On whether Alex Orji will remain as starter

Alex will be the starter again and there's definitely more to the game and more things that we have complemented for him and for the offense. But I thought he did a good job, took care of the football for us, which was the number one thing we wanted. And was a great team player, did all the things we asked him. Ran extremely hard when he asked him to, so proud of him and proud of his performance.

On how much can be added to his plate on a week-to-week basis

Yeah, it was good. Good to get that first experience as a starter and play, especially in a big-time game and great atmosphere like it was on Saturday. So, yeah, there's a good bit that we can add and things that we can do to complement the running game. Obviously, the running game was successful, but we want to be balanced and we've had years in the past where we've had those games like that and we've had to win like that and not afraid to win like that as long as we win. So, we'll definitely just keep rolling.

On Orji's demeanor after he found out he wasn't the starter

He was the same Alex you saw on Saturday after the game, the same Alex that he always is. Just uplifting others, great energy, great spirit, great person, learning, continuing to get better. He's been the same and steadfast and stayed the course.

On why Will Johnson is able to make big plays in clutch moments

First, I've got to thank Mom and Dad for the talent that he has and the man upstairs. He's a tremendous worker, tremendous person, humble, just does it all the right way. He studies the game. He's always in here watching film, always doing things to get a competitive advantage. The kid just loves it. It was crazy. Before that drive, Wink said, you know, they keep testing him over there. He's going to bait him. He's going to pick one. All of a sudden, he's gone. I'm like, oh dang, Wink, you predicted it. Dude just jumped the route and was third down, knew one was going vertical, two was short, and just picked the route. Great job by Will and great job by the defense.

On the level of access NFL teams have with his program

Yeah, the access they have. They can watch film. They can watch practice film, game film. They'll talk to our Director of Player Personnel, Albert Karschnia, in relation to what the players are like on and off the field. They'll talk to the strength coaches, talk to the equipment staff. I'll have conversations with them. But then they'll watch practice and get a feel for how the guys are and how they practice and what they're doing. There's certain days that we have them in and that's the access that they get. And there'll be a time as we go through the year that that'll be done and then we'll just continue to focus. But it's great for us. It's great for recruiting, but it's also just great for our kids, for them to see them. And there's definitely a motivation, an internal motivation as a player. It's just like when your family's watching or you're playing in a game or you look over there, you see those patches, you see the NFL logo. So you know you're always being watched. And we tell them, but now they always know. So it's huge for us.

On the pass protection

Yeah, good. Just got to continue to improve. Not a lot of opportunities. Ran the ball successfully and did what we needed to do to win. But definitely improving and we'll keep going.

On how he allocates reps at quarterback

Yeah, you got to. I mean, I don't know what the magic number is, whether it's 70, 30, 60, 40. But you definitely have plays that you know you want Alex to get and run past. There's things that you want him to get, you need him to get with certain receivers, certain people, certain tight ends to get the timing. So he'll get the majority of those and then those guys will get them behind him.

On Davis Warren's demeanor

Yeah, I mean, he's been just studying just how he was when he was the starter. So he's been great.

On the plan at center and the offensive line moving forward

Yeah, I mean, that defense is pretty good. 290 yards on the ground. I think we average like six yards a carry. So O-line definitely played their best game, for sure. I think they averaged like three yards a run before contact, which is pretty good. So if you're blocking for three yards, it means you're probably going to get four or five. And with Kalel back there, maybe eight. And Donovan averaged five. So it's not like he, Donovan averaged five yards a carry on 14 carries. So besides, you know, he beats himself up about the fumble and he'll learn from it and he'll never do it again. But he had a pretty good game too. So Kalel just had the game that he had. So I thought those guys played well up front. Always looking to improve. It's not a finished product, but they are getting better. And that's the biggest thing you look for.

On whether his team can win in different ways

Yeah, I think our team, we feel confident that we want to just go win every game. You know, you can't, you can script down how you want it to go and you can try to plan out how you want to go, but it's football. And we were up 14-3 and then they came back and then we scored and then they scored and, yeah, it's football. So we just got to attack every moment and be in the moment and that's it.

On his confidence level in Donovan Edwards

I'm confident in Donovan.

On whether Kalel Mullings is RB1

Yeah, we'll see. I think he earned the right to be in that conversation and talk about it and have those conversations with both of those guys. But those are things we'll talk about. Kalel played a heck of a game and you can't deny the effect that he had on the game. So we'll just have those conversations as an offense.

On Evan Link and what he's liked

Yeah, steadily getting better. A young guy that's never started a game here and really never played that much. Last year he redshirted, so he played four games and that was it. And continually getting better. Last week he got better. You saw the steps going forward. So the size, the talent that he has. He just needs to continue to keep that confidence going and he will.

On Colston Loveland's status moving forward

Yeah, we'll see. Doing better. Doing a lot better. Just close to playing last Saturday. But doctors felt that it would be in the best interest that he not. So we're in a positive patch right now, so we'll see.

On Max Bredeson and Mason Graham

I mean, start with Breddy since we're on offense. I mean, he's just, he's the ultimate thumper. He's the tone setter. He does it pregame, in the locker room, at practice. He's the only guy like on defense, like when he's bringing it. I mean, there have been some battles in the spring. Him and Josaiah going at it. It's like heavy hitters and we get the fall camp. I'm like, yeah, I don't want to see this too many times. These guys are going to knock each other's heads off. But just unbelievable. And then Mason, I mean, played his best game for sure. Was detailed, was powerful, was strong. He looked dominant in there. So did Kenneth Grant. So did Derek Moore. And then, obviously, Josaiah. Josaiah was an absolute game wrecker. He was an absolute game wrecker. They had so much trouble blocking him, whether it was speed, whether it was speed to power, whether it was inside move. He looked like a pain in the butt to block, and I'm glad I wasn't that left tackle, whoever that was. Those guys played unbelievable up front.

On whether it's been a feeling out process with the offense and it bleeding it into the season

It's the same process it is every year. Every year I get asked what's the identity of the offense, and I say the same thing. As we go and as we play games, we'll develop that identity, and I think we're starting to.

On receiver separation

I guess we'll see. I think these guys have practiced their tails off. I mean, I give an ultimate shout-out to the receivers for the game it was. They could have easily been crying on the sideline, asking for this, asking for that. All they did was, what am I going to do to win? And that's all we're worried about. So those guys will get plays, and those guys will make plays as the season goes on.

On the next step for Orji's development

Yeah, I think the continual confidence of starting a second game. I think that's huge. There's nothing like the experience and continuing to do it. He's already a confident kid, but I think as you continue to progress and see that you can do it, you make those throws, you make those down-the-field throws and do those things in practice, and then it leads to the game, those will show up even more. So just ready for him to keep the confidence and keep the level of confidence up for him.

On when he realized Max Bredeson could be an effective blocker

Yeah, I mean, probably sometime in the past two years. He's obviously done it. Last year he became kind of the guy he is now, and this summer he kind of became a tone setter in training camp, the same, spring ball. So you kind of figured that, especially in the spring, this dude's got something different and he's got a chance to not only be a great player here, but to play at the next level because there's not many guys that do what he does at the next level. So he'll have a chance to do that too.

On where his touchdown block ranks on his list of favorites

I mean, they're all really good. So you can talk about that one, you can talk about the one in the Rose Bowl. I mean, there's plenty. So it's up there. He's going to continue to do it. So I don't know, it'll be hard to rank them all.

On Jyaire Hill's growth

Man, he played a heck of a game on Saturday. He made a lot of nice plays, competitive plays, competitive hits in open field. So he's just climbing. And just the confidence, the learning, he's been on Will's coattails, just following around, doing as he does with Rod, McCart, him. It's just been good to see him just climb, and he practices that way. So to watch him embrace that and watch him extra time with meetings with Coach Morgan has been really cool. So he just keeps climbing.

On whether he expects Dom Giudice and Greg Crippen to continue to split time at center

Yeah, I mean, both of them were in on touchdown drives and successful drives, and so we'll see as this week goes.

On Josaiah Stewart stepping into a bigger role

Yeah, I mean, last year he rotated, obviously, with Jalen Braden and two great players in their own right. But he just continues to be just a tone setter. He's a great leader. I mean, he's so quiet, but humble, works his tail off, extremely strong, and just does everything you want to be a leader and be a guy. And we had captains voting. He was the next highest captain vote. So if one of those other guys weren't a captain, it would have been Josiah. So that just tells you a guy that's transferred in from somewhere, been here for just a year and a year and a half now, and the team looks at him as a leader. He's an impact player. He's a game-wrecker.

On whether the key to unlocking the defense is through the front four

I mean, I think any defense, if you've got a front four that can control a lot of scrimmage, you're going to be really good. So I guess I'd say yeah. But I think anything that we have, it's 11-1. But if we can control a lot of scrimmage, we're going to be pretty good.

On whether he feels Orji is the right quarterback for the system

Yep.

On what the feeling was throughout the game with Orji at QB

Took care of the football, and we won. We had a really good team.

On the lack of communication with the defense

Yeah, the one that the guy was open was communication. We were under pressure, and the guys weren't covering the right guy. So that was one. And the one half, you know, we're playing a coverage where Makari's supposed to go to the top a little faster, and he doesn't get there, and that was a big play. So there's just a couple things that we've got to clean up. And it's not always a finished product, and the guys beat themselves up on it. But they need to make sure that they know they won the game, and they made a lot of great plays that helped us win. The one that Branch breaks, he's a really good player, breaks the tackle, goes down to get tackled by Q, who hustles all the way down, and that just tells you the culture, the effort. Because he tackles them down, and then they have to kick a field goal. So you can easily say, oh, that was a big play. Well, we tackled them at the five or whatever, and then all of a sudden they've got to kick a field goal. That's game-changing. So those guys are showing you the effort and what the culture is all about.

On whether he pays attention to Pro Football Focus grades

No, I don't look at that. I've got no time for that.

On Minnesota

Yeah. I mean, I think always Coach Fleck has a tough physical discipline football team that they're going to play together. They're going to play team ball. They're going to play ball-control offense. They're going to play smart defense. They're going to try to control the clock, do things to make you make mistakes. So we've got to go out there and execute at a high level, be detailed. Last week you talked about fanatical detail in everything we do. And this week it will be definitely just trying to check and see if there's any complacency everywhere. We can't have any complacency. We've got to be urgent in everything we do, and that will be the key for us for victory this week.

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