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PURDUE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 3, 2015

Darrell Hazell

West Lafayette, Indiana

THE MODERATOR: We will get an opening statement from Coach, then we will open it up for questions.

COACH HAZELL: Certainly was a good win for us last week, and I thought our guys did a lot of things well, made a lot of plays and, you know, didn't continue to play hard in all phases of the game but I thought for the first time collectively as a group I thought we made a lot of plays in all three units. Looking forward to a good challenge this week against Illinois on homecoming. It's captains' weekend for us, so we will have 35 or so captains come back and join us for this game in Ross-Ade Stadium.

Q. Darrell, first, is the aggressive approach here to stay?
COACH HAZELL: Absolutely. I think that's the way we have to play in all phases, from the top on down. I think we have to go for those fourth and short yardage situations, I think our offense and defense have to be in attack mode as well as our special teams.

Q. Coming off a win like that what are the keys to sustaining the momentum so this doesn't become a one-time thing?
COACH HAZELL: I think it's very important for us to handle success well. That's all part of the learning process and part of that is coming back to work when the next day is that you have to work and making sure we do all the things a little bit better than we did the previous time out, and I think that's part of teaching those guys, you know, you don't get complacent after you get a big win; you get hungrier.

Q. David winning the Big Ten Offensive Player of the week, your thoughts on that and in particular his decision making and in particular the fact that he did not throw an interception despite all his passes and yards?
COACH HAZELL: I'm excited for David and his productivity on Saturday. You're right, the best stat he had all day was no turnovers, but he did make some great decisions. He had two throw-aways when he got quick pressure, and he also took off on a third and 6, third and 7 on a big third down and made a first down with his legs, so he made some really good decisions from the position and took care of the ball.

Q. Where is D.J. at in terms of his ability to run, and then how do you kind of rotate him with Markell going forward?
COACH HAZELL: Well, I think we gotta figure out, you know, today and tomorrow where D.J. is in terms of health. We're going to run him around. He did some things earlier in the week. He hasn't done a whole lot of cutting yet, but we will figure that out in the next couple of days and see what his status is.

Markell is playing exceptionally well. Especially -- I keep forgetting the guy's a freshman when he's out there, but he's doing a great job in pass protection and releasing into the seams, as well as being physical with the ball in his hands.

Again, I'm excited for David and getting the accolade of being an Offensive Player of the Week in the Big Ten. He needs to continue to get better.

Q. Lastly from me, obviously you have an Illinois team that's lost three straight, has had a bunch of injuries and in particular struggles to run. What are your thoughts on them?
COACH HAZELL: On Illinois, Pete?

Q. Yeah, yes.
COACH HAZELL: You know, they've had a really tough last three or four physical weeks, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa now Penn State, and that's what the Big Ten is all about, how well you can sustain those physical football teams that you play week in and week out, and they're a little bit banged up as everybody is this time of year in the country, but I'm sure they'll come here with their "A" game and be ready to play when it's kicked off on Saturday.

Q. Darrell, you talked about how to handle success. You know, that's an important thing, sometimes kids get excited, but along with that, the flip side is you've got a chance here in the last month of November to gain some momentum moving forward. If you get another one here this Saturday, now maybe as you say, the train is rolling a little bit. How important is it to sustain what you started?
COACH HAZELL: It's very important for us. You know, everything that you do from this point on is critically important. I think you want them to feel confident with their success that they just recently have, but, again, you want them to make sure they stay extremely aggressive and hungry in their approach, through all their preparation.

Q. Victory also has many facets, but it helps, you know, the fans get back behind you, you know, you played well at home, which you had not done. This is a team you beat last year, that doesn't mean anything but at the same time you can maybe see some stuff coming. Another victory at home would be huge for you guys, correct?
COACH HAZELL: Absolutely! Anytime you can defend your own home territory, that's a good thing and, again, you get your fans behind you, you create that buzz in the stadium that you love to have. Our students were -- again, our fans were excellent the other day.

Anytime you can get your fans behind you it's a big thing, very big thing.

Q. David being Big Ten Player of the Week and playing as well as he did, and couple that with, you know, another Boilermaker, Drew Brees, had an unbelievable game on Sunday. In terms of recruiting, especially at the wide receiver position, Drew is -- these kids now were born when Drew was playing here. But do you use -- the numbers those two guys put up, the Purdue tradition, do you emphasize that in your recruiting, a weekend like those two guys had?
COACH HAZELL: Anytime you can highlight the best part of your program you do that so. That's one of them -- that's two of them, actually, and for those guys to have consecutive days the way they did, that was really big for the Boilermakers.

Q. What has the reaction been like from the players over the last couple of days? How have they handled the first of couple of days after getting a big win?
COACH HAZELL: They were good Sunday night when we met and went back and started our conditioning again for the week. Their energy was really good again, even after a long, hard game it was good. We didn't see them at all yesterday on Monday, our day off, so we will see how they are today on Tuesday, but I can venture to say with this group of guys that they will be fired up and ready to make themselves better this afternoon.

Q. How big of a weapon has Joe Schopper become for you?
COACH HAZELL: Joe Schopper has been amazing for us. I mean, just, him being able to step into that role as a true freshman and put the ball placement -- not only the ones down inside the 10 yard line that he's dropping in, but the other ones that we're getting fair catches on, outside the numbers, with some hang time, 4.2, 4.3 seconds on the hang time, we're getting a lot of fair catches because our snipers are able to get down the field because of the job that he's doing.

Q. Especially at a time when, before this last game your offense had been struggling. For him to put those balls down, two of them at the 7 that resulted in you getting the ball back right away in good field position, that says a lot about what he's able to do for you, right?
COACH HAZELL: You know, in football the only guaranteed -- almost guaranteed play that you're going to get 40 yards is the punt, and as long as he continues to do that it flips the field, and it gives -- you know, it takes a lot away from offenses when they have to go 85, 90 yards because of your punt team, and that's why he's been so valuable to us here the last couple of weeks.

Q. How is Leroy Clark playing?
COACH HAZELL: He needs to play better. Last weekend I thought he was a little bit victimized at times. He's playing well in some situations, other situations he was exposed a little bit, but he's a good player. It was just technical things more so than anything else. He was -- guy's running an out cut, he's got help on the inside with the safety, and he jumps inside on the guy, the guy makes an outbreaking route, so he's got to stay outside with the leverage, but Leroy is a good player, he's a very competitive player, but he's got to play a little the better technically.

Q. Sometimes when he's in there -- on the inside receiver, those can be difficult match-up, one-on-one, this last one this last weekend was, in those instances it requires him to be pretty technical with what he's doing?
COACH HAZELL: Yeah, he was going against a really good guy with Westerkamp; he's a very good player. He's able to drop his hips and transition and get in and out of routes, and that's a tough match-up for a lot of guys, but you're right he's got to be a little more technically sound and know where his help is and stay on the outside and leverage where -- away from the help.

Q. Overall, though, have you liked his transition back playing safety?
COACH HAZELL: Oh, yeah, I think Leroy has done a good job for us. He's around the ball all it time. He had a chance to make a pick on one of those outbreaking routes and didn't make the pick, but he's done a good job for us all season long.

Q. Probably not more than you can add from yesterday, but same sort of plan with Jimmy to see what he's like in the next couple of days?
COACH HAZELL: Yeah, I hope -- hopefully he can take that step forward this weekend and be out there on the field for us. Again, we talk about those hamstrings and how close and how far you are away with those, but we need to get him back out there for special teams as well as being the linebacker for us.

Q. Not a guy who factors in on Saturdays, but Keiwan Jones has been hurt, too; right? Do you know what his situation is?
COACH HAZELL: Keiwan had ACL surgery a long time ago.

Q. Okay. Just noticed him on the sidelines the last couple of weeks.
COACH HAZELL: Yep.

Q. Ke'Shawn Vaughn is a guy you recruited hard. What did you like about him in high school that made you pursue him so hard?
COACH HAZELL: I thought he was really good with the ball in his hands in terms of being aggressive in the holes and he had good enough top-end speed. I watched him against Wisconsin; he played that way, I thought, against Wisconsin on the film, and we will see how he plays this Saturday.

Q. Feel like it's a couple of good freshman running backs in the game this weekend?
COACH HAZELL: We certainly have one, yeah, we'll see about the other guy, but he's a good player. He's still young, you can see that at times, where he doesn't go as fast or as hard as he always does, but he's going to be a good player, he's just a young guy.

Q. Staying on Illinois's running game, the last three games they haven't produced a lot of yardage. As you have looked at their entire season, Ferguson has been out for them the last three games. Is there a direct correlation why they haven't produced as much in the run game?
COACH HAZELL: I think that has something to do with it. I'm not sure how much they have committed -- have been committed to running the ball, I'm sure at some point in time they will. They will try to find where that identity is if they're going to run or get into four-wide situations and try to run the draws and the traps in the zone plays, but I'm not exactly sure why they're struggling in the last three weeks to only produce that much yardage.

Q. Do you now like that match-up with your defensive line, not just against Illinois but in general the way that they've played these last couple of weeks?
COACH HAZELL: I think our defensive line -- our defensive front, not just the line, but our defensive front has played really good run football in the last two weeks, against two pretty good opponents running the ball. The question is -- which I asked questioned to our defensive staff, is what are we going to see on Saturday? Are we going to see that four-wide-out team, or are they going to button down and try to run the ball at us? Coach Cubit's nature is not to do that, but we will see what happens.

Q. Just with DeAngelo Yancey and after the Michigan State game when he took responsibility for not making that catch in the end zone that he felt he should have made. As you reflect back on that point and for him to step forward and say that, what kind of sign of maturity or growth did that tell you about where he's at right now?
COACH HAZELL: I think anytime you can be accountable for something it helps you move forward. For him to be able to step up and realize that, that gets that weight off your back and allows you to concentrate and prepare better in all those different areas that he needs to get better in. I'm really pleased at the way he's playing right now. He's playing at a high level, he's playing around people, he's playing physical, and he's making a lot of plays for us right now.

Q. On top of that, to come back last week and make the plays that he played on the touchdowns, just another sign that you think he's moving in the right direction?
COACH HAZELL: The thing that I see with "Yanc" right now is he's very confident and very comfortable with his play, where last year I thought he was always trying to find himself and figure out who he was. Right now I think he's a very comfortable and confident guy.

He shook that guy off of him on this that long play, that 85-yarder; he shook him off with pretty good ease.

Q. A lot of red zone success scoring touchdowns against Big Ten teams. What do you attribute to that?
COACH HAZELL: I think the plan has been really solid, and I think guys understand how fast things happen down in the red zone now, I think that's something that we had to learn.

It's never easy down there, the field is reduce the so much, but I think we've had some pretty good calls, and guys have executed well. That one reverse that we call to Dom was, we took a timeout, and when we first had the play called, we didn't see edge blitz. We took the timeout, and all of the sudden they had edge blitz, but we told J.J. in the huddle, we're going to leave it on, because most of the times we'll kill that play and go to a different play, because it's not a good designed play, versus that look, but we said J.J. if we get edge pressure, don't bypass it, block the edge pressure. He handled that situation really well and got a good block by Blough coming on the inside in the back and allowed Dom to cut off the block.

Q. In those red zone situations how many plays are at your disposal for those situations?
COACH HAZELL: Typically we will carry in somewhere between 10 to 15 passes, based on how far you are in the red zone and maybe 8, 8, 9 runs and you want to get a lot of variations, sometimes where you're reading people, sometimes where you're hammering, sometimes where it might be a run/pass, a lot of different variations to see what they're going to give you.

Q. What do you remember about your time with Bill Cubit at Rutgers?
COACH HAZELL: Bill is a very intense guy. We spent two years together at Rutgers in 2001 and 2002. He's a very good football coach, a great offensive mind, and he has a passion for the game.

Q. You talked about having confidence coming off the victory but then maybe not getting too confident, to maintain that hunger. What is the message to the guys this week? You don't have to worry about them being overconfident because the big picture is still this team needs to grow?
COACH HAZELL: Oh, yeah, we have a lot more to prove. You just can't -- one game is not a season, so we have so much to prove, and it's all -- it's going to be all focused on Illinois. That's where our focus is. It's no different than any other week. Here is what the game plan is, and this is how you execute it, and these are the keys to getting the victory.

Q. You mentioned Jurasevich on that block. We haven't talked too much about the tight ends this year really. You knew they were going to have a different kind of role for you this season, but what have you thought of Jordan and Cole Herdman?
COACH HAZELL: Both those young men have stepped up and made some really nice plays. A lot of times you don't see what they're doing, they're lost in the shuffle, but blocking the perimeter well, and they made some big catches. That one catch that Cole made, I couldn't see that from the sideline but that was a big-time catch to put us down in the 5 yard line, and Jordan comes back a little later and got held on a stick nod in the end zone and makes a great catch from Blough, so they're making some plays for us.

Q. Are they doing what you needed? Again, because the role isn't as big as what we have seen in the past. They're doing exactly what you're asking them to do, and that's fine because that's what you need right now?
COACH HAZELL: Correct. We had 17 guys -- and those were two of them. We had 17 guys grade-out at winning performances, which is the most we have had since we've been here but, yeah, those guys are giving us what we need right now and they'll continue to do that.

Q. The future for Herdman. I mean, he certainly seems physically that he has some tools there, some natural ability. What can he be and what did you want him to use the last half of the season for to maybe emerge?
COACH HAZELL: I think he's a star in the making. You watch his skill set, his balance, just how he moves with his balance, his soft hands, and his ability to create separation, and his size. He's a young guy that's big, he's going to be a monster which he finishes growing but he's going to be a really, really good player for us.

Q. Can he emerge more as a receiving threat? Is that what you see him as?
COACH HAZELL: I think he can be a good receiving threat from an attached position. You don't want to take him out and put him up against nickels and corners and things like that, but from an attached position, where he's working against safeties and linebackers, I think he can be really dangerous.

Q. You mentioned Bilal Marshall. I mean, we saw him, I think, maybe ten times or something like that, but is he just giving you an element at the receiving position that you need, just to have a guy go out there and make the blocks that you need?
COACH HAZELL: I think he has a role, and I think he understands his role, which is very important, and he's one of those "spell" guys that when you need a guy to get a blow and he's capable mentally as well as physically to go in and give us some relief, and he's done a nice job at that.

Q. What will Illinois -- what do you expect from Illinois' defense, specifically?
COACH HAZELL: They're a four-man front team, you know, last year when we played them they were a big-time man-to-man coverage team; they played press coverage on the wide-outs and played those safeties in the box, and we were able to hit them last year with a lot of "I" violations. That's why we had some of those bigger runs. They are playing much more zone coverage right now, so you you're probably not going to get the long runs the way you had, but they want you to go the long, hard way.

They want you to earn every single yard, but they're doing a nice job. I tell you what, that front, they didn't play as well last week against Penn State, but when you go back and watch the Wisconsin came and you watch the Iowa game, that front is pretty good, so we're going to have to do a good job blocking those guys.

Q. Going the long hard way, I think you guys only had one drive that went at least 10 plays last week. I mean, certainly the defense put you in position to have short field. You feel like this offense can do that if you have to go out there and get 8 to 12-play drives?
COACH HAZELL: I think we can. We'll see. I think we're becoming more and more mature each week, and I think that's where the sustainability of being able to stay on the field for 8 to 10 to 12-play drives continues to get better.

Q. How has Wes Lunt looked?
COACH HAZELL: Um, you know, earlier, I thought he was doing a really nice job of finding some guys and the last couple of weeks he's struggled a little bit, I'm not sure exactly why, but he's a great player and he has a great soft throw that he makes, and I'm sure he will come back and -- he's taken a lot of shots, and I'm not sure if that affects him throughout the course of the season, but I'm sure he will come out ready to play on Saturday.

Q. You mentioned Schopper and what he's been giving you, but the special teams overall it looks like you've been getting more production out of those units. What have you seen in the last couple weeks and where is there still room to grow?
COACH HAZELL: I'm really pleased -- other than one kick the other day, our kick coverage has been really solid. We're hitting things inside or at the 20 yard line, our goal is to keep it inside the 25, and those guys have had a nice job of running down. We have Hilger and Burgess and Robert Gregory. Those guys are going down the field and creating havoc. I think we are being pretty consistent with our punt team. Our kickoff return team has not been as good as I would like it to be; we are still working on some things there, trying to work some things out, and we have not had a whole lot of opportunities in our punt return week.

This week was a good thing, the previous weeks it wasn't a good thing. This week it was a good thing because of the turnovers. The previous weeks it wasn't a good thing because they were driving down the field, so this week it was a good thing.

Q. You mentioned the Big Ten player of the award with Blough and Anthony Brown. I know a lot of times you don't want to pay too much attention to things outside, but it's still good to get that recognition from outside your program; right?
COACH HAZELL: Everything helps, it really does. Anytime you can put something positive out there, I think you have to.

For those guys to be selected, and Anthony had a great afternoon with those picks and creating some short fields and David the way he played, those guys deserve it and the team deserves it for that.

Q. Anthony and Frankie, your senior corner backs, there was a lot of hype around them coming into the season as one of the most experienced units. What have you seen from them? Are they living up to all that hype, and is there another step for them? Do you still see more room?
COACH HAZELL: I think they're hungry. You see 'em in there studying film yesterday, and I think those two guys are really starting to feel, again, I'm talking about being comfortable. The more and more comfortable you can be, the better you're going to play and I think those two guys are really starting to feel it, and Frankie has been the leader. He's been the voice of our football team and he's done a really nice job. That one pick that he made the other day that he caught three or four times and dropped it two or three times, it was pretty good.

Q. Obviously excited to get the big win but defense gave up 45 points during that game. I'm assuming you want more production out of them? Where does that need to come and how do you go about that?
COACH HAZELL: That was the one thing that I told the team Sunday night was we had a chance to slam the door shut and we didn't slam it shut. Sometimes you like to enjoy those last couple minutes of the game and not have to throw your onside recovery team out there twice in the last three minutes of the game, but that's the other step that we have to take. You gotta slam the door shut on those -- when you are up three scores or four scores, whatever we were up, the game should be over.

So they understand that and we will get better because of that.

Q. This team has faced its fair share of good receivers whether it's Burbridge, Erickson, Westerkamp, as you mentioned. What kind of challenges does Geronimo Allison pose for this team?
COACH HAZELL: He's a good player, he really is. I think some of the things that we have to do is mix up the coverages against him. I think we have to put pressure on the quarterback because that all plays into it, but we better stay in cover aim with him and we better get our hands on him early in the route so he can't get free.

Q. The young guys put an imprint on this game that past Saturday. How big is that for the team?
COACH HAZELL: We have so many young players on the field right now that are making good players and playing pretty mature for a young group, and that will help us down the road, it will help us down the road, in the next four or five weeks, but it's nice to have a blend of older players that are making plays and a really good stock of younger players being very productive.

Q. One of those players in particular, Garrett Hudson has shown up. What impresses you the most with his game?
COACH HAZELL: He's been asked to step into a difficult role, in Ja'Whaun Bentley's role, and he's done a really nice job. He was our defensive player of the week. He had some great numbers, tackles for losses, a sack, a fumble recovery and so he had some great numbers.

You need guys to step up. You never know where it's going to come from, and I'm happy for him, and I'm happy for us that he did step up for us.

Q. After the Michigan State loss you talked about senior group being inspired. With the bye week do you have a personal anecdote that you could share that made you realize hey this is our chance, this is when we are going to get it done finally at home?
COACH HAZELL: I don't know if there was any anecdote, but my guys had mentioned before, I thought the energy level in the building that week, coming off the bye week was as good as we have ever had since we've been here, and for whatever reason. They must have seen something, they must have felt something, but it was sky high, and it will continue.

Q. So Garrett Hudson was your Defensive Player of the Week and not Anthony Brown?
COACH HAZELL: Yeah.

Q. Did the coaches choose that, or is it a player thing?
COACH HAZELL: It's the coaches.

Q. You said Frankie is the voice of the football team. Do you appreciate his voice in practice?
COACH HAZELL: Some days I do. (Laughter.) Frankie has his own little style. He kinda likes to nudge guys a little bit in a little bit different way than maybe I would, but that's what makes him unique. But I love having his voice in the locker room, because you know what? Because believes what he says, and it comes from his heart, it's not fabricated, and he loves for this team to be successful. That's why you appreciate Frankie.

Q. I mean, that's who he is. You didn't have to go to him at one point in the season and say, hey, can you rub these guys up a little bit?
COACH HAZELL: No, no, no. He's got that agenda in his own locker, so he's coming out and he's going to stir some things up.

THE MODERATOR: Anything else? Coach, appreciate your time.

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