It’s back to the drawing board.
But before Kalen DeBoer and Co. can execute a game plan to snap a two-game losing streak against Arizona at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, UW first-year coach met the media Monday for his weekly news conference. Below is a complete transcript of DeBoer’s address.
“All right, good morning. Just to recap, quick, the game: a lot of things we thought happened during the game are what we saw on film. You’ve heard a little bit about that. I’m still proud of the way we continued to battle. It’s not what we want to be known as: a team that’s battling because we’re behind and didn’t get the job done and put ourselves in a hole. But it says a lot about the character of our team. We’ve got another great challenge in different ways. Every week provides a different challenge. Arizona, moving the ball and what they do, they’re continuing to build their program and be better each and every week. So fortunately we get to be back in Husky Stadium, Homecoming. There’s a great vibe that I know our guys have, playing four games already here. So excited about that. Guys were excited to get back to work yesterday. We went on the field, and we won’t always do that where we practice on a Sunday. Especially as the season goes along, we’ll continue to pull back on that. But I think the reps and the corrections and the walk-through we can get to correct the things from Saturday and maybe get a jump start on Arizona and the week ahead is always good for us. So tomorrow starts a new week. I expect nothing but awesome energy from these guys. The journey, as we talked about yesterday, isn’t always on the course you want it to go. You don’t see the peaks and valleys in the course that’s set up. We’ve just really got to do a great job of mentally, mindset-wise, operating in the right space and being in an attacking mode, a positive mode, and make our own breaks. We had a few things that went against us, a few breaks that didn’t go our way. I’m a believer that you work hard and you prepare and you stick together, and those breaks will happen for us. Questions?”
On Richard Newton:
“This week it’ll kind of be a day-to-day deal with Rich. So I’m not sure if he’ll be available. But we’ll know more as the week goes on.”
On UW’s running back depth behind Wayne Taulapapa:
“We saw some of those guys pop off some runs. With Richard, it was fun seeing him. He was mainly tied up in tight confines in most of his carries throughout this year. But we got him out in space and you saw him run aggressively. You guys have seen that more than I have. You know him better than I do, other than film that I’ve watched. CD got out there and had a nice game. I thought he was really consistent. It was fun to see him get involved. So the run game improved overall. The stats maybe didn’t show it because of right at the end there with the (bad) snap, but I thought we continued to grow. People are adjusting to what we do offensively, and the other stuff starts opening up. That’s why it’s so important to have threats all over the field. But I think the running back depth continues to evolve, and we needed that on Saturday, with some guys in and out for different reasons.”
On if there are lingering injury concerns this week for Michael Penix Jr.:
“I don’t think so. I think he’s all good. I think he was a little sore after the game. Really didn’t know what was wrong when I first got out on the field, and then I figured it out and really just turned the corner really fast. It’s really just one of those things where all of a sudden he’s like, ‘Oh, I think I’m going to be OK.’ He was really sore but he’s fine now.”
On if he thought about or talked with Penix about his injury history at the time:
“I was just trying to sort out where he was going with the injury. The pain was so strong early on. It was a lot of different things in that area. He kind of really dialed in on what it was as it diminished. At first I wasn’t sure. Maybe a little bit of that thought was going through my mind. I was thinking more about … I didn’t feel in my heart that it was something that would be a season-ending injury. I don’t know, it just didn’t feel that way. But I knew we’d have our challenges as far as finding a way to win the game. D-Mo did a great job of coming in and slinging it. He got us a good gain, got us a first down and Mike went back out there. I was really proud of the way all our guys responded and the way their mindset was through all of that.”
On how DeBoer’s philosophy on going for fourth downs has shifted:
“To me, it’s still only a recommendation. We’ve done a good job of preparing and game planning. You have a few more third down and six and seven and eight calls in your arsenal, because you might not always throw it on a higher percentage. You might be OK with being fourth-and-1 and fourth-and-2. But to me, it’s just a recommendation. I’ve trusted my gut in most of those times over 20 years and won a fair share of games doing that. I did feel like in that moment … and I’ve gone against it quite a few times already this year, what the recommendation was. In that time I just really felt confident that we’d get the first down.”
On DeBoer’s style being to push it:
“No question. You can’t be reckless. You can’t be careless. Obviously on your own 30-yard line people are going to argue that. But I think, like you said, that’s kind of how we’ve gone about it over many years playing confident. It’s not just a belief in your offense, OK. It’s having talked about it defensively and it being known to them that they’re going to be put in some tough spots, and that they’re OK with it. This is an opportunity for them to rise up and make a statement of their own. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. But doesn’t mean that we can’t learn from it, grow, and dig even deeper when it does happen again. We’ve gone for it quite a few times this year.”
On Taj Davis getting extended reps against ASU:
“We had a lot of snaps. I think we threw it 53 times. Just that rotation and the guys — we believe in Taj. He’s out there. We know he can make a lot of plays. He’s done that time and time again. It was really good to see him get out there and execute. I could think of a couple plays where the ball found him, and he was there prepared to go make that play. Was excited about us continuing to grow our depth and see more and more guys get involved.”
On if Mishael Powell will be out against Arizona:
“Yeah. Meesh will be out again this week. Yep.”
On Rome Odunze’s status:
“There’s been little nagging things here for him throughout the last two, three weeks. He’s obviously played through it and played tremendous. But I think just the volume of things at some point wear on you. He’ll be good to go this next week and expect him to have the production he’s had the last couple weeks.”
On Kuao Peihopa not making the trip to ASU:
“No. He didn’t make the trip. It’ll be determined whether he’ll be with us this next week as well.”
On the secondary, and if DeBoer feels UW has the talent to compete long-term:
“I think probably one of the things that’s hurt us is the lack of depth and experience. Coaches will continue to adjust and work around the strengths of those guys. I think back to earlier in the year, especially with a guy like Meesh, there were things we were starting to do right before we lost him that I think really played into his strengths. Whether it be coverages and helping him — not helping him, but the way he can help our secondary. It helped us, not just in the pass game but in the run game the way we were playing him. Every guy has their strengths. Some guys run better. Some guys are more physical. We’ll continue to adapt to fit what the strengths of the personnel are that we put on the field. But, just sheer numbers wise, we have to continue to bring more guys through recruiting into our program. Those guys are taking a lot of snaps, not just on defense, but on special teams. There are key guys that run down the field on kickoff and covering punts. We gotta recruit more numbers. We were a little short to being with going into the season. And then just more stress gets put on those guys and the volume of work they have. Whether it be practice, but in particular, games, and that’s the wear and tear that you’re seeing.”
On if DeBoer tried to add players to the secondary before the season through the transfer portal:
“There were players that we were — you evaluate every time they come to campus or someone that you had seen. We had some changes to our roster that were unforeseen. I guess that would have been end of April, early May. That hurt us. And then injuries now. We knew we were thin. It’s one of those things we were looking to address it. But we either didn’t see a quality enough player that could come help us. Or just didn’t feel character wise with someone that would help us along with building our culture.”
On adversity and if the last two results have shaken the players:
“I’m sure there’s some. We talk so much about not letting the negative thought complete itself in your mind, and I really feel like the guys are working through that hard and we’ve got to be there to pick each other up. The foundation of everything we do, whether it’s the relationships, whether it’s the work we’ve put in, the banked reps of walk-throughs to work the schemes, that’s where you trust your preparation and the trust and belief in each other. Even when that is lost for a split second because you thought maybe you had help here on a coverage or a guy was going to run this route. In the end, you know that this is a guy you can count on because you’ve been through it with them. I know our guys are going to keep fighting and battling. I am really proud of seeing the last two weeks and how we’ve come into the locker room after each loss. It’s been different. UCLA, I think there was a hurt. They were riding a four-game winning streak and expectations, and I think there was hurt. This last week, it was an upsetting thing to the guys. I saw a little more aggravation. But in both those moments and everything I’ve seen so far, there’s never been anything as far as finger-pointing or guys upset other than upset at what the results were. Not upset at someone else in particular or what we did and how we did it. To me, that says a lot about the character of our team and the culture we’re continuing to build. If the attitude and effort is in that place, we’re going to continue to get better. We want the high expectations. I’ve been at places where there weren’t, and I’ve been at times in programs where there weren’t expectations, and I keep reminding guys that that’s no fun. Be OK with having high expectations. It doesn’t mean that we’re quite there yet, and we know we’re not. We never really said we were. We know this is part of the journey. A little adversity along the way is something we knew would happen at some point.”
On the challenge of matching personnel to scheme on defense:
“I think most of the athletes and style of play that we have … just more. More depth, more defensive line depth, more depth in the secondary. Depth creates competition, and competition continues. I don’t care how hard you’re working, someone who is pushing you is going to help you be better at your job. One thing that is a little different when you compare one year to the next is the pressure for the opponent to continue to be aggressive is something that is putting a little more pressure on our defense as well. The opponent’s offense right now knows they have to keep scoring points and they aren’t just going to hand the ball off another time. A lot of times either teams have been playing from behind, so they’ve had to continue to be aggressive, or they’ve had the lead and know that we’re going to keep putting the pressure on them.”
On if the offense has pressed at any point for that same reason:
“I think the fourth quarter … it’s those moments at the end of the game when you know you’re down 7. I feel our offense thinks they can, and should, score over 40 points every game. But it isn’t about what that looks like at the end; it’s about what you just … that’s where the 1-0 mindset is so important. Just focus on that play. Let’s not get caught up on how we’re going to get a 40-point touchdown. That doesn’t exist. Let’s talk about how we’re going to get a first down. Let’s talk about how we’re going to get the first touchdowns. They’re in the right mindset. I kept telling the whole team, the game is going to keep coming back to you. We’re good enough and we’re going to keep putting pressure. We’re going to make plays somewhere. Davon Banks getting an interception. All of a sudden the other team is going to make a mistake too. We make a play and we get a short field and a lot of momentum going in our direction. We’re just going to keep playing team football, keep trusting and believing. But I think that’s where were at with the team and our mindset.”
On Tuli Letuligasenoa on a limited snap count:
“He was a bit limited in the number of reps he could have played. He’ll be healthier as this week goes on. But he was a little bit limited.”
On Ulumoo Ale dealing with the same thing that happened to him in training camp:
“No, it’s different. Something happened in the game the week before. But again, his situation was kind of game-day, game-time decision and how we felt as the day was going on. But I think he’s getting through his and obviously he made the trip so we were pretty close with him too.”
On Cameron Williams redshirting:
“Yeah. Cam approached us a few weeks ago and expressed that that’s what he had an interest in doing. There’s opportunities and it hurts that we’re thin at that position but that’s the choice … and we talked through it with him and tried to show him the pros and cons and the opportunities that exist and that’s what he still chose to do, was redshirt.”