Carson-Newman Football vs Lenoir-Rhyne Week Six Press Conference Transcripts
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – As the Eagles return home for the first time in four weeks, Carson-Newman head coach Mike Clowney addressed the media before a Saturday showdown with the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – As the Eagles return home for the first time in four weeks, Carson-Newman head coach Mike Clowney addressed the media before a Saturday showdown with the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears.
Clowney Opening Statement: First game in a month and still as much as being on the road, it still doesn't seem that far away. Then again, it feels so far away because as we've talked about over and over and over again, the process for us to continue getting better and find that success that we're looking for. We've been on the road which has been good for us to just be away and something different, but as you do that over and over, it's good to just get back at home. Just to be at home and be around people who can love on you and support you. Also, to have your home crowd and continue to find a way to fight for another one here at Burke-Tarr Stadium.
Q1 There will be a couple of legendary names for Carson-Newman Football in Jay Floyd and Mike Schlecter entering the Hall of Fame this weekend. What do these two mean to you and this program?
Mike has been a guy that I know, as a player, you walk in and see his name on the weight room over in the MSAC and again in the KSAC. Charlie King is also going in and his son, Chuck, was the one who recruited me. Most of the information I've gotten about Mike is just me and Chuck talking as Chuck and Mike might've played together or Chuck was growing up as Mike was playing. I've never heard a bad thing about Mike, just good things that are appreciative for what he's done for the program. Same goes for Coach Floyd.
When I first got here, Floyd was the defensive line coach. We got on campus and I thought "this may be the biggest human being I've ever seen in person." However, he's the nicest guy. The first scholarship I signed had his name on it because he was the recruiting coordinator. It's just little stuff like that you remember. Last summer, we had a cookout where he came up and fed the coaches in the middle of a pandemic when we all just needed a chance to be outside and around people. Speaks volume about the program in general as we have really good football players, but more importantly, really good people that have found ways to reach out to Carson-Newman and what makes us a family.
Q2 You look at Lenoir-Rhyne who has been in the AFCA poll top 5 earlier this season. What sticks out to you about what they're capable of, especially offensively?
Dwayne McGee is a good back and he's really fast which is one thing you see on film. He does a good job, especially on hitting outside runs and having great vision to see things inside. Lenoir-Rhyne has had success as a good program in this league and you see that by the national ranking on the front end. They hire Mike who had been at Notre Dame and you would kind of expect them to continue moving in the direction they are moving. It's been a crazy season as they have dropped two games since the beginning of the season, but at this point in the season, anything can happen in this conference.
Q3 Defensively, stunts on stunts on stunts between Dan Louba and Amari Houston. Against Tusculum, they really stunted the Pioneers. What else sticks out to you about their defense?
Their tenacity as they run to the football and that's a staple they've created. Their kids this year are holding onto that standard. They run to the football and created that pressure you talked about to have the quarterback make quick decisions. They've just done a good job of continuing to do the things that L-R has been known for in the last few years.
Q4 You talked about what Lamarcus Brown would learn in the film room on Monday. With that process, how he done internalizing and moving forward from what happened Saturday?
I actually snuck into their room yesterday and I'm not sure if they noticed, but I think it's been good. We'll see more once we get out and see how he executes in practice today. One thing we really picked up in film yesterday was the one throw he made that Coach Pursley was like "tell me why you made a different decision?" Just to hear him give an educated answer as "the safety had taken off and he had a one-on-one situation and that's why I decided to make that throw." For a freshman, it's pretty high-level thinking. He probably did a really good job and made the safest throw that he could make and at this point in his career, that's probably the throw you want him to make. As he transitions and gets older and starts to see things from a more veteran lens, then you'll be able to have him see why the other option is still possible.
Q5 How about the efforts of your offensive line to embrace the zone blocking schemes mid-stream and Troy Dendy averaging six yards a carry these last two weeks?
Those guys have done a really good job of meshing together and the offensive line kind of took it personal that they were not going to be the thing that holds us back. They've taken that challenge and continued to work and move forward with it. As for Troy Dendy, a lot of extra effort on runs and being able to see things as you know you got to stick your nose in there and get three yards. That's the reason why he's been able to keep his average where it is.
Q6 Obviously turnovers are something you work on not have happen. Is this something you talk about or something you keep in your back pocket to not have it weigh on the team?
It's one of those things that's obvious. We've talked about the last two weeks with four turnovers, and it is something that we work on. The big thing now is at some point, they have to own it. They get the ball and I'm kind of lackadaisical with the football and so a lot of times, we're overconfident with the ball. If we don't handle the ball in the right way, someone is going to take it. Like on Dendy's turnover, that is the thing that hurt us. The defender hit it in just the right place, but that's why we hold it in exactly the right way. So that when the worst-case scenario shows up, we still have a chance at success. We're going to continue practicing that and we're going to continue to focus on it. It's something we talk about over and over and over again, but every time we touch the football, we have to be aware of "is that ball in the right place?" and have to be aware of even in 11-v-11 situations, was it in jeopardy?
As a running backs coach, I love looking at the photos on the website to see "yeah, it wasn't a turnover, but the ball was in jeopardy." We have to be conscious of how many times we put the ball in jeopardy as opposed to how many times we turn it over.
Q7 Defense was on the field for 85 plays and 40-plus minutes. How much of a concern is that entering this week?
We have to find a way to win third down. You go back and look at our third-down conversion percentages and our guys notice that. They said something about it in our meeting yesterday. It's good when they get it and we don't have to keep saying it over and over. We talk about Rondrow Peebles being an older guy, and he wants to challenge our defense to get off the field. If it's third down, let's go make a play and create a turnover. Let's not just go get a penalty or let a guy go free and give them a chance to convert. Let's be aware of the situation and live and respond in the moment.
Q8 The defensive line had a good game against Catawba. How do you assess that group handling being on the field that frequently and almost everyone wearing a defensive line uniform playing in the game?
The staple of that entire thing at Catawba, and we went back to watch it as it set the tone for the entire thing, was the last play we played on defense. It was one of the most impressive plays that you can see. The game was on the line, we have to get a stop and we had two guys running because we are lined up on the wrong side of the field and we make three or four critical mistakes on that one play. However, we had a lot of effort from 11 guys running to the football and we got the guy tackled before he could get a first down. Literally it was 11 guys. That's where they challenge each other and if we can do that on the last play of the game where we play 80-something plays, why can't we just do that for 80 plays?
I think if we do that, we'll respond in the right way.
Q9 Think you were anticipating Devon Moore to be your kickoff specialist heading into this season, but it's been Leonte Dudley shining bright in these last few games. What kind of weapon has he been for you?
He's a big weapon, as he scored 14 of the points we put on the board. Even at Barton, he gave us a chance to win the game. They kicked the ball out of bounds and had to re-kick it where he returns the ball down to the 30. That kicking out of bounds has made people think "do we want to back up five yards and know he has a chance to return it, or do we want to drive it out of the back of the end zone?" Think that was Catawba's mindset initially but he comes out with it as he flirts with that line a little bit. The other thing is the guys who have bought in on the return team. That second return, he was not touched at all. We've watched it over and over and he was not touched at all. That first return was him being a little gritty but just that speed that our guys know, if we can give him a crease and he can hit it, it turns into a foot race. There's not many guys out there as fast as he is.
Q10 Special teams scored three touchdowns against Catawba. What do you say about Antonio Goss and to have a group as young as they are to get out there and succeed thus far?
I think coach Goss has done a great job. His big driving point is "we want guys on special teams who want to be on special teams." You would like to have all your top defenders on special teams, but they had just played 80-some plays. What he's done is found some guys who are looking for an opportunity to play somewhere, and they want to be on special teams. What they've done is come out and work their tails off and we're getting to the point now where they understand what we're doing. They're scrappy and we have some success so they believe in what we're doing. Coach Goss doesn't compromise with them, from the kicker down to the first guy on the wall for kickoff returns, he coaches them hard and has high expectations for them.
When I told him "good job" on Saturday, he said "the kids did it." There was a time where they said we need to run a certain return and he calls it, it works out for us. They're starting to buy in and understand how important that unit is. How it can help us win and how it can help prevent us from winning.
Q11 You talk about guys who want to be on the field and get some opportunities. What kind of development does this bring to your program?
It goes across the board for us. When a guy goes up to me and asks what he needs to do to get more playing time, I always ask "are you on special teams?" If the answer is no, stop talking to me. There's nowhere else to go with that. When a player comes to play college football, their first mission is to find a way to get on the field. If I get on the field, I get on the bus. If I'm on the bus, eventually I get the chance to play linebacker or DB or receiver or whatever else it is I want to do. The problem we make is with young guys, you often come in and want to be number one receiver, but when we look at depth charts, you look at the three and four guys to join special teams.
It's important for guys to know how important special teams are to us because if you're the fourth string linebacker on special teams, eventually you can become the third-string linebacker as long as you continue being on the field.
Q12 You look at some guys who are stepping up for your program. Austin Greer made his first start in the defensive backfield against Catawba. What has he meant to your program to be able to insert himself into the position?
We talk about immediate success and being able to get on the field. Austin is a guy who has been here for three years now, counting the COVID year, and all he's done since being here is work to get better. Sometimes it's been slow and not completely noticed, but we talk about finding luck and getting an opportunity. Austin gets "lucky" and gets in the game and he goes and makes plays because he's prepared for that opportunity since he's been here. It's good when you see guys who have been in the program for a while come in and live up to that moment. I think it is so important that we continue to work, grow, and develop. We talk about a young football team. For those guys, it may not come right away or today, but it's about continuing to work the process to get where we want to be.
Q13 How important is the mindset of "you want to be old and stay old" and staying true to that?
That's really part of the plan when we talked about what we want to do with this football program. That is a major part of the plan because when you go look at the stones outside of our building, we've been here a long time and see the 10-3 records and the national championships. When you look at our recent history, in reality, we haven't won a championship since 2009. When you go look at those stones on the back, you see the 5-6, 4-7, 7-4, 9-3, 10-2. There's been that little four-year process where we kind of reset and go through the process again. The biggest thing we have to do is get old and stay old so that we can go be what we used to be and stop rebuilding and start reloading.
