From John Lock Associate Sports Information Director, Southern Illinois University
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CARBONDALE, IL – Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone down in Florida with Hurricane Irma. We have over 20 players from the state of Florida so it’s been on a lot of people’s minds. We have constant contact with our players making sure that their families are OK and prepared. A lot of their families were up here for the game and they’re actually still here. We were able to get a little bit of relief from the NCAA to see what we can do as far as helping them out while they’re still here and having to stay in hotels when their flights got delayed. I appreciate the things we can do for these families because it’s on a lot of players’ minds.
Leading into SEMO, Coach Tuke (SEMO head coach Tom Matukewicz) and I have a great relationship. This summer when Joel Sambursky and his family were going through the stuff with Teddy, we all did the workout together. I called up Coach Tuke, and he said ‘Whatever we can do.’ We all did the workout together in honor of Teddy. Coach Tuke, just a ton of respect for him and the man that he is and the way he leads his program and the things that he does. This is always a tough game. We’re competitors and we’re going to prepare our teams, but I’m always rooting for Coach Tuke.
We’re coming off a win, and we have a lot to learn from last week. I think we will continue to get better. We played a lot of young guys that need a lot of reps in football games. I’m excited about the week of preparation. We need to have a great week. SEMO is coming off two tough losses and had a tough road game against Dayton this past week, but they’re coming back home and it’s a tough place to play down there. I promise that we’ll be ready and prepared. Our players know what type of atmosphere we’re going down to. Two years ago was a tough game. Our juniors and seniors remember that game pretty clearly so they know that we have to go down there and play our best football game if we want to go on the road and get a win.
Do you think that theres a little bit of a regional rivalry between SIU and SEMO?
Yeah, definitely, and not a little one. Anytime two Division I programs are 45 minutes away from each other, it’s definitely a rivalry. We recruit a lot of the same kids, and the fan bases know each other and we’re just so close. It’s a great game to have. It needs to be played every year. Home and away, it’s always good crowds. It’s a good chance for our fan base to go down to an away game.
Do you feel like your guys understand that this is like their Super Bowl?
Yes, without a doubt. It’s always a physical football game. It’s one that they’ll have a lot of emotion and excitement the first time playing at home. Your first home football game is always one you remember, and you’re ready to play in front of your friends and your family. They have everything going to play well. That’s what we need to be ready for, and our players will be prepared for that.”
They brought in 12-15 junior college guys, could that affect their play? Will they use a lot of those guys?
They have a lot of Junior College transfers, a lot of guys that come up on film. They have several guys that are back from last year, which is a good game here at home that came down to the end. We had to battle all the way through. They have a lot of new guys, new faces, on both sides. We have two games of film to see them play and understand their strengths and weaknesses.
What do you think the best thing their running back does?
He’s a good player. We looked at him when he was at junior college and he came from a great league. He came from a junior college out in Kansas where they play against the top players in the country and he was super productive. He had his best game last week against Dayton. He finishes his runs, plays behind his pads and will run for tough yardage. He’s got speed for some explosive runs and runs the ball hard.”
How do you keep your guys level headed after the huge win on Saturday?
It’s just what we do. You should get to a point in your program where you play with expectations. Each week that you continue to win, the games continue to mean more. If we say we want to be one of those top teams, we need to get used to winning. That means you have to come back and re-earn it. We’re not going to get any points because we played well last week. It all starts in practice and your mindset. You have to get on the bus and go on the road which is a tough thing to do for college football especially when you’re playing a good team.
How much do you trust the film when you’re comparing it to that it was SIU’s first game and MVSU has really struggled? How do you balance evaluating your own team?
We’ve been evaluating ourselves for five weeks and we have a good defense and offense. You get to go against each other for four weeks in a row and scrimmage and play each other. Everybody in the country has a good idea of what they have, what the talent is, and how upfront and physical they are. Week one doesn’t show you all about your team. We have a good idea throughout the spring and summer. Then, you have to go out there and play when the lights are on. Sometimes, that’s new for especially the young guys. We know what they can do and their capability are.
Defensively you need to limit some of these explosive plays, so what do you work on to do so?
Technique, fundamentals and being in the right spot. I felt like the ones we did give up last week, we were in the right position. That was the biggest thing especially on passes. ShawnTrez (Spates) was right there, and they made a good throw-and-catch. That’s going to happen again this season. But the thing I liked the most about ShawnTrez on that play was that you can see him growing. We got them tackled and made them snap it again, then ShawnTrez got two pass breakups on that same drive to get them off the field. Instead of putting his head down and pouting, he responded and made them snap it again. I want to continue to be like that. We play talented teams. They’re going to win some one-on-one matchups. We just have to win more than them.”
How do you evaluate the defensive tackles for this game (MVSU)?
They did really well. I still believe that they’re young, but they’re as good as anybody. We can roll some good players in there. The biggest thing is that we have a few of them, so we can keep guys fresh. If you’re playing every drive, those big guys get worn down. They did what they had to do.
SEMO moved the pocket a lot in the Kansas game and their quarterback throws well on the run. What challenges does that present?
He does do a good job of throwing on the run. They do some sprint-outs and some naked boots. They get him on the move. He did a good job of that last year, too. Any time you roll out, it’s a half-field read or even a quarter-field read. You’re trying to float the boundry or throw a comeback. You need to have accuracy if you’re rolling out, and he does a nice job of that.
You guys were able to establish the run game early on Saturday. What impact are you hoping to have at SEMO?
I think it’s important for the success of the season is to establish the run game. It doesn’t matter what offense you do. Whether you’re spreading it out or using two tight ends and a fullback, everybody is trying to run the football. It just opens everything up. You can throw the ball better if you’re running it. You can play action pass. You really have everything you want to do as an offensive play caller. We’re always going to try to establish the run and be physical. We feel like that’s a strength of our team. Hans (Carmien) is as good of a fullback as anyone in the country, and Jake Varble is now a sophomore and has come a long way. Last year, (the SEMO game) was Jake’s second game ever. Now, he has a full season. He’s an entirely different blocker. We have a couple other guys who also block well, and that sets up our play-action pass, which we feel like Sam (Straub) does well.
On the offensive line…
We give out an award, and we call it the BAM Award. We gave it to Jacob Marnin. I can’t stress enough how much that kid means to our program. He started 11 games for us at center as a freshman. We come into fall and have a few injuries, and Jack White starts at center, and we tell him, ‘Go play guard.’ He had zero missed assignments (in the season opener) from his guard position. He’s a solid football player and a 4.0 student. He’s never had a B since he’s been here. He’s a solid kid who is a starter in our eyes.
They play a 3-4. How well do they disguise their pass rush?
They like to play a bear front where they cover up the center and both guards. They’re obviously going to try to stop the run from the inside and make you go outside. They have great linebackers. (Chad) Meredith is a heck of a player. I love watching that kid play football. What you want in a football player, he’s been doing it for a long time for them. He makes plays. He plays hard. In the 3-4, you can get blitzes from multiple positions. You can’t get too tricky because sometimes you can be out of position. They’ll have them coached up, and they’ll bring good pressures. We have to be great in our protection calls.
On the running backs…
We feel good about all of our running backs. DJ (Davis) is a guy you can use in a lot of different ways. We’ll need them all, and hopefully they’re all getting carries. If we’re running the ball that much, that’s a good sign. It means we’re controlling the ball and controlling the tempo of the game. They have a great coach in Nate Griffin. I love that it’s all about the team. They block for each other. I put a clip up in the team meeting of Daquan (Isom) diving 15 yards down the field trying to pick up a block for DJ. That’s how it has to be for us to take the next step.
