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C O A C H S P E A K • E X C E R P T S F R O M J A M E S F R A N K L I N ' S W E E K L Y P R E S S E R You've talked about the quality of Iowa's defensive line. How do you think your offensive line has played to this point? I think we've really taken some pretty good steps over the last couple years, and that includes this year. One thing that jumps out to me is that Miles [Sanders] has been pretty consistent; we've been able to run the ball pretty much each week. We've had fewer tackles for loss. I've mentioned to you guys before that I think that's a combination of our O-line and tight ends, and I also think that Ricky Rahne is doing a good job. We've had some problems in the past where they've brought in edge pressure, whether it's a Sam or Will pressure, and we've already gotten into our play call. We've been in a situation where Saquon [Barkley] was getting the ball and there was someone right in his face. There's less of that. So I think that's a combination of some of the scheme things we're doing, and I think our O-line and tight ends have been bet- ter. I think in pass protection, we've been solid. I think we can be better. You have to be careful; the stats sometimes can be de- ceiving because Trace [McSorley] is able to avoid some things. But I think we've been good. … From a team-first mentality, they've been really, really good. From a big picture conceptual perspective, I think they've been really good. I think the rota- tion that we used last week with Chasz [Wright] and Will Fries has been really good. I think sometimes my approach to in- juries is the right thing to do for our or- ganization, but I think sometimes guys may be nicked up and the media does not know that, and that affects some things sometimes. Us being able to get Chasz Wright some reps in there I think elevated Will Fries' play, and Chasz has earned that. He's played at a pretty high level the past couple years. Opponents have been rushing for 165 yards per game vs. the defense so far. What has made it so challenging to stop the run this season? To be honest with you guys, we talked about that before the season. We knew we had question marks at defensive tackle and we had question marks at linebacker. And I think we've made some progress there, but I think we've also had some in- juries that have magnified some of those questions that we've had at those posi- tions. I see elements that are promising that make you feel good. We show flashes of being really good at times. But then I also think there are times where guys try to make plays and get out of their gap, and it costs us. You know, coming into the season, we knew those were some of our challenges. I talked about them fairly extensively com- ing into the season, and I think in some ways we've solved some of those chal- lenges. In some ways, those challenges still exist. We've got to take another step this week. Obviously, we're facing a team that that's their identity. That's who they want to be offensively, and it's going to be a heck of a challenge for us. How do you know when a young wide receiver is ready to play a larger role? I'm thinking specifically of Jahan Dot- son, who got in the game last week, but that could apply to any of your fresh- men. It's probably no different than anything else. It's balancing what they're able to do in the pass game in terms of route run- ning, in terms of assignments, in terms of recognizing defenses, and also in terms of the run game and being able to hold up physically with our perimeter running game, which is a big part of what we do. So it's a combination of all those things that you're trying to factor in. And then you're also looking based on practice and game evaluations. Do they give us the best chance to win? So that's a constant weekly discussion on how we're going to approach those things, and I think we go into it each Sunday saying, OK, let's see how this week goes to make those decisions. I talked to all three of those guys on Sunday night aBer practice that this was going to be a big week for them, especially with losing some guys last week, that those guys need to prepare as if they're going to be starters this week and then come Thursday or Friday we'll make deci- sions. Can you talk a little bit about Yetur Gross-Matos and Shaka Toney and where their development is at right now? Maybe people didn't notice Shaka a whole lot before Saturday, and all of a sudden he had the huge fourth quarter. Is he getting ready to have more of an impact on a regular basis, get more snaps? Where is he at? You look at Yetur, and he was able to get one of those sacks early in the game and then one a little bit later, and then Shaka got them in the fourth quarter. Both were obviously impactful and were important. With the defensive line, when you're in a situation where it's an obvious passing down and the team has to throw, the de- fensive line is at an advantage. Shaka is talented enough to take advantage of that situation. But I do think there's a differ- ence between getting a sack in a normal situation in a game and being able to get a sack in an obvious passing situation. Most importantly, Shaka was able to take ad- vantage of that and do a really good job. Yetur was able to kind of spread it out throughout the game with 10 tackles, so they both played extremely well. But Shaka has shown us flashes of really good things for a while. He's not the biggest guy, so I think sometimes we don't give him enough credit for what he's able to do in the run game. But I think that's the next step, to get more tackles on normal downs, get more tackles for loss on normal downs, get production when it comes to sacks early in game, and then be able to do it when it matters most, which is what Shaka was able to do at the end of the game in a critical situation. So I think it's a combination of all those things. But most importantly, those two guys played well. I think there's going to be confidence that comes from that, and we can grow and we can build on it. That will be the plan. The other thing is making sure that we practice at that type of level with our entire defense and with our en- tire offense all week long. Trace has averaged 18 carries a game in the past four games. Is that a func- O C T O B E R   2 4 ,   2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 10

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