Oct. 18, 2011

RUSTON, La. -

Louisiana Tech head football coach Sonny Dykes sat down with members of the media Monday to recap the game at Idaho and to preview the Utah State game.

Opening Statement:

"Well it's good to be back. Back in the flow, back into a schedule. I think that's the funny thing about football coaches is that we get into a routine, get into a schedule, and although I think we enjoyed the break and needed the break, I was ready to get back to work. It was nice to relax a little bit. Our coaches had a chance to go on the road and go recruiting which I thought was really critical. Guys were out Thursday, Friday and some of them on Saturday and we got a lot of work done in that regard. So really pleased with the direction that our recruiting is going in right now and excited about that. But it was good. I took my daughter to school on Thursday, first time I have ever done that so that was kind of cool. Saw her classroom, which was a neat deal for me. Also, watched some college football on Saturday and by about noon Saturday I was kind of bored and ready to get back to work, so it's good to be back and back in the office, and back in the grind, because like I said, we get pretty accustomed to doing that."

"You know, excited about this week, to get our players back and get them going and I think we will have a good week of practice and prepare well. Utah State has a good football team. They are remarkably similar to us. I think what they've gone through this season has been really similar to what we've gone through. They've lost three really tough games, including an overtime loss to Colorado State, similar to our loss to Mississippi State, and then lost basically on the last play of the game almost against BYU, and then lost against Auburn. So they've played good people and played competitive in all of their games. They are a good football team."

"I think they have a lot of good players, I really do think that that's the thing that really stands out about them. Robert Turbin is probably the best back in the conference or certainly one of the best. Bobby Wagner is the returning defensive player of the year. So they've got good players. That's the thing that stands out. You put the film on and they've got some really dominant guys, so we are going to have to pay well. It will be a challenge for us. I think it will be really important to do a good job taking care of the football, and creating turnovers. I think that in a game like this, that would be very critical and important."

"I think our players will travel well. I've liked the way we traveled this year. I've liked the way we have played on the road. I know we are all looking forward to going to Utah and playing in the game on Saturday."

Q: What did Fresno State do in the second half of that football game to shut down Utah State in the second half of the game?

"They created some turnovers and pressured the quarterback. I think that's the biggest thing they did and they did not give up any big plays. I think that's the thing Utah State has done a good job off all year, is making big plays, and they made some in the first half. Fresno did a better job of tackling in the second half and just didn't give Utah State the big plays they got in the first half. They pressured the quarterback and Utah State missed some scoring opportunities. They missed a couple of field goals, had a field goal blocked, so I think when they go back and look, they probably felt they had a chance to win that game and were disappointed they didn't get it done."

Q: There have been a lot of coaches that tell me that if there was a bye week, they refused to watch the opponent of the next team on television if it's on live. It gets you antsy and kind of frustrates them. They'd rather watch the film. Are you the same kind of way?

"Yeah, you always want to try to check up. I watched the Hawai'i-San Jose game Friday night, and so you want to try to look at as much as you can in the conference games. I also watched a little bit of the New Mexico State-Idaho game on Saturday as well, so you try to look at it a little bit, but try not to focus on it too much, because you start to think about all kinds of stuff. The thing about this league is that you look at all the teams in the league and I really do think that everybody in this league is improving. I think that's the thing that stands out the most. I think Utah State is a better team than what they were a year ago, I don't think there's any question about that. Their record might not indicate it, but they are. You look at New Mexico State, and they've got three wins and they are playing much better. San Jose is playing much better, so some of the teams that were not as competitive last year are really improved and now it's a good league. It really is. I think Nevada is starting to hit their stride, and so it will be a challenging stretch for us, especially with playing so many road games the rest of the way."

Q: You spoke about Utah State losing to good teams. Were you surprised to see Houston last night in the BCS?

"No. Not at all, I don't even know where they showed up."

Q: I think about 20 right?

"Seventeen. Yeah, somebody asked me about that earlier in the conference call, but it's one of those things, that I don't even know who's in the BCS [rankings]. You kind of worry about your team and all that stuff. Friday, you might pick up a newspaper or something, USA Today or something like that to read, and see where the BCS is but really until then you really don't have time to look at it. So, I did not know that they were but I'm not surprised.

Q: How do you see Turbin, as far as the rest of the running backs you've seen this year?

"He compares favorably. He will probably be an NFL guy. I think he's got great size, he's a bigger back than probably anybody we've faced and he's incredibly fast. You have to tackle well, you have to do a good job running to the football and tackling him. Once he gets a head of steam, he's difficult to stop and he's such a big back, when he gets in the open field, you don't expect him to run away from people as well as he does. He's a really good back. He's probably the best back we've played this year."

Q: You were really banged up a week ago, in terms of health wise and injuries, offensively? How far are you health-wise?

"We're better. All three of our offensive lineman that couldn't practice last week will be able to practice. We are not going to have Lyle Fitte for this year, he'll be out for the rest of the year, so that is a significant and disappointing loss for us. We are getting thin at the running back position. You know Lennon (Creer) has had a difficult time shaking his injury. He's had a high ankle sprain and a little bit of Achilles. He just hasn't been the same as he was early on and as he was last year, and we've tried to work through that. The good thing is that Hunter Lee has come in and done a good job for us, so there really hasn't been a drop off at all, so we just have to continue to develop a third running back. That will be critical for us and has to be something we have to do this week."

Q: You touched on the WAC teams improving. Is there a common theme you saw in that improvement or why do you think those teams have been playing better?

"Well, I think the biggest thing is that there haven't been a lot of coaching changes. Idaho has gotten better, [Robb] Akey has been there a long time, and I think that as a result, they've improved. Gary Anderson has been at Utah State for a while. I think they are better because of that. Same thing really at both New Mexico State and San Jose State. Mike MacIntyre [San Jose State] and DeWayne Walker [New Mexico State] have done good jobs and been there a while too. So, when you get a staff and it stays in place for a while, then you actually get to see them recruit and get some of their players in and I think that as a result, they get an opportunity to coach them. I think that's been the key to improvements in those places; is having some kind of consistency with their coaching staff.

Q: Utah State's offense seems very similar to Mississippi State's offense. Do you think you can do the same?

"A little different but they are similar and they both want to run the football. That's the thing; that they both want to be physical and pound you a little bit. Utah State is a bit more diverse in their approach and in the way that they do it. They do it by lining up different personnel groups and do some different things that way but they are similar. They probably have a little bit better of a passing game than Mississippi State does. We're going to have to stop the run, but also have to limit their passing game as well. The big thing for us is just make tackles and to play physical out front and get off blocks. It's going to be really important for us."

Q: Injuries at the tail back position. You obviously are going to have Hunter and Lennon, but other than that, do you have a third back or is it getting to a point where you have to move guys to a different position?

A: Yeah, we'll see. We're going to see how it plays out this week. We've got three or four different guys that we are going to try to give some reps to and see which one accepts the challenge and which one responds the best, but we'll see. I'm not really sure how it's going to play out quite yet. The bad thing is that we've had three significant injuries this year and they've all been on guys that we have been counting heavily on, but that is college football. Everybody has injuries and that happens across the country, but it has been difficult just because it kind of has been senior leaders; guys like Ray Holley or Ryan Williams or a guy that has been a big play guy for us like Lyle Fitte. So that has been the frustrating part."

Q: How much does that injury bug, especially to that position, change the offense?

"Well it does. It's just like anything else, it forces you to move one guy from one position to another position and then you've got to move somebody else from one position to another position to be his backup. So what you end up with is musical chairs in certain positions. When you do that, it kind of sets back those guys growth and the way they can progress because a big part of being an offensive football player is playing one position and focusing on all the little nuances that go into playing that position. So, when you are constantly forced to move guys around to have enough people, I think it hurts your progression as a program."

Q: Coach, talk about Hunter Lee, a true freshman. He has been moved around a lot and talk about his maturity level

"People ask me all the time about true freshman coming in and playing and the funny thing about guys like that is - and this is funny because I used to hear Mike Leach talk about this - I thought it was interesting, so much of playing early has so much to do with your maturity and what you can handle mentally. College football is full of good athletes and there are a lot of good athletes, but the guys that are the exceptional players are either A) incredibly talented, or B) either talented enough and have the right mentality, and the right maturity, and the ability to adjust. That's kind of Hunter Lee. Hunter Lee definitely has some talent. He's one of the strongest players on this team. He'll run faster than you think he will. He was incredibly productive as a high school football player, but you're never sure how that is going to transition. You think you know but you really don't till they get here and the big thing with him is that he is very smart and he is very mature. He comes from a program where he's been well-coached and has been exposed to a lot of different things. So usually, those are the guys who are ready to play early on."

Q: How did he get overlooked then?

"It's similar to Paul Millar, the quarterback that was at his high school at Flower Mound High School. I think he ended up breaking the all-time passing record in Texas High School history and he had nothing either. He went to West Virginia, graduated early and went there, walked on and is the backup quarterback there. Same thing, Paul Millar probably wasn't the biggest guy, didn't have the strongest arm, but was a really good player and Hunter Lee is kind of like the same thing. Hunter will surprise you. He is a little more athletic than people want to give him credit for, but he's not going to just wow you with that. He does his job, he does it fast, he does it efficiently and he gets better every day and has a passion for the game. I think when you look at tremendous football players you have to look for just that; that they have a passion for this game because it is a tough game and a physical game. There are going to be ups and downs. If you are not passionate and excited about it, then you are not going to want to go out there and improve every day in practice and I think that Lee has a great passion for the game."

Q: You touched on the defense a little bit for Utah State. They have the returning defensive player of the year. What do you think about their defense as a whole?

"They are doing some stuff differently than they did last year. Their head coach took over the defense in the offseason and you could tell he's put a stamp on it. They play really hard, first of all. They've gone to pretty much an odd front from an even front last year, which I think is good for their personnel. I think they did that because they have a lot of outside linebacker types that are good players that are active and it allows them to get more of those players on the field. To me, they are just playing faster and more confident than they did a year ago, good solid defensive football team. They do a good job not giving up big plays. I think that's the thing that they do probably as well as anything. They do not allow you to get a ton of big plays."

Q: Coach, what do you make of the news Friday; of these two conferences merging to form a giant alliance?

" It will be interesting to see how that plays out. To me, that was a smart move, to try and keep as many teams as possible in the league. It's kind of like anything else that's happening in the league right now. Everybody is sitting and waiting to see what's going to happen to one or two teams and then once that happens, then the domino effect kicks in and then you get all of this uncertainty when it comes to conferences, which is strange and unusual. The thing we can do is continue to improve our program. We've got to put a better product on the field and I am responsible for doing that. We've got to continue to have great support from our fans; the student body, which those guys have done a great job of that. Then, we have to press forward, building new facilities and that type of thing to show that we are serious about competing at a high level. All those things go together, and we have to continue to push forward and get better and I've always maintained that this will work out as it needs to as long as we continue to do the right thing, both from the administrative stand point and from the university's standpoint and really from the coaching and players stand point. We are close to really making this face to fulfill its potential.

Freshman Quarterback Nick Isham

Q: Nick, you've lost some key guys in the back field. Tell me what you think that means to the team.

"It's obviously a big deal. [Ray] Holley and Lyle Fitte are two outstanding running backs and we have guys that will step up. That's what college football is all about; having young guys come in and step up and Hunter Lee has done a good job and we expect him to do a great job for the rest of the season.

Q: What does Hunter Lee bring when he is in there? Just the type of contributions he's made

"He's got outstanding vision. As you saw last game, he's a very hard runner. He's always finishing his runs, north and south, and not really east and west, and he's getting the extra yards that we need to get to get the first downs. He is definitely a hard runner and just a good guy to have around the team."

Q: How good was the bye week for you?

"It was good. I thought it was good for the whole team. Definitely nice get to some rest, get some guys healthy and get us freshened up and get us ready to get the second half of the season."

Q: Do you spend any time looking back at your first half of the season and keying in on anything you have going forward?

"Yeah, just like I would do any other week, just kind of looked at the overall mistakes and the negatives and positives of the first half in general and saw what the good points were and the bad points were. Moving forward, just try to stick with the good points and half less of the bad points."

Q: What were some of the good points?

"Smart decisions. Knowing the situation in the game. One of the big negatives was the turnovers, especially in crucial points, like towards the end of games and I think in Idaho, I was able to make it a better overall game by not having any turnovers. That has a lot to do with winning a game, and that's one of the big points that I am trying to get rid of, is the turnovers."

Q: Coach spoke a little about their (Utah State's) defense, and how they are more of an attacking defense. What have you seen?

"They have a lot of athletes and great coaching because they've switched up the coaching on the defensive end. We just have to prepare and make sure that we are doing what we know how to do. We just have to be aware of what they are trying to do. Obviously number 9 is a stud, but then again all of those guys are great athletes. We just have to put it in our hands and execute the game plan."

Senior Defensive End Matt Broha

Q: Matt, you've faced a senior quarterback the last eight games. Now, you're facing a freshman. Does that bring a different dynamic in the way you approach a game?

"From my standpoint, it really doesn't because he is a great athlete. He may not have all of the experience, but he does have those athletic abilities that can hurt a defense, so we just have to prepare the way we did for Idaho and the past couple of games that have had experience at QB. We are going to go in with the same game plan and not give this guy some slack."

Q: Biggest thing you guys got out of the bye week?

"Just getting healthy. The d-line and the rest of the team have had some nicks and bruises and guys just need to get back to 100 percent and this past week definitely helped, having a couple days off and some light practices. It helped get guys healthy for this upcoming week."

Q: Last year, you guys were able to shut down Utah State's offense, holding them to six points. Turbin did not play. Talk about Turbin and what he means to that offense.

"We did not see him last year, but we have been watching a lot of film on him. He brings another part to the game. He is a hard nose runner, and likes to go in between the tackles and he is a physical guy and we kind of know that going into it. He is probably the biggest back we face going into this season and its going to take all of us to be around the ball to bring him down. We've seen film of him last week, just a lot of missed tackles. He's an elusive runner and he can do that to us, so that's one of our biggest plans; to stop him and the rest of the guys that are going to try to run on us. Once we stop that, we have to get them to get into the air and once we shut the running down, we have to shut down the passing."

Q: You're moving up the record books, and joining an elite club. What's that like knowing what you are doing?

"It's pretty cool. Going into this season, you don't really think about it. You just worry about your game and don't really pay mind to it. From my stand point, there are some things that I need to be better at. I could have had a lot better production in a few more games. For the rest of the season, I'm just looking to get better, put a lot more production on the field and hopefully the stats keep coming. I am just looking forward to a great end to the season."

Q: You end up getting Wednesday off of practice, because of a crucial field goal. Talk about what happened there.

"That was huge. We ended practice early, real early for me. Taylor Burch kicked like the extra point and Coach Dykes ended practice early. He made it so we ended practice early. I'm down to do that every practice. It was fun."

Q: What happens if you had to kick it?

"It wouldn't be fun for the guys."

Q: Who was the holder and who was the center?

"[Christian] Lacey was the holder and [Matt] Nelson was the snapper. It was a bad snap but Lacey took care of it. I think Burch kicked field goals in high school so we got one under Coach Dykes."

Q: How far was it?

"About 20 yards. He could have gone from 30 yards out. It would have been good."

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