Oct. 5, 2009

AMHERST, Mass. - In this Monday's weekly CAA Football Teleconference, UMass head coach Kevin Morris spoke on a variety of topics. Among them were how his squad used the off week, what he expects from Delaware, and what he thinks of his team one month into the season.

Below is the complete transcript.

Coach Morris on how the team used the off week:
We definitely used it to get healthy. We also wanted to stay in that groove of practicing on a daily basis and we did just that. So we went at it every day and tried to get healthy but also tried to stay sharp and not get rusty. We're going to spend the full two weeks on Delaware. You need to when you are playing Delaware at Delaware.

On what he sees from Delaware:
There's no question this is a very good football team. Playing Delaware at Delaware is always a task but Delaware has come out and played Richmond and had the game won but Richmond had a great play on a blocked field goal to win it. To take Richmond to task all the way to the final whistle is a tremendous effort but also tells you what kind of a football team it is. William & Mary got out in front of them and tried to work their way back in. They got away from what they want to be, they control the ball really well but want to mix in the run, but William & Mary, due to the score, got them out of the run game. They came back in Maine and reestablished the run. They had a good mix of run and pass, and played a very solid game. It's really tough to go up to Maine and play, especially Maine at night and then also in the rain as we mentioned. It was a really great win for Delaware, a really sound performance on both sides of the ball.

On going on the road for the first time in a month:
It's not until you do it that the kids get ready to play and win it, but we talk about it and try to get our minds right. This week and last week it has been about "hey we're going back on the road," but Delaware is a great place to play, it's a great environment, and it can be a hostile environment. You have to do well early with that crowd down there but our kids are excited about it, they want to go play. They had a great effort at K-State. We didn't come out with a win but as we talk about we weren't good enough to win that game that day but certainly gave a great effort. Our kids really feed off the energy of a big time crowd and stadium. We had three great crowds here at UMass and we are looking forward to another great venue down at Delaware.

On the teams balance between Havens passing and Nelson running:
With Kyle Havens, we had the off week and we didn't take it as an off week. It is because we want to continue the progression of Kyle Havens at quarterback. So, we need to keep getting him as many reps as we can in the offense as he gets used to it. He's four games in now and has shown strong progression in our schemes and really running our offense and being efficient with the football. Were excited about his progress at this point and that's why we wanted to maintain that practice regimen and getting out there and really getting after it so he can get all his reads and his footwork down and keep getting better and better. Regarding Tony Nelson, he's been our go-to back last year and again obviously this year. We're really excited about Tony's progress and what he does for our offense. He's our guy, we're going to get him the rock and expect him to carry the load. Most teams knew that coming into the season and that formula has not changed.

On Tony Nelson's health status:
Yes, I think just about there. He was a game time decision against Stony Brook and he just felt uncomfortable enough that we decided "Hey, let's just try to hold him out," but fortunately enough we were able to get Jon Hernandez running well. We didn't have to get Tony involved in that game situation. So he had an extra week now to get healthy so he should be fully ready to go for Delaware.

On what role Jonathan Hernandez will play going forward:
We're going to get the ball to Tony, no question, but I think John,with what he's done, has proven he can handle the load as well. So certainly now with Tony coming off the injury and being a little nicked up, now we don't have to necessarily give Tony the ball 35-40 times. We can drop that down a little bit and have Johnny take the rest of those reps and be very confident in his ability to get the job done.

On Hernandez and the rest of the team's depth:
There's no question about that. We're in the CAA now, full-go, and we had the nice win against URI early but you really need guys to step up. We've been fortunate to have that. I think in the beginning of the season that is why we've gotten off to a pretty good start here because we've had some young guys step into a role and play it at a high level. You have DJ Adeoba as a CAA Player of the Week as a rookie and Perry McIntyre for our game last week. Those two guys have stepped in at the linebacker position and really filled some shoes and are playing well. John Hernandez stepped in on the offensive side and ran for about 140 in a tight game. So when young guys like that are stepping up, we've had guys stepping up on the o-line, d-line, just about everywhere, d-back now as well, so when those guys are stepping up and playing for you, you have a shot. You need those guys in the CAA. We've got the seven week stretch now and we'll need every one of those guys to continue to develop and continue to play at a very high level.

On looking forward to seeing how the team reacts to playing top competition:
I think that's been the case all year. Honestly we don't take any team lightly and every team has been a ball game we've had to earn and win. We haven't gotten off the bus and beaten anybody. I don't know that we're good enough and certainly for the rest of the CAA schedule that's not going to be the case. That hasn't been the case to date. We take every game very seriously from the first snap. Our kids really want to play hard and make sure they earn that victory. Going into CAA now certainly you're not coming off the bus with the win. You better come off ready to play. Every week you're going to see upsets, that's just CAA play, that's great teams playing great teams. On the ledger, one guy might have more wins than the other but that doesn't mean anything in CAA play, you have to come out ready to go. Am I excited to watch our team in the next several weeks? Absolutely. I think we're looking forward to a challenge and it opens up with Delaware. I'm looking forward to seeing how guys react but I have no idea how we're going to react and how well we're going to execute when times are tough and you're playing against teams that are up to the task.

On if he has seen anything in Delaware that can be exploited:
Well I don't know if you can really exploit too much of what Delaware has done to date. Defensively, they're really solid up front. That Gilbeaux kid is playing very well and the rest of that front are experienced guys that can really bring it. Their linebackers are solid and defensive backs are very solid as well, so we've got our work cut out for us. On offense, they're going to play a good solid brand of football. Defensively, they're going to make you make mistakes. We really need to take care of the football because they'll really get after that, as well. They had a big interception in Maine in the beginning of that fourth quarter that really gave them an opportunity to win that game out right. Offensively, Pat Devlin at quarterback is outstanding. He can run, he's their third leading rusher as well as throw the rock really well. They have four really good receivers with that Duncan kid back. He looks like he's playing full force and had a big time play for a huge TD up at Maine early in that game. Crosby, Mackey and Jones are all really good guys. Nicholson is heading that offensive line. They are solid all over. They're playing at home coming off a big win on the road at Maine so I think they're going to be excited about who they are and where they're headed at this point so we need to come ready to go. I don't know if we can really get after one thing in particular. I think our game plan is play good solid UMass football, run the ball well, mix in some play action and defensively keep everything in front of us and make them earn it.