September 1, 2015

Ken Sparks press conference: University fo the Cumberlands

The following is a transcript from the weekly Ken Sparks press conference. Below, coach Sparks breaks down the season opening game against the University of the Cumberlands.

Carson-Newman Football

Ken Sparks Press Conference

9-1-15

SPARKS opening statement: They are a really, really interesting team. They played this past week- played this last Thursday- and so a league game, which means they were putting a lot into it and they did put a lot into it. They won and they won pretty impressively the way they won. We were expecting to see a whole lot of option because they have been an option football team. There wasn't much option. There were mostly a lot of different looks, a lot of different formations- motions- about every play known to man. They ran and then the same thing defensively. We were expecting them to be in a fifty front but they were in a fifty stack, in a three-three stack, they were in a four-two, a four-three. They were in a gap-stack. They were in anything I've ever heard about just about and how they were able to do all that was amazing compliment and tribute to them as a coaching staff because they got all that ready before the first ball game and they won the game. So we don't know what we are going to see. We really don't.

Q1: Does that mean them (UCUM) playing has made it more difficult to prepare for?

SPARKS: It has, it has. Even though what they line up in wont surprise us, because they have probably already lined up in it. We just don't know what is going to be their main theme this ballgame about what they're going to do offensively and defensively. I'm sure when they look and see how many people we struggled to stop last year, and to see how we have a bunch of people gone off of that [defensive unit]. Our leading tackler, we are really going to miss him. To have an inexperienced team with all the different looks they [UCUM] gave, it creates some interesting situations for us.

Q2: Offensively, how much of that ciaos is enabled by the fact that they have Adam Craig as their quarterback?

SPARKS: He led them to the National Championship three years ago and then he got hurt and now he is back again. He is their leader. There's no question about it. And they got some skilled people- they got some speed. The wide receiver is the conference speed champion and he can run with anybody. So, we have got to find a way to get some pressure on the quarterback because they like to drop it back and hum it him every once and a while. He caught two for touchdowns and ran a kickoff back for a touchdown, so he's the real deal. They want to get the ball into his hands somehow and we have to figure out how to get him on the ground.

Q3: You talk about generating pressure on the quarterback- show time for that youthful defensive line, what do you like about where they are going into this first game?

SPARKS: I think they are going to be exciting. I really do. We still have two or three of them hurt. One or two of them aren't going to play. We are definitely going to miss Hayden Hester. He's not going to be able to play. He's got a bad hurt right now. Jason Calhoun might not be able to play because of a hamstring. Both of them are brand new freshman that are exciting players that we may not see Thursday night. We got some real exciting kids and it's going to be exciting to watch. I'll be stretching my neck as far as anybody to see what they are doing.

Q3: On the opposite side, you have a very experienced defensive backfield. How does having that experience back there help the front seven?

SPARKS: Well I think its key because if there's anywhere where you would want to have experienced players who have seen this or done that would be in the secondary. At the same time, everything starts up front. On offense it starts up front. On defense it starts up front. If those guys aren't getting pressure on the passer then its hard to cover, forever. It's the same thing for the offensive line. If they aren't protecting the passer then it don't take much to cover them- your receivers. So, it all starts up front and that's the reason the front four is going to be so critical for us on defense. On offense, we have about five or six that can play and we cant get any of them hurt. We are thin.

Q4: Kicker, punter- there have been question marks there throughout the fall. What do you expect from those positions groups this week?

SPARKS: Well, I'm going to act like they can do it and if they don't then I'm going to cut their throat. (laughter) How's that? I think Ben Ogle and Carson Wise have battled real well as place kickers. We got a couple of kickoffs better than we had last year with hang times over 4.4, in the end zone, and that's wonderful. We gave them three or four days off to rest and for a kicker or a sour arm- a pitcher- you got to get those limbs rested up. They were a different looking group yesterday. As a punter, we have three and I'll decide today who its going to be, but we have three guys who are battling like crazy to be the punter. Christian Ramirez has a little bit of an edge right now and we'll find out more today. The biggest thing is getting it off on time and getting hang time and consistency. Right now we have had everything pretty good except consistency and we'll have three good ones and then on Eric Cain looking punt back there and that's not very good.

Q5: Offensively, I know the running back position in somewhat new, but the offensive line and quarterback position has a lot of experience. Can you remember a time where you are as comfortable, maybe, as you are about a position heading into the season?

SPARKS: Well, we are really excited about it. We have great leadership at quarterback and you know we are thin at quarterback. If De'Andre or Noah have a problem, well then of course we have Goose [Manning] back here who can always make something happen, but we are thin. It's scary because there have been years past where we have gone to number four or five quarterback and this year we don't have a four or five quarterback.

SPARKS on UCUM having already played a game: I think when you stop and evaluate on whether it gives us an advantage having them already played a game, and we've always said, probably the biggest improvement of the year is between he first and second ball game and statistically, I think that bears out pretty clear. So, they should have a tremendous advantage in that perspective. We have a little bit of an advantage in the fact that it gave us a little bit more time to prepare maybe than they did. Like I said earlier, its incredible how much they have put in with only three or four weeks. NAIA, I don't know how much time they had. They may have had four weeks, but it's unbelievable what all they showed against Campbellsville. So, I don't relly know whether to count it as a blessing or curse that they played the first ball game before they play us.

Q6: Back on the defensive side of the ball, you touched base on how the front seven is completely new. You talked about the front four. At linebacker in particular, you have Sha'Heem Stupart coming back and Malik Miles who know the system and at the other linebacker position, you have a number of guys who have been competing for the spot, guys like Graham Warren, Brandon Staton, Geoffrey McReynolds, and Lane Bloom. Have any of those guys stepped up in that spot or solidified a spot?

SPARKS: First of all, they are a great group of kids and they give you great effort. Of course Graham has been hurt and missed quite a bit. Lane has been lame a little bit and been playing on one wing, so he's struggling a little bit. But we have a guy that just got here named Dares Morris that really, really looks good. And we had another Sam linebacker named Antonio Henderson that we thought was going to be eligible but NCAA has thrown out his test score so he's not eligible at this time. So it really has put some question marks at linebacker. And at linebacker, its brand new too. Lane [Bloom] played a little bit on the kicking game- fact is, he played really well on the kicking game last year, but those other guys haven't played any snaps from the line of scrimmage. We are real inexperienced at linebacker this year. I wish, that with a new front four, we had some experienced linebackers behind them, but that's not the case. I don't know. I just hope its going to be a great event for us Thursday night that we have a front seven that just comes alive and goes crazy. I hope.

Q7: You talk about Lane [Bloom] leading the kicking game and you have had success of elevating that special teams star- that special teams leading tackler, an Eric Cain for instance, to a prominent role in the linebacking core. Does that knowledge Malik Miles, Lane Bloom, Brandon Staton have all factored proximately on kickoffs. Does that sway your concerns at all?

SPARKS: Yes, it certainly helps to know that they have played in game speed in the open space and have made plays. That's what defense is now a days- making plays in open space. So, yes that does help our mental attitude a little bit. Still, sometimes, defense comes down to that hand-to-hand combat where you have to throw some punches to get people off of you in order to make some plays. That is the part that is in question, especially when we don't know what we are going to face. We don't know if they are going to come at us, around us, or over us. That makes it a little bit more complicated to see how it's going to play out.

Q8: Defensively for the Patriots, you talk about how multiple they are- is there anyone individually that stands out to you?

SPARKS: There's a big ole defensive tackle that weighs about 390 pounds- he's not that big but he looks that big- and they got some really tough kids up front. They got a linebacker that made a lot of tackles against Campbellsville and made a lot of plays against them. Campbellsville threw the ball 80 percent of the time against them. They got some sacks and some movements up front against them. They got two picks against them so you have to say that for the first ball game they performed pretty well on someone else's home field. Not theirs. So, you have to take your hat off and say, hmmmm, good job.

Q9: What does it mean to play for Cathleen Graham this week?

SPARKS: Well it means a whole lot. It's about as exciting as anything we have done in a long, long time because of the kind of lady that she is and the investment she has made in people's lives without knowing it, without saying it. She is the kind of lady that when Jesus talked about many times about when people don't seem like they have big roles life but they impacted this world. That to me is Cathleen Graham because her little quiet spirit and her little depends on the Lord that shows up- that's not little, that's big. It shows up in her mannerisms and the way she deals with people. It's just great that we can draw attention to someone like her because I think that's what the Lord wants us to do. I'm glad to be a small part of it. I'm a recipient of her blessing, that's what I am. So, I'm glad to just try and be a blessing back to her in some way.

-CN-