VIDEOS: Kentucky Week Football Media Availability

Interim head coach Mike Bobo spoke with reporters via a Zoom call Tuesday, as did players Adam Prentice, Luke Doty and Dakereon Joyner.

COACH BOBO TRANSCRIPT

– Kentucky Week, first I want to say how impressed I am When I watch Kentucky, on tape. I’m just not looking at records, just looking at how they play the game, I think they’re a physical. I don’t think I know they’re a physical football team on both sides of the ball, all offensively. Well, I think there are a line of scrimmage, there’s one of the better lines scrimmages in the league. I love how their center plays, he’s smart, he’s physical, as obviously he calls all their calls up front and gets them in the right blocking schemes. They have very good running backs, number 24 and 22, Chris Rodriguez, and then Asim Rose. Those two guys are exceptional guys that run behind the pitch, run physical. Terry Wilson’s the guy that can hurt you with his legs and his arm, but their physical football team on offense. And it’s a mindset game for us defensively, we’re going to have to be able to stop the run, we’re going to be able to line up to the different things they do on offense, they do a lot of shifts, a lot of unbalanced formations where we got to make the right checks and getting the right gaps. Defensively, they base out of a three-four defense. They’ve got aggressive guys outside that can run, up front they’re huge, say is 357 pounds 495, it looks about 370, but they got big guys in there that can anchor the point in to gap, and they’ve got guys that can fly around defensively. I think they’re first or second in the league, in interceptions, they do a great job because they play a lot of vision coverage, play a lot of zone, and if you’re not accurate in your passes or try to push the ball down field, too much in zone coverage is where they get interceptions. The panna is a outstanding panna, and number six, their leading receivers is a good returner. Coach Stokes, has done a great job. I remember when he came into the league, I was still at the University of Georgia, and he’s built that program, and he’s built it around toughness. I know they’ve had some COVID issues and had an opt-out yesterday, but I think we’re all dealing with issues right now at every team, but we got an opportunity to play, and we’re going to have to be ready ’cause this is a physical football team, and we’re going to have to play more physical than we’ve been playing to have a chance in Lexington on Saturday night. Questions.

– [Reporter] Hey Mike, thanks for doing this. So were Shi, Ernest and JJ, able to practice?

– Shi, practiced in a yellow jersey, I think it’s day three of his protocol. So he was now in contact and did practice, which is a good sign. JJ, is out right now, and then Ernest, is out.

– [Reporter] Mike, you mentioned kind of how tricky this defense can be. How much of a learning experience can that be for Luke, going against kind of that odd front and some of the stuff that they do?

– Well, I think we got to do a good job to help him and how we call a plays in our centers. You got to do a lot to help him get us in the right run schemes. We won’t put a lot on him as far as getting us in and out of place. I think we’ll have to block to Lukes. We’ll have a couple of things and I feel he can handle, but one thing you never want to do is you want to paralyze a guy where he cannot play fast and be instinctive. So you know what he can handle, after we finished this week of preparation is what we’ll take into the game. If it’s something we feel like that he cannot handle, or doesn’t understand that we won’t call it. So we can control that.

– [Reporter] Mike, I know it’s an individual owner, but I mean, when you have a guy like Kevin Harris, being able to close in on a Mark of a 1000 yards rushing, obviously, that’s something that isn’t just about him, it’s about the offensive line and everything that the offense has been able to do. What would that mean you think for this team, especially through everything they’ve been through these last couple of weeks?

– Well, I think it’s a goal that is on our kids’ minds, and not just Kevin, is something that all offense takes pride in, especially in the offensive line and the running backs, they know how close he is, and know what he’s meant to this football team offensively in the run game, and the past game, and they want to see him get to a thousand yards. I think yesterday, somebody said it was 2013. Since the last time we’ve had a 1000-yard rusher, here at South Carolina, and it’d be able to do it if we are able to do it, in a 10 game season against all the SEC defenses. I think will be something that this offense can build on for the future.

– [Reporter] Mike, did you ever think when you left Colorado State, when you became a head coach again, that Adam Prentice, would be your fullback, starting Fullback. And what does he mean to your offense?

– Well, I think he’s an unselfish player. First of all, you got to be unselfish to play the fullback position. I don’t think he has a carry for the year, he’s got a couple of catches, and I’ve coached, I’ve a been a part of offenses that have played fullbacks over the years, and they’re usually linebackers that maybe were a step slow that we moved over. They might’ve been scholarship players, or a lot of times they’re walk home linebackers, that you bring over and they just want to do something to help the football team. And that’s Adam Prentice. And then he’s a starter on every special team, he’s available, guys have even voted captain, a couple times this year, maybe three times, two or three times. And I think the way he goes about his business every single day, is the kind of guys you want on your football team. Whether we played with a fullback or not, you would want Adam Prentice, on your team, ’cause he’s a core special teams guy, he’s an unselfish football player.

– [Reporter] I’m just not asking you to reveal your game plan but if Shi, is in the game and is able to go, just how does that impact how you call a game and what can you do more with him in there than without.

– I mean, obviously he’s our number one receiving threat for us this year, so I think it will keep a defense a little bit more honest, defensively, you don’t have to know where he lines up, and can keep maybe more of a covered shale, or someone a little bit higher in the post, where if you didn’t have him. And Georgia played some quarters last week, some two safeties look, but the safeties were really aggressive. But you’ve got a shot in there, and as much we’re on game, we’re running, can open up some of the play action passes to him and Nick Muse. Obviously Nick, was big last week, off some play action stuff, but you got Shi, in there that gives you another threat.

– [Reporter] Hey Mike, sorry about that. I know we talked a couple weeks ago about the potential bull situation being with the weird rules, I want to ask, is Coach Tanner, given you any update on that, and what’s that kind of situation?

– He has not, and I haven’t asked, I’m focused on getting his team ready for Kentucky. And again, it’s going to be a tough football game in some elements, and that’s been our focus. We’re trying to stay in the present every single day, as a football team and as a Coaching Staff. It might be as coach speak, but that’s the truth. We don’t control making those decisions, we control getting ready for Kentucky, and reviewing this film, and then getting ready to have a good practice tomorrow, and that’s really the only way you can go about things. Especially in this day, with everything going on, you’re trying to keep these kids focused one day at a time.

– [Reporter] Yeah, hi Mike. You just alluded to Kevin, and the 10 game SEC schedule. Having two fewer games playing all SEC opponents, would a 1000-yards season be one of the better raw achievements in your mind that maybe you’ve witnessed or been around over the course of a year?

– Yeah, there’s no question. I mean, you’re playing against SEC opponents every week. We have not been really that balance of a football team, or have not been very proficient in the passing game, so it has made running the ball a little bit more difficult. Now we’ve done a good job, running a few different schemes, coaches have done a good job game planning, the players have done a good job with Justin, where we’ve given him a chance to be successful in some different types of runs. We’ve been creative in our run game, is what I’m trying to say, but when you’re pretty much one dimensional like we’ve been, and for him to do that against all SEC schedule, I think that speaks volumes of this offensive group and what they’ve done, and obviously him. And I said it last week, we got a good job upfront and tight ends, and receivers blocking to get him to the second level untouched and we’ve all seen his speed. But I think last week, I think what he did last week is going to give him even more confidence, how he ran behind his pads and broke tackles, when he could do that on a consistent basis, and then when we give him a crack, and get him into second level and he can have explosive plays like he’s had this year, I think he’s got a bright, bright future and he’s got good ball skills, catching the ball out of the backfield, and he’s been a good protector. And Kevin, is not a guy that doesn’t say a lot. He comes to work, he came out of spring, down on the depth chart because of cause of injury, and really not getting a lot of time in it. With his growing, I think he had it in the five days, and then basically went to work, didn’t say anything, and proved himself. And I said this the other night on the call, Coach kitchens has done a really nice job with all those backs, holding them to a standard of what we expect here, of how to play running back, and those guys have responded, and you’ve seen a pretty good running back play by our group.

– [Reporter] With all this team’s been through this year, would you personally like to see them get the opportunity to play another game against somebody other than the SEC?

– I mean, I think, if you’re a competitor, you want to play anytime you have a have an opportunity, and that was my message today to the guys. If you’re a competitor, you don’t worry about everything that’s going around you, and it’s easy to say, “We don’t have this, we don’t have that, our coach is not here, we’re playing in 29 degree weather, it’s seventh army.” There’s a ton of things, but if you’re a competitor, you step up and you answer a challenge, and you own the situation you’re in and you go to work. So if you have an opportunity to play, your competitors want to play. And if we didn’t want to play, then that would tell you that we ain’t got enough competitors here in South Carolina, to be competitive.

– [Reporter] Mike, and I know that you coached in cold weather for five years before coming here, but a lot of your guys here probably haven’t played in it. How does that affect your game planning, to go up there where it might be really cold and might be snow on the ground?

– Well, cold weather, I’ve coached at it in five years. I think it’s a mindset, obviously it was a little chilly this morning, we went outside, that was the first thing I talked about in the team meeting and what the weather’s going to be, and this is going to be a weather game, and it’s going to be a physical game and we got to have the right mindset. We can’t be shocked but we get out there and it’s cold, we got to go play. The cold never really, is when it’s cold and maybe windy, the wind probably affects your play calling more than anything. And I’ve read the weather reports, I don’t see the wind being that much of a factor, eight to 10 miles an hour on the weather report I looked at last night, but it could if it gets slick out there, if it’s snow to ice, I mean, it could be, and I think protecting the ball is going to be huge in all areas, points are going to be valuable if it’s that type of weather game, so like we talked about and field go field go block. If we get an opportunity to score, we got a score. If we get an opportunity to pass it, either is block an extra point or block of field goal, those could be big momentum plays. So we talked about that today, how every possession is going to be important, taking care of the ball is going to be important, and then the biggest thing is mindset. I mean, I know they live in Kentucky, I don’t think it’s been that cold up there, but they got a lot of players from the South too, on Kentucky’s team. So they got to play in that weather as well.

– [Reporter] Hey coach, a little earlier, you mentioned about trying to keep the guys focused. I was just wondering, is maybe it a little tougher to keep some of them on focus because of mental fatigue, just how trying this season is, because we know how you can get a beat up physically, but with everything going on this year, some of the guys maybe just getting a little mentally fatigued.

– I think so. I think it’s been a long season. It’s been a tough season, and things don’t always go the way you want them, and sometimes, physical issues are going to happen every year and the season, like you just mentioned, but sometimes the mental things can weigh on you more than anything. And we talked about that today. Frustration can lead to more frustration, and can basically paralyze you. But if you try to separate that thing and focus on the task at hand every single day and embrace the challenge that you have, ’cause you’re going to have challenges for the rest of your life. They don’t realize that this is the best time in their life right now in college, when we take care of them and we feed them, and we clothe them, and for a while they’re going to have a job and they’re going to have a family, they’re going to have a wife looking at them when they come home, and asking them a bunch of questions and they got to provide, and I mean, and things might not go right, whether it’s with your job, with your family, with your health, with family members health, and so everybody has challenges. Sometimes we tend to look at our own self and think we have the biggest problems in the world, and everybody’s dealing with them. So I just constantly hoping that. And to be honest, it’s been harder this year because it’s harder to hold them accountable when the NCAA, allows people to opt out at any time, and there’s no consequences, you can’t hold them accountable, yes, it was for COVID, but now, I mean, they’re just opt outs every other week, and there’s nothing to hold them accountable for. Still on scholarship, you get your costs of living, it’s been tough and it’s been a challenge, and we’re not the only people dealing with it. Every coach in America is dealing with it, so like I told him, I’m not going to cry about it. I’m not going to cry about the situation that we’re in. I’m here, I don’t know for how much longer, but I’m here right now, and I expect to have a great practice and get ready to go kick Kentucky’s Buck.

– [Reporter] Two questions. Do you know who’s going to start at left tackle this weekend?

– I do.

– [Reporter] Are you going to share it in a minute or are you going to keep that a secret?

– No, you’ll probably see both guys. I don’t know who’s going to start yet, okay?

– [Reporter] Another one. I guess on the TV broadcast, they talked about Luke Dodie Thursdays. I’m curious, can you kind of share how that came about?

– Sometimes I’m a negative person, now I’ll be positive, sometimes I’m always harping on the little things that we got to do right. So a while back I was coaching at another place, I decided to make Thursday, positive Thursday. They’re going to be positive or say nothing positive, we’re getting right. So it’s always been positive Thursday, for me on Thursdays, to get myself right going into Saturday. But when I came here, Luke Dodie, it doesn’t matter whether he too opaque or he misread something, he is the most positive guy in the world, so I changed it to Luke Dodie Thursday, because he’s positive. That’s the story.

– [Reporter] Have you realize this, but hey, can you hear me? You got me? I don’t know if you realize this, but Kentucky and Carolina, are the only two teams in the SEC, that are playing their 10th game this weekend. If I would’ve told you that at the beginning of this season, what would you have said to me?

– Well, that’s stuff that’s not in our control. You’re going to have tests and if somebody tests positive and got contact tracing, you got to see what the doctors says, see who’s going to be there, and so there could be some cancellations, and sometimes it’s not in your control with another team. I wouldn’t have thought that, I think it’s a credit too, the SEC, and everybody being being organized, obviously Kentucky, has had some issues and played probably closer to the number last couple of weeks. And I think you get to this point, you’re like, “We’re going to keep playing.” Some of these teams are going to stretch out and play games to December 19th, have three more games, in a season that’s already been so long, that somebody asked that question, the mental side of it for these players. I would have thought it, but here we are right now, knock on wood, we got one more test on Thursday, and our goal is to get this game in, and go out there and compete, but I didn’t think we’d make it this far, to be honest.

– [Reporter] Mike, you kind of talked a little bit about guys having the opportunity to opt out and all that. And I guess, what do you learn about Shi, in the fact that it’s been a rough season, and he’s still fighting to come back. A lot of guys in his situation probably would have opted out or at least sort of love their way through the end of it. And what do you kind of learn about him with the way he’s approaching it this week?

– Well, I’m proud of Shi, I’ve mentioned it a couple times when I’ve talked to you guys, I haven’t talked to you guys a lot, say for the last three weeks, but Shi, is a guy that we challenged when we got here, totally what we needed out of him to help this football team and for himself to be successful, and coach Cox, has done a really good job with him. He’s done a good job, and we’re trying to get him playing yesterday, and when we found him and talked to him and he fell, he said, “I’m trying to go.” And ultimately, it’s the doctor’s decision. You don’t play when it’s dealing with head injuries, and we’ll see what they say, but I’m excited. He was out there, I didn’t think he was going to do as much as he did today. And I think it’s kind of what I talked about. The seniors, your legacy is not going to be in wins, your legacy is going to be how you fight through adversity. How do you pass down to the younger guys when things aren’t going good? How do I work? How do I go about my business? And I think Shi, is a really good example of that. I told him early in the year, “I don’t need you to be the team leader. I need you to be a good teammate and come to work every day. And I think your play, if you do that, we’ll have a chance to be exceptional.” And I think he’s been a very good player for us. And another guy I want to mention is Derrius Rush, who was out for two weeks for COVID. Here’s a guy that was on scout team at the beginning of the year, but he played on special teams. He just went to work every day, he had a role of special teams, he as an injury, and they give him the option to have surgery during the year and wait till after the season, and he says, “I’m waiting after the season.” And this guy was just a gunner and ran down on kickoff. I want to play, I got a role, I want to help South Carolina, try to win ball games. He had COVID, he easily could say, “Hey, I’m done for the year,” he was back today, had practiced 50% of the practice, he should be cleared for all the practice tomorrow, and he’ll have a big role for us in Saturday. And you can’t say enough about those guys. I made a point to mention that to the team today about Dennis Rush, and he’s excited to be here, aside, he’s embracing the challenge. That’s what you want. You got to have more guys like that, if you want to be a competitive football team.

– [Reporter] Yeah, Mike. Have you had any discussions yet with Collin Hill, about whether he plans to return next year, and would you expect it after all he’s been through, all these comebacks he’s made that he’s likely to play as long as there’s an opportunity for him to play soccer?

– I have not in a while had a discussion with him about that, I think that’s something that he’ll probably sit down with him and his family and figure out the best opportunity for him, whether it’s here or whether it’s moving on and trying to play to the next level, or so another school. I haven’t had that conversation with him.

– [Reporter] I know you’ve coached a lot of cold weather games and you’re used to it now. Are you one of these guys who are going to break out all the thermal gear and stay nice and warm? Are you one of these tough coaches that’ll wear a short sleeve shirt, or just a sweat shirt?

– Well, in Colorado, I would wear heck, I wore shorts sometimes when it was cold, and wore short sleeves in 10 degree weather when we played Utah State, one time just to prove to the guys that it’s not that cold. It’s going to be cold. We realized that, and they’ll have stuff, they make all this nice stuff that Under Armour makes that keeps you warm. The main thing is they won’t wear sleeves if they touch the ball, and as far as me, I won’t have a lot on that. People don’t realize is when I got sick, I lost a lot of feelings in my hands and my feet. My feet are still numb, so when you get too cold, it used to be your feet, your first thing that gets cold. See, I can’t feel my feet anyway. So people think I’m tough, but I have some nerve issues where cold weather doesn’t bother me right now.

– [Reporter] yes, and on that subject, what was your coldest game that you played in? Do you remember the number, and if there was snow on the ground or anything-

– I played in, I don’t even remember a cold game that I played in. I cannot even remember one that we played that was really, really cold, that it bothered me. Now, the last five years coaching and some, it’s been some cold ones, especially in Laramie, one in Colorado Springs, it was extremely, extremely cold. Humidity is not bad out there, so if the Sun’s out, the cold weather’s not that bad, but that sun goes down, that wind picks up, it can get a little cold out there. But as a player, I cannot even think of a cold weather game that I was like, “Oh, this would be miserable.”

– [Reporter] Yeah, I think Adam Prentice, was saying a little earlier when he was in here that you all were playing at Wyoming, and there were any snow in the first step then the halftime, you all came back out and there was snow on the ground.

– Yeah, I showed that to the defensive coaches a few weeks ago. I said, just pull up the game and just first half click a play and then go to the second half. I thought it was a blizzard. Of course those people up there, they said that “This isn’t a blizzard, this is just normal.” But it was an unbelievable football game. It turned into a weather game, It was basically inside drill the whole second half, and I never forget I’m on a headset, and I said, “I wish we had some quarterback run game in this game.” And then that fourth quarter, while we basically went to quarterback room with Josh Allen, and we couldn’t stop him because they had extra… It’s both teams are loading the box, and the team with the quarterback run ended up winning that game. I wish we could have won, but it was one of those classic games, ’cause the snow… I mean, it was a brutal game.

– [Reporter] I guess both teams on Saturday, will have that luxury of the quarterback run game.

– Both teams will have a luxury of quarterback run game. They’ve have a lot more reps and experience at it than we do, as what they do, that’s kind of how they built their offense. Now they do have really, really good passing schemes off of their run action, and a lot of full vertical stuff, a lot of switch verticals, a lot of getting backs and putting them on wheel routes, and things that we’ve got to be good with our eyes and in the back end. And we did some of that stuff last week in the passing game and hit some of them and we missed some of them, but hopefully it will be a little bit better this week. Second time around.

– [Reporter] Yeah Mike, obviously you’re going to call plays to try to win the ball game, and Kevin, it’s always a huge part of your approach. But will it be in the back of your mind at all on the sideline that he’s still close to a thousand? Will that factor maybe you can get him an extra carry here, there that type of deal? You can’t approach a game like that. In the game, this a certain part of a game, and in a game where the game is out of hand, and you might say, “What’s he at?” “He needs another carry.” But you’re playing a game and you’re trying to win the game, and I think he’ll have an opportunity, Eric, because he’s such a vital part of our offense, and with Fenwick, down, and being the last game, he’ll have enough carries to have that opportunity.