Presser: Dave Aranda Preview Matchup with No. 22 BYU

Summary

The coach recaps the team's recent practice and addresses their readiness for an upcoming game against BYU. He emphasizes the team's resilience after a tough loss and highlights the strong leadership from players like Presley, Josh Cameron, and Matt Jones. The coach praises Sawyer's performance as quarterback and notes improvements in special teams and individual player contributions. He acknowledges the emotional challenges of losses but is confident in the team's commitment and effort. The coach also discusses the importance of home games, the challenges of facing BYU, and the benefits of morning practices for the team's energy levels.

Takeaways

• 😀 The coach is pleased to be back with the team and notes that the morning walkthrough and practice were efficient and crisp.
• 💪 The team is ready for the challenge posed by a talented BYU team, recognizing their record and recent rise in performance.
• 🏡 There's excitement about playing at home, with the coach highlighting the appeal of waking up and playing football on a Saturday morning.
• 🩸 The coach uses a metaphor of resilience, emphasizing the importance of rising up and fighting after being 'cut wide open'.
• 🗣️ Leadership was strong during practice, with specific players like Presley, Josh Cameron, and Matt Jones being particularly vocal and supportive.
• 🤔 After a loss, the coach acknowledges the emotional aspect and the need to act as a counselor as much as a coach to help the team process their feelings.
• 🏈 The team's response to setbacks involves starting fast, maintaining energy, and being ready to compete and respond to challenges.
• 🔄 The coach expresses confidence in Sawyer as the quarterback, noting his improvement with each start and his leadership during tough moments.
• 👏 Special teams are highlighted as a strength, with the unit being ranked number one in the league and continuing to improve.
• 🛡️ The return of Carl is seen as crucial for the secondary unit, with his performance and commitment being highly valued.
• 🚫 The team has not found success on the road yet, but the coach emphasizes the need to win wherever they play, focusing on overcoming their own obstacles.

Q & A

How did the coach describe the team's practice session?

The coach described the practice session as efficient and crisp, indicating that the team was ready to get back to work and saw the upcoming challenge as a good thing.

What was the team's attitude towards playing at home?

The team was excited about playing at home, as indicated by the coach's comment that waking up and playing football on a Saturday morning is always a cool thing.

How did the coach address the team's previous loss?

The coach used the metaphor of being 'cut wide open' to describe the team's situation after a loss, emphasizing the importance of rising up and fighting again.

What did the coach observe about the team's leadership during practice?

The coach noted that the leadership was strong, with specific players like Presley, Josh Cameron, and Matt Jones being particularly vocal in their coaching and critiquing during practice.

How does the coach view the role of a coach after an emotionally charged game?

The coach sees himself as not only a coach but also a counselor after a game, helping the team deal with raw emotions and providing support.

What was the coach's response to the question about the team's resilience?

The coach believes the team is resilient and will continue to fight for what they believe in, despite setbacks.

How does the coach evaluate Sawyer's performance as the starting quarterback?

The coach is excited about Sawyer's performance, noting that he played well, managed the game effectively, and showed leadership, which gives the coach confidence in him.

What was the coach's assessment of the special teams' performance?

The coach felt that the special teams unit dominated, which is significant considering they were the number one unit in the league last year and have improved since.

How important is Carl's return to the secondary unit?

Carl's return is considered huge and a must-have for the team. His performance and commitment, despite not being at 100%, speak volumes about his character and are crucial moving forward.

What is the coach's strategy for dealing with the team's inconsistent performance?

The coach emphasizes the need to start fast, have energy, and compete, especially when facing adversity. The team needs to bring their hands back up and respond in kind when challenged.

How does the coach feel about the team's home advantage?

While the coach wants to win wherever they play, there is a noted advantage to playing at home, which is attributed to the team's ability to get out of their own way and execute better.

Outlines

00:00

🏈 Team's Readiness and Leadership

The coach discusses the team's readiness for an upcoming game against BYU, emphasizing the challenge the team sees in BYU's record and talent. He highlights the importance of resilience, using the metaphor of getting back up after being 'cut wide open'. The coach commends the leadership shown by players like Presley, Josh Cameron, and Matt Jones during practice, noting their vocal encouragement and constructive criticism. He also reflects on the emotional aspect of coaching, particularly after a loss, and the need for the team to respond to setbacks with a strong start and energy.

05:02

🤔 Reflecting on Losses and Adjusting Strategies

The coach shares his thoughts on the team's response to losses, focusing on the need to start fast and maintain energy. He discusses the challenge of rallying the team after a loss,比喻 the difficulty of getting back into the fight after being hurt. The coach also addresses the importance of special teams, noting their improvement from last year and the expectation to continue dominating in this area. He mentions the return of a key player, Carl, and his impact on the secondary unit, as well as the team's home advantage and the need to win games to maintain fan support.

10:02

🔍 Analyzing Team Performance and Forthcoming Challenges

The coach provides insights into the team's performance, particularly the offensive and defensive lines, and the importance of the o-line's experience and cohesion. He discusses the challenges of playing against BYU's physical team and their effective use of formations and plays. The coach also touches on the ongoing position battle at left tackle and the need to find the best combination of strengths. He praises specific players for their contributions to the special teams' success and reflects on a unique situation where fans were on the field during a game review, using it as motivation for improvement. Lastly, he expresses optimism about the team's energy for an upcoming morning game and the importance of self-scouting in preparation for BYU.

Keywords

💡Walkthrough

A walkthrough in this context refers to a practice session where a team rehearses their strategies and plays. It is a crucial part of sports preparation, ensuring that each player understands their role and the team's overall game plan. In the script, the coach mentions that the morning walkthrough and practice were efficient and crisp, indicating a well-organized and focused training session.

💡BYU

BYU stands for Brigham Young University, which has a competitive sports team. In the transcript, the coach acknowledges the challenge posed by BYU's team, noting their talent and recent rise in performance. This reference sets the context for the upcoming game and the level of competition the coach and team are preparing for.

💡Resilient

Resilience is the ability to recover quickly from difficulties. The coach uses this term to describe his team, emphasizing their capacity to bounce back from setbacks. This is exemplified in the script when the coach talks about the team's response to a loss, indicating that they are mentally strong and capable of learning from their experiences.

💡Leadership

Leadership is highlighted as a key element in the team's performance, with specific players like Presley and Josh Cameron mentioned as leaders. The coach notes their vocal guidance during practice, which is essential for maintaining focus and driving improvement. Effective leadership is portrayed as a cornerstone of the team's dynamic and a factor in their ability to overcome challenges.

💡Emotional

The emotional aspect of coaching is underscored when the coach discusses the aftermath of a game. Emotions run high, especially in the locker room, where the coach acts as a counselor to help players process their feelings. This keyword underscores the human side of sports, where emotional intelligence and support are as important as physical prowess.

💡Special Teams

Special teams refer to the units in American football that are responsible for plays like kickoffs, punts, and field goals. The coach praises the special teams' performance, indicating that they are a strong unit that has improved from the previous year. This highlights the importance of every aspect of the game, not just the main offensive and defensive plays.

💡Injury

Injuries are a common concern in sports, impacting a team's performance. The script mentions an injury to a player named Garmin, with the coach providing an update on his condition. This keyword is relevant as it shows the challenges teams face and the need for adaptability and resilience in the face of such setbacks.

💡Momentum

Momentum in sports refers to a team's ability to maintain a winning streak or positive performance. The coach expresses frustration at the team's inability to maintain momentum, alternating between wins and losses. This keyword is central to the team's goal of consistency and improvement.

💡Home Advantage

Home advantage refers to the perceived benefit a team has when playing in their own stadium, often due to familiarity with the field and support from local fans. The coach mentions the excitement of playing at home and the positive impact of the crowd, underlining the psychological boost it provides to the team.

💡Position Battle

A position battle is competition within a team for a starting position. The coach discusses the ongoing competition at the left tackle position, indicating that there are players with different strengths. This keyword reflects the internal dynamics of the team and the coach's strategic decisions in optimizing the lineup.

💡Physicality

Physicality in sports refers to the physical demands and intensity of the game. The coach anticipates a physically challenging match against BYU, noting their strength and physicality. This keyword sets the expectation for the team's preparation and the type of game they are facing.

Highlights

Coach is pleased with the team's walkthrough and practice, describing them as efficient and crisp.

The team is ready to face the challenge posed by a talented BYU team.

Coach emphasizes the importance of resilience and fighting back after setbacks.

Leadership from Presley, Josh Cameron, and Matt Jones was particularly strong during practice.

Coach acknowledges the emotional impact of games on the team and the need for support.

The team's resilience is highlighted by their ability to fight for their beliefs after setbacks.

Sawyer's performance as quarterback is praised, and his leadership is seen as a key factor in the team's progress.

Special teams' performance is noted as a significant strength of the team.

Carl's return to the secondary unit is seen as crucial for the team's defensive strategy.

The team's home field advantage is discussed, with a focus on the importance of winning both home and away games.

Steve Linton's performance as a defensive end is commended, particularly his ability to rush the quarterback.

Garmin's injury and its potential impact on the team's performance is acknowledged.

The team's frustration with the win-loss pattern is discussed, with an emphasis on the need for consistency.

The importance of fan support and its impact on the team's performance is highlighted.

The team's offensive line is analyzed, with a focus on their physicality and adaptability.

BYU's offensive strategy is compared to Utah's, with an emphasis on their use of shifts, motions, and formations.

Transcripts

take your questions good to see you guys

it's good to be back uh today was this

morning um was good to be with the team

the walkthrough and the practice was uh

efficient crisp all that uh guys are

ready to get back to work I think they

see the challenge of a really good BYU

team and the talent that's there and

their record and kind of their rise and

they see that as a challenge it'll be

good to be at home I know that uh to

wake up and play football is always a

cool thing on a Saturday morning so

we're excited for that uh you know it's

it's when you're cut wide open you sit

down you bleed a little bit and you it's

important to rise up and fight again and

so you know today was that day for us

and I think so far so good any questions

coach when you're talking about getting

cut wide open and then coming out today

and doing that how did you assess your

team saying hey hey that's done moving

ahead yeah it was strong I thought our

leadership was strong you know you could

hear how Presley and Josh Cameron and

Matt

Jones uh you I'm looking this way

they're talking back that way they were

really loud in terms of uh um good job

and and um uh praise and uh hey we got

to pick it up and so you could just hear

them throughout the practice kind of uh

coaching and critiquing and all of it so

that was really good to see I think uh

that really stepped up today and I'm I'm

I can bet that that's going to continue

throughout the week when you have a game

like that like you said it's obviously

emotional as a coach do you become like

in the aftermath you become like as much

like a counselor as as coach I mean just

because obviously the emotions are raw

yeah there's there there was a lot of

that going on in the locker room and you

know what's hard about that is that I

mean we all get back at 3:30 or 4:00 and

so that thing just continues um on in

through the morning you know and so

there was a fair amount of that going on

you know in the locker room right after

the game there was that when we got to

the uh plane I went up and down and did

some of that too but uh you know we're a

resilient Bunch the guys fight for what

they believe in I know they believe in

us after the UCF loss last or win last

year you said that football is a game of

random events and setbacks Colorado is

both of those how do you actually

respond like what what is the physical

response what do you want that to look

like yeah I mean to start fast uh to

have energy on the sideline to uh

compete to the next time that we get

punched uh in the face to U get our

bring our hands back up and throw a

punch in return you know I think you

know PRI what's the struggle with losses

like that is that you know prior to

having an experience like that when

there's a fight going on everyone runs

to the line to get in the fight I mean

we're shoulder to shoulder you know

after something like that happens when

your heart's taken out you know that

hurts and so you don't want to get hurt

again and so there it it can be where

there's a fight going on you know there

used to be somebody right here shoulder

toos shoulder with me and now they're

where are they you know where' they go

and so um that is not something I feel

is going to happen with this team I feel

um I feel the just the uh overall sense

of urgency to get it right and uh we got

a great opponent you know just looking

ahead to really challenge us and bring

out the best in

US coach has Sawyer played his way into

that starting quarterback role for the

future I'm excited about Sawyer I

thought he really played well I thought

that um you know there was some you know

early on I mean everyone we played

played as impress man and so there's um

you know the the running lanes were

tight the wind the throwing windows were

tight you know he was throwing us open

on a couple back shoulders and then you

know the plus one quarterback run game

really had to be kind of the answer

there for a little bit and he was doing

that and then uh to manage us through

kind of the where we got stalled out a

little bit to push through on the other

side a lot of that was Sawyers

leadership and so really confident in

him and uh you know I think he's getting

better with each with each start and so

so I'm looking forward to this next one

hey there were a lot of good things to

take out of that game the other day uh

one being special teams I mean I felt

like yall kind of dominated that area is

that something that can continue yeah

you know for all the struggles of last

year we're number one special teams unit

in the league and uh We've continued and

really almost improved off of that from

last year and so um we want to continue

you know this team we're about to play

has got a good unit they're explosive in

the return game like we are and they're

big and physical and um you know they're

going to be a challenge to uh to hold up

against with their rush and so it's a

great challenge we're looking forward to

it I think special teams wise be one of

the stronger units we

played how good is it to have Carl or

how good was it to have Carl back and I

guess how important is he to that

secondary unit yeah it's huge it was a

musthave and so I think for him to come

back and not be % and to push through

and to uh uh give of himself like that

you know from this time a week ago um

you know we were all hoping and it

wasn't we didn't really know until about

Thursday you know and so I think to have

him show up like that compete the way he

did um just says a lot about him and his

family and his his upraising and all of

it cuz I mean he he when the when the

bell rang he was ready to go you know

and so to have him back um consistently

now right we can really plan off him and

really try to weaponize him um and we're

going to need to moving forward you

hav't found luck on the road yet but at

home there seems to be you know yall are

dominating is there like a a difference

you see the team on the road as opposed

to playing at home no I mean we want to

win wherever we're at you know and I

think um whether it's on the road or at

home it comes to number one us getting

out of our own way you know and just um

winning games um by our tension to

detail our technique our execution and

uh you know I look at the losses you

know the first half of uh the the Utah

game and the the last quarter or so of

this last one right we weren't playing

with those things and so we've got to

put a full game together and so uh we

got an opportunity Saturday to do that

versus a really good team Dave you

started the two Jack formation I don't

know if that was a matchup deal with

Colorado how do you feel like Steve

Linton did really good yeah you know

he's been waiting to uh we've been

playing so many running teams he's you

know um he gets you know he's asking am

I leveraging am I spilling you know by

the way when am I going to rush you know

and so to get him to where we could open

up and have them rush like that I

thought you kind of saw kind of what

could be you know I think there's still

things that we can do better there in

terms of um you know controlling the B

Gap and quarterback scramble and stuff

like that but his effort his care Factor

i' take it million times over and so

really happy for for Steve and kind of

his play and uh what can most

importantly what can become out of that

I think we can have a really good Edge

rusher here it looked like Garmin went

out injured uh what's his status heading

into next week he's got an ankle

spraining so we'll see at I think is

probably questional questionable for uh

Saturday Coach uh winning the first game

and losing then winning and losing does

it kind of create a little bit of

frustration that you can't keep that

momentum going yeah losing uh causes

frustration and so it's you know we want

to win you know and so I think any and

you know when you have a game one and

then you don't win it that causes more

frustration and so I think the um the

you you know the flip side of that is

that the guys that that that are on our

team uh they all really care they're all

way committed they all know what last

year was some of them know what 21 was

and they know what's needed to take the

next step and they're all invested in it

and so I'm excited about that I'm

excited about you know uh going to work

with these guys you had such a good

crowd at the last home game uh being

expecting that on on Saturday yeah you

know anytime we get that type of support

I think there's there's a um a kind of a

a feeding off of it that we get whether

that's on defense or whether that's

after an offensive big play and uh the

sidelines kind of get going because the

student section's going crazy and you

can hear the Roar from the crowd and so

we're all pushing for that I mean you

know we have to be able to win games to

be able to get that and so I'm hopeful

uh Saturday morning that we've got

ourselves a good crowd you know I think

the team we're playing is a physical

team the quarterbacks taking the next

steps and he's an effective efficient

passer I think he's uh he's scary on the

run you know there a lot of Zone read

and keep and keeps off of uh the reads

um I think they've got good skill people

they can body you up and and make a

contested catch they got guys that can

run away away from you and so um o line

is the the deal that sticks out the most

to me is that they're a veteran group

and they played a lot together and it

shows on tape it's going to test us and

so yeah it's going to be a battle I

think it'd be it' be a good game to take

in we're looking to play our

best girl line seems to have taken a

step is there still but is there still a

position battle there at left tackle it

seems like Alvin and Colton I think

there there is yeah you know I think if

right now there's one of them that will

play you know better than average versus

the run then there's another one that

will play better than average versus the

pass if we could mix the two we'd have

it we'd have it uh licked you know and

so we're trying to be able to get the

best out of uh each individual on their

deficiencies and so some of the mixing

and matching has been because of that

DAV is get as Palmer's been that punk

coverage team are there some specific

guys on there that have really done the

job because they just don't seem to give

up anything yeah Josh White's a guy that

that sticks out um and then um Micah

would be another guy you know I think

there's there's dudes on there that play

a 100 miles an hour and uh want to hit

people you know we talk about running

through smoke sometimes when you're up

against the smoke you um you know you

don't know what's on the other side and

so to run full speed into it and with a

couple of these dudes maybe have their

eyes closed in that process and have no

uh second thought about what's on the

other side of it um that's what it takes

to kind of plan that unit and you know

uh Micah's that way Josh White's that

way we've got some guys that are really

excelling and really are excited about

the growth of that I think they're

looking at it as an attack which is cool

to see kind of a weird situation after

the game or in the closing minutes of

the game where got all these fans on the

on the field and they're review doing

the play uh have you ever been in a

situation like that yeah you know I

think that um anytime it's like that I

you know that just gives you more more

time to pause on what could have been or

you know mistakes you made and uh what

changes you wish you would have made and

so I think you know uh really that's

more fuel to a fire I guess and so um

that is you know when something like

that when you do lose and you're just

given more and more time to think about

it right the stronger that that fire

burns Dave with morning practices now

you get a morning kickoff this week is

that a factor don't that'd be awesome

yeah that' be good that would be good I

I understand um I have to I have to

believe from maybe another perspective

you know the morning games are probably

tough to tough um to maneuver but you

know all of us are up way early and and

to get up and just play football is

something that um I think we're getting

accustomed to and um I think we got the

most energy when it's that way and so I

think to be able to have a a morning

game like that I think uh I think our

guys do like that and they look forward

to it Dave What specifically have you

seen from BYU offense

defense defensively and offensively line

of scrimmage I think they physical UPF

front I think de uh defensively they're

really you know they remind me of West

Virginia a year ago

when West Virginia really

previous um would you know twist this

stunt that Blitz this and then last year

they played a little bit more quieter

and a little bit more structure uh

structured and really played better I I

see I see them I see Bo the same way and

um you know I think

offensively uh a lot of shifts and

motions probably similar in some ways to

Utah's plan of attack um and uh you know

they've they'll get it to where they can

out leverage you and uh you know lot of

uh backs and Pistol backs and gun backs

and far um splits are condensed splits

are wide a lot of formations to work

with and work through and so they

they'll get you looking at all different

types of things and they'll run it right

down your throat you know and then

they'll have the shot plays that come

off of that I think they're throwing for

a lot more than they're running because

of the uh the shots that they take you

know a lot of quick game will will uh

carry over week to week but they're a

heavy game plan unit so self Scout for

us is really going to be

key thank thank you guys