VIDEO: Ashley Ingram Press Conference
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - No. 21/22 Carson-Newman takes on Tusculum in the Second Oldest Rivalry Game in the State of Tennessee Saturday at 1 p.m. Below are Ashley Ingram's pregame remarks to the media about the Tusculum Pioneers.
OPENING STATEMENT:
INGRAM: We've got another great opportunity Saturday to go play our oldest rivalry game against Tusculum, which is a very talented team. Do not let the records fool you. They're talented, they have great coaching and I've been in a few of these rivalry games with the academies. You can throw out the records and you know we're going to play really well to have an opportunity to win on the road in a place that we just haven't played well in recently.
Q1: You bring up the service academies and those rivalry games. It's also the return of two teams playing triple option football against one another in the South Atlantic Conference. That hasn't happened since 2016. Does that warm your heart at all as an old triple option guy?
INGRAM: Not at all. I'd rather they were not running option. I'd rather Coach Taylor not hired Coach Lang. No, they're good coaches and it'll be a challenge. You know, when you play these games, every, every possession is of the great importance. The clock runs when you're running the football, so mistakes will be very costly. So we've got to take care of the football and then when we have an opportunity, offensively, we've got to make plays and then on the other side of the ball, we can't give up big plays and we need to get a turnover or two.
Q2: You brought up the personnel. They're doing it with a lot of the holdovers from last year. How have you seen them based on what you've seen on tape, transition from more of a spread, more of a chuck it around to option principles?
INGRAM: Well, like us, they've had growing pains and we are still having some. And I'm sure that their coaches would feel the same way. But what I know is they've got great coaches that know exactly what they're doing. They know how they want to attack defenses and they offensively are super talented, skill set wise and they're scoring points. I think their record is misleading as well. They've been in a lot of close games against good people. They very easily could have won several more games. And then, you know, with coach Taylor running the defense or being heavily involved in defense. They continue to get better and better as the season progresses as well.
Q3: This one has some oomph to it. A win and you're Mountain Division champions and playing Wingate two weeks from now for the title. Playoff pictures also in the mix. Do you look at that at all?
INGRAM: Obviously those things are at play and obviously you can't stick your head in the sand and ignore them. But all those things aren't going to help us win the game against Tusculum and we've got to prepare each day to play them, a good football team on the road. So those, I guess those outside factors or factors have no bearing on what's going to happen on the field on Saturday. So we've got to play and try to block those things out as best we can.
Q4: Justin Johnson saw significant time at quarterback against Anderson, the guy that has seen significant time at the position this season. What did you see out of him.
INGRAM: Against AU well, once he settled down, we saw everything we'd seen out of him, you know, in practice, through spring ball and fall camp. He's savvy, he's got a quarterback's mentality, he can move, he's athletic, he can throw the football. So I was not surprised at all by what I saw. Would have rather not seen it, would rather not be in the situation where we had these injuries at quarterback. But I think it just says a lot about our offensive staff. I think it says a lot about Chuck, that we've had to play five quarterbacks significantly during the season and still find ourselves in the position we're in.
Q5: Felt like you dialed up the aggression a little bit against the Trojans and paid off with 14 tackles for loss. Can you break down the maturation of that unit that has been pockmarked by injury, especially up front? But you've got veteran linebackers, veteran secondary that seems to be making things happen.
INGRAM: As the season progresses, we're getting better. As the season progresses, we're getting some guys back. You know, Jesse Combs just came back, who's a great addition to our defensive line. Our linebacking corps is very athletic. They ran around and made a lot of plays. Obviously it starts up front on the D line, so I think we've got an athletic group and we're playing hard. And Coach Slade is aggressive by nature, and so those guys are taking on his personality and I think we're getting better.
Q6: Tanner Fleming told me that Turk Daniels is up to 62 knockdowns on the year for the offensive line, which is the single season record at least going back to 2014 for most knockdowns in the season. You've highlighted him throughout the year up front, I guess. Is this just not a surprise at all, given his proclivities up front?
INGRAM: No, I'm not surprised. He's doing well. He's just a steady kid. He's one of those guys you can kind of show him a concept one time and he picks it up. So he's played well from day one and we're excited and he's going to have to continue to play well if we're going to do the things we want to do this season.
Q7: Is it unreal that you played three freshmen on the offensive line, two of which have started every game for you with Tre Edwards starting the last five, and you're nearly averaging 300 yards per game on the ground?
INGRAM: I think this is my 28th season coaching, and the first 27 were as an offensive line coach. And I don't know that I've ever started a freshman offensive lineman at the collegiate level. And to start three is pretty remarkable. And obviously to start two true freshmen, I think it says a lot about them, but I think it also says a lot about, you know, the job that Tanner and Joe have done with offensive line as well.
Q8: Earlier this season, Tusculum spent time on campus, refugees of sorts from when Greenville was out without water. Post Helene, any leftovers from that week that they spent here practicing in Jeff county?
INGRAM: Well, as Dr. Fowler said, you know, it was kind of our duty to be good neighbors. It was a great gesture on his part to Tusculum. I don't think there were any issues, and I think those young men had a good time on campus here. I heard they enjoyed the food. Shout out to Chef Matt and Fresh Ideas over there. He does a great job. But no, you know, Coach Taylor. I think he also expressed his gratitude to Carson-Newman for helping them out. And when we saw each other the first time in January, we both talked about. And he brought it up that, you know, the incidents that have happened between Carson-Newman and Tusculum on the bad side, the altercation stuff, that that was going to be a thing of the past, and we certainly feel that way. I have nothing but respect for that group and that coaching staff. And they're just another opponent, like everyone else, and we certainly wish them all the best and hope they're doing well.Q9: Anything else?
INGRAM: We're just excited for another opportunity and we've got a great challenge. You've got to go on the road, and these day trips in this league are not easy. Not used to that or it's been a little while since I've done that. But we'll have to play better than we did offensively to start the game last week if we're going to have a chance to win this game because they'll play really good defense against us and we're just excited to play.
Kickoff between the Eagles and Pioneers is set for 1 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network begins at noon with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville) and online at cneagles.com/live.