Mike Jacobs press conference transcript

Mike Jacobs Press Conference transcript

Mike Jacobs: Obviously, a huge win for our program, right? I have a lot of respect for Lance Taylor and the job he’s done building a championship-caliber program at Western. You talk all week, if you have aspirations to be the champion, you gotta beat the champion. And so I thought our kids, man, they just responded, right? We’ve been dealing with some injury stuff and really a huge credit to our readiness for this game because the most-ready team wins is our training staff and just getting those guys available and to be ready to play this weekend.

A lot of guys fought through some injuries to be available this weekend to play. I can’t say enough about just a total team effort. It wasn’t the prettiest, but you see a championship culture on the opposite side. We knew it was gonna be all 60 minutes, and we fought to the very end. And when we needed it most, we absolutely made plays.

Obviously, offensively, today we had just under 600 yards on that defense. I thought John Alan Richter, his ability to bounce back after that first interception was huge.
I thought just collectively our team to bounce back after the big kickoff return at the start of the half, that takes a lot. And our kids, to their credit, they never wavered, they never doubted, there was no finger pointing. And from start to finish, they played really well.

So really proud of this effort, really important win for what we have going on. We need the bye week, to be honest with you, to get ourselves ready. And then we’ll head out for the left coast portion of MACTion.

Question: You mentioned before that this would be all 60 minutes. Now that you won this game, what was the difference?

Jacobs: I think just specifically those two moments, the resiliency piece, right? The stat sheet’s full of just unbelievable players. But the resiliency after the pick. Zock constantly just makes plays. For him to get the ball back to us right away, that was as big a play as any in this football game, and it happened really early, right?

And Western, to their credit, did really well in the third quarter. And we weathered it a bit, and then when we needed points, we went down and scored and got them, and just kept it just out of reach. I thought our offensive game plan was tremendous and well executed. I thought CJ Miller had a lot of big boy yards today, man. He had 183 yards rushing against a really stout defense.

So, just all in all, really proud of the effort.

Question: You talked about getting points when you absolutely needed it. What was the message? Your offense had been struggling a little bit in the second half, comparatively to the first, but what can you say about John Alan’s composure in that moment?

Jacobs: We were in two-minute The score before half, critical in the two-minute deal, right? We got a 1:30, I think, when we got the ball back. So to go down and get points, to go up 17, and then obviously, that gives us a little bit of space to weather a little bit of the storm.

He’s unwavered, he’s undaunted, he’s the quarterback, right? Those guys gotta be like this all the time. And you’re seeing a kid just play his best football, and you got a team and teammates that trust in him, a staff that trusts in him. We’re bowl eligible because of the way he’s played football.

Question: What does it mean to be able to continue this streak in just your first year? What does it show about this team? And what does 100 career wins mean?

Jacobs: That they’re super together, that they compete, they thrive in that moment. And they played really good. I’m just really proud of that piece.

As far as the 100 wins goes, I mean, listen, what was really cool today, there’s players that played for us at Notre Dame College, right? They don’t have a college anymore, it’s shut down. And so to be here and to be Rocket fans and to follow us around, to have about 30 friends and family here just to be supportive.

All the guys from Notre Dame College, to Lenoir-Rhyne, to Mercer, to the Toledo kids, the staff that’s been with me, the uncommon consistency in our staff. We got guys that have been here a decade. Shawn Chaffee’s been with me a decade. That stuff doesn’t happen at this level anymore.

Them and their families are a really big piece of why we’re here. Again, I’m just the rudder, I steer it, but those guys do a lot of the work. And they’re such a big part of this. I’m just really proud of them.

Question: You guys are down four offensive line starters from the preseason going against the top defensive front in the MAC. You guys clearly won the line of scrimmage. What can you say about them?

Jacobs: Brian Folkerts’ ability to get the next man up. And then there’s some guys in that room that fought through to be available today. They just set their jaw early in the week, right? And I’ll be honest, we had to tailor a little bit of what we were doing early in the week just to have a chance to have certain guys ready by the end of the week. I’m so thankful for how hard those kids work to get themselves to the point where they could play in this football game. Hopefully this bye week gives us a little bit of time to recover.

But Brian’s ability to teach, for them to know where to go. And then there’s just a physicality quotient, and the kids are bought in, man.

Question: When they tied the game, what was running through your mind – ah, I can’t believe this game is so close, we’re dominating, or let’s go?

Jacobs: One, I think we’re built for it. Two, you can’t have more things not go your way than they did in the third quarter. And at some point, the momentum shifts. And again, there wasn’t pouting, there wasn’t finger pointing. Literally, we talked about to win the war, you gotta win, there’s gonna have to be 70 battles today. And we ended up running 88 plays. So there’s 88 battles that led to the war’s win.

And so I’m so happy for our kids and how hard they fought. And we had the ball with time left, and we were able to go right down and score. And there’s some big boy runs in there too, and some big-time throws and catches. Daryl Barnett’s catch on second down to get us within third-and-manageable was unbelievable on that drive.

Question: Can I ask what got you the penalty?

Jacobs: It’s four letters, and it’s gonna get bleeped. When the shirt at the point of attack gets removed, I think it was more or less about what I said and the fact that I was out of the coach’s box. But that’s on me. I can’t be too emotional. If I want the team to do it, I gotta demonstrate it.

But that was about five weeks of pent up frustration. So I probably earned that one. I have a lot of respect for those guys and what they do, and I thought it was called well today. And again, we knocked them back, right? I mean, what, 10 less penalties, I think, than we’ve had the last two weeks.

So that’s on me. I gotta hold my tongue a little bit.

Question: Coach, right now it looks like you guys are mostly in control of your own destiny as far as the rest of the season goes. Does that make you feel a little more comfortable?

Jacobs: No, listen, man, we are not even talking about. I’m talking about getting through film on Sunday. And then we’re gonna give our kids a little bit of time off to recover because we shift MACtion now to Wednesday night games and a West Coast game. So you really lose about three days on that in terms of when you can start. We’ll take some time, the kids will have some time off, and the coaches will hit the road recruiting a little bit.

We’ll be out and about mid-to-late week. And then really, we’ll buckle down at the tail end of this week and get ready to go out west and play a solid Sac State team.

Question: I think what stands out to me, Coach, Richter, who stayed to play with you guys, and then Dabbs, who followed you from Mercer, the chemistry that they have, can you touch on that because every game I watch of you guys, that chemistry just seems so unmatched?

Jacobs: One, I think there’s no prima donna in Dabbs. He’s a team guy, and he’s got all the talent. He’s really worked to make himself into somebody that we can trust, blocking as well, not just catching it. And then it all goes back to John Alan and how he handled the relationship piece as the new pieces began.

Basically, we had from January 1st till the drop dead day to get into school here was January 26th, so you had 25 days to get it ready. And as guys kept coming in, John Alan just kept bringing guys in and working with them and getting to know them. And then just all the hours spent throwing the football in the summer and bonding. And I believe strongly that the culture piece and the relationships are really important, and this is a together team.

Question: Coach, I thought another one of those critical plays was when they got down to the 1, you guys were able to get the false start and and hold them to a field goal. Just talk about the defensive effort there and throughout the rest of that.

Jacobs: Listen, again, to Western’s credit, I think their running back and then the quarterback are as good as anybody in this league. And so when they’re down there on fourth-and-inches, they’ve been tremendous, both defending for their short yardage and getting it. And so I thought our defensive line, we changed the line of scrimmage, made a big play.

Our students and our fans caused them to have an offside by flinching with the noise we were making, and then we were able to get a hold there with a great defensive back play to get the ball out and held them for a field goal, and that was huge.

Question: How much were you holding your breath every time there was a shotgun snap, and how does that speak to John Alan’s calmness that he’s able to handle that?

Jacobs: - Yeah, he did a good job. Listen, we talk to our guys all the time. Every player in this room has a role, and your role doesn’t always stay the same. And so Jacob Kropchak got his first college football start today at center, and I’ll be honest, there were a few high snaps, but that kid played his tail off. And so to have him be ready in the moment, it goes back to Coach Folkerts, to Nick Rosi, to Kurt Armstrong, what those guys do in the week-to-week prep.

Question: You guys came out just on fire. What did you see kind of from the start, the intensity that you guys showed us?

Jacobs: That’s what these kinds of games are, right? Like again, we talked about just one play, six seconds, as hard as we can go, flush it on to the next, regardless of the result, good or bad.

And, unfortunately, early, we got a chance to flush one that was bad early, and then we came right back and scored. And again, I think that the ability to play complimentary football finally at times was good. I think we were five of five in the red zone in the first half. And then again, they caught a little bit of momentum, and we settled in the second half, and made big plays when we had to, especially in the fourth quarter.

Question: Some of those conversions were set up by turnovers, can you talk about the takeaways from the defense?

Jacobs: Listen, our defense, I thought they were really stout early. Like we had them on their heels some. Again, got to work to finish some, but when we needed it most, we made massive plays. And so again, just the willingness to do whatever it takes from everybody in the program has been really special to watch as a coach. And I’m proud, right? That’s what we want, just keep fighting.

Question: And then you mentioned the bye. This is the first time you guys are gonna have this long layoff, what are you looking for from these ten days?

Jacobs: We’ll put the film to bed tomorrow because I don’t want this game to linger late in the week. But our players will have somewhere between three and five days off and some conglomeration over the next week. Because again, at this point, I know they’re tough, I know they’re physical. We need to be healthy enough to play.

So we’ll utilize that time to really work at the treatment and the rehab. We’ll catch up on some academic stuff. And then again, we’ll get ready to get this thing cranked up for Sac State late in the week next week.

Question: Is there anything about the bye week you enjoy the most?

Jacobs: Well, when they’re full weeks and you’re winning every now and again, you can swing the golf club once or twice. But between the weather and the short bye, it won’t happen this week. So I’m gonna carve some pumpkins with my family. I live right down the road, it’s a big deal in our neighborhood. So we’ll carve some pumpkins and then I’ll ransack their candy sack for Snickers and peanut butter cups, and we’ll enjoy a little bit of family time. But that’s really the biggest thing, man.

I’m gonna take my kids to school a couple of mornings. I’m gonna go get coffee with my wife. I’m gonna be a human because they give up so much of their time. We’re gonna try to collectively catch our breath. And again, the assistants, all of us will have an aspect of recruiting as well. It’s not like we’re just hanging out.

Question: Autavius stood out as well with the reps that he’s been able to get. He’s making good with those reps. Can you touch on his development and his role?

Jacobs: Ison’s a guy that we had last year. He had actually won our starting running back job at Mercer going into the first game. It was a no contest because of lightning, and they took all the stats away. So he had about 200 yards of total offense before he had a foot injury in that.

What you’ve seen is the way that CJ has stepped up and become a lead back, and the way he runs the football, the combination of size and speed, but it’s really both of them.
Some of those guys, they can get antsy, right? There are only a couple guys touching the ball every play. And so the buy-in that Fred Jones has created in that running back room, it’s just, hey, whoever’s in the game is the dude until it’s time for one of us to go in and be the dude. And I think that’s really shown well for us.

Thank you all. Appreciate you guys.

Footer