Delaware finally pulled off a definitive victory this weekend, giving Keeler a reason to look forward to the press circuit this morning. The audio links to both Coach Keeler's and Coach Morris' segment from the CAA Football Teleconference follow the summary and the BlueHens.com video will be embedded once it becomes available.
Coach Keeler started talking about how the details were lost in the game vs. Maine two weeks ago and the need to focus on them in the next game. The preparation vs. William & Mary was more about the Hens than the Tribe, working on those fundamentals. He also said it was "unusual" to get a shutout vs. Coach Laycock of W&M, but clearly was glad they did.
Next weekend's opponent, UMass, is leaving the CAA after this season (ineligible for the conference title) for the MAC (FBS), but when asked about losing them from the schedule, Coach Keeler treated the issue as business. He stated that they will miss them in conference play and it was always challenging to play them, but there is no extra incentive to end the series on a win, but more to get the win to improve themselves. He also brought up the Hens triple-overtime victory over the Minutemen back in 2003 when both teams were highly ranked and had title aspirations (and we all know who took the I-AA title that season).
Our question about facing UMass RB Jonathan Hernandez after facing Grimes last week, and the similarities between the two, got through to Coach Keeler. He talked about how these are two of the best backs in the league and how the Delaware defense needed to step up it's play-action pass defense against the Tribe last week. Coach Keeler expects the same thing vs. UMass this weekend. He described the Minutemen as big and physical up front, running with Hernandez to open up opportunities for the passing game, but with different scheme structures than the Tribe last week. He told his defense that the strategy for this week was "not sexy," but that they would have the same philosophy vs. UMass, working more on the fundamentals and details of the game.
After talking about Paul Worrilow and his CAAFB Defensive Player of the Week award, the topic of Trevor Sasek was brought up. Coach Keeler said that the mind set for the Maine game was that Sasek was not available, which is why he was not considered as a replacement for a struggling Donnelly vs. the Black Bears. Coach also talked about feeling good about Timmy and that they know how good Trevor is, happy that they have two quarterbacks that could help them win the conference. He was glad to get Sasek in the game to make calls in that situation, and on the one pass that Trevor threw, he was impressed by it and laughed about how the team has dropped 5 or more so far this year for Sasek.
Coach Kevin Morris' segment is available through the link below as is Coach Keeler's (might not work right away, CAA needs to post the audio first). The video & details on the BlueHens.com press conference are also included.
- Coach K.C. Keeler - CAA Football Teleconference (10/10/11)
- Coach Kevin Morris - CAA Football Teleconference (10/10/11)
- BlueHens.com - Keeler Press Conference (UMass Week)
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