JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Heading into the longest road trip of the season, Carson-Newman head coach Mike Clowney addressed the media before a crucial non-conference game with the Barton Bulldogs Saturday.
Clowney Opening Statement: It's going to be fun. With this group since I've been here, it will be our first overnight trip. We'll get on the bus and spend the night in a hotel and just spend some quality time together. As a player and as a coach, I know that's something that you enjoy when you get to be with your team alone. On the bus trip, minimize some distractions. We're looking forward to it.
Q1 Chip Hester is familiar with the Eagles as he spent over a decade at Catawba. What does it mean to see a familiar face like him on the opposing sidelines come Saturday?
Chip's a good dude and we've spent a lot of time talking while he was at Catawba. He actually offered my son a scholarship when he was two years old, but my son doesn't play football but I'll be holding Chip accountable to that. He's a great guy, really good football coach. Even when he left Catawba, he had a lot of success at North Carolina A&T. Guys respond to him and he does a great job on offense which we have seen from what they have been doing so far this season.
Q2 What are they doing to help put Jordan Terrell in situations where he's successful? Comparison between them and how Wingate ran the ball.
They're big up front, got some guys who are big foot to foot. They do a really good job of staying on blocks and keeping their feet moving to drive guys off the football. Terrell does a good job of being patient, finding holes, and then creasing the defense for big runs. It's very similar to Wingate. I think it's a lot is based on what they have been able to achieve out of it. They're a younger football team and the passing game is usually what takes a little bit more time to develop. They're probably a little bit more committed to the running game due to the timing and chemistry that goes with the passing game.
Q3 Defensively against the Wingate Bulldogs, you bottled up Peoples. What kind of confidence does it give you heading into this matchup?
I think it gives you confidence knowing that our guys are capable of going and playing physical up front. We're playing with some different guys at some places right now. We are confident the guys will help us go out there and change the line of scrimmage and be defensively against the run.
Q4 Got a couple nights of sleep to think about this. How do you think LaMarcus Brown did in his debut under center for you?
Even recruiting him, we knew he was a talented kid. The biggest thing for us is going back and watching the video and seeing some things there. There's one play where he sticks his foot down and goes vertical, and it's a little different. The biggest thing will be the guys rallying around him and help the freshman through the situation and not put all the pressure on him. We want him to perform but have the other guys play their role as well.
Q5 What is the mentality of the team after a tough outing last week?
We're still talking process, as one of the kids said after the game "it's back to the drawing board." We're never going to quit and never going to stop fighting, we're going to continue to push ahead. We watched the video and see where the breakdowns are and equate it to getting to the promised land at some point. We're got to believe, we have to buy in, and continue fighting so we can get to where we want to be.
Q6 Defensively, Barton has got into the backfield a fair amount with 12 sacks on the year. What do they do defensively to frustrate opponents?
They have really good talent but they played hard. A lot of times when guys play with effort and heart, you minimize great plays. When something does break loose, you have another guy there to step up and get it on the ground. That's the staple of everything they do, they play with great effort.
Q7 One of the bigger surprises for you this season has been P Michael Harrah. He's changed field position a lot of times and top 5 in the nation for some categories. What has he done to develop himself so quickly?
We've always thought that Michael has a really big leg and the biggest thing for him is developing the confidence. He's been put in situations and put under the fire, so it's good to see him gain that confidence and see what he can really do. We're really excited to have Michael. If we could keep him off the field and score points, it would be better but I told him we'd rather punt than have a turnover.
Q8 You've seen a lot of freshman play and get their first reps in college ball recently. Most notably, Jacorey Long got his first reps on the defensive line against Wise. What stuck out about his performance to you?
There's one play that really sticks out. Jacorey makes a freshman mistake when he sticks his nose inside and the back bounces outside. Just to watch him get his head outside and make a play, that's one of those things where you just notice him and say that "that kid, he has the potential to be something really special."
Overall, we're excited to go play football again. We're super pleased with the mindset of the kids right now. We're just excited to get back out and play football.
Q9 You've got some good kids. How much does it frustrate to not have the results pay off for them?
That's something we talked about in our meeting yesterday. We are a team. It's pretty cool for us to see the players wanting the coaches to succeed and then the coaches do the same for the players. Meeting with coaches all day, we want to put these guys in positions where they can be successful. We've worked hard on getting the buy in so we can move forward, and it's just been really fun.
