Player quotes

September 28, 2007

Drew Champlin

Just some nuggets

LB Marcus Richardson
On missing tackles and the frustrations that come with it: We work on it. We work hard on it. In practice, we try to focus on it every play and if we don’t, the coaches let you know. It hurts, I’ll tell you that much, and it wears on you. You know when you miss it and the next play, you don’t want to make the same mistake.

I heard Ray Lewis say it’s something you can’t avoid it in a game, but it’s something you can cut down on it. It may just be us playing too timid. It’s hard to say. I wish I could explain it so it could be corrected. It’s one of the hardest things to talk about. You know you work hard on it. You don’t want to do it. You try not to do it. When you do it, it’s heartbreaking, because you put so much sweat into it.

On ULM RB Calvin Dawson: He’s quick. He’s a real shifty guy and he knows his offense. He’s experienced. He’s going to be a problem in open field for anybody, so we’ve got to pursue.

On the importance of going unbeaten in Sun Belt play so no one can attach the “co” moniker: I made this point in December. We are the Sun Belt conference champions. I don’t know where the ‘co’ comes in. Last year, we didn’t do our job by losing that one game. We’ve got to make it a point to win every game in conference this season. That’s all we can do.

QB Omar Haugabook

On how the offense is working at warp-speed: Coach (Tony Franklin) wants us to be faster. It’s NASCAR (the terminology) this, NASCAR that. The only difference with NASCAR is that we snap it on the first cadence. He wants us to be ready right away so the defense can’t get set.

WR Austin Silvoy

On his concussion suffered against Oklahoma State: I’m fully healed (he missed the ULL game). We did MRIs and stuff and everything looks pretty positive. (How it happened) On the first play out route I ran. I got past the corner and I didn’t see the safety or linebacker coming and they both gave me a head shot. I ran a couple of plays and didn’t realize it, but once I got to the sideline, I was freaking out.
You went back into the game in the second half. Why? They asked me if I felt fine and I said ‘Yeah.’ I didn’t play much anyway, so it wasn’t that bad.

Q and A with Tony Franklin

September 27, 2007

Drew Champlin

Weekly thoughts from offensive coordinator Tony Franklin

Travis Boyd has done a good job at tight end so far. How does the tight end fit into your offense?
It’s hard to recruit people to fit what we want to be. We’d like to have a guy who’s 6’3, 230 and runs a 4.6, but there’s not very many of them and the ones that are there, usually we aren’t going to get. He’s done a pretty good job and catches the ball pretty well.
Thoughts on Omar
He hasn’t had a pick that was really his, which is a shame. I hate it for him. They sit in the nose there and mirror him and try to jump and tip it and they got one. He’s playing as good as any quarterback in the country, I guarantee that.
With the production of the guys at the Y position, is the opposition focusing too much on the outside guys (Gary Banks and Mykeal Terry)?
Gary’s had a lot more victories and wins versus coverage and sometimes we haven’t gotten him the ball. Mykeal hasn’t played as well as he did this summer, he had a great summer.
Terry hasn’t shown up as much as the other guys. Is he just off to a slow start?
He hasn’t won very many battles so he hasn’t gotten very many balls. Sometimes people get in a rut and they hurry and the biggest thing as a wide receiver is to not forget your fundamentals. He has occasionally forgotten his fundamentals and hurried against press coverage and hasn’t won as much. Hopefully he’ll get better.
On the O-line’s performance
They played really well. They’ve given up two sacks (of the three) the entire year. They played their best game as a group by far this past week. The best game we’ve played as an O-line since we’ve been here.
Do you think eventually (true freshman RB) DuJuan Harris will break a 75-yarder?
If we gave him the ball 20 times, he’d break at least one or two. Kenny’s (Cattouse) our guy and if he’s healthy, he’s going to get most of the carries. DuJuan’s going to be special — he has a chance to not be a good one, but a great back. It’s a matter of getting through these early stages with stuff like blitz pickup. I’m not afraid to run him 25 times. He’s a tough, hard-nosed kid that can do it.  You can tell when he comes into the game, there’s a big difference in speed. It’s a good complement with Kenny.
How many running backs do you anticipate bringing in next fall?
Two at least. We signed Stanley (Jones, last Feb.) and he’s going to be a receiver. We’ll have to go to the drawing board and sign at least two, maybe more.
How much did ULL not kicking to Leodis help you guys out?
Field position always help. We tell our guys we don’t care about field position. We like being on the 1-inch line coming out. That gives us 99 yards on that drive. We always talk about grass, and if you’re on the 1-inch line, you’ll have more grass, but field position always helps.

Thursday links

Drew Champlin

From me, a story on how the Y-receiver position is having so much success.

From the News-Star, a winless ULM is looking for a fresh start. Check out Paul Letlow’s blog. Here’s what looks to be a ULM fan blog.

From the other side, Part 5

Drew Champlin

Big thanks to Paul Letlow of the Monroe News-Star for his contributions.

****Coming later today, a little after lunch, a Q and A with Tony Franklin. This one’s pretty detailed. Tomorrow will be some player quotes

1. What’s going on with the QB position over there?
Kinsmon Lancaster is the guy. Lancaster has struggled, but he has the full support of the coaching staff. Dropped passes and miscommunications have factored into a sputtering passing game. Barring injury, I don’t see a change in the near future. Lancaster’s backup is a redshirt freshman—Trey Revell.
2. How does ULM’s defense match up with Troy’s fast-paced offense?
Tulsa won the tempo battle in the opener, running 86 plays against ULM. The Warhawks have struggled against the pass this year while giving up too many big plays. To have any success against Troy, ULM must force turnovers. 
3. What areas of Troy’s team could ULM exploit?
ULM could easily match the 300-yard average that Troy allows. The Warhawks are for real on the ground. With a veteran offensive line, star running back Calvin “Taz” Dawson, rising sophomore Frank Goodin, and quicksilver QB Kinsmon Lancaster, ULM can run on anyone. 
4. Do you think ULM will kick to Leodis McKelvin?
Not if they’re smart. 
5. Make your prediction
These games always seem to be close. I’m going with the upset. If ULM can slow things down on the ground and win the turnover battle, the Warhawks will surprise.

Q and A: Shayne Wasden

September 26, 2007

Drew Champlin

Let’s just say special teams controlled Troy’s 48-31 win over ULL last Saturday. Here’s some thoughts from special teams coach Shayne Wasden. Oh, he also coaches the outside WRs too.

I’ll be emptying out the quotebook this week too. Might have some of that later today from Troy players.

Were you surprised how much ULL kicked away from Leodis McKelvin?
On kickoffs, definitely surprised. Punts, not so surprised. They had been doing a really good job of fielding kickoffs and that hadn’t been one of our strongest areas. They hadn’t really punted to anybody so I told Leodis he’d have to run and get them because he was erratic all season. The snapper had been struggling all season so they were just trying to get them off as fast as they could.
Guess you can’t complain about that, though, can you?
Our No. 1 goal in special teams is to win the field position battle and we certainly did that. Greg did a great job punting with three of his punts inside the 10.
How did Whibbs handle both (kicking and punting) duties for the first time?
He’s a guy that can handle doing both. He stepped up to it and took care of business for us.
How much does Whibbs need to kick during the week?
Not much. That’s one thing we have to monitor because he’s such a hard-working guy and he wants to kick a lot, so we try to hold his reps to live kicking and a few at the end of practice so he doesn’t get overworked.
What about the guys you’re trying to redshirt (kicker Michael Taylor and punter Will Goggans) how are they looking?
Both of them have really strong legs. They’re going to be really good kickers for us. Hopefully Will will be our punter for the next four years and we won’t have to have three punters in four years. That’s what we’re shooting for. Michael has a really strong leg and he’s probably as good of a kickoff guy right now as Greg is, he just has to get more consistent with field goals.
If they’re pooch-kicking off, do you try to sneak in a speedy guy as an upback?
It’s a guessing game. The other night, they were pooching it one side so we swapped Dawkins over there to catch the pooch, and they kicked it the other way. We substituted Kennard Burton for Bear Woods and that was the one Leodis was able to run up and catch it. It’s a game, because you don’t know where they will kick it.
As for the two upbacks (the guys on the line in front of the two returners), what are you looking for there?
You want somebody that can catch the ball and block. You’re not looking for a great return guy. We were fine with them kicking to Dawkins because he can run the ball. Bear, not so much, but he does a great job blocking.