On Tuesday’s practice:
I was pleased to see the intensity of the work. We understand the quality of the opponent, and our guyas are aware that it will take a big-time effort to get it done.
On blaring “Hokey-Pokey” over the loudspeakers:
“We’ve got some guys who haven’t been listening to me when I say I’m going to make them go to class. We have a little bit of a regimen they’re going to have to go through now they’ve missed class. That’s the music they’re going to be doing it to. We call them the roly-polies, and hokey-pokey’s as close as I can get.”
On field position:
“It’s important when you feel like you need to protect your defense. When you feel like you’re playing defense with your offense. You’re trying to keep the ball away from them, you’re trying to make the opponent impatient. That’s not necessarily the case against a Stanford team that’s going to pound and pound and pound. I’m not sure it’s as meaningful statistic in games like this.”
On starting the same offensive line for four straight weeks:
“The offensive line might be the most important group that has that continuity. They just all have to be on the same page. The communication that’s going on in the trenches is huge, and when you get good at it, you start using dummy calls, and then the defense really doesn’t know what the heck’s going on.”
On competition on the offensive line:
“You still want to keep competition going – that’s always going to be the hallmark of a program – but you have to be able to count on guys. When another guy comes in, it’s like a badge of honor to be part of it.”