Hugh Freeze press conference review: Cal week

“The only experience I had was BYU. It was a long trip. One of the challenges I have for me is to embrace it because I don’t like it. I don’t like scheduling teams on the West Coast. I would like to play somebody over here on the East Coast, but it was done and me complaining or not embracing it, is not the proper response. I haven’t, the only one I’ve done is BYU. It was a challenge and this one is even further. In another time zone. I think it creates some challenges, but this will be a good test for all of us. Coaches, training staff, nutritionists, strength staff, support staff, and players. How do we handle if things are a little uncomfortable or it’s not exactly the way we want it. I’m speaking to myself as much as anyone, and you’ve got to play a really good football team at their place. When our body times are 9:30 or 10 at night and we’re kicking off. All of that is going to be a challenge, but that’s what life is. So how we approach it and the attitude we have for the opportunity we have ought to be one of gratitude and thankfulness. If we have to suck it up and fly a long flight, then that’s what we’ve got to do. We get another opportunity to represent this school, our conference, and each other. So, let’s go make the most of it.”

“We just had our truth meeting. The schedule is a little different today with it obviously being Labor Day, so we’re trying to get through practice and meetings a bit earlier today to try to gain some extra rest and maybe some extra game planning today. This week is a little different, so we are trying to get a jump start. But I’ll share with you what I shared with them (the team) on the truth of the game.

I thought our special teams, the positives were that we started really fast. I think we had 131 return yards in the first quarter, which was pretty awesome. The average first-half starting field position was the plus-35 and the plus-48 for the whole game. That’s really good. The effort was incredible in the first half. I thought the negatives on special teams were we didn’t finish the same way that we started. We had a few lows, six missed tackles in the second half. Punt was average. Punt coverage was average.

Defensively, I thought 1-of-11 on third and fourth downs, those are critical downs, and that’s a great percentage. (We) created 13 negative plays, two turnovers, and had zero penalties on defense. I thought that was really nice. The big glaring negative that we got by with in this game, but we will not get by with in future game is alignment and assignment, and that’s frustrating to me. We had numerous snaps, probably 15 I think it was. We were not lined up properly, and it’s going to bite us big time if that continues to be the issue. We did have a lot of young kids out there, but nobody is going to write that, and it’s not going to make you feel better sitting in the film room after a week and it bites you. It’s one thing if somebody makes us miss a tackle, like this back (California’s Jaydn Ott) this week will is one thing, but for us to be aligned improperly and be a gap short or not be on the same page with all 11 on the back end, especially, it will burn you. Outside of that, I thought our kids played hard after the first drive, and I thought they created negative plays. Obviously, the turnovers – one for a score – was huge, but we cannot continue to not be on the same page.

Offensively, 7.6 yards per carry is great. Thought our tempo was good. Eleven explosive plays, no turnovers, 6-of-10 on third down, 100 percent in the red zone. So there are a lot of good things offensively. I think the biggest negatives were perimeter blocking and the understanding of our routes. We don’t understand landmarks and spacing really well. Our quarterback decision-making needs to be 100 percent, or at least in the high 90s. We had three bad decisions, but the biggest truth of the day is we are 1-0, and we defended our home, and we celebrate that.

Certainly, there’s a lot more that we can improve on as we look forward to Cal. Cal is talented. (Head coach Justin) Wilcox is a great defensive mind, they’re very sound on that side, not flashy, but sound. He does a really nice job there. Then offensively, they’re really scary. The tailback, he’s one of the best ones I’ve seen. They had 670 yards I think last week, and they go fast. They got about 100 plays in the game and had eight receivers with two or more catches. Starting quarterback went out, the other kid came in and still threw for all of these yards, so they got depth. I think the tailback is really special. It will be a great challenge for us as we go on the road to Cal.”

“If we continue to push the boundaries and go fast, we’re comfortable with eight to nine guys. I don’t know if we’d go any beyond that if the game is still in question. We had the five that rolled out there in the first series. I don’t like calling them our first team, but they rolled out there the first series. I think the second series, Jeremiah (Wright) was out there and I don’t know when Tate (Johnson) rolled out there or Connor (Lew). We played those eight pretty dang quick and I think you have to keep them fresh. Maybe some weeks it’s better that Jeremiah rolls out there the first series depending on what kind of front you’re playing and he’s got more girth to him. The reason we did what we did this past week was because of all the chaotic looks and Gunner (Britton) has a really sharp IQ. We felt like he and Dillon (Wade) and (Kam) Stutts beside Too Tall (Izavion Miller) was a really good combination. The chances we had at giving up negative plays against the Don Brown different looks were lessened by having Gunner on one side and Kam on one side. That’s the reason that’s who rolled out there the first series.”

“They made some plays. We really stopped throwing it down the field pretty early in the third quarter. We missed an opportunity early with Jay Fair, but it was really something we had never covered. We went fast and they did not guard him. He was uncertain what to do and Payton was uncertain what to do. We were all like- we haven’t covered that. It was a little bit on us too because (Thorne) what happens if they don’t cover you? Should you just stop and throw the ball? That doesn’t happen often. That was really the only one I thought we missed. We still don’t totally understand the spacing, landmarks and energy that routes need to be run with, particularly when you think you are not getting it. It is a vital part of the concept, and we still are struggling there. We are better, but we have to continue to improve that. It was good to see Malcolm (Johnson Jr.). Malcolm is fast. He is one of the faster guys on the team. He has been hurt all fall camp, so if he comes on – I think that gives us even more capability of deep threats.

“It was easy Saturday. You just kind of looked at the call sheet, and the things we had planned we called. They tended to work in the run game. I don’t think it was a great test for us, truthfully. It was because the run game is working. You thought you have control of it, but really it was me every now and then saying, ‘let me see us seven-man protect, five-man protect.’ It was smooth. I think as the games get more challenging; how do we operate then? I have no worries. Neither one of us have any ego about it, so let’s figure out what we can do to help our team win.”

“We have the availability of a lot of players is up in the air. Normally I would rather not even comment on all of them. We have a long list from Nick Mardner to Austin Keys to Jaylin (Simpson) to (Nehemiah) Pritchett. All of those guys can hopefully have a good week. We could really, really use some of those guys.”

“We’re 1-0, but it’s in the trash and over with. That’s kind of the way you approach this profession. I did think a compliment to our coaches, strength staff, I thought our kids, now they didn’t probably have to strain for four quarters like they will in future games, but I thought for our first game we were really clean and there weren’t any pre-snap penalties. We had none of those. We had a couple holding calls and the kick out of bounds, but when you play the first game and you only have that few of penalties, I just thought we were prepared so I compliment our coaches on that. Good to have it behind us. I said in the postgame, our fans are incredible, our student section is incredible, our band, cheerleaders, everybody. Tiger Walk was awesome. Being with family was great, but that one is over. We’re 1-0 and now we have a tough test on the road.”

“Robby didn’t have to make many decisions, but he’s really talented and vital to our success. He will have to make some in the future. Payton had three decisions that were wrong, and I just expect more. I expect him not to make the ones he made, and he knows that. But, he played solid. We would like that decision-making to be around 100 percent, particularly in the run-pass world where he’s deciding whether to run or pass. Those need to be near 100 percent.”

“I’m crazy sometimes. I get frustrated, I don’t lie, and I tell them that. I say, ‘Here’s the deal, I’ll play the next play with you.’ My love for them doesn’t change. Their performance has nothing to do with that. I learned this from my father, who is a tough, tough man, but I went through a very difficult stretch and my father taught me, ‘Listen, I love you, and it’s not based on your performance.’ So as long as our players know that, I think I can coach them hard. They see that and they see a consistency in me not treating them different after the game, whether they threw four touchdowns or three picks. Yeah, I’m disappointed and I feel like I ought to have coached them better and I feel like they ought to have played better, but that doesn’t affect (my love for them). I think Payton knows that. There were two things that happened in that same series, and he knew it, and I think when he missed the first one and I’m yelling and screaming, which I’m figuring out who they are and they’re figuring out who I am. I think when I do that to him, he presses a little bit. He handed the ball off and the safety triggered so hard and made the hit like one yard in the back field, so I’m thinking ‘How do you not see that?’ That ball should be thrown. So I’m doing my antics over there, and he probably sees that, and then about two plays later the darn safety stays about as high as he can and we pull it and throw it. Those are the two things that can’t happen. He is too intelligent and has too high of an IQ. He’ll get that cleaned up and fixed, and I have to make sure I coach him in a way that is helpful and doesn’t make him press.”

“You saw as soon as we got down there we put him in, so that’s on the call sheet. It’s a plan. It wasn’t something that I just said, ‘Hey, how about let’s try Robby here?’ Every game plan is different. He is super talented and there is a lot we can do with him. A lot of people in this day and world say you can’t play two quarterbacks. Well, I don’t know. Maybe they are right, but we are 1-0. If we go 2-0 we will keep doing it, but we need them both. You see how talented he is down there, so it is always a possibility. You can’t be too predictable. We obviously weren’t in game one and there isn’t enough tape to get data and figure out our tendencies yet, so we will come up with a game plan for Cal and Robby will always be a part of that plan.”

“I’m glad you mentioned that actually because they’re either doing a really good job of faking it or they’re getting along pretty well and are buying into ‘how do we help the team win.’ I hope that’s the case. I believe it is, and I hope that continues. I do wish they’d quit jumping up. When they jump up together, I don’t like that at all. I just think both of them could go down with a sprained ankle. I mean, why are we doing that? That makes no sense, but they seem to enjoy it.”

“Yeah, I think Jay and (Ja’Varrius Johnson) have been the most consistent and solid guys. I think our outside guys are coming on, but we felt ever since spring that those two guys were going to be main contributors and solid performers. I’ve seen nothing that keeps me from thinking that’s still true, so I’m proud for both of those guys and hope we’ve got to expand their roles some. We didn’t show a whole lot in the passing game Saturday, truthfully, and hopefully they have more targets coming.”

“I probably haven’t put enough thought into it, truthfully. When they’re still college students and ours here are actually in class, it’s hard to really tinker with our schedules here. The only thing we did is we will practice earlier Thursday and try to get to California late Thursday night so we aren’t sitting in a hotel at all hardly Thursday. It’ll be time to go to bed. Then Friday will be a good challenge to get our bodies adjusted. We are going to practice out there at San Mateo Junior College and do it at our normal time and try to get back to our hotel like we would on a normal Friday. We’ll try to treat is as normal as we can. The really hard day will be Saturday sitting around. That’s a really long time before kickoff.”

“Just hand it to him. I mean, it isn’t like they have created some special deal, just run inside zone or outside zone or counter with him, and if it’s semi-blocked well he’s a handful. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s got great vision. He is really, really talented.”

“This is not like last week. We can see everything. His kids are going to be in the right spot, they are going to be lined up correctly, they are going to play hard, they are going to tackle well, and you’re going to have to drive the field multiple times. They are going to try not to give you explosive plays, and we have got to try to find a way to have some. They are just going to be in the right spot. They are just extremely well-coached for what they do. It’s not a complicated scheme, but they do what they do really, really well. And last week it worked. They only gave up 40 yards rushing I think, had three picks, held them to 2-of-11 on third downs. They had a really, really good defense effort in game one.”