BGSU football: Scot Loeffler Week 2 press conference

Yeah. Um Happy Labor Day, I hope everyone's enjoyed the weekend. Um, after watching the tape, very similar comments, uh after the game, uh similar, um, we got to get better. There's, uh some things that we really did well and there's some areas in our play that needs to improve and over these next few weeks, uh to put ourselves in position, uh to do the things that we want to do, we've really got to take steps. So, um, generally, um I'm happy about how we played but, uh, just like I said, there's some things that, uh, we definitely need to prove upon, uh to make a run at this thing. Uh, going to Happy Valley been there many times, I think, uh, Coach Franklin and his staff has done an unbelievable job. You look at their talent and it's as uh good as Penn State team as I've seen in a long time. Uh, they don't have too many holes at all if, if, if any and I think he's done a super job recruiting, super job developing the team. We're really well coached, super talented and, uh, they'll make a run in my opinion for the big 10 championship. I think that's the type of caliber team that we're facing this weekend. Uh, Scott, uh, after the game on Thursday, you compared Penn State to the Michigan team last year. Uh How do you think that environment at Happy Valley compares to the big House? I think both places are awesome to play at. Um, just like I said, I think this is my either eighth or ninth trip to, uh to Happy Valley. I think the student section rocks, uh, football is important at Penn State and as well as it is in Ann Arbor, you know, it's one of those top five special places in the country and, uh the, the people do an unbelievable job supporting their team. And just like I said, uh this team, uh reminds me a lot of the Michigan team last year. Uh I think they're super talented. I think they've got every piece that it takes to win it and, uh very impressed and uh not shocked that, uh that coach Franklin has done such a good job of, of uh developing such a great roster. Yeah, uh just going back quick to the Fordham game. I mean, the kickoff return for the touchdown, uh after looking at film and seeing uh Jason Patterson's two blocks there. Just what were your thoughts on that? Because obviously, I think that generated a lot of buzz and, and everything. Just those two huge blocks. Well, we said, uh all week that we were either gonna return a kickoff or we're gonna return a punt. And, uh, we had a good scheme, I think, uh, uh Jason's effort was outstanding, but there was also some, uh, really good efforts. There was a great double team on the sideline. Uh I thought Little Jay did a great job hitting the hole and, uh, congratulations, you know, on him becoming the, uh, special teams Mac player of the week, which is great. But I think uh that award should be for uh that whole entire unit, that high, entire unit really, really blocked really well on that play. And uh I really love Jason's effort on, in terms of that was a that offer Turner, that was unbelievable on those two blocks and being able to get two knockdowns. Obviously, so many of the players on this team have played in huge environments, you know, like the Michigan game last year, you know, a lot of, you know, power five transfers coming in. Just how much does playing in an environment like that maybe help you out when you go to Penn State. Well, the good thing is just like you said, uh a lot of our team has been there before and uh we played in some really great places, um Tennessee, uh the big house and then now going to um Happy Valley, uh just like I said there, there's a lot of challenge to it. There's a lot of challenge with communication. Uh We gotta be on point. Uh We got to know exactly what to do because it is hard to hear. It's a, it's a loud place. The student section will be, uh, rocking and rolling. They'll be, uh, unbelievable amount of people when you're just warming up. Uh I remember always taking the quarterbacks out to warm up there and the entire student section is packed whenever, you know, we were the first people to go out to warm up. So it's important there. They, they do a great job with, uh, uh supporting their team very similar to us. I thought our students, uh on, um, on Thursday were outstanding. That was awesome. Uh I thought our crowd was as good as it's been, uh, you know, once again another team in Penn State, they do a great job taking care of the ball. You know, uh Fordham last week obviously does a good job of that. You know, what's the key to trying to, trying to turn, get some turnovers against a team that really can protect the ball? Well, that's what gave us a chance in the first half last year. Um They, um, you got to be able to create a couple of turnovers early, create some momentum, swings, hit a couple of plays that you're not supposed to hit. And most importantly, the offense and the special teams taking care of the ball. And, uh, we've got to find a way, uh to either, you know, punch the ball out, uh get a, a strip sack from behind, being able to uh um force a, a, an interception, all of which are very difficult versus this team. But to give yourself a chance in that type of environment, the turnover war, like anything else, like any other game is critical. But really whenever you're going in and you're such an underdog, you gotta be able to create some turnovers and create some momentum swings very early in that football game. Obviously, uh Penn State defensive coordinator, Tom Allen coached at Indiana, obviously, Connor, uh, who played under him for that year, uh, is there, I mean, just kind of thoughts on that and, you know, obviously kind of a little reunion, but obviously, you know, they know, you know, Connor's ability and everything as well. Yeah, I've got a ton of, uh, respect for, uh, coach Allen. There's some guys that, uh, that have played for me that has been hit their coordinators before Tom's coordinator. And, um, I think he does a great job in every aspect. They're fundamentally sound. Um, they, their scheme is great. They, their gap integrity is off the charts and they on top of they have really good players. I'm talking really good players, um, super impressed with obviously the, uh, the, the, the front, uh, the front seven is ridiculous number 11. It'll be, uh, another one of those great defensive ends that'll get drafted in the first round. He's a first round draft pick and I think their back end, um, that's where I think they're completely different in comparison to when I used to play against him in the big 10. I think their secondary is lights out. I think they all can run. They're long, they're physical and, uh, I bet you coach Allen's having a, uh, a ton of fun, uh, coaching this group because they are super talented. Hey, coach, um when preparing for an opponent like Penn State, how much of it is historical and then how much is the preparation built off of the game? Film, the film? What they put on film in their first game? Yeah, it's uh a little bit of a, a challenge for us on offense because coach Allen hasn't called it in a while. So, you know, you're digging up um old film of when he did call it. You're uh obviously putting a ton of stock into uh the film that, uh that was from this Saturday against West Virginia. Uh offensively, you know, we're, we're somewhat familiar with the offensive coordinator because he was at Buffalo and then he was at Kansas, we study kansas' tape all the time. Uh I think offensively, Penn State does a great job uh with a bunch of different personnel grouping similar to us, there's plays off of plays, um very similar to how we do it. They're trying to set up plays based upon, uh, what type of sets formations, run schemes and the play actions off of it all. Mary, I think he does a great job and, um, very similar to the, uh, the defensive side of the ball. I think the offensive line is very good. Um, a guy that I worked with coaches, the, the offensive line and I think he does a great job, uh, along with Frank Leonard helping out over there. And then, uh, I think, um, the quarterback is outstanding, the backs are great. So it's a, it's a great formula, you know, any time that you've got a good offensive line, uh, you can run the ball and play great defense. It's hard to beat Scott just that exposure from Thursday night. The kick return singing in the locker room being the first minute and a half on sportscenter is cast BG in a pretty cool light. Is that something you guys are sending to all the recruits? I mean, what, what's, what's the residual from that? Well, I hope they're sending it to all the recruits, you know? So, no, that's great. Um, any time that, uh, you know, an athletic program here is able to, uh, give, uh, a national exposure to the university, I think that is a positive, you know, I think the university and the athletic department works hand in hand. Uh, it was great whenever we had that special with Orel Hershiser about our baseball program So any time that you have the opportunity uh to showcase this university, I think it's great and it's a great university. Our enrollment is up. Um We've got things as coach, uh or excuse me, as coach, vice President Rogers, um says we got some momentum going right now and we gotta keep it going. So we've got a lot of work uh as a football program to do over these next three weeks, we need to find ways to improve and, uh, just like I said, we've got our hands full this week. This is a, uh, a really, really good football team talking about that momentum. I know you guys are working as hard as ever, but just, just the vibe around the building compared to, I don't know, a few years ago or maybe it's, you just kind of trying keep your head above water to now. Is there just a different vibe with the, just the air of excitement and possibility in the building? I know you guys are working just as hard, you know what? We haven't changed. Yeah, you're exactly right. We haven't changed in terms of, uh, how we've worked. I think, you know, the minute we walked in the door, we've had a, uh, blue collar mentality and a great work ethic and we've really worked super hard to, uh, revamp the roster. We've worked really hard, uh, to coach these kids and make hold these kids accountable on and off. The field. I think we've done that. Uh, we've improved the football program but, uh, to compare walking in the building three years ago to, uh, these last couple, it's night and day. Um, it was, uh, that was just a challenging, uh, for our staff, challenging, uh, events, uh, challenging situations. Um, probably the, the most in, in all our coaching careers, if you asked our staff that we had to really, uh, rebuild from the complete bottom up. So, uh, it's been a great learning experience. It's been great to, uh, to rebuild the program. Um, but we've got to obviously keep this momentum going, find a way to finish and be consistent. You know, the, these last two years that we've went to a bowl game, we can beat anyone in the country and we could lose to anyone in the country. And, uh, that was just based upon, uh, being consistent and, and being disciplined in our habits. So we're really working hard, uh, to, uh, to every single day have championship habits, which hopefully leads to, you know, a lot more wins. And one last question, this is a little weird enough base. But how valuable is it to have those three nice grass practice fields first practicing in your stadium every day? I, I only ask because Toledo practices in their field every day and that's part of their facility plan is to get a new practice field. How valuable is it to have those nice practices. Yeah, I think they're great. I think, um, you know, to be able to have the, the grass practice fields, I think is definitely a, uh, a huge advantage. Um, not too many people have grass anymore. Uh, so, you know, you, you, you try to practice on the surface that you're gonna play but every once in a while we'll go out there and save our legs and, um, and, ah, get off the turf, uh, Connor had a couple of nice scrambles, you know, avoided, you know, getting sacked. Uh, does this, you know, the healthiest, you've seen him, you know, obviously, since, you know, early last year, as far as his, his legs and everything and to be, you know, able to move around like that and everything, I think, Connor, uh, just like I said, um, I thought the beginning of the season, uh, we, he did not play the way that, uh, that he played the last half of the season, I think. Um, he's even better now. He's worked his tail off on, uh, and bought into, um, taking the right footwork, uh, having elite body position, creating natural look offs with his eyes, um, being able to, uh, to close and create momentum because of body position and footwork. And, um, if you, if you watched last, uh, Thursday, he was extremely decisive and, uh, I thought the last six or seven games, seven games of the year, he was as decisive as any quarterback um in our conference. I thought fundamentally last year, there was still things to, uh uh to change with him. We've changed it with him. And, uh, you know, on Thursday night he looked like a big time quarterback. He, he was on rhythm the entire game, there was zero indecisiveness. His body position was awesome in every aspect of the word. Um and he was accurate and I thought he made great decisions. So we need to, he just needs to do that. I mean, it's, he doesn't need to do anything else but take the right foot work with great body position. Uh Trust the protection go 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 to sometimes five and be able to put the play on the shelf, save it for another day or be able to create a scramble and get some positive yardage. But, uh, um I think he feels really comfortable with our offensive line and, uh we need to keep him healthy. I think he is, uh he's a key to our success and, uh, you know, right now with the situation with Cam um and developing Lucian, uh it's, it's critical that we, we keep him upright, but he's tough and he's smart and he's playing well. You guys gave Michigan their most competitive game arguably last year. Uh There's the Minnesota upset, you know, how do you coach guys mentally so that they go into these games? You know, big 10 teams on the road and, uh, they're able to play some of their best football. You know what we, we don't approach, um, we don't approach these big games any different than what we would, uh, a Mac game. We really don't. I think it's, uh, the consistency with our preparation, how we do business. Um, basically Sunday to, uh, to, uh, our last walk through on Saturday, I think, uh, I think our kids understand our process. They understand our expectations of what a Tuesday Wednesday practice needs to look like. What a Friday practice needs to look like all our walkthroughs, the meetings being locked in. Um, I thought last week, um, our preparation for Fordham was outstanding. And, uh, you know how I am, I've, uh, I've come in here and I've said we've had a great Tuesday practice and the most god awful Wednesday I've ever seen. So I pretty much say it how it was how it is. And I thought our preparation for Fordham was outstanding. And I think that's why we played well. Now, do we have a ton to clean up? Absolutely. Do we need to get better? Absolutely. Do we need to get, uh, some guys going at some particular positions to improve, to make a run at, uh, beating really good opponents? Absolutely. But, uh we need to focus this week completely on, uh, uh, on improving and moving the needle of our program. And then, uh going to a Happy Valley and, and uh, give it our all, give it our best effort and protect the ball. Hopefully create a couple of turnovers, get a special teams play that we're not supposed to get and, and, uh, see what happens.