Mizzou Football Media Day Quotes - Sept. 15
9/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 15, 2014
HEAD COACH, Gary Pinkel
Opening statement...
"Indiana had a real battle with Bowling Green last week and certainly offensively they put on a show back-and-forth. They are a very potent offensive football team and have one of the best running backs in the country. I believe he's the highest ranked yardage producer in the country right now. He's a great player. They're a good football team. We played them a year ago and we got them at `The Zou' and we're excited about the opportunity. We want to keep improving as a football team. I believe we're better now than we were two weeks ago. Our schedule gets tougher and tougher and it's important we get it done."
On Michael Scherer's play so far this season...
"Michael's getting better. He's improving and every start you learn things. He's no different than anyone else. If you're a linebacker and good up front then that really helps you be a better linebacker. There's no question about it. Sean Weatherspoon would tell you the same thing. I think it starts up front. He's learning and very athletic. He's physical and competitive and we expect him to get better as we go along."
On Josh Augusta's interception last week vs. Central Florida...
"It was a real athletic play. He went up and got the ball at the highest point, and that's what we teach in interception drills for safeties, corners and linebackers. That was a momentum play that changed the whole game. Those momentums are huge in football, and that was a huge huge football play."
On Augusta's growth and transformation since his arrival at Mizzou...
"I think he's getting coached up more and more. The more you play the better you get. You get more confidence and you make more plays. I think it's a combination of all those things. He has changed his body tremendously since he's been here with the help of Pat Ivey and his program. He's a big athletic guy that can run and he's a great kid. Right now, he probably has the most confidence he's ever had since he's been here."
On the high standards of Mizzou's defensive line play...
"First, you got to give a lot of compliments to defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski. The consistency of how the defensive line plays and what we have going now helps us recruit because of the success we've had there. I think that's where it starts. He's a tremendous coach. I also think it's selecting kids who have size and speed potential and then develop them. It's a combination of all those things."
On Jimmie Hunt's production and improvement at the wide receiver position...
"He's a very good athlete. I think he's on the field a lot more now. He had injuries here and there a year ago, but he has more confidence on the field now. In all three games so far he has played really well. It really doesn't surprise me. He's a real talented guy. Darius White and Bud Sasser also played a lot last year, but now they're playing at a different level. I think they can get a lot better too. He's really running his routes well, and it's just nice to see him deliver."
On Hunt and Maty Mauk staying in-sync during the game...
"There's kind of scramble rules. If you scramble then all the receivers go to certain levels. You try to find open space. It's sort of a designed and un-designed type of play. There's some `method to the madness' there. I think Maty is just good at that. He's good at throwing on the run. I think those guys get open, because they know he'll find them. We have the opportunity for a lot of big plays. There's quarterbacks who become great quarterbacks, because they can extend plays and do things with their feet. I think Maty is doing some of those things."
On Mauk continually extending plays at quarterback...
"Maty's feet and the ability to extend plays is just the way he is. He just gets out of there. Sometimes I wish he stayed in the pocket a bit more, but you don't want to try to change him. Coach Andy Hill doesn't talk to him like that. He has a good feel and he's good when he gets in space. He can get a lot better than this. He's got huge upside and that's good. He'll get better and better with the more experience he gets."
On Connor McGovern and Mitch Morse's transition to their new offensive line positions...
"I think they've done a good job. They're playing well. I think the whole offensive line needs to improve and get better. We just need to keep working together with those five guys' communication. They do things now with guys going all over the place (on defense) and there's calls you got to have on those people. The continuity of those five guys has to be together. I'm pleased with the offensive line, but we have to get better. Our whole football team has to get better."
On working with Mauk's scrambling abilities…
“We really just have to get open. We make sure we are separating ourselves from the defensive backs so we can give him a little bit of space to throw the ball.”
On being ready for when the play breaks down…
“That's what we really like about Maty as receivers. If something seems to break down, don't give up on your route. Just make sure to keep running around and trying to get open.
On Jimmie Hunt's connection when Maty scrambles…
“I'm really jealous about that. He always seems to find the end zone with Maty on those scramble drills, so that's kind of something we worked on all summer.”
On Josh Augusta's interception…
“I didn't see the ball move after it hit his hands, so I think he has some pretty good hands.”
On being worried Augusta might take some reps from Sasser…
“No, I'm not. (laughs.) But that would be pretty cool if I could see him catch a ball somewhere.”
On Josh Augusta's interception…
“We were like, 'Josh, did you even get off the ground?' He's like, 'man, I jumped before the ball even hit my hands.'”
On preparing for Indiana…
“Obviously we played them last year, and we had a pretty hard time with them. They're much improved from last year, and it's going to be a challenge to slow them down.”
On what he remembers from last year's game with Indiana…
“They were a physical team, they got the ball out fast and they ran the ball downhill.”
On his production so far…
“I'm probably playing at 60 percent of what I should be. I have a lot to work on read-wise, getting the ball out. That's exciting for me because we're winning right now and we're not nearly playing at the level we're capable of. But that's a good thing and we know what we have to work on and we're going to take that challenge on.”
On what he's done well up to this point…
“Just getting out and making something happen. If something's not there, for example, Jimmie's two touchdowns were when I scrambled out. The throw wasn't originally there and that's where I used my ability to get out with my feet and make something happen. Then those guys do a great job of finding that open area for us.”
On knowing he has Markus Golden on the other side…
“I know for a fact that Markus is going to put everything on the line. He's going to sacrifice his body if he has to. He's going to be one of those guys that will stop a play if they run to his side. He expects the same thing of me, so we feed off of that and we want the team to build on that throughout the season.”
On reflecting on his early success…
“When I talk to my mom, she kind of brings it up to me sometimes, but I really don't want to focus on that just because I'm all about focusing on the process. I do have goals for myself and I just want the team to get better every day. That's really what I'm doing, just focusing on the now. At the end of the year, when the season's over, maybe then I'll check out the stats, but until then, it's about preparing for this team we have next week.”
On pass rush moves he worked on in the offseason…
“I really worked on the technique aspect of pass rushing. Hand fighting, turning your hips, using your speed, counters and things like that. I feel like I want to be an all-around better player. I wanted to be good at not just doing one move, I wanted to be great at doing all moves. I worked really hard and want to continue to try and perfect things.”
