Dave Aranda visits with media ahead of Baylor's road contest against West Virginia
Baylor head coach Dave Aranda Weekly Press Conference
September 28, 2020
On Ebner’s potential as a kick returner…
[Trestan] Ebner really wanted to be on teams and he really wanted in that position. For us just looking at what he accomplished as a running back and his speed and his athleticism and his ability to catch and handle kicks was very impressive from the start with us. So I’m really excited to see him have this success and I’m a fan of his.
We’re anticipating continued improvement (in special teams) because there’s a fair amount of things that we can get better on teams. Speaking with Coach [Matthew] Powledge, the emphasis on the details and finding the right people for the right jobs and to get more and more talent on those teams, and to get them meshing the way we did on a few of them for Saturday is for sure the goal. So I’m excited for that.
On potential offensive line returners this week…
We’re anticipating having Xavier [Newman-Johnson] back, so we’re excited for that. Xavier gives us the ability to make IDs, there’s a toughness and a football intelligence that comes with having him in there. We’re still in a wait and see mode with Blake [Bedier] and Jake [Burton], so we’re hopeful that we’ll have them for Saturday.
On Baylor’s quality tackling vs. Kansas…
I thought it was good. There are things we can improve. There were a few open-field tackles where our angles, we talk about owning our leverage, so wherever you are in relation with the ball carrier, if you’re inside out, your eyes are on the inside hip of the ball carrier. You own that leverage and you attack and close off the space between you and the ball carrier. We’re saying if you’re coming from that position and there’s somebody coming from the outside in, we want to play fast playing to our help. So whether you’re working with another defender or let’s say you’re working with the sideline and that ball is more toward the numbers, and so I think in terms of keeping and owning that leverage, we were OK. But we can be better and we’re aiming to make improvement this week. But I think in terms of overall tackling we were better than OK, and a lot of that had to do with effort. There was great effort I thought throughout. There were mistakes that happened, and the angle in sustaining the right angles was overrun by great effort from all 11. So I think anytime you have that you’ll take it. So it was good to see. But we need to improve on tackling though.
On Jalen Pitre’s tackling…
I think he is very talented in identifying those types of things. There’s an area of football intelligence that comes with knowing spatial relation, knowing where your help is, knowing in this call I’ve got help here. Or in this part of the field I’ve got a short boundary, so I’m going to use that boundary as the 12th guy. We try to teach to that. He’s either been taught that already or instinctively has that inside of him. So when that comes out, it’s a great teaching tape for us. But he did tackle very well.
On teams making big jumps from week one to week two…
I agree with that. Anytime with us, being the first time out, just how we handle travel, the way we handle the home hotel, the away hotel, how we handle meetings at the hotel, how we handle a Saturday morning, how we handle a Friday night. Those are all details that can add up. There’s an excitement that comes when knowing that a game is pending. But the more clear and precise those things are, the more settled I think we are come game time. I think those will get better with it being your second time through.
Player-wise, piggy backing on what we were just talking about, if I’m in space and I’m playing with someone I just played a game with, there’s a better feel that I can count on him to set the edge. Now I can really let it rip and come inside out knowing that there’s an edge that’s set along with let’s say there’s a double team block that we spent a lot of time on the week before, and now we’re repping it throughout the week and we’re running it again on Saturday. We’ve had that experience of working together and we’re going to really make sure we kind of root this guy out and kind of move him back. All those things in terms of depending on teammates and knowing where guys are going to be, I think you’re always going to see the improvement when you continue to work on the right stuff and spend time on details I feel that improvement will come shortly thereafter.
On Christian Morgan’s targeting penalty…
We watched some of those fouls yesterday in front of the team, and Christian’s was one of them. I feel like a good comparison there was a punt where there was a really late fair catch. As we were kind of closing in on the tackle, we might have had some contact but we veered off the last second. I would compare that to the Christian Morgan foul. We talk about the strike zone from the chest level to about the mid-torso, and that’s where we’ve got to hit our pitches. Anything up here we want to stay away from, and anything below the torso own down we want to stay away from. So we want to be able to hit right here (middle). It’s a small target, and especially when it’s moving, it makes it even more difficult.
What we talked about with Christian is hey man you’re coming like this and if you’re getting a quarterback that’s starting to slide, much like that late fair catch, you’ve got to be able to maneuver out. You’ve got to be able to get out of the way, He goes “Coach I didn’t know if he was going to run me over and everything.” I said I feel what you’re saying and I agree with your statement right there. But just where the game is at and to keep everybody playing and keeping everybody safe, this is what it is. So we’re talking about some drills that we can really hone in on that can help us with that type of fast moving decision because we’re going to face more circumstances like that.
But anytime you’re talking about a quarterback, you’ve got to be really aware of it. Anytime that you’re dealing with a sideline, you’ve got to be aware of late hits and that or hits outside the sideline. Anytime you’re talking about balls that are thrown over the middle, you’re talking about that as well in terms of the strike zone. I think education, emphasis, drills will be ways to move forward there.
On performance of the secondary…
I thought they did a good job. When we were able to communicate and have our cleats in the grass and be settled, I thought we played pretty well. There’s some work we can do just in terms of communication from all the way up top to down below to on the field. I think these are things where it’s the first game and you improve and you learn and you grow that way. But I think that communication all the way down to our players is an area we can continue to improve. There are areas we can grow there. So when our secondary was settled and ready to play, I thought they were where they needed to be. There were some different looks that we saw in this game, more so that we prepared for. So you talk about Brian Stewart, Matt Powledge and Ron Roberts and the adjustments they made and the coaching that went on on the sideline I’m really proud of that.
On West Virginia not allowing fans…
We’re approaching this as this is about us, and to just take our show on the road. So, like how we handle the day-to-day, how we handle our walk-throughs, how we handle our meetings, how we handle our pregame, how we handle adverse situations, is all about us. So, we’re really trying to hone in that way. I feel like the no fans, there will be an effect there. But, we would really like for our players and our coaches to just be so tuned in to what we’re doing and what the exact call or situation requires, that that stuff just kind of fades away. I feel like at times, being at home, there was some good crowd noise when we needed it. I’m so appreciative of our fans and the student section, in particular. But, I think anytime that you’ve got noise and you use it, and then when you don’t have noise, that you bring your own juice and it’s about you. I think there were times where that took place on Saturday as well. So, we want to be able to carry that over to this next week.
On how much Jalen Pitre has improved…
Jalen, first of all, is just a great person. He’s got a great heart. I just see him treat people right. I see him have respect for people, and he’s got respect for himself. I feel like he’s a great student. So, the things he does off the field are very impressive and something that I think all of our players can strive towards. On the field, when I first got here, he was an inside linebacker and moving him some to safety. And I remember during that time just thinking, this guy looks like he’s a STAR. And I know Ron (Roberts) was feeling the same way. I think that position is just made for him because it’s a combination of both the linebacker and the safety. It highlights his ability to blitz, his ability to set the edge, and then he has just enough coverage responsibilities that he’s keeping people honest with things. I think the best is yet to come with him.
On first impressions of West Virginia and Neal Brown…
To me, what strikes out is just their skill, their speed at running back and their speed at receiver. I think their running back is a tough runner, he’s got great vision. If we lose a gap or we lose an edge, they’re a big stretch team, then he can eat up some yards pretty quick. And then defensively, I just think very disruptive, very different than some of the previous teams we’ve been preparing for. They’re creative in how they get four- and five-man rushes, lot of twists and stunts and linebacker pressures in that. So, I think they cause a lot of disruption and I like the stuff they do on defense. Special teams, I think they’re an effective return unit, and they’ve also been effective in covering so far this year. That’s a major challenge for us. And I have a lot of respect for Neal [Brown]. First of all, he whooped us when I was at LSU, so that’s a pretty vivid memory there. He did a great job. Everyone that I talk to about him feels the same way that I feel, he’s just a great person. And I know he’s a very effective and strong coach, but he treats people right, there’s a lot of respect in the coaching community for him. I’m happy that he’s in our league, I think he makes us all better.
On Lovett’s blocking during first Ebner return…
That was the first clip we showed the team yesterday was that one. We talk about the Baylor ID, the toughest, hardest-working, most competitive team in the country. And that play by John [Lovett] is an illustration of that.
On differences on game day as head coach vs. coordinator…
I think when you’re a coordinator, you’re so locked in to your side, and it’s almost like a murder mystery a little bit in terms of these are the clues, this is how you have to solve this caper and all that. And you’re trying to figure all that out in some pressure situations, and trying to find out which clues not to follow, which clues to hone in on and where’s home base? Where are you going to catch them? And I think when you’re not in that position, you’re kind of seeing things play out and not probably as in-depth level, but you’re definitely aware why we called this particular play, what we’re anticipating in this situation or this field zone. But then also, for me, I’m thinking ahead. I’m thinking time-wise, clock-wise, I’m thinking hey there’s some momentum going here, if we get a stop here, we need this from our offense or this from our teams. So, the perspective is not as narrow, it’s much broader and inclusive in the role that I’m in now.
On West Virginia QB Jarret Doege…
He’s got a great feel for the game, so I don’t see him make a lot of throws that are unwarranted. I see him putting the ball where it needs to be. I think he’s got just enough athleticism to make you have to be concerned with their read game. I feel like he’s got some good football intelligence. I think there’s great anticipation on throws, and I feel like he’s trusted. I feel like a lot of it goes through him. It’s a really good offense. They’ve had some really good quarterbacks in the past, and I think he’s already done some good things. I’m sure they’re looking for more. it’s a challenge for us.
On success of first-time starters on defensive line…
I thought they did a great job of playing the run early in the game. I thought they were able to get extension. I think early in camp, we were up like this (holding hands up high), tight sometimes, and we would step into blockers and not be able to get big in a gap. In this game, I thought we were able to get lock out and then show up and get in that gap. You look at it from the end zone view, you saw Baylor A, B, C, across the line. That was really good to see. A lot of credit to our front people and Dennis Johnson. The other part I thought they did well was pass-rush lanes, especially early in the game. We were concerned with some of the coverages that we were doing, the more people we were putting back here to cover these guys, the less people we have to rush and kind of secure the quarterback in terms of a scramble. And I thought we did a good job early. We kind of lost a little bit of that at the end of the game, and we’re certainly going to work to improve it. But, I thought there was a great account of our front, and we’re only going to grow and get better.