LOCKER ROOM REPORT: Marshall's Doc Holliday and Players
Marshall head coach Doc Holliday and several players met with the media after NC State's 37-20 win over Marshall.
Head Coach Doc Holliday
Opening Statement...
Obviously we didn’t play well enough to win that football game. I think that is an excellent football team we just played, but we just made too many mistakes and had a couple of turnovers that we do not usually have. They did a good job at converting third down and we did not very well. Conference play begins next week and we have to get back and get ready to play Western Kentucky.
On Finley shutting Marshall’s momentum down...
Fortunately, those guys made some great catches too. That is what good teams do when they have good receivers and a quarterback that is a fifth or sixth year. He is an excellent player. I told you guys going into the press conference that he makes all of his throws and he did tonight.
Their receivers came up big and made some tremendous plays on third down. Our guys were all over them at times and they still made some plays. They were able to convert third downs. I felt we didn’t convert them well enough. I thought that there in the second half when we got that kickoff fumble and returned it for a touchdown, that momentum kind of went our way for a little bit. However, they went and scored that next drive. We just have to get better as a team overall and in all three phases. We have to get ready to go play Western.
On losing momentum...
Like I said, [Ryan Finley] is just a good player. We knew going in that he was going to make his plays. We just had to make plays at some point and we made a few of them but we just didn’t make enough of them. He has those receivers to look out to that look like basketball players. They are all 6-3 and 6-4. They had length and he was able to throw some tremendous balls in there and make some great plays. We just didn’t make enough of them.
On being only one possession behind...
We had it at a one possession game there in the second half, which was huge. I thought he stepped out of bounds on that return but obviously the replay official did not think that. We will take a look at it tomorrow and see but I felt that that kid stepped out of bounds.
On Isaiah...
He is a freshman. You are going to go through some growing pains with freshmen unfortunately. I felt like he hung in there. He is a competitor. I am sure there were a couple of those deals that he would like to have back and so would we. But he made some plays too. He made some throws and did some things. He will get better every week. He has to get better this week going into Western Kentucky.
On the 4th and 2 turnovers...
It was a read. He had the ball there and the guy on the edge there put the ball on the ground and got it. I am not sure he would have gotten it anyway to be honest but I think the linebacker scraped on the outside of that and he put the ball on the ground there.
On inability to run the ball...
Anytime you become one dimensional it is hard. Again that is probably a top two or three team in the ACC. They are a good football team. That being said, we are disappointed because we wanted to win that game. We thought we were going in there and winning that game and we didn’t get it done. They are a good team, give them credit, and we have to do better.
On Marshall’s biggest issue with the running game...
We have to get better at blocking them. We had some pretty good people up front there as well that needed to get blocked but other teams have good people too. We just have to get better up front and do a better job with our backs as well. They had a couple pretty good runs there but not near enough of them.
On Conference play...
Every week you are in conference play. Like I told those guys in the locker room, you are going to look up at the end of the year and there may only be one undefeated team, maybe not any. Seems like everyone loses a game here and there. Somebody gets beat every week that shouldn’t. You just have to go play every week. End of the day if you don’t go play you are going to get beat. That being said, you have to get prepared and get ready to go play.
On Marshall’s practice schedule...
Yes, a normal week. I thought last week having a couple days off helped us. We got some guys back that probably wouldn’t have played in the South Carolina game. Now we have a normal week and we have to get back to work early tomorrow morning.
Freshman Quarterback Isaiah Green
On facing an early deficit...
It’s kind of frustrating, but it doesn’t really get to us that much. We have to play the hand we’re dealt and try to overcome adversity when it comes.
On playing as a one-dimensional offense…
It would be nice to get the run game going, but we’re going to fix it. When it gets going, we’re going to be a high-powered offense and we’re going to be very tough to stop.
On standing tall in the pocket…
I’m going to stand in there and try to make every play I can for this team.
On playing against Ryan Finley…
It’s always fun to watch another experienced quarterback like that. Some people say he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the nation right now, so having a chance to be out there on the field at the same time as him is a good experience. You get to watch another experienced quarterback go through his reads and his progressions, so it was a good experience for me.
On trusting his talent…
I’m a firm believer in my talents and what I can do on the field. I put all the faith I have in myself and I put it all on the line every game, no matter who we play.
On the extra week of preparation…
I don’t think it gave either team an advantage because their game got canceled, too. They had a couple of extra days to prepare as well, so I don’t really think that played much of a factor into the game.
On teams taking away Tyre Brady…
A lot of teams are going to try to take Tyre out of the equation. Knowing what Tyre did to NC State last year, I think they put a lot of emphasis on that. They were all over him tonight with two or three guys sometimes. I expect other teams to do it, but not as hard as they were on him tonight.
On his 82-yard touchdown pass to Marcel Williams…
I just saw the safety roll into the middle of the field. He didn’t get depth, though, he just rolled sideways. The guy on Marcel was playing outside coverage and I knew I had that post. As soon as he stuck it, I just let it go. He went and got it and took it to the end zone.
Sophomore Linebacker Jaquan Yulee
On his hit that forced a fumble which was returned for a Marshall touchdown…
I got our team together and told them, “We need a big turnover and we need something that will change the game.” I was the lucky guy that made the play. We had been practicing different techniques and when the guy who was supposed to block me came head-up, I just threw him out of the way. When I saw Artis (Johnson) pick up the ball, I said “Nobody’s going to catch him,” so I just started celebrating.
On NC State quarterback Ryan Finley…
He’s one of the best quarterbacks that I have faced since I’ve been here. He really makes the right decisions at the right times. He sees the whole field and plays smart.
Junior Offensive Lineman Levi Brown
On addressing the run game issues…
We need to be a little bit more consistent in what we do. It’s nothing major. Just a bunch of minor things that add up and a really well-coached defense like that is going to capitalize on opportunities like that.
On preparing for Western Kentucky…
We come up with a different saying every year. Our saying right now is “One team, one dream, all in.” Every opportunity we have to achieve our dream of winning a conference championship is still ahead of us. We’re looking forward to going up against a good Western Kentucky team. It’s always a big game between us and them.
Senior Tailback Keion Davis
On Isaiah Green…
He’s built different. Just because he wasn’t having his way tonight doesn’t mean bad things are going to continue to happen. He’ll fix them and move forward.
On making plays as a receiver out of the backfield…
It’s always been there. The running backs are the last option. That’s how I look at it. I was there when my number was called.
On preparing for Western Kentucky…
Time to lock in. I’ve been here four years and we’ve only beaten Western Kentucky one time. It’s a hard team to play. They’re well-coached. I just have to take the same approach I did against NC State and go against Western Kentucky.