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PURDUE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 17, 2015

Darrell Hazell

West Lafayette, Indiana

THR MODERATOR: Good afternoon, welcome to week 11. Boilermakers will head out to Iowa City to take on the 6th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday.

Get an opening statement from Coach Hazell, and then we'll open it up for questions.

COACH HAZELL: Yeah, looking forward to going out and playing a good Iowa football team, an extremely well-balanced team offense, defense, kicking game. Well coached.

They have done a really nice job in fourth quarters. As you watch their film and study their games all year long, they've done an excellent job of closing out games where it was really close at the end of those football games. Did a good job of finishing those games.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. I guess first off, just how is Markell? How is he doing? What do you expect from him this week in terms of health?
COACH HAZELL: Markell is good. The MRI we had from yesterday is clear, so he felt a lot better yesterday after that. He'll be ready to go on Saturday.

Q. Did you get what you had hoped to get from Brandon Roberts at safety?
COACH HAZELL: Yeah. He did a nice job for us last week. Not only on the interception, but also in run defense. He was a guy coming downhill and making some plays, and that's what you want to see out of some of those young players.

Q. What needs to happen to get a little boost out of the game and obviously in particular the field goal kicking aspect?
COACH HAZELL: We been working on that all year, Pete. That's one of the frustrating things right now, because that obviously could have been a very pivotal moment in that football game: Five and a half minutes to go in the third quarter, a tie game, we miss a field goal. There is a momentum swing there.

But we'll continue to work at it. Hopefully Griggs snaps out for these last two games and finishes the right way.

Q. I assume it's not a physical issue, it's just mental. Is it kind of like putting in golf, that you just have to get the confidence back?
COACH HAZELL: That's part of it for sure, absolutely, with Griggs right now. I talked to him yesterday, excuse me Sunday, after the team meeting. I said, What happened? Did you hit it good or did you not hit it good? He said he felt like he hit it on his toe and didn't swing through it and tried to get it up in the air and didn't strike it very well.

So that one was a physical thing.

Q. With Iowa, with Beathard at quarterback, they're a more offensive team. Do you agree with that?
COACH HAZELL: I totally agree with that. I think they're doing a great job offensively. He's very sneaky. I watched the Iowa State game last night and he had two runs of about 90 yards. He's just so slippery back there in the pocket. He moves from side to side, avoids the rush, and then takes off and runs away from people.

He's making a lot of throws in the passing game. They're doing a nice job. I don't know if there is anybody in the country that runs zone better than Iowa's front five. They're great in combination blocks, getting up to the second level.

And the backs are patient enough to find those creases real late in the run game.

Q. Since last Thursday night's announcement by Morgan on Big 10 Network, some of us haven't had a chance to get your reaction. I know in many elements, that has to be significant. Can you just talk about what that means to you and to this program moving forward?
COACH HAZELL: Certainly. It helps in so many facets. Obviously in the recruiting front, the players in our locker room to our coaching staff, all those things that allow to you set your feet and continue to work extremely hard.

You need to have that confidence from the powers that be behind you, so it was a huge boost for our program.

Q. When you came here, you obviously had to have done a little bit of history checking. Other than the Joe Tiller years, I think since 1980 Purdue has had two winning seasons. They have had some good teams, but it's been difficult. There are challenges here. In part, do you think that's why, it is a process, and it is quite frankly going to take some time?
COACH HAZELL: Well, it is a process of you got to get everything in the right place and continue to work hard. You got to find a way to win some was of those close football games, which helps to flip the program.

We had an opportunity last week - several opportunities - from that five-minute mark to the end of football game to make some plays and be able to take another step forward, but we have not done that yet.

Q. Last thing. I think Frankie alluded to this. I saw sone video after the game at Northwestern. He said, you know, everybody has tried to focus on playing, but it's human nature for some of the guys to read social media. Do you think they'll be more relaxed and play more confident, the underclassmen, knowing that you're gonna be their head coach next year?
COACH HAZELL: The underclassmen?

Q. Yes.
COACH HAZELL: Well, I would hope so. We have a lot of good players and people coming back in the program next year. I would hope that they would be much more relaxed and ingrained to the things that we're trying to accomplish.

Q. Season hasn't gone the way you wanted it to, do you try and play up the fact that you're playing undefeated Iowa this week and maybe make some noise a little bit and change the course of their season?
COACH HAZELL: Yeah, I think that's got to be part of the approach this week when we talk to the team today. This will be the first day talking specifically about Iowa.

But I think that's got to be somewhat of the approach. There are other things, but that'll be a part of it.

Q. What will you tell them in regard to that? This is our chance to do something special this year or what?
COACH HAZELL: Well, I think any time you go and you play a ranked opponent the way you are, I think that gives you a little bit more hype. Shouldn't, but it does.

That's reality. We'll talk a little bit about that.

Q. What do you think about the way Howard has played recently?
COACH HAZELL: I thought Ra'Zahn may have played his best game in terms of penetrating last week. He played in the back field and he was really strong. Pushed the nose several times in the quarterback's lap in pass protection and was very active in the run game as well.

I thought it was a good game for him.

Q. He's had two or three games where it seems he's been more active and maybe the motor has been going a little bit. Is this his best stretch, you think, those two or three games?
COACH HAZELL: Yeah, there is no question. I thought it really showed up -- I believe it was on the Wisconsin game where you started to see his game start to elevate.

You knew it was in him. He's strong. He's quick. He's got a lot of power, which is something you need in the inside.

So I think his ceiling is way high.

Q. As you said before, Jones has had some times where he's grabbed at the right knee during the season. The MRI comes back negative. Any theory as to what's going on with that knee?
COACH HAZELL: No. No one -- we can't seem to figure out. You know, it kind of locks up at some point in time and recovers relatively quickly.

It was good that the MRI came back as clean as it did, but hopefully that doesn't keep recurring. If so, we'll have to go back in and maybe another look at something else when the season is over.

Q. Staying with Markell, why he is he better in the second half of he games? If you look, he's got almost 70% of his rushing yardage in the second half.
COACH HAZELL: Teams are generally tired in the second half. I think that's part of it. But I think he is gets stronger. The more he touches it and the more he is on the field I think he gets stronger as the game goes on.

He's a very well-conditioned guy, even though you might not think that. But he's a very physically strong guy.

Q. Before he suffered the injury, two plays before, he ran over that Northwestern player. Is that maybe a sign of just how strong he can get that late in the game?
COACH HAZELL: I think we're only seeing the tip of iceberg with him. He's going to be great fourth quarter back going forward. Watch him. Every single run gets a little bit better. He gets a little bit more comfortable as he's running the ball and getting out into their lanes.

So you talk about a true freshman that's really starting to figure it out late in the season.

Q. If you had another option of kicker would you be going to it right now?
COACH HAZELL: That's a good question. I don't have that option so I don't know how to answer that. Obviously if you have a better guy you would pick a better guy.

We don't that option right now.

Q. I guess what are your plans for next year right now?
COACH HAZELL: We definitely have to go out and recruit a kicker. We got to scholarship a kicker next year.

Q. You still have confidence in Paul to get this done?
COACH HAZELL: I hope for Paul's sake and for our sake that he comes in and makes a game-winning field goal here in these next couple weeks. I think that would be good for our program, for Paul, and he's capable doing it.

We all know that. We've seen him do it, make those field goals. He's got to snap out of it and just make 'em.

Q. Well you're going to a place where he did that.
COACH HAZELL: I know that. I do know that. Few years ago.

Q. Back in 2012.
COACH HAZELL: Yeah.

Q. Now, team success hasn't come this year, but just off the top of your head from an individual standpoint, who are a couple players that have maybe made individual strides this year that you can kind of pinpoint?
COACH HAZELL: I think the first guy that jumps out at you is Jack Replogle. Just a model of consistency from game one all the way up to last week's game. Just how powerful and explosive he's playing and the type of energy he plays with each week, you know, I see that whole front getting better, the whole defensive line.

Like we mentioned before, Ra'Zahn. But you like to see some of those back end guys like Brandon coming and Leroy coming. LeRoy has been a little bit up and down, but he's still figuring it out as young player.

Then offensively you're glad to see Yancy back because he's been pretty consistent. Domo is on the come.

The guy that you guys probably don't see that's made a huge step from last year is Jordan Roos. I told him that I think it was last Thursday or Friday. We were sitting in the meeting. I said, The thing that you couldn't do last year that you can do this year is roll your hips.

Before he would get on people and his hips, he wasn't able to roll his hips and guys would fall off him. He's able to roll his hips and get into people both in the run game and the pass game.

You guys don't see that, but he's made huge steps in that area.

Q. So you will continue call on Paul to kick field goals for you in the last two games?
COACH HAZELL: I will.

Q. You mentioned Iowa's combination blocks and being able to get to the second level. Do you need to be shutting those blocks better with your backers and your secondary guys?
COACH HAZELL: Hopefully we can do a good enough job - and this is harder than it sounds - of keeping those guys from getting off the second level and protecting your backers.

You try to do that by moving the front. There are a couple other things that you can do to hopefully protect your backers so they can run free and make the plays.

Our backers have got to come downhill into open doors this weekend. They are really good on the zoning and getting up.

Q. Are they going to play multiple tight ends and multiple backs or what do you expect personnel-wise?
COACH HAZELL: I think their highest personnel group is 11, which is one tight end. But then their second one is with a full back in there.

The thing about those guys is they run lead zone with two backs; they run split zone; they run one back zone outside inside; then they get you with a counter zone.

So it's a little bit of everything.

Q. Obviously mentioned the quarterback can run as well. Why has it been difficult, do you think, for your defense to stop running quarterbacks? I mean, going into last week, what was it, five and a half yards per carry by the quarterbacks this year. Taking out the sacks obviously.
COACH HAZELL: I think some of those are breakdowns in terms protection. Guy scrambles out and makes a good play, especially at third and 13 or so. We need to keep the ball inside of us. Have two backers in the box in that situation.

A lot of has not been zone read. Earlier in the season it was, but most of it has been quarterback pull-downs.

Q. You said one thing that Iowa has done well is finish games. Obviously that was your mantra in the spring. A lot of things go into that. Mentally how big of a piece is that for your team right now to just learn how to finish or learn how to win? How do you learned to do it if you aren't doing it?
COACH HAZELL: I think that's probably the biggest thing that we're challenged with right now is being able to finish games. Like I mentioned yesterday, I took 13 items and put them on film and went through it with my team on Sunday afternoon, about this is the things that make the difference at the end of the football game.

And it's real. I mean, one of the items was the missed field goal; one was the punts, the three bad punts that we had from that moment on; one of the items was the back going the wrong way in a protection; one of the items was the tight ends lined up on the wrong side. You got to use a timeout. That timeout is critical at the end of the football game.

Those 13 items are so big in being able to finish, and that's all part of it. We got to continue to learn those things.

Q. You said you think Domo is coming on. In terms of catches, he doesn't have that many catches this year. I think he had seven going into the game and then had five. What have you seen from him throughout the course of the season that makes you think that he's headed in the right direction?
COACH HAZELL: He came back slow off the concussion. I thought he came back slow off the concussion, but since then, I thought it was about two, three weeks after the concussion, you could just see his practice reps getting better and better and more and more confidence.

He's a big, fast, strong guy that will only continue to get better.

Q. When I talked to him when he first got here he thought he could be a big-play athlete for you here. How do you develop that? Yancy has been that guy for you this year. Is it just getting him on deeper routes or...
COACH HAZELL: I think if you look at his best part of his football game is down-the-field throws. Not so much underneath throws on crossing and under routes and that. He'll got to better at that as well.

But if you go back to his junior college film and watch where he's making his plays, it's down the field. You have to give guys opportunities to be able to do that. We'll continue to stretch the field with him and take some of those shots.

Q. How important is it to have Markell back against Iowa?
COACH HAZELL: He's been kind of our motor here in the last few weeks. He really has. I think the guys have rallied around him because he plays so physical with the ball in his hands. And you're playing against a good defence, another good defense. They got a good front. They play well together. They run the ball. They're physical.

I think some of those physical yards on a cold day in Iowa are big for our football team, especially our offensive line.

Q. You guys were close against Michigan State, close against Northwestern. If you guys were able to pull it off against Iowa and leave Iowa as spoilermakers, what would that mean for you and the team?
COACH HAZELL: I think any time you can take step forward it's huge. Like I said, I want our guys to win so bad. That's the biggest thing right now. They need to experience some of that success that in my mind they deserve because they work so hard.

Now, you win when you're supposed to win and when you do all things right. So that's all part of that equation. They have been working their tails off, and have been from day one.

I just want those guys to experience that victory because of all the work that they've done.

Q. And finally, just going back to last week, obviously the stuff that happened in France, how did Anthony handle that?
COACH HAZELL: Yeah, that's very unfortunate for all those things to be going on over there in France right now. You know, first person that comes to your mind on our team is Anthony. We checked with him and he was trying to find his people.

He spent Friday night, I believe, in the hotel trying to call all his people to finds out. One of them he said was in the -- I think he said was in the theatre, and then was able to reach that person. So that was good news.

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