JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Heading into the first road trip of the season for the Eagles, Carson-Newman head coach Mike Clowney addressed the media before a Saturday showdown with the UVA Wise Highland Cavaliers.
Clowney Opening Statement: Seems like yesterday. We play Wise and they were the only game we played this spring. Coach Damron and his staff do a great job. I have been really impressed with what they have do on the outside and the perimeters with getting some transfers. Really big guys who can distribute the ball pretty well. Their biggest experience is what they have up front in a really good offensive line. I believe this will be a really good challenge for us from the defensive point and what we want to do to continue growing and improving from where we were last week. When you flip sides of the ball, not as many familiar faces as they are similar to us in being young on defense. Those guys play hard and you go watch the ETSU game after ETSU played Vanderbilt, they played really competitive in that game and scored more points. Good football team.
Q1 196 days since you last faced the Cavaliers and this has a sort of basketball feel to it. How has the short turnaround impacted the preparation for this time around?
This is where you say it seems like yesterday, but at the same time, it seems like an eternity since we left there. We tried to play more games after it, so you try and pack that game away but now here we go again. One thing we talked to the team about after that game in the spring is that we'll be right back up here in a few months. There have been a couple of other things that have happened to distract you from this game since then. The balancing point is how much do you focus on the last game versus this game. There are really two different football teams in this short amount of time.
Q2 Lendon Redwine has been top-10 in the nation for passing TDs and Devin Heckstall has been top-10 in the country for receiving TDs. What have those two done to link up pretty consistently with some big play tendency?
Heckstall is a big kid. That's the biggest thing and where you can tell they work together to create some chemistry. Heckstall is a really good target and Redwine has been doing a really good job of finding the spots to fit the ball into. The tempo their offense works at is a big advantage as well. There are several plays on video where you don't get the entire play because they're moving so fast. However, you can't just zero in on Heckstall because they have other options who can hurt you if you don't cover them.
Q3 Last time out against them, they had 109 plays against you which is most for a C-N opponent all-time. How do you prepare your defense for such a breakneck pace this week?
The good thing is that they just saw it in Wingate and that's one thing in coming off the field, they're aware of it. I think we got shocked by it a little bit last year but it shouldn't be a shock this time. We know going into the game that it will be a very fast-paced game so we need to do a good job of preparing. We need to get out there, preparing, running, get up and set and ready to play. There won't be a whole lot of time for fluff in this football game.
Q4 You've talked progress over results. You see certain areas of this evident on the scoreboard despite the results being shown. Put this in layman terms for a casual fan.
The big thing for us is always watching the film. During the game, our feelings are engaged and involved but when you go watch the film, you get to see the facts. The facts were that we did a better job of getting off the ball up front. We did a better job of the backs attacking downhill. I think the effort and want-to were something that were really evident. That's the first step for getting to anywhere you want to get to. We learn and we tell our guys that we were only a couple inches away because now that we have the effort and want-to, we don't need additional steps. Some of the small details that we see on the field today are what we need to match in effort from what we had last week. Now, we have to do a better job of cleaning up the details in a timely fashion. Timing is so critical on offense.
Q5 Defensively, you've seen Alonzo Houston and Rondrow Peebles provide what you already knew they could. One of the nice surprises so far has been Justice Alexander when rushing the passer. How nice is it to see him submit his talents to this team?
It's been really nice because when you recruit someone like Justice, you recruit from the standpoint of what you could have. The thing is that the guy has to be open enough to do the things you want to as a coach in order to get to the point you feel like he can be as a player. Coming from Michigan State, he obviously had talent but we felt like a lot of that was really raw. What Justice has done is allowed himself to come in here and be developed. The defensive staff have done a good job of giving him the tools he needs to develop and grow. He's done a good job of being receptive to that. For a big kid like him to go out there and give that effort, he bats the ball and has a chance to intercept it, he realizes where he's at. It's always fun when you start to see guys become who you know they can be.
Q6 Last week you face one of the top catching tight ends for Wingate. Now, you face Keishoen Jarrett who had 10 catches for over 100 yards against you in the spring. How are these two similar and how do you ensure Jarrett does not go off?
The tight end in any offense, especially if he can receive, is the hidden gem. Most times people think he's a tight end and he's just going to block. In reality, he can be seen in man coverage but can get loose because we get so involved on stopping the run and actually lose the tight end. We have to do a better job of seeing him as we come down and do not entirely lose him as a priority. That's something they've been able to do and get him out in open space. They've done a good job of scheming him into spots so we have to be alert of where he's at and communicate to make sure we have him covered.
Q7 What's the mindset heading into the first road game of the year for the team after having two straight at home to start the season?
I think the good thing is that we are going on the road to a place that we just went to during the spring. We're kind of familiar with the trip and know there are aspects of this trip that can be tough and the guys are now aware of that. We go over there and play at 12, so it's a day trip as we go up the morning of the game. There's some challenges there and we've made a couple adjustments from how we did the trip last time to maybe give us a better mindset. The biggest concern regardless of time or place is we have to be ready to play football once the ball gets kicked off.
Q8 Last year, the passing game was able to be effective all game. Mars Hill showed similar success last week against them. Is this going to be more of a pass-orientated week for the team?
It's going to be what we get in practice so we know the relationships they have on offense as well. That is what I like about coach Damron in his interviews and saying that it is not about who gets the ball and how they get the ball, but it is about functioning and getting to where you need to be. If we get into those situations like last year, we'll continue looking for those things. We still need to be more concerned about us as an offense right now. Going into this game, we've scored seven and we've scored three. I think the defenses have had something to do with that but I think it's also been us still trying to figure out who we are. We're more concerned about our development.
