Latest / ESPN 700 & 92.1 FM | Utah's #1 Sports Talk / Luther Elliss 10-27-26 Post Practice

Transcript

Luther Elliss 10-27-26 Post Practice · ESPN 700 & 92.1 FM | Utah's #1 Sports Talk

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Luther, how do you feel like you guys have been
• 0:01
  Speaker 1: playing lately?
• 0:02
  Speaker 2: I think we've been doing pretty good. You know, it's
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: all something you can get better at. But I think
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: as a group, they're playing well and they understand what
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: we're trying to do and get accomplished. And we have
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: to get it done because D tackles are like corners.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: They're on a kind of island. Make one bad step
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: and you get cut off and all of a sudden
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: it gets free. So it's one of those type of
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: things that they have to know that we have to
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: be consistent in our play and allows our defense to
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: be good overall.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: After watching the Houston film, what's the most important correction.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: You're going to ask them this week? Well, you've got
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: to stop the run, right? You've got to stop the stretch,
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: the number one play they like to run, and we've
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: got to stay square and stay flat and make sure
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: those guys can't get to our backers. So that's the
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: biggest thing, the continuous thing for us because it seems
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: like everybody's running the stretch this year, and that's the
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: number one play. So it's one of those things that
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: we've just got to be consistent in our technique For us,
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: it's D-line. Anytime we get turns, it's not a good thing,
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: so we're all trying to stay square. What was the
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: key in getting more pressure in sacks for a season?
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: How can you carry that over to Cincinnati?
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: I just think Coach started lighting it up a little
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: bit more with pressures and things of that nature. When
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: we went straight, we had opportunities to get through and
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: get home. Honestly, I think a couple guys like Jai,
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: he's a He can pass rush really well, and I
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: think he got a couple opportunities there, and he took
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: advantage of it and allowed us to be able to
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: get those sacks. But I know people are like, oh,
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: where's the sacks, this and that, but there's a lot
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: to football that pertains to those numbers and things that happen,
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: and it's just one of those things that all has
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: to work together for us to get what we need
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: to do.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: Your group has done a great job of controlling the
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: line of scrimmage. How important is getting knocked back this week,
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: something that you always talk about, just How important is
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: that going to be? Oh, yeah.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: That's the number one thing we do here is try
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: to get a knockback. And to me, no matter good, bad,
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: and different, it's going to be a great day if
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: we can get that knockback. So that's what our number
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: one thing is do is try to get a knockback
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: and then stay square, which is kind of difficult. But
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: it's one of those things that without the knockback, then
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: you're just down the line and you're actually probably getting
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: moved off the line and they're getting some cutback lanes
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: because they're downhill runners, right? Our goal is to get
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: that knockback to make the runbacks go east and west,
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: keeping it going lateral instead of getting north and south.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: How big of a priority is that in your evaluation
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: of your defensive tactics and what sort of determinants.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: Who gets what? Oh yeah, we call those impact plays
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: because you're not always going to make the play, but
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: by you getting knockback, by you cutting off the offense,
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: by you forcing the back to cut before you want
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: or to go lateral, That allows us to make plays.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: So they might not make the play, but they get
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: a point in our room because they was called an
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: impact play. Cincinnati is one of the best interior offensive
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: lines in the Big 12, particularly the left guard, maybe
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: one of the best players in the conference.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: What stands out about them on tape?
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: They're very physical. They come out, they get after you.
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: They do a great job working together. You can tell
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: that it's a veteran line, especially that left side. And yeah,
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: they're just really good. They're active, they're physical. They use
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: their hands well. They come off the ball, so it's
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: going to be a great battle. We're going to have
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: to play our best game.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: How do you feel like Carson did last week?
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: Carson played really well. I thought the whole D-line, D-tackles,
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: they all played well, and they continue to get better.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: But as you guys asked, there's all something we can
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: get better at and all something we're working on. Again,
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: it's kind of sad, but it's a broken record, is
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: that it's the same things we've got to continue to
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: work on and get better at. So getting knocked back,
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: staying square, and controlling our gaps.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: Along those same lines, Lucas Samsula has been somebody that's
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: seen more playing time. What are the things that he's
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: doing better now than previously in the season?
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's a confidence thing for him, just
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: being confident in who he is and how we play,
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: and he understands that better now, and so that's how
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: he's playing. He's doing what we're asking in the room,
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: and he's confident in it. He's very confident in himself,
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: and you can see in practice the way he carries himself,
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: the things he does. He's just making fewer and fewer
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: mistakes and playing faster and faster. So that's what we
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: look for, and he's getting that done.