How did you feel about practice today?
"I thought it was a little more crisp. On Mondays you get out and you squat heavy and then you try to get out on Tuesday and practice and sometimes it's pulling teeth. We had a good workout. It was better today and it will be even better tomorrow. There were new things we put in for the offense, defense and kicking game and we got a little better grasp of it the second day than the first."
Can you go over the Jack Curtis story one more time? It's so unusual for a new coach to retain a defensive coordinator he inherits, particularly when he's never been on the same staff before.
"Doug Ruse and Jack had coached together for years and years and years and Kevin Peoples had coached for me for a long time. When they knew I was getting the Georgia Southern job, they recommended Jack. Coach Monken was moving in a different direction going to Army. I watched tape, visited with Jack, liked what I heard and saw and retained him. Plus, he had come in the year after I left Central Missouri (for a one-year stint as defensive coordinator). I was there 13 years and I know almost everybody in the town. I had good recommendations on him, retained him and he's done a great job for us."
What do you like about him as a defensive coordinator?
"He's good to the kids. I like that. He's multiple but not too multiple. He's open to new ideas. We really got involved in the tackling and the leverage component, and that's probably where I've had any type of influence on what he was doing. And then I just let him roll with it. He and his staff, he's got a great working relationship with Peoples and Mike Mutz and he knew Hampton well. They all work really well together."
You seemed to have a pretty good option plan for Navy, and your personnel seems well suited to stop the option. How will that help against Army?
"Jack went against this particular option for three years, and he knows some things that are good and bad. There are some things we really liked that we did at Navy and there are some things that maybe weren't quite what we wanted, but every week is different."
How did Chase Kuerschen grade out in his first start?
"Not bad. For a true freshman, he's got a lot of poise. He plays hard, and that was a game that the safeties got exposed. They (Oklahoma) got up to the second and third level a lot more than other games. Sometimes if you're just assignment sound and you're playing safety you can have a good game because there's not a whole lot of action back there. There was a lot of action in this game. He missed a few but he also made quite a few. For going against a top-notch team, it was a great learning experience and he did a good job."
Has Corey Dublin been your most consistent lineman?
"Right up there. I would say Junior Diaz and John Leglue played well, too. Corey's definitely doing an excellent job for a true freshman."
Cameron Sample just turned 18 today. What do you like about him?
"He's a stud. He's a good player. He's a highly intelligent kid. He's assignment sound and he is easy to coach and he's competitive. He just kind of gets better every day. He's going to be a big-time player for us."
You have a couple other freshmen contributing on defense in Patrick Johnson and Tirise Barge, Stephon Huderson playing at running back and Khalil McClain getting some series at quarterback against Oklahoma. Are you impressed overall with the freshmen?
"Yeah, we signed a really good freshman class. These guys were all going to have a chance to play for us. Some of them are starting or are going to be starting this year, some of them for sure next year and the year after. It's really helped with our depth having quality players."
"I thought it was a little more crisp. On Mondays you get out and you squat heavy and then you try to get out on Tuesday and practice and sometimes it's pulling teeth. We had a good workout. It was better today and it will be even better tomorrow. There were new things we put in for the offense, defense and kicking game and we got a little better grasp of it the second day than the first."
Can you go over the Jack Curtis story one more time? It's so unusual for a new coach to retain a defensive coordinator he inherits, particularly when he's never been on the same staff before.
"Doug Ruse and Jack had coached together for years and years and years and Kevin Peoples had coached for me for a long time. When they knew I was getting the Georgia Southern job, they recommended Jack. Coach Monken was moving in a different direction going to Army. I watched tape, visited with Jack, liked what I heard and saw and retained him. Plus, he had come in the year after I left Central Missouri (for a one-year stint as defensive coordinator). I was there 13 years and I know almost everybody in the town. I had good recommendations on him, retained him and he's done a great job for us."
What do you like about him as a defensive coordinator?
"He's good to the kids. I like that. He's multiple but not too multiple. He's open to new ideas. We really got involved in the tackling and the leverage component, and that's probably where I've had any type of influence on what he was doing. And then I just let him roll with it. He and his staff, he's got a great working relationship with Peoples and Mike Mutz and he knew Hampton well. They all work really well together."
You seemed to have a pretty good option plan for Navy, and your personnel seems well suited to stop the option. How will that help against Army?
"Jack went against this particular option for three years, and he knows some things that are good and bad. There are some things we really liked that we did at Navy and there are some things that maybe weren't quite what we wanted, but every week is different."
How did Chase Kuerschen grade out in his first start?
"Not bad. For a true freshman, he's got a lot of poise. He plays hard, and that was a game that the safeties got exposed. They (Oklahoma) got up to the second and third level a lot more than other games. Sometimes if you're just assignment sound and you're playing safety you can have a good game because there's not a whole lot of action back there. There was a lot of action in this game. He missed a few but he also made quite a few. For going against a top-notch team, it was a great learning experience and he did a good job."
Has Corey Dublin been your most consistent lineman?
"Right up there. I would say Junior Diaz and John Leglue played well, too. Corey's definitely doing an excellent job for a true freshman."
Cameron Sample just turned 18 today. What do you like about him?
"He's a stud. He's a good player. He's a highly intelligent kid. He's assignment sound and he is easy to coach and he's competitive. He just kind of gets better every day. He's going to be a big-time player for us."
You have a couple other freshmen contributing on defense in Patrick Johnson and Tirise Barge, Stephon Huderson playing at running back and Khalil McClain getting some series at quarterback against Oklahoma. Are you impressed overall with the freshmen?
"Yeah, we signed a really good freshman class. These guys were all going to have a chance to play for us. Some of them are starting or are going to be starting this year, some of them for sure next year and the year after. It's really helped with our depth having quality players."
