Troy University Athletics
Neal Brown Press Conference - Appalachian State Pregame
11/19/2018 3:34:00 PM | Football
Neal Brown Press Conference – Nov. 19, 2018
Opening Statement
Happy Thanksgiving. Good win on Senior Day, very emotional day. I thought it was a really touching tribute for Corey McCullers, it was really important to our players and I thought it was very fitting.
The game wasn't pretty, but we found a way to win and at the end of the day that is all that matters. We are in survive and advance mode and we survived and advanced.
Special teams we had three penalties which we can't do. We missed a great opportunity to block a punt early in the first quarter that really would've changed the whole direction of the game. The positives are our kickoff return was much improved, we worked on it a bunch last week. We had two returns, averaged 31 yards per. Our kickoff coverage is improved since we had a poor game a few weeks back. Bratcher (Underwood) has done a nice job all year with the exception of one game. Our punt team continues to perform, we had to use them more than we wanted to, but they continue to perform at a high level. Tyler Sumpter, making four field goals and our protection was really good.
Defensively, very few negatives. We missed a few tackles on Texas State's running back, more tackles than we missed on this stretch of games where we have played really well going back to the second half of the South Alabama game. We allowed five explosive plays. Positives are we held them to 280 yards, seven points, 3.5 yards per rush and we created six takeaways. Really, I thought it was a big time performance that was needed with the struggles on offense.
Offensively, the negatives were every possible statistic that you can look at. What it came down to was that we didn't win any one-on-ones and our attention to detail was not really good. Positives are, and the reason we were able to play that poorly and still win, was because we had zero turnovers only two offensive penalties and then the second half we controlled the clock.
It's a big game, we are traveling to Boone to take on App State. A lot at stake, winner win the East, the winner hosts the first ever conference championship game. Our guys are excited about the opportunity.
I think a lot of credit needs to go to our staff and our players. To get to this point in the season with the amount of injuries we've had, I think it speaks to our staff ability to get our guys ready to play. I think it speaks to our depth that we have recruited and also the will power of our players.
App State, I think they are playing their best football ever since their quarterback came back. Lot of respect for what (Scott) Satterfield and his entire staff have done with that program, one of the top programs in our league for the last four years.
Offensively they are really balanced. I think it starts with their quarterback Zach Thomas who is from here in Alabama. I think he's very similar to Kaleb Barker, they are both fast, he's an accurate passer, he has the ability when the play breaks down to scramble and he's played at a high level. This is his first year as a starting quarterback and he's been really productive. The running back is extremely fast. He's a guy that if he sees a seam he's going to hit it and try to go the distance. He's had a lot of explosive runs. Their wide receivers are deep. They play multiple tight ends and their offensive line is really physical. They do a good job running the football, everything is based off the success of the run and being able to hit some shot plays overhead.
Defensively, I think they are ranked either 1 or 2 in every defensive category in our league. I think they are in the top-10 in several defensive categories nationally. They are fast, they move well, the scheme is really good, they have the ability to cover out wide and they are just good.
On special teams they are one of the top teams in efficiency. They have great operation times and sometimes that goes without being said. Their starting running back is one of the better kickoff returners in the country, he's had multiple touchdowns over the past two years. Their cornerback is their punt returner and he has the ability to take it to the house as well. On top of that they have blocked a couple of punts and at least two field goals on the year. So, we are going to have our hands full. We are kind of limping in here and App State is playing their best football of the year. Our guys are excited about it and we've got to have great week of preparation.
Injury Update…
We will know more about Damion Willis' availability as we move further into the week, I think he's probably questionable. Deondre Douglas got reinjured, we tried to play him a little bit, he wanted to play on Senior Day. He was a shell of himself and kind of reinjured his foot a little bit, I would say he's doubtful. Sidney Davis had an ankle injury in the game, we will see how he feels today. Kirk Kelley who missed the game, who has probably been our most productive lineman this year, we will know more about him as we move through the week.
Blace Brown…
I think he's hitting his stride, I think he is gaining more confidence in his knee. He's running better, and he's really played for three weeks in a row a lot more discipline with his eyes and a lot more technique. He's playing the most physical he's played at any time in his career. He's back being a factor for us on so, I do think he is progressing. I think it all comes from confidence. He's been without the knee brace for six games and he's improved each week.
Plan on Marcus Jones…
He will go back and play defense this week, we may use him a little bit on offense. We had him on a snap count last week and felt like we could control a little bit more on offense. None of those guys that played on Saturday practiced all week on offense so we needed some guys to run around in practice. Really wanted to get him anywhere between six to 10 touches in the game, we got him two. We'll have some packages for him offensively, but he will go back and play defense.
Thoughts on this season…
Here we are 7-0 in conference and any time you play these types of games people think it makes or breaks your season and I don't buy into that. We are playing a really good football team and we are going on the road to play that game. We all know that if we win we will host the first ever conference championship game and we will be favored right here on our home field if we win the game. To put all of our eggs in one basket and say the year hasn't been a success if we don't win, I don't agree with that. What our staff and more importantly our players have been able to do through all these injuries, to sit here 9-2 and anyway that I judge it has been a successful year. We have a chance to make it a special season if we are able to go on the road and beat App then host the conference championship game, I think it makes this year special. But, this year to this point has been successful.
Opening Statement
Happy Thanksgiving. Good win on Senior Day, very emotional day. I thought it was a really touching tribute for Corey McCullers, it was really important to our players and I thought it was very fitting.
The game wasn't pretty, but we found a way to win and at the end of the day that is all that matters. We are in survive and advance mode and we survived and advanced.
Special teams we had three penalties which we can't do. We missed a great opportunity to block a punt early in the first quarter that really would've changed the whole direction of the game. The positives are our kickoff return was much improved, we worked on it a bunch last week. We had two returns, averaged 31 yards per. Our kickoff coverage is improved since we had a poor game a few weeks back. Bratcher (Underwood) has done a nice job all year with the exception of one game. Our punt team continues to perform, we had to use them more than we wanted to, but they continue to perform at a high level. Tyler Sumpter, making four field goals and our protection was really good.
Defensively, very few negatives. We missed a few tackles on Texas State's running back, more tackles than we missed on this stretch of games where we have played really well going back to the second half of the South Alabama game. We allowed five explosive plays. Positives are we held them to 280 yards, seven points, 3.5 yards per rush and we created six takeaways. Really, I thought it was a big time performance that was needed with the struggles on offense.
Offensively, the negatives were every possible statistic that you can look at. What it came down to was that we didn't win any one-on-ones and our attention to detail was not really good. Positives are, and the reason we were able to play that poorly and still win, was because we had zero turnovers only two offensive penalties and then the second half we controlled the clock.
It's a big game, we are traveling to Boone to take on App State. A lot at stake, winner win the East, the winner hosts the first ever conference championship game. Our guys are excited about the opportunity.
I think a lot of credit needs to go to our staff and our players. To get to this point in the season with the amount of injuries we've had, I think it speaks to our staff ability to get our guys ready to play. I think it speaks to our depth that we have recruited and also the will power of our players.
App State, I think they are playing their best football ever since their quarterback came back. Lot of respect for what (Scott) Satterfield and his entire staff have done with that program, one of the top programs in our league for the last four years.
Offensively they are really balanced. I think it starts with their quarterback Zach Thomas who is from here in Alabama. I think he's very similar to Kaleb Barker, they are both fast, he's an accurate passer, he has the ability when the play breaks down to scramble and he's played at a high level. This is his first year as a starting quarterback and he's been really productive. The running back is extremely fast. He's a guy that if he sees a seam he's going to hit it and try to go the distance. He's had a lot of explosive runs. Their wide receivers are deep. They play multiple tight ends and their offensive line is really physical. They do a good job running the football, everything is based off the success of the run and being able to hit some shot plays overhead.
Defensively, I think they are ranked either 1 or 2 in every defensive category in our league. I think they are in the top-10 in several defensive categories nationally. They are fast, they move well, the scheme is really good, they have the ability to cover out wide and they are just good.
On special teams they are one of the top teams in efficiency. They have great operation times and sometimes that goes without being said. Their starting running back is one of the better kickoff returners in the country, he's had multiple touchdowns over the past two years. Their cornerback is their punt returner and he has the ability to take it to the house as well. On top of that they have blocked a couple of punts and at least two field goals on the year. So, we are going to have our hands full. We are kind of limping in here and App State is playing their best football of the year. Our guys are excited about it and we've got to have great week of preparation.
Injury Update…
We will know more about Damion Willis' availability as we move further into the week, I think he's probably questionable. Deondre Douglas got reinjured, we tried to play him a little bit, he wanted to play on Senior Day. He was a shell of himself and kind of reinjured his foot a little bit, I would say he's doubtful. Sidney Davis had an ankle injury in the game, we will see how he feels today. Kirk Kelley who missed the game, who has probably been our most productive lineman this year, we will know more about him as we move through the week.
Blace Brown…
I think he's hitting his stride, I think he is gaining more confidence in his knee. He's running better, and he's really played for three weeks in a row a lot more discipline with his eyes and a lot more technique. He's playing the most physical he's played at any time in his career. He's back being a factor for us on so, I do think he is progressing. I think it all comes from confidence. He's been without the knee brace for six games and he's improved each week.
Plan on Marcus Jones…
He will go back and play defense this week, we may use him a little bit on offense. We had him on a snap count last week and felt like we could control a little bit more on offense. None of those guys that played on Saturday practiced all week on offense so we needed some guys to run around in practice. Really wanted to get him anywhere between six to 10 touches in the game, we got him two. We'll have some packages for him offensively, but he will go back and play defense.
Thoughts on this season…
Here we are 7-0 in conference and any time you play these types of games people think it makes or breaks your season and I don't buy into that. We are playing a really good football team and we are going on the road to play that game. We all know that if we win we will host the first ever conference championship game and we will be favored right here on our home field if we win the game. To put all of our eggs in one basket and say the year hasn't been a success if we don't win, I don't agree with that. What our staff and more importantly our players have been able to do through all these injuries, to sit here 9-2 and anyway that I judge it has been a successful year. We have a chance to make it a special season if we are able to go on the road and beat App then host the conference championship game, I think it makes this year special. But, this year to this point has been successful.
Players Mentioned
QB
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WR
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CB
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OL
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K/P
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WR
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