They Said It: Hazelton, Messingham transcripts
Kansas State offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham and defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton met with members of the media on Thursday at the Vanier Family Football Complex prior to the Wildcats traveling to Starkville, Mississippi to take on Mississippi State. Quotes from both Messingham and Hazelton are below.
The Wildcats and Bulldogs kick off at 11 a.m., on Saturday inside Davis Wade Stadium in a game that will be shown on nationally on ESPN and aired on the K-State Sports Network.
COURTNEY MESSINGHAM, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On the challenge the offense faces this week...
“It will be tough. They do a great job of not giving up points. I don't know how many weeks in a row, how many games in a row they’ve held people under 30 but they’re stingy when it comes to scoring.”
On what makes Mississippi State defense unique…
“Pretty much the biggest thing is the ability to run and hit. You know they do a great job of when they’re going to go hit and run to the football, they’re creating havoc. Their linebackers are thick dudes that can still run. Their front four are very good football players, thick guys that can still run. And, in the back end, even if they do give up a long play, they’re still going to try and get a strip. When you watch them play, they’re all about the ball, getting the ball out, creating turnovers and really keeping people out of the endzone.”
On quarterback Skylar Thompson finding success in the passing game…
“You know it will all be how the game unfolds, but Skylar’s just has to do a job taking what they give him. Really, part of that comes to wideouts creating space. Some of the stuff that they have given up, other teams’ wideouts have done a nice job of creating space and quarterbacks have basically played catch.”
On what he’s told the running backs facing the size of Mississippi State’s defensive front...
“Well, the biggest thing with the running backs and really all of us is take care of the football. Understand that there is going to be collisions. It’s a game where it’s going to be played faster than we’ve probably seen the first two weeks, and there’s going to be more violent collisions than what we’ve seen. Taking care of the football is a priority.”
On how positive it was that wide receiver Malik Knowles took a step forward against Bowling Green…
“(It was) a really big time deal. I think all of us felt like he has a ton of talent that he’s bringing to the table. He had some big catches, but then all of the sudden started making crazy catches where’d you say, ‘Wow, that’s really impressive.’ He has to keep doing it week in and week out, but we're really excited about him. The best part is there’s a bunch of wideouts that are really doing a nice job that are creating competition, and the more competition the better.”
On how quarterback Skylar Thompson has been impressive enough to be given freedom to make calls...
“Well, the biggest thing, and we’ve talked about this before, but when we very first got here, his desire to learn what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. The more he keeps figuring those things out, the more input he has on third downs, the more input he has on, ‘Hey, how do we want to start this series? What do we want to go out there with? What do we want to run with?’ He’s done a good job, and he has to stay within himself, but to this point I thought he’s done a great job of staying within himself and not trying to force the game.”
On what Jax Dineen did that was impressive against Bowling Green...
“Probably the ability to physically just turn it loose and play. I felt like early in camp, there was a lot of times he was thinking more than just going and playing and playing fast. Once the lights go on and he keeps getting more and reps, the faster he keeps playing. For a bigger guy, he’s got some really, really good quick twitch, can move and play in space.”
On the performance of John Holcombe II against Bowling Green…
“The biggest thing that he does is, when he plays, he plays hard. When he carries the football, he runs like a back. His ability to throw the football, his ability to get it out of his hand, I’ve been impressed with him and happy with how’s he played. I was happy with, really, how Nick (Ast) managed the game as well. But, John’s obviously got a skill set a little bit different than the average guy, and he’s done a good job when he’s gotten his chances.”
On being able to alternate offensive linemen against Mississippi State…
“We always want to try to get where we are able to play seven or eight offensive linemen. This week, it will really depend on how long are our drives, how hot and humid it is, how are they playing as individuals. But, we always want to try and play seven or eight if we can no matter what the gameday situation is.”
On running back James Gilbert living up to expectations…
“I thought he was a really, really good player before he got here, and he’s done nothing to make me think any different. He is a great finisher. When he gets the ball in his hands, somebody who you think should make that tackle, he does a great job of breaking tackles and putting himself in a position to go score. A number of his touchdown runs have been really, really good, even though it might have only been a five-yard run where he’s been able to not get tackled by the first collision and get into the endzone.”
On if they have leaned on cornerbacks coach Van Malone’s experience working at Mississippi State…
“You know, a little bit. I think the bigger deal more than personnel is more just getting our guys to understand what the environment will be. That we will be able to handle the environment if we just stay where you’re at as far as play the play that you’re getting ready to play, don’t worry about what just happened, don't worry about what’s going to happen two plays from now. Just stay in the moment and we’ll be fine.”
On going back and studying last season’s game against Mississippi State…
“We’ve watched it. Obviously, we’re a different offense. But the ability to see the schemes that play, you bet.”
On what he thought about freshman running backs Jacardia Wright and Joe Ervin against Mississippi State…
“Really happy with both of them. I think both of them have huge potential down the road and will be really, really good players. Whether that continues this week and the following weeks, we’ll see as they unfold, but I think both of them have talent, and I think both of them will be able to help us.”
SCOTTIE HAZELTON, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On how the uncertainty of Mississippi State’s quarterback affects the defense… “The guys that they play are pretty similar. They’re both guys who can run around some and can throw, so it’s a similar game plan. You would like to know who you’re playing, but it’s just something you have to take in account because I’m sure it’s going to be like that many times this year, so you kind of have to have a game plan for each one.”
On how to simulate tackling Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill in practice…
“Yeah I don’t know. He’s one that’s hard, now. He’s a guy that runs really hard, he can jump cut, he can spin, he can stiff arm. We all work on tackling quite a bit in our individual. It was something that we were working on from the first game anyway because we had some deficiencies there. It’ll be a good test to see how we did. He’s a guy that we have to really rally to the ball. I don’t know how many times he’s going to drop with one shot. That’s for sure. It’s about everybody else getting to the ball too. Hopefully we can continue to give good effort and knock him down for limited yards after contact. He’s one of those guys that is really good.”
On the defensive not only focusing on Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill but also others…
“We’re pretty close to being a gap-control defense. So as we play our gaps, there’s some focus on him but it’s every tailback. The basis to playing defense is to stop the run on a general week, then you earn your right to pass rush. The better you stop the run, then you get into the situations where say, ‘OK, now we can blitz. Now we can play games. Now we can rush the passer.’ I don’t know that it’s any different this week. It’s just, ‘Hey, we really need to focus on having great leverage on this guy, understanding each gap and what leverage you have on that gap.’ Then really wrapping him up, squeezing him, getting the leg and doing all of those kinds of things.”
On nickelback Jahron McPherson fitting well against run-heavy teams…
“When you use him in the box and get him in there, yeah. For teams that try to mess with the nickel and get him in the box, those kind of things, yeah very much so. When he’s out in open space a little bit, he does a good job of attaching to guys. It will be a good matchup this week for him because he’ll be out there in space against really good receivers that can run around and do some things. We’ll get a chance to see how he does against top competition.”
On if there is concern about the defense not defending against many plays the first two games…
“Sure. I think that it’s one of those things where you say that we gave up drives that we shouldn’t have, and we gave up points we shouldn’t have the first game. I don’t know that you can question them. If they’re getting off the field, you can say, ‘Hey, we’re doing our jobs.’ If it’s a team that is not as good as you would’ve liked to have played or you’re playing a team you might be better than, then you would hope that they do what they did. So I don’t know, it may be a loaded question. I don’t exactly know how to answer that. If I was playing against my kids at home - I know it is not the same as that - but if I was playing against my kids at home, I should be able to run through them. They’re six and eight. That’s a tough question. You can’t fault guys for getting off the field. At the same time you say, if you would have gave up a whole bunch of yards and had a bunch of adversity, then we would have said, ‘Well, what are you guys doing?’ The goes the other way too.”
On if the defense is prepared to go play Mississippi State after playing limited snaps the first two games...
“I think our preparation this week has been much better than it was last week. I would have questioned our focus last week at certain times in practice. We’ve been way better this week preparing. Now, are we ready for a game, playing an SEC opponent and all those things? We’ll see. That’s why you play the game. When it gets tight, as a team, how are we going to respond when, instead of being up by 50 because our offense is scoring every drive, you’re not playing with your booty being real tight. If you’re in a game that is a tight game, how are we going to respond? I don’t know. That will be something to see. That will be interesting.”
On if the first road game will have an effect on the team…
“Most of the guys have been on the road before and they understand how we work. So I don’t know if it’s necessarily a road game. I think it’s just an environment where you’re going to say - like the first game, we didn’t know. We’ve had those games before where they’re seven-point games at the end of the day one way of the other. Then you go, ‘Jeez, we were really tight for that one.’ The second game you’re like, ‘OK, we should be able to beat these guys if we do it right. How mature are we going to be and will we show up for the game.’ This is the first game where you would say, ‘OK, now all those things together.’ It’s a really good opponent. It’s probably the first game we are underdogs in. Let’s see how we play in that environment, too. It’s easier for the defense to play on the road than at home. It’s quieter, you can talk a little more and you can make adjustments. So that’s easier.”
On the importance of a pass rush this week...
“I think pass rush is always important. If you can get to the quarterback, you create takeaways. I know we didn't get any picks last week, but it was a situation where pressure caused some of those balls that we had in our hands and we decided to throw on the ground. It’s one of those deals where always pressure gets to quarterbacks. Always pressure is something you can do. But again, it’s about can we stop the run to get ourselves in those positions to get those opportunities to rush. If we can do that, if we can continue to pressure the quarterback, it might not show up on the stat sheet, but if the dude’s throwing the ball to the safety and we catch it, we’re saying, ‘Hey, that’s a great job. You guys are playing great defense in the back end. You’re getting a lot of takeaways.’ But, that’s really caused by the pressure that maybe doesn't really show up. So, we’d like to have more sacks, shoot we’d like to have 40 right now. I think that would be great because that helps our rushing numbers too. But, it is what it is.”
On the performance of defensive tackle Jordan Mittie...
“Yeah he’s doing a good job. Those D-Tackles, they’re tough. That’s a matchup we’re excited to see. You get a guy like that and Trey (Dishon), they have a big physical offensive line too, and you’re saying, ‘Hey, this a game why we have those big dudes in there. Let's see how they play, how they really hold the line of scrimmage, can they shed guys and make plays, get off and make tackles.’ That’s the hard part for a D-Lineman - you’re tied up in there and you’re getting doubled. Then the thing splits and the back is there, can I make that or not? That’s a tough play.”
On what Mississippi State does differently than last year...
“It’s really the same scheme-wise. They are doing a couple things with the backs action that are a little bit different. For the most part, it’s the same stuff, same scheme If you watch, it’s very similar stuff, (it) might called a little bit different here and there, but it’s pretty much the same thing.”
On the friendships with Isaiah Zuber...
“If you’ve ever been, you go on the field with the Chiefs or something, they’re playing whoever there playing. Those guys went to college together. It’s the same thing. You usually go out there and say, ‘What’s up man? How you doing? Good.’ You shake hands and then you get on the field and, sure, there’s trash talk, but that happens every week, on every game, every person that you play. So it’s one of those things that I think the guys are excited to see. I think Zuber might have trash talk, I’m sure our guys might get into it a little bit. But, I think there’s some of that happening every game. I think that people might overblow it because it’s there, but you hope that both sides just handle it professionally. After the game, they’re all going to hug each other, they’re all going to take pictures together, they’re going to do all that because they’re all buddies. You would say sure, and heck, they might be laughing on the field. You never know. They might say something that’s funny too. You never know what happens with that kind of stuff.”
On if this type of match up gets his juices flowing...
“Like I said before, I'm kind of relieved when it’s over every week. If we get a win, it’s more relief. If we lose, then I take it really hard. So far every game I’ve been nervous. I don’t know a game, I can’t remember a game where it doesn’t keep you nervous all the time. I’m kind of the same all the time. This is me. I’m kind of flatlined. I get upset a little bit easier, maybe. If something is not right, you feel a little bit more urgency.”
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