Posted by SJSdude on 9/11/2007, 2:47 pm Coach Dick Tomey It’s good to be back in the Bay Area for the weekend. Reflecting back on Kansas State, that is one of the toughest environments in the Big 12 to play, because the fans are so close to the field and so rabid. I was pleased with the way our guys handled the environment. I was pleased we had no turnovers. I think we played a little harder. We are still not playing a hard enough, but it was a big improvement over the previous week. We feel encouraged, but we know that we will have to play our best game of the year to beat Stanford. I told the players that if we are going over to Stanford looking for the same team we played last year, they are not there. Coach Harbaugh has done a great job of getting everything out of his players. They are giving a lot more. They are much tougher, more physical and much more competitive. Question: What is Adam Tafralis’ status? Tomey: Adam is fine. I took him out of the game at the time, because Myles (Eden) was doing a good job and I thought it would be best if Adam took a rest. Question: Is Yonus Davis going to be practicing this week? Tomey: I think so, if not tomorrow (Tuesday), by the end of the week. I want to talk about the guys that are not injured as opposed to the guys that are. If we play with the guys that played at Kansas State, we will be just fine. The injured guys are going to have to get back and if they had a job, they have to win it back. We are hopeful that all the injured guys get back, but if they don’t, we are fine. Question: Who will be your #1 tailback? Tomey: (Dominique) Hunsucker or (Jacob) French. We are going to give Dom (Hunsucker) a lot of work this week to see if he can get up to speed on all the aspects of tailback. Last week, we were barely able to get him enough reps. Question: In the second half against Kansas State the offensive line seemed to come together. How much did they grow as a unit in that game? Tomey: I think they grew. The environment was just that you couldn’t hear anything and they were using signals on defense that were confusing to our guys, because they hadn’t been in a game like that before. In the second half, they settled down a bit and played better. Question: Can you comment on the passing game? Tomey: When he was in the Kansas State game, he (Adam) was very accurate. There was a lot of pressure and he handled things well. He ran well and he kept his poise. They way they come after you and the environment in Manhattan make it difficult for any team. They way we handled that environment and to have no turnovers, I though was one of the most pleasing things about the game. Question: Do you feel last year’s game (against Stanford) is going to come into play on Saturday? Tomey: If you had a bye and were playing at home, that is a tremendous advantage. I think both teams feel a real sense of urgency to try to get into the win column. Question: How do you go about re-establishing a running game? Tomey: We just have to get back at it. Now, there are some teams you play that you just aren’t going to be able to run against. Kansas State is one of those teams and, frankly, we ran better against them than Auburn did. We knew we were going to have to exist with the perimeter stuff and the quarterback runs against them to have any chance to move the ball. I thought we moved the ball every time we had it. We had field position; we just couldn’t convert once we got it. Question: How familiar are you with Coach Harbaugh and his style? Tomey: We have watched the film and Coach Harbaugh has done a great job both here and at the University of San Diego. At Hawai’i I coached against him when he played his last game in college. Stanford does a lot of things that make it tough on a defense. They run every conceivable formation. The biggest improvement I have seen in them is the way they play. I think that Stanford will go after Dwight Lowery. They have good receivers and their quarterback is playing with a lot of confidence. I was impressed with the Stanford offense against UCLA. They made 400 yards against one of the best defenses in the country. They made a bunch of big plays against a defense that held USC to one touchdown last year. So they are good. Question: What is the state of mind of the players? Tomey: I think it is good. We need to understand that this team didn’t win nine games. This team is 0-2. This coach hasn’t won a bunch of games. This team is 0-2. That is what we have to understand. It’s hard to win. It’s hard to beat anybody we play, but the good news is that we can beat anybody we play. We just have to do a lot of things right and make plays in the fourth quarter. Question: There are ties between you and Coach Harbaugh? Tomey: I know Coach Harbaugh’s father, Jack, and Jim played for Coach Schembechler at Michigan. I consider Coach Schembechler to be the most influential person in my coaching career. I was a grad assistant and I worked my buns off. He held your feet to the fire and made you accountable. He had a way with his players that allowed him to get the most out of them. Question: Talk about the state of the WAC. Tomey: Some of the teams that everybody thought were in the bottom half of the conference are playing much better. Idaho was most impressive in week one against USC. Louisiana Tech played great last week against Hawaii. New Mexico State and Utah State are both doing good things. The bottom half of the conference is playing much better. Question: Is there a different feeling in the locker room today compared to last week at this time? Owens: Yes. We felt that we competed better than we did against Arizona State. So, we are optimistic about the rest of the season, especially Stanford, because we played them last year. But they are a better team now. We will have to raise our effort in order to beat them on Saturday. Question: Dwight Lowery has received so many pre-season accolades. Are you surprised that teams have been throwing at him? Owens: I was expecting a lot more balls to my side, but maybe Arizona State and Kansas State were not as familiar with Dwight and that is why I haven’t seen as many as I thought I would. I expect more balls to come my way beginning this weekend and into the conference schedule because those teams know who we are and what we can do. On his transition from guard to center: Castillo: "It was pretty simple for me to learn how to play center, just because of the nature of the guard spot. You need to know all three positions (guard, tackle, center) to play guard, so it was a simple transition. It's really just a matter of getting your snaps right, and learning to run the pistol or the shotgun. I worked on snaps all summer, and prepared myself to step up and play center this season." On his development into a starter on the Spartans' offensive line: Castillo: "When I came in (heading into the 2006 season), I envisioned playing. I expected to contribute, but thought probably more as a backup. As the season went on, with some injuries and competition, I became a starter and took that role seriously." On the role of the offensive line: Castillo: "The offensive line, it starts with us. We need to step up and get it going. I like that responsibility, especially as one of the 'older' guys (on the offensive line) now." On the Spartan mindset heading into Saturday's game at Stanford: Castillo: "We have a chip on our shoulder right now. We've lost two straight games, and we are trying to get a win. We are 0-2 now, and are trying to get to 1-2. They are a local team, and we are going to try and do what we have to do to win."
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From sjsuspartans.com
Cornerback Christopher Owens
Center Ronnie Castillo
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