Stanford head coach Frank Reich looks ahead to SMU
On Monday, Stanford head coach Frank Reich spoke to members of the media in advance of Saturday’s game at SMU. Below are some thoughts and takeaways.
VIDEO: Stanford Football Weekly Press Conference | SMU Week | Frank Reich
On SMU, Reich said the Mustangs have an explosive offensive with a quarterback in Kevin Jennings that can beat you with his legs and his arm. An offense that does a great job of spreading the ball around. And then a sound defense that presents a lot of challenges. A lot of good athletes and speed in the secondary. Just all-around, he feels like they’re a well-balanced team. Their focus is to make sure they execute to the best of their abilities. That’s the goal coming into this week.
As for the 9:00 AM PT kickoff time, Reich said he feels the team has done a good job of managing that side of things. They don’t want to make a big deal of it. Just make sure everybody knows what to do. He said they’re making some minor adjustments as they go along, but the real key is to not make too big of a deal of it.
Regarding the timing of having a bye week last week, Reich said it’s always good to go into a bye after winning a game. He feels like it was huge to enter the bye week after beating San Jose State. Secondly, he always tries to see the positive in the timing of the bye week. On that note, he feels like having an extra week to prep for SMU, especially with it being on the road, is something they can hopefully take advantage of.
On the injury front, Reich did say offensive lineman Simione Pale and linebacker Jahsiah Galvan are both making progress. But probably not quite there yet. So, I wouldn’t expect either of those two to play this week given what Reich said.
Reich made it clear he likes how the team is getting better each week. He loves the players and the way everyone is committed to the process. He does seem to genuinely be enjoying the chance to coach these players and that’s something that’s always good to see.
Touching on tight end Sam Roush, Reich said he loves how much of a team player he is. He said they want to make sure they spread it around while also understanding that if they do that, Roush will get his opportunities. The key is to make sure they execute their offense and if they do that, Roush will get his chances. All about giving the quarterback options. That’s how they’re handling that.
One key thing to keep in mind is linebacker Matt Rose will miss the first half of the SMU game due to a targeting call that happened in the second half against San Jose State. Reich said until Rose returns, guys are gonna have to step up. He said they put a lot of effort on everyone running to the ball and playing with great discipline. Reich likes how their staff does at mixing coverages. He knows SMU’s quarterback is going to provide a lot of challenges for them, but it’s going to be fun. If they can find a way to keep it close in the first half, getting Rose back in the second half could make a real difference.
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