Oct. 29, 2012

VIDEO: Coach Graham's Weekly Press Conference - Oct. 29

HEAD COACH Todd Graham

Opening statement...

"Oregon State is another opportunity to get back out on the field and play one of the top ten teams in the country. It is obviously a big challenge for us. Traveling up there is a very tough place to play but I'm really proud of our football team. I'm proud of how these guys respond. Looking and evaluating where we're at, I'm disappointed in a couple of the losses. We lost one game that we got beat in. We were down 17 at Missouri and we came back. We were down nine against UCLA and came back. I'm really proud of how these guys respond and how hard they're playing for us. They've never let up one bit. We're coming off way too many mental mistakes on defense. We have to get those things corrected. We have a chance to redeem ourselves this week. That's what is great about this conference. We're going to play a very well coached team at Oregon State."

On Steffon Martin's situation...

"I don't know yet. We're hoping he is going to be okay. I think that everything was clear until today. I think he had an MRI this morning so we're waiting to hear back on that."

On Mike Pennel's play against UCLA...

"I thought he did a good job. I think Gannon [Conway] played 52 plays. I think Mike played around twenty-something plays. We had a lot of guys that didn't have a lot of plays but I think Mike did a good job. I thought he was out of his gap one time but he had a great attitude. He was encouraging his teammates. He's really done a great job since he's been back."

On what Mike Pennel had to do to meet team expectations...

"We sat down but we're not going to talk about specific details of our plan of improvement. It had everything to do with having a great attitude, your approach to practice, your approach to games, and your approach to academics. There were things academically and there were things on and off the field. He's met all those, and he did a good job for us. I was really proud of him, along with a lot of the other guys, and how they were battling."

On why Davon Coleman started out in the doghouse and how he's progressed...

"They were a lot of little things. It probably had to do with learning a new way of doing things. The structure, discipline, and accountability were probably the hardest things. If you've been around Davon much, he's a charismatic person. I went over to his locker after the UCLA game and he had tears rolling down his cheeks. It means something to him. I'm very proud of how he's played. He played two different positions and he's playing fullback on offense. He's a guy I'm really proud of. You want to do this job and you want to impact people's lives. He's a guy that I can see how he's transformed himself. I'm really proud of him. He's a tough guy too. He's playing through a lot of pain."

On the depth of the defensive line without Will Sutton and Junior Onyeali...

"Our depth is not very good but we're hoping that we're going to have those guys back. We'll know more as we progress into practice on Tuesday and Wednesday."

On his first impressions of D.J. Foster...

"I watched him score ten touchdowns in one game. I was pretty impressed. My first impression on film was, 'Wow, this guy's a special player.' The dynamics of his ability to run the ball and his ability to catch the ball are special. He's not a very big guy but he's a really good inside runner. He's a complete back. On film, I thought, 'This is a guy we have to get.' At the time, we had a lot of competition. I did my first meeting with him at Saguaro High School and I was very impressed. He lives his life like the values of our program. He's a guy that's all in and is buying in. I think he is becoming a leader as a true freshman and that's pretty hard to do."

On how D.J. Foster is becoming a leader...

"I watch how he responds to things that he's doing. I watch how his teammates respond to him. The thing about D.J. Foster is that I knew he was fast, I knew he was dynamic, and I knew he was talented, but the toughness of that kid is something that has really exceeded my expectations. He has that about him and people follow him. He doesn't say a lot. He's a man of few words but he's a guy that's developing into being a leader. You can see that his teammates gravitate to him."

On running back Marion Grice putting in extra work...

"He's done a lot. Coach Porter has done a great job with those guys. Obviously that group has a whole lot of productivity. When you look at him, D.J. Foster and Cameron Marshall, those guys do a lot of different things. Marion is a very elusive receiver out of the backfield and he has great hands. They work extremely hard out there and Coach Porter has done a great job developing that and it is just part of what we do."

On whether he has had a team with three running backs be as dynamic as the ones he has now...

"We have always utilized our running backs since 2006; they have always caught a lot of balls out of the backfield and we have done a lot of things to utilize them. Obviously, the three-back is a statement within our offense. The tight end position, the move tight end position, has always been one of our top scorers. At Tulsa ours was one of the top scorers in the history of the school, so obviously it doesn't surprise me. It has been adaptive to the guys we have and I think Coach Norvell has done a nice job at doing that and Coach Porter has developed those guys to get the ball to our best guys."

On Oregon State's defense...

"They are very well coached, disciplined, and tough. Their defensive line is a strength for them. It starts up front and they are very sound about what they are doing. They have stayed pretty healthy and haven't had too many guys get hurt, so they are pretty solid there. Really impressed with how well they cover in space in the secondary. They are not going to make stupide mistakes and they are very, very well coached on both sides of the football. They are very sound in what they do and as good as coached team as we've played."

On his halftime talk...

"They were not jarring at the other team, they were acknowledging the other team. I just don't want them even doing that, and I think we were kind if distracted a little bit. We just tried to pull them back in and finish up and get a win. These guys right now have a great sense of their purpose. We watched film yesterday and they understand where we are at. This thing is wide open and we have to look at nothing past just going up and trying to beat the top-ten ranked team in the country at Oregon State. That is our focus right now. Our guys had a great spirit and a great attitude, just like they have had for me all year long. I know they are going to go up there for me and play hard and prepare to win and that is what we have to do. That is the great thing about things in the south right now, it is wide open and no one is sitting any better than we are. We still have an opportunity and I liked our guys' attitude and approach yesterday."

On offensive lineman Andrew Sampson status...

"He didn't play obviously, so we will just have to see as the week progresses. I expect to have him back, but we will know more on Tuesday or Wednesday and how they are doing out there at practice."

On Offensive Lineman Vi Teofilo...

"I think he did a good job filling in and he played aggressively. He made some mistakes and had a couple of break downs in protection last week, but has done a good job."

On the wristbands he wears every game...

"They have to do with the signaling. One of the things is we have so many people on our sideline and it is sometimes hard for kids to identify you. I do some things with our defensive signaling, so that is what it has to do with."

On Kicker, Jon Mora's, confidence going forward despite the loss...

"I could see after he made the first field goal he was pretty relieved, I could sense that. He is really a talented kicker, really is, and he just has to settle in a little bit. Making those three field goals will definitely give him so confidence and hopefully create some consistency there. He did a good job, really did."