On Jordan Marshall's status

Yeah, so he had a lower body extremity deal that was going on and continuing to rehab that. He's going to be fine. Hopefully he'll be cleared here pretty soon and we'll see where it goes from there.

On Kalel Mullings embracing his expanded role

Yeah, I think, like he just said, he's kind of stayed steady and even-keeled with things. I just got to make sure he continues to take care of his body because he's getting more reps than he's used to. We've talked about this before. He's got to be very diligent about how he's taking care of his body away from the field and during his off time and things like that. But he's been great. He's been great in the meeting room still and practicing his tail off. So I'm very happy and pleased with the way he's handling his business.

On the difficulties with the run game when the pass game isn't working

Well, it's always going to – it has its challenges, right, where there's more people in the box, if you will. And so it makes it a little bit more difficult and challenging. But at the end of the day, we've got to go do our job and execute on the plays of the call.

On whether that's the message to Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards

Absolutely. I mean, listen, we are where we are, right? And we're continuing to get better, trying to continue to enhance our offense in a way that we can. And whatever the duty is, if you're called upon to do something within your job description, that's what you do. And no one cares. Listen, no one cares if there's more or less of a passing threat. You have a job to do. Go do your job.

On Jack Tuttle being able to open up the offense

Okay. Yeah, I mean, I think that obviously Jack presents some other issues as far as being able to throw the ball down the field for defenses. And obviously if you can push the ball down the football field, that'll help open up the run game. So, yeah, we're excited about what Jack's been doing the couple weeks and through the bye week and into this week. So we're excited to see where things are going.

On the pass protection and blocking from the running backs

We could be better. I'm kind of a perfectionist that way as far as pass pro goes and kind of a nut job about it. We've done a decent job, but we can be better. I think we can be more technically sound. They know that. I think Kalel in particular could do a better job with his hands as far as his blow delivery and hand delivery and blow and strike. But he knows those things. And our players all know that. So we'll continue to work on it. It's a work in progress. We'll continue to try to enhance that just as we move. But it's been okay.

On the keys to having success on Saturday

Score points. I mean, that's one of the keys. Well, we've got to, first of all, in all sincerity, we've got to take care of the football. You know, we have to take care of the ball. Can't turn it over, so we have to respect the football in that regard. I think we've got like 12 turnovers on the season or something of that nature. But we've got to stay ahead of the chains. You know, we can't have negative yardage plays and put ourselves behind the chains with, you know, pre-snap penalties and just, you know, self-inflicted wounds, if you will. So as far as the running backs go, we've got to make sure that we're turning what is maybe a two-yard, three-yard game into a four- or five-, six-yard game. And so we've got to do a really good job of running through tackles, running through trash, making guys miss the second, third level of defense and, again, just stay ahead of the chains.

On whether there was a greater sense of evaluation during the bye week

Yeah, I think, you know, when you have a bye week, an open week, if you will, there's evaluation of everything because you have time. You know, and I'm a firm believer in that there's always that self-evaluation, daily self-evaluation. But holistically, when you have some time, you evaluate everything that you're doing from A to Z, how you travel, how you eat, when you eat, how do you meet, how do I meet and what do I say in meetings. You know, are things as productive as they need to be? And so there's always that evaluation. Personnel, personnel changes or trying different things. And so all of that has transpired.

On the shuffling of the offensive line impacting the run game

Yeah, I think, again, working together, I think it's getting better. You notice some things. And, yeah, I mean, once again, backs just got to go do your job from the running back perspective. No one, we don't, we can't concern ourselves with who's up in front of us, who's behind, you know, who's behind center. We just got to go do our job.

On Illinois' defense and the opportunities in the run game

Well, I think they're there. I thought the guys at Purdue and some of those other teams, they did a good job as far as their backs ran hard, you know, and they strained to finish and things like that. And so I think there's some opportunities for us. You know, we got to go execute. And you're still talking about a very well-coached football team. You know, Bret Bielema and his staff, they do a great job. They've got some good players and they've had some success, you know, doing what they're doing and feel good about it. So it's really just about executing your game plan and straining to finish. And hopefully things work out that way for us.

On whether he's seen a team take a 12-man penalty before

I'm not going to talk about that. Anything to do with that, I'm not – I ain't got nothing to do with that one. I got your question, but you're always trying that, though, but I'm good. I'm going to leave that one alone.

On coming from a high-powered offense to one that isn't

Listen, at the end of the day, you're chalking up wins, right? And, yeah, do you want to, for the fan base, whatever, to score 50, 60 points and get great? But at the end of the day, are you winning games? At the end of the day, are you productive? And that means are you playing complementary football? And so that's really what I'm about. And I think what most programs should be about. But whatever it takes to win. That means that it's more ground and pound, or whatever the verbage you want to use, air raid, whatever it is Whatever it takes to win, that's what I want to do.

On the tenor of staff meetings when things aren't going right

Well, I think it starts with coaches, right? And oftentimes what you see is what you coach, right? And with that being said, that self-evaluation I was referring to earlier, that how, as far as the running backs go, again, that perspective, how can I help our players be better? You know, you look at – I'll just use the one run where Kalel was the lead blocker for Donovan, and the guy slipped off the block, tackles Donovan for like the 7, 8-yard gain, whatever it was, something of that nature. But had we executed the block and finished the block, that thing might have squirted for 40. So are you mad at the kid? Or do I got to look at myself and say, all right, you know, I should have done another drill that would have forced him to do it because instead of shooting his hands, he shot a forearm, the guy slid off the forearm. I got to do another drill that helps him use his hands and be more combative with his hands. And so that's the evaluation piece of how can I, as a coach, help put our players in a better position to perform and execute at a high level that we want them to. And then the players, on the other hand, have to self-evaluate and say, where can I be better? How can we be better? Am I watching enough film? Am I really straining in practice during these drills that we are doing? And so, again, it's a self-evaluation for everybody, not just coaches, but for everybody within the program.

On whether he feels like the offense is better in 12-personnel

We'll see. We'll see. Our objective is to try to get the best 11 players on the field at any given time. And in some situations, we feel that's what's best, and that's what we'll go with. If it's not, then we won't. We'll go 12-person or 11-person or whatever it may be. And I think game situations will dictate that.

On Donovan Edwards slipping during the game

This time he slipped. And there's a bunch of other guys that were playing on that same field. So we've got to keep our feet. And yeah, he slipped.

On Mullings finding more consistency

Yeah, again, I just think that just is attributed to just finishing runs, lower pad level, running your legs through contact, just things like that. And continually falling forward. I think every single play, particularly in the run game, has a different tempo or timing to it. Where you need to be on time. The way inside zone, the tempo of that is vastly different than counter. And is the ball being put in the right spot at the right time? As far as relationship and phase. So I would assume that's what he's referring to. As I didn't hear what he said or how he said it because I don't pay attention to their interviews like maybe I should. But, yeah, I would assume that's what he's referring to. And, again, that just gets back to just the consistency of how we practice and making sure that we're honing in all the details all the time. Very purposeful and intentional about the details of what we're doing.

On how he uses the backs, does he go by rhythm?

Yeah, I try to. I think when a guy starts getting hot and I can feel he's kind of getting going, just let him go and let him go. And, again, just a lot of it is situational ball. We get into a goal-line situation, it's more likely to be Kalel or Ben or whomever. And different situations we think dictate certain guys.

On Mullings and Edwards offering different skillsets

I think Donovan is more of a guy that you can put out in space and do some things as far as running routes. I think some of the more rugged, tougher yard stuff, probably more attributed to things that Kalel might be more suited for in certain situations. But the whole objective, again, is to make sure that we're trying to develop guys that are three-down players, that they can play every single down. And, again, some guys are a little bit more better at this or that than others. The key, again, is to put the best 11 guys on the field for that particular situation. But they do, they have a little bit different skill sets. Both of them are high-end skill set guys, but they both do have some different skill sets, obviously.

On having urgency with two losses

Absolutely. There's urgency every day. Well, I don't want to say you're slipping away, but there's an urgency to get things done. I mean, there's an urgency to get out of bed. I mean, yeah, there's definitely an urgency to do things, and there's an urgency in how you meet and how much information can you deliver that we can take to the practice field from the meeting room. And then when you go, there's an urgency to get things done properly. Like you said, we've lost two games, and we are where we are. So there is definitely a sense of urgency to get this thing moving properly, quickly. Panic, no, but very, very urgent, and the players know that.

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