Opening Statement
First of all, we were certainly very pleased about the victory on Saturday. That was a really hard fought, tough game. We talk about playing the full sixty and that was the full sixty for sure. Great to see Marshall recognized by the Big Ten. He's worked extremely hard. Congratulations to him.
To have Brett Greenwood honored and recognized by the crowd was a great thing. He's an inspiration to all of us. Also, a great crowd.
Same four captains: Lomax, Ott, Beathard, & Blythe
Came out of the game fairly healthy. Much better shape than we were a week ago.
Trying to learn as much as we can about North Texas. Know a lot of about Dan McCarney, worked side by side for 9 years and sat next to each other in the staff room. I have tremendous respect for Dan as a person and as a football coach. Helped Barry build the program at Wisconsin, did a great job at Iowa State, and had North Texas in a bowl game. He knows how to get a team ready. Then also trying to address our weaknesses and things we need to address this week. Preparation is off to a good start, but plenty of work to do.
Q: Game a mental challenge as much as physical? KF: Always a possibility if you're not careful. Goes back to the mindset of the team, just knowing how important every week is. That's one of the reasons we don't gear up for certain opponents. Whole idea is to move forward every week and grow as a team. Every opponent different, but challenge is still the same, try to be at your best.
Q: Kidd's improvement? KF: I would give him all the credit. Like I talked about with Marshall, just a matter of consistency. Worked hard at it and deserves all the credit.
Q: So far so good with morning practices helping you? KF: I think the biggest thing more so than when we're practicing is how we're practicing.
Q: Dillon really went under the hood and talked to a lot of outside people about punting. How much do you encourage that? KF: Really depends on who they're talking to and also sometimes you can get too many chefs in the kitchen. His dad was a very successful college and NFL punter, so it'd be silly not to talk to him, but you know how kids and parents are sometimes, so good to go outside of that too. It's a different position, different mentality and mindset, so the key is the find out what works for you and simplify it. I'm not sure what the key thing is, but seems like it's resonating well.
Q: Stories about Dan McCarney? KF: First thing that comes to mind is Coach Fry coming down and ripping on us for going ones against ones. With line coaches on any staff, they work hand in hand, so natural camaraderie. We had a lot of good experiences. We had the same staff for about 7 years after I got here, so we became very good friends. After that, guys go off and do things on their own and have success like Barry, Bill Snyder, and Dan. Only downside is having to compete against each other. That's not much fun. Talked to Coach Fry about it last week. He doesn't enjoy it each. Who do you cheer for, offense or defense?
Q: Did your relationship change when he was at Iowa State? KF: Absolutely. When you compete against each other, a little different feel to things.
Q: LeShun didn't seem like himself, is he getting better, Jordan No. 1 now? KF: Just means Jordan is healthy and can't say enough about what he's done. LeShun just couldn't drive off it as much as he needed. Gaining ground there though and Jordan has done a good job.
First of all, we were certainly very pleased about the victory on Saturday. That was a really hard fought, tough game. We talk about playing the full sixty and that was the full sixty for sure. Great to see Marshall recognized by the Big Ten. He's worked extremely hard. Congratulations to him.
To have Brett Greenwood honored and recognized by the crowd was a great thing. He's an inspiration to all of us. Also, a great crowd.
Same four captains: Lomax, Ott, Beathard, & Blythe
Came out of the game fairly healthy. Much better shape than we were a week ago.
Trying to learn as much as we can about North Texas. Know a lot of about Dan McCarney, worked side by side for 9 years and sat next to each other in the staff room. I have tremendous respect for Dan as a person and as a football coach. Helped Barry build the program at Wisconsin, did a great job at Iowa State, and had North Texas in a bowl game. He knows how to get a team ready. Then also trying to address our weaknesses and things we need to address this week. Preparation is off to a good start, but plenty of work to do.
Q: Game a mental challenge as much as physical? KF: Always a possibility if you're not careful. Goes back to the mindset of the team, just knowing how important every week is. That's one of the reasons we don't gear up for certain opponents. Whole idea is to move forward every week and grow as a team. Every opponent different, but challenge is still the same, try to be at your best.
Q: Kidd's improvement? KF: I would give him all the credit. Like I talked about with Marshall, just a matter of consistency. Worked hard at it and deserves all the credit.
Q: So far so good with morning practices helping you? KF: I think the biggest thing more so than when we're practicing is how we're practicing.
Q: Dillon really went under the hood and talked to a lot of outside people about punting. How much do you encourage that? KF: Really depends on who they're talking to and also sometimes you can get too many chefs in the kitchen. His dad was a very successful college and NFL punter, so it'd be silly not to talk to him, but you know how kids and parents are sometimes, so good to go outside of that too. It's a different position, different mentality and mindset, so the key is the find out what works for you and simplify it. I'm not sure what the key thing is, but seems like it's resonating well.
Q: Stories about Dan McCarney? KF: First thing that comes to mind is Coach Fry coming down and ripping on us for going ones against ones. With line coaches on any staff, they work hand in hand, so natural camaraderie. We had a lot of good experiences. We had the same staff for about 7 years after I got here, so we became very good friends. After that, guys go off and do things on their own and have success like Barry, Bill Snyder, and Dan. Only downside is having to compete against each other. That's not much fun. Talked to Coach Fry about it last week. He doesn't enjoy it each. Who do you cheer for, offense or defense?
Q: Did your relationship change when he was at Iowa State? KF: Absolutely. When you compete against each other, a little different feel to things.
Q: LeShun didn't seem like himself, is he getting better, Jordan No. 1 now? KF: Just means Jordan is healthy and can't say enough about what he's done. LeShun just couldn't drive off it as much as he needed. Gaining ground there though and Jordan has done a good job.
