Week 4 Football Presser - Ball State - Western Kentucky University Athletics

Head Coach MIKE SANFORD (Full Video)

Opening statement:
"Going back to look at the tape, I stand by what I said. We're not going to take any pats on the back for losing a football game, but at the end of the day it's all about showing significant improvement as a football team as players and as coaches from week to week and we did that. Ultimately, the most important thing is getting a victory, that's the result that we want. I talked to the team a little bit about the worst possible outcome for a true competitor is a loss and that's what we've endured. But we look forward to the opportunity to put a great football game together for four quarters and finish strong against a team that's playing good football, that took Notre Dame to the wire. When I look back, I think about the fight that we've shown in all three games we've played this year, the resolve we've shown. Our players are warriors and our players are winners, and it's our job to get them to experience and taste that feeling of victory in a post-game and that's what we're all working towards. We have a unified front of wanting to get to that point sooner rather than later. But the progress that has been shown at a lot of positions with some players who are starring for the first time in certain roles, it's certainly being evidenced on film and that's what you want to see. Now it's about putting it all together and getting the ultimate goal, which is getting a victory this week against Ball State, which is going to be a great challenge."

On the team's mentality going forward:
"They were upset, they were angry because I think they were able to see every aspect of the film and watch what they saw and realized that we truly should have been able to finish that thing off as a team, and we had the opportunity to do so. In learning from that, they're upset to get better and get a victory, which is a good thing. They're not upset and pointing fingers. The feeling in the locker room, the feeling in the team meetings and at practice Sunday night is of a team that wants to go out and get things done and wants to have that resolve. I said it once and I'll say it again: I believe we have a team full of players and men who are like warriors and are true winners. I believe that we will see that very, very soon."

On WKU's current quarterback situation:
"I go back to what we saw in that game. I thought first off, Steven Duncan came out and was moving the football and did some good things. We stuck to the script that we had if Drew Eckels wasn't going to be available - and Drew will not be available this week. We will continually evaluate that, there has been a lot of improvements in his mobility and his ability to get a full range of motion back in his throwing shoulder. But to this point, we're not in a place to say that Drew is cleared to play this week and that will be a week-by-week decision that will be updated by Jessica Judd, our trainer. I thought Davis Shanley operated the offense at a very efficient level. I thought our tempo and our ability to stretch the defense horizontally and vertically with our run game, our quarterback run game and some of our perimeter throw-outs. It was really good to see the offense operating at a level where I think we're capable of operating ... It was one of those games where you're going to have to show your guts a little bit, and Davis stood in there and showed his guts. I also thought he did a nice job of working the pocket, and one area of his game that will continue to improve is when it's not there being able to step up and take off and run for a third-down conversion. Those are the things I know he's capable of doing and he has shown us in spring ball and fall camp, that he can take off and get you a first down; he has a great feel and a good knack for that. One thing I liked about him when I watched the film, I saw a guy who played within the system. You watch his progressions, his feet, his timing, you could tell it's a system he has learned, a system he has been trained in and he played as such. It was good to see in a good environment, a big environment as a redshirt freshman quarterback who hasn't started his first game and he'll get his first start this week against Ball State."

Defensive Coordinator CLAYTON WHITE (Full Video)

On the defense's performance at Louisville:
"When you're on the field, your emotions are really high so it felt really good on Saturday, it really did. I think the guys played well, we got off the field a lot on third down, that was the main thing. It really made us feel great, when you get off the field, it really helps a lot. I've got to give a lot of credit to our offense as well for keeping us off the field, that definitely played a big factor for us being able to get out there fresh, with a fresh mind, fresh legs, with our guys on special teams and stuff like that. I've got to give a lot of credit to our offense for keeping us off the field."

On holding Louisville to 88 yards passing:
"When you're in the game, you don't really realize what's going on, you don't really scoreboard watch. To get the message about the 88 yards passing, you do look around and say 'Wow, they do really have some talented wide options, obviously they dropped that 75-yard bomb, but that's not our problem, we can't worry about that. You definitely have some pride about that, we want to continue that and hope that we can do it again."

On sophomore DeAngelo Malone's progression:
"It started back in January, right after the bowl game. We talked to him about being one of the best players in this conference, he had to put on weight, get stronger, had to be more technical. I think [defensive ends] Coach Jimmy Lindsey, [strength and conditioning] Coach Jason Veltkamp, our nutritionists, everyone's involved on the DeAngelo Malone progression. I think that the sky is really the limit for that young man as long as he continues to work, stay humble, listen to his coaches, be a great teammate. I think he can really do some great things here at Western Kentucky."

Week 4 Football Presser - Ball State

Players Mentioned

Steven Duncan

Drew Eckels

DeAngelo Malone

Davis Shanley

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