Football Postgame Press Conference: Fresno State (Aug. 31)

just went think to get a little tense you got the drive you needed to have yeah I think our players did a really good job of you know it's not going the way you wanted to it looks this way and they just they just buckled down and played Michigan football uh really grinded it out on the ground I was really proud of how the o line started come off the ball and then um knew we can go to 18 in the in the red zone and he did a really good job making a play it was a great throw by Davis um you know I think these guys did a really good job all night with their connection you know Coulson had eight catches for 7 yards and a touchdown and really you know I thought Davis did a really good job putting the football where it needs to be the one pick you know we told our guys on the sideline like at some point we got to go up and you got to play defense too and you got to go get the ball on the post so um I thought he really did a great job controlling the offense and and I thought 18 did a great job as well Chiron what what kind of went into the the decision to go with Davis and what did he show you to kind of lift him into that role yeah I mean just training camp you know him and Alex had a really good training camp but ultimately he won the job um the last last week really uh he was just consistent took care of the football uh made plays against that defense that you saw out there so um for us it was a guy that they they played hard for both players but he ultimately took the job and won it so you know that made the decision easier for us Isaiah shiron if you could walk us through that series there in the fourth quarter with the two overturned interceptions and and what kind of what kind of happened for you you and what you saw in those yeah I thought our defense was playing hard I think you know sometimes you get a little too emotional we got to keep our composure and some things uh that were going on and we ended up getting a pick with Will at the end which was awesome uh but it was just a lot of back and forth they're good football team too you know I'm not taking any anything away from them but you know at the end of the day our D especially our D line these guys up front they just kept the pressure on uh their old line and kept him backing up and throwing the ball so they did a really good job of just making sure that we got the ball back Chris you just talk about the job that kle did on the last drive and then also Dom's performance in the second half after kind of a rough first half maybe yeah I mean I thought kle was running it extremely hard uh look at his stats he was uh 15 carries for 92 yards he averaged 6.1 a carry so that's pretty good and he had three kick returns for 74 yards so 168 yards or total allpurpose yard so pretty good performance by khle and Old Line just it that it takes time you I've said it before you're not going to be the same product you are in week two they'll be better next week so it's going to take time for them to gel and I think they needed that that last drive to really get that feel and feel what it feels like to to be together and then grind through a game and it's going to help them and pre Prevail for us for sure up front Larry Shan can you take us through uh your night uh pregame it looked like you were so fired up you might have you know suited up and then just kind of threw the game tighter than you maybe thought Etc yeah I wasn't suiting up uh I've I've h hel the bag for a couple of these guys and take snaps I've give snaps to Davis so I got no snaps left in me and I got no plan on trying to return and no eligibility um but I I mean that's just who I am U where my emotions on my sleeve I was excited so I expressed it but I was so excited just to watch our boys play it's when you're in training camp when you're in Spring ball and you're you're doing all this and you get the opportunity to be out there you only get eight opportunities this year to go out there in front of our home crowd and play so yeah I was going to be EXC excited and uh I was hope hopefully infecting some juice in them and they played really hard shiron you knew losing so many starters from a championship team that it wasn't going to be an immediate easy transition was it about what you thought or was those Growing Pains at least early on even more than you thought they might have been no I think we're I mean we're going to always going to strive to be perfect uh defense played really good but there's G to be things that they want to get better at you know offense we had our ups and downs and we're going to try to get better so there's not really a a time we're ever going to think we've reached The Pinacle and reached where we needed to be because I think when you do that you've already lost so for us in all the phases special teams as well we're going to just continue to to strive to be better Noah yeah with K's performance and with him getting more touches than Donovan tonight do you see him as a potential lead back for this offense uh I mean we think we have two two guys that are starters so we'll play both of them let them keep keep playing and you're going to need all of them uh for for the for the long drive Long Hall the season so we'll just keep playing both of them we got three players here start yeah let's ask them they're they're the ones that there um if I could go to Davis you know just what was your reaction when you did realize you starting and you were told that and then obviously getting a majority of snaps tonight through those yeah I think first of all just excited when when coach pulled me in and let me know and felt you know just proud of the way that i' performed in Camp and then I think that night and then go but once the next morning hit I was like man now it's time to like really win football games and that switch flipped pretty naturally for me and I just knew that this team needed to rely on me and I need to be a guy that they could count on and so it went right into like all right now it's time to go and uh kind of proud of the way the guys battled tonight and the guys trusted me and R around me and uh we got a lot of work to do but I'm excited where it started Aon Chiron you guys started strong and then finished strong offensively but in between there was obviously some struggles did how did you feel about the flow and everything from the from a play calling perspective yeah I thought it's football it's not always going to be perfect it's going to be up and down I thought the play calls did a great job and we got to execute the play calls whether it's offense or defense so um play calls I thought were good and we just got to continue to execute at a high level Ryan Davis obviously you you've been through a lot to get to this to get to this point was there any time where you reflected on your journey and what it took for you to get here and be the starting quarterback at Michigan uh a little bit I mean definitely uh you know range of emot when you first find out and excited to just be the guy that you can be for this team but definitely was able to kind of you know reflect on the people who' helped me get here and and my family and those people who had supported me and even you know just other kids meeting a kid that uh yesterday before practice kid named Finn who had leukemia and then also Down syndrome and me and Coach Moore had a great time with him and and that just keeps putting things in perspective for me and just reminds me of my why why I want to be out there every day work my tail off for for these guys in this team and and I think it help with you know the nerves a little bit and and just knowing that man like I'm I'm ready for this opportunity ready to make the most of it and and and I'm proud of us Tony yeah hey guys uh so I guess this is for shiron Davis and I think so cson obviously had a great game on eight catches for 87 but I think the rest of the receiving core combined eight catches for for 34 I guess is that just sort of how how tonight was do you want to get them more involved maybe Davis what you saw and Dron your thoughts about just the the yeah I mean we always want to be balanced but you know if they sometimes if you leave him open he's he's going to get the ball so Davis going to go through his reads how he needs to and throw it to the guy he thinks that you know is open so that's what we're going to do um that's how it going you know maybe next game he might catch 10 he might catch two but you know for us we're just going to try to make sure we put the best pre people in position to make plays and let the guys make plays what about Davis I guess yeah I think uh like I mean like coach said I mean if they're going to leave 18 open we're going to throw them the ball so it's pretty simple um and we're going to keep doing that and then you know the other guys you know Maj teimo Payton Fred Kendrick you know Marlin those guys are going to step up and make plays too so uh just whatever the defense presents us uh there were definitely some some plays today that you know I probably could have thrown it to receivers too who were open and and guys and those guys could have made plays too but I'm just going to stick to what I'm being coached to do stick to what Coach Campbell is is you know preaching every day I mean that it's the smartest guy in American so uh I'm listening to him and and you know we're just going to keep things rolling on the right Charlie Davis how did how do you assess your performance got say no y'all hit it on the head uh yeah like like you said we got a lot of uh talent in the receiver room um you know maybe they didn't show that today or didn't get opportunity to show that but they will eventually and they'll step up when their their numbers called Charlie Davis how do you assess your performance out there and at moments is it at all hard to get into a rhythm if you keep getting subbed in and out of the game or is that just kind of what you've been used to through Camp uh not at all I mean I'm whatever you know is going to help us make plays I mean I was so happy for Alex when he had that first touchdown they were yelling at me to get back in the in the in the you know sideline box because I was halfway down the sideline in the end zone so um not hard at all uh I'm perfectly prepared to do that and whatever this this offense needs I feel like personally uh definitely just need to clean things up on third Downs uh we left some some meat on the bone on those plays and and those are key plays in the game so uh you know we're going to go back to the drawing board and you know find some ways to get better but overall just proud of kind of how I handled myself you know emotionally and and you know was able to get the ball to our Playmakers and sometimes things were hard but I'm proud of the way we fought any questions for the defense I mean zeros this guy's like we talk to the guys Tom yeah it's your own game one number one to week number two I we're not in the game week but what what are the biggest improvements you you would like to see for the Texas game next yeah everything we're not yeah we're not we're just not going to say that we want one piece of our game to be better uh we're going to strive for Perfection and Chase Excellence so everything we're going to try to get better on offense in All Phases defense in All Phases we thought we were really good on defense but we're going to try to get better on that and then special teams as well back rer yeah have two questions one for Davis one for shiron um Davis I mean how would you assess the functionality of the offense what were what were the strong points you think what were the weak points yeah I think you know obviously there were some moments where we struggled to you know get the ball moving and do some things on third downs and that falls on me as a quarterback to you know make sure we're in the right play and and and doing the right thing but um you know we can't we can't leave ourselves in third and long you know we got to keep the chains moving I think you know that first falls on all of us to keep us going but I'm just so proud of the way the guys battle I mean that that last drive that's Michigan football right there and that's just momentum we needed and I kept telling the guys hey like we're going to get this thing rolling you know we just things are going to start moving and popping and and they they eventually didn't I think that just brought us all closer together brought gave us all more confidence more trust to just go out there and play fun and play free I wish I mean I was praying we got we got another drive because I felt like if we got another drive we would have scored again so um you know I'm proud of the way the guys fought and and the o line especially they they really played well at the end there and shiron I mean uh establishing the run early the struggles to do that how did that affect the play action game what you were trying to do maybe with that yeah it was really just it's a one one guy here one guy there so things that we'll fix we'll get better at coach big big picture question how do you feel about the opportunity to be the first blackhead coach to win a National Championship we got to win next week first um I I don't think about myself so I just think about these guys I just want to be successful for our program for these guys um and yeah that's the goal is to win a National Title but really it's about really about the players that are sitting here that are in that locker room I'm Excuse coach go I anws to them no you were like the everybody else up Davis I was just curious when Alex comes in how does it not disrupt you're star I mean it's no different than in practice like in practice the the ones are going and then the TW are going then the ones are going again and threes are going and the ones are back in so it's no different than that like we'll you know practice whatever you know a third down period and we'll have third and eight we get a first and sometimes coach will let it ride sometimes he'll kill it and then the twos will go and then we might come right back up on on a third and seven so I got no issue doing that um Alex had some ton of good plays tonight I thought he ran the ball well and um obviously with the touchdown pass that was awesome so it doesn't affect me and it's just the flow of the game it's no different than if I was going in there and you know on that play we were just handing the ball off to Don it's the same thing so it's it's not an issue have a follow I'm ask questions since I won't be a last three um how you developed your your Chemistry with Coulson and also can you speak about your your kicker and what he did today yeah uh with Co yeah Coulson I mean he's easy to throw to the guy he always gets open I can trust him out there he's always going to do the right thing in the right place and um I think that started early in Spring ball and in Camp just knowing that he was a guy that I could rely on um and it it's been that way the whole time whether it was thrown in the winter thrown in Spring ball thrown in the summer and then in Fall Camp is the same thing so we're always make sure on the same page communicating about things and makes it easy for me uh so I'm very grateful that we have him and then zavada I mean that guy's been dog dog he's he's been kicking kicking it so well all Camp uh you know we've been yelling his name every time he drills one in practice so uh it's it's fun to watch him watch him kick the ball and to know that once we get into his range you know we're we're guaranteed points so uh that falls on me when you know throwing the pick I got to be better about taking care of the football there so CU you know we we were already in field goal range but uh you know taking a shot down the field like that but we're going to keep being aggressive and and as it's good to know I mean I've been here you know we've had Moody and then we had James Turner and now we have Zada and they're all you know unbelievable so it's it's a big part of our team and important to us talk about the defense first of all the pass rush yeah sorry and uh and just your roll out there and how fast you guys were playing tonight yeah I mean that's been our Mantra all Camp just playing fast playing hard and physical I mean we came out there we knew you know set the tempo early set the tone for the game and you know have that same mindset throughout you know all four quarters Zach just I guess with specifically speaking to the interceptions I guess can you just speak to the the momentum shift that caused for the defense especially in a game where it was kind of tight until the fourth quarter yeah I feel like I mean any turnover you know that momentum will shift I mean you just know those guys back there are going to do their job and it's great to have guys like will and you know mcui back there but you know this is defense we love it and then Davis real quick what is zab's range I guess what is that line that you guys feel you have point I mean I don't really know to be honest but she could be like 6 70 I mean we we have like one of our field goal posts on the practice field is like five yards back for like safety I assume um and he was drwing them from Deep like into the wind so uh yeah it's deep we'll just have to wait and see I guess Davis what's kept you at Michigan for four years do you ever feel like do you ever think that you get this point um I I think so I mean what what kept me here was was this culture this group uh obviously Coach Harbaugh when I when I you know he he took a chance on me you know I wasn't a Surefire guy you know with all the stars and all that he took a chance on me and gave me an opportunity to come here and I owe it to him and this this program and this University and and these guys uh to be here and I never wavered I I never had any interest in leaving or going anywhere else I wanted to be here um and obviously there's been some ups and downs in the road but it did feel really good tonight to to get the win and you know to I've thought about this this day for a long time so and envisioned it a lot so I'm I'm I'm proud of the way I played and and feel like you know obviously the win is the most important stat there's things to clean up but I'm really proud of myself and um I'm just jonesing to get back out there next week and and and do it even better we're go with three more questions for these guys and then bring a couple other players in Steve Liz Adam you were part of all click pretty well tonight as well compare and contrast last year this year I don't feel like there's much changes especially with our mindset I mean you know we kind of carried over the same you know rules and you know mentality from last year and we're just going to continue that I mean you know the saying if it ain't broke don't fixes so we're going have them same mentality coming out hot every game Josiah uh president of State couldn't really get the Run game going at all today how are you guys so successful stopping the run I mean we have Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant in the middle so it makes it pretty hard for them to run in inside but uh n just the defense run into the ball U the Swarm mentality you know especially stopping run is he's our Mantra you know you stop the run you and leave him left-handed so so they just throwing the ball all day so you kind of expect plays last question Adam yeah colon this program's really prided itself on being physical at the line of scrimmage how do you feel that element was tonight in terms of just your overall physicality on offense was it there was it not was it back and forth how did you feel it was yeah uh I thought it was there at times um and lacked it sometimes too you know maybe someone didn't strain whether that's tight end o line or receiver just didn't strain enough and guy got off and made a play late or whatever that may be um but like like you like we've all been saying we kind of got it together there at the end and you know PE defense can only go so hard for so long and uh you know I think that's credit to our strength staff and what we do at practice um but yeah I think a lot like like everyone's been saying a lot of meat on the bone I think we could strain a little harder as a whole um but just great to get a win and uh time to prepare for next week all right excuse these guys appreciate y'all [Music] chair safy all right we're gonna bring up uh Dominic Zab Zeke Barry and K Mull [Music] backel then we got Charlie over there Rea over here uh Dominic the question has been asked what's your range um uh my range usually depends um in game you know I try and tell them 37 38 yard line that just kind of a baseline so that'd be a 55 yard kick but um depending on the circumstances I can go back to 60 uh first I've ever kicked 65 that's with a little win so um we'd have to see when you have an opportunity like tonight to to choose to keep going and adding points on the board and it's not a game where it's coming down to your points but you just keep getting those reps mind uh it's just a great opportunity to kind of keep getting reps um getting used to the atmosphere used to the field um and just the speed of play uh so yeah I'm really thankful that my coaches uh believed in me to put me out there um yeah it was just great night right Charlie I think ass coming Dom Ed Donan running is that how you VI things can you your performance tonight um yeah I feel like uh going into the season you know me and Donal always just viewed it as you know kind of a team thing you know us just getting the job done together um you know so that's that's just how that's how I viewed it um and then as far as my performance tonight uh I think I think I played a solid game um I think later on as as we were able to soften them up I was able to crack some big runs but uh there's definitely some things uh that I need to clean up as well um some things that weren't great as well so on the left here Andrew see can you take us through your interception what you saw uh well I saw the formation that they were in uh I seen that lineman number two uh so I knew kind of what was coming so um just played the ball threw the ball tipped it up in the air and caught it and tried to score and then Will's uh interception like do you know I mean it seems like that's like a film study type intercep where he he jumped it can you shed some light on that uh I mean I was on the other side of the field I didn't really see too much of it uh but I just heard everybody screaming looked back and seen will trying to score the ball in the front here well actually we'll go over on on the right Rea we'll it to Steve well you also yeah um you know for me I just I love catching punts catching kicks it's just fun um you know so when the opportunity arises in games to do it you know I I I just smile and I I try to take full advantage of it um you know and in in some of those moments uh I kind of felt like the team need a little boost uh and I feel like sometimes the biggest boost can come from Special Teams um you know so that was really just my goal out there was to just have fun and try to give the guys a spark um to help us go and really dominate this game and of left here Steve when you guys needed a touchdown drive at the end there you got talk about the that came from that also you had a couple real nice runs like 20 15 yard you guys are finally get you were finally getting you finally breaking talk about how it all came together yeah um you know it was definitely definitely great uh and uh definitely came in the time of need um but you know just the the run the other guys in the running back room uh you know just talking to them you know asking them what they were seeing and they you know everyone was just telling me you know just keep throwing gut punches keep throwing gut punches you know the guys are going to soften up eventually and uh you know in the in the fourth quarter on that drive you know it didn't seem like guys really wanted to tackle as much as they did earlier um so we were able to take advantage of that and and score um so yeah so really I was just going through my mind was just continuing to throw those gut punches continue to soften up the defense you know I I I used to play defense so I know you don't really want to keep tackling over and over and over again so um yeah that's really what my mindset was was to just keep trying to get some yards no uh Dominic a lot of your kicks came in a time of the game when the offense really wasn't succeeding in moving the ball down the field what does it mean to be able to put points on the board still at a time when the offense is struggling a little bit um you know if it feel it feels good uh I really think that um yeah it feels good uh I just think um it feel it feels good feels good MOJ hello back to the running game for a second with so many new guys offensive line and everything else did you think it would take a little bit and and you finally started to feel it coming there in the second half and is that what it can be going forward um I mean going into the game uh you know I was just thinking about doing my job and uh trying to help the team win um you know but and knowing as a team you know we understand that uh uh we just have to deal with whatever we're faced with and uh try to do our best and go out and try to assert our dominance um to win games um so you know when adversity started to hit when it wasn't clicking early on um you know we just all understood that okay just keep throwing these gut punches it'll come um and just keep being consistent keep throwing the gut punches and uh eventually it'll soften up and and we'll be able to put some some plays together and put a drive uh couple Drives together so um so yeah I mean beforehand really just focus on doing my job really but on the right Zach Dominic how much did the success of Jake Moody and James Turner I guess lead to you picking Michigan and have you talked to them at all or yeah so I uh James Turner's actually been a really really big part of um he's been he's been around he was R all fall Camp uh just kind of helping me out when he wasn't you know working out with NFL teams um and he's just been kind of arounded practice talking to me just kind of picking my mind I've been picking his mind asking him questions you know just just walk me through your pregame walk me through what's going on in your mind when we get the ball back um and then yeah I got to I got to hang out with Moody uh he was he was here over the summer which was really awesome I got to pick his brain too um he's a really cool guy uh both of them just awesome dudes and they did everything you know they toally asked answered every question I had so you know all love them um I thank them yeah how would you describe Davis Warren in the and his demeanor in the Huddle oh Davis was Davis has been great all throughout Camp all throughout my time here um you know he's he's able to take control of the hdle and take control of all the guys and uh direct us and lead us um you know that's a that's a huge part of what he brings um and even uh you know even when things may be not going as well or going great you know he's always able to not get too high with the highs and not get too low with the and be that level head that we need the back R this and do you find it uh concerning that the Breakthrough didn't happen until Midway through the fourth quarter or do you find it encouraging given that maybe it supplies some momentum heading into the Texas game um I mean I think it's probably a little bit of both uh but at the same time at the end of the day it's football anything can happen you know you can't go in just assume make an assumption are thinking some things might just go one way uh so being able to deal with the adversity face it and and overcome it uh is a good sign and uh the but the main priority is you know just getting back on Monday and uh attacking this week of practice and continuing to do that each and every week of the season and getting better each and every week of the season so based on your experience how realistically do you see this offense improving or how much do you think it can improve in a week's time oh I think I mean I think this offense can be great um and I I think it can improve a lot uh you know in a week's time two weeks time whatever it may be um but I'm I'm super excited about this offense um and I can't I can't wait to play next week I can't wait to uh play the week after that and uh continue to put together games and be out there with those guys so I left Adam see coach stop and talk about the jump between week one and week two where do you feel like defensively you guys can make the biggest jump especially going against an offense that obviously is pretty powerful with that uh well I mean having the back seven guys you know all on one one Accord you know make sure that we all on one page with each other uh cuz you know probably is going to be a pass heavy uh game so you know just make sure that if we're on the same uh same page then I feel like we'll be good with that on the right Charlie this is for anyone really but when did you guys find out that Davis Warren was going to be the starter and what was the team's reaction to that knowledge uh um shoot uh we found out earlier this week uh and I mean like like uh like as you guys kind of saw tonight you know both both guys were playing um and for us as teammates of the quarterback you know uh we understand the pressure and all the things that come with it so it's our job at the end of the day to support who whoever's in there and help them be the best they can be um so you know that's all we've been doing and that's all our our focus and mindset has been anything else all right Liz finish up there Z can you uh speak on raan Benny's performance today and the rest of the defensive line especially being able to stop the run game so effectively uh yeah um you know having the front seven that we have you know they they played hard you know stopped the run as best as they could today you know they were prepared ready to play and hit another team other than our teammates so I mean the performance that they had put on today was outstanding