I talked to him yesterday:
You are coming off a huge win at Kansas heading into your first meeting with Tulane. What are your thoughts about coming off an an emotional game like that and having another one this Saturday?
"It's just like any other week. You've got to put the last game behind you. That's what we're always preaching to our players is you have 24 hours and it's move to the next one. Win, lose or draw, you've got to go on. This week is Tulane, which is a very good team. It is kind of unique and exciting to think that the two schools have never played before. They are so close and they play in all the other sports and never played in football. And then there is the familiarity between the two. Our players know Tulane obviously and now they are starting to know about Nicholls a little bit. The guys on the team played against each other, and then the job that Willie Fritz has done over there is amazing. He's getting his right guys in there. He's getting his recruits in there. He just missed out on a bowl game last year, and they have some tremendous talent."
You not only beat Kansas, you controlled the line of scrimmage. What does that say about your physicality?
"Well, it goes with the philosophy of our staff since we've been here. We believe that if you can run and stop the run, then you'll have a chance in games, and that's what we've done. We have some experience on the offensive line with guys that have started a bunch of games, and defensively we have some depth. The two positions are so different in that usually with the offensive line you stick with the (starting) five and on defensive line you have to rotate and roll some guys. We have some depth. We stopped the run, got them in some third-down situations and got off the field. Conversely, offensively that's what you've got to do--try to get manageable first downs, convert them and keep the ball out of their hands. If you play to that philosophy whether you're playing FBS or FCS, you'll have a chance to be in some games."
You added Kendall Bussey to an experienced roster. What do you like best about him?
"Just the person that he is, too. Everybody knows what kind of athlete he is and what kind of player he is. He came here and fit right in from day 1. He's humble. He works his butt off. He just fit in with a good stable of running backs we already have. He just added to that room.
Chase Fourcade does not always have great stats, but he scored the game-ending TD against Kansas in OT. What do you like best about him?
"He's just got that grit about him. It doesn't matter if he's having a great game or an average game. When it comes down to the fourth quarter. he is the type of guy that everyone comes to know. He loves to have the ball in his hand. He's such a competitor. He's such a winner. He's everything that we thought he was when we recruited him and even more. He's still scratching the surface of how good he can be."
I can't recall an FCS team winning two games in one year against FBS teams, and you have that opportunity on Saturday. How big of a deal would that be for your program?
"It's like we talked about last week, beating a Power Five school. We said, hey, that's nice, but you're 1-0 and you have to move on to the next one. If something like that happens, we've got to put it behind us because next week we have our conference opener against McNeese, and then maybe at the end of the season you can reflect back and think about some of the accomplishments. But the oldest cliche in the book is you've got to try to play them one game at a time."
You mentioned the familiarity many of the players on both teams have with each other. What does that mean for your guys with the opportunity to play Tulane?
"I think it's fantastic and they do, too. A lot of our guys went to school in New Orleans, so they are going to have a bunch of their buddies there. They played against some of these guys, and even some of the guys that didn't play against each other, they have buddies that went to Jesuit. They are going to know each other and it's a chance for their families to see them play. Us being able to go to their place is going to make for a good evening of football in south Louisiana."
Where do you want to see the most improvement from week 1?
"We have to get some more consistency and we have to get better on third downs. We want to score more points. We protected the ball well and didn't turn the ball over on offense, but the big elephant in the room is we've got to be better on special teams. You can't shoot yourself in the foot and expect to win games against good teams."
What did it say about your team that you were able to overcome three special teams gaffes (bad punt snap for a safety, blocked punt and muffed punt) in the fourth quarter against Kansas?
"Yeah, looking at it, when it happened I thought we were in control of the fourth quarter. But the one thing is our guys didn't panic on the sideline and say, oh crap. Our guys just knew what we had to do. We thought we could move the ball. It was about that veteran leadership, the senior leadership. Those guys said, hey, we've been here before, and we played on those past experiences. It helped us stay calm, and our offense did a great job of going down the field. We have a real good kicker."
How did the close calls against Georgia and Texas A&M the past two years help you get over the hump against Kansas?
"Every team is different starting the season, but some of those guys had been in those close games and not just against the other FBS schools. Our conference is really tough, and we have nailbiters every week that go down to the fourth quarter. That's how our team has come to play: let's get into the fourth quarter and see if we can come out on top. They did draw on some of those past experiences."
What have been the keys to getting the program turned around? You inherited a winless team in 2015.
"A couple of things. You have to change the whole culture and the whole mindset of the players. Look, we had some good players on the team, but when we landed that first class and then that second recruiting class, we got some good players. You can talk about the coaching and all that, but when you have good players, they make you a good coach. We got the Sully Laiches, the Evan Verons and Allen Pittman and Ahmani Martin and guys out the city. We talked about Chase. When you start getting those guys to recruit for you after changing the culture a little bit, that's been the biggest thing."
Your schedule was disrupted by the expected storm this week. You practiced Monday but had to take off Wednesday to meet the NCAA mandate of one off day per week. Are you concerned?
"Yeah, I think we're good. Coming back and practicing on Monday, you are worried about their legs and how they are going to bounce back, but we've been smart toward the latter part of the week and I think our guys will be able to handle it."
You are coming off a huge win at Kansas heading into your first meeting with Tulane. What are your thoughts about coming off an an emotional game like that and having another one this Saturday?
"It's just like any other week. You've got to put the last game behind you. That's what we're always preaching to our players is you have 24 hours and it's move to the next one. Win, lose or draw, you've got to go on. This week is Tulane, which is a very good team. It is kind of unique and exciting to think that the two schools have never played before. They are so close and they play in all the other sports and never played in football. And then there is the familiarity between the two. Our players know Tulane obviously and now they are starting to know about Nicholls a little bit. The guys on the team played against each other, and then the job that Willie Fritz has done over there is amazing. He's getting his right guys in there. He's getting his recruits in there. He just missed out on a bowl game last year, and they have some tremendous talent."
You not only beat Kansas, you controlled the line of scrimmage. What does that say about your physicality?
"Well, it goes with the philosophy of our staff since we've been here. We believe that if you can run and stop the run, then you'll have a chance in games, and that's what we've done. We have some experience on the offensive line with guys that have started a bunch of games, and defensively we have some depth. The two positions are so different in that usually with the offensive line you stick with the (starting) five and on defensive line you have to rotate and roll some guys. We have some depth. We stopped the run, got them in some third-down situations and got off the field. Conversely, offensively that's what you've got to do--try to get manageable first downs, convert them and keep the ball out of their hands. If you play to that philosophy whether you're playing FBS or FCS, you'll have a chance to be in some games."
You added Kendall Bussey to an experienced roster. What do you like best about him?
"Just the person that he is, too. Everybody knows what kind of athlete he is and what kind of player he is. He came here and fit right in from day 1. He's humble. He works his butt off. He just fit in with a good stable of running backs we already have. He just added to that room.
Chase Fourcade does not always have great stats, but he scored the game-ending TD against Kansas in OT. What do you like best about him?
"He's just got that grit about him. It doesn't matter if he's having a great game or an average game. When it comes down to the fourth quarter. he is the type of guy that everyone comes to know. He loves to have the ball in his hand. He's such a competitor. He's such a winner. He's everything that we thought he was when we recruited him and even more. He's still scratching the surface of how good he can be."
I can't recall an FCS team winning two games in one year against FBS teams, and you have that opportunity on Saturday. How big of a deal would that be for your program?
"It's like we talked about last week, beating a Power Five school. We said, hey, that's nice, but you're 1-0 and you have to move on to the next one. If something like that happens, we've got to put it behind us because next week we have our conference opener against McNeese, and then maybe at the end of the season you can reflect back and think about some of the accomplishments. But the oldest cliche in the book is you've got to try to play them one game at a time."
You mentioned the familiarity many of the players on both teams have with each other. What does that mean for your guys with the opportunity to play Tulane?
"I think it's fantastic and they do, too. A lot of our guys went to school in New Orleans, so they are going to have a bunch of their buddies there. They played against some of these guys, and even some of the guys that didn't play against each other, they have buddies that went to Jesuit. They are going to know each other and it's a chance for their families to see them play. Us being able to go to their place is going to make for a good evening of football in south Louisiana."
Where do you want to see the most improvement from week 1?
"We have to get some more consistency and we have to get better on third downs. We want to score more points. We protected the ball well and didn't turn the ball over on offense, but the big elephant in the room is we've got to be better on special teams. You can't shoot yourself in the foot and expect to win games against good teams."
What did it say about your team that you were able to overcome three special teams gaffes (bad punt snap for a safety, blocked punt and muffed punt) in the fourth quarter against Kansas?
"Yeah, looking at it, when it happened I thought we were in control of the fourth quarter. But the one thing is our guys didn't panic on the sideline and say, oh crap. Our guys just knew what we had to do. We thought we could move the ball. It was about that veteran leadership, the senior leadership. Those guys said, hey, we've been here before, and we played on those past experiences. It helped us stay calm, and our offense did a great job of going down the field. We have a real good kicker."
How did the close calls against Georgia and Texas A&M the past two years help you get over the hump against Kansas?
"Every team is different starting the season, but some of those guys had been in those close games and not just against the other FBS schools. Our conference is really tough, and we have nailbiters every week that go down to the fourth quarter. That's how our team has come to play: let's get into the fourth quarter and see if we can come out on top. They did draw on some of those past experiences."
What have been the keys to getting the program turned around? You inherited a winless team in 2015.
"A couple of things. You have to change the whole culture and the whole mindset of the players. Look, we had some good players on the team, but when we landed that first class and then that second recruiting class, we got some good players. You can talk about the coaching and all that, but when you have good players, they make you a good coach. We got the Sully Laiches, the Evan Verons and Allen Pittman and Ahmani Martin and guys out the city. We talked about Chase. When you start getting those guys to recruit for you after changing the culture a little bit, that's been the biggest thing."
Your schedule was disrupted by the expected storm this week. You practiced Monday but had to take off Wednesday to meet the NCAA mandate of one off day per week. Are you concerned?
"Yeah, I think we're good. Coming back and practicing on Monday, you are worried about their legs and how they are going to bounce back, but we've been smart toward the latter part of the week and I think our guys will be able to handle it."
