POCATELLO, Idaho - Idaho State Head Coach
Cody Hawkins addressed the media prior to the Bengals' matchup with Northern Arizona this Saturday.
Quotes from the press conference
On the matchup with NAU
"Feeling good. I'm excited to have an opportunity for a two-week home stand and to play back-to-back conference games here in the dome. We have a ton of respect for NAU and Coach Wright's team — they've obviously gotten the better of us the last two years, but it's because they're well-coached and they've got really good football players. On offense, defense and special teams, they're legit. It's gonna be a dogfight for sure."
On wide receiver availability this week
"I think all of our guys were available on Saturday. Juice, Sim, Tommy — Tommy came out at one point, but it wasn't because he was injured, he just landed funky and got the wind knocked out of him. Jimmy's been battling some injuries but was available, we limited him a little. Zed, Chedon and Owen should all be ready to go. Our receivers should be okay."
On Simeon Brown's path to more playing time
"I think it's just continuing to be consistent and the opportunities to show up. I've said it in many of our meetings, I think he needs to play more. Do I think he deserves to play ahead of Juice or Tommy? Not right now, but it's not because he's not a great receiver — I have a ton of faith in Sim. He'll have his moment in the sun, and maybe it wasn't last week or the week before that, but it's coming."
On correcting the four turnovers against Southern Utah
"We haven't fumbled the ball twice in a game since I've been here, so fumbling it three times is kind of an abomination. That's not something you can ignore, but our process has been pretty good at holding onto the football for three years, so I don't wanna panic and change the process — we're emphasizing it and correcting those specific mistakes. Ball security's something we emphasize every single week, and it has done well for us."
On what stood out watching the film back
"To me, the problems were the turnovers and the early-down sack — that was really the problem in the game. I like the way we ran the football. The flea flicker was 100% on me — based on what they'd been doing, it was a good shot, but obviously I'm wrong, and it's on me. I love the resolve of the team probably more than anything — to see your defense go out and not bat an eye, whether it was the first fumble or the drive at the end of the game, they were ready to roll."
On the message to special teams this week
"It's a burden and a blessing having the standard be really high, because when it falls below that, everybody notices. Our punt operation has to be better. And for Mason, it's a bummer — he smoked both those kicks, just missed by a little, and I love his process. We're gonna change some things up from a personnel standpoint this week and let guys specialize a little more, rather than having a couple guys do everything."
On Tytan Mason and Jackson Irwin's growth
"So much of developing a program is depth — on good teams, there are people that get screwed a little bit in terms of reps, and it's a delicate balance trying to keep guys happy. Jackson was a D-lineman in junior college who came to us and played linebacker — his progression has been non-linear, but it's been what we expected, because we knew he could be great. With Tytan, he always had a great feel — he's not a yacht, he's not a jitterbug, he's kind of a speedboat. The more opportunities he's gotten, he's made the most of them."
On replacing Dason Brown's pass-protection ability
"We haven't replaced it at all, and that's why you've seen us give up more sacks and pressures than we'd want. We've been spending a lot of time on blitz protections, making sure everybody's there. Nobody can play in our offense if they can't protect the quarterback — that's not a special Idaho State thing, that's just how I believe you have to play football. You gotta protect the human before you protect the football."
On pending federal college athletics legislation
"I don't care what the rules are, I just want some rules — something that we can enforce and go by. I don't care about the salary cap, whether it's on coaches or players. I just want something that is enforceable that we'll all agree to play by. I think without a doubt the athletes deserve probably more rights than they've gotten in the past, and I hope there's a way — whether it's them unionizing or getting rules written into it — because football now is different than it was a long time ago."
On preparing for NAU's experienced quarterback
"We got a couple tricks up our sleeve. Any time you have a guy who's that experienced, you're trying to find a look he hasn't seen — disguises are important, breaking tendencies are important, putting pressure on the quarterback is important, because even if he knows what you're doing, if you get there faster than everybody else, it's harder for him to operate. Having an experienced quarterback is a huge benefit to every program — I have a ton of respect for him, he's the cream of the crop."
