Troy University Athletics
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
DT
/ Football
CB
/ Football
OL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
CB
/ Football
K/P
/ Football
OL
/ Football
DE
/ Football
DE
/ Football
QB
/ Football
K
/ Football
DE
/ FootballNeal Brown Press Conference - ULM Game
11/2/2015 4:04:00 PM | Football
Head coach Neal Brown
Opening statement…
Good afternoon, thank y'all for being here. Tough, emotional loss on Saturday - I thought our coaching staff did a tremendous job getting our guys ready for Saturday. I thought our guys were prepared and we had really good schemes in place, game plans, in all three phases. I'm proud of our team. I think we played really hard. We competed. We are showing signs of growth; I think that's clear. I think we are embracing the next-play attitude that we've really stressed since the Idaho game. We did a really nice job handling a tough traveling schedule – going all the way west to Las Cruces, and then coming back as far east as we could go to Boone. I thought they did a nice job handling that.
Â
I think we are showing signs of maturity. Obviously, the first series of the game didn't go the way we wanted it to – three plays and then a pick. It really wasn't a bad play by Brandon (Silvers), but it was more a good play by their defensive end. So we get down in the hole 7-0 and we're able to fight back and take the game into overtime and absolutely have a chance to win. We are beat up a little bit right now; we were beat up on Saturday. We had a lot of guys step up and make plays.
Â
Quick review- special teams wise we played really solid and we have for the most part all year, with the exception of the first half of Mississippi State. Jed Solomon did a great job – 7-of-7 from field goals and PATs. Kickoffs did a tremendous job. Jed had a great kick and Jalen Harris made a great play on the onside we did at the opening of the second half. Then, Ryan Kay for the second week in a row was really solid – 44.5 average per punt, and we had really good operations.
Â
Defensively, I feel like we did a really good job holding Appalachian State below their season average. They are really good rushing the football, and they ran the ball more on us than we would have liked, but we did a better job than most teams have on them. I think we had some guys step up – Jamal Stadom, Seth Calloway, Sam Lebbie – we were without Tyler Roberts, who is the heart and soul of our defense, and the most productive player on our whole football team. I thought those guys stepped up. LaMarcus Farmer has played well for two weeks in a row. We have to tackle better. That is something we didn't do a very good job of on Saturday afternoon. We have to do a better job overall against the run. We did limit their big plays and we were very successful on third down.
Â
Offensively, looking back, this is the second week in a row we have played good offensive football. I think we have scored 93 points in the last two weeks combined. Appalachian State is very good on defense- the best defense in our league, number seven in the country coming in. We had the highest yards against them. We tied the highest point total (41, Clemson). Adam (Prendergast) told me the previous six, Group of Five teams they've played scored a combined 43 points against them, and we scored 41 in a single game. So, we played with really good tempo at 88 plays, 25 first downs and zero offensive penalties. We played a lot of the game without Brandon Burks, who got banged up a little bit. I thought (Andre) Flakes stepped in and played really well. Brandon Silvers gave us a chance. He has to eliminate that second interception – that was really bad. I think he is maturing as a player. I think you're seeing that. Right after both turnovers, he came back and led us on scoring drives. So, that is a sign of him.
Â
Overall, I'm disappointed in the outcome, but I felt like we had a great shot. I felt that all week. I thought our guys; I could see us growing as a football team, and I thought we had a chance. I'm encouraged by our improvement over the last two weeks. They are the best team we've seen in the league, without question. We had a lot of opportunities to win the game, but at the end of the day we didn't and there are a lot of reasons why we have lost three close games that we need to get corrected.
Â
Moving on to ULM – coming back home. It seems like forever since we've played at home. It's a good matchup. They're struggling a bit, as well as are we. Both of us are hunting a quality win. ULM has had Troy's number the last several years and that is something that we have to change.
Â
Offensively, they are going to present a unique challenge for us. We haven't really played a team, other than Idaho, that is a pass-first unit. They will be past first team – a lot of empty formations, a lot of unbalanced. Key players – they have a really good receiving corps. I think maybe that's their best unit on their football team, definitely on offense. They are going to get their leading receiver back, (Rashon) Ceaser. He played early in the year – averaged about 90 yards per game. They have a kid (Ajalen) Holley who is leading the team in receptions who is a good player. Their quarterback (Garrett) Smith is a guy who makes a lot of plays with his feet. As you know, those guys are the ones that have given us a lot of trouble this year.
Â
Defensively, they have played good defense there for a long time. They play a unique style – three-down team that really uses a lot of five and six man pressures - a lot of man coverage. They have played Troy really well in the past. We played them last year at Kentucky. They did a nice job. We were able to win the game handedly, but they did a really nice job against us defensively. They have some good players. Their nose tackle – (Gerrand) Johnson was an All-American candidate a few years in a row and first team All-Sun Belt. Linebacker, Hunter Kissinger, is a guy that makes a ton of plays. And they have a guy that plays safety; they call it the Hawk, named Mitch Lane that is a really good player and made a lot of tackles against us at Kentucky last year.
Â
So, a good challenge this week. The guys are looking forward to it. I think we will bounce back and put a third week in a row of playing really good football.
Â
On the offensive line changing…
We feel like when we play against a team that has a heavy nose guard that we have to put Dalton (Bennett) back there at center. And Dalton did a nice job on directing traffic. He's been our most consistent offensive lineman all year, the way he and Antonio Garcia play. The rest of it, we just go with the hot hand. There have been some hits and some misses so continuity is something that we haven't found and we're just rewarding guys that are practicing well. Last week we started Dalton at center. Xavier Fields started at right guard and (Johnathan) Boring started at left guard. This week (Deontae) Crumitie will have a chance to play, along with Luke Lawrence.
Â
Status of Brandon Burks and Tyler Roberts…
Brandon (Burks) will play. We have to do a good job of taking care of him this week, but he'll play in the game and he'll play well. Tyler (Roberts) call it cautiously optimistic. Thought there would be a chance he would play last week, but didn't progress as well as we would like, but we're cautiously optimistic. I think he'll be able to practice midweek.
Â
On returning to Veterans Memorial Stadium…
We're excited. I'm looking forward to getting back and getting engaged with the student body this week and really reaching out to them and getting them here. We need local people here in the Troy, Dothan and Montgomery areas to come out and support us. The one thing is you're going to see an exciting game. All of our games, especially at home have come down to the last drive. Every game that we've played in the league has come down to the last possession with the exception of New Mexico State, so you're going to see a competitive game. I think our students are going to turn out again. We've got Military Appreciation Day, both my grandparents served and we've got a lot of kids on our team that are military families, so I know our guys are looking forward to that as well.
Â
On changes with pregame…
Something that's really simple, we started treating pregame warm-ups like practice. We're coaching our guys hard during pregame warm-ups. We're putting more emphasis on it from an effort standpoint. We're making them actually break a sweat during pregame, just a heavy emphasis on it. Even though we came out and threw a pick on the first drive, our defense played well in the first quarter and we were able to answer, come back and get seven points rather quickly. We got off to really good start against New Mexico State too, so that's been working out.
Â
On keeping the players focused…
When you only win two games, I don't think you're going to get a lot of credit for talking about bowl eligibility. It's in the back of the kids' minds without question. I think this has been kind of a turn in our season and even though we lost Saturday, we played well. We played a quality opponent and played them well. We played a good football game at New Mexico State, and it's not about being outcome oriented it's about being process oriented and use that word stack. That's why I laugh because the guys give me a hard time about using that word stacking the whole time, but it's about what's next. We talk about a next play attitude and us focusing on what's next. For instance, next is our team meeting and we're going to review this game and after that we're going to have a preview meeting on ULM. Just focusing on here and now and not being worried about the outcome of the game. That's something we've got to do and make steady improvement. If we keep focusing on here and now, then I think we'll have an opportunity to get hot here at the end of the year.
Â
When the turnaround began…
I think it's to be determined. I was hopeful that we kind of clicked over that second half of Mississippi State. We came home and obviously hadn't. A lot of that was because Brandon (Silvers) didn't play. But that week against New Mexico State I thought our guys took it more serious with our preparation. I thought they practiced hard and they saw the results and that carried over this week. And the look of hurt they had after that game, not that you want to see your guys hurting after a game, but anytime you've hurt it means you've invested a lot, and I could tell our guys were visibly hurt about losing that football game. That means that their emotional investment, their physical investment, the preparation involved in the game. There was a lot invested there and it really hurt, and I expect when I meet with them today and this afternoon, they're a group that's eager to go back and recapture that feeling in that locker room in Las Cruces.
Â
Â
Opening statement…
Good afternoon, thank y'all for being here. Tough, emotional loss on Saturday - I thought our coaching staff did a tremendous job getting our guys ready for Saturday. I thought our guys were prepared and we had really good schemes in place, game plans, in all three phases. I'm proud of our team. I think we played really hard. We competed. We are showing signs of growth; I think that's clear. I think we are embracing the next-play attitude that we've really stressed since the Idaho game. We did a really nice job handling a tough traveling schedule – going all the way west to Las Cruces, and then coming back as far east as we could go to Boone. I thought they did a nice job handling that.
Â
I think we are showing signs of maturity. Obviously, the first series of the game didn't go the way we wanted it to – three plays and then a pick. It really wasn't a bad play by Brandon (Silvers), but it was more a good play by their defensive end. So we get down in the hole 7-0 and we're able to fight back and take the game into overtime and absolutely have a chance to win. We are beat up a little bit right now; we were beat up on Saturday. We had a lot of guys step up and make plays.
Â
Quick review- special teams wise we played really solid and we have for the most part all year, with the exception of the first half of Mississippi State. Jed Solomon did a great job – 7-of-7 from field goals and PATs. Kickoffs did a tremendous job. Jed had a great kick and Jalen Harris made a great play on the onside we did at the opening of the second half. Then, Ryan Kay for the second week in a row was really solid – 44.5 average per punt, and we had really good operations.
Â
Defensively, I feel like we did a really good job holding Appalachian State below their season average. They are really good rushing the football, and they ran the ball more on us than we would have liked, but we did a better job than most teams have on them. I think we had some guys step up – Jamal Stadom, Seth Calloway, Sam Lebbie – we were without Tyler Roberts, who is the heart and soul of our defense, and the most productive player on our whole football team. I thought those guys stepped up. LaMarcus Farmer has played well for two weeks in a row. We have to tackle better. That is something we didn't do a very good job of on Saturday afternoon. We have to do a better job overall against the run. We did limit their big plays and we were very successful on third down.
Â
Offensively, looking back, this is the second week in a row we have played good offensive football. I think we have scored 93 points in the last two weeks combined. Appalachian State is very good on defense- the best defense in our league, number seven in the country coming in. We had the highest yards against them. We tied the highest point total (41, Clemson). Adam (Prendergast) told me the previous six, Group of Five teams they've played scored a combined 43 points against them, and we scored 41 in a single game. So, we played with really good tempo at 88 plays, 25 first downs and zero offensive penalties. We played a lot of the game without Brandon Burks, who got banged up a little bit. I thought (Andre) Flakes stepped in and played really well. Brandon Silvers gave us a chance. He has to eliminate that second interception – that was really bad. I think he is maturing as a player. I think you're seeing that. Right after both turnovers, he came back and led us on scoring drives. So, that is a sign of him.
Â
Overall, I'm disappointed in the outcome, but I felt like we had a great shot. I felt that all week. I thought our guys; I could see us growing as a football team, and I thought we had a chance. I'm encouraged by our improvement over the last two weeks. They are the best team we've seen in the league, without question. We had a lot of opportunities to win the game, but at the end of the day we didn't and there are a lot of reasons why we have lost three close games that we need to get corrected.
Â
Moving on to ULM – coming back home. It seems like forever since we've played at home. It's a good matchup. They're struggling a bit, as well as are we. Both of us are hunting a quality win. ULM has had Troy's number the last several years and that is something that we have to change.
Â
Offensively, they are going to present a unique challenge for us. We haven't really played a team, other than Idaho, that is a pass-first unit. They will be past first team – a lot of empty formations, a lot of unbalanced. Key players – they have a really good receiving corps. I think maybe that's their best unit on their football team, definitely on offense. They are going to get their leading receiver back, (Rashon) Ceaser. He played early in the year – averaged about 90 yards per game. They have a kid (Ajalen) Holley who is leading the team in receptions who is a good player. Their quarterback (Garrett) Smith is a guy who makes a lot of plays with his feet. As you know, those guys are the ones that have given us a lot of trouble this year.
Â
Defensively, they have played good defense there for a long time. They play a unique style – three-down team that really uses a lot of five and six man pressures - a lot of man coverage. They have played Troy really well in the past. We played them last year at Kentucky. They did a nice job. We were able to win the game handedly, but they did a really nice job against us defensively. They have some good players. Their nose tackle – (Gerrand) Johnson was an All-American candidate a few years in a row and first team All-Sun Belt. Linebacker, Hunter Kissinger, is a guy that makes a ton of plays. And they have a guy that plays safety; they call it the Hawk, named Mitch Lane that is a really good player and made a lot of tackles against us at Kentucky last year.
Â
So, a good challenge this week. The guys are looking forward to it. I think we will bounce back and put a third week in a row of playing really good football.
Â
On the offensive line changing…
We feel like when we play against a team that has a heavy nose guard that we have to put Dalton (Bennett) back there at center. And Dalton did a nice job on directing traffic. He's been our most consistent offensive lineman all year, the way he and Antonio Garcia play. The rest of it, we just go with the hot hand. There have been some hits and some misses so continuity is something that we haven't found and we're just rewarding guys that are practicing well. Last week we started Dalton at center. Xavier Fields started at right guard and (Johnathan) Boring started at left guard. This week (Deontae) Crumitie will have a chance to play, along with Luke Lawrence.
Â
Status of Brandon Burks and Tyler Roberts…
Brandon (Burks) will play. We have to do a good job of taking care of him this week, but he'll play in the game and he'll play well. Tyler (Roberts) call it cautiously optimistic. Thought there would be a chance he would play last week, but didn't progress as well as we would like, but we're cautiously optimistic. I think he'll be able to practice midweek.
Â
On returning to Veterans Memorial Stadium…
We're excited. I'm looking forward to getting back and getting engaged with the student body this week and really reaching out to them and getting them here. We need local people here in the Troy, Dothan and Montgomery areas to come out and support us. The one thing is you're going to see an exciting game. All of our games, especially at home have come down to the last drive. Every game that we've played in the league has come down to the last possession with the exception of New Mexico State, so you're going to see a competitive game. I think our students are going to turn out again. We've got Military Appreciation Day, both my grandparents served and we've got a lot of kids on our team that are military families, so I know our guys are looking forward to that as well.
Â
On changes with pregame…
Something that's really simple, we started treating pregame warm-ups like practice. We're coaching our guys hard during pregame warm-ups. We're putting more emphasis on it from an effort standpoint. We're making them actually break a sweat during pregame, just a heavy emphasis on it. Even though we came out and threw a pick on the first drive, our defense played well in the first quarter and we were able to answer, come back and get seven points rather quickly. We got off to really good start against New Mexico State too, so that's been working out.
Â
On keeping the players focused…
When you only win two games, I don't think you're going to get a lot of credit for talking about bowl eligibility. It's in the back of the kids' minds without question. I think this has been kind of a turn in our season and even though we lost Saturday, we played well. We played a quality opponent and played them well. We played a good football game at New Mexico State, and it's not about being outcome oriented it's about being process oriented and use that word stack. That's why I laugh because the guys give me a hard time about using that word stacking the whole time, but it's about what's next. We talk about a next play attitude and us focusing on what's next. For instance, next is our team meeting and we're going to review this game and after that we're going to have a preview meeting on ULM. Just focusing on here and now and not being worried about the outcome of the game. That's something we've got to do and make steady improvement. If we keep focusing on here and now, then I think we'll have an opportunity to get hot here at the end of the year.
Â
When the turnaround began…
I think it's to be determined. I was hopeful that we kind of clicked over that second half of Mississippi State. We came home and obviously hadn't. A lot of that was because Brandon (Silvers) didn't play. But that week against New Mexico State I thought our guys took it more serious with our preparation. I thought they practiced hard and they saw the results and that carried over this week. And the look of hurt they had after that game, not that you want to see your guys hurting after a game, but anytime you've hurt it means you've invested a lot, and I could tell our guys were visibly hurt about losing that football game. That means that their emotional investment, their physical investment, the preparation involved in the game. There was a lot invested there and it really hurt, and I expect when I meet with them today and this afternoon, they're a group that's eager to go back and recapture that feeling in that locker room in Las Cruces.
Â
Â
Goose Crowder - T-Day
Saturday, April 18
Donnie Smith - T-Day
Saturday, April 18
Gerad Parker - T-Day
Saturday, April 18
Gerad Parker - April 16
Thursday, April 16