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UNIVERSITY OF TULSA FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEAugust 22, 2019Philip MontgomeryTulsa, Oklahoma PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Thanks for showing up. Good to see all of you. Got to see a little bit more of you the last couple of weeks. But fall camp has gone extremely well. We're excited about our opening contest here with Michigan State, obviously a team with great tradition, usually in the top 20 if not the top 15 in the nation every year. I've never had the opportunity to go up to East Lansing and looking forward to that part of it. I know our players are, as well, excited about the opportunity to step on the field and really get a good solid test of where we're at and where we're going to be from right here from the get. Excited about that. I know our team is ready to get back on the practice field today. We've had a good fall camp, handled weather and a lot of different scenarios extremely well. We're continuing to grow. I think defensively we're coming along at a really good rate. Offensively you're continuing to see steps and progressions. Got to continue to keep pushing those things forward, but we've got some young guys there that have really made some good strides throughout fall camp and spring ball. We've got a few days left here, and excited about making this trip and kind of seeing where we're at with a great test up front. Q. Where does the quarterback competition stand right now? PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, I mean, we haven't declared a starter yet. I think we're close in figuring out what we want to do at that point or at that position. I think those guys have continued to progress, and I've liked the way they have worked and battled throughout spring ball and fall camp. You've seen the ebbs and flows of it every day, but I think we're getting close to being able to announce a starter and what we're going to go with. Q. So it's not so close that you're thinking playing two would be likely? PHILIP MONTGOMERY: No, not right now. Right now I think the game plan is as far as we're discussing it and talking through it, right now we're going to -- we'll name a starter and we're going to go with it from there. Q. I know the main focus around fall camp is the season as a whole. When do you start focusing on Michigan State and what decides that timeline? PHILIP MONTGOMERY: We actually started focusing a little bit more on them this week. When we started off on Monday, we kind of split our workouts. We're still getting good work versus each other, yet the second half of practice, doing more of that with a focus on Michigan State versus our scouts and trying to get that game plan installed, and guys having the opportunity to start working in it. Q. I know Michigan State returns quite a bit. Traditionally they're just one of the three, four most physical teams in the country. What do you see from them? What is the greatest challenge? PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, you know, from an offensive standpoint, when you look at the guys they've got coming back, basically their front seven is coming back. Now, their star or Sam linebacker, however you want to label him, he played a lot last year, played some last year. The starter there actually graduated and moved on, yet up front they are technically very, very sound. They don't give you anything. You're going to have to earn every yard, as I've seen a ton of tape against them at this point. They do an unbelievable job against the run. They don't stay blocked. You can see a guy in great position, got his hands and everything in the right spot, body is in the right spot, and then all of a sudden you see a guy just pop away from it and make the tackle. So got to do a good job of sustaining blocks, we've got to do a good job as running backs working our way in and out of those things. Those things are not going to be open. If you see daylight, you'd better hit it because it's going to close in a hurry. As you look at their secondary, they've always had two or three guys in the secondary that have translated into the second level and been unbelievable players. They've got good length and speed there. We've got to do a good job of helping each other from a route combination standpoint, and quarterbacks have got to do a good job of getting their eyes in the right spot and delivering good balls because lanes close in a hurry. Q. Given their strength with the front seven, you're going to want to feel really confident about where your O-line is going into a challenge like that, so where are you with that group? PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, you know, those guys are coming together. We're much younger up front than what we've been the last several seasons, and I think those guys are starting to form that connection that you've got to have, those five guys working as one. We're going to have some youth up there, yet I think those guys are locked into what they've got to do. It's going to be a great test for them versus such a talented defensive line that we're facing. So those guys, again, just like we'd kind of talked about with the receivers, we've got to do a good job of being on the same page, locking up, and you can't have a time clock. You've got to just keep battling and battling and battling. There's going to be some times that we may get beat. We can't let that linger into the next play, understanding the next play is a new play and we've got to reset, refocus and keep battling throughout. Q. Has it been difficult to get a gauge on what they want to do offensively with the wholesale changes that they've had on their staff? PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, it really has. The crazy part, as you kind of go through the scenarios of it, they have all the same people, yet they're just all in different spots. So trying to gauge exactly what they're going to do offensively, whether they're going to be a heavy 12-personnel team or a 21 personnel team, are they going to try to spread it out a little bit more. We've got to work all those scenarios in there. I know they've got talented and skilled guys up front and at the receiver and running back spots. Their quarterback played efficiently throughout with a lot of different concepts and looks. I think they're narrowing all that down right now, and I'm sure they're establishing their identity of what they want to be on offense. But from a preparation standpoint, it makes it a little bit more difficult. Q. The quarterback race, is it something you're playing out in your mind now? You kind of have seen enough from both guys and you're just weighing one guy versus the other guy, or is this still a competition on the field like this afternoon and tomorrow? PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, every day we step out there, the competition is real and it's live. As we've kind of continued to gather stats, seen what we've seen on tape, as we continue to see how it's progressing, and a lot of this is more than just a stat deal to me. It's how guys are interacting around that guy, how the offense in general is moving with one guy versus another guy. At the end of the day you can throw all the stats out the window. Our job is to move the ball, score points and go win games. Those are the only things that really matter, so we want to make sure we're getting the right guy that's going to lead us down the field and give us the opportunity to win games. Q. So one or the other could have a great weekend and be a game changer? PHILIP MONTGOMERY: It could be, yes, sir. Q. Just the whole opportunity of getting to go up there to East Lansing and get to play in front of a Big Ten crowd, have you hit on that through the week in practice? PHILIP MONTGOMERY: You know, we've talked very little about that part of it. You know, we've played in big venues. We've played in front of big crowds in loud environments. So that's not going to be as completely new to us. Now, obviously we haven't done it this year, so you've got to go through the adjustments of that. But I think when you think about it from just the tradition of what they have going and the tradition over the years of the games that you've seen growing up as a kid, that part of it brings a little bit more mystique to it, if you will, but I think our guys understand that no matter the stadium or where we're playing, once we cross into those white lines, it's all about what happens on the field. It's not about the stadium, not about the crowd, it's about what we do in between those white lines and how we get it done together. Q. At Media Day a couple of guys were talking about a lot of eyes around the country, not just in Tulsa and Michigan State are going to be on this game, national eyes are going to be on that game. Are you seeing that a little bit, as well? PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, I think our guys are always extremely excited. When you get a chance to play on a national stage when there's going to be limited number of games on TV at that time, so you know our guys are going to want to come out and play at a really high level, want to put their best foot forward, as they do each and every week. But obviously it's a big game for all of us, and we're looking forward to the opportunity of stepping out there and getting it done. Q. Obviously you mentioned you've played on big stages like this before, but how do you not let this game become better than what it is because you are going against Michigan State, a well-traditioned school? PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, I think, again, because we've played a lot of teams in this same boat, and we understand this is just one game in the course of our season. It's not going to change the course one way or another. There's a lot of games left that we've got to continue to keep grinding. If you go up there and you don't come out with a victory, it's not going to be the end-all of end-alls. If you come out with a victory, then you're coming back with a lot of good momentum, a lot of things to build on. But that one game is still not going to change the course of the rest of them that are coming up. We're taking it game by game. This is going to be our first one. We know it's going to be a tough test, but our guys are excited about it. Q. Outside of obviously Keylon and Keenan, how has the rest of the receiver position progressed so far? PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, the young guys are coming along. We've seen some guys that have really taken some steps in my opinion. Haven't got to see those guys do it on this type of stage or underneath those type of lights, but I like the progression that they're doing. Now, we've got to do a good job of going in there and relying back on what we've been coached to do, get to our depths, get to those areas that we feel like have an opportunity to settle in and get to grass and make plays, and then when you get an opportunity, we've just got to go make them. That 50/50 ball, we've got to find a way to come up with it. So those guys are going to get opportunities. We've got to do a good job of giving them chances to go make plays, whether that's down the field or in that intermediate range, or if it's some type of outside throw that's quick and getting it out of your hands, breaking one tackle, making that contested catch. Those are the difference, staying out of those long yardage type situations and getting into manageable situations. Q. I think at the opening press conference we joked about Texas or Notre Dame or one of those teams coming to Tulsa, saying we're not doing home-and-homes with those guys, but obviously today Arkansas has announced to come here in 2027. I know it's a long ways away, but it's still pretty cool for the program to -- PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, it really is. Q. -- have that opportunity. I know that our administration has worked extremely hard to make those type of games happen, especially right here, and it's been a long time coming. I think with the tradition of the game between Tulsa and Arkansas and for them to finally come back here, I don't know, what has it been, 75 years? There you go. So I think it's going to be one of those games that everybody is going to show up for. It's going to be full, and it'll be rocking, and guys -- they'll really enjoy playing in that type of atmosphere. But to have Arkansas come here, that's a big deal. Q. What are the basic standards you've set for what you want to see game to game from the run game? Is five yards a carry your baseline, or is that kind of a, if we get it, it's a cool bonus? PHILIP MONTGOMERY: I think any time you can average five yards a carry, that's significant. Obviously it's more about for me, if you can average that five or less, but if you've got some explosive runs in there, those are the ones that are kind of the back breakers to it all. Establishing the line of scrimmage, because I feel as though we've got some talented backs, some guys that can do some work, we've got to do a good job of trying to limit what people can do to us from a defensive front standpoint, and then those guys, our guys up front, they've got to take it personal. That run game is where you can really impose your will and do the things that we need to do to get the running game going and be effective. Q. Is the offensive line more immediately ready to run block well or protect well -- PHILIP MONTGOMERY: I hope all of it. You know, again, this D-line that we're facing, in my opinion, may be the best D-line that we've faced since I've been here. They've got unbelievable talent up front, but with that being said, maybe one of the best well-coached technical fronts that we've gone against. I mean, we've maybe played some better athletes up front, but I don't know as a group and the way they play technically together within our scheme, I don't know that we've played any better than what we're facing. Q. Michigan State has that reputation for being physical, and a lot of that has to do with the guys they recruit and what they do in the weight room, but I guess the sense with Dantonio's teams it's also kind of a mental toughness. When you turn on the film, is that reputation, does that ring true for you? Why are they considered so physical? PHILIP MONTGOMERY: No matter who's the defensive coordinator at Michigan State, it always looks the same. Coach Dantonio does a tremendous job of maintaining that culture schematically and just the way they play. Their Mike backer, and I don't want to mispronounce his name, but I think it's Bachie. I think he's the ringleader to all of it. This guy is sideline to sideline, he can run, he's very physical, he doesn't stay blocked. He's pretty special and keeps everything communicated and on the same page. But I'm sure that stems down from Coach Dantonio and how they run their program but also the way he basically runs that defense and making sure that what we've done from a traditional standpoint around here, here's the standard, and everybody that we bring in, y'all have got to not only reach this standard but we're always trying to raise it or elevate it up and continue to get better every year. Q. Been trying to hold on to this thought for about three weeks, but with Michigan State now being on the schedule and right here, right now, a team that has played in the College Football Playoff, a team that does hold all this tradition, for TU to go up there and get a W when these schedules mean so much, talk about the national perspective of what that means for this program, especially after the last two years you had. PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Well, you know, it's a new year and a new opportunity to go out and continue to keep elevating our program. If you go get a win on the road like this, all the national spotlight and all of that, most of it will be talking about Michigan State and still not about us, but we're going to get a tone for what this team is capable of, what our players are capable of, and the momentum and the excitement that you can bring back with a W like that could really turn everything on its ear and really set the stage for you to have what could be a magical-type season. Q. Going back to the run game for one second, it's no secret that Shamari and Corey have kind of been banged up the last couple years. Are you confident you have a plan going forward that you can split their workload and make sure they're not overworked? PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, I mean, we split their workload every year. This game of football is physical. Those guys run physical. They play the game the way you want them to play it. We're doing everything in our power to make sure that as we approach the season that those guys are in the best physical shape that they can be in and ready to handle what is going to be called upon them. Keeping them healthy is important, obviously. The good thing is we've got some guys that we feel like are continuing to develop behind them, but those two guys are the lead dudes, and those are the guys that are going to get it done for us. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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