Coach Q&A: Heupel ready for week one
Opening remarks from Mizzou offensive coordinator Josh Heupel: Offensively, really like what our kids have done. Chad mentioned training camp, but really it dates back to January. The attitude that they came back with. The purpose that they’ve had every single day. The ability to learn from their mistakes and get better while they’re on the field. Their competitiveness and their devotion to honing their craft as far as being a football player. Whatever position it is has been extremely heightened from where we finished the year a year ago. It’s been a lot of fun to work with this group and that’s certainly true since we got here in training camp. We have a lot more competition on our side of the ball for opportunities to start or get a chance to be on the field and have meaningful snaps. Thats lended itself to a lot of highly competitive practices and a lot of focus from our group. I feel like we have a chance to make some big strides from what we did a year ago. And that’s really at all positions. Offensive line we have a lot of competition. With some guys that were starters a year ago that came back and had young guys breathing down their neck and pushing time and starting spots. And the same thing out wide on the perimeter. With that I guess I’ll open it up to questions.
Tod Palmer, Kansas City Star: I was wondering philosophically when you look toward this first game are you going to keep it vanilla still or do you want to make a statement with this first game. Or are you going to be a little guarded knowing you got a conference game next.
Heuepel: You don't take anything for granted in this game so you’re going to look at the tape and see what they’re doing defensively. Schematically too what the personnel is. You're going to look and see what you’re doing offensively. What you’re trying to accomplish and what your personnel gives you the opportunity to do. You try to mirror those two things together to put your kids in the best position to be successful. Our kids are excited about getting into game week. They’re excited about some of the things that we put in here at the end of last week on Thursday, Friday. They’re ready to go play and put their best foot forward on Saturday.
Palmer: What would you say is the ideal backfield split for carries?
Heupel: I think Damarea [Crockett] will get a few touches early. Obviously Ish [Witter] is going to have an opportunity to play early as well. Those guys will sub each other out whenever they’re tired during the course of a drive. One guy being in versus another really will have no impact on the play calling. Would also like to have an opportunity to get our young kid in the ballgame as well. Whether that’s in situational football or if that’s a specific drive in the second quarter maybe.
Gabe DeArmond, PowerMizzou.com: Want to know if you’ve settled at this point on who your primary backup will be for Drew and how many quarterbacks you maybe hope to have a chance to get in on the field in this game.
Heupel: When you approach a game I don’t think you think like that. We want Drew to go out and play well. Be sharp and also lead us on some scoring drives. We have not named a backup at this point. I have not had that conversation with the kids that are fighting for that number two spot. I would anticipate if the opportunity arrises that both those guys will see playing time.
Danny Jones, Columbia Tribune: It sounded like you mentioned that maybe the young kid would get some reps at back. Was that referring to Larry [Rountree]?
Heupel: Yeah, Larry Rountree will have some time as well. Nate Strong got dinged up a little bit and is coming back off of a little bit of an injury. Larry has had a great training camp so I really foresee him having an opportunity to play some early in the game.
Jones: What improvements were you looking for out of the running back group this offseason? What parts of their game where you hoping to expand?
Heupel: With all backs you are looking for improvement in pass protection. The more that you’re in six man protection the more pressure that they're going to have to handle. Whether it’s backers or safety. We’ve talked about this before, but playing without the ball. They’re going to improve on the things with the ball in their hands, but learning how to be a complete player when the ball is not in your hand. On top of that our backs have a much better understanding of what our run schemes are and how they can help deliver the down lineman to the second level player. So that’s their track and their aiming point. Pressing the line of scrimmage. That lends itself to those guys creating bigger seams and creating bigger plays. Those are two of the things and then obviously we got to do a great job of taking care of the football. Those are some of the primary things coming out of last year that we felt like we had to improve on at that position.
Dave Matter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: I know you guys don’t have a depth chart out publicly yet, but those jobs at center and right guard, have you identified staters yet?
Heupel: We have identified starters. Coach hasn’t put that depth chart out yet so I’ll wait for that to be put out before I comment on anything on that.
Matter: I know this really hasn’t been your focus during camp, but you see Missouri's defense everyday. In camp can you get a sense if you think that group will be better. Are there signs you see when you’re doing your best against best that that’s a pretty good defense?
Heupel: Yeah, I think they’re going to be improved from a year ago. I think if you look at what they were able to do two years ago. Schematically what they were doing. I think it’s a group that plays hard. Is going to compete every single snap. They're going to contest and make you earn things out on the perimeter. They have the ability to create negative plays. In my mind college football, on defense, is creating negative plays, getting you to third and long situations and being multiple in that situation in particular. On offense, it’s about limiting those negative plays and creating big plays offensively.
DeArmond: I know we talked about this a lot last year, but in this offense specifically how important is it for you guys to, if you’re going 100 miles per hour when you hit the field, get that first first-down and kind of avoid that three play, thirty second drive that puts your defense right back out there.
Heupel: You go three and out, whether it’s real fast or not super fast, it’s still a fast turnaround. TV timeouts aside it’s a fast turnaround. As important as the turnaround is field position. Again getting that first first-down is critical. We talk a lot about that just in our game planning and how do we create positive yards opening a drive so we can get the first first-down and then you can play from there. It’s critical for every offense. It’s critical for field position and playing the three phases of the game together.
DeArmond: A kicker that you can rely on, how much does that affect the way you call a game? How valuable would that be if Tucker [McCann] puts last year behind him?
Heupel: It dramatically changes the game. It dramatically changes the momentum durning the course of a ball game. Whether it’s an extra point or a field goal that you hit it’s field position which is absolutely critical for us offensively. Obviously the better position that we start in it lends itself to you going and having an opportunity to score more points. Defensively, obviously, the longer the drive it makes a huge difference. It dictates and predicates and changes your play calling when you’re in certain field zones. When you’re able to put that guy out there and you get three points out of it at a high percentage it changes the landscape of the game. It changes subtly…an early field goal changes it from a one possession to a two possession, or whatever it might be, ball game. It changes not just that series of calls when you’re in that field zone, but it changes how the games played later down the road as well.
Palmer: You mentioned the defense as being improved. Is there any particular guy that has stood out?
Heupel: I wouldn’t pinpoint anybody in particular. I just think the group as a whole is competing at an extremely high level. They’re playing physical. They're making things competitive. Whether that’s in the run game or out on the perimeter playing tight coverage. I think those are as dramatic of a change as anything from maybe a year ago.
Bill Pollock, Missouri.net: Which of your wide receivers has made the biggest jump from last year and kind of opened up your eyes this fall camp?
Heupel: Our most mature players from when we got back in January to today are probably two of the guys that are inside in Johnathan Johnson and Rashad Floyd. Love the way they compete in everything that we do. Whether it's the weight room, the meeting room or out on the practice field. Just how they approach every day when they walk through the door and come into our building. I really love what they've done. I think our outside guys have made major strides here. As much as anything from the middle of spring ball to where we are now. Emanuel Hall has had a huge camp. He's played extremely well. Is playing with a lot of confidence and refined himself as a receive. Dimetrios Mason made a bunch of big plays for us. Especially the last half of last year. He has turned himself from an athlete playing wide receiver in to a wide receiver playing wide receiver. He's only going to continue to get better. Then I think Dominic Collins is a guy that didn't have a bunch of touches last year or much time on the field. For the most part through training camp he’s competed at a high level and has caught the ball really well. And then J'Mon [Moore] obviously has made a bunch of plays in the past. You can look back to last year. He's continuing to compete at a much higher level when the ball is not in his hands. Those are the things that we stressed to our entire offense during the entire off season.
Jim Heuer, KTRS: Can you speak to the significance of having your offensive line back and where they're at now compared to a year ago when you started the season?
Heupel: You know a year ago none of those guys had started I want to say any football games at Missouri. Maybe one of them had started a couple ball games. Kevin Pendleton. It's a group that got a year underneath their belt. They're confident in what they're doing. They've improved as far as double teams. Creating movement. They've improved in understanding our run game schemes. They've improved a lot in pass protection as well. That can change a little bit of who we are and some of our situations in particular. Help put our quarterback and skill players in a little bit better position as well. They're probably, since January, the most consistent group we've had on the offensive side of the ball. Who they are when they walk in the building and how they compete. If we want to have the type of season we're talking about having and worked towards that group is going to have to lead us as far as their mentality and toughness throughout the season.
Palmer: You’d said last year you guys probably ran 50% seven man protection. What would be ideal for this offense? Would it be more like 20-25% or do you have an idea?
Heupel: I don't have a particular percentage. Some of it is predicated and dictated week to week with what you see defensively. Not just from up front but also pressures and the coverages. I don't have a specific number. I just think we can improve in our six man and five man protection stuff. In particular some of the situations, third and long and that type stuff, where we can get more yards out.
Palmer: How much can that allow you to get the tight ends more involved?
Heupel: When they're not in protection it's a lot easier to get them involved in what you're doing. It's easier to get your backs involved. It also going to help your quarterback in situations when it's third and long and your able to get five guys out on a route. That gives him more check downs. More ways to just get a completion on third down. You let that guy with the ball in his hands go make a play for you. You drop it down to a guy that is at five yards and he makes a play. It's all those pieces coming together that have an opportunity to help us.