NoelarBear
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Watched Northwestern's David Braun's press conference. Wrote down a little summary below.
Opening Statement
- “Plenty to learn from” - on the Duke game
- “We did not play our best football”
- Credits the Duke team on being good on both sides of the ball
- “When do get clicking on all cylinders, we can compete with anyone”
- The team is excited to shift to Big Ten West football
- Minnesota is a “very very very physical opponent that understands what it takes to win in the Big Ten West.”
- “Coach Fleck and his staff have done a tremendous job in his time there and building a program. Building an identity on both sides of the ball that compliments one another”
- “There is no doubt in our mind that there is quite a challenge in front of us”
- “Our guys are excited to transition to Minnesota prep”
Opening Statement Ends
- “I have seen improvement since Rutgers (the first game)”
- Talks about how the team hasn’t started fast on the road this year.
- Knows the team needs to perform at a higher level
- Reporter brings up how successful MN was running the ball last year, asks coach how to force the Gophers in 3rd and long. “It all starts with our fundamentals and technique. We need to violently get off the blocks. We need to tackle well. Easy to say all of those things but not always easy to do especially against a very well coach and quality opponent in Minnesota”
- Talks about how he needs to put a plan in place that allows the team to play very fast. Use different schemes/looks against Gophers offense.
- “When Minnesota is ahead, they are at their best. We need to start early.”
- “We have to find ways to get Minnesota out of their comfort zone”
- Talking about how they have playmakers in the return game on special teams.
- Spoke about emphasizing tackling this week in practice
- On the OL and Tight ends after the Duke game - “Not where we need to be.”
- Talking about the up and downs for the OL against Duke. Need to be more consistent for 60 minutes.
- “We need to get going” - on the punt return. Talked about how close they are on breaking one for an explosive play.
- “A lapse of consistency” on the punt game.
- Got asked again about the punt game. Sounds like this could be a weakness for Northwestern.
- It’s “Wildcat welcome” this Saturday at Ryan Field. Braun talks about how excited he is for students to be back on campus.
- Got asked about the Jet Sweeps the offense uses and how he uses tight ends in space. He responded that it is always about match ups. Excited for the tight ends to “continue to shine”
- Got asked about DL Anto Sara, “ The young man can rush the passer, no doubt about that. He continues to improve”
- Got asked about what defines Big Ten West Football and the vibe around the team - “There is an edge to our team right now, that is a result of our understanding that we didn’t perform to the level we expect of ourselves last Saturday. There is a sense of excitement of Big Ten play”
- Got asked about WR Cam Johnson’s influence being an older player, “His level of confidence is contagious”
- Talked about being involved in the “Wildcat Welcome.” He mentioned how special Northwestern is, its a world class university in Big Ten athletics.
- Got asked about QB Ben Bryant. “This expectation is for him to perform on Saturday the way that he practices. The level of consistency we see in practice needs to be there on Saturday” He stressed though that it is ultimately a team game.
