The Football Brainiacs

Coach Bob Stoops

– Talked about how Trevor is just quicker and more comfortable running the zone read

– Not going to comment on the QB situation this soon after the game; they’ll look at the tape and do what’s best for the team

– Excited to see the seniors making big plays today on their last home game

– Avoided the question about the Coach Switzer comment on ISU. But praised Coach Switzer a lot and just talked about how fortunate they are that he still spends time around the program. Coach Stoops had a lot of nice things to say about Coach Switzer and they seemed very authentic. Coach Stoops isn’t the type of guy to lay the compliments on thick if they aren’t sincere. “One of the great coaches in all of college football”

– Asked about how effective the zone read would be against better teams and he said that it depends a lot on execution but the fact that people have to deal with a legitimate zone read threat is big.

– Said if they can continue to perform like they did today then they’ll at least have a chance to finish out the year strong.

– Said it was good to get Kendal Thompson in there. Said its something they’ve been wanting to do.

– Said that Trevor has been a positive guy this whole time. Said he’s been working hard throughout the process and said that he’s more mature now and more ready for the opportunity.

– Talked about how a big reason they didn’t change the QB before today was because they were trying to maintain some continuity. And even when they’d consider it Blake would end up having a better game like the Texas Tech game. So the ups and the downs really made it difficult for them to assess things. Sounds like it was one of those situations where they’d think things are going south and consider it and then things would go well. Then they’d think things are going well and things would go south. And because it was so late in the year it added to the uncertainty of what the right decision was.

Coach Mike Stoops

– In the second half, we played and executed better and we’re able to see things better. The first half was really uncomfortable but as the game went on our positioning on the football and the pressure on the QB got better.

– From a defensive perspective when the offense is playing better it loosens the play calling up and allows the defense to be more aggressive.

–  On the youth:”We were without a lot of good players”…Charles Tapper in the first half, Aaron Colvin, etc. “Playing a lot of freshman…that’s what happens when you play young players…it’s the inexperience and not having the recognition on plays  that make it a little harder, and then we start to see them (the plays) once, twice and they start reacting better to the plays. So your reactions aren’t going to be what they are of a 5th year senior…those are all freshmen…it just takes time…they gained a lot of experience.”

– Aaron Colvin should be back next week.

– Said they had little depth at LB and had to keep those guys in there the whole time because Jordan is still out

– They knew it would be a rough start because of all the inexperience (on defense)

Trevor Knight

– Said that he knew that he always had to be ready to come in. They hate to see Blake go down the way he did but you’ve got to be ready.

– Asked if he was calm early on compared to earlier in the year “yeah definitely…” said every time you go in there you get more comfortable. Said he still pressed a little bit but “overall a lot more comfortable”

– Said that the growth is about confidence…and preparation…”you don’t get nervous when you’re prepared”.

– Talked about how he wanted to go out there and have fun like he did when he was a little kid. “When you’re making big plays you’re having fun but you’re making those big plays because you’re having fun”

– Said he went in “because Blake had to come out”. But when you’re called on you have to be ready and go in there and make plays

– Talked about the throws he missed…said that he has to hit those shots…regardless of the win you have to make plays.

– Said that the package set where he would go in and out isn’t the same as being in there full time because it takes time to get a rhythm going.

– In terms of how he prepares says “you’ve got to keep being the same guy everyday”. Have to say Trevor is just very confident. Just has a very decisive demeanor on and off the field.

– Said he felt that quite a few of the plays were actually read games and not just design runs and he said he felt like he did pretty well in making the right reads…at least for the most part. This comment makes you wonder how many of those plays the coaches were saying we’re reads earlier in the season we’re actually just designed runs.

Coach Heupel

– Said the backs were able to find the seems between the fits and they were making guys miss and it led to them getting some explosive plays

– Said that Trevor did a great job when he came in of making plays and taking care of the football. Said he and Kendal have definitely grown and continue to get better.

– Said that things have slowed down in the run game and the pass game for Trevor. Earlier in the season he was definitely more rushed but said he felt like now things are slowing down in all aspects of the game.

– Said he is better now than he was when he started earlier in the season.

– Said that the offensive line has continue to grow and have a more “physical mentality and presence”. Sidenote: again, just obvious that being more physical up front has been an emphasis since Coach Bedenbaugh has gotten here and hopefully bodes well for the future…getting away from the so much of the “dancing bear” and trying to be  a little more mauler/smash mouth.

– Down the stretch we’re going to need to be really efficient in the run game

– The plan before the game was to get Trevor in a little bit here and there today (interesting because Coach Stoops made it sound like that was a Baylor thing but clearly not)

– Said that they’ve always been productive with the zone read with Trevor even back in September but they just weren’t taking care of the ball and weren’t making enough plays in the pass game (more I hear Josh talk the more it sounds like Trevor might take Bells job regardless of the injury – just speculating though)

– Emphasized that Trevor’s issues early on were a result of him being young (again defending Trevor’s mistakes earlier in the season). Also went out of his way to compliment Kendal multiple times (to me it just sounded like Josh really liked what he saw from both young QBs)

– When asked if there would be a QB competition for the starting position next week , assuming Blake Bell is ok, he said “I don’t know we’ll look at Kansas State and whoever we feel gives us the best opportunity to win”