lost composure in terms of penalties and not giving ourselves opportunities to get off the field. We have a young defense and some young guys on offense so we’re missing some ebb and flow right now. I thought we just hurt ourselves at times. You add in the fact that at the quarterback position we’re trying to find that guy and we struggled a little bit at that position Saturday. We just have to continue to keep moving forward and I know this thing is headed in the right direction. We have great skill players, but we need to get the quarterback position solidified and we will. With this young team we are just going to keep moving forward.”
Thoughts on the quarterback situation:
“We are going to look at all the quarterbacks on our roster and see who we have available and what they can do. We should’ve done a better job of using those guys’ skill sets in terms of getting the ball in playmakers’ hands. Schematically, we have made some changes to help with that. Now, it’s open to the guy with the best arm and who is the most talented guy who can get us on track. As you saw Saturday, the run game showed a lot of positives. Our offensive line did a really good job in terms of establishing themselves. But it has to be both run and pass – it can’t just be run or otherwise it’ll be a loaded box and you’ll find yourself in long yardage situations. We need a guy who can extend plays, move the ball down the field accurately and give us a chance to have some explosive plays. I think with the options we have available to us, we’ll see some differences in terms of what we do and how we move the ball. It’ll be a great competition in practice this week and you’ll see explosive offense on Saturday.”
On the youth and inexperience:
“The one thing when you talk about having young receivers or defensive backs, because we had some miscues the other day in terms of drop coverage, are that those are growing pains. You are going to grow through those but you say to yourself `if you are going to grow, grow through it all.’ If we have to go younger and grow, then let’s grow. This is going to be a good football team and we have some great talent in this program. These kids want to win now but you have to get one before you get two, and that one we have to push towards is against UMass this week.”
On UMass:
“We’re facing a really good UMass team coming in here with a quarterback in (Blake) Frohnapfel who is a graduate student who came from Marshall. He’s 6-foot-6, with a strong arm and is tremendously athletic. He has a good tight end and weapons outside that we will have to contain. We will have to work on offense to make sure we can get points because they showed with that 38-point outburst against Colorado that they can put up points. They have two wideouts and a tight end in Todd Stafford who is 6-foot-7. He’s athletic and had two one-handed grabs last week, one in the end zone, that were incredible. We will have to know where he is at all times. Both their wideouts outside, one’s 6-foot-4 and the other is 6-foot-3, can make plays down the field. One thing that their quarterback has done from game one to game two has been become more consistent and more comfortable with his targets. Defensively, they are a 3-4 structure so we will need to speed up our tempo and get after each other a little bit in practice.”
Senior Center Joe Townsend
On multiple quarterback options:
“The thing I have to worry about is making sure the offensive line performs. Other positions are out of my control. My job is to be the best center I can be for the offense and make sure everyone is on the same page up front and that we’re clicking. Other than that, that’s up to the coaches, that choice is up to them, and I have no control over that. Whoever’s back there, we’re going to do what we have to do to protect them.”
On examining team morale as captain:
“Guys are going to be down after losing these two games like we have, and they should be frustrated. You have to know how to handle that frustration and learn how to channel it into your work ethic; let it motivate you, let it drive you, learn from it. You can’t be down too long because the great thing about the game of football is that you play on Saturday and on Sunday you’re preparing for the next opponent. You have to have a short memory and stay together. I don’t question anything about the camaraderie in that locker room; we have a very close team. We’re just going to keep working and eventually things are going to start unfolding like we planned.”
On what he learned from last year’s turn around:
“Come to practice, work hard, and have a great attitude. Do what you have to do and do your job to the best of your ability. If everybody does that then that’s what makes the whole sum of 11 competitive and successful. You can’t let outside distractions and what people say get to you. Nobody knows what goes on in that locker room, on the practice field, in the meeting room except me, Tre (Bell), and the rest of the team. It’s all about sticking together and making sure you’re doing the right thing by focusing on details and continuing to get better.”
On turning around the season:
“We’re going through some growing pains right now, and that’s OK. We are going to stick together and continue to do what we have to do to allow ourselves to be in the best position to be successful. We’re going to take it one game at a time, and that’s really all that matters. Taking it one day at a time and trying to win the game that we play and go on from there.”
On UMass:
“We can’t just say we’re going to beat this team. They’re very well coached, play hard, and get after you. This game right now is just as big as the Ole Miss game. We have to come out and do our job and hopefully we can get some things going.”
Freshman Defensive Back Tre Bell
On team outlook:
“We’re just ready to get back to work. I’m ready for this practice, and I know everyone else is ready to go out and compete. We are focusing on taking it each day at a time. We all know what we can control. Everybody has to pitch in and do their part to the best of their ability. If everybody does those things we know we can have success from there on.”
On season thus far:
“We did not expect this situation, but there is nothing we can do about it now; those games are behind us. We are ready to focus on University of Massachusetts now.”
On preparation and performance by redshirt freshmen:
I think we prepared ourselves very well as redshirt freshmen. Practicing last year, and now we are applying the same thing in a regular game.
On expectations:
“As a whole, as a defense, we definitely feel that we can be better from the defensive line to the linebackers, safeties, and corners. We definitely can be better. I think as long as we focus on our jobs we will be fine.”
On issues in the secondary:
“We know that we just have to relax, calm down, focus on what we’re doing, and just take it each play at a time. We don’t need to look forward to the next play in the second or third quarter, we just need to focus six seconds at a time.”