QUOTES & VIDEO: Chris Klieman previews TCU
Opening statement:
“A good weekend away from football. Our guys got a good break and came back yesterday and had our first workout. Today we’ll put pads back on for the first time and get ready to play a really good TCU team. We talk about one week seasons and we’ve got six left and the stakes keep getting higher. We’ve got a really good TCU team at their place. They are playing really well. I was able to watch a little bit of it Saturday, was able to see the second half and (Max) Duggan is playing really well. He’s playing with a lot of confidence and you can see how their defense is continuing to grow in the new system they are running. They are playing with a lot of confidence so it’ll be a big challenge for us and we need a great week of preparation.”
On what TCU offense is doing so well:
“A couple things. One, his ability to run the football whether it’s designed runs, scrambles, has been a nightmare for teams. As well as getting the ball out. The receivers are playing at a really high level right now. The running back is playing at a high level. They are blocking up front really well and then you mix in the amount of tempo they are running they are getting a lot of people misaligned and then throwing easy smoke screens that are sometimes you would think would be knocked down for three or four and they are getting 15 or 18 yards. And then they are able to take and win on their shot plays and I think it’s a credit to where Duggan is at and how he’s playing because he’s making them go.”
On what he sees from TCU’s defense:
“Well they are doing the 3-3-5 like a lot of people are. And kjust watching them evolve over the year or through the season I should say, you can tell how much more confident the guys are on where they are supposed to be, how they are trying to attack teams. They played a bunch of man coverage against Oklahoma State that has really talented wide receivers and there wasn’t a lot of easy throws for Sanders to make. They make plays on balls and knock things away and did a great job of stymying the run game and the front is so active and safeties. They are playing some simple things really really well.”
Klieman on injuries:
“We’ll find out today. There were a number of guys that didn’t participate yesterday that we anticipate practicing some today or tomorrow. But everybody that played against Iowa State is right now on target to play this Saturday.”
On Adrian Martinez’s zero interception total:
“It’s something we emphasize and something he’s conscious of to make sure – in tight ball games maybe there’s a turnover there that can flip the tide of a game and understanding that sometimes I’ve gotta check the ball down or I’ve gotta tuck it away and maybe punt isn’t a bad thing rather than forcing a throw. That’s part of it. Part of it is his maturity and the fact that he’s played so much football. I think that coach Klein has done a great job putting him in situations and calls to be successful and us trying to stay ahead of the chains and not be in a bunch of third-and-8 plus where you might typically force the ball and being in a lot more third and shorts. It opens up the playbook more and he’s making good decisions.”
On the key to a successful run game:
“A lot of different sets that we’re doing some run game out of. The fact that we’ve got two guys out there that have been really productive in Deuce (Vaughn) and Adrian as well as hopefully getting more out of DJ (Giddens). Because he had such a good finish to that game. And our offensive line and tight ends are blocking really well and we know that based on the situation and based on the game situation of who we’re playing and what they’re doing to us that we are going to have one of those games where we’ll have to throw it probably like we did against Oklahoma.”
On DJ Giddens icing the Iowa State game and building confidence on that:
“It was fun to watch him with that kind of confidence and running hard and being physical. There’s some things that we know that he has the capabilities of doing that he showed for sure on Saturday. I haven’t really dove deep on the game plan with coach Klein yet, but obviously he’s going to be a part of that in trying to find ways to get him touches.”
Klieman on what has impressed him with Quentin Johnston:
“The last few weeks he’s been off the charts, one of the best receivers in college football. But he’s always been a player. He shows up every year when we play them because we’ve played him a few times. How are we going to control this guy? And you can’t shut him down. He’s too talented. But the last few weeks he’s taken his game to another level and they are finding different ways to get him the football. What has been so impressive is the yards after catch. He’s always been able to go up and get it because he’s a big, strong, physical receiver but catching the ball on under routes or quick stop routes or smoke routes and making somebody miss and breaking two or three tackles and what seemingly could be a five or six-yard gain has been turning into big plays for him. That’s where we have to do a tremendous job on the perimeter of getting off blocks as well as tackling.”
On what might explain Duggan’s leap in play:
“No nothing specific. I’ve always been a big fan of his. I think he’s an unbelievable competitor and I remember him playing – I think he was a true freshman in 2019 – and he had some good plays against us here and I know he’s had some ups and downs like a lot of players have, but he’s always come back. He’s a competitor. I met him – I can’t remember if it was last year – at the Big 12 Media Days, and I thought he was a first-class kid. He deserves the success he’s having because it hasn’t been easy but you can tell the players trust him and the players believe in him. He’s been impressive.”
On schematic preparation with a bye week and whether that presents an advantage:
“You know I don’t think so. You can say you’re fresher or you can say you should keep playing because it’s going well for you. Once it kicks off at 7:05 or 7:10 or whatever time it’s going to kick off, you can throw all those things out the window because you’re still going to do what you do probably on both sides and you’re not going to reinvent the wheel on either side of the ball. I don’t think it’s a huge deal especially once it gets kicked off.”
On the efficiency in the passing game defense:
“Just preaching to the guys that there are really good offenses in college football and oftentimes it’s you forgetting the play that happened to you so that you can get your focus back and go to the next play and find a way to get a stop. We were very successful a couple weeks ago in not allowing Iowa State into the end zone and forcing them into field goals, and typically field goals don’t get you beat and touchdowns in the red zone do. I think our coaching staff on defense has done a great job of keeping the guys focused and realized that every offense in this league is going to be able to move the football, you just have to find a way to get stops in the red zone.”
On Oklahoma State’s red zone failure against TCU:
“It’s kids making plays more than anything. The field shrinks. That’s the easy answer. The field shrinks and there’s just not as much space out there but it still comes down to I would assume even some of the times that we’ve stalled out we’ve missed a block, we’ve missed a read in the throw game, missed an ID in the run game or whatever it may be and it just comes down to when the space gets that much shorter the margin for error is that much smaller and you have to be able to make plays. It’s not just a skill kid making a play. Maybe it’s a big block by a wide receiver or an offensive lineman.”
Klieman on Austin Moore:
“Well the easy thing you’d say is he’s made a lot of growth in every aspect of the game. But, that’s the expectation that I had for Austin and I know it’s the expectation that Austin has for himself. He’s a very humble, confident kid in his ability as well as knowing how he fits within the defense and so for any of us to say we’re surprised by Austin Moore, you watch that kid work every day in the winter, spring, summer and fall. It doesn’t happen by accident. He’s a warrior. He’s a kid that’s playing with a lot of confidence. Playing really fast. And he’s without question one of our best defensive players right now. You’d ask any of our guys that are our marquee guys and they would point to Austin Moore as a guy that is having an all-conference year.”
On what he’s learned most about this team so far:
“Resolve. Resiliency. Belief. Block out the outside noise. And just focus on the next day and the next opportunity. It’s not always going to be pretty but if you can continue to believe. Believe in the plan, believe that you’re going to find a way, it’s been really cool to watch the last three weeks us survive and attack the adversity that we’ve faced and not just say, ‘oh well, we’re facing adversity. Here we go.’ It’s, ‘alright, who’s going to stand up and make a play? How are we going to get this thing stopped and flip the momentum?’ Because we’ve had it at Oklahoma, we’ve had it against Tech and we’ve had it in Iowa State where all three of those games could’ve gone the other way but our guys have such great belief in each other and such great belief in the plan and belief in the coaches that it kind of carries over once you get into the fourth quarter.”
On Felix Anudike-Uzomah and his performance to this point of the year:
“You know, Felix is motivated to play anybody. He just loves to play the game and I’ve forgotten that that was the game that he had (four sacks). Felix has a big challenge on his hands. They are really good up front and they get rid of the ball and they have a kid back there that is very elusive. And it’s a big challenge for us on defense in general. When we’re really good on defense it’s guys like Felix and Eli (Huggins) and Khalid (Duke) getting pressure on the quarterback. If you give Duggan all day to sit back there it’s going to be a long day for us.”
Klieman on Khalid Duke’s health:
“He should practice today on a limited basis but we anticipate that he’ll be able to play.”
On Conor Riley and conversations about freshman offensive lineman playing:
“Well a number of them have an opportunity. (John) Pastore is probably right now the closest. All these guys that are the true freshman they are not 295, 300 pounds somewhere in there. And they are truly in a developmental year. They are getting reps because of the loss of (Taylor Poitier) and (Andrew Leingang) for a while. So they are getting some reps with the second offensive line and I think that’s benefited a kid like Pastore the last couple of weeks. There’s a good chance he might play in one of these last six ball games. We sure as heck hope that we can keep his redshirt year so that a year from now he is 290 and more equipped to play Big 12 football. But they are getting a great learning experience from a terrific group of veteran lineman that have all had adversity and all have come through it by being the guy who sat for a couple years like Gilly – he sat three or four years and same with KT (Leveston) – and getting that opportunity and I think they are learning from them.”
On whether Pastore could shift from guard to tackle:
“He could play either one, you bet.”
On whether Hadley Panzer is the backup center and other shifts around:
“Yep. So Carver (Willis) would be in at right tackle and Dawson (Delforge) would be in anywhere on the left side. He would probably be at left guard and Cooper (Beebe) could flip out. Hadley would probably go in at center but we’re still playing Leingang at center and Sam Hecht at center. The benefit of the last few weeks of (Leingang) being out – which we only missed him for the one game – was it allowed Sam Hecht to get some more snaps at center, and then last week we were able to give Leingang a few more snaps at center. I think it’s going to help all those guys and the fact that they have so much versatility, because Leiny can play guard, center and tackle now, Hecht can play center and guard.”
On limiting interceptions and whether something had to be deliberately changed based on what he did at Nebraska:
“Not really. We didn’t practice with him until August and he’s always done a really good job of taking care of the football since he’s gotten here and I don’t know what happened in the past. Everybody asks me about that. I wasn’t with him so I really don’t know what happened and don’t really care what happened. I’m just excited that he’s here and takes coaching from coach Klein. He’s a real calm, patient kid if something does go wrong. He’s thrown picks in practice. Trust me. He has. And he just - it’s like, ‘kid made a play’ or ‘I made the wrong read.’ And he doesn’t compound that with a second mistake. He understands it’s part of the game and his maturity allows him to handle the adversity that he does have. If he makes a poor read and should give it and keeps it and gets tackled for a 3-yard loss, it doesn’t bother him. It’s, ‘OK, I made the wrong read. I’ve gotta go make the next play,’ and that’s the sign of a mature guy that’s played just a ton of football.”
Klieman on his enjoyment coaching Martinez:
“It’s refreshing. In the day and age of different things we see in college football, Collin is the one that gets to coach him all the time. I get to meet with him on a few days during the week and we’ll watch film and we’ll do that after this and he’ll pick my brain and I’ll pick his brain on things that we’re seeing from a defensive perspective. And all the QBs will do that with me. It’s just fun to have some light moments in there talking about other things as well. It’s just I think a calming effect that he has that coach Klein has as well and it has just been fun to watch Adrian continue to grow in our system and continue to learn from how we’re doing things within our offense.”
On whether Martinez has grown out of the conservative passing from early in the season:
“The easy answer would be we told him to let it rip. That’s the easy answer. And he has. He’s let it rip in the run game. He’s let it rip in the throw game. Every game is going to be different. I can’t tell you if he’s going to have six designed runs, two designed runs, 16 designed runs this week or if we’re going to throw it 15 times or 35 times. I don’t think any of us know that kind of stuff until we get into the flow of the game and see how everything goes and what the defense is giving us. He doesn’t know half the time how it’s going to go because I think most people go into the game saying ‘how do we stop 22?’ And from there we try to figure out how we’re going to attack them based on how they are going to stop 22. And every game has really played out differently for us.”
Klieman on the designed run game for Duggan:
“Quite a bit. They’ve run a lot of read-zone keep with him. They’ve run some quarterback draw. He’s a physical runner. He punishes tacklers that come and try to strike him and he always bounces back up. He’s taken some shots and you think maybe he’s nicked up and then he’ll throw a seam ball or an out route on the money with great pace. Obviously he’s a really tough player, too. You can tell the team feeds off his toughness.”
On Nate Matlack’s play and health:
“Yeah, we feel like he is now. I think the open week probably benefited Nate as much as it did anybody. He was still not 100 percent against Iowa State. We shelved him most of last week and gave him a chance to get quite a bit more rehab and build some strength in it. Now, a number of those guys have been banged up. Now it’s about getting their conditioning back and I don’t know if they are going to play 30 plays or 55 plays based on the tempo of the game, but it being at night probably helps guys like that that haven’t had as much of the running. I know it’s going to be warm there, but it’ll be dark by the time we get this thing started. But Nate is feeling a lot better.”
On understanding the magnitude of this Top 25 matchup and whether the week feels different:
“No it really doesn’t. And I think you can see it in the landscape of the Big 12 in the games that I was able to follow last weekend. Anybody can beat anybody. And it comes down to a handful of plays that ultimately get made in the fourth quarter. If you make it more than that you’re probably missing the boat and probably not preparing for what you have to face for four quarters, one play at a time. Our guys are excited about the challenge of going to TCU. We know it’s going to be a really good environment and it’s going to be really loud. We’re playing an excellent football team that our guys know are playing with a lot of confidence. So we have to weather the storm so to speak from the environment and with the level of speed and physicality that they have and get this game into the fourth quarter with a chance.”
Klieman on big TCU receivers and the role size will play in the matchup:
“It’s a big challenge because they all go up and get the football. That 6-4 plays a lot taller when they go and get it at the highest point. Our ability to try to disrupt timing is going to be important. Our ability to mix in man and mix in zone and dropping our eight and rushing four, five and six guys is going to be important as well in giving different looks. Without a doubt that’s one of the advantages they have with the ability to run the football with the running back and quarterback and then the great size they have and speed at wide receiver.”
On depth at cornerback:
“Everybody’s gotta be ready to roll, not just at corner but at safety. We’re going to have to play a lot of guys just like we’ve done all the time. We’re going to have to play a bunch of players and everybody’s gotta rise up and answer the bell when they get the opportunity.”
Klieman on Colby McCalister’s progress:
“He’s doing well. He’s making more progress probably on special teams right now than he is as a corner because he missed so much of fall camp with an injury that he’s fully healed from, but you just lose a lot of that teaching time. So where he is the biggest help right now is on special teams.”