Army West Point Athletics
Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: Hawai'i
November 25, 2019 | Football
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army West Point football head coach Jeff Monken met with members of the local media on Monday afternoon for his weekly press conference inside Nowak Auditorium.
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The Black Knights will take on Hawai'i on Sunday at 12:30 a.m. ET in the . The game will be aired on CBS Sports Network.Â
(Ref.: Opening Statement)
"We are obviously getting ready for a long trip out to the University of Hawai'i. It's going to be a challenging game. They have an outstanding team. I can't say enough about what coach Rolovich has done there. They came in here last year and it was a fight all the way to the end. We were very fortunate to win the game. They're playing so well. I had a chance to watch them several times throughout the year. They are very physical and what's most impressive is that they have a plan both offensively and defensively and they stick to it and do a really good job with it. They're playing hard. From being a graduate assistant there at the beginning of my career, I just have a tremendous fondness for that program, the state, and how they support the University of Hawai'i team. It is an incredible place and it's going to be a great challenge for our team. Hopefully we'll do well traveling out there and be able to get rested and ready to play our best. We're going to need to."
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(Ref: On how the team feels heading into the Hawai'i game)
"It was good to get a couple of victories in a row for sure. It was an agonizing month of October and beyond. Just to go through that stretch was frustrating and disappointing for everybody. Our guys were playing hard and I thought we were practicing well, it's just we weren't making enough plays to win games. It was good to get a couple of victories under our belt, but it doesn't diminish the sense of urgency for this game. It's a big game for us and one that we really need to win to push ourselves closer to the team we want to be. It's just about trying to be better and be the best that we possibly can. Hawai'i makes that very difficult, for teams to play their best, because they are such a good, talented team. We're excited to still have some games to play and are certainly excited about this opportunity."
(Ref.: On the Hawai'i offense)
"It's going to be a challenge. What's so difficult with Hawai'i is that they get rid of the ball very quickly. They've got a lot of routes that are designed to have the ball leave the quarterbacks hand almost immediately after he catches it. It's hard to put pressure on a quarterback that's doing that. They are really talented. Their receivers spread it around and a lot of guys catch passes. They have several running backs that they play and I may be as impressed with their running game as I am with anything they do. This is an offense that gets credit for how well they throw the ball, how efficient they are, and how many points they score, but their running game is really good. They've had a lot of long runs, whether it's the back, or the quarterback, and they break out of there because everyone is trying to defend the pass. There's far fewer guys in the box and it makes it a very challenging offense to face. Their linemen are physical and tough, just like I remember. There's a tremendous amount of pride that those players play with there at the University of Hawai'i. They're obviously having a great season going to the conference championship."
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The Black Knights will take on Hawai'i on Sunday at 12:30 a.m. ET in the . The game will be aired on CBS Sports Network.Â
(Ref.: Opening Statement)
"We are obviously getting ready for a long trip out to the University of Hawai'i. It's going to be a challenging game. They have an outstanding team. I can't say enough about what coach Rolovich has done there. They came in here last year and it was a fight all the way to the end. We were very fortunate to win the game. They're playing so well. I had a chance to watch them several times throughout the year. They are very physical and what's most impressive is that they have a plan both offensively and defensively and they stick to it and do a really good job with it. They're playing hard. From being a graduate assistant there at the beginning of my career, I just have a tremendous fondness for that program, the state, and how they support the University of Hawai'i team. It is an incredible place and it's going to be a great challenge for our team. Hopefully we'll do well traveling out there and be able to get rested and ready to play our best. We're going to need to."
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(Ref: On how the team feels heading into the Hawai'i game)
"It was good to get a couple of victories in a row for sure. It was an agonizing month of October and beyond. Just to go through that stretch was frustrating and disappointing for everybody. Our guys were playing hard and I thought we were practicing well, it's just we weren't making enough plays to win games. It was good to get a couple of victories under our belt, but it doesn't diminish the sense of urgency for this game. It's a big game for us and one that we really need to win to push ourselves closer to the team we want to be. It's just about trying to be better and be the best that we possibly can. Hawai'i makes that very difficult, for teams to play their best, because they are such a good, talented team. We're excited to still have some games to play and are certainly excited about this opportunity."
(Ref.: On the Hawai'i offense)
"It's going to be a challenge. What's so difficult with Hawai'i is that they get rid of the ball very quickly. They've got a lot of routes that are designed to have the ball leave the quarterbacks hand almost immediately after he catches it. It's hard to put pressure on a quarterback that's doing that. They are really talented. Their receivers spread it around and a lot of guys catch passes. They have several running backs that they play and I may be as impressed with their running game as I am with anything they do. This is an offense that gets credit for how well they throw the ball, how efficient they are, and how many points they score, but their running game is really good. They've had a lot of long runs, whether it's the back, or the quarterback, and they break out of there because everyone is trying to defend the pass. There's far fewer guys in the box and it makes it a very challenging offense to face. Their linemen are physical and tough, just like I remember. There's a tremendous amount of pride that those players play with there at the University of Hawai'i. They're obviously having a great season going to the conference championship."
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