Troy University Athletics
Neal Brown Press Conference - Boise State Game
8/27/2018 2:54:00 PM | Football
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Troy Head Coach Neal Brown Press Conference – Monday, Aug. 27, 2018
Opening Statement
We've had a solid camp, and we are going into the game pretty healthy which was not the case a year ago. We are going to line up and play against a ranked opponent and this is a great opportunity this week to play against Boise. A lot of respect for coach (Bryan) Harsin and his staff for what Boise has been able to do. Boise is where we are striving to be. They are annually a top Group of Five program and that is what we are trying to do at Troy. Offensively I liked what we were able to do in camp. I think this is a hungry group and Kaleb Barker will start the season as our starter at quarterback. Barker earned that opportunity, he had a great fall camp. Sawyer Smith will play in the game and will have a role for sure. Defensively a lot of guys are returning and the key to success on that side of the ball is to continue to be hungry and get to the football. Boise dominated us last year in special teams. Boise was really good across the board statistically last year and they out executed us in special teams. Huge emphasis this week on coverage for us. This may be the most significant opener for us especially with opening the North End Zone.
Leadership about Kaleb and Sawyer
Both of them have leadership capabilities. I always feel like someone would win the job and I believe Kaleb won the job. He won the job from a production standpoint, the ability to make plays with his feet and from an efficiency standpoint in the passing game. I still have a lot of confidence in Sawyer and the team does too, so he will have a significant role in our offense on Saturday.
Marcus Jones defense/special teams…
He played a significant role on defense last year and he's going to start at corner this season which I don't believe will hinder his return game on special teams.
On Troy's Kick Returners…
We have three guys on this team that have returned kickoffs for touchdown in Division I. Traveon Samuel did it at Louisville before he transferred here, Jabir Daughtry-Frye did it against New Mexico State (in 2016) and Marcus Jones did it three times a year ago. All of those guys are going to get opportunities for sure, but the thing about Saturday is their kicker has a good leg and kicks it out of the end zone a high percentage of times.
The motivation behind the game…
It's not about last year game against Boise that motivates us this year. The motivation piece is that we are trying to start 1-0. This game is not going to make or break us. Obviously, this is a game that we would like to win but our goal is to be at the end and have a chance to play in the first-ever Sun Belt Championship game and host it here. This is a game that has national relevance and this a game that can be used as a measuring stick for this program. If Boise is where we want to be at then we eventually have to start beating those level teams.
Concern about biggest opener…
Regardless of what happens on Saturday, how we handle Sunday and Monday is going to be the exact same. We talk about this week and this week only. I'm not concerned about the ramifications that goes along with this game. I'm more concerned about us handling everything that goes along with this week in terms of the North End Zone opening up, we are going to play a lot of young people, the added media because of the recent success that we've had and drowning out all of that noise and preparing to play our best.
Troy Head Coach Neal Brown Press Conference – Monday, Aug. 27, 2018
Opening Statement
We've had a solid camp, and we are going into the game pretty healthy which was not the case a year ago. We are going to line up and play against a ranked opponent and this is a great opportunity this week to play against Boise. A lot of respect for coach (Bryan) Harsin and his staff for what Boise has been able to do. Boise is where we are striving to be. They are annually a top Group of Five program and that is what we are trying to do at Troy. Offensively I liked what we were able to do in camp. I think this is a hungry group and Kaleb Barker will start the season as our starter at quarterback. Barker earned that opportunity, he had a great fall camp. Sawyer Smith will play in the game and will have a role for sure. Defensively a lot of guys are returning and the key to success on that side of the ball is to continue to be hungry and get to the football. Boise dominated us last year in special teams. Boise was really good across the board statistically last year and they out executed us in special teams. Huge emphasis this week on coverage for us. This may be the most significant opener for us especially with opening the North End Zone.
Leadership about Kaleb and Sawyer
Both of them have leadership capabilities. I always feel like someone would win the job and I believe Kaleb won the job. He won the job from a production standpoint, the ability to make plays with his feet and from an efficiency standpoint in the passing game. I still have a lot of confidence in Sawyer and the team does too, so he will have a significant role in our offense on Saturday.
Marcus Jones defense/special teams…
He played a significant role on defense last year and he's going to start at corner this season which I don't believe will hinder his return game on special teams.
On Troy's Kick Returners…
We have three guys on this team that have returned kickoffs for touchdown in Division I. Traveon Samuel did it at Louisville before he transferred here, Jabir Daughtry-Frye did it against New Mexico State (in 2016) and Marcus Jones did it three times a year ago. All of those guys are going to get opportunities for sure, but the thing about Saturday is their kicker has a good leg and kicks it out of the end zone a high percentage of times.
The motivation behind the game…
It's not about last year game against Boise that motivates us this year. The motivation piece is that we are trying to start 1-0. This game is not going to make or break us. Obviously, this is a game that we would like to win but our goal is to be at the end and have a chance to play in the first-ever Sun Belt Championship game and host it here. This is a game that has national relevance and this a game that can be used as a measuring stick for this program. If Boise is where we want to be at then we eventually have to start beating those level teams.
Concern about biggest opener…
Regardless of what happens on Saturday, how we handle Sunday and Monday is going to be the exact same. We talk about this week and this week only. I'm not concerned about the ramifications that goes along with this game. I'm more concerned about us handling everything that goes along with this week in terms of the North End Zone opening up, we are going to play a lot of young people, the added media because of the recent success that we've had and drowning out all of that noise and preparing to play our best.
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