On Alex Orji's vertical passing game and how he's doing with it
I think he probably explained it but we all have to get better. He thinks he has to get better, we think he have to get better as a group. We'll just continue to progress.
On any thought about bringing in Davis Warren
No. We just talked about trying to get the first down, keep attacking.
On ways for the team to start controlling the second half
Like I told the team in the locker room, it was really a tale of two halves for us. We played really well in the first half and not as good in the second half. The energy that we had, I felt that we had, but the execution wasn't there. Me as a coach, I gotta make sure I do a good job of turning that thing up in the second half for them. Making sure they're ready to go. They were but we just didn't execute as well as we needed to.
On not being as excited to win in a similar fashion as last week
When you feel like you've got a lead, and you're building on it, and you get momentum, and you come out the second half, you let a couple things get away from you, it just feels different. So, we're happy we got the win, but not happy, not satisfied with how we got the win.
On what changed on defense with the Minnesota touchdown drives
On the touchdowns, we gave them a short field on one, and then hit a pump turn. So, the field position we were going to put on the defense wasn't helping the defense. So, we had to drive the field a long time, it took some time to get down there. For our defense, I thought there was a lot of really good things to build on. From a special team standpoint and an offensive standpoint, we have to do things to make sure that we don't put them in those kind of positions.
On Will Johnson and Josaiah Stewart's status
Both of those guys were game time decisions. We had both in pregame, and kind of see, they're working through some things. So, it just felt like that wasn't the time to put them out there.
On Myles Hinton and Dom Giudice being banged up
Just working through some little things. Both of those guys are really tough guys and playing through stuff. But it's part of an alignment at Michigan you're going to need to dinged up, both of those guys will be good.
On how eager he is to take the team on the road
I think one, obviously the venue that we're going to be playing at is going to be pretty cool. Everybody's seen it and looked at it and know it's loud, know it's fun. Never played there, never coached there, so that's going to be awesome. But I think on the road, you're with your pack of people, with that group. And it is a little different, but we're excited to get on the road, excited to get to work. And I know they're a good football team, Coach Fisch is a good football coach. But for us, we're just ready to just keep pounding away.
On whether the offensive struggles exacerbated the defensive struggles
No, I think when you give a Big Ten football team a good position, that's when things are going to happen. We're going to play a really good team. All the teams we play in the Big Ten are good, and we don't look at them any different. So you give a good football team that good position, the percentages go up. So for us as an offense, special teams, we've got to do everything we can to make sure we're in a position to play complimentary football.
On the confidence in Dominic Zvada kicking 50-yard field goals
I mean, that dude, he's a monster. As soon as we crossed the 50, it feels like we're in range. He said, I'm good, I'm good. I'm trying to score a touchdown. He said, I'm good, though. Just let you know I'm good. So he's awesome. He's done this throughout camp, just like Mason said, 50, 60-yarders. It feels like a kicking game now. You watch the television, all these kickers are kicking 60-yarders like it's nothing. Dom's been awesome. So I feel really confident with him.
On whether the rain impacted any decisions to kick the ball
No, it wasn't like a downpour. It was more of a sprinkle. It was just more, I felt like he could get us the points.
On going for it on fourth down in the game
Initially, the spot was spotted at fourth and two, and then they moved it up to fourth and one by the time we got there. So that's part of it. And then, you know, the mindset of, you know, when we are in fourth and one, we're in a pretty good position, depending on the situation, we have a high chance we might go for it. So I think the kids liked that mentality that we went to strive on, but really it was just a spot.
On Kalel Mullings picking up fourth down plays
He's an absolute dude. Another 100-yard rushing performance. Obviously, his first start. His preparation isn't gonna change, he's going to be who he is. He just wills himself to some of those first downs, remind me of Hassan Haskins all over again. He's unbelievable, gotta keep feeding him the ball.
On trying to get Alex Orji more comfortable with the offense and where he's making growth
I mean, the offense that we have and stuff that we have for him is wide open. You know, we're just trying to get him easy completions and things that he's really good at. And, you know, there's progressions you just have to continue to roll through. And if he does those, it's going to be even better. But, you know, for us as an offense, we want to be balanced. So we have to try to keep doing that as much as we can in different situations and we will.
On what he saw on the Orji interception
We had a rail route down on two, and, you know, two part, ball was a little inside. And the DB made a good play. Have to go through progressions, had Dono on the other side. A couple of things that we can clean up.
On how quickly it took to know he had something in Dominic Zvada
it might have took a week, pretty quick, when he started just banging 60-yard field goals. And then, you know, just out of nowhere. And you knew you had something special, but you had to see it continue to happen and be consistent over time. And he did. And it was pretty easy to see.
On how he grades himself in preparation and how he's feeling going into games
I feel prepared. I feel good. But, you know, I also don't want to let these kids down in any way. So, I will put a lot on myself to make sure I do everything I can to make them successful. So, I'm going to keep turning it up and do everything I can to help this team, this university to be great, because there's a high standard when you have the skinny M and Block M on your shirt. So, for me, there's a lot of pride. And I'm going to go to work. I'll be in there right after this. So, I'm ready to go.
On Jeff Persi and the defensive players who filled in
I felt like Persi played pretty good. The protection on him, he came off the ball and ran off the ball well. He's an experienced go so I was happy to see that. I thought TJ Guy played really, really good. He was the back foot a lot. Obviously, Jyaire had a great pick, and he's steadily progressing and getting better and better and better. Aamir made some big plays. So, I thought those guys picked up the slack a bit, some really good things. We'll see how those guys do next week.
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