This is going to be completely posted on here, so going to be a long scroll down. But here is the full transcript from Brian Kelly during his post-North Carolina press conference.
Q: Opening statement.
Kelly: “A win is hard on the road. I’m proud of my football team. To come down here and win a third road game in six (games) is hard to do. We needed some resolves and some mental toughness and we showed that today against an opponent that was obviously ready to play today. Really liked our ability to take the football away today. We really able to be disruptive. We were pressuring the quarterback most of the day. We weren’t as opportunistic as we have been this year offensively. Put together a great second half in terms controlling the clock and running the football. All in all, to go on the road and win by 20-plus points for a third time this year, I’m really pleased with our guys in terms of their mental preparation and how they go on the road and attack this. It is hard to do, really hard to do and I’m proud of them.”
Q: On going for it on fourth down early in the game.
Kelly: “The sense that I got was that we were going to be stingy defensively today and I am very confident in our offense. Both of those factors together weighed on my decision on fourth down.”
Q: On Ian Book’s first start at quarterback.
Kelly: “He is a very confident kid. There were no jitters with him. I think he overthrew a couple of balls here and there, but for a first start, I was really pleased with what he did today. TO win on the road is hard to do. The ideal situation is to start at home in a more comfortable environment, but I thought he did a lot of really good things today.”
Q: Game plan with Ian Book?
Kelly: “We wanted to really mostly take advantage of some of the play action opportunities to complement our run game. It was going to be a run centered game for us. Getting some high percentage throws, on the move where he didn’t have to necessarily sit in the pocket and progression read across the field.”
Q: When was it clear Wimbush couldn’t go?
Kelly: “It was kind off and on. Wednesday he looked particularly good. Thursday he looked a little better. Friday he had the urge he wanted to play. So, it kind of went back-and-forth. Then today, he just didn’t have it in him. He just didn’t feel great. Didn’t have any bounce. Yesterday he looked good in our walk through preparation and he had a lot of energy. So, I think it kind of went back-and-forth. I hadn’t really made a decision until when I saw him today he had no bounce in his step.”
Q: When did you expect that would be the case?
Kelly: “On Tuesday, I suspected it, but I was still hopeful that he could find himself. But, it went back-and-forth through the week.”
Q: On if Josh Adams could have returned.
Kelly: “He was dehydrated and we didn’t want to put him back in unless he felt 100 percent. He was weak, so we kept him out of the game.”
Q: On injuries like Alex Bars, etc.
Kelly: “Ankle . Not a high-ankle sprain. EQ was cramping. We had some problems with cramping. Chest contusion [for Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa]. Shouldn’t be one that limits him.”
Q: On if any injuries are multiple weeks (missing USC, etc.).
Kelly: “There was nothing that was brought up to my attention from my head trainer.”
Q: On Deon McIntosh’s progression.
Kelly: “He was recruited as a running back. To be fair to him, we used him at that wide receiver position for need. But, I think he showed today why, you know, he can be counted on as a another very good back for us. He ran physical, he ran with vision, he ran with toughness, and he got the game ball today. He deserved the game ball.”
Q: On Nyles Morgan and his injury.
Kelly: “Stinger. Had full strength back in a very short period of time.”
Q: More on McIntosh.
Kelly: “Very impressive. Deon’s wanted to change his number for quite some time. He’s felt that 38 is not the fitting of a running back. So, I said well you’re in a problem now, people recognize you as 38 and you’re a really good running back. So, he’s had backed off on that request now that he’s established himself as a pretty good running back. I said there’s another guy that was 38 that was really good and you won’t know who he is. I mentioned his name and he had no idea who he was … He’s feeling pretty good about himself.”
Q: On confidence level that could be sitting 5-1 after UGA game.
Kelly: “I knew that we were in a different place with our football team in terms of their total preparation in all areas. You can never predict how a game is going to unfold. Things can happen. I’ve been in this long enough to know. I was confident in the football team and its preparation and we really had a good shot to win the games that we play. I wasn’t forecasting anything other than the next week. Felt good about my football team.”
Q: On if pleased with playing closer to his standard and not down to teams.
Kelly: “I’m more pleased with the mental preparation which was certainly an area that was of great focus. [It] has really been the core of this football team and how they approach things especially the second half. As you know, second half was not, you know, something that was handled very well last year. They’re handling it very well.”
Q: On Julian Okwara’s interception.
Kelly: “Certainly, we felt really good about where he was progressing, his athleticism. He’s extremely strong. He’s developed physically as well as any of our players. I know at times you look at him [and] he’s 233-235 pounds. But, he has a strength component that is really unique and with that his athleticism. Him and Daelin give us two really, very good edge players.”
Q: If the ability of the defense to get turnovers changed the way the O calls plays.
Kelly: “Sure. I think we’re more aggressive in our play calling in a sense of down and distance as well as I think going to our strengths in terms of running the football. We don’t have to be dropping back and throwing the football. We can run the football. If we have to punt the football, we flip field position when we needed to today, and be patient because we’re going to wear you down.”
Q: On if the pressure is about guys getting comfortable?
Kelly: “There’s a lot of factors. It has to do with how we feel we can match up against offensive lines, whether there’s six or seven man protections, whether we can get matchups. If we can get our guys on the edge one-on-one, we’re going to bring more pressure. It really is a game plan situation that changes week to week."
Q: On if there was an adjustment in second half to UNC’s outside run success.
Kelly: “We were in a nickel situation where we got a little nosey inside on the dive where we shouldn’t have been but we made a quick adjustment, changed the front, moved the front to the back, gave us a little more support with the backer over the top.”
Q: Opening statement.
Kelly: “A win is hard on the road. I’m proud of my football team. To come down here and win a third road game in six (games) is hard to do. We needed some resolves and some mental toughness and we showed that today against an opponent that was obviously ready to play today. Really liked our ability to take the football away today. We really able to be disruptive. We were pressuring the quarterback most of the day. We weren’t as opportunistic as we have been this year offensively. Put together a great second half in terms controlling the clock and running the football. All in all, to go on the road and win by 20-plus points for a third time this year, I’m really pleased with our guys in terms of their mental preparation and how they go on the road and attack this. It is hard to do, really hard to do and I’m proud of them.”
Q: On going for it on fourth down early in the game.
Kelly: “The sense that I got was that we were going to be stingy defensively today and I am very confident in our offense. Both of those factors together weighed on my decision on fourth down.”
Q: On Ian Book’s first start at quarterback.
Kelly: “He is a very confident kid. There were no jitters with him. I think he overthrew a couple of balls here and there, but for a first start, I was really pleased with what he did today. TO win on the road is hard to do. The ideal situation is to start at home in a more comfortable environment, but I thought he did a lot of really good things today.”
Q: Game plan with Ian Book?
Kelly: “We wanted to really mostly take advantage of some of the play action opportunities to complement our run game. It was going to be a run centered game for us. Getting some high percentage throws, on the move where he didn’t have to necessarily sit in the pocket and progression read across the field.”
Q: When was it clear Wimbush couldn’t go?
Kelly: “It was kind off and on. Wednesday he looked particularly good. Thursday he looked a little better. Friday he had the urge he wanted to play. So, it kind of went back-and-forth. Then today, he just didn’t have it in him. He just didn’t feel great. Didn’t have any bounce. Yesterday he looked good in our walk through preparation and he had a lot of energy. So, I think it kind of went back-and-forth. I hadn’t really made a decision until when I saw him today he had no bounce in his step.”
Q: When did you expect that would be the case?
Kelly: “On Tuesday, I suspected it, but I was still hopeful that he could find himself. But, it went back-and-forth through the week.”
Q: On if Josh Adams could have returned.
Kelly: “He was dehydrated and we didn’t want to put him back in unless he felt 100 percent. He was weak, so we kept him out of the game.”
Q: On injuries like Alex Bars, etc.
Kelly: “Ankle . Not a high-ankle sprain. EQ was cramping. We had some problems with cramping. Chest contusion [for Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa]. Shouldn’t be one that limits him.”
Q: On if any injuries are multiple weeks (missing USC, etc.).
Kelly: “There was nothing that was brought up to my attention from my head trainer.”
Q: On Deon McIntosh’s progression.
Kelly: “He was recruited as a running back. To be fair to him, we used him at that wide receiver position for need. But, I think he showed today why, you know, he can be counted on as a another very good back for us. He ran physical, he ran with vision, he ran with toughness, and he got the game ball today. He deserved the game ball.”
Q: On Nyles Morgan and his injury.
Kelly: “Stinger. Had full strength back in a very short period of time.”
Q: More on McIntosh.
Kelly: “Very impressive. Deon’s wanted to change his number for quite some time. He’s felt that 38 is not the fitting of a running back. So, I said well you’re in a problem now, people recognize you as 38 and you’re a really good running back. So, he’s had backed off on that request now that he’s established himself as a pretty good running back. I said there’s another guy that was 38 that was really good and you won’t know who he is. I mentioned his name and he had no idea who he was … He’s feeling pretty good about himself.”
Q: On confidence level that could be sitting 5-1 after UGA game.
Kelly: “I knew that we were in a different place with our football team in terms of their total preparation in all areas. You can never predict how a game is going to unfold. Things can happen. I’ve been in this long enough to know. I was confident in the football team and its preparation and we really had a good shot to win the games that we play. I wasn’t forecasting anything other than the next week. Felt good about my football team.”
Q: On if pleased with playing closer to his standard and not down to teams.
Kelly: “I’m more pleased with the mental preparation which was certainly an area that was of great focus. [It] has really been the core of this football team and how they approach things especially the second half. As you know, second half was not, you know, something that was handled very well last year. They’re handling it very well.”
Q: On Julian Okwara’s interception.
Kelly: “Certainly, we felt really good about where he was progressing, his athleticism. He’s extremely strong. He’s developed physically as well as any of our players. I know at times you look at him [and] he’s 233-235 pounds. But, he has a strength component that is really unique and with that his athleticism. Him and Daelin give us two really, very good edge players.”
Q: If the ability of the defense to get turnovers changed the way the O calls plays.
Kelly: “Sure. I think we’re more aggressive in our play calling in a sense of down and distance as well as I think going to our strengths in terms of running the football. We don’t have to be dropping back and throwing the football. We can run the football. If we have to punt the football, we flip field position when we needed to today, and be patient because we’re going to wear you down.”
Q: On if the pressure is about guys getting comfortable?
Kelly: “There’s a lot of factors. It has to do with how we feel we can match up against offensive lines, whether there’s six or seven man protections, whether we can get matchups. If we can get our guys on the edge one-on-one, we’re going to bring more pressure. It really is a game plan situation that changes week to week."
Q: On if there was an adjustment in second half to UNC’s outside run success.
Kelly: “We were in a nickel situation where we got a little nosey inside on the dive where we shouldn’t have been but we made a quick adjustment, changed the front, moved the front to the back, gave us a little more support with the backer over the top.”
