Oct. 21, 2008

Weekly Football Press Conference Quotes - Oct. 21 Kill, Harnish and Griffin discuss the upcoming Bowling Green State game

DEKALB, Ill.-Northern Illinois head football coach Jerry Kill spoke at Tuesday's weekly press conference at the Jeffrey and Kimberly Yordon Center to review last week's win over Toledo and preview Saturday's match up with Bowling Green State. Joining Kill were quarterback Chandler Harnish (Bluffton, Ind./Norwell) and linebacker T.J. Griffin (Carol Stream, Ill./, Wheaton North) Below are excerpts from the press conference.

NIU Head Coach Jerry Kill

On last week's efforts against Toledo

"I think we did a good job in executing in the game, especially the first three series offensively. We didn't turn over the football. We had the ball 11 minutes in the first quarter. We did all the things that you need to do to beat a team like Toledo. We were able to survive some injuries on defense, and we were still able to play some good defense. It was a good team effort. It was the type of effort that we are going to need from here on out. We are in conference play and every week is going to be a challenge and you have got to win at home."

On the preparation of the team from week to week, has anything changed

"I think we have been pretty consistent on our approach from week to week. We haven't coached our kids any different from when we were preparing them for Minnesota. Once we win a game we always get together on Sunday and watch the video and get that game over with. It's done. We are now talking about Bowling Green. I always say, bury the last game on Sunday. Win, lose, or draw, you have got to go to the next one. That's kind of what we have done and to this point in time, I think it has worked. You always worry about 19-, 20-, 21-year olds on when they're going to lose their concentration. It's a concern. It certainly is. That's my concern every week. Are my kids going to continue to prepare and stay focused like they have? I thought we slipped and lost some focus and preparation against Miami (OH), but I think we had prepared for Toledo just as well as we did for Tennessee. Hopefully we can continue the same type of focus that we had last week."

"I don't talk about it, and we won't talk about it now. I just have never paid attention to that stuff. When I was at Southern Illinois we would never talk about the playoffs. Before the season you set your goals and you say `this is what we want to do' and our kids were aware of the goals that we set at the beginning of the season, but I say to get to those goals you got to listen and learn and get better everyday. We don't talk about that. We know where they are at, but we got to do the little goals. That is kind of how we approach that. Sitting around talking about it doesn't do you any good. It gets you beat when you talk about what is down the road. I know it's a coaching cliché but you've got to take one week at a time. Every week that's why they call them upsets, because teams start to get worried about that kind of stuff. The kids are going to read that, but our job as coaches is we need to concentrate on getting better. Like I told the kids, right now they are listening to us. That's a good thing. As long as they continue to do that, it doesn't guarantee success, but we'll have a chance."

On Bowling Green State

"Bowling Green is athletic. That is the first thing that comes to the picture. I think their kicking game. They've got good returners. They've got some skill, skill that we haven't seen. They are very open on offense. They have a lot of talented personnel. They can make your life difficult on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, very similar, scheme-wise, to what we have been seeing. The thing that we haven't seen is that they have some skill players that can do some damage. We will have to be prepared. I have been talking to our defensive coaches and that is something that we have to be prepared for. We have to get involved up font and not give up the big plays. They are a more open offense. They do some things similar to what we do. They are familiar with us in some ways they we are familiar with them."

On anything changing from week to week as a coaching staff

"Not really. I don't really approach it much differently. I really believe if the kids see you act consistent, win or lose, they [the players] stay consistent. If they see you get way up for a game that you are going to play and then the next week you kind of come down, then they are going to come down. So, we were just as excited about playing Miami as a coaching staff as we were against playing Tennessee and we worked just as hard. We didn't get the same result. I think if the kids see you up and down, you play up and down. If we don't win, it's my fault. I firmly believe that. If I am consistent as a person and as a coach no matter what we are doing, the kids don't get all tied up in knots, they don't get all nervous and they play the way they have played all year. If you really go back and look at our team when we played Minnesota, and you watch us now, I think we've been pretty well prepared and our kids have been focused for a majority of the time during the game, even though we have lost some of the games. I think our improvement is just experience on the field."

On Alex Kube being named MAC West defensive player of the week

"He played well. Jake Coffman played very well. Alex did a good job, got a fumble recovery, forced one, and had a sack. He's a good player. He has learned to play linebacker, he has learned to adjust to having 20 more pounds on his body. He's a football player. He's a kid that likes to play the game. He enjoys it and has a passion for it. Fun guy to coach, he really is."

Chandler Harnish, Quarterback

On getting back on the field

"It felt great to get back into the game again. I am really proud of the way our team played offensively and defensively. I thought that we just played a really complete game, and you can't ask any more out of the guys. It was just a great all around effort."

On what he is doing to try to improve

"Just a lot of the little things. A lot of effort type plays. Just setting up after you hand the ball off to show play action and to show a good fake. Just the little things like sprinting out and putting the ball in the right place when you throw it to make it easier on our backs and receivers so they can have a good angle to beat a guy and have a big play."

On what the team is doing this week to get prepared for BGSU

"We're just working on little things as well. Being more consistent and putting together big long drives like we did the first half of the season, just getting more composure and having more confidence. I think if we do that, as a team, I really think the sky is the limit."

On where the team is at right now in the MAC

"I am not surprised at all. I think we have a lot of good things ahead. But I don't think we should focus on the future at all. We are just focusing on the most important game, which is the next one. Keep focusing on beating the team that is coming up the next week and we will be able to put ourselves in a good position by the end of the season. We just look at Bowling Green as a good opponent and we are going to give them everything we have."

T.J. Griffin, Linebacker

On the offense giving the defense a cushion in the game with early scores

"It's great. It's really inspiring to watch the offense go out there and compete. It just makes us want to go out there and get a quick a quick stop and let them [the offense] go out there and do their thing again."

On the play of Larry English and how it affects the defense

"He leads by example. He makes a lot of things easier on the defense overall just with his experience. When teams go out there and target him, it may open up some things for some other players. Overall, it is everything back to the basics."

On how the defense is preparing for Bowling Green

"We want to get back to the basics, back to the fundamentals within our team. Bowling Green does a lot of different things. They get spread out on offense. They have got some good players. We just want to go out and have a good week of practice to really be fully prepared for them."

On where the team is at right now in the MAC

"Just like Chandler said, Bowling Green is the most important game because it is the next one. It's not really a good thing to look back or forward into the season. It is a good time to focus on right now. That's all we are doing."