Comments from WSU Head Coach Mike Price: Pre-California
Football heads into Pac-10 opener versus Cal.
September 22, 1998
PAC-10 OPENER - "Cal is a good, quality team coming off a big road win at Oklahoma. Berkeley has nine of 11 guys back on defense. The Cal offense hasn't been as productive as they would like, but they always have gifted athletes on the outside and usually have good running backs. Justin Vedder is doing a good job at quarterback. Marcus Fields obviously did a great job against Oklahoma. Cal always seems to have one or two backs hiding in the lockerroom. Defense is the key to Cal. They have experienced, veteran players. Our offense is starting to get better, but we have to get better to give them a good game."
EMOTIONS THIS WEEK - "Not to take anything away from the three opponents we have played, but our players will be very excited to open conference play. It was the quietest 3-0 lockerroom I've ever been in after the (Idaho) game. We're a little disappointed we didn't play better in the first three games and our expectations are probably higher than they should be. Maybe it's good to have these high expectations and goals and to be disappointed. I think we're just looking forward to getting into the conference and playing against the teams we're supposed to play. We have a great opportunity to win this weekend. It's going to be competitive. We need to play our best. Of the three games we've played, I thought our last game was our best. We still have to step it up and play better."
TAYLOR MADE RECEIVER - "Nian Taylor had a superb game. After the Boise State game, we decided that we overloaded him a little too much, moving him from position to position and putting special plays in just for him. He was thinking too much and therefore he wasn't free flowing. He is a natural athlete and if you make him think too much he isn't free flowing. He can make things look pretty easy. Last week we kept it simple for him so he didn't have to worry about where he was aligned. It worked. Now he can focus on the execution of the play. I think the first two games gave him the ability not to be double teamed. You never knew where he was going line up."
PRODUCTIVE OFFENSE - "We did do better offensively than we did a week ago. At times we looked spectacular, at times we didn't look good at all. The new plays we selected worked great, and one play for 97 yards. That doesn't always happen. We took advantage of (Idaho's) defense and offense with our play selection. I was pleased with the last four minutes of the game when we had the ball at the one-inch line and we were able to smack that thing out and drive the ball 60 yards and not give Idaho a chance to come back."
IN THE REDZONE - "I thought our defense made some tremendous plays in the redzone and our offense didn't make enough plays in that area. I'm disappointed in our execution there. I've been thinking the past three weeks it's been the plays, but our plays look like they're well designed. We're just not executing properly. It's just alignment assignment errors, which are correctable."
LAMONT IS FOR REAL - "Lamont Thompson is the real deal. He has great hands and has the knack for being at the right place at the right time. His second interception (vs. Idaho) was a key interception in the game. He plays the ball very well in the air and that's what most receivers do. I'm not suggesting that's he is going to be a receiver, but the best defensive backs are the ones who can find the ball in the air."
SPECTACULAR SECONDARY - "Our secondary, as a whole, played exceptionally well. I'm pleased with the work Earl Riley and Chris Martin have done this year. They've been outstanding. LeJuan Gibbons got in the (Idaho) game and it was nice to have him back again. Dee Moronkola is playing great. He stoned (Idaho running back) Joel Thomas one time on a play by coming up and hitting him good."
D-LINE - "Gary Holmes got hurt, which is tragic for him. It's been a frustrating senior year for Gary. He has a severely sprained ankle and will be out a couple of weeks with that injury. But we threw (true freshman) Joey Hollenbeck in the game and he gave us four tackles and two sacks. Mark Hedeen another true freshman, has been playing well too. So we have some of those new kids in there who we weren't really counting on, and they are playing hard for the Cougs. We've created our own depth by taking the (red) shirts off Mark and Joey. They'll be playing a lot more for us."
PRACTICE EMPHASIS - "We don't have to compare ourselves to anybody in the league. We need to focus on what the Cougars are doing. We have to stress fundamentals. Our lineman assignment isn't very good all the time, but those are things we can correct. We have to keep the plan simple and let the kids play and have some fun."
