CINCINNATI – Head coach Scott Satterfield, fifth year quarterback JC French IV, fifth year offensive lineman Taran Tyo, and fifth year inside linebacker Jonathan Thompson spoke with the media ahead of Saturday’s game vs. Boston College.
The Bearcats and Eagles will kick off at 3:30 p.m. at Historic Nippert Stadium. The game will be televised on FOX.
On how he handles the team and environment in week one
“As everybody says, we're all in the same boat. We don’t really know what the opposing team has. A lot of them have new coaches, whether it be coordinators. We find ourselves looking at film from years past with some of the things that we're trying to see, tendencies that they may do, and then also you're looking at film from other schools because they brought players in. Especially early in the season, like the first game, second game, you spend so much more time looking at yourself and creating a standard that you want the guys to play at offensively, defensively, special teams, and to live up to that standard on a daily basis. We hope that's good enough once you get out on the field. It’s a little bit aggravating, especially in the first game where you play a team that doesn't have any film. You love to sit there and just watch all of Boston College and see everybody on that film that's going to be playing out here Saturday, and that's just not the case when we win the first game.”
Satterfield on allowing a joint practices to help with early-season scouting
“I don't know, that'd be different. Well, college football's changed so much, that's probably where we're headed. It feels like we're headed toward the NFL model. We're already getting ready to pass where you can have more practice in the summertime now compared to spring and summer. They are going to be more modeled toward the NFL, and of course we all know the NFL does the joint practices, and you get to see everybody in a little bit of a different light, but we'll see what happens in the future. I do think it just makes the first weeks very interesting. It was awesome to see some games this past Saturday, like TCU and North Carolina, Virginia and NC State, and there are a lot of unknowns when you go into those games. They had some coordinator changes and some differences. Then you got to see some of those things. TCU looked completely different, I thought, offensively compared to when we just finished playing them last year in the last game. So, that's what I'm talking about as far as the unknowns go, but you just let it play out when you get to the season.”
On common mistakes that teams make in week one
“I think there's probably a couple of things. Number one is that with some of the players who haven’t played for you, you don't truly know how they're going to be when the lights come on. There's some unknown there. You try to test them and put some adversity on them throughout practice, but until they really just get out there and play a game, you don't truly know. So, that's one thing. With players like Jonathan [Thompson] or Antwan [Peek Jr.], we know how they're going to play. So you don't worry about those guys. It's just the new guys you haven't seen play yet. I think number two is just that your first game is still trying to get into football shape or mental shape. Sometimes there can be some sloppy play in the first week, whether it be penalties or some missed assignments. Special teams always come into play, TCU snapped one over their punter’s head. Just things like that in the first game, you want to work all the kinks out because sometimes in practices it doesn't quite get worked out till you get to the first week.”
On the team’s health entering the first game of the year
“I think we pretty much came out of August fairly healthy, other than Ty [Goodwill]. We had some nicks and bruises, some guys missed some time. We had a few offensive linemen that missed time, but I think most of these guys are back now. We're going to have basically everybody full go for this week for BC prep, and we'll see where we're at with it this week with D’Angelo Hutchinson. I mean, he just got here, so he's still trying to learn a lot of things. So we'll see how that pans out. I think we are as healthy as you can be heading into week one. For a lot of that we have to give credit to Aaron [Himmler], Coach Niko [Palazeti] and downstairs and how we set the schedule and how we do things to keep these guys healthy. I think it really paid off for us again this August. So that's what you want. You want to get all your guys to the games on Saturdays.”
On Mason McKenzie, Boston College's new quarterback and what challenges are presented
“He was actually one of the guys we looked at in the offseason, potentially trying to bring in as well. I think he's a very talented player. He is a dual-threat, he can really run. I think he rushed over 900 yards last year. Looking at what Boston College did in the offseason, bringing in some of these guys, they brought in a very talented running back from Liberty was one of the top rushers last year in the country. He is extremely fast. Mason [McKenzie] is the quarterback, so they're going to be able to threaten your defense by running the football. They're going to try to do that, establish the run. I think this offseason you've heard them talk about being physical, O-line, D-line. I think certainly that's what indication is from the guys they brought in. They want to try to run the ball. I believe that McKenzie certainly can throw as well. They're going to try to establish the run, get guys down to the block so they can maybe open up some passing game for them. But he is a talented player, and they have some talented guys they brought in. They will certainly be a challenge for our defense to be able to stop that run.”
On what he remembers about safety D’Angelo Hutchinson, who he recruited at Louisville
“I remember recruiting him, bringing him in for that first year. He was a long, rangy, safety DB type of a player. I thought, man, he will be really good in the future. Of course, he ended up at Louisville, and last year had a really good year, I think he was second on the team in tackles. Watching this film, I thought he made some outstanding plays, he can do a lot. And then when Ty [Goodwill] went down early this year, we were like, man, you'd love to have somebody else that could come in and have some depth there. Hutchinson was the one. When everything started changing, he was a name that we saw. We thought he would be a great fit for us. He knew me, and we needed some help at safety. I think he can play field safety and boundary safety. I mean, there's a lot of positions he could play for us. He did just get here, so the learning curve is going to be hard. But he knows how to play coverage three, coverage two, and all that. But how we call plays and how we teach the techniques are slightly different. Every program is a little different. He's just got to learn that. As soon as he can learn that, we'll get him in rotation.”
On the health challenges of facing a physical team in week one
“That's a fine line there. How much tackling are you going to do or not do? How do we continue to teach it at practice? We're still teaching tackling defensively. We have tackle circuits every day. There's certain drills that we do, we chase the ball. That's big for us. So if a guy does miss a tackle, the next guy is going to be there. That's the only thing we're coaching, quite honestly. So hopefully that'll show up. That is one thing you see early in the season is some missed tackles. And once you get to the groove of things after a few weeks, I think it gets better. But, yeah that's something you worry about a little bit when you head to the first game.”
On Cyrus Allen and Jeff Caldwell landing on NFL rosters and how that inspires other skill position players
“I mean, I think JV [Gibson] had a really good August. I think Larenzo [Fenner] had a great August. Malachi [Henry] also had a really good August. Cade [Wolford] is always showing up every scrimmage. Isaiah [Johnson] has a ton of talent too. We've got some guys who can do some things for us offensively, especially our running backs. I feel like all four of those guys can play and get future opportunities. We all talk about our offensive line, so I think it all goes hand in hand. Our offense, to me, is not just one person that's going to stand out. I think we're going to have a bunch of guys that will collectively be a very good offense. I'm excited to see them perform. Obviously our quarterback's got to play well too. That doesn't matter at any level. If we want to win, our quarterback has to make plays and play good. We count a lot on JC [French IV] and to come out there and play at a high level.
On Cincinnati's warm weather this week and the preparation because of the heat
“We'll be outside today. We want to get exposed to the heat. This will be the hottest day we've had in a year this afternoon, and we talked about it. Our guys are looking forward to getting out there because who knows what Saturday's going to be like. It does look like it will be a little cooler, potential rain, but that's the one thing we can't control is weather. We do a great job downstairs, with the IVs or anything else like that. We hydrate. We talk about that all the time. This will be good for us today to get out and get in the heat. I know today and tomorrow are going to be really warm, and we've been training outside all camp. It hasn't been this hot but we'll see how we go out and react today.”
On how he is feeling before this Saturday’s game
“The vibes are high. I think we're all really excited to get out onto Nippert. Especially me, this being my first time. I’m really excited to see the fans show out and get our first win this week.”
On the offensive line he gets to play behind this year
“It's unbelievable. I think it starts with their leadership. In practice, workouts and throughout this whole offseason, you can tell that they're a group that's connected. It shows on the field. They're a very united bunch, and it gives confidence to every ne on this team. I think the coaches have the utmost confidence in them and so do I. I think they're going to help us a lot this year.”
On how he prepares facing Boston College's new defensive coordinator
“Obviously, I look at what he's done in the past to see what the defense does. I look at who he is as defensive coordinator too. But I think it is also important to study the players they had last year to see how they play the game and pick up on any tendencies. The first week is always difficult to get a feel of the other team. You don't know exactly what you're going to get. It's really about us getting comfortable within the game plan and being able to compete at a really high level.”
On the anticipation of the first snap
“I'm really excited to just go play ball. I've been waiting for this for a long time. I have been looking forward to it, and just stepping out there on that field, getting a special moment for me and the O-line just playing together as one. I'm really excited. I'm excited to maybe trash talk to somebody other than Marquaze [Parker]. I love our D-line. I think they're great this year, and they play with a different edge that I didn’t see last year. Coach [Nate] Woody and Coach [Walter] Stewart have done a great job bringing in the right people to the right jobs, and they have a great expectation in that room.”
On how big a step he can take this year
“Even before this year, I've always had high expectations. I put a lot of pressure on myself to be the best player I can, and coming into this year, being a center is a lot different than guard, obviously, making IDs, all those sort of things, and it's just a bigger responsibility that I have to own up to, and I'm ready for that challenge.”
On Gi’Bran Payne and the running back room
“Yeah, I think he's ready to go. These four running backs can all play at a very, very high level, and it's going to be a great strong suit to complement us. Cole [Tabb] is a power back. All four guys have breakaway speed, and to see that gives me a lot of confidence going against any team.”
On advice he would give to younger players before the game
“For me, I would say at the end of the day, you're playing the game you've been playing your whole life. It's just more advanced and more talented players. So just keep studying and keep working every day, because the work never fails you when it comes to performing. I always tell those young guys to take care of themselves and work each and every day. No matter if you made a mistake, you've got to move on to the next play because the game is never over.”
On adding D’Angelo Hutchinson
“We knew we needed somebody to step up or somebody to come in for the losing Ty [Goodwill] this year, and it was a surprise to us because we didn't know what was happening. It's cool to have somebody that talented, who had a great season last year, on our defense now, and we've just been trying to get him into the playbook and get him into.”
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