Scott Satterfield addressed the media to preview the season opener with Western Kentucky.
Here's what Satterfield had to say:
On facing a solid Western Kentucky squad
They did an outstanding job last year and won nine games. They do have a veteran team coming back you mentioned a new quarterback, but as you look at their team, I think really on both sides of the ball, a lot of guys that have played a lot of football games, and particularly look at these seniors. They have 10 seniors as we got penciled in as starters. That's phenomenal and then the other guys a junior so I mean it's a very veteran team and I think when you look at what has happened over the offseason, where you didn't get my spring practice you miss some time in the summer and all those things you have a veteran team, you're able to overcome those things and so I feel like, WKU is that kind of team and I think their coaching staff is there now has done an outstanding job. We know they're going to come in here and have a really good football team. They beat Arkansas last year and won a big bowl last year. They are a really good football team."
On keeping virus positive downs
Well, it has helped no question. A lot of our guys even last year were taking online classes, and we didn't have that many that was in class format, so our players were in that mode anyway. I has helped our guys, and I think that our living situation has helped our guys. In our dorm situation, most of the guys have their own rooms, within suite with their own bathroom, so you can remain isolated in that same respect. I think that's kind of how we benefited, you know, throughout the last two three months because of our living situations. And the fact that, our guys haven't gotten out in the public and done a whole lot of things. They have done a great job of knowing that they want to be able to play and so they have not put themselves in those situations."
On in-season protocols due to the virus
Well, we really have not had some change anything. We have been meeting in person, and the way that we have been meeting, we are wearing masks and our guys are spread out outside of six feet. We have had to change some meeting rooms that we have used throughout the last six weeks for practice to make sure that there would not be any contact tracing between our guys. We have done some different things similar to that concerning our team meetings, we are utilizing several different rooms for our team meeting, so we are all not in there together. We have been doing all those things throughout the whole summer in that regard. We feel pretty good about the plan that we put into place. I mean, again I have mentioned Matt Summers, Coach Mike Sirignano, and everybody else involved here at UofL, and our medical team. There has been great dialogue and conversation of how we need to go about these things, and I think that's why we have been able to handle it and be in really good shape. Now, we all know, if one or two of our guys somehow got contacted with that virus and somehow got into the bubble here, then we would have some issues. I can see how some of the teams have had that happen. We have been fortunate that it hasn't, you know, obviously we got our fingers crossed and hope it stays like this throughout the rest of the season."
On improving the defense
I think the number one thing that we have to get a lot better at is giving up big plays, you go back and look at any game last year where teams were scoring on big plays. For example, Western Kentucky last year, they ran a tight end out pass across the middle and we had nobody around him. He goes 70 yards for a touchdown. I mean, that is really easy for the offense. We have to make the offenses earn yards, and if they do throw a deep ball, we hope that it is a contested ball and if they have to make the catch to score on it. We will live with that. It is the games that we played where we just gave up the big plays and nobody was around, whether it be our mental error or lining up incorrectly, those are the kinds of things that we have got to get better at. I do think being in a system another year will help our guys. As I mentioned earlier with their experience, we will be able to build off of what we did last year. I also think we have got to do a better job at putting pressure on the quarterback, you know, with games where we were able to make the quarterback move and get off his spot, it helped us on the backend as well. But the way the we gave up too many big plays last year, I think that is where we have got to get better on defense in that regard."
On creating more turnovers
I think goes back to you getting pressure on the quarterback. If the quarterback has to throw a little bit earlier than he would like to, that's where you can create those turnovers. We did not do a good job of getting back there and making the quarterback throw the ball earlier than he would want to. Or moving him from his spot in the pocket, if you allow him to sit back there, and stand in the pocket, that's not good. I mean, we have got to create a four- or five-man rush or, you know, bring more pressure in order to create habit of making that quarterback throw balls into coverage when he does not want to. That's is where we have got to get better and that will help us create those turnovers.'
On having to replace both the kicker and punter this season
We haven't decided yet. We're still working all the way through this week and ,we'll see what we do when we go out there. Every position we have, we love the competition. We want to compete. It doesn't matter what position it's going to be. The kicking situation or the punting situation is no different. Whoever we put out there, the other person that's behind them has to be ready as well because they may get an opportunity also Saturday night. You never know. You always have to be ready. You can't just get ready on the night of the game. You have to mentally be ready before you we kicked the ball off."
