Coach Stock Talks North Texas Week
Coach Stock began the morning by addressing the media in attendance,
“They’re [North Texas] pretty balanced on offense between passing and running. They’ve got some good players, they’ve moved a defensive back to wide receiver, that gives them some big play opportunities in the passing game. Defensively a little bit different scheme wise this year then they were last year. About middle of the pack conference wise in most statistical categories and are very sound in the kicking game. They’ve taken great pride in playing at home over the years so this will be a great challenge for our guys going on the road, playing a night game. I like where we are as a team right now from a mental stand point and we’ll be ready for another tough conference game.”
Q. “What does to mean have players like, Patrick Smith, step up into bigger roles with so many injuries this season?”
A. “Well, one I’m proud of him and its a great opportunity for him. Anytime people get hurt there is always an opportunity for the next guy and Patrick was going to play regardless of these injuries, his role has just increased due to the people we’ve lost at wide receiver. Pat had a good spring and a good summer and I’m proud of him now. Every person in that locker, since they were a little kid, their dream was to play college football. Now he’s one of the 110 guys who gets to fulfill his dream of playing division one college football and he’s having some success doing it, and that just means that much more to him. I’m just happy for him because he’s a good person, he’s worked hard and like I’ve always said, I like people who have worked hard and done the right things. I’m always happy to see them have success and enjoy success.
Q. “When you look at some of North Texas’ past games, it looks like they’ve improved defensively and changed schematically. Can you tell us about how they’ve improved and the challenges they’ll offer Saturday?”
A. “Well they’re a little bit older defensively then they were last year when we played them, more of a three man front against the pass. Looks like they use a lot zone coverage, but that will probably change when they play us. It seems like a lot of teams are playing us in man coverage because of where we’re at from an injury stand point. We’ll have to make that adjust when we get to the game on Saturday. They’ve got good players, Seth [Littrell] has done a good job since he’s been there the last eight or nine months. They’re not giving up the big play as much as they did last year, they’re a more mature team because of the age they have on their defense.
QB Brent Stockstill was Next Up to the Podium
Q. “When you guys were down 27 to 7 to LA Tech, what was the mood on the sidelines for yourself and the rest of the team?”
A. “I don’t think we ever lost belief, we know we’re capable of scoring points very quickly. The first half just wasn’t us, we didn’t execute, but we didn’t hang our heads. We came out with a big scoring drive, the defense kept us in it with some stops. It was a lot of fun to see that momentum keep building and see the atmosphere, not only the sidelines, but the stands as well. Just a cool experience to see and we ended up getting it done so it was fun.
MTSU travels to Denton to take on North Texas in the teams second Conference USA game of the season. Kick off is at 6pm and the game will cast on the team’s Twitter page, @MT_FB
