LOS ANGELES -- Associate Head Coach and Andrew Luck Director of Offense Mike Bloomgren was joined by Kevin Hogan, Christian McCaffrey, Kyle Murphy, Joshua Garnett and Austin Hooper at the Rose Bowl's offensive press conference on Monday.
Mike Bloomgren
Q. I felt that, in 2013, he started hitting the deep balls and wasn't hitting the shorter balls as well as he did. This year he's kind of put everything together. What's been the key to that? Is there anything you can point to?
MIKE BLOOMGREN: I don't know that we can ever put a value on experience. In college football nowadays, you mentioned starting three Rose Bowls, but just having a guy that's essentially started for four years, they're so few and far between in college football now, I do think, if we didn't keep challenging Kev and putting more on his plate, he'd get bored with it because he's so smart. He doesn't want it to be easy. He wants more and more on his plate.
Our trust level with him has really gone up this year. What can't we do? What more can we put on his plate? Not just on the checks, but the no huddle as well. He's just been phenomenal. I think his leadership is another thing, we've talked about how it's increased every year, it's at the place now where you want it to be. It's where it makes your life as a coach easier.
I started to yell something yesterday at practice because it's not going the way we want it to, we've got to wake the heck up and stop missing assignments as an offense and start playing our kind of football, and I can hardly get my mouth open, and Kev is already on somebody trying to
get this thing fixed from the inside. When you've got that kind of magic, that's when things are pretty easy as a coach.
Q. [On Kevin Hogan's play after losing his father...]
MIKE BLOOMGREN: He is a different player this year. Whether it affected him or not last year, that's probably a question for Kev. I can tell you that the confidence he has and how much he's grown as a human being as well as a player in the last year is unbelievable. I think he's grown into a confident man, if you will. He went from being a kid playing college football to he grew up really fast in those few weeks with his father. He's got a different outlook on life that he'll talk to the guys about openly. I think he's living his life to the fullest and trying to really attain excellence in everything he does because he knows that's the way his dad did it and the way his dad would want it.
Kevin Hogan
Q. What lessons did you take from your Dad that you still incorporate today?
KEVIN HOGAN: There's so many things that he instilled in me, the values, the voice, and how he carried himself as a person, and always so humble and interested in other people. That's something I've really kind of tried to be like myself. Don't be afraid to communicate and be interested in other people's lives. One of the things football-wise is just going out and having fun and enjoying the game I've been playing my whole life, and that's something that I've been trying to do is just keep it simple. It's a game, so treat it like a game. It's not like you're going to war. There's a lot of different things going on in the world, and so it just really changed my perspective on the sport.
Q. Looking back on your career, what is the difference between Hogan the first-year starter in the Rose Bowl in 2012 versus the one that's coming to start in your fifth-year senior year now?
KEVIN HOGAN: I don't know. I feel so much more comfortable. I feel like I've mastered the offense, and I think at times throughout my career I was maybe trying to be too perfect, and now I've been able to relax and kind of just take a keep breath and enjoy the moment. At the end of the
day, we all know how to execute the play. We can all throw. I can throw a hitch. I can throw a curl. I can do all of that, and it's just going out and doing it, and just being able to relax and go out and not really put pressure on myself to be perfect. It really allows you to execute and do the things that you've been doing but just on a bigger stage.
Q. Can you describe the difference in the huddle last year when you guys were struggling, scoring 23 points a game, to now one of the top offenses in the nation, over 40 a game? How different does it feel in there?
KEVIN HOGAN: Oh, it's awesome because we feel that every play is going to be successful. We know that we can go out and execute against anything, and it's a lot of fun. It's fun putting points on the board, and it's awesome that you're doing it with your boys. In the huddle it's definitely been great this year. At times in the past when we've been run heavy, find people sighing or whatnot, but now everyone knows that each play is with a purpose and everyone needs to get their job done, and no one is really worrying about their own stats or how many times they touch the ball or what kind of play is called, and I think that's definitely a key to our success is no one cares who gets the credit.
I remember -- I forget what team we were playing, but it was a few weeks ago, and the coaches -- I think Coach Bloom had texted the receivers asking what their top three concepts were, and one of the plays that Devon Cajuste said was his favorite play in the game, we call it an angle post to Rector, and Coach asked him, you're not even the primary read, and you're likely not even getting the ball on this play, and he said, it doesn't matter, I think Rector will score on it.
So it just shows that everyone cares about each other. No one cares about their individual stats because that'll come with the overall team's success, and it just shows the kind of guys that we have in this locker room, that we've been together for so many years and gone through so much that it's definitely a different feel this year.
Joshua Garnett
Q. Is it a technique thing, a skill thing? What kind of stands out to you?
JOSHUA GARNETT: It's both. Collectively how they work as a unit. Like I said, they don't have many missed responsibilities. You know they're well coached. They know where to be at all times. At the end of the day they're physical, real physical guys. You don't see them with bad hands. You don't see the defensive lineman on the ground. These guys are really getting their hands tight. Great movement and just together playing well as a team.
Q. So you guys have come a long way since week one against Northwestern. Do you see this as almost coming full circle and maybe a chance for redemption against another BIG TEN team today?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Oh, yeah. Definitely. We're excited to play against another BIG TEN team, and learning from the Northwestern game and kind of what it takes to win a game and not forgetting what happens when you lose a game or how it feels to lose a game and what you do in practice every week. We always have Kevin Hogan saying, Don't forget the feeling you had after we lost to Northwestern. Keep that in the back of your mind. For us to come full circle from our first game to our last game, going against a great Iowa game is just definitely a great thing for us after that loss.
Q. What did you learn from that game?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I think as a leader personally I felt like I learned just to bring the guys up more. Don't let a guy forget that every rep at practice counts because you never know which play is going to be that determining factor. There's a lot of times in Northwestern game where maybe one play would've done this or that, or letting the guys know in practice that could have been that play where we lost the game or the play where we could have won the game. As a leader kind of leading this
team and letting everyone know that.
Q. What about Christian makes him a guy that you enjoy?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Just how humble he is. You never hear him brag about anything. You never hear him talk about anything. You definitely know when he was at the Heisman Trophy presentation, he was itching to get back and come practice with his team. And the first time he comes back at practice, you can tell how excited he was to be back with us. And he's a guy like me who doesn't really enjoy the spotlight too much and wants to play football. And for him to be a sophomore and have that kind of prestige and hype around him and go to New York and do all that and come back and just be hungry to play and hungry to win the Rose Bowl is just a testament to him.
Austin Hooper
Q. What's it going to mean to send the group of seniors off with a big win?
AUSTIN HOOPER: Yeah. Absolutely. Guys like Kevin, Kyle Murphy, Josh Garnett, guys I've looked up to throughout my time in the program. I mean, I'm going to do everything in my power to send them off the right way. I mean, those are the guys you lift weights with in the offseason. In the offseason, Kevin Hogan on Saturdays at like 10 a.m. throws balls when no one's there. All the work you put in together, and that friendship and that brotherhood that you build, you just want to do everything in your power to send them off the right way. There's some life-lasting memories. Just like do you want to remember things sweet or a little sour? So I'll do everything in my power to make sure they have
good memories.
Q. What is it that Iowa does well?
AUSTIN HOOPER: They play really well together. Everyone knows their assignments. Their safeties have great roles in the defense, both in coveraging and run support. Their linebackers do a good job of setting the fronts, moving the D line. The D linemen do a great job of rallying the football. They're a great team defense. It's the reason why they're in the Rose Bowl.
Q. You went from being part of the recruiting process to being part of the program. How big of a deal was it to turn the five-loss season to a 12-win season?
AUSTIN HOOPER: I mean it's huge. You gotta admit, definitely had to look ourselves in the mirror as an offense, as a defense, as a team and individually, just like, how do we want our season to go? How do we want to write our story? We tweaked a couple of things around after Northwestern. We learned a lot because of the Northwestern game. Then from there the wins came on the scoreboard. And if you win, recruiting takes care of itself.
Q. Austin, love to know, when you guys get inside the red zone, what goes into your mind? What are you thinking?
AUSTIN HOOPER: To be quite honest with you, not a whole lot. If we march on the field and things have been working, we just try to stay cool, calm, and collected. Just listen to whatever Kevin says and just execute. Sometimes in situations we look at each other like all right, who is going to make the play? And we're fortunate enough to have enough of those guys answer the questions throughout the season, and hopefully we can keep it going.
Kyle Murphy
Q. I know you're still kind of studying the game plan, but what are your thoughts thus far on Iowa's defense?
KYLE MURPHY: Yeah, they're pretty -- both our teams are pretty similar both sides of the ball, at least what I'm getting from the defensive guys, as well. But they're a fairly simple group as far as their game plan and what they like to do game plan-wise, but you can just tell by watching them on film that they're extremely well-coached, extremely well disciplined, and they're at where they're supposed to be every play doing what they're supposed to do.
Just as a whole team defense, they're great in what they do, and it's going to be a big challenge for us, and they've had a great year in the Big Ten, which is one of the best conferences in the country. They're one of the top defenses coming out of that. So it's going to be a great challenge for us to see what we can do.
Q. How do you feel the defensive front stacks up to some of the others you've faced this season in the Pac-12?
KYLE MURPHY: They're definitely up there. I know they've had a couple injuries, but guys have stepped up and played really well for them across the board. They just do everything well. You can tell they're coached well. One thing I will commend them for is they're never giving up. A lot of times other big plays will come up, and they're nonstop motor and never giving up. That's going to be big on our part, particularly up front, to make sure we finish our blocks and stay on them through the whistle and ensure they can't get to Hogan or Christian late and just try to make sure we can bust a big play when we have an opportunity.
Q. When did you realize that Christian was a really special football player?
KYLE MURPHY: I mean, to be honest, I kind of -- I don't want to take credit for anything, but I mean, the first day in summer workouts our freshman year, no pads, no coaches or anything, but I could see something in him that was a little unique and special, so that was, what, July 2014. He was a little skinnier back then, not quite as physically -- the stature wasn't there. But I could see just the way he cut and the way he moved, and even though it was kind of a non-patterned practice but he was a little physical and he wasn't afraid to get his shoulder in there with some of the fourth- and fifth-year seniors.
But I mean, I never really fully appreciated it until I saw him in the games last year I think it was. I don't know if it was his first touchdown, but pretty sure it was against Oregon State, he was lined up at receiver, had like a little slant route and caught it and then spun off when a dude was trying to tackle him and had like a 50- 60-yard touchdown.
And then from this year, I would say there was one play against UCLA, I believe -- it was either UCLA or Arizona, one of those huge games he had. It was power to the left, and I think I'm pretty sure it was out of wildcat, man, and he just saw something backside, which on the power play you never take a backside. Just how it's designed, you've got someone pulling and the backside tackle is just turning and protecting the edge, but he has such good awareness and field position that he just cut it back and had like a 70-yard touchdown run. He just outran everybody.
Everyone likes to give him credit for being fast and being shifty and not being afraid to be physical, but I think his vision and his field awareness is something that people don't always give him credit for, and just his way to find openings in the defense.
Christian McCaffrey
Q. Any Heisman fatigue after running all over the country at the start of the month?
CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY: Oh, no, not at all. Definitely, it was a great experience for me. It was something that you put in the past and realize what's important. What's important is getting together with these guys and executing.So we're practicing as hard as we can and getting ready to go for this game.
Q. Have you faced a defense similar to Iowa's?
CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY: I think we faced a lot of hard, physical, fast defenses. I think there's multiple that you can name. They bring a lot of challenges to the table. That's tough because they do so many things so well. We're ready for the challenge. Definitely one of those games that you really have to prepare for because they're such a great defense.
Q. On his trip to Rwanda...
CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY: My trip to Rwanda was one of the greatest things that ever happened to me. You land, and you see mud houses. You see a third world country, something that I'd never seen before. I'd only seen it on TV, but being there is a definite different experience. When you arrive there, it's a major culture shock. To meet the people and see how they have so little, yet they're so happy, it's one of the coolest things for me.
And leaving there, coming back to America, where we have so much that we take for granted. It's something that I just put in perspective that life is extremely precious. And it's okay to take what we don't have and make it a positive thing, because you look at people who have been affected by genocide, who are living in poverty, living off of a cup of porridge a day who are so happy and filled with so much joy. I look at that and saw there's no reason why we shouldn't be happy, why we shouldn't care for each other and love each other like they do there.
We have so much. We have so many problems today that aren't real problems. For me, that's just something that I took back from it and really want to go back in the future sometime.
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