Carson-Newman Football v. Limestone Pre-Game Press Release Transcripts
Mike Clowney Opening Statement: You know, the cool thing about the '72 team is I think they were the first ones to play for a National Championship. So, you know, it's weird, like, I come here in the 90's, but to have an opportunity to be able to communicate and talk with a lot of those different guys, it's a testament to who we are at Carson-Newman to where the generations, in some kind of way, continue to connect. I know Coach Turner played on that team, and Lee Caldwell, I talked to a lot. Ron Case was one of the coaches that was on that team. So just to kind of like be in the loop with those guys and have them on campus this week is something I think that will be unique and fun for our team. We always talk to them about the history of being at Carson-Newman. That's where we looked at when I read to them yesterday and we talked about playing Franklin Pierce last week. The article that they released talked about it cursing them and being one of the most prolific programs that they played against. And so knowing that those guys were here and were kind of a part of the start of that is something unique. I always talk about Dal Shealy, how that connection between him coaching Coach Parks, then coaching my high school coach, and then being able to get here where he's director of FCA and kind of connect those dots. We look forward to seeing those guys.
Q1: When you talk about the pedigree, you have a chance for a pedigree moment Saturday, going for program win number 650. Only three other schools have done that in Division II history: Pitt State, Tuskegee, and Hillsdale. And potentially Carson Newman. How gratifying is it to be here and have a chance to be a part of that moment?
That's new information for me. You're rolling out the history book on me, but man, it's something I think that it's a great opportunity. It's something else for our guys to buy into, to kind of be a part of the history here. I had one guy tell me the key to history in his story and we talked about them last week and making their light shine, so here's an instrumental moment where they have a chance to kind of collect a victory to put us in another category.
Q2: Limestone certainly seems have improved from a year ago. Broke a twelve-game losing streak Saturday against Saint Augustine's in about as big a way as you possibly can, putting up 73 points. What do you see out of a familiar face, Mike Furrey, the head coach there for two years in the middle of the 2010's, left to go back to Chicago to coach professionally, now returns. How are they similar? How are they different?
You look at the match up, I mean, it's really a close match up between the two of us. I think they've got some older guys when you watch film now that you can see that they're better. They've had a year just like we've had, and so they're better than they were a year ago. I didn't realize like that streak was what it was for them, but I'm sure for them last week, it was to get the monkey off their back and be able to move forward with something they're excited about. The big thing for us that we talked about it is continuing to get better every week. We look at our schedule, we feel like if we continue to work every week and get better and better, then we give ourselves a chance every weekend. Our goal today and our goal when we step on the field every day this week is to make sure we're better than we were before we started practice. That's the landmark for us right now.
Q3: Tre Stewart, reigning SAC Offensive Player of the Week, 120 yards on twelve carries on the ground, top five passes for 77 yards, highest yards-for-carry average in the league, above eight. What sticks out to you about his skill set in backfield?
Versatile, I mean, you talked about him being in the backfield, and you talk about catching passes out of the backfield. He's a versatile guy. You have to be aware of where he's at. They'll try to do a couple of things to get match up's that we've got to be conscious of getting the right people in the right place. He's a really good athlete, good football player.
Q4: You talk about your own internal growth. What's the number one sticking point from last week that you look to get ironed out for week three?
We've got to eliminate mistakes. We had a couple, and that's where we always talk about what we left out there. You know, special teams, there's a lot of things that we left out there from a special team standpoint. There's a couple of deep balls that we overthrow or looked the wrong way on that we've got to get cleaned up. Defensively, I thought we played well, but there's still a couple of squirt out's that we need to be able to get sealed. We let a guy get behind us in coverage. So, the biggest thing for us is just kind of creasing out the mistakes that we made to try to put a more complete game together.
Q5: Two weeks, and again, I know it's a small sample size, but who surprised you on your team?
I think when you look at the running back court, just to see that many guys carry the ball. Tyree Nelson, who didn't play a ton in the West Georgia game to come in and be able to get 70 yards. Trey Abner didn't play as much as we want, but he still shows flashes. To get Ivan Corbin through a game offensively and see where he's at. He winds up being our player of the week her. Defensively, Jaheim Wilson up front just kind of continues to grow and develop and push. We're able to get Cottle and Daniel Dixon-Brooks both in the game this week and just to see them come out and make play, it gives us the ball back to give us opportunities because that's one thing we talk about, creating defense, creating opportunities for our offense, and then Callum Clements made a couple of plays.
Q6: Is it gratifying to see Carson-Newman football back a-top the league in terms of rushing yards per game?
It is, yeah. You have to be able to run the football to be successful, and that's one thing I preach over and over and over again. I coached offensive for a while, but I'm old defensive guy and I just know, like, to be successful, it doesn't matter how you go and all this other stuff. Running the football allows you to control the game, allows you to control the clock and that's something that we've got to be able to do to be successful.
Q7: Clock control is something that you did even against West Georgia. You certainly did it against Franklin Pierce, strangled the life out of the game a little bit. What's the feeling like when you're in that position to be able to grind down the final six, seven minutes of the game with just a weathering pride?
It's important because that's the most frustrating thing for a defensive coach is when you feel like you're having a hard time stopping a run. Offensive guys get frustrated when they don't have a ball. For you to keep it and keep it away from them is important, and then the next thing it does, it forces you to have to start making adjustments. You start putting nine, ten guys in the box and it opens up more stuff in the passing game. So, I mean, it is good to see the drive that we put together and being able to control the clock.
Q8: After West Georgia, you talk about wanting to get more receivers outside of Braxton Westfield in the mix. You still got Braxton in the mix on pace to work into the top-20 most catches in season by week five at his current pace. But against Franklin Pierce you find seven different pass catchers for the first time in six years. Is that just the execution of the game plan or is that natural talent coming out in the passing game?
I think that a couple of guys like Corey Waters, he didn't play in West Georgia, and he's been around forever. He played a little bit for us in '19. We felt like Corey is a guy that has a chance to have an impact season this year and to get him on the field, he catches the ball at the end of the half and gets out of bound to put in some position kick a field goal. Cade Meeks, a guy we recruited in, and Luke Simpson has been here forever. He battled injury over the summer but is a stable force. We still have a couple of young guys that we like to be able to try to get the ball in their hands and see what they do with it. Just because the more people that you force the defense have to defend, the less you allow them to sit in one place.
