Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: Morgan State

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army West Point football head coach Jeff Monken met with members of the local media on Tuesday afternoon for his weekly press conference inside Nowak Auditorium. The Black Knights return to Michie Stadium for their final home game of the year to face Morgan State on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 12 p.m.

(Ref.: opening statement)
"Good afternoon everyone. We are excited to come back home and play this last home game in Michie Stadium for these seniors. These guys have seen a real change throughout the four years that they have been here. To be in the position this year to get a sixth victory it speaks to the investment they have made. It certainly wasn't a season that was perfect, but our guys have worked really hard.

"Our guys are excited to play this last home game against Morgan State who is a really athletic football team. They have some experience defending what we do offensively so we have plenty to get ready for. We are going to try and play the best game of the year and that is what I challenged our team and hopefully we can get that performance this Saturday."

(Ref.: on how far along he is with his plan for the program)
"I evaluate that more from week to week. I think that's the way most people are probably. They learn from what you've done for them lately. And lately we haven't played as good as I've hoped we would. Last week's game, they were talented, big, and really good. If we were to have any chance at beating them we were going to have to play our very best football and hope that they didn't play their best. I thought their guys played very well, played hard and executed. They are a good football team.

"Like I said though, there are some games this year that we've played, that we've lost, that I'd sure like to have back. I'd like to have another shot. Those are ones where we felt like we were in a position to win or had a chance to win. We either didn't execute in some critical situations or just didn't play as well as we're probably capable of playing. Not that we're any kind of juggernaut. We're just a hard-working group of guys that are trying to maximize our potential. That's who we are, that's who we will always be, but had we done that and played up to our capabilities we likely could have had a better result. And those are the ones you have the most remorse over."

(Ref.: on struggles of special teams)
"Some of those frustrations have come from the specialists themselves, not necessarily the special teams. We have to be able to kick the ball where it's supposed to be kicked. That's on a punt, kickoff, PAT or field goal. We've struggled putting the ball through the sticks on PATs and field goals. When you kick the ball, you need to score. We haven't had a bunch of really difficult kicks, but we've missed some. It's frustrating for the players, personally. They want to perform and do their job. It's frustrating for all of us to see that.

"We haven't punted the ball very well for distance. I thought Jermaine did a good job on the first three punts. We've covered punts well, and Saturday was the first time we gave up a long punt return all year. It might be the longest return we've given up since I've been here. We were in position to make a tackle as soon as he caught it, but we didn't use very good technique. The second guy who should've had leverage lost it and got on the wrong side of the ball. Bayle Wolf made a nice play to make him cut back and we made the tackle.

"On our kick coverage, we've covered kickoffs really well this year. Going into the game on Saturday, we were 16th in the country on covering kickoffs. We were covering them well and had guys in position who made plays. Frankly, when we kicked the ball off Saturday it wasn't a very good kick. When you kick a low, flat liner that one-hops into the returner's hands, it's got a chance to go a long way. I thought this one would be a poor kick bounced around and he finally picked it up at the eight yard line. You can see on film that we have guys at the 20 yard line. Typically, if the guy catches the ball at the goal line and you have your kick team at the 30, you feel pretty good about covering the kick and that you can stop him inside the 25. When he picks the ball up at the eight and you have guys standing at the 20, you should feel really good. We lost leverage and had guys over pursue, and that's why he returned the kick."

(Ref.: on leadership of seniors)
"This group of guys is what you hope to have on a team when you talk about leaders. They work really hard and lead by example. There aren't any seniors on our team that we feel haven't bought in or given everything to the program in terms of effort, attitude and believing they were going to be the guys that were going to turn this program around. I'm not saying we have completely turned the program around yet. We've got a long way to go and a lot that we need to improve on to feel like we're on the other side.

"But you mention guys like Colby Enegren, who's been around here and played a bunch for us. He's just a tough kid who leads by example and is so well respected by his teammates. There are guys like Matthew Kaufmann and Gervon Simon who haven't had the careers they probably hoped for in terms of playing time, but have continued to work and support the team, and will do anything we ask.

"I just think our whole senior class is a great group of guys and I have tremendous respect for them. I, as the head coach, have leaned on those guys for leadership in the locker room and to build the culture that it takes to win. I'm confident that culture is being built and we are headed in the right direction with our attitude and effort within our program."

(Ref.: on what going to a bowl game would mean to the team)
"I think going to a bowl game is a goal for everybody that plays football at this level. There's an opportunity out there, if we can get a victory this Saturday. We've got to get one this weekend if we're going to have any hope."

(Ref.: on defending against the throwing style of Morgan State)
"We will try to cover them and try to do a good job. The corners that we have out there are freshmen safeties so that is where we are right now. Unfortunately, we have had some injuries among other things that have happened. We can't go three deep and have guys go out there covering Notre Dame's guys. That is tough enough with your first string against Notre Dame. Those guys are working really hard and they are going to improve the more they play. Both of those guys are going to be good players as they mature and develop. There is going to be some mistakes made but it's just a part of the development process."

(Ref.: on the situation at fullback)
"Andy Davidson wasn't completely himself this week. He's got several nicks and dings. We tried him for a few plays and he just wasn't ready to go. Darnell Woolfolk has been banged up, he got hurt last Tuesday and was limited during the week, but he did a really nice job on Saturday. Those two guys are the top on the depth chart. Cole Macek got the start on Saturday and he's done some good things. We'll see how the week goes. We really want to be careful with those guys and have them at full strength on Saturday. We feel like we need the whole group of those guys. When we can have fresh legs in there, I think it makes us better on offense."

Army West Point Athletics

Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: Morgan State

Players Mentioned

Andy Davidson

Colby Enegren

Matthew Kaufmann

Cole Macek

Gervon Simon

Bayle Wolf

Darnell Woolfolk

Related Videos