Coach Clarence McKinney Interview at SWAC Press Conference - Week 4
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00:00 Yeah, we went across the street, play Rice, really tough opponent for us.
00:06 Rice is playing really well this time of the year, but
00:11 gave us an opportunity to work on some things.
00:16 Come together as a team, our guys fought from the opening kick to the final whistle.
00:22 And just gave us an opportunity to work on some things versus a quality opponent.
00:28 >> Appreciate those opening comments, coach.
00:30 First question goes to Mason Smith.
00:31 >> Morning, coach, how are you doing?
00:36 >> Good morning, doing well.
00:37 >> All right, I just wanted to ask for an update on Andrew Byde,
00:40 if you've received any news on his injury status.
00:43 >> Yeah, right now, the only thing I can tell you is that we're waiting for
00:49 to hear what our doctors are gonna allow him to be able to do.
00:55 And as far as I know, they hadn't talked to him just yet, and
00:59 he'll be a game time decision.
01:01 >> All right, and my follow up question, as far as the whole team goes,
01:06 I know it's been a rough start to the year.
01:09 How you kind of seeing your team just manage the day to day?
01:13 Like, are they still working hard?
01:14 They're kind of like, you notice they, I won't say depressed, but
01:18 kind of like a disappointed attitude in terms of how they played so far.
01:22 >> There's always disappointment when you lose a game, but
01:26 these guys are extremely headstrong.
01:30 They know we're not an 0 and 3 team.
01:33 So they come to work every day with the same mentality, the same mindset.
01:41 Our goals are still ahead of us.
01:43 And so our guys come to work every day to just try and
01:47 get better each and every day.
01:48 >> Thank you, coach.
01:50 >> Thank you.
01:51 >> Next question goes to Kendrick Marsh.
01:53 >> Yeah, Coach, you mentioned in your open statement that you use these two weeks
01:57 against best opponents to work on things.
02:00 What exactly do you guys work on?
02:02 And do you think games of this nature should be used to practice in a sense?
02:06 >> Well, we use these games to try and win the game.
02:12 But when the game gets out of hand, like our last two opponents,
02:16 then you determine that you need to work on certain things.
02:22 And we're trying to find the rhythm offensively.
02:25 We've played a couple of really good defense programs back to back.
02:31 And so we're just trying to find the rhythm and find our identity without Andrew,
02:36 if Andrew is not able to play with us this week.
02:40 >> Okay, as a follow up to that, playing back to back FBS schools and
02:46 the outcomes of those games were not in your favor.
02:50 Do you think because of how those games played out,
02:53 that there could be some regression going into swagger play with the way you guys
02:57 kind of performed?
02:58 >> I don't see any regression going into the swag play.
03:02 I mean, our guys understand the teams that we played and
03:06 they understand the teams that we're about to play in.
03:08 And we feel like we're just as good as anyone on our schedule in the swag.
03:15 And we just got to go out and execute, minimize our mistakes and
03:20 take care of the ball and
03:21 we feel like we'll give ourselves just as good a chance as anybody else.
03:25 >> All right, thanks coach.
03:27 >> Thank you.
03:28 >> Next question goes to Dr. Prince.
03:30 >> Good morning, coach.
03:33 How are you today, sir?
03:34 >> Doing well. How are you doing, Dr. Prince?
03:36 >> I'm doing real good.
03:37 Look, we know that it is what it is when it comes to the FBS opponents and
03:41 whatnot.
03:42 What growth have you seen from your team as you prepare for
03:46 the games where the rubber meets the road with your Western Division swag opponent?
03:52 >> Really, the thing that stood out the most to me is that our guys
03:58 have continued to stick together and play as hard as they can play.
04:04 There's no quitting this team, there's all fight.
04:07 And I think that has made us much better as a team.
04:13 Guys playing for each other.
04:14 >> Yes, sir.
04:16 Now I know with or without body, you're still gonna have to execute.
04:20 What are some of the things that you feel confident that your team should be able to
04:24 execute this week?
04:26 And what are some things that would bring about a concern for you to defend?
04:29 >> Well, we're gonna do what we do offensively.
04:33 We have confidence in both Andrew and Jace.
04:38 And our scheme is our scheme.
04:42 We've recruited those guys to play in the system.
04:44 So we're gonna be who we are.
04:49 And then as far as defensively goes, guys are just gotta fly around,
04:57 make plays, get the ball back when we get those opportunities.
05:00 Be smart, be fast, be physical, and just play sound football.
05:08 Have our discipline on the back end and just play together.
05:12 >> All right, coach.
05:15 Thanks a lot, sir.
05:16 And good luck to you on this weekend.
05:17 Travel safe.
05:18 >> Thank you.
05:19 >> Next question goes to James Hill.
05:21 >> Hey, coach, I hope you and everyone in Houston are well.
05:25 Take us back to that scoring drive when you were able to put seven on rice and
05:30 what that looked like for you.
05:32 >> Yeah, it looked like we finally got it together.
05:37 We were able to run the ball some, we were able to throw it around a little bit.
05:43 We had some guys, Javon Johnson made an extremely tough catch,
05:47 keep one of our drives going.
05:50 We moved the ball decent.
05:51 We got an opportunity to score twice and we went forward on fourth and
05:58 one, didn't put it in the end zone that particular time.
06:01 But that was a good drive as well.
06:04 But yeah, it was good to see us be able to go down the field doing the things
06:09 that we like to do, both running the ball as well as passing the ball in a quick game,
06:15 drop back game, and put some points on the board.
06:18 >> Coach, the opportunity to go into grambling,
06:23 just talk a little bit about the next opponent, the football game.
06:26 And again, it's business as usual and the swag.
06:30 And this is a good historic matchup.
06:32 >> Yeah, going into grambling, it's a tough place to play and
06:37 they have a really good team.
06:38 Coaches has done a really good job of coaching those guys up.
06:46 They got their first win this past weekend and
06:48 I know how they feel, they feel good about themselves.
06:51 So it's gonna be a tough win.
06:54 When we go against swag opponents, it's just as tough as going against FBS
07:00 opponents and so we gotta be smart, we gotta take care of the ball.
07:05 And then we gotta execute on both sides of the ball, so to give ourselves a chance.
07:09 >> Thank you, sir.
07:11 Have a great week.
07:12 >> Thank you.
07:13 >> Last question goes to Dr. Cavill.
07:16 [BLANK_AUDIO]
07:20 >> Can you hear me, Dr. Cavill?
07:21 Dr. Cavill is inside HBC Sports Lab.
07:24 Good morning, Coach McKinney.
07:26 >> Good morning, Doc.
07:27 >> Good, I wanna talk about your quarterback, Jace Wilson.
07:32 As you said, you recruited players to play into the system.
07:35 How have you graded his framework of his gameplay,
07:41 considering obviously the action was against strong
07:45 FBS defenses that you took place the last two weeks?
07:50 >> Yeah, we think he's improving.
07:52 This is his first year within the system from a terminology standpoint.
07:56 He's played in some similar systems that we employ,
08:03 but Jace is improving each week.
08:07 And he was thrown into the fire versus Toledo.
08:09 We didn't know if he would be the starter or not.
08:14 And so I think he handled it really well.
08:17 He took some bumps and bruises, but he's led this team on a couple opportunities
08:22 to score points versus FBS opponents.
08:25 And I think he's progressing about how we expected.
08:29 >> Follow up question is about this next matchup against Gremlin.
08:34 Obviously, in a lot of ways, when you look at an opponent,
08:38 there are certain things that you wanna do that you come into a game doing.
08:43 But looking at Gremlin, obviously,
08:45 they seem to be pretty effective offensively through the air.
08:49 But defensively, they've had some concerns against the run.
08:54 Can you talk about how you effectively match up against them and
08:58 the things that you wanna do?
08:59 That is a line about you having success in this matchup.
09:03 >> Yeah, well, I think defensively, we gotta be able to stop the run,
09:08 but they're effective in the pass game.
09:11 And I wanna say that they're one of the explosive teams offensively in our league.
09:18 And so we got our hands cut out for us.
09:20 But defensively, they have given up some yardage run wise,
09:26 but you look at the opponents that they've played.
09:30 I mean, anybody's gonna give up rushing yards versus the LSU.
09:35 And so, but I think on both sides of the ball, they're very talented.
09:42 They play fast, they're big, they're strong, they're athletic.
09:45 It's gonna be a tough opponent for us on the road, which we like playing on the road.
09:51 But we're just looking forward to this matchup.
09:55 I think that the swag West is wide open and we're still in it.
10:01 So this gives us an opportunity to show if we belong.