BATON ROUGE — LSU football head coach Les Miles gave his preview of the 2011 home opener on Monday, officially kicking off game week with his “Lunch with Les” Press Conference presented by Subway.
No. 2 LSU (1-0) faces Northwestern State (1-0) on Saturday in Tiger Stadium. The game will kickoff at 7:00 p.m. CT on the athletic department’s in-house pay-per-view TigerVision broadcast.
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LSU Head Coach Les Miles
Opening Statement…
“The weather the last couple of days has been nice and cool. Today feels like a nice autumn afternoon. The guys really enjoy practices these past couple of days. I really enjoyed the experience at the Cowboys Classic. Our fan base made it like a home game. It was another wonderful experience. The Jones family has created a wonderful environment, certainly one that the NFL enjoys playing in, but we do as well. I’d like to see us play a Dallas game there on an annual basis. I don’t know how that would work, but I think that would be fun for our fan base and fun for our team.”
“I thought we played well in all three phases. We talk about the need for all three phases to contribute significantly and I felt like they did that. To me, the defense put the first piece together in victory. They took a front to that very talented offense that Oregon runs and played it very well. They made it a point to be physical and to tackle the ball in bunches, and they did. That was the first piece we need to occur for victory. Offensively, I felt we did a nice job. We ran the ball well. There was a number of drops that could have added about 75 to 100 yards to our passing statistics. I thought the quarterback managed the situations well, minus a fumble that led to an Oregon field goal. I felt the offense did a wonderful job. Special Teams played well. We tell all three phases they need to contribute, and Tyrann Mathieu goes down there and strips a returner. That resulted in a touchdown. Oregon had a difficult time handling our punting game. We punted the ball with distance and gave a quality return man difficulty in returning balls. Drew Alleman gets two field goals in timely fashion. I felt like it was a group of guys that were focused on the task of hand. They put on the style of performance that they needed for success and victory.”
“I am ready to move on. It just counts one. My wife says that I wish it counted for more than one, but it doesn’t. Fourty-eight hours later and we have moved on. Northwestern St. Demons are very talented. I have a lot of respect for Bradley Del Peveto. He has them flying around and well organized. He has a confident scheme and they play solid football. I expect for them to give us their best shot. They changed quarterbacks. Brad Henderson came in and threw the ball 13 for 14. He also ran the ball well. They came from behind to beat Delta State. They have a very talented defender in Derek Rose. He is a very talented defender for that team and the Southland Conference. Our team is looking forward to being at home. Our teams need to improve all three phases. There are pieces that need work. We are going to need to make some changes to achieve victory against Northwestern St. We need to play 60 minutes of strong football, and then go from there.”
On celebrating the victory…
“Personally, I take the same minutes that the team takes to celebrate. I took a moment after the game to hug my 17-year old daughter and my wife and celebrate. I smiled and relaxed in the victory that we accomplished. On the ride back, I was really happy for my team. I felt like they had gone through a series of hurdles that they needed to go over to get onto the field and play. I thought that they did that extremely with. This accomplishment will bode well for their futures. There are times where all of us have to take things and put things into an order of priorities. I felt like they did a great job. I thought the defensive staff worked extremely hard to accomplish a very quality game plan against Oregon’s fast paced offense. Did I take some personal time? You bet. About 15 minutes in that stadium and a warm comfortable thought at home Sunday morning. Onto the next opponent and improving our team.”
On possibly playing Texas teams in the future…
“I think it would be a little premature. I would like to have someone else’s home game there (Cowboys Stadium) every year and still allow us to come to Tiger Stadium and play like we’re capable. I loved the facility. I think our fan base enjoys Dallas. It seemed to me to be a lot like a bowl environment. Our guys enjoy playing in those type of games. The logistics need to be worked out, and I don’t want to minimize the times I can go into Tiger Stadium, but I would love to do that. Houston would be a nice spot as well.”
On Bennie Logan…
“Bennie is a young man from this state that got onto the radar later in recruiting. He came in and was a ways a way from getting onto the field. He plays hard and pursues it with a passion. You can see the want to improve in his eyes. As we went through two a day camp, it was obvious with the way he prepared in the summer and in the spring, that he deserved snaps. I am excited about him. It is the right kind of guy that makes our team where we are supposed to be. Work hard, come to practice and improve, and than you get an opportunity to play. When you do get to play, than you play well.”
On special teams play…
“Brad Wing is a talented guy with a very powerful leg. He gets the ball off quickly. I think his future is well in front of him. Consistency is his issue. As long as he is consistent and does the things he needs to do, he will be a very talented punter for us. He also gives us a real quality holds on our field goals and extra points. He is developing. Drew Alleman had a real interesting game. In his first opportunity he misses an extra point. When you miss an extra point that is one of those things as a kicker that can unnerve you some. I went to him and asked him about it. I just knew he was going to shift gears and be ready to kick field goals. He comes in and kicks an important field goal late in that game. I think he will continue to be competitive, steady and just what we need there.”
On playing Northwestern St…
“I think it is too early in the year to feel like we have accomplished anything. There is a necessity to improve. I think our team understands that. We are going to Tiger Stadium for the first time this year. I don’t think there will be anyone not wanting to play extremely well, fast and competitive. We want to play our style of football. Do I anticipate overlooking our opponents. No, but I will point it out. We do need to improve. I think our team will want to play well.”
On Rueben Randle…
“We would have liked to have used him a little bit more. Some of the coverage that they played kind of crowded him at times. The running game was taking its toll. What happens is when you are sometimes in different situations in different games. We needed to control the ball on the ground and we did. We could have thrown it better in my opinion, but we did the things that we needed to do to win on offense. For us to call passes just to call passes would have been the prudent thing to do.”
On preparing for the short week before Mississippi State…
“The Sunday starts preparation for the next opponent and goes quickly from that point forward. I really don’t want to focus on the future schedule just yet. I don’t want our guys to read what is about to happen. I want them to read how they are preparing for Northwestern State. We have a tentative schedule all set up. We have some experiences with a short week and I think we’ll be ready.”
On Zach Mettenberger…
“Zach is preparing more now as he is getting second team snaps. His progress will come quickly. Whether or not he gets snaps this game or how much he is preparing to play, I am not ready to say yet. His preparation will increase without question.”
On the offensive line top performers…
“I felt like both tackles played extremely well. I thought T-Bob Hebert played very well. As a group we are getting the style of line play that we needed in that game. There were times where we didn’t necessarily block the right guy, but when we blocked the right guy we blocked them well.”
On Northwestern State never scoring against LSU…
“I have to be honest. I think the scoring of points has nothing to do with victory. It is more important that we seal victory and worry less about if they every score a point. Certainly our defense is going to take the line of scrimmage as best they can. The first goal is to win.”
On Deangelo Peterson…
“I expect that we will hit the wide receivers more effectively as we got forward. I think Deangelo is a very quality target and a guy we look forward to throwing to game after game.”
On the linebackers…
“There were times where they played very well. I think they were out of position a couple of times. By and by they were very physical. They did the things we needed them to do. They pursued the ball well. I liked the leadership that Ryan Baker gave us”
On Sam Montgomery…
“The enjoyment that I get from Sam is that he is a tendered spirit and he enjoys playing. My kids watched him pound the turf in Cowboys Stadium, and told me how much that scared them. The point is that he is a very emotional guy that plays with great passion.”
On the drops…
“The good news is that we haven’t had a lot of drops in camp and have improved there. We just need to continue with that trend.”
On the hurry up offense…
“Coach Studrawa did a great job changing the tempo and deciding the style of play that we needed to make our point there. It was really what we needed as a change of pace. It is not something we use every game, but we used it in this one. We enjoy the change of space. Not necessarily the fast tempo the whole time, but we like to throw a curveball now and them.”
On the speed of the defense…
“I watched them play in this game and felt like this team potentially has a very special defense. It is the kind of thing that everyone is doing their job and taking coaching extremely well. They are also a talented group of guys that have the want to make a statement. That statement is that the style of defense they play will have to be reckoned with. On Saturdays, teams are going to know who were are, the jerseys we wear and the kind of helmets that show up around the ball at the same time. I like the pride in their accomplishments and their want to play well.
On the passing game…
“We go into every game with the idea that there will be a nice mix and balance with passing and throwing. The ability to throw the football is something we have. We would like to show a little bit more in Tiger Stadium. The opportunity to be balanced and do the things we have always done are there, but we look forward to throwing. I think we’re tested every day in practice against a strong defensive secondary so there is that confidence that we can throw it.”
On the defensive tackles…
“A number of guys played big on the inside. Michael Brockers was named a defensive MVP. Basically, he pushes the pocket and makes very athletic plays. I’ve mentioned Bennie Logan, Anthony Johnson and Josh Downs among a number of guys that rotate through there and made a contribution. They pushed the pocket and gave the Oregon offensive line a difficult time.”
On the development of Tharold Simon…
“Tharold is that guy who is six foot five that people want to test. What they don’t realize is that he is unbelievably competitive and has great ball skills. He understands how to play out there with that big strong body and has surprising speed. With him and Morris Claiborne at corner, very much Patrick Peterson a year ago, we feel like we can line up against anyone’s top two receivers and compete.”
On running a 4-2-5 defense primarily…
“In some spread offenses where that personal matches up with wide rush, quarterback carry and simple one back runs, that group deserves to be on the field. As we go forward, you will see that we will need to involve another linebacker and maybe get a little bit of a thicker group.”
On James Stampley…
“Stampley was named an offensive MVP by the coaching staff. Let me tell you what Stampley accomplished in that game. He blocked five-technique, defensive tackles, defensive ends, both linebackers and both safeties. I know that he hit at least one corner. There may have been one other corner that he did not meet in that game. I can tell you post game Oregon was talking about a number of things, but they were talking about that little fullback that kept hitting them and hitting them. We’ve really enjoyed Stampley. He has been named captain for this upcoming game. He is a leader. He is exactly what college football is about. He is great student. He is a guy that walked on. He is tough, loves his school and is very loyal. He is exactly what we want here. I expect him to start a bunch.”
On the running backs…
“Michael Ford has really improved since he’s gotten here. The knock on Ford was whether he finished runs. That is not the case anymore. He is a downhill hard nose runner. He has perimeter speed. He is one of the mature lifters on our team. He is very strong and fast. He can make people miss also. He is developing into a full well rounded running back. I think Spencer Ware is a discriminating runner with great vision. He gets into small creases and drives for extra yards. His yards after contact are very good. I think there is a great mix there. I look forward to getting Alfred Blue in there to get more carries. I’m not ready to say Terrance Magee won’t step in there and make some contributions. As I say that, it is nice to have a freshness if Ware can take some toll on a defense and then you bring in some fresh legs to pound the line of scrimmage. There is a lot of advantages there.”
On Tyrann Mathieu…
“I just want you to know that his size is six-foot, six-three, hundred pounds and the strongest and fastest man on the field. When he looks in the mirror that is what he sees. There is not a play that he cannot make. He has a vision to make great plays. What happens when you run down there on a punt you can a vision of whether I need to be in my lane or be in position to make a tackle. Or you can have this vision: make the tackle, strip the ball and when the ball bounces up to me, I am going to score. It really is that mindset that Mathieu has. There is not a play that he is out of. That thought process is infectious. A lot of our guys are involving themselves more and believing they can make similar plays.
LSU FOOTBALL PLAYER QUOTES
Mentality on game day…
“It is really just us going out there and believing in the scheme, believing in what we practiced, believing we will succeed in the game and really executing the plays.”
Reactions after the Oregon game…
“Everyone is just pretty much congratulating us. Telling us that they have faith in us. It about us going out there and doing what we have to do for our team.”
On Northwestern State…
“They can definitely run the ball. They also have a running back that definitely has some speed. It is just about us believing in the game plan, going out there and playing our game.”
On playing at home for the first time this season…
“I know the Tiger fans are anxious, waiting for us to get back in Death Valley. We are just going to go out there and play good for them.”
National recognition…
“I think we have a target on our back now, like Oregon did coming into this game. It is just about us going out there and playing strong.”
Getting excited for Northwestern State…
“When you look at those guys on film they have some athletes like Oregon did. They have some speed receivers, and actually have two quarterbacks that can run the ball and throw the ball down field, so it is really the same mind set going into this game.”
QB Jarrett Lee
Looking back on the Oregon game…
“We won. Going into the game that is all that really mattered. It was a big win for us. Personally, I feel like I can play a lot better. There were some throws that I wish I had back. Overall we ran the ball well. Coaches did a great job game planning and calling plays. Overall, we won and we are happy with that.”
On being a team leader…
“I tried to be a little more vocal. That is something that I did not do in the past, something I have not really done a lot. I have been trying to do it recently, at practice and in the game.”
On playing Northwestern State …
“As we know at LSU you can not take teams for granted. You have to bring your “A” game because they can easily ruin your season. Northwestern State is a good football team. We have watched them on film and are very impressed with them. They have great speed and we are looking forward to the challenge. They are a great football team.”
Playing at home…
“Nothing is like Tiger Stadium. We are looking forward to having the first home game here in 2011. It is a great atmosphere not like any other in the country and we are really excited about this week.”
How LSU played Saturday…
“I saw a lot of speed on the field at one time. I saw a lot of people fighting to make plays, being excited, and up-tempo. I saw players that were hurt come back and show everyone that they are well, 100 percent, and ready to go this season.”
On the team’s speed…
“It was actually kind of scary to see the young lineman come into their first start, pushing the offensive line back, and holding the running back to a certain amount of yards. It is very exciting.”
On playing at home…
“They said last week was a home game, but it really did not feel like it. Since we were not really in Baton Rouge, we were not really at home. We are ready to get back in front of all of our fans and the student section so they can get us hyped. It is going to feel good to be back at home.”
RB Michael Ford
On the offense…
“Looking at the Oregon game, the offensive line did everything. Wide receivers blocked and our running backs could not have done it without them, but we cannot look at Oregon anymore. Our main focus is Northwestern State.”
Focusing on Northwestern State…
“We can not look forward to anyone. We cannot take these guys lightly. We are going to have to go out there with a championship mentality and play them like we would play anyone else.”
Playing at home…
“Our home crowd is amazing. Coming home to play a game is always amazing. It just brings the atmosphere so much higher.”
On Jarrett Lee…
“Jarrett Lee had to get ready very fast and I say he did a great job. He came out there, led the team and did what he was suppose to do.”