Sept. 5, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -
Head Coach Joe Tiller, along with defensive tackle Ryan Baker, cornerback Zach Logan, and quarterback Curtis Painter met with the media Tuesday at the team's weekly teleconference. Among the topics of discussion are a look back at the Indiana State game, a look ahead to the Miami (Ohio) match, and how to team is reacting to safety Torri Williams' season-ending leg injury.
Joe Tiller, head coach
On the injury to safety Torri Williams from the game against Indiana State ...
"He'll have surgery on Monday, September 11th. What they do is allow the injury to call down, to get the swelling out so they can effectively perform the surgery. I think next fall is the earliest he could come back. I want to assure him we're going to do whatever is right for Torri first and foremost. Secondly, we'll worry about the sport of football. But what I'm most concerned about, because of the severity of the injury, is that we do the right thing so that this guy can hopefully experience a complete recovery. That's going to require some decisions, regarding where he's at academically, physically, and mentally. Right now, nothing has been decided."
On the lack of depth in the secondary this season ...
"I think at different times you could say that about a different segment of your team. Number one, with 85 scholarships now, it's difficult to have a lot of depth at any one position. You could isolate in on one position and find that happening. I don't see that as being strange."
On preparing for Miami (Ohio) University ...
"We see an athletic team, a team with good movement overall. I like their quarterback, I think he's a very athletic guy who can create. They're going to run the option with him out of a spread, multiple offense. I think (Ryne) Robinson, number 2, is probably as good as we're going to see all year in the return game. I vividly recall when, as a sophomore against Michigan in Ann Arbor, he went plus-70 to the house on one punt return and plus-60 yards on another punt return in which they tackled him inside the five yard line. We may see a better returner this year, but I question whether we will. I think their receivers are guys that can get open and make plays. I like one of their safeties and one of their corners. I like their linebackers and their defensive front moves extremely well. They do a lot of slanting and angling and I think they're smart with what they do with them. They're on the move and they're tough to block because of that. I think this is a very good Mid American Conference team that's going to come in here. They've played a game and you always see a better team the second game than you see the first game.
On the Miami (Ohio) defense ...
"They play hard. I don't see any let up in them. They get after you, they like the physical part of the game and they play to their strengths. They're a little bit undersized, but they move them, which I think is playing to their strength because they do have good in-line quickness."
On freshman place-kicker Chris Summers ...
"Evaluating everything that happened during training camp, Chris was better at distance than anyone else in camp, but he wasn't the most consistent guy. It was unanimous among the staff that he was going to be our kicker eventually and my response was that we should get him as much experience as we can. His performance (against Indiana State) actually was very good. More impressive than his place kicks was the way he kicked off. He did kick one out of bounds, but he's working on directional kicking. I'm pleased with his first outing and I just look for him to continue to get better."
On the new NCAA rules regarding the game clock, intended to shorten games ...
"The new rule is shortening games and you're not going to get as many plays as you've gotten in the past. So the idea of having three running backs carrying the ball 15-20 times a game isn't going to happen because you're going to be hard pressed to get the typical 85 plays in a college game, which we've been seeing since the game was invented. Everybody needs to take note and scale back their thinking.
I think it's a horrible rule, personally. College football is a great game. It's never been more popular than it is today. You've got a chance to make a comeback in a late part of the game and now the clock can eliminate a lot of that for you. It can take an opportunity away from a team to make a comeback. And I think any rule that does that is not a good rule."
On evaluating the Indiana State game after watching the game film ...
"I think when you watch a tape, you always learn something that you don't know when you're coming off the field. You get an opportunity to go back, re-run it. You might not be as critical or you might be very critical. There are parts of the game I feel better about (after watching the film) and there are parts of the game that disappointed me. We looked slow as a team, we didn't play at a fast speed. We didn't do a tremendous amount of conditioning, but we're probably a little leg-weary."
On the new turf in Ross-Ade Stadium ...
"I liked it. I wish it'd given a little bit more when Torri (Williams) planted his foot. But it held up extremely well."
Ryan Baker, defensive lineman
On how the defense can improve following the first week ...
"A win is a win, but we have a lot to work on. On our defensive line, we need to get a little more pressure on the quarterback. Any game where you don't get a couple of sacks or get the quarterback on the ground, your defensive backs are going to have difficulty covering (receivers). When a quarterback's back there patting that ball, anybody can do that and throw touchdowns. But when the defensive line does not get there, you're not helping out your backs."
On assessing last week's game ...
"During the game, you're always thinking, 'Get there, get there, get there'. When you go back and look at the film, the film doesn't lie. You can watch every step you take and after watching the film, you realize how much work you need. When you're out there on the field, you're still in the emotion of it. Other people are making tackles, and it doesn't seem as bad. I'm not saying last week was bad, but it's not as good as we would like. Sometimes when you get into the games, you lose a little bit of technique and you need to be reminded. It's just a reminder that that technique needs to be emphasized."
On the Purdue offensive line as a unit ...
"I love those guys. We grind everyday. I go against Jordan Grimes a lot, and he's a big man. You have to move your feet against him. There's not much bull-rushing him, or he's going to put you in the ground. That's good for our defensive line, it makes you work on technique. Sometimes when you go against a little bit smaller guys, you don't use technique as much because you think you don't need it. But after you watch the film, you realize you do need it against the smaller guys as well as the bigger guys. Our offensive line is great, but they have a lot of work to do too. It's the first game. We have a lot of games and a lot of weeks to improve. I think Coach Tiller might emphasize that."
On how playing against the Purdue offensive line makes him better ...
"If you go against someone every day in practice who's better than the person you go against in a game, it's going to make you great. It builds your confidence. If I can go into a game knowing I go against Jordan Grimes every day, that builds confidence. I know I can take anybody, because I go against Jordan Grimes. I don't want to build Jordan Grimes up too much, but I think he's a great player."
On the positives he takes away from the game against Indiana State University ...
"It's the first game. You get the first game under your belt. I thought there were a lot of mistakes everywhere, on their team, on our team, even mistakes with the coaches, although I don't know what those mistakes would be. The first game, you're getting out the cobwebs, playing against other players. For two weeks, we were playing against the same men every day. To get a different look, you get the cobwebs out and get ready for the second game."
On Torri Williams' injury against Indiana State ...
"I try to refocus after every play, I just blocked it out. After the game, when you see a player in the training room, it's sad. He's worked so hard. That's when it hit me. The team came together to help him with his pads and helping him get into the shower, everything. That's when it hit me. I think everyone's refocused, we know that people need to step up when anybody gets injured, especially a player as great as he is."
On preparing for Miami (Ohio) ...
"First of all, we need to stop their running game. Indiana State ran on us, especially on third down. We can't let that happen, we have to stop their (Miami's) running game."
On the condition of the field at Ross-Ade Stadium ...
"We are spoiled rotten. Every time I go into the stadium, I'm amazed. We get to go to school for free, just to play football. We get to play on these facilities. In high school, I played on gravel basically, which builds character. But it's nice being out here. It's beautiful turf and I hope we can succeed on this field."
Zach Logan, defensive back
On how Torri Williams' injury affects the defensive backfield ...
"With Torri going down it affects the communication. For instance, the corners are going to have to make a lot more calls now because we have younger players back there. We'll try to make them feel more comfortable. But missing Torri is a big loss because he brought a lot of energy to the group. We're going to just maintain and take one step at a time."
On how he evaluates the secondary this year so far compared to last year ...
"Right now we need to keep working on our technique and breaking down our opponents. I feel like, as a whole unit, we have taken a big step from last year. We don't think about what people say, we just want to go out and make plays. The secondary this year has a motto: we want to become a fist, always stay together, tune everything out and play ball."
On his role as a leader in only his second full season ...
"Going into camp, I knew there were going to be a lot of newer guys, so I knew I would have to help them a bit. I just wanted to be there for them if they had any questions. Now, I'll just have to be more of a leader. I give them my number and tell them to contact me for anything. Going into the season, Torri and I knew we'd have to assume that role because we were the only guys who had played in actual games. We did a lot of preparation for that."
On Torri Williams and his current state of mind ...
"We're like brothers, basically. Torri is my roommate and he's taken things well. We try to lift his spirits, we have a lot of company over now, just keeping him comfortable and talking to him. He wants to be around people, he doesn't want to sit and be alone right now. Pretty much the whole secondary has come by to see how he's doing. A lot of other guys have too."
Curtis Painter, quarterback
On co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ed Zaunbrecher ...
"My first impression of him was that he wasn't a guy who would scream and yell at you for the most part. When you make a mistake, you know it, so he just kind of helps you through it and talks to you about it instead of screaming in your face. He's pretty calm in nature and I think that reflects on me, too. His knowledge of defenses has probably helped me out more than anything. And learning how to do little things to change the defense a little bit to make easier throws, be it with your eyes or a ball fake. He's also done a lot with my footwork, which has helped me out greatly."
On his performance against Indiana State ...
"I went out there and had first game jitters just like everybody else. I think that was evident in a few of my throws, I kind of got happy feet and I wasn't real balanced at times. It's reassuring that they (the coaching staff) still believe in you and still have confidence in you."
On tight end Dustin Keller's performance vs. Indiana State ...
"Dustin's a tremendous athlete and to have him at tight end where he can both block and make plays with his hands like he does, that's a big key for us. It's like a dual threat out there, we can run with him and we can throw and still get the same kind of results as we do with a receiver. It really helps us out. A lot of times he's mismatched with a linebacker and nine out of ten times he's going to be more athletic and be able to beat those linebackers. That's a big key for us."
On losing wide receiver Kyle Ingraham late in the week due to academic issues ...
"It is an adjustment. It's a guy you know a lot about, you're real comfortable with. So it's tough, but at the same time, I've gotten a lot of work with the other guys out there starting. So the adjustment was tough, but it made it a lot easier that I had some experience with the other guys as well. Dorien (Bryant) did well, Greg (Orton) did well, and Dustin (Keller) caught passes as well. I think as the season goes on, more guys are going to get incorporated into the offense. All of them have the ability to make plays and I'm sure we'll see that throughout the year."
