RUSTON, La. - Louisiana Tech head football coach Skip Holtz and select student-athletes spoke with the media Monday in advance of the team's upcoming Conference USA home game against Middle Tennessee.

Head Coach Skip Holtz
"Going backwards to last week, you hate to lose. It was a great venue and a great environment. It was an opportunity to play an SEC team. We talked about the challenges we had in who we were playing. It is not just the talent level of Mississippi State. They have done such a great job of knowing how to win. They have won a lot of games coming into it. They have been scoring on special teams. They have been scoring on defense. Those were the things we needed to eliminate. I thought through the first quarter and a half we had done a really nice job on both sides of the ball. We were able to put the ball in the end zone and get some stops on defense. On the blocked punt, we gave up seven points there. We had a roughing the punter where they went on to score seven. We threw a pick-six, which is really Jeff [Driskel's] first interception of the year. He may have some on the stat sheet, but it is hard to give him an interception when it bounces off a receiver's chest. I thought that was the first ball that he put into danger which is pretty good being seven games in. They were athletic enough to make you pay for it. There is 21 points and all of a sudden the game is out of hand. I was proud of the way our team competed. I was proud of the physical nature with which they played with. I was proud of the way they played together. We went there with the intent to win. With the physical nature they played with, I thought they gave us that opportunity. I was really proud of the way they played."

"From an offensive standpoint, any time you can throw for 300 yards against an SEC team and score 17 points in the first half is a success. We had 24 first downs. There were a lot of positive things to build on with the offense."

"I feel the same way about the defense. They gave up 3.1 yards per rush against a big powerful football team. I was really proud of a lot of the things the defense did. Same goes for special teams. We had a 55 yard punt that was downed inside the two. I thought our kickoff cover team was as good as they have been all year against a very explosive football team. They have hurt a lot of people with their kickoff return. I thought our football team did some good things. We were 100 percent on field goals. When you lose there are a lot of ways to look at a game. We can sit and nitpick a lot of negative things we did or we can say that we have an awful lot of positive things going for us right now and some things to build on. There are certainly some things we need to correct with the punt protection to make sure something like that does not happen again. There are some things we can do with our pass defense that I think is easily correctable with the attitude and team that we have. We understand the first half of the season is gone. The non-conference games are gone. There are five games left. This is when you really start to rub your hands together and roll your sleeves up. This is what being in a conference is all about."

"The conference play begins this week for us. Everyone is excited about the opportunity to come back home and get into conference play. We are really excited about the opportunity this weekend. It should be a good weekend with it being the induction weekend. I want to congratulate all of the inductees into the Hall of Fame. They have put a lot of hard work into it. It is nice to see them acknowledged for everything they have done for the University. I certainly congratulate all of them, which is certainly just going to add to the excitement of this weekend. We have a very good opponent this weekend. I have great respect for Coach [Rick] Stockstill. He was one of the first guys I met when I went to Florida State to be a graduate assistant at 22 years old. He was roommates with a guy I had roomed with there. He had just taken a job down at Central Florida and he and I established a really positive working relationship. We recruited against each other when he was at Clemson. We coached on the same staff at South Carolina which was one of my more memorable years of coaching. I consider him one of my good friends in this business."

"I look at the film and I see little Brent Stockstill running around playing quarterback. I can remember him since he was in diapers. I remember when he was little. I got to be involved in his recruiting. I had him in camp. He is a competitor. He is smart, intelligent and is doing a great job of running that offense right now. He is throwing for over 300 yards a game. He is doing a really nice job. They have two receivers who are both in the top 10 in the league for receptions. I think they are both top 20 in the country. Both receivers have over 50 catches. They are very active with what they do. They have an athletic offensive line. Right now, Brent Stockstill is making the wheels on the bus go round. I think he is doing a great job of running that system. It will be a challenge for us, since we just gave up 300 yards passing to an SEC team. This is a team you certainly do not take lightly. You can look at their record and say they are 3-4. They have lost to Alabama, Illinois by two, Vanderbilt by four and they are probably two plays away from being 5-2. This is going to be a great challenge for us. It all starts with their offense. They are putting up a lot of points."

"Defensively, they return eight starters off of last year's team. They run around and pressure you a lot. They blitz 50 or 55 percent of the time. They do not sit on their heels. The team we just played is big, strong and physical. This team is just the opposite. They will do a lot of crossing and looping. They are a very active defensive line. They will pose some problems for us. I think they are a really good football team and I am excited about the opportunity to get into conference play and play at home."

On talking to Manny Diaz postgame:
"There is great respect there. I had an opportunity to talk with him for 20-30 minutes before the game when both teams had just arrived at the stadium. I took a walk around the field which is one of the traditional things that I do. As I was walking on that end, he was walking in as their bus arrived. Manny is a good friend. He is an excellent football coach. I am glad to hear that his family is doing well. Everyone has made the adjustment back to Starkville. After the game I told him that I thought they did a great job on defense. We complimented each other. I have great respect for Manny."

On Middle Tennessee QB Brent Stockstill:
"Brent has been a gym rat. He has been a coach's son growing up around the game. He has been around the game his entire life. He grew up around the practice fields. He came into work with dad and watched film. He has had a passion for the game ever since he was small. He is very intelligent and very smart. They go at a high tempo. They give you a lot of different formations and run a lot of different things. I do not think they could do it without him being where he is. I think he is a special player. Not just with his physical talents and abilities, but with where he is mentally and how he understands the game. He is doing a great job. It is impressive watching him on film. I am proud of him."

On the defense facing an up-tempo offense in Middle Tennessee:
"We go against it every day. When you look at some of the things we do on pass defense, it is all tied together. We are not a man cover team where if there is a completion you know whose fault it is. They brought a running back underneath and Nick [Thomason] is doing a great job dropping into his pass protection. He saw it, anticipated the throw and stepped up. A good quarterback like Dak [Prescott] throws it right behind his ear. Little things like that. They know we can get better. Watching the film last night, I think everyone was encouraged. The mistakes we made can be corrected. It is one thing for it to be physical and watch the film knowing you never had a chance. I think a lot of these little things can be corrected. It is good to see the run and pass conflict that we got. It is really hard to stop when you have a running quarterback. With the rules as they are, the offensive lineman can come hit the linebacker three or four yards deep and you can still throw it. Right now it is really hard. Everyone in college football is struggling defensively with the run-pass conflict. I think our players are eager to improve and get better. When people go quickly on you, it just forces you to communicate. Everyone has to be tied together and on the same page."

On Tech's kickoff return:
"Even with some of the numbers where they were in the kickoff return game, I felt like our front wall played their best game. We did not field the ball well. There were two we put on the ground and had to go pick up. Those are the ones inside the 10. There was another we caught, bobbled, stepped in the end zone and decided to come out late. Sometimes when you put a freshman back there, even though he may be talented, it is still about making good decisions and fielding the ball back there. We have to do a much better job. When we had the opportunity to get some returns against an SEC team, you have to eliminate those balls that we bobbled. Those are decision-making things. We will definitely talk about it as a staff this week and decide who is going to start. Jaqwis will be one of the conversations, but I cannot tell you he would start at this point."

On the blocked punt:
"The right guard did not block anybody and that left two on the back wall. It was two on one. We are a zone protection team and he got tied into the inside guy. The outside guy broke free."

On special teams:
"When you are dealing with 18- to 22-year-old young men, sometimes they are going to make mistakes. Nobody feels worse than the guy that missed the block. It is nothing we haven't seen before. It was not a scheme thing, it was an execution thing. He knew it was on him. That is where the ownership on special teams comes in. We have a lot of freshmen and true sophomores on special teams to get them some experience. Some of our veteran guys who are playing 50 and 60 plays on offense or defense have an opportunity to rest. In gaining experience, you are going to make mistakes. We have to learn from them and grow from them. That is why I have always said that you play non-conference games to be able to make some mistakes so you are ready to go on the conference run. What we have done to this point statistically is irrelevant. It is what we do going forward."

On season outlook through seven games:
"I like where we are right now. We are sitting in first place in the west. We control our own destiny. We have to make sure we correct some of the mistakes we have made. We need to be ready for this five week conference run. We have had seven straight games. We have three more before we have an open date, which we badly need. We have played seven games and not had our five starting skill players all play in the same game yet. It will be great to have Carlos [Henderson], Paul [Turner], Kenneth [Dixon], Conner [Smith] and Trent [Taylor] all play together. We can really see what the offense is capable of doing. I am hopeful we will get a lot of those guys back this week and get ready for this conference run."

"The sky is not falling because we lost to a Big 12 team in triple overtime and an SEC team on the road. I am not ready to throw this team under the bus and say they are not very good. I have been proud of what we have been able to accomplish, even though the score got away because of three plays. Take those three scores off the board and it is a 24-20 football game on the road in the SEC. I am proud of what they have accomplished with the injuries they have had and the way guys have stepped up to create some depth. All of our goals are still there. We have lost the national championship at this point. That is what we have lost. I do not know what the odds makers in Vegas said at the beginning of the year, but I do not think we were one of the favorites. When you look at what we have lost, I feel very good about where we are right now. I feel good about the experience some of these guys are gaining. Jarred Craft and Boston Scott are getting some reps. Marcus Gaines has grown up in these past three weeks with Carlos being out. I like Marlon Watts showing up and seeing what he did. Secdrick Cooper is the same. Aaron Roberson and Trey Spencer are getting a lot of work on special teams. They may have to start one of these games down the road. They are getting better and starting to get it. I like what Brandon Durman is doing and the progress he is making. Jaylon Ferguson has been a really pleasant surprise. I like the way this team is growing and coming together. For the average person who looks at a win and loss record, I would rather look at the body of work. I have continued to say we are a work in progress, but I really like the growth, development and maturity of a lot of the young players on this football team. We are also getting a lot of leadership from the upperclassmen."

On separation between Power 5 teams and other programs:
"Off the field, it is getting further apart. I think resource wise, it is getting further apart. Recruiting wise, in some respects, it is getting harder because of the financial separation between the programs. On the field, I think it can be competitive. Can we win? We have to play better. We cannot do some of the things we did and win. We cannot have a punt blocked. We cannot throw a pick-six. We cannot do those types of things. I also look and think there have been some really competitive games. Middle Tennessee lost by two to Illinois. They lost by four to Vanderbilt. We went to triple overtime with Kansas State. I think they are hard. When you play on the road in some of these venues with their conference officials, it is very difficult. It is all an uphill climb. You just do not get a lot of breaks. I look at a lot of teams in Conference USA that are competing, but we do have to get over that hump and find a way to win. It is not a moral victory to say wow that was three overtimes. If you want to be a good football team, those are the games you have to win."

RB Jarred Craft

On his performance against Mississippi State:
"I think I did pretty well overall and in pass protection. There are some things I need to clean up in the run game. There is always room for improvement."

On getting advice from Kenneth Dixon:
"I have learned to play with the passion he has. He always tells me to drive my feet on contact. A lot of times linebackers get a hold of me and I tend to stop my feet. He always reminds me to drive my feet."

On Conference USA play:
"I think it is important to get back into conference play. Middle Tennessee is a good team and I think the offense is going to have to score some points in this game. We are going to have to help the defense out. Whoever starts, I know the running back room is going to give 110 percent."

On growing from UTSA game:
"It was a good experience, especially coming out with a win. Jeff Driskel helped calm me down as the game went on."

On facing Dak Prescott last week:
"I have known Dak since he was in middle school; he was my older brother's best friends. I talked to him after the game and he told me I played hard and that he was impressed with what I did. He said that could have been a sweet win for us."

On catching out the backfield:
"I have always said I like receiving touchdowns more than rushing touchdowns. A lot of running backs can rush for touchdowns but they cannot catch. I pride myself on catching as a running back."

LB Nick Thomason

On breaking up touchdown pass at Mississippi State:
"Dak pumped the ball and he gave me a little more time by floating it. I saw the receiver's body open so I hit him as hard as I could hoping to jar the ball out. It felt pretty good, I cannot lie. I like to hit people hard and that was one of the bigger hits in my career."

On fear of a flag after his hit against Mississippi State:
"I knew I did not get my helmet into him. I was not expecting a flag, but I thought there might be one. Coach [Dan] Mullen was pretty fired up on the sidelines wanting a flag."

On Conference USA play:
"We have five conference games left. This is where we have to get everything together. We have not played a complete game yet. We have played good but not great. If we can put every little piece together, then we will finish the season strong."

On pass defense:
"It is on all of us. It is not just the secondary, defensive line or linebackers. Sometimes we will have a good rush and someone on the back end messes up. Other times we do not get a good rush and they have to cover them for too long. It is little things that we can control. Teams are not beating us athletically. We just have to focus on the little things."

On run-pass conflict:
"The run-pass conflict is always tricky. We could have done a better job seeing the surge of the line. We did not see it at first but got better as the game went on. That is tough sometimes to play the run and pass."

On Middle Tennessee:
"They have a good offense. I expect to see up-tempo and anything that anyone else has done to have success on us. We have to go in this week and prepare knowing it is coming. That is going to be big in practice. It has been big all year but now that the seasons end is nearing, it is going to be a big time emphasis."

On facing Middle Tennessee QB Brent Stockstill:
"He is an athletic guy. He can sling it around. I have not gotten to watch as much film as I would like, but from what I have seen, he is a good quarterback."

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