Coach Gill Meets with Media for Wednesday Session Following Practice
Nov. 16, 2011
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas head coach Turner Gill met with members of the media following the team’s practice in Anschutz Pavilion Wednesday afternoon. The team moved inside to simulate the temperatures they would be faced with in College Station, Texas this weekend.
Below is a transcript of Coach Gill’s interview:
Kansas Head Coach Turner Gill
On practicing inside Wednesday:
“It was a little bit because of the weather, but it was more because the temperatures are going to be in the upper 70’s in College Station. I thought going inside would help us with that a little bit; guys would get used to sweating like that. That was the main reason, just because it’s going to be a little bit warmer (for our game).”
On if they simulated noise at practice:
“We traditionally do that on Thursdays, so we’ll do that again tomorrow. We sort of do that every Thursday for away games, whether we think it’s going to be a loud stadium or not just because we have to get use to it. We have to have good communication (during the game). There’s probably some point during the game where it’s going to get pretty loud so you’re going to have to use hand signals and still be able to verbalize things.”
On the difference in Bradley McDougald’s play over the last three games:
“I think he’s more comfortable now, again playing faster because he’s seeing things a lot faster. The game has slowed down for him. You hear that phrase quite a bit when you have players making plays, and I think that’s what has occurred. He’s anticipating things going on and he’s in position to make that play now. That’s good for us. I think you can see the impact he’s had on this team, particularly the defensive side of the ball, when he’s creating turnovers. That’s huge. I think that’s a big difference in how the defense has played the last three games.”
On the notion that the defense feeds off of Bradley McDougald’s play:
“I think your safeties are involved in both the run game and the pass game, so I think that’s why they’re a key. Sometimes you blitz them, sometimes they cover one-on-one, sometimes they’re in a zone, so they’re very impactful on every team; linebackers too. So when we have Steven Johnson playing well, and Bradley playing well that energizes our whole team. When you create turnovers, it provides some energy. You can try to do all you can as a coach, but eventually you have to start making some plays and that gives your football team confidence and helps you make more plays.”
On if there’s a comparison between Darrian Miller and Texas A&M’s Cyrus Gray:
“I don’t know if I’ve thought it about it a lot. Obviously (Cyrus Gray) is a good back; a veteran guy, who’s very, very talented. I can see some similarities in that they both run very hard. Most of the time with Darrian and Cyrus, the first person making contact with them usually doesn’t stop them. They’re still able to move forward. From that standpoint, that’s where their similarities come into play. Size-wise, (Cyrus) might be a little thicker than Darrian, but again there’s a difference in age. They’re both hard to bring down with initial contact.”
