University of Massachusets Athletics
Kevin Morris' Weekly CAA Teleconference
November 02, 2009 | Football
Nov. 2, 2009
AMHERST, Mass. - The Colonial Athletic Association held its weekly football on Monday and UMass head coach Kevin Morris touched on a variety of topics in his portion of the teleconference. He answered questions on the Minutemen's 19-9 loss to Maine, his quarterbacks, the impressive play of Tyler Holmes, what he expects from Northeastern, and more.
Coach Morris' complete transcript is below.
On the 19-9 loss to Maine:
Well the week before we went down to Richmond, then we go all the way to Maine and play up there and we came out with the same result. We turned the ball over and ended up losing the ballgame. So, it was really a disappointing loss. We thought we played well in the some phases of the game in both those games, especially Maine. We thought we had a good chance to win the ballgame and again the turnovers took us out of any opportunity to win that game.
On the quarterback situation:
Kyle Havens will be our starting quarterback and we have to continue to get better at that position.
On if the turnovers are a fundamental problem or players trying to do too much:
I think it's a combination of both. You can get into a rut and I think we're in that rut right now. There are forced turnovers and unforced turnovers. We had some unforced turnovers at Richmond and those are the ones that really sit on you. They are still seeping into our minds and we're trying to get rid of that. But like I said, we go all the way down to Richmond then up to Maine and the formula doesn't change in the CAA, if you turn the ball over you're going to have a really hard time winning that football game. We were in the game, it was 13-7 late in the game up at Maine and we had every opportunity to take that game over and win it, but the turnovers are still there for us and if we continue with that we're not going to be successful. So we really have to work on it and get a positive mental outlook and just go out and play UMass football and we'll be fine.
On the play of Tyker Holmes (16 tackles, interception):
Tyler's playing great football and he's establishing himself as one of the better linebackers in the league overall, not to mention he's doing a great job for us at UMass. As a sophomore, really like a redshirt freshman because he only played a couple games for us last year and he stepped in late due to some injuries and did a great job for us as a true freshman. He's really taken on the full load for us at the Mike linebacker and he's really excelled. He plays the ball great in the air. He made a spectacular interception down the middle of the field the other night at Maine and he's playing the ball really well up front in the box also. We're very excited about Tyler and defensively we're putting our guys at risk with the turnovers and the field position situations and they're trying to keep us in the ball game and if we take care of the ball I think we're in those games.
On the missed field goal attempts:
Yeah, Armando's still our guy. He's really having a great year for us. That's the thing, we drove the length of the field to open the game up and to take the lead early, got it down in tight and threw a ball in the end zone, could've been a call but it wasn't. So we go for the field goal, a chip shot for him. I'm not even looking. Obviously I'm looking, but that balls through in my mind. The ball ends up going wide right and very uncharacteristic of Armando to miss that chippy there. The 54-yarder was more a testament to Armando. There was a strong stiff breeze, we were with the wind and he thought he could get it up and have a shot at it. He got it up and it just went a little bit right and a bit short, so I think that shows where Armando's at in our minds. He's the kind of guy we want to put out there in big time situations, even if it is a 54-yarder with a strong breeze he's got a shot at that kick and we'll do it again.
On Tony Nelson coming back to get 10 carries:
Yes, he's coming back. He actually played more that we thought he might. We thought he was really going to be ready to go but just not there yet. Then Jon Hernandez got banged up a little bit so Tony got a bunch of reps in the second half which is good because we're getting him back in the groove. We're hoping he's 100 percent for Saturday, and I think Jon Hernandez will be back also, but we really want to get those guys rockin' and rollin' to balance out what we do on offense at UMass.
On what he sees from Northeastern:
Record-wise they are 1-7 and you would say that's a 1-7 team but they're playing hard and playing good football. They're in games and then letting up a couple big plays in run or pass, extending the score a little bit, and they're not finishing on offense on some drives, but they certainly have weapons on offense. Both quarterbacks have been playing, Caroll and Dulski, and both are solid guys. Dulski runs really well, so he's definitely a threat there. Their running threat with the Griffin kid, he's having a really strong year. He rushed for another 130 last week and he popped a couple big runs against Towson, I think 60 or 70-yarders, so he can take it the distance. There's certainly going to be a lot of preparation. Then with Lott on the outside, and the fast kid, Batts. The freshman's having a great year, but Lott's a really good player also. So they've got weapons. We have to play the solid defense we've been playing and see if we can get some more turnovers to help us offensively and get some momentum and flow in the game. On defense, they're going to throw a million different fronts at you. They're going to throw every blitz and mix you up. They're led by Kenney and Higgins at linebacker, really solid kids that play hard and fast. They also have Vega on the outside spot, he's a pass rush guy and can also drop in coverage but they like him around the ball. He's 6-5, 260, he's a beast, and he's been a great player at Northeastern for years now. Akinniyi is also a really physical guy on the inside and plays the edge well. On the back end, Jones, the safety, he's a real strong player, watching him running around. Catlin's done a good job filling in for Thellen now that he's been hurt. So, they're solid all the way around and they're going to mix it up. We certainly have a lot of respect for what Northeastern's going to bring to the table against us, but for us it's really about UMass and we've got to get our confidence going in practice and get the ball in the end zone early so we can fire up a good UMass football game.
On Richmond getting a vote in the Associated Press poll:
I would start my answer by saying I don't really know how the voting goes and who votes or not, but for them to get a vote it just shows that nationwide people are looking at this league and level of play and saying, "hey, this league gets some respect" and deservedly so with Richmond at the forefront. You know #1 in the nation as well as at the top of our conference. They look around and see how well Richmond plays and then they beat Duke and Duke is in ACC contention and playing competitively there. So Richmond's playing great football, we played them down there in the rain and they played Richmond football and we turned the ball over and they took advantage of all those opportunities as Richmond does and that's why they're #1. So, I'm excited they got the vote because its great recognition for Richmond, in particular, and for our level of football, particularly the CAA, and that's a great thing for us.