Louisville football coach Jeff Brohm, players react to season-opening win over Austin Peay

room back here hey Tyler Tyler gever from WDRB uh your first time out on the field in in quite a while just what was that experience like for you to to not only get back to playing but but have such a productive day yeah I mean it's such a blessing U really grateful for the opportunity and that was kind of my thought process the whole time is to go out there and have fun U really no nerves just um really just you only get so many opportunities with this game and um never know what's going to happen I was really proud of the the way we play and how the team performed Alex when you look at just the the weapons around you I mean obviously you know you kind of have in FAL but to see that you know Jaden and jakori and Chris how nice is that just to have those kind of guys around you and what does that do for you in terms of your confidence I mean it's a it's a great point I feel like complete confidence going in each snap with them you know whatever the defense is going to get us um I feel like I can go to any G on any any given route you know whether it's deep short they'll have a special package um it's first time in you know in my care I felt that comfortability they both um they all three of them you know all of our wide receiver core U they do a really good job you know we have a lot of plays and you know they study their butts off and and do a great job of being friendly and and going out there and making plays um so you know I couldn't do it without those guys um get down the field Tyler on a couple of throws you made I think the the touchdown to J the 33 y to Jadon maybe even the one to Redman who stayed in the pocket to take the hit what what was that like like do you were you these guys who you feel like you need to take a hit after you know your first time coming back just to kind of feel like normal again yeah I mean I wouldn't say I'm one of those guys I I really was just you know trying to stand in there and give him a chance more than that was my thought process was to to give him a chance for to go make a play when you know when they're bringing pressure I think it's always nice when you get out there and you can take a leg and um get your bell wrong or get hit and kind of wak you up a little bit but um I we do a really good job of pregame getting us going so it was really just out there kind of you know playing in in slow state I'm trying to give him a chance Ty there were a couple times I think I saw you go sidearm uh throw off platform how comfortable are you doing that and is that what you want to do frequently just part of your game or what do you think yeah I feel really comfortable doing it I feel like it's a um been a strength in my that you know I've been able to add to my game um the past couple years and um there's times where you know you on screens and other uh protections and you know if you have to escape or it is necessary but my goal is always to be on platform when I can and to to have a good base um but sometimes you know I feel like I can and pull that out and you know they they do a really good job of letting me play free and and you know understanding you know when to use different throws and when to use different footwork and it's really built into the offense well and um so I feel really comfortable doing it anybody else forler yeah Alex I guess just when you look at the Run game I mean you had Isaac you had kiwan you had Maurice I mean is that kind of nice too to have that balance as well what did you see from some of those younger guys yeah man I mean it's it was really exciting to see just cuz you know we're in Fall camp and you know the whole offseason a lot of time we're doing thuds so they may blow the whistle down you know earlier than you know they get marked down early than you think and they're out there breaking tackles making big plays doing a great job of protection and so I was really proud of the whole running back room it's like a a five headed monster I mean you every single guy was making plays so you know I think that was a big question mark for a lot of fans you know with two really good running backs in Isaac and jaar Le them last year and I think you know I think the whole staff and myself included feel really good about all those guys and I know there's going to be a lot of more touchdowns to come for that whole room Tyler with all the new guys on this team and and playing key roles um you might think there'd be a lot of penalties a lot of sloppy mistakes but there weren't any was it and what does it say that it was such a clean especially first half those team yeah I mean I think it really helps with the with the helmet um Communications and and doing a good job with our signals you know we practice that a lot um and then you know they just we study a lot and we put in the work and um the guys really proud of them and playing fast and uh you know it helps when when guys have that confidence playing and they've studied and they've done their job so it puts puts me in a really easy position you know when they're doing that did you do okay with the iPad did you use it much in this game was that something you went to at all yeah yeah I think it was nice um you know coming after each drive and seeing um a certain couple third down looks you know they were trying to to heat us up quite a bit and early on and then they'll drop out and play cover two and some third down and long looks but um it was it was definitely helpful um sometimes you know you can talk a little bit but it was definitely a good addition see um Tyler you mentioned Freedom the word Freedom how much Freedom do you have in terms of changing plays and that kind of thing within yeah I mean I I feel like it's kind of full rain you know within reason we we we go into U we have a really good communication system as far as down to distance you know I'm not going to just check a play to check it but if it's there's a um a certain look that we like to take advantage of if we're going to flip around to a different side or get into AIT more advantageous run based on their front um they're giving me the full capabilities to do that and um especially sometimes in those passing situations we had a couple checks where you know almost had a couple of big plays and um and there's also a couple areas where I could have checked this into a better play when they're bringing cover zero so I got to be better when it comes to that but um they've done a really good job of coaching all the guys to to see when we're going to get into a different play and and go executed last three Rick Matt Tyler yeah Tyler after a couple of the Saturday scrimmages Coach Bram was not real complimentary of the offense uh did anything change over the last couple of weeks and did you sh share any of the concerns he had about the defense dominating you guys early on no I think that's just I think that's normal I think when you go into spring and and fall Camp you want your G defense to to be really dominant and you know you're going against the same team every single day and they're really talented um they you know they put up a goose EG and you know that's goes a show for the staff and and the whole guys on defense they make it really tough on us and I don't think it wasn't necessarily underperformance in the fall it was really you know we were doing our job and I think you know as an offensive minded coach whenever there's a little bit mistakes and you know including myself you know you get a little bit of a sour taste when there's a couple players you wish you had back so I think maybe that's where it's coming from but I mean short answers the defense is really good so they make it hard on us I'm glad you know they get to play somebody else now Tyler what was it like using the in uh the inh helmet communication for the first time in a live game it was uh it was great you know there was a couple times um where coach forgot to press it I think he was getting on a roll so there was a we had to slow down a little bit and there's um couple times where maybe it got a little fuzzy but for the most part you know Ed and the equipment guys and all the the the whole staff did a really good job of of handling that and uh definitely streamlined a lot of that last one Tyler yeah Tyler this this was your first real game working with Jeff and Brian uh in live action is there something you notice about them and how they work with you in this type of scenar that you can't really learn until you get out a l yeah I think they have a really good dynamic as far as um just playing off of each other understanding when to to come talk to me understanding when to to let it let it roll um was communicating with Brian on the headset sometimes on the sideline and then Coach Jeff does a great job of U talking me through the headset you know when weever we have that time and also on the field you know we're kind of on the same page as what we're trying to get done so it was a lot of a lot of fun getting to work with them and I know um every week's going to get tougher we got to be ready to roll so it's going to be a new challenge coming into practice tomorrow and the next week to to to continue that thank you thank you ready to play you know you practice for a long time through the spring summer fall camp and we try to get through fall camp with as few as injuries as possible but uh you know you don't have as many live reps so to get on the game field and to execute pretty well uh not only the first half but the second half with some backups was good to see I thought we played hard to the end we limited penalties as much as we could we got some turnovers didn't didn't turn the ball over as well so a lot of things to build on I thought our guys you know came right to play and and did a good job finishing Jeff when you look at the receivers obviously you talked about not having maybe the depth you want but the quality of what they were able to do today just how pleased were you with you know jakori and Jaden and Chris well we we're going to continue to work that position as hard as we can it's important to be good in the passing game to have some explosive plays I thought you Corey Brooks showed some great things today he's had a really good camp he's definitely stood out Chris Bell's had a solid camp didn't get as many balls today but did a really good job and Jaden Thompson kind of has stepped in that uh place for Colin Lacy once he got injured uh and Jaden can play multiple positions so he hadn't played a whole lot in the slot he did a really good job today he's versatile he's practices hard you know he's he's in the second year of our system so he understands it and he can play every position so that was good to see and then I think we got some valuable reps with the guys behind him and uh he's got to continue to build that I think our our tight ends uh you know stepped up we played a lot of guys and they have to be an integral partner part of our passing game and and also the running attack and uh so really good job overall U Thursday Arkansas and Arkansas Pine Bluff agreed to play 10-minute quarters in the second half because the game got out of hand was there any discussion of that sort of thing today and if not what was the value of a game that you win 62 to nothing well uh no no discussion I didn't know that was allowed so I I wasn't educated on that um you know what uh you know the value of these games heck uh you know I think uh for us you know the second half uh we played a lot of backups uh second team third team fourth Team guys that sometimes some of those guys won't play their whole career possibly much less the rest of the season so it's good to to get them action of course you got to play your starters at the beginning and hope that you play well U with that said there's there's always upsets every week so you never can't predict what's going to happen so um you know um I think our team the schedule is good uh it'll continue to be good I'm all for playing the best teams every single week but you know you got to play who's on your schedule and uh Austin P had a good year last year unfortunately had a coaching change and some players leave and uh you know it'll just take them a while to get used to it but I'm sure they'll be competitive once they start in their conference Jeff you talked on Monday about Isaac and and his ability to have that speed that you can't coach and we saw that today with with that big run from him 77 yards for the touchdown how many more ways can you guys utilize him and get him involved in the offense get the ball in his hands well it's great to see him do well uh this is a true freshman who's worked really hard uh he hasn't missed a repid practice U never complains puts in the work we've thrown a lot at him uh We've trying to move him around a little bit uh we had some special packages with him and Colin Lacy that we had to put on the hold a little bit now it had to become just him uh but he can do a lot of things and uh he's just the work ethic uh his mental makeup uh but also just his natural ability that we really don't teach he's just quick and fast and Elusive uh I think as he continues to progress in the weight room and get stronger he'll get even better uh as he continues to understand the offense and nuances of college football get even better uh but he needs to touch the ball and it's up to us to make sure he touches it so many times a game and allow him to do what he does best uh what was your evaluation of how Tyler played I really liked how Tyler played uh you know he's been consistent and steady all spring all summer all fall Camp so he played pretty much the way I thought he would uh you know he can throw the football uh he can stand in there to the last minute let things develop let the guy get just a little bit more open even when he's got guys coming at him uh he can see the field uh he can spray it to the boundary to the middle to the outside deep short all those things I just think he's been a great leader um we got to keep him durable and healthy uh but I anticipate him playing well and as we can continue to build the the team and create some balance uh and give him numerous choices I think he can play even better Jeff uh Tyler showed off some of the off platform throws kind of throwing sidearm fade away a couple different things did you know that about his game coming in and how much do you guys work with him on that for how to balance doing that versus just throwing on platform occasionally well I was one of those quarterbacks that did some too much scrambling when I played so I I I I allow guys to have some free and we allow him some Freedom you know he likes to have some ganship to him and throw it underneath and throw it sidearm and um riverbat gamble the thing every now and then and make some decisions but you know what uh he's good at it and uh now we've worked hey when you're in the pocket you know couple those deep throws you know if we could hit those and stay on top of and drive them across the field I think he missed a few of those so we always try to say hey if you if you got a clean pocket and you got to make the throw let's make sure you you throw it your normal uh motion uh but at the same time I want him to you know have some fun with it and he's really good at it he does it in practice he can get the ball out quick he can avoid the defender on screens if their hands in the way uh and he can throw a different arm angle so I just think uh it's fun to watch I like watching him play Jeff what surprised you maybe with with Jaden jakori and and mark in terms of some of the big plays they made you you you talked about wanting Playmakers you know how did they step up in a way that maybe you didn't see in Fall camp well you know there's certain guys that have done well in fall Camp jakory Brooks is one of them you know he didn't go through spring he had a shoulder injury so you know we didn't know for sure we hadn't seen it yet but he's done great he's practiced uh every day he shows that every day in practice so it was great to see him be consistent we ask our our difference makers every game you got to be a Difference Maker you can't you can't take a week off so he's stood up to the challenge Mark Redmond got here late didn't get here the summer uh he had a leg injury coming in uh so he just kind of continued to improve but he's a steady blocker he does what you ask made a great catch he's got consistent hands he's done a really good job and who's the other one you asked about uh Jaden Thompson you know what Jaden like I said you know he's in the second year uh we've had multiple receivers where we've been before that the first year they've done decent but the second year they've kind of taken off for him to be able to play outside and inside for us even though he really didn't practice that much inside until Colin got hurt it was great to see I mean he made some really good catches he ran good routes he understands the system he's a big long T Target and he's played a lot of football so very proud of his performance last one see je to your point about keeping Tyler durable um what advice Kenny did you give him about because he he stayed in the pocket and took a couple of hits a couple of times to deliver throws is there anything you want to see out of him in those situations well I I do like to see him do that you know I think if you go back and watch some of his injuries and uh he was asked to run the ball lot you know quarterback runs design runs which yeah yes you got to do occasionally certain situations we want to try to limit that as much as we can uh as we get into some tight close games we might have to Brak that out a little bit but uh you know we want to keep them upright and we want him to be able to get the ball out quickly to our guys and we ask him to hold it a little long to throw it deep you just got to stand in there and do it but he's really good at it and he can throw the ball vertically uh you know I think he made about every throw there maybe two deep throws that he just was slightly offed on some post patterns but other than that I thought he was was really sharp and uh understood what we did and and did exactly what we asked good thank you hey what's up guys Tyler from WDRB uh Tyler's game Tyler shuck played today some of the throws he can make from different arm angles positions how much have you guys seen out of him with that camp and how fun is to play with him when he can do that um Tyler is a great quarterback um most most most of the stuff he do on the field just relates to what he does off the field like he's always a guy in The Playbook that's one of me try to get the receivers as meeting so um going to um Camp you just always seen him go out there and just make different reads and different kind of throws and that that had the challenge the receivers to step up and you know make those catches and make those plays final score is kind of eye popping this for either player or both um was there a physical difference with Austin P that you know compared to what you guys see in practice every day I mean they just not equipped to deal with you no I wouldn't say that I feel like winning is hard um I just feel like we were tired of banging each other down going at it every each and every day we just ready to take it out on somebody else um so I wouldn't say there was no physical difference um that's a good team out there you know um yeah uh both of you guys have the unique distinction of suffering various injuries in the last 12 or so months what was it like for both of you guys to finally get back out on the football field and feel healthy and play to your full capacity um for the most part it felt good just being just being out there in the stadium just having fun with the guys for just the whole game you know and that's always looking forward to just going out there and compete and have fun yeah I agree as well I feel like um this year we all took it personal we gred our bus off all year from January till now um especially in in the um training room you know those guys are a big help they try to keep us healthy as best as they can so uh for Jaden the the two catches that you had you know what what really kind of helped you kind of get get free on those plays and you know just how much how much more comfortable did you feel in the offense today as opposed to last year um I got open because people were doing their jobs or running their routes uh for example the one the first one is because of this guy right here um got like the rub for me I came wide open um and the second one Tyler just made a great read got the ball out fast um I feel like I'm more comfortable now cuz I'm I'm healthy um I can play and practice each and every day instead of um getting hurt getting veined up so that's what that's why I feel like I'm more comfortable now I yeah now as a followup um I guess it was about a year ago you and the teammates help helped the ride that car outside the stadium um you had talked too much about that what do you recall about that and you know that was kind of like one of the you know one of the things that that put your name out there a little bit you know helping out in the community so to speak uh I was leaving I was leaving the facility that day and I was at the the light right there I was in the left turn lane a guy came he hadit a car the car head him to my car um in the first instinct fortunately we had players around that were at the light as well um so our Instinct was to help the lady everybody made sure I was fine for we went to go help the lady make sure she was okay got the attention that she needed from Medicals and what not so it was just like an instinct thing for everybody to do Flip Flip her car back over make sure she healthy Jaden you were here last year how much more I guess I mean it's first game obviously but how much more explosive do you feel like the the offense is this year with just you know adding Cory and having Chris back for another year and just a lot of those guys uh I feel like our room especially the receiver room is very Dynamic um we added him Colin and Meeks who guys are came from three different places who are all like our family you know they all bring explosions in each and every way personally like him he's 6'2 he go get it Colin Meek is kind of younger but I feel like he gets what's going on now and then adding Tyler sh sh I feel like he's a smart quarterback he knows how to make reads he can throw the ball well he can use his feet to make plays so I feel like everybody just know how to do their job Jaden when when Colin went down Jeff was just talking about how that increased your role and even you know said how you were versal could play different spots out there um did you feel any more pressure when that happened when when you knew your role was going to increase like that uh I say I felt a little pressure cuz it was like so sudden it was right away um but these guys helped me step in that Ro and fill Colin shoes um last one how much do you guys as a team and as an offense feel like you kind of have a a trip on your shoulder and something to prove with the way that last season ended with the three losses to end the year after how well things were going um pretty much um know looking back on last season we not trying to you know too much D well on last season but do bring on you know some of the couple losses and uh just try to just try to um advance from that and you know learn from other mistakes but we also try to learn from what our mistak says and practice so we won't be able to make those in the upcoming games and you know just just just go out there have fun and play play with a lot of energy thank you when is the last time you've reached the end zone and how nice was that to to get that start today uh it's been a while since school so uh yeah it was great I I definitely wasn't expecting that today uh one of my goals was score T this year but I wasn't expecting uh get end on to day so it was just a great doing that trell you got into to Camp a little bit late but we heard a lot of buzz after you did come in that you were kind of making an impact early looks like you're ready to do that what how did it feel to you to be out there with your new teammates and performing today um it felt great to uh see what I've been um seeing during Camp you know um coming in um I seen we had a great team great def defense and uh for us to go out there and solidify that and uh it was great a great game um you guys went out there and dominated today what do you feel like you worked oning the most this offseason that translated to the game uh I would say just as a whole just being in tune as a defense uh everybody being sound staying your Gap like we work on run fits every day uh just being close to the team that's really always it's been just building off what we did last year uh me personally not um being here during the um allseason with them uh I was the focus on just uh you know picking my IQ up on on the field you know um uh me being a better player as a rusher pass rusher and uh Stout as a defensive linan so yeah 38 to nothing game I don't want to say you all could you could kind of Coast but how did you all sustain that defensive intensity in the second half and you know I mean what what things did they tell you to really stay focused uh just keep putot on the pedal really uh it doesn't matter who the opponent is uh we can be against a top 10 team in the country we be the same mentality so that's all it's about you take your off the PED start coming back so we just wanted to keep that mentality going and finish the game off strong Ramone you guys obviously had a really productive pass rush last year what's different about this group this season compared to a really good one from last season uh we have a lot a lot of experience a lot of depth uh we have guys that are versatile that play inside outside so I'll say that that's a big part of everybody's bought into what Co what coach haen has taught us and uh we all have the same goal winning the championship so that's really what it's all about any else