Chip Lindsey Press Conference - Arkansas State Game

Opening Statement:
Before we get started today, I just wanted to mention that we lost a Trojan this week. Naazir Yamini passed away this week. While I only met him once or twice, I know he was near and dear to our program and the Trojan Family. Naazir played here from '99-'03, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family. He's a former teammate of two of our staff members so I got to find out a little bit more about him. Naazir was a former roommate of both [Director of Player Development] Jamaal Smith and [defensive line coach] Davern Williams. Hopefully the family is making it through these tough times, but we wanted to send our thoughts and prayers.

Obviously, we have a big weekend coming up. There's a lot going on this weekend which makes it a lot of fun. This Saturday will be our Military Appreciation Game, and here at Troy that's a really important day for us. We get an opportunity to honor the servicemen and women who have made the ultimate commitment to serve our country. So, we want to do a great job of acknowledging and honoring those guys this weekend.

We're going to honor our Chancellor, Dr. Jack Hawkins for his 30 years as our Chancellor, which I think is remarkable especially in this day and age. Chancellor Hawkins and his wife (Janice) have meant so much to our University, so I think it's a neat thing for him be honored for 30 years of service as our Chancellor.

He's a guy that's so impressive. Being around him, I think you wish you could be a better person and more like him. Obviously, he and his wife have done so much for our University in a lot of different ways. He's really put Troy on the map nationally and really brought our university from the Division II ranks to Division I. He's done an unbelievable job here and it should be a special weekend for him.

On Wendy Anderson and the Anderson Family:
This weekend our staff and players are going to wear pink ribbons in honor of Wendy [Anderson]. Blake Anderson is one of the best guys I've been around in this profession, and we've gotten a chance to know each other over the years as our paths have crossed.

I think the way he's handled this whole situation has been extremely impressive, and he's one of the best guys you'll find in this business. I think his resilience, and the way that the Arkansas State community has comforted him and his family says a lot about what college athletics is all about. Obviously, we'd like to continue to raise awareness for cancer research, so we're going to take some donations this weekend to make a formal pledge to cancer research in honor of the Anderson family.

On the excitement surrounding the weekend:
It's a big weekend with a lot of different things going on, and I think it'll be an exciting weekend for our fans. I'm looking forward to being back here at The Vet, because last time we were here our fans were unbelievable and our student body was second-to-none. I was really impressed with how active and engaged they were with our players. This weekend should be no different.

On recapping last weekend's 35-7 victory at Akron
I was overall very pleased with our performance last weekend on the road at Akron. Anytime you can win a college football game it's a big deal because it's a hard thing to do. Obviously, it was a little different because it was the first time the 2019 team was on the road. I think we handled the long road trip well and handled playing in a different environment well. There are some very unique things about Akron that make it a tough place to play, so I think our players handled it well.

One of the things I think we stressed all week was getting off to a fast start, and I think we did that in all three phases. If you think back to our first couple of games, that was something that we needed to improve on, and I thought we did. Our offense took the ball, went the length of the field and scored a touchdown. Then our defense got a quick stop, and our special teams covered the kickoff well. So, I was really pleased with our start.

I thought we finished the game the right way. We had an opportunity to have the lead in the fourth quarter, and I like how we were able to finish the game and not extend it or make it longer than it should have been. There is still plenty for us to address and clean up, but I thought we improved, so that is what I was impressed with.

On the Internal Players of the Week:
Offensively, DK Billingsley filled in very nicely for [injured running back] B.J. [Smith]. I knew DK was very capable, and he showed it on Saturday rushing for 100 yards. He protected the ball, so that was good. He did a great job running the football for us and did a great job in protection as well. So, I'm very pleased with him.

Jawon McDowell was our Defensive Player of the Week. He graded out at 86 percent which is very high for a defensive back. He had two pass break ups, and it was very good to see him play well. He's been here for a long time and has improved tremendously since the spring, so I'm really pleased with how he played.

On special teams, Luke Whittemore was a guy that stood out to me because he fielded the punts and kept us from losing yards, which is a huge deal for our offense. He fielded the punts and made great decisions. He did a nice job of that because Akron's punter kicked it extremely well. Luke did a nice job there in addition to having a nice game at wide receiver.

On this weekend's matchup with Arkansas State:
When you look at this weekend against Arkansas State, it's a huge game because it's our first conference game. This is a team that is very well coached, and they do a great job in all three phases of the game. They've had a lot of success, finishing either first in their division or first overall in the Sun Belt a lot, and they're traditionally one of the better teams in our conference. Blake is sort of the dean of the Sun Belt coaches having been here probably the longest out of any of us, and he always puts a good product out there. He's a guy who has had tremendous success, so his team will be very good on Saturday and will be a big challenge for us. Obviously, we need to get off to a great start in the conference so it's a huge game for us. Our fans will be a big factor this weekend in making The Vet a very tough place to play. I know our guys are very excited. We started preparing on Sunday, but today and tomorrow are big days for us, and we need to have two good days of practice. So, we're looking forward to it. It's a big challenge but it's one that we're really excited about.

On the Arkansas State Offense:
Offensively, the first thing that stands out is the tremendous amount of skill that is on their roster. They have a lot of different weapons. Their quarterback, Logan Bonner, is very impressive. I know he was the backup there previously, and now it's his team. I like the way he manages the offense and gets the ball to their playmakers. And I think he does a really nice job of running the offense and doing what they ask him to do.

I think their three top wideouts stand out the most. I'm extremely familiar with Omar Bayless because I recruited him a bit at Southern Miss. He's very impressive. He's a big body at six-foot-three and makes all kinds of different plays. Jonathan Adams is a similar type of player. He's another big wideout and is really good in one-on-one situations. Lastly, I think Kirk Merritt is a guy that is very explosive for them and was highly recruited. So, they've got big wideouts that are athletic and very skilled. Their wide receiver group is probably one of the best in our league.

In terms of running backs, Marcel Murray was a guy that was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Year last year. He's a year older and a year better and a very solid running back. He gets to run behind an offensive line that is big and physical. So, it's definitely going to be a challenge for us on that side of the ball.

On the Arkansas State defense:
Defensively, they're impressive as well. Dave Duggan is their coordinator. Dave and I were together at Southern Miss, so I'm familiar with him. I think he's outstanding, and one of the best defensive coordinators in the country. They're very sound and will play very hard. Their front is very big and athletic. It's a very impressive group up front led by Forrest Merrill their defensive tackle, who is big and powerful and very hard to block. He's very impressive because he disrupts a lot of things, so he's a guy we're going to have to have a good plan for. And then Kevin Thurmon is another guy that is extremely impressive. I think he's one of the better defensive linemen in our league. He's very athletic, really quick and does a great job of getting off the ball. Then you look at their defensive ends, and I think William Bradley-King and Caleb Bonner are both impressive. They rush the passer well and play extremely hard. So, I'm very impressed with their defensive front.

No. 32 [Tajhea] Chambers in another impressive guy for them. He's their Mike linebacker and does a great job of getting downhill and stopping the run. He's a good tackler and helps their defense go. In the secondary they've had some injuries, but B.J. Edmonds stands out to me. He's an Alabama kid that I recruited a bit. He's really active and plays extremely hard and physical. He's a really good player for them, and we'll have to have a good plan for him.

On the Arkansas State special teams:
Special teams wise I think their punter Cody Grace is one of the best punters in the country. He has a big-time leg and can do it all. He can kick it to a specific spot but also kicks it well down the field. They do a nice job there, and I think they're very sound on special teams. Kirk Merritt is their returner on special teams and is a guy that can make you pay big time if we don't cover well. And then B.J. Edmonds does a great job making good decisions as their punt returner, and he can hurt you in the return game as well.

On the performance of the running backs at Akron:
I'm very proud of them. Defensively, Akron gave us a lot of four and five-man boxes, so the numbers dictated us running the ball a bit more. I think our guys did a nice job of blocking. They had a couple of really talented big guys up front. I was very impressed with DK, but also Trevon Woolfolk. I think for his first time out there he did a really nice job. I was very pleased overall with how we rushed the ball.

On the importance of starting 1-0 in the Sun Belt:
It's definitely something we talk about. At the same time, we don't approach Saturday any different than any other game. We're going to prepare each week the same and give our team the best chance to win each week. It'd be nice for us to get off to a good start in conference play, and certainly that's our goal. There are still plenty of games ahead, but we want to get off to a good start. Saturday is a big challenge for us.

On the performance of the defensive backfield:
We need our secondary to play really well because these [Arkansas State] guys are really talented. The thing I saw last week versus the previous week was that we didn't give up as many explosive plays. I think we gave up one on a back-shoulder play in man coverage, but I think the communication was a lot better. Some of the younger guys are getting their feet wet so to speak and are getting more comfortable with different formations. That unit is continuing to grow, and it'll be a growing process all season long. Hopefully by the end of the season they're playing really well. But I'm really impressed with how they improved.

On the offense answering Akron's touchdown drive in the first quarter last weekend:
If I remember correctly, we had a couple of stalled drives in a row. We threw an interception right after forcing a turnover, which was a very poor decision. And then we had another drive that we had a costly penalty. After they scored, we regrouped and went down and answered their score. Anytime the other team scores you want to answer the bell so to speak, and our guys did a nice job of that. We put together a really nice drive and Kaleb [Barker] made some great decisions with the run-pass option stuff. We did a nice job of taking what they gave us. Akron likes to drop eight players into coverage which left some holes in the box. Kaleb showed some growth taking what the defense gave him rather than trying to force things after the initial throw. We want him to be aggressive and be who he is, but at the same time you need to know when to take a risk and when not to. Overall, I thought he played well and made some great decisions, especially on that drive.

On Kaleb Barker's growth from the spring:
It's different because he really didn't get a chance to practice any of the run-pass option stuff in the spring or even the run-checks because he didn't participate in any team action. He did get the chance to watch it on film but actually getting out there is completely different. He's progressed in the passing game because of all the seven-on-seven drills in the spring. Overall, he's done a nice job. He's really only put the ball in jeopardy on the interception and maybe one other play. He's done a really nice job considering how much we've passed the ball. I think the great thing about Kaleb is that when we watch film, he's very hard on himself. He'll be the first to admit when he didn't make the right decision which is good. We need to continue to give him different looks and reps. Hopefully the more comfortable he gets the better he'll play. But I'm very pleased with his progress so far.

On the unexpected contribution from Tanner Blatt:
Tanner is an interesting guy. He was previously a part of our team before I got here, and we were in a situation last week where we needed some help, and he filled in for us very nicely. He's a really good kid who had a relationship with coach [Brian} Blackmon from high school which helps. My biggest concern with him was holding onto the ball. That's what I wanted to make sure he focused on. We tried to remind him as best as we could from the sideline, but I think you have to be impressed with a guy who gets a few days of work and goes into a game and was trying to help us put the game away. Tanner is a great kid who will be very successful one day. He's very driven and has done a great job of staying in shape despite not being a member of this team. I'm not sure a normal guy would have been able to do what he did, so that speaks to his work ethic. The few plays we got out of him helped us a lot.

Troy University Athletics

Chip Lindsey Press Conference - Arkansas State Game

Players Mentioned

Kaleb Barker

DK Billingsley

Tanner Blatt

Jawon McDowell

Luke Whittemore

Trevon Woolfolk

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