Marshall Football: Charles Huff Post Game Press Conference (Stony Brook)

obviously um really good really good team win tonight um first I want to start off by thanking all the fans that came all the fans that stayed um obviously football season is back um Huntington was alive I appreciate everyone's efforts appreciate the administrative and the um the safety team that helped make as smooth as possible to get everybody in the stadium and then get everybody back in the stadium um a a complete University win tonight not only just on the by the players but the entire staff and everybody involved so um obviously still got a lot of work to do uh with 40 new players got an opportunity to see some guys in some live game action see how they responded um hats off to to Stony Brook you they did some things that kind of took some things away we thought we were going to have uh which made us kind of adjust um so hats off to them as well but um obviously really good way to start the season with win how do you handle that delay and and trying to get not even knowing how long the stoppage will be and getting back in yeah that that's kind of our plan we we we're very thorough I if you remember ECU last year we had a plan uh we were right on that plan actually we had just ordered the food because once you hit you know pass a certain amount of time you got to rehydro I mean refuel um so we probably got about 200 sandwiches left over for you guys if you if you want to grab one on the way out but you know it's it's something we talked about we looked at the weather earlier in the week and said hey um you know if we have a delay here's our plan this morning when we met as a staff we talked about um airing our athletic trainer ba our strength coach and sherro ever our chief of staff uh we had a plan of exactly what we were going to do um obviously the time you don't know um but we got some markers in there that we have as a plan you know once you hit an hour hour and a half two hours um you know certain things that we do we kept guys moving um and then we went back out and the the beauty of it is the plan works because when we went back out we kind of had some more energy um so that's good lesson to learn from to teach the guys we got a plan for everything you just got to trust the process uh with really job by our um our our support administrative team um kind of working that plan as we go you mentioned that energy but you know AJ comes comes out of the gate with a big play on that first offensive playback did that help you know kind of yeah we we talked about it you know we went in the locker room we just didn't feel like we were we were playing in a rhythm you know I mean we we did some good things you know obviously you know not knowing what Stony Brook was going to do didn't allow us to kind of anticipate some things pre- snap um but we felt like we left a lot of opportunities out during those first you know two or three series um so we talked about what they were doing we you know kind of eliminated some stuff we thought they were going to do that they weren't and kind of went back and said okay based on what they're doing you know what do we have in the plan at works and it was really good for AJ um you know to strike it up in there um and get a long run explosive run which you know kind of sparked a little bit of fire under the team um and and kind of got us going offensively you know for for the the rest of the day defensive line set the tone from the start they got a ton of pressure car through the whole night did you kind of feel that as well yeah um we talked about you know the depth of the defensive line being something that we felt like we had you know um we had coming in in this year um Coach Street did a good job of rotating a bunch of guys again we're trying to see like 40 new guys who do we really have you know what what can they do in game situation um so I thought you know defensively up front we were able to kind of um you know stop the run without having to Blitz or add guys to the Box um so that was good obviously we played a lot of guys so we got an opportunity to evaluate some of those guys some of those guys haven't played a lot of football even though they made transferred from XYZ school so it was good to see them in live action tonight got a chance to see all three quarterbacks coach you want to reflect on yeah um like we talked about we got we got real competition in that room you know um obviously Stone started it off and kind of everything we kind of gave him you know coming into the game was was a little bit different from what they were doing um they were playing true kind of coverage keep everything in front of you um didn't pressure as much as we thought they would they did some things front wise to kind of eliminate having to bring some guys um I thought kind of once we came back after the break he found a little bit of a rhythm uh we had planned to put brillan in um either at the end of the um second quarter beginning of the second half with the break in there it kind of kind of changed what we did um but you know for him he was able to kind of sit back and listen you know that whole first half of what they're doing what we're going to go to to um how are we still going to get our receivers open with what they were doing um and then we talked about you know when we came in for for the delay let's not try to force anything let's just be efficient and I thought when you looked at the coming out of the delay before we went into halftime we were a lot more efficient running the ball take what the defense gives you when throws are there to be made we made them when catches are there to be made we we made some catches I thought think you saw um metf you know make some catches over the middle which were really good um but I thought as a whole the quarterback room was efficient you know we didn't turn the ball over we didn't put the ball on the ground um cold threw his first touchdown um pass today which was good um and going back you know that was the big emphasis take care of the ball and be efficient explosions will come you know the the big plays will come but if we can't be efficient and get bored with efficiency that's where you want to be because that means you're taking what the defense has giv you means you're seeing what you need to see and I thought all three of them did a good job job of that as the game went on about Met's just versatility over the middle did some good things in the return game um just is that kind of what you expected yeah he gives us a different Dynamic um you know we had some other guys we thought we were going to be able to get involved um based on what they were doing but he gives us that Dynamic to have that that mid to intermediate pass game and that's kind of where you know when you talk air raid it's not just you know Bombs Over Baghdad it's that mid to intermediate pass range and then when you take that away that's when you start to get your stuff on the outside to Fitz and brillan and Chester um so I thought overall um the offense was efficient enough to take what the defense was giving them when they give you the over the-middle intermediate you got to catch it and make some plays um I thought metap did some good things in the return game uh we haven't had a um effective return game in the punt return world for a while we've had some guys who can catch it and filled it we haven't got guys that had a little bit of um juice he showed some flash tonight and that as well first time doing it so he's still getting better at it um but I thought he showed a lot of Versatility just in overall playing football do do you go into to next week now feeling like you've seen a lot of your guys in in Game Time situations and do you know more about your team after tonight yeah I I know a lot more it's interesting because a lot of the things that showed up and practice a lot of the things that you know we kind of hey this is what this guy is or this is what this guy it's typically done it showed up in the game um the one area that I thought was probably um better than I anticipated was I thought we did a good job of front um now I haven't watched the film but I thought for the most part you know with four new guys I thought those guys played well together you know the com the communication they were having when they were coming off the field was really good they were seeing the same thing they were communicating the calls I thought we did a good job of keeping the quarterback upright um I thought we did a good job of running the ball efficiently when we needed to obviously we still got to continue to get better at it um but overall I thought the you know the the guys that we were trying to see okay this guy's new what's he going to do I think we got a good enough um start right now we got to go back and Coach them now we got to go back and say hey this is what we were talking about in practice about your details your fundamentals here's where it carries over into the game do you expect to see that quarterback competition continue to develop over this week or yeah I think yeah I think again you know um now that you're going to have film current film um I think you you have a whole different game plan you know I mean we watched St Francis film for for two weeks and maybe 30% of what we watched they did you know what I mean so you don't know and as a coach you got to prepare them for you know what they could do but then you got to be able to adjust and I think it's very difficult when you start looking at one team but you're playing another team and you don't know if they're doing the same like you're looking at the safety from St Francis well I don't know if the safety from Stony Brook can backpedal like that guy or not you know what I mean so it's a little bit difficult it's difficult for coaches it's really difficult for kids um so I thought we did a good job of adjusting as the game went on and trusting what the eyes were seeing the iPads made a huge difference obviously for us today um because of that um you know when we first started looking at some stuff early in the game it was kind of like oh I didn't see that it happened too fast okay well this is what's what's happening so I think it'll continue to evolve you know I know everyone was kind of well you're holding out you're holding out it was a legitimate competition you know I mean it was it was legitimately you know down to the last you know really Thursday you know that we that we had to make a decision um I think again it shows we got two three capable quarterbacks depending on with what we're doing obviously you got you know the legs of the first two guys who can create a little bit in the Run game and then Cole did a really good job of getting through his reads and progressions today as well so um I feel the same you know I mean as far as the depth in the room um giving us an opportunity to win I think it creates a lot of challenges for defense when the quarterback can run I think it also creates a lot of challenges for defense when you have a quarterback that can get through his reads quickly um so I think we're in a good spot obviously we got to you know put a good game plan together and figure out which one fits that game plan once we start looking at the next opponent but um I feel good about it well you come out of the the everybody yeah come out of the weather delay and uh had some lightting in yourself huh yeah yeah basically I just had to put the Trust on my old line man I know we've been working all week about the aiming points the blocking assignments and I know they've been working hard so all I had to do is trust in them and the rest is history you know did you sense kind of A Renewed Energy after that run because you guys took off after that yeah yeah we talk about it all the time egb energy generating behaviors you know coach Huff emphasized on that we all emphasizing on that so with somebody you just building off each other that's all it is building off each other can you talk about your birth there they have some pretty good blocking up front then it was just a foot race right yeah exactly just trying to just basically trying to finish runs you know that's how we practice we practice finish runs finishing through the endzone so it was normal to just all finish all the way through pretty normal probably been waiting for that moment a while huh yeah yes sir yes sir um what's that do to you guys offensively I'm sorry just just to charge you up how does that affect the team a big play like that yeah you know it gets everybody going you know it's it it lets everybody know it's time to go especially when you just make a big run like that you know I couldn't do it without my o line you know they really been pushing and I'm just grateful for them about just the overall team performance today a little bit of a slow start you what the weather delay but but end up with with a convincing win just overall thoughts about today yeah so you know there always going to be some adversity but it's how you battle back it's how you fight adversity you know ain't no game going to be clean ain't no game going to be perfect but the strongest survive so you just got to keep fighting to the end that's all it is had a front row seat to this quarterback competition and got to see all three of them tonight you know coaches talked a lot about the depth in that room you kind of see it that way as well yeah I see it I see it like it's just OD competition you know brilin he um he do a lot with his feet Stone he more as like the acur thrower so it's just it's just all competition that everybody bring something different so you know it's just whatever we need at that specific moment but both of them are very talented players though and there was talked earlier in the week about not overlooking Stony Brook after what happened with alony last year um you feel like you guys executed the game plan and kept the focus on doing what you guys can do well yeah I feel like we worked really hard on executing the game plan actually you know you can't Overlook nobody it don't matter this is division one football at the end of the day so you know everybody coming to eat and everybody trying to make it somewhere so we treat every game like us all last and we just that's how we approach it everybody good ask one more um you know over the next week obviously big game next week um exciting opportunity a team that you guys saw last year home but um you know just what are you looking forward to about that matchup down there in blackburg Yeah so basically I'm just looking to compete you know they came here last here and we going to their place so you know they going to be fired up we basically got to just go and then do our job appreciate appreciate yall it's been a whirlwind of a summer for you but uh you get to start um tonight um what have these first um you know couple months been like for you you got adjusted a new setting and and got integrated in the offense and you kind of made it your own yeah I mean uh props to these guys for kind of just accepting me into into this team and then the role I have like obviously I want to give a shout out to this quarterback room we're we're super close they they accepted me from day one and uh competition brings out the best in all of us so it it's cool to hang around these guys and and grow as people and then as players and help each other out so I mean it it's been it's been a fun couple months since I've been here and I'm just excited to be here I know this is a great place to be and yeah obviously a little bit of a slow start but after that weather delay it seems like it just took off for you guys did you did you feel the difference coming out of the break yeah I mean especially with the iPads you get to you get to watch and and see like it's like watching practice film you get to grow on what you see in in real game time like in moments so that that was cool to see and then obviously it took a little bit to settle in but I feel like once I settled in I was able just to play my game uh missed obviously like I saw some things that I missed that I can be better at but at the end of the day uh just take those and grow from them you know how different was using the iPads in game obviously a totally different you know switch for college football but it was it was way different but uh extremely helpful cuz like I said it's like watching practice but real game time uh you kind of get to see The Leverage of different players and what covers are playing what they're doing differently what they're doing the same and it just kind of helps the quarterback out a lot just seeing like pre- Snap when he needs to identify obviously you good through this this battle through fall camp and you know there there decision was made late in the week but did just feel good to get out there and play and and not have to not have to worry about anything else yeah it felt it felt great to get out there and play again because I'm I mean I really didn't play like seriously till the second like the second game last year then after that after I caught my full body cramp I didn't really play the the rest of the year so it was it was fun just to to be be able to get back out there and just compete and and play the game I love so one a full body cramp sounds awful yeah um how about The Playmakers around you tonight obviously a lot of different receivers got in on the action AJ has a big run but uh is that did that kind of help you settle in when when some of those guys stepped up and make yeah those guys are phenomenal like just being able to to get the ball in those guys hands it's it makes my job easy the quarterback's job easy but I'm just uh super blessed to have those Playmakers around me and then the o line did a phenomenal job in just adjusting to the different fronts and style of play they were playing so uh props of them and then just we just had to execute the the play that that was given to us and I feel like the guys did a great job adjusting to the coaching points so how was the coach to player pet how did that in the helmet I feel like it makes the operation a lot faster and a lot cleaner like we're able to hear the call in our helmet without having to look at a signal and uh like communicate to the o line commun communicate to the receivers if we have to and then like it takes uh like a a lot of less time to identify the defense and get our eyes on the defense cuz you can make a call and then kind of look around and see what you got a little bit faster so I think it just cleans up the operation big opportunity next week yeah for sure what are you looking forward to about um going down to blackberg I mean obviously the fan the fan base the crowd up there is it's pretty wild like I've seen a ton of inner Sandman videos or whatever so that's cool just just opportunity to show what you can do at a against a a team like that you know uh just super blessed and just ready to grow from a lot of things this week and get out there everybody good thank you thank you guys when the defensive blond comes out and sets the tone I mean we've heard about the depth we talked about the talent but to see it in action really right away um just Ju Just how fulfilling was that to to kind of see what you've worked work immediately I think it's very fulfilling um we've been putting in this work since everybody's gotten here um Marshall does a good job with making sure that um we're putting in the work consistently um whether it's the winter summer fall we're always putting in the work so when you finally go out there and be able to have fun and do what you love doing it brings a lot of fulfillment to you did the stoppage affect you guys much Mich just because you just don't know how long you're going to be in the locker room and how long storm going to be out I mean I it it probably did in in some kind of way or form um but we still we still came out there with the same intensity and the same um competitiveness um that we started off with so I guess it really didn't but uh I guess we'll we'll never really know but um yeah we we just we still had our our minds laser focus and um just make sure we had to do everything that we had to do obviously after that weather delay AJ busted off a big run and that seemed to bring a ton of energy to the sideline um do you think that translated to the defensive side after that yeah everything the offense does translates to the defense um I feel like once once the offense get rolling and and they bring some excitement um it triggers the defense automatically like off the rip um and it's vice versa also uh when we make when we make big plays and everything like that um it it fires up the offense so it's kind of like U we got your back y'all got our back kind of thing walking through the the sack celebration ow had his you know share of C the six yeah you got a little little Archer action going on yeah uh it it it took a I'm not going to lie it did take a minute to um kind of come up with a celebration um it's something that I actually been putting in some time to to figure out what I'm going to do and then I looked it up and apparently it's Banning the NFL so I'm going have to come up with a little another celebration when if it gets to that time but yeah um it I only it just came the first thing that came to my mind was crawling just so yeah know um you guys keep Stony brick out of the end zone tonight um and even though there were times when they maybe rattled off a chunk play you guys seem to rebound well what do you think worked defensively for you guys I think um the the mixed of um we got some speed guys we got some strength guys that hold the gaps um Chris Thomas is one of the guys that we line up to my side he knows that I'm a shoot up the field so he has to play both gaps and sometimes and it's like vice versa um I get the pressure off the edge and let the quarterback step up to him so it's kind of like I got you you got me kind of things um and uh we got a we just got a good mix of of guys that that can either rush the passer or stop the run or take on double teams um shoot for another another guy for example he he takes on double teams great and um like dudes like that uh it's easier to play with and as long as all of us are helping each other out that I mean that's all you can really ask for big opportunity next week um the team that you guys saw here last year just what are you looking forward to about that matchup um I'm looking forward I'm looking forward to everything honestly um I know they're going to have a little chip on their shoulder especially since um since we had a victory over them last year we're going to be at third home so you know how that energy is and um I think we're all excited um we definitely have to clean up some a few things here and there um but I think just overall we just going to have to go in there with the same mentality that we enter every single game and um from there on it should it should carry over we've heard coach and some of the offensive guys talk about how they use the iPads um to to kind of review some stuff in the moment does that help on the defensive side too did you use him any or yeah yeah we used we used the iPads as soon as we came off the field for each Drive um as soon as you get as soon as you come off the field they got like the little five or three play series that that um that that we just came off the field on and you get to click a play and it literally shows you whichever play that you want to see uh in each down um so I think it's very beneficial I think the iPad is a a level up from what we uh we recently been doing and um yeah I just feel like it's it's been helping us a lot thank you appreciate y'all you got in the action early pass break up there early and um you know that that that group up from created a lot of pressure um you know was that important to start out that way uh yeah we feel like um the dline uh we the group that really can start off the game right we feel like if we go out there and execute you know and just be ourselves uh we could cause cohesion as a defense and everybody can go out there and make plays and fly around some some different talents up front as well you guys can all do a little bit of everything um you know how fun is that to work with the group like that that has you know so much person to it yeah it's it's it's a real fun thing um and to be honest at this point we kind of used to it we've been you know playing together and making plays since spring you know so it felt real good for us to finally go out there and you know execute against a different color you know so um that's what it is for you guys came out of the break and AJ ripped off the big play how how much does that kind of you know get you guys going on defense too yeah that get us going a lot um we got some thing called juice so whenever it's a offense kickoff return whenever um a different uh how how I say this whenever somebody else do something good that give us like juice coming on the field you know that just boost our confidence you was it nice to feel that energy when when you ran out there in the tunnel and you got fans um in the stands that that kind of make it real that The Season's here yeah yes sir it feel it feel real good um I've been anticipating coming out that tunnel here in that Thunder song since uh fourth quarter so it just feel good finally being able to go out there see the fan you know get that green smoke going come out that tunnel so uh it was a real great feeling to finally have again what was the biggest uh takeaway um for you guys as a defense out of tonight um I say the young guys honestly you know once we got closer to the end of the game the young guys they went out there and they executed you know and they was out there playing just like they some old older guys so um that's a real good thing for us when the young guys go out there and execute that just mean a lot does you know that they doing what they supposed to do in a film room and you know just gain the knowledge so that's a real good thing I say the young guys going out there doing what they supposed to do now that you have a game on film does that make you know knowing what you need to work on the next week in practice does that make that easier now that you've seen it in live game action uh yes sir uh shoot I'm probably going to go home tonight and try to see if they put the film up uh so that's what we really on honestly uh just going back seeing how we made mistakes and correcting those to the game that we got uh for it and Mike worked on his sack celebration do you have One queued up uh I'm trying honestly I've been trying to make a celebration for so long and every time I try to make a celebration my little brother tell me no you got to do a different one so I ain't on mik level yet but I'mma get there eventually I might I don't know I might be too tired to do a celebration after this fact honestly else for than all right thank you so