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00:00 All right, good morning, everybody.
00:01 Appreciate you being here.
00:03 You know, kind of wrapping up Saturday's game.
00:06 You know, I was really pleased with the overall outcome
00:10 of how we finished.
00:12 You know, we talked to the guys throughout last week
00:14 is really wanting to come out and get to a fast start.
00:17 You know, I mentioned that in my postgame,
00:18 and I thought, you know,
00:20 couldn't have played much better there in the first quarter.
00:23 I mean, loved the energy, loved the intensity, the execution.
00:26 I think our first offensive drive was 14 plays.
00:29 I did a great job of, you know, mixing run and pass,
00:33 you know, being able to jump out to that lead.
00:36 You know, second quarter, you know, had some adversity,
00:38 some mishaps that happened really on both sides,
00:42 and, you know, it wasn't as clean as it needed to be,
00:48 you know, as we were going through that.
00:49 You look at the last two minutes of the first half,
00:54 you know, obviously gave up a touchdown.
00:56 You weren't able to get things in our two-minute drive.
00:59 You know, took a negative on the first play,
01:02 you know, decided to go to the half,
01:03 and then, you know, the opening kickoff
01:06 of the second half was about as bad of a start as we could have,
01:10 but, you know, like I said, you know, there Saturday,
01:14 I was really pleased with the response,
01:15 and for the defense not to give up a point in the second half,
01:18 you know, it wasn't ultimately the cleanest,
01:21 you know, play that we had.
01:24 You know, there's still some details and some things
01:26 that we got to clean up, you know,
01:28 that we were able to address yesterday,
01:30 but to not give up a point offensively,
01:32 to really be able to finish the game,
01:34 you know, doing a great job in the run game.
01:36 You know, guys were really battling up front.
01:39 Thought we saw great physicality up front,
01:42 you know, tight ends,
01:44 running backs in the way that they ran,
01:46 and then receivers, I thought, showed up really big.
01:49 You know, Keon Coleman, you know,
01:50 I pointed him out to the team yesterday.
01:52 I thought those were two huge blocks
01:54 on the long touchdown runs by Trey Benson,
01:57 that, you know, those are the things that,
01:59 you know, you just want to really celebrate,
02:01 you know, just that type of play,
02:04 you know, with how guys are --
02:05 what guys are doing without the ball in their hands,
02:07 and, you know, but I was pleased with our team.
02:10 I thought they responded well.
02:12 You know, I thought we were, you know, very efficient
02:13 in what we did offensively,
02:15 you know, throughout the course of the game.
02:16 I did a good job. We were over 50%.
02:19 You know, when you look at the third and fourth down,
02:20 you know, conversions, how we --
02:23 you know, look at that, you know,
02:25 being able to extend drives defensively,
02:26 great response in our third downs.
02:29 You know, we did have a couple fourth-down conversions
02:31 that we got to be able to clean up
02:33 and keep them in those longer yardage situations,
02:35 but I thought our guys played hard.
02:37 I thought they -- you know, they played tough throughout,
02:39 and, you know, was definitely happy to get the victory.
02:43 It sets up for, you know, another conference home game.
02:46 It's going to be an early start there Saturday,
02:48 and we're excited about it, and, you know,
02:50 I know we're going to have an incredible crowd.
02:52 You know, I encourage everybody to get here early
02:53 and get ready to roll.
02:55 I mean, this is -- you know, our fan base is incredible.
02:58 Makes such a wonderful impact to the game,
03:00 and, you know, we're going to need another great atmosphere.
03:04 It was special there Saturday, and, you know,
03:06 we know that, you know,
03:08 we've got to have a big impact on that here,
03:10 you know, this weekend,
03:11 and, you know, definitely excited to be able to get back
03:13 in Dote Campbell and go compete, you know,
03:15 against a talented Syracuse team
03:17 that's coming off of, you know, a couple losses,
03:20 but as I showed throughout the beginning part of the season,
03:24 I miss a very explosive team,
03:26 and, you know, they're going to attack in all that they do.
03:29 Got a very experienced quarterback.
03:30 You know, they definitely present challenges
03:33 with how he plays with his arms and his legs.
03:39 You know, definitely, you know, we've seen him,
03:41 you know, the last few years,
03:42 and he's a really, really good player.
03:44 He's got good skill around him.
03:47 You know, defensively, you know,
03:48 Coach Long's new defensive coordinator.
03:51 You know, he's a legend in this business,
03:54 and, you know, he's as good as they come
03:56 when it comes to, you know, the aggressive approach
03:59 and how to attack.
04:01 You know, they're going to show you every front,
04:02 you know, every blitz.
04:03 You know, you've got to do a wonderful job
04:05 playing discipline, playing with your eyes,
04:07 you know, being able to respond
04:09 to whatever he's going to throw at you,
04:10 so we've got our hands full for the week of preparation,
04:14 but I'm definitely excited to see our guys
04:15 continue to grow and go compete.
04:17 Mm-hmm.
04:18 Next question will be Christine from Radio Life.
04:20 Morning, Mike.
04:22 Just wondering, Johnny Wilson, any update
04:23 with regards to him leaving the game?
04:24 Yeah, you know, I mean, this is going to be something
04:26 that we see as we go throughout the course of the week.
04:29 You know, Johnny was feeling better yesterday,
04:33 and so we were excited about, you know,
04:36 where we think it can go, but, you know,
04:37 ultimately, you take it day by day this week,
04:39 and, you know, I thought he did a wonderful job there
04:43 in the first half, you know, on Saturday,
04:46 and really has taken his game to another level
04:49 and just in how he played and what he's been able to do,
04:52 so hopeful to be able to get him back rolling here
04:55 early in the week.
04:56 Was Keon an effective blocker when he came here,
05:04 or is that something he's worked on since he's been here?
05:06 You know, I think he embraces,
05:07 you know, being a complete player,
05:09 and, you know, he's shown moments of the willingness,
05:15 but, I mean, taking that ownership
05:17 is something that I'm proud of him for,
05:20 and, you know, as a receiver, you know,
05:23 you guys have seen our teams.
05:24 It's something that we really harp on,
05:26 and I think Coach Dugan does a great job
05:28 of building that mentality into the room,
05:31 and, you know, guys embrace that,
05:34 and, you know, Keon was a great example of that,
05:37 you know, there on Saturday,
05:38 and, I mean, those were huge plays,
05:40 and, you know, it's usually the difference
05:42 between a, you know, 10-, 20-yard run
05:45 to a, whatever, 65-, 85-yard run,
05:48 just being able to get out there
05:50 and take care of guys on that next level,
05:51 and so, you know, I'm proud of all of our guys at receiver,
05:55 I mean, just how they embrace that work
05:58 and just that mentality,
06:00 and then, you know, obviously, it shows great unselfishness,
06:04 you know, just being able to go and physically,
06:07 you know, do your job when it comes to those times.
06:10 Syracuse has recorded a lot of sacks as a defense,
06:17 but it seems like they bring, excuse me,
06:19 pressure from a lot of different areas.
06:21 You guys did have a couple of pass protection issues
06:23 this past week.
06:24 What kind of challenge did they present?
06:26 Oh, I mean, it's going to be a great challenge,
06:27 and, I mean, this is, you know,
06:28 you're not going to see a team
06:30 that brings more variations of pressures,
06:33 you know, just the different looks
06:34 from three down to four down to,
06:36 you know, I think it puts everybody on the field
06:38 at some point.
06:39 I mean, it's, you know, really does,
06:42 you know, you have to be great with your eyes,
06:44 you got to be great with your technique.
06:45 You know, we had a couple slow reactions
06:47 where we gave up pressures, you know, there the other day.
06:50 You know, all in all, I think, you know, our offensive line
06:52 has done a great job throughout the course of the season,
06:55 you know, and being able to protect Jordan
06:56 and to work to give him time, you know,
06:58 but the other day, we had a few times
07:00 that we had pressure on him,
07:03 and, you know, it's opportunities for us to see,
07:05 to learn, and, you know, one of them was just a pure,
07:08 you know, busting communication of assignment,
07:12 and, you know, we can't have those in those situations,
07:16 but, you know, there's very correctable things
07:20 that we can improve upon,
07:21 and, you know, our guys know the sense of urgency
07:23 because, I mean, this week, you're going to see it all.
07:26 Well, I'm having a chance to watch that game back.
07:30 Did you see anything that you liked from the offensive line
07:32 in terms of blocking,
07:34 especially for the run game, to open up holes for Dre?
07:36 Yeah, I mean, I thought they did a great job
07:38 of at the point of contact of being physical,
07:41 of being able to create space is one of the things we knew
07:44 because, you know, last week's opponent,
07:46 I mean, their defensive front, I mean, they were athletic,
07:49 and, I mean, they were going to try to penetrate
07:51 with different movements.
07:53 You know, you saw a week prior
07:55 of how effective they were in that,
07:57 and we knew that we had to try to do a great job
08:01 of creating the space when we had it,
08:03 and, you know, make sure that we're playing with our eyes
08:05 and not behind on blocks, and I thought our guys,
08:08 you know, really did a nice job with that.
08:10 They, you know, embraced that challenge
08:12 and, you know, gave Tre some great running room
08:15 to be able to get to the next level,
08:17 and, you know, that's what allowed the receivers
08:19 to have those impactful moments,
08:20 and, you know, obviously, Tre took care of the rest,
08:23 and I thought, you know, LT did a wonderful job.
08:25 You know, a couple big runs.
08:28 His touchdown run was as good as you'll see,
08:30 just a way to finish,
08:31 but I thought he ran tough, you know,
08:33 in physicals throughout the day,
08:35 and so, you know, I really liked what the O-line did
08:38 and being able to present some of those holes.
08:42 I have two quick ones.
08:44 First, Conrad Hussey, what has he shown you as a freshman?
08:46 What can Saturday do for him as he's continuing to build?
08:49 And secondly, Syracuse offensively,
08:51 Schrader's obviously well-known,
08:53 but their personnel seems a little different
08:54 than you guys have faced the last couple years.
08:56 Yeah, you know, Conrad, you know, being able to come in,
08:59 and, you know, we talked about him last week,
09:01 and he was coming off of really two weeks of,
09:04 you know, the bi-week and last week's practice
09:06 where he'd take some really positive steps.
09:08 You know, we knew we were going to get him in.
09:10 You know, we wanted to make sure that, you know,
09:13 we got a chance to see him in that space,
09:17 and, you know, I thought he played confident in it,
09:19 and, you know, there were obviously some things.
09:22 He was a true freshman.
09:23 You know, you get out there, it starts moving fast,
09:25 and, you know, there was a few things
09:26 that he's going to have to improve upon,
09:28 but what I loved was there was no hesitation,
09:31 you know, when it came to, you know, when he saw the ball,
09:33 when he got a chance to go and attack.
09:36 I mean, he definitely did that.
09:37 You know, threw his body around, had the big hit on the swing play,
09:41 you know, and obviously be able to create the takeaway there
09:44 late was big,
09:46 and I think that's just going to continue
09:47 to build his confidence,
09:48 and, you know, just refining the details,
09:50 making sure he's on point in all areas of what he can do
09:54 and how he can continue to get better,
09:56 but, I mean, we feel really good about,
09:59 you know, where he's going to be going just as a player
10:02 and as he continues to mature in the defense
10:04 and all things we're asking him to do.
10:06 When you look at Syracuse, you know, they have had an injury.
10:10 You know, the Gadsden, you know, the tight end,
10:13 you know, obviously he's out for the year.
10:15 You know, he was a great player, but you look at them,
10:17 and they've got great size.
10:19 You know, guys that, when you look outside
10:20 at the receiver position, I mean, guys that, you know,
10:23 wonderful body control, ball skills,
10:25 you know, they definitely can present challenges.
10:27 You know, some guys that have, you know, great long speed,
10:29 if you let them out and let them get going,
10:32 I mean, they can really stretch the field vertical.
10:34 You know, they're going to be very balanced
10:36 in what they do in the run game,
10:37 can tackle a lot of different ways.
10:38 Their running backs catch the ball
10:39 well out of the backfield,
10:40 and then, you know, his Raider is just such a challenge.
10:43 I mean, you know, two years ago when he came here,
10:45 I mean, I think it was one of his first starts
10:47 there at Syracuse.
10:48 I mean, you know, he's running just a bootleg,
10:51 and, you know, I mean, he's got 250-pound guys
10:53 bouncing off of him and, you know,
10:55 had some really explosive runs in that game.
10:58 You know, and then, you know, obviously,
11:00 you look at the course of work
11:01 that he's done over the last couple of years.
11:02 I mean, he's a very talented player
11:04 and can do a lot of great things with his arm,
11:07 and, you know, if you don't --
11:08 if you account for everybody in the passing game
11:10 and don't have eyes and a body on him,
11:12 I mean, definitely make you pay as a runner.
11:15 Go back to Esonwune.
11:17 An emphasis going into the week was the third downs.
11:20 You guys started 5-5,
11:21 scored three touchdowns on third downs.
11:23 Was that the response you wanted to see on third downs?
11:26 Absolutely, and something that, you know,
11:28 we want to make sure that every opportunity
11:30 we get to convert, you know, we want to convert,
11:32 and some of those times, it might be a third down,
11:34 you know, that gets to a fourth and short
11:36 and puts us in a position.
11:37 You know, I know the fourth down conversion
11:40 there with Jordan.
11:41 I mean, it's about continuing to move the chains,
11:45 and we talked about trying to have --
11:49 to keep possession of the ball,
11:50 be able to control the clock a little bit.
11:52 You saw that in the first quarter.
11:53 I thought we did an outstanding job of it.
11:55 Defense got three straight three and outs.
11:57 Offense was able to put together some drives.
11:59 In the second half, you know,
12:00 it didn't really show up as much on that
12:02 because we had to expose some plays.
12:03 I mean, you know, a two-play drive,
12:05 I think a one-play drive, you know,
12:07 so you're not going to get -- I like those, too,
12:09 but, you know, I thought our guys did a good job
12:12 of preparing for the third-down situations
12:15 and, you know, being able to execute in those moments.
12:20 Hey, Coach, can you talk a little bit
12:21 about the two-point play?
12:23 Was that a call that you guys were planning
12:24 on doing throughout the week, or was it just you guys
12:26 saw a look and, you know, executed from that?
12:27 I mean, it was something that we've, you know,
12:29 we've actually practiced and prepared for,
12:31 and we had a look that we thought could put us
12:34 in a decent number count,
12:36 and, you know, they defended it, you know, pretty well.
12:39 You know, got a secondary late pressure.
12:41 We had a lot of space with Brian.
12:43 I thought, Brian, that was a really tough run.
12:45 You know, we knew we had to try to gain leverage.
12:49 You know, we did have a pass option off of it,
12:51 you know, if it presented itself,
12:53 but, you know, as he got leveraged,
12:55 you know, he did a great job of being a lower shoulder
12:58 and finishing the end zone.
12:59 You know, Brian's a high school quarterback,
13:01 so it was pretty heavy in the quarterback run game,
13:04 you know, coming out, so I felt pretty confident
13:06 when I saw him getting his legs moving
13:08 that he would find it in the end zone, and he did.
13:11 Go to Curtis on your right.
13:14 Jaheim, I know, didn't play a ton in that game Saturday,
13:17 so I don't know what went into that,
13:18 but how do you see Kyle and Marquise
13:19 to kind of take advantage of that
13:21 and just the benefit of having three guys like that
13:23 who you trust to go out there?
13:24 No, I mean, and Jaheim, I'm going to get --
13:25 First off, I mean, he was banged up last week.
13:27 He was very limited, you know, in practice,
13:30 and I appreciate him
13:31 and just how he was able to prepare
13:32 to make himself available.
13:34 We knew he was going to be a very limited snap count.
13:36 You know, he did -- I think he played
13:37 maybe seven plays in the game,
13:39 but, you know, being able to get himself to where
13:42 he could go out there and play,
13:44 I respected, you know, just the work that he put in
13:47 and getting rehab, doing all that he could at practice,
13:50 but we knew he was going to be limited,
13:51 and, you know, Kyle, I think Kyle's
13:53 just continuing to get better.
13:54 I'm so excited about the growth I've seen from him.
13:57 You know, I think he had four catches.
13:59 You know, he was able to do a lot of good things as a blocker.
14:01 You saw him, I mean, he had a couple of,
14:02 you know, blocks with great finishes,
14:04 you know, being able to create that space
14:06 that we were talking about earlier.
14:08 You know, Marquise did some good things.
14:10 I think he's continuing to grow as a player
14:12 and just his consistency and, you know,
14:14 being able to have that core of guys
14:16 that can attack at the tight end position.
14:19 It really opens up so many doors for us
14:22 in what we could do, not only in the passing game,
14:24 but also in the running game, you know, creating gaps,
14:27 creating, you know, leverage, different angles
14:29 to be able to attack with, and, you know,
14:31 it was definitely a good thing
14:33 to see those guys continue to grow.
14:35 Was the plan going in to maybe have Jordan
14:40 run a little more than he had,
14:42 and then also on his run,
14:44 something I was just curious about,
14:45 there's been a couple of times
14:46 where he's ducked down really quickly,
14:48 and he's been hitting the head,
14:49 including that game where the kid got kicked out of the game.
14:52 Is that what y'all want him to do?
14:53 Is that something spur of the moment?
14:55 You just don't see a lot of quarterbacks, I guess,
14:56 duck down quite as quickly in traffic like he does.
15:01 Yeah, I mean, for Jordan, I mean, he's --
15:03 We had options, say, like, in that game,
15:05 just like we have in most games,
15:07 for the potential of him to be able to run,
15:09 and, you know, those things presented themselves
15:11 a few times.
15:12 You know, Jordan is definitely a dynamic runner.
15:15 You know, as he gets in space, you can make people miss.
15:18 I mean, you saw that show up even a few times yesterday.
15:21 You know, but as things are converging down on him,
15:23 I'm not trying to see how many times
15:25 he can go try to maybe run over people.
15:28 So you go get what you can get, get down, go to the next play.
15:30 It's still forcing the defense to have to account for him.
15:33 And, you know, when you get that,
15:35 you know, then you see with that possibility,
15:38 and, you know, because if they don't have somebody on them,
15:41 it's -- I think we've all seen over the years
15:43 just what he can do in open field and open space.
15:46 But when you have teams that have to now account for him,
15:49 I mean, it takes one less hat away from,
15:51 you know, from Trey or the running backs
15:52 or different things that we're doing there.
15:54 And so I'm really pleased with how he's managed the game.
15:57 I thought he was extremely efficient there the other day.
16:00 You know, as in the run game, in the passing game,
16:04 and, I mean, he's playing at such a high level.
16:05 I mean, just excited about, you know, what he's doing.
16:08 But, yeah, I'll tell him, if he gets going
16:11 and he's got multiple guys converging down on him,
16:13 go ahead and, you know, get to the next play.
16:15 You already gained positive yards.
16:16 Let's get to the next one,
16:18 and, you know, let's not take any, you know,
16:20 unnecessary shots.
16:22 I just want to check in on a couple other guys
16:24 that we didn't see much of Saturday.
16:25 Obviously, Bless didn't play, and Tatum wasn't available much.
16:28 And then how Robert Scott came out of that game.
16:32 Yeah, Robert came out, you know,
16:35 his first extensive action, you know,
16:36 I think he played maybe 12 plays in the LSU game.
16:39 You know, he came out of the game
16:41 better than what we even thought he would.
16:43 So, I mean, that's going to be really good for him
16:45 here moving forward, you know, I expect.
16:47 And I liked what we saw.
16:48 We were able to kind of use a little bit
16:49 of a three-man rotation there.
16:50 I thought Darius played at a very high level,
16:53 you know, there on Saturday.
16:54 You know, Jeremiah Byers is continuing to grow,
16:57 continuing to build confidence.
16:59 But, I mean, I liked being able to play
17:00 all three of those guys.
17:02 You know, Bless was unavailable for the game.
17:04 We'll see how he progresses throughout the course of this
17:07 week to see his availability for Saturday.
17:10 And then Tatum, you know, Tatum was, you know, he was close.
17:15 And, you know, he kind of got banged up
17:17 a little bit the week prior, and he was available.
17:20 You know, but we were, you know,
17:24 it was one of those situations where,
17:25 you know, it could have had a small number count.
17:28 But, you know, if we could avoid from having to play him,
17:31 I mean, then, you know, I thought we were going to be
17:33 in a good shape, and we were able to do that.
17:35 And I thought, you know, Omar Graham, you know,
17:38 obviously DJ and Kalen did a great job.
17:40 But Omar Graham, Blake Nicholson got in,
17:42 got some good work, you know, in Tatum's absence.
17:46 But, you know, we're very confident
17:48 that he'll be back and rolling this week.
17:51 Gary, over to you.
17:52 Coach, I was going to ask the same question,
17:54 but I have a follow-up instead.
17:58 Can you talk about what that means to a person like Nicholson
18:01 or even Graham, who's still really young,
18:04 to be able to get in and play when the game is consequential?
18:08 Yeah. I think it's huge.
18:11 It's -- you know, I know -- I think it was Saturday
18:13 I was asked the question about those guys,
18:15 you know, the plan to get them in.
18:16 I'm not going to put anybody on the field that hasn't --
18:18 that we don't believe can go out there and execute
18:20 and play at a very high level.
18:22 I mean, there's just too much work and too much investment
18:24 that's gone in, you know, over the years.
18:28 And so when guys get on that field,
18:29 there is a -- there's a responsibility that they have.
18:32 And there needs to be a sense of urgency
18:33 for everything that they're doing
18:35 and how they prepare and how they communicate,
18:36 you know, and the overall execution
18:39 when the ball is snapped.
18:40 And to see those guys earn those opportunities,
18:42 I'm really proud of.
18:44 You know, we've had, you know, I think it was three
18:46 or four different, you know, true freshmen there
18:48 the other day that made impactful plays
18:50 and impactful moments, and you like seeing that.
18:53 You like seeing those guys, you know, get the experience.
18:55 It wasn't always right in what they did or their technique
18:59 or their fundamentals, but you see,
19:00 and then you get to address, all right, well, why?
19:02 How do you get this better?
19:04 And then, you know, their ownership of the --
19:06 of applying those lessons and to be able to continue
19:09 to grow through the process.
19:11 But, you know, that experience, it's --
19:13 I mean, it's invaluable for what it's going to mean
19:15 for their future, but it's also --
19:17 I mean, when they're out there,
19:18 you got the same responsibility of a fifth-year senior
19:21 that's been here.
19:22 I mean, you got to go play at an elite level,
19:24 and, you know, that's what makes it challenging,
19:26 but it also forces the maturity
19:28 for how they need to prepare and what they need to do.
19:30 I guess I don't know if either of them recorded a catch,
19:35 but they seem to both play DeSmael Dukai
19:36 and Kentron getting back.
19:38 I guess the timing of that seems pretty good,
19:40 I guess, with building the depth in that room
19:42 with questions in the week coming about Johnny,
19:44 about Jaheim, and obviously the Winston Wright news last night.
19:47 Yeah, you know, I was really pleased.
19:49 You know, Kentron is --
19:50 you know, Kentron probably had as good a spring
19:52 as anybody that we had.
19:53 I mean, he was, you know, just so much confidence building,
19:57 and it was unfortunate,
19:59 and you had the injury there in fall camp
20:02 that, you know, he's really unavailable,
20:03 you know, for the early part of the season,
20:05 but seeing him get back,
20:06 and when he got in there, you know, he played fast.
20:09 You know, when Johnny went down, you know, like I said,
20:13 didn't record a catch, but, I mean, he showed the burst
20:16 and the route running that it was good to see.
20:18 You know, it was blocked really, really well.
20:21 You know, Dukai had a couple of missed opportunities,
20:23 you know, there in the game, but, you know,
20:26 I mean, what I loved, him getting him back out
20:28 in practice last week, you saw the explosiveness.
20:31 You saw the playmaking ability.
20:33 Now getting, you know, building back that confidence there,
20:36 you know, on game day.
20:38 You know, it was great.
20:39 You know, Destin Hill, you know, made a huge play.
20:41 Great catch there on a wheel route there.
20:45 You know, he's continuing to get better
20:47 in all the things that we're asking him to do,
20:49 and, you know, seeing that depth in that room,
20:51 you know, a lot of guys that, you know,
20:53 that have played meaningful snaps that are there,
20:56 able to contribute, and also seeing, you know,
20:59 us be able to spread the ball around.
21:00 I mean, it was -- I don't remember the exact numbers --
21:02 eight, nine guys that recorded a catch in the game.
21:05 I think Jordan's doing a good job when it comes to that,
21:08 and, you know, just continuing to build that timing,
21:12 the confidence in all those guys.
21:14 It's definitely great things for this offense.
21:19 Coach, are you able to kind of characterize
21:21 Winston's decision to leave the program?
21:23 Did it catch you by surprise?
21:24 Was it something you guys have been talking about?
21:26 No, I mean, it's -- you know, everybody's got --
21:29 you get one chance going through this journey,
21:31 and, you know, Winston, I mean, I love him.
21:33 He's a great young man.
21:34 I wish him all the best in his future.
21:36 You know, he's been through challenging situations.
21:38 I mean, obviously, what he went through last year,
21:42 you know, it was hard.
21:44 Man, it was hard for everybody, I mean, having to see him.
21:47 You know, just the ebb and flow of rehabbing to get back,
21:51 you know, and it doesn't go necessarily how you want,
21:54 but, you know, ultimately, it's --
21:56 you know, he was back, he was working,
21:59 and, you know, continuing to build to increase a role,
22:02 you know, and, you know, as we move forward,
22:04 you know, that's all I ever tell all of our players.
22:07 Right? I mean, this is very competitive.
22:08 I mean, you're here at Florida State.
22:10 I mean, every day is going to be --
22:12 you know, it's going to be a challenge.
22:13 You're going to get pushed.
22:14 You're going to -- you know, and all I ask is, I mean,
22:17 whatever your situation, whatever the circumstance is,
22:19 I mean, you just go pour it all into it,
22:21 and, you know, Winston has got a great future in front of him.
22:24 He's going to be, you know, whatever decision he makes,
22:27 whether it's to continue on.
22:28 I think he's got another year of eligibility
22:30 that he could utilize,
22:32 and, you know, I'm going to cheer for that kid forever,
22:35 and, you know, it's just --
22:37 you always support him as he makes decisions,
22:39 but if -- no matter where you are,
22:41 if you can't put all, you know, into it,
22:44 or there's, you know, other things that are going on,
22:46 then, you know, I support him in whatever they choose to do,
22:49 but, you know, he was a --
22:51 you know, I'll forever love that young man
22:54 for the journey he's been on and just, you know, who he is.
22:57 You know, I don't know how much control head coaches
23:03 have in their schedules, their non-conference schedules.
23:06 In football, it seems like some other sports maybe more so.
23:10 Would you prefer to not have the first month of the season
23:12 you guys had this year in terms of, like,
23:16 you see some other schools that get basically a month to kind --
23:19 or two or three weeks to kind of work into their tougher games,
23:23 and what challenges does that present
23:24 when you have a first month like you guys did this year?
23:27 Well, I mean, yes and no.
23:30 I mean, it's a -- you know, to come out the gate
23:33 and you're playing on a national stage,
23:36 you know, obviously that spotlight,
23:37 you know, with -- you know, there's a lot of benefits
23:39 that come to it, and just the way
23:41 that you had to prepare through the offseason.
23:43 You know, we had -- we've already played
23:44 three conference games.
23:46 I mean, you know, we got to stretch here.
23:49 Just really the dynamic of, you know,
23:51 two non-conference games to start,
23:52 two non-conference to end, and, I mean,
23:53 when you get in the mix of it, it is --
23:55 I mean, you got to roll, and especially this year,
23:57 not having divisions, I mean,
23:59 there's no week that you can't slip.
24:01 I mean, you got to bring it every week.
24:03 You know, every week you still find out things
24:05 about your team throughout that journey,
24:08 but, you know, there's no question the schedule that we had,
24:10 you know, it challenged us early,
24:13 which, you know, I do think builds confidence,
24:15 and especially starting off, you know, 4-0
24:17 or, you know, how it was there in the month of September.
24:21 I mean, it built some confidence
24:22 of some of the things that we could overcome,
24:24 but, you know, on the flip side of it,
24:26 you're still a work in progress,
24:28 and we're still on that journey right now
24:31 of working to get better,
24:32 and, you know, I think every team is different.
24:34 Every team has their own dynamics,
24:36 and, you know, to start off with the schedule that we did,
24:40 I mean, it's definitely, you know,
24:42 hardened our football team, and, you know, as we've --
24:45 you know, we know that it's -- we've got great talent.
24:49 We've got, you know, great ability,
24:51 but, you know, there's -- the growth that's in front of us
24:55 can really take us to another level
24:56 because we've had to do it against good people,
24:58 and, you know, I'm excited about where this team
25:01 and how this team works.
25:03 I mean, last night's practice,
25:04 you know, coming off the win on Saturday,
25:07 I mean, there was a definite sense of urgency,
25:10 and, you know, we want to fight for our improvement every day
25:13 in what we're doing, and, you know,
25:15 now you're in the conference slate,
25:18 and there's, you know, you've got a 4-2 Syracuse team
25:21 that's coming in here that's going to --
25:23 that's going to give us everything that they have,
25:24 and, you know, ultimately, you know,
25:26 we have all the respect for them,
25:27 but it's not about them. It's about us.
25:28 It's about what we do. It's about how we execute.
25:30 It's about how we play, and, you know,
25:32 I think our guys are buying into,
25:35 you know, that process of just getting better,
25:37 and, you know, it's been the same message
25:39 regardless of who it was that showed up as our opponent,
25:42 and, you know, I think our guys are handling that well
25:45 but continuing to improve.
25:48 Thank you, guys. Have a great day.