Army West Point Athletics
Jeff Monken Press Conference Quotes: Rice
August 27, 2019 | Football
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 welcome Rice on Friday at 6 p.m. for the 2019 season opener. That contest will be carried live on CBS Sports Network with Ben Holden, Ross Tucker and Tina Cervasio on the call.
(Ref.: Opening Statement)
"Good afternoon everybody. It's hard to believe the football season is here already. Time just flies, I guess they say, when you're having fun. It seems like just yesterday we were playing in that bowl game and I had such an enjoyable season with that senior class that had gone 2-10 as freshmen. To have that kind of season that they had last year was a lot of fun and I'm really proud of them. It set a bar for this program and for this year's team to have to do something to live up to that or match it. For us, the challenge is to try and be better. That's all we've tried to do over the course of the spring and preseason camp. Try to get better as a football team and improve. I think our guys have worked really hard and we've got a tremendous challenge on Friday night with a very talented Rice team. They've got a bunch of guys that are now going to be playing for them as graduate transfers that had tremendous careers at the schools that they came from. It reminds me of our 2016 team in that they play a bunch of freshmen, guys that now have starting experience, who played on a lot of special teams, got offensive and defensive snaps and are now going to be veteran upperclassmen. It's going to be a real challenge for us. We know what a challenge this is going to be, and we are excited about the season and just trying to take the first step and give us the best chance in the opening game.
(Ref.: On if the team is ready for the season opener on Friday)
"I mean, am I ready? I don't know, I guess at this point, three days away, I'm agonizing about all the things that we haven't quite gotten down perfect or haven't had a chance to practice. Maybe the situational things like special teams, certain situations with time on the clock, or overtime periods. Just all those things that might come up in a game. Having to throw a Hail Mary pass, having to defend a Hail Mary pass, everything. There's a lot of stuff, it's a complex game, there's a lot to prepare for and when you say ready, I mean I guess at this point, I'm crossing my fingers hoping that we just covered everything that we possibly could leading into the opener.
"Our team is excited to play. We've had our bouts with injury during the preseason camp and that's been common for us. We hit a lot in camp, we practice in pass and tackle to the ground and block below the waist and it's physical. So, I don't know. I think in our player's hearts that they know if they feel ready physically, I think mentally and emotionally they are, but we'll find out on Friday night. This is a talented team we are going to face, and a well-coached team. Coach (Mike Bloomgren) came from one of the great programs in college football, Stanford, and you bring that model to a program, there's going to be a design for success and I have great respect for Coach Shaw and Stanford's program there and what they've done. Now to see that model in front of us on Friday night, they're going to be a tough, physical, hard-nosed football team. I know that."
(Ref.: On the home winning streak entering the game)
"That's a great source of pride for us and I think for anybody playing in their home stadium. You want to win at home and it hopefully creates a bit of a mental edge and an advantage that you believe that you're going to win at home and that you have a great chance to win at home. It's exciting for the people that come to watch Army's team. We have a lot of people that come to our games and they come hoping to see the team win. It's nice to be able to do that and celebrate with our fans. And certainly with the core of cadets after the game when there's a victory. It's been a good run and I hope it will continue. But that is a source of pride. That's something we talk about as a program and make a goal that we want to go undefeated at home."
Â
(Ref.: On who to watch from Rice)
"I don't know if you can focus on one guy or one particular position. As I mentioned at the beginning of the press conference, they have a lot of guys that have played. When you look at their stats and who played in games last year, there were a ton of freshmen. At one point there were 20 plus freshmen a game. That sounds a lot like us in 2015. By the end of the season, seven true freshmen were starting for them. So, they beat Old Dominion in their final game, starting seven true freshmen. That's unheard of to win a game with that many freshman starters. The way they developed those guys over the course of that year and certainly the confidence that those young guys will now have as sophomores is really impressive.Â
"They added some veteran players. They've got a bunch of veteran guys on their team, but if you look at their defense, I think they got one senior defensive starter and the rest are juniors, sophomores and who knows what the freshman class looks like. We'll be the first to find out. But they've added a bunch of other veteran players from other colleges – guys from TCU, guys from Stanford, guys from Harvard. These are guys that have won games, have been starters in those programs and now they added to what is already there. Coach Bloomgren will do a great job of bringing those guys together. We don't have that. We don't have any grad transfers here. We don't have the ability to do that. So that's different. It's different to be preparing for an opponent where you look at their roster and see who's going to be playing against you and all of a sudden nine new guys show up that have starting experience – many of them in power five conferences. That changes the face of a team real fast."
Â
Â
The Black Knights welcome Rice on Friday at 6 p.m. for the 2019 season opener. That contest will be carried live on CBS Sports Network with Ben Holden, Ross Tucker and Tina Cervasio on the call.
(Ref.: Opening Statement)
"Good afternoon everybody. It's hard to believe the football season is here already. Time just flies, I guess they say, when you're having fun. It seems like just yesterday we were playing in that bowl game and I had such an enjoyable season with that senior class that had gone 2-10 as freshmen. To have that kind of season that they had last year was a lot of fun and I'm really proud of them. It set a bar for this program and for this year's team to have to do something to live up to that or match it. For us, the challenge is to try and be better. That's all we've tried to do over the course of the spring and preseason camp. Try to get better as a football team and improve. I think our guys have worked really hard and we've got a tremendous challenge on Friday night with a very talented Rice team. They've got a bunch of guys that are now going to be playing for them as graduate transfers that had tremendous careers at the schools that they came from. It reminds me of our 2016 team in that they play a bunch of freshmen, guys that now have starting experience, who played on a lot of special teams, got offensive and defensive snaps and are now going to be veteran upperclassmen. It's going to be a real challenge for us. We know what a challenge this is going to be, and we are excited about the season and just trying to take the first step and give us the best chance in the opening game.
(Ref.: On if the team is ready for the season opener on Friday)
"I mean, am I ready? I don't know, I guess at this point, three days away, I'm agonizing about all the things that we haven't quite gotten down perfect or haven't had a chance to practice. Maybe the situational things like special teams, certain situations with time on the clock, or overtime periods. Just all those things that might come up in a game. Having to throw a Hail Mary pass, having to defend a Hail Mary pass, everything. There's a lot of stuff, it's a complex game, there's a lot to prepare for and when you say ready, I mean I guess at this point, I'm crossing my fingers hoping that we just covered everything that we possibly could leading into the opener.
"Our team is excited to play. We've had our bouts with injury during the preseason camp and that's been common for us. We hit a lot in camp, we practice in pass and tackle to the ground and block below the waist and it's physical. So, I don't know. I think in our player's hearts that they know if they feel ready physically, I think mentally and emotionally they are, but we'll find out on Friday night. This is a talented team we are going to face, and a well-coached team. Coach (Mike Bloomgren) came from one of the great programs in college football, Stanford, and you bring that model to a program, there's going to be a design for success and I have great respect for Coach Shaw and Stanford's program there and what they've done. Now to see that model in front of us on Friday night, they're going to be a tough, physical, hard-nosed football team. I know that."
(Ref.: On the home winning streak entering the game)
"That's a great source of pride for us and I think for anybody playing in their home stadium. You want to win at home and it hopefully creates a bit of a mental edge and an advantage that you believe that you're going to win at home and that you have a great chance to win at home. It's exciting for the people that come to watch Army's team. We have a lot of people that come to our games and they come hoping to see the team win. It's nice to be able to do that and celebrate with our fans. And certainly with the core of cadets after the game when there's a victory. It's been a good run and I hope it will continue. But that is a source of pride. That's something we talk about as a program and make a goal that we want to go undefeated at home."
Â
(Ref.: On who to watch from Rice)
"I don't know if you can focus on one guy or one particular position. As I mentioned at the beginning of the press conference, they have a lot of guys that have played. When you look at their stats and who played in games last year, there were a ton of freshmen. At one point there were 20 plus freshmen a game. That sounds a lot like us in 2015. By the end of the season, seven true freshmen were starting for them. So, they beat Old Dominion in their final game, starting seven true freshmen. That's unheard of to win a game with that many freshman starters. The way they developed those guys over the course of that year and certainly the confidence that those young guys will now have as sophomores is really impressive.Â
"They added some veteran players. They've got a bunch of veteran guys on their team, but if you look at their defense, I think they got one senior defensive starter and the rest are juniors, sophomores and who knows what the freshman class looks like. We'll be the first to find out. But they've added a bunch of other veteran players from other colleges – guys from TCU, guys from Stanford, guys from Harvard. These are guys that have won games, have been starters in those programs and now they added to what is already there. Coach Bloomgren will do a great job of bringing those guys together. We don't have that. We don't have any grad transfers here. We don't have the ability to do that. So that's different. It's different to be preparing for an opponent where you look at their roster and see who's going to be playing against you and all of a sudden nine new guys show up that have starting experience – many of them in power five conferences. That changes the face of a team real fast."
Â
Â
Brigid Duffy West Point Career Feature
Wednesday, May 27
Class of 2026 DISMISSED
Saturday, May 23
Army Women's Rugby Senior Spotlight
Monday, May 11
Army vs. LIU Baseball Game Highlights
Thursday, April 30