NIU Football Weekly Press Conference, Western Illinois (8-27-24)

all right all right let's get started so first weekly press conference 2024 season coach HCK 6th welcome thank you thank you and uh let's uh let's get it started coach give us a little statement about the the team to date what you've seen and heading into facing Western Illinois yeah you know obviously this is an exciting time for us um you get close to a game week um you start feeling those uh those butterflies um that anxiousness uh to get ready to play another opponent uh it's been a tremendous offseason uh and we go all the way back to January and I think one thing I'm proud of is the culture in the building uh you know we work we spent a lot of time uh with these players uh trying to help them develop on and off the football field and every young man that that came into the program uh starting June 1st is still here and I think that's kind of rare in college football uh now with the transfer portal every when it gets tough uh the easy thing to do is to quit um but that lets me know we got the right type of people in the building um the right type of young men are part of our program our coaches is doing a great job mentoring and developing those guys uh and I'm excited about where we're at you know one thing uh you know I I'm I like this uh fall Camp has been a consistency uh of our performance uh we've been a lot more consistent uh in all three phases guys are working hard working together been very very competitive uh we've done a really good job um you know increasing some resources uh from a science a sports science standpoint we had one concussion this this fall Camp normally you got five or six of those in Camp so the safer helmet caps have been great uh ryell came out with a new helmet where we get uh nightly information as far as uh where contact is happen in how much contact guys are H are having so we've been able to adjust different things uh and then our strum staff juny and his staff has done a phenomenal job uh getting these guys conditioned getting them strong uh getting them ready to go and then Melissa with nutrition um what she's done and and be able to provide uh the information for our young men of how to take care of their bodies has really helped uh uh alleviate a lot of soft tissue injuries and injuries that you normally see throughout camp and then the athletic uh training Heath and Ben and Maria uh the job they've done keeping our guys healthy we've had very very minimal injuries uh this fall camp and I think that's a testament uh to the people that's working with them and I think for us we got to continue to work down that path uh we have a a tremendously deep team a competitive team a team that you know understands and and wants to work uh but at the same time we need to find opportunities for those guys uh to get out there and play you know for us as as we get ready for the first game the the one thing we talk about is fight for a standard uh what do you want it to look like Snap in and snap out uh we have a lot of guys on this team you know and I I explained to our team the other day uh outside of the offensive line there's really not a lot of guys that's going to play every snap uh in a game so make sure you're maximizing your snaps whether it's 10 snaps or 20 snaps or 30 snaps if you want to have an opportunity to get more snaps you need to make sure you're playing your best otherwise you'll go to the scout team we got guys on the scout team that's played football for us in games and started games for us uh that's how competitive our football team is that's how hungry they are and they understand everything that you do matters uh every rep uh every snap every practice every weight room session it matters and so we finally gotten to to the point as a program where you know you could go from first string to fifth string uh very very quickly uh we are not waiting on guys to perform if you don't perform to the level that that needs to be to help us win then then somebody else will uh and I couldn't be more excited uh about the competitiveness of our football team obviously West Illinois um new staff new schemes uh new players uh so there's a lot of uncertainty so for us it's going to be a game of adjustments uh there special teams coordinators from Liberty they did a lot of uh trick things on on special teams that we have to be prepared for so you have to prepare for any and everything in a game like this their defensive coordinators from Davenport uh had a had a great scheme there play tremendous defense their head coaches from East Illinois we played them a couple years ago very very productive and skilled uh coordinator uh knows how to create advantages and mismatch uh so for us early on we have to make sure we settle down we understand uh what what they're trying to do and then and then start to play our our game so uh the new technology is going to be big I mean it will be our first game we had helmet technology in the bowl game uh iPads will have that disc game so uh all those things from a uh a technology standpoint we're trying to be proactive as a staff uh to make sure we can maximize those things to help us give us a chance to win so uh certainly excited um ready to get going uh as we start to check things off and get closer to game time uh I'm sure our players be right where they need to be coaches most coaches here you just need a game right now to see where you're at yeah I think you know obviously you want to play a game right you get tired up practicing against each other um but all the information that they've shown me is that these guys are going to be ready to play and you can you can uh for me I can compare back to other years and information that I've seen uh and I think these guys have checked every box now it's about going out there uh and not letting the moment be too big uh understand that you know the techniques uh and trust your teaching and then go out there and execute in critical moments what have uh each of Ethan and Jaylen been uh what have you seen in them that you've liked over these last four weeks yeah I mean you know the quarterback position they have to make plays you watched games last week uh you watched um you know Georgia Tech in Florida state that kid from Georgia Tech made plays so at the quarterback position you have to have the ability to extend drives uh you have to have the ability to make plays with your legs when it when it presents himself and you have to have the ability to operate the offense and get us in the in the right checks and plays and both those guys along with Josh ho have done that uh so I I'm excited about the quarterback room I'm excited about what those guys bring and the now on Saturday it's up to them to go perform uh and and one thing about it you know like any other position um the guy that gives us the best chance to Wi he going to play coach you talked about the level of maturity with this program and I know in Chicago you said that this season you're not going to do permanent team captains you're going to go weekly U do you have an idea of which guys are going to appoint to those Captain roles this week yeah no um great question question I think you know one thing about being a captain I see a lot of teams announce captains at the beginning of the season and to me what if a guy gets beat out that was a captain what is his attitude like I've seen that go a lot of different directions so we're going to do weekly captains uh I think that's important um because different guys step up at different times so uh this week is JJ Lippy uh Jan peret um Jaden dolphin uh Skyler Gil Howard and I'll get the fifth one we have five Lippy did I name five yeah it it it it it it's oh Logan shes yeah that skips my mind uh at the moment but uh I know we have five coach would you be comfortable rotating quarterbacks or do you totally want to avoid that and settle in on one guy for the Long Haul well I think ultimately from a confidence standpoint you would like to settle in on one guy um you know just from a you know practice reps and and and and a comfortability um you know ultimately that's what we want to get to is it harder to prepare for a game like this not knowing he got no tape on them or anything the own new coaching staff you've seen what they've done in the past in other schools but you really don't know yeah no you really don't know and and you try to pull from a lot of different film um and and so all you can do is just prepare for what you've seen obviously you know there's going to be some new things that you haven't seen uh some trick plays some you know special team things I mean all those things are factor so those are all the things we have to be sound with our rules uh and then execute what we see you talked about also the importance of taking out a state school I mean you recruit against you know during the offseason everything yeah no I mean they got quite a few guys on their team that was here uh I'm sure they're going to be very very excited to play um you know a lot of those guys probably think they should be at Northern Illinois playing football so uh we understand we're going to get their best shot um and for us we got to perform our best uh it's the only game that matters this week uh it's the only game we have and how excited are we going to play uh be excited to to play and uh we got to go execute you mentioned before you like playing the school out of Illinois every year yeah I I think I mentioned I like to play all of them you know not just uh FCS schools but they all don't seem to want to play us for whatever reason um you mentioned uh the offensive line earlier and how like there's probably not going to be a lot of rotation you mentioned two of the five captains are offensive linemen just what is it about that group um that seems to be kind of like the backbone of the team this year well I mean our offensive line there a lot of guys that's played um you have five guys up front that started games so I know sometime people say we lost two starters from last year I I think we gained two starters and Logan sheres and and Evan bus uh so I think we got 120 uh or so starts up front um obviously for any any team uh the offensive line and defensive line normally helps you become successful on that side of the ball uh and I think these guys are are are playing and Unison uh coach meals has done a fantastic job uh building the camaraderie in that room um you know he he's got got here uh they've gotten to know him quickly uh and his coaching style and teaching acrian uh is topnotch uh he's certainly been uh a pleasant surprise as far as an offensive line coaching our program well use some different combination Saturday offense and defense to see what kind of meshes and games and so forth or not com as far as players on the field that work you know different yeah no we're going to play quite a a few guys on defense I mean we did that last year now we're going to focus more on uh I think you know our starters have separated themselves to the point where uh they need to play more um offensively we're going to rotate a lot of different uh Personnel groups um a lot of different people uh we we are very uh flexible in our Personnel because we got a lot of guys that can play and so for us it would be uh crazy just to play 11 guys the whole time so we have to find the advantages uh figure out the guys that are playing well and try to feature those guys as much as possible adding James White to the staff this year can you talk about uh your relationship with him over the years obviously three years with him in Wisconsin but what um what's been your relationship then like when you were in Baltimore and he was New England if you guys stayed in touch yeah know I I I try to stay in touch with with pretty much everybody that's that's played for me um just because this is a relation relationship uh business where you spend a lot of time with those guys trying to help them develop uh trying to Mentor them trying to help them grow into what they become and and James uh reached back he reached out to me in the offseason he spoke to our team before but reached out to me in the offseason about you know he lives right down the road uh in naville uh wanted to get back uh wanted to have an opportunity to get back around football and he's doing a tremendous job um you know guys can go to him and talk to him and ask him questions and he can get give a perspective uh he he can give a a perspective from college he can give give a perspective from the NFL he can give a perspective from being a father and a husband uh so anytime you can have guys like that that's closer in age to the players and somebody that they may look up to is a is a positive thing uh for your program and obviously um you know we got a lot of young players that that's looking at him and saying hey I'm bigger than that guy but do you have the right mentality do you have the heart do you have the the discipline the focus uh so you know pick his brain and and see what you can learn from him uh from that standpoint and and help you become the best player that you can become I know you're always optimistic but maybe more optimistic going into the season than the first five years with the people got coming back what offens defensively yeah I mean I feel good about our football team um obviously starting Saturday we'll start to react to what we see um and react to to success or failure or adversity um so uh I like the way they're built I like their mentality I like their approach um I like the way they're working as one uh you know we're not a divided football team and everybody is working to a common goal of trying to do whatever it takes to win uh each particular week and so from that standpoint I really like our team I I am optimistic because you know normally a a season comes down to how well you handle adversity and I think these guys will respond the right way you said you know who the the starter quarterback is right you guys are keeping it uh close to the vest correct yeah I mean I just watched the the the head coach from Northwestern and they asked him about the quarterback and he said you know what the starting quarterback is going to go out there at game time that there not a uh um you know it's not a a big thing right our starting quarterback will go out there on game time and he'll be ready to play uh and so you know it's just one of those things from a competitiveness you know what is the advantage at this point does each one have different features that yeah I mean we're going to run a different offense with with with each particular guy so yeah I mean I think that would be an advantage to to know who's going to be the quarterback then to speak to the the veteran leadership on offensive line to have so many guys be able to step in and as a moment's notice be able to to flip schemes and things like that to speak on their veteran leadership and what they've shown obviously yeah no I mean they can process and handle a lot of information and so obviously week to week you know the first game is always different because you got so much more time to prepare um but a normal game week you don't have much time to you know to prepare so you're seeing different fronts different looks different blitzes uh and those guys can make adjustments so that's why I'm really excited about the iPads I mean you get a chance on the sideline to make a correction very very quickly um based on what you see and I think normally you didn't have that luxury before uh you you may make the same mistake two or three times in a row but those guys have the ability uh to watch themselves to see it back in real time and and make the adjustment so I'm very very curious to see how we can maximize uh that and help us play better uh in game does something like that kind of go into your decision to give so many different guys reps or is that just kind of a philosophy thing with you well I think the thing about giving different guys reps is they've earned it um more than 11 guys have earned the opportunity to play for us this season so uh as a coach if you want to keep the um the focus in the locker room to keep guys working hard at practice they all want to play right their family's going to be here their friends going to be here their girlfriend's going to be here or significant others are going to be here uh and they want to have a chance to perform uh under the lights so to keep keep those guys motivated we got to play a lot of guys and I think that's the great thing about having a deep football team I think we got 83 guys on the Travel roster right when we get to M play you can only travel 70 uh so that's the type of team we have that's the type of depth we have that's the type of talent we have you said in the bowl game you were able to use the communication did you see any delays or anything like that no I I I think for us we are a huddle team so there's obviously advantages uh to being able to use helmet communication whether it's uh correcting the formation um correcting a play uh making an adjustment uh in game uh to what they're doing uh you know for no huddle teams it it's probably less of a Advantage um as far as they still going to signal from the sidelines so it's a great Advantage for us um how we able to operate how we able to talk through situations um in real time to the quarterback and and get him thinking hey you know you're in the red zone it may be a two- down situation um or we may kick a field goal I mean all those things you you can put a a thought in his mind to get him to perform a little bit better from that perspective it work if say your communication is broken down technically or whatever and the other team still can listen to yeah they still they still working through all the rules like the non-conference rules are different than Inc conference um so you know we'll we'll abide by the rules that they as they uh as they as they see fit what were your thoughts on the new uh Mac availability gu guidelines that they're going to start enforcing yeah I'm I'm fine with it I mean you know it's it's it's it's not a big deal to me as long as everybody does it um you know it's no you know I'm sure they doing it for what gambling they didn't say but yeah probably which is crazy to me because we talk about don't bet on Sports all the time um but you know whatever they they want to do we will follow app thank you go Huskies that was easy so the captains this week Skyler Gil Howard defensive tackle Brock ly fullback Jaden doin linebacker questions for the Huskies uh Brock just uh you know there's two offensive linemen among the captains coach said there's going to be lots of players rotating in and out there's Brock and one offensive L J oh oh yeah so two offensive players here I mean I guess you're about as close to the offensive linen as we'll get today but um just uh just uh you know what is it that you've seen about this uh offensive line that uh you know has made it such a I guess a key part of this uh offense I mean uh you know the guys are very experienced I mean I think between uh everyone I think they have like over 100 starts combined so you know they're experienced they've seen a lot of football they've played a lot of football um they're physical um you know um yeah um I'm throw this one out to all of you so obviously this will be your senior Seasons coming up your last go uh just what's the kind of tone you want to set with this first game against Western Jaden uh yeah you know we've been here for a long time now uh I've harped on this before you know I've been on winless teams here I've been on championship teams here and you know I got a special feeling about this team I think we could do something special and I think that that's the tone we're trying to set for in the first game and carried out through the whole season Sky um with me having one more year left we kind of want to set the tone of really the whole team of dominance um I feel like sometimes we let games slip away or things don't go in our favor when we kind of fall out sometimes but we want to show that we can be a four quarter Team all four quarters and just be dominant brck yeah for me um this is my last year um I just want to you know treat every game one step at a times go out there be physical every every step of the way um you know I really want to Relish in the moment just take take everything in um Jaden just uh a coach mentioned how there's been since June 1 no transfers chopping that up to the culture and everything here what does it say about this team that you know especially this time of year you know the transfer portal gets uh not quite as busy as earlier but there's still a lot of activity um what's to say about this team that you know this is the same team as it was three months ago I think it really just shows how tight knit of a group this is you know we've been here all together same guys for a long time especially my class and you know we're really a family at this point you know I lean on them they're my brothers and they know they can lean on me too so I think that that really just sent the foundation of you know wearing this together Skyler I know this James go NFL Geor out uh just what the experience at this team that this defensive line has together as well as just the chemistry all being together there so long uh how do you think that helps you know keep this te line um you know ready for this first game and ready for the season um the chemistry helps a lot you know before James left he set a standard before he left and we call ourselves a trench mob and Nobody messes up we we're pretty close and throughout the whole group so still having guys like Devonte Ali Kade and Deon like the chemistry is going to be as strong as ever and you know I'll be one of the only older guys here next year in the DT room so I'll make sure to uphold that standard to those guys left you guys are playing an instate school we opened with one last year in SIU where you played SIU and that didn't go well how much does that stick in your minds as you approach this game against another instate school this week yeah definitely um I think we're the best team in the state um we got to go out there and prove it um you know that that SIU loss stings a lot um so we definitely got to take care of business at home take care of business and state James yeah you know um I think we're not too much hard uh stuck on last year I think we're looking forward to it and you know we're all looking forward to a good challenge I think you know the way we look at it is every opponent we face is nameless and faceless you know as long as we play our best ball I think we'll come out on top yeah I agree with what JD said like we don't like to focus too much on the past just focus on what we can do as a team to be better every single day so yeah we're up for the challenge and um I'll thr this one now this next one all of you as well um obviously there's no Dam going to be the week after this one what do you need to see this first game to give you you know that good boost of confidence as you head to notame for the first time um obviously we play a big second game but um as of right now everything is focused on Western Illinois we're not looking too far ahead because when you look too far ahead that's when you get caught by surprise so right now like we said before we're trying to just be dominant be the team that we know we can be have a special season and that all starts with the first game so whatever happens after that will happen but everything's focused on the first game yeah I mean I think for me I think I just want to see us play complimentary football um you know play a complete Game offensively defensively special teams um if we do that you know I think we're in a good spot heading into the week too yeah you know I have given that much thought um we're laser focused on Western and then um that following Monday then we'll start worrying about another this one is for Jaden and Skyler what have you seen in practice uh out of both quarterbacks um from this from this offseason what have you seen from them going against them in practice uh you know I've seen a lot we've seen a lot of different looks um you know the offense can look um a lot different with two of them up there so I think that's good for us we've gotten a lot of good looks we've gotten able to go against QB Ron a ton of other stuff and I think it's making us better as well yeah like JD said like this whole fall Camp we've been challenged uh with both QBs in the game giving us a different look really keeping us prepared for anything that gets thrown at us this season with having the QBs that we have it's been pretty good for a defense because we've been holding in on all the skills um improving the skills that we lacking no no matter who's out there so they've been doing a great job on top of that what's it like going against uh arguably one of the best running backs in the Matt conference day uh you know A's really good and it takes one mistake for him to go on a 60 yard run from time to time but as a defense like we call our we move as one motion so uh ab's really good and he gets us but we get him too so it's been pretty fun going against him and we all love him we're excited what he's going to do Jay you were talking about how you've seen different you know teams team over the years and how this one's got you know just Garing more excitement for you guys I mean what is it about this team that makes it different from other years from what you've seen you know I think um we're just a lot more consistent than we have been in the past uh especially last year you know we uh we went on a losing streak a little bit and we were able to bounce back I think that has really stuck with us a lot and really um set in the culture that we have now and you know we're just we're just a lot more overall a better team honestly think you know we got a lot more depth and I think that you know the time is now a lot of the guys have been here for four five six years already and I think this is the time that we've been waiting for it was a strong end of the season last year how much does does that momentum carry over is that something you feel going into the offseason it helps a lot absolutely especially going into winter conditioning with uh with a bull ring it feels a lot better than not having one so I think that's helped a lot and you know we've been able to just carry that straight from the winter to the spring to fall Camp to now any other questions for