11/3/2026 3:25:00 PM | Football
Coach Charles Kelly
Q: Wrap up Weekday CUSA going three-for-three in those contests with a big road win over New Mexico State. What were you most proud of in that contest?
A: I actually like the way our guys prepared for the game. I think a lot of people mistake that we did not win that game last Wednesday night. It takes a week to win a game. It takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of preparation. It doesn't just happen in one setting. I don't think people realize how much goes into that. Our off week, our players practiced; they prepared hard. Not one time did I have to say something about effort. They came to work to get better. So I'm proud of that as much as anything because that'll produce results, and we got to make sure that we stay focused on what it takes to be successful.
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Q: You've talked a lot over the last couple of weeks about focusing internally, as you kind of alluded to there. As you take on a team this week, new coaching situation there, record isn't quite what they wanted to. How much focus do you continue to put into what you guys look like each week?
A: Well, that's what we've got to focus on. Is what we have to get better at because we got a lot of things we got to improve on. Now, how you respect your opponent is how you prepare for your opponent, and I've got a lot of respect for those guys. Listen, I hate it for Coach (Phil) Longo. You hate that in this business. Anytime somebody loses their job, because it doesn't only affect him and his family, it affects all those coaches, families. It affects the players that came there. I mean, it's just tough. But I'll tell you this right now: they have good players. All you gotta do is cut the video on and watch. They got very good players. They played some people really tough. They had a chance to beat Troy at Troy, and Troy beat James Madison. They got basically the same team they had last year, who beat Oregon State at Oregon State. So all this about oh well you know yeah they don't have their head coach but they got their coaches and they got good players and those players they got a lot of pride in what they do and the way they play but again it can't be focusing on that we got to focus on what we got to do to get better
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Q: Could you talk about Caden (Creel's) running performance against New Mexico State? That's a lot of yards more than any quarterback here. And at the beginning of the year, you talked about being more balanced, but it seems like you still let Caden have that opportunity to big plays.
A: Well, when we say balance, I think the biggest thing where Caden has grown is taking what the defense gives you and trusting your eyes. And you know, in today's game, the advantage of being a mobile quarterback is a good thing, but I think you've seen him throughout the season when they gave him opportunities to get the intermediate passing game or take shots downfield. He's done that when they give him an opportunity to run the ball. He's done that. So I think that's what we mean by being balanced. Sometimes it happens that way, and you know, just making good decisions and processing the game. That's what our focus is with Caden, and I think he's done a good job of that. And I think that's where he's grown as a quarterback.
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Q: What do you think the biggest key is for you guys? Whether that's on the field, I guess more. I guess I'm asking more on like in the game to come out with a win on Saturday.
A:Â I think the things that, and I'm glad you asked that because you hear it's easy for a coach or myself post-game to be able to say we got to be able to do this. We got to be able to do this. We got to be able to establish a run. We got to be able to take shots. We got to be able to block, pass, protect on defense. We got to be able to stop the run. We can't give up explosive plays. Well, we know we've got to do that, so we've got to live that. And what I mean by living it, you got to do it in practice every day. It can't be wait till Saturday to do it. It's got to be something that you do every day. But I think those are the things that we've got to do, and then we got to create some more turnovers.
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Q: 14 straight drives without three and out. You can still have a negative outcome with that. But how important is it to not to like just to avoid the three and out?
A: Well, you know, one of the things that we look for on defense, three and out is almost like a takeaway. It's almost like a turnover. So when offensively, when you can avoid those three and outs, first of all, that helps you control the tempo of the game, and that that's the first thing that we talk about. We got to control the tempo of the game, and how do we get first downs? And then you know, then those explosive plays will come with that. But all it's really important in time of possession, and even if you go back, like you and I talked early in the year, our struggles early in the year, especially in the North Dakota State game, is we were always behind the chains. I mean, every time I looked up, it was second-and-15, second-and-12. Listen, I don't care who you are. I mean, you can be the Seattle Seahawks, when you get behind the chains, it makes it hard on any offense. I think we've done a good job of staying ahead and getting in manageable situations. And of course, we'll go far on fourth down. And you know, sometimes it works, or sometimes it doesn't, but you know we might not be right, but we're not going to be in doubt.
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Q: You mentioned you guys got to get more turnover. Is is there a way to like do that? I mean, the defense has been playing well, but just the lack of luck is it like a luck?
A: I think a little bit of it is, and I can say this: this is the only time in my career that we played eight games and a fumble has not hit the ground that we've gotten. We picked the ball off, and we work on it every day. Let me tell you, I mean, we work on punching the ball, stripping the ball. Now, that that being said, I'll give a lot of credit. I think offensive coaches, really good offensive coaches, our coaches do the same thing. We emphasize on taking care of that football because that's a huge deal. But you know, I think a little bit of it is. I think the mentality, and I think once we get some of those fumbles out, I think always said I believe turnovers come in bunches, and hopefully we can we can do that.
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LB Morven Joseph & QB Caden Creel
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Q: After dealing with the injury last year, how rewarding has it been to have the season that you've had this year, and to get this opportunity to move into the starting role and have a big impact?
MJ: You know, it's just been a blessing. Just keeping my head up, and taking step by step, day by day. I know what it was like, how it was to lose something that you love, and not be able to do it with your team. So me coming back this year was, I'm gonna put my heart into the team and just help my team win however they want me to win because I didn't like that feeling last year where I was just home and just watching the game on TV so this year I just want to enjoy every moment of winning.
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Q: Caden, for you, which would you rather, pass for 300 or rush for 200?
CC: You know, I don't honestly don't really care. You know, really just I know it sounds whatever, but whatever it takes to win. Everybody's gonna play us a little bit different. So if they want to give us some stuff in the pass game, then I'll take that.
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Q: You guys have been playing well, but just the lack of turnovers. What do you think you guys need to do to flip that, or is it kind of like the turnovers will come?
MJ: We just need to continue doing our job and just paying attention to the small detail more, like punching at the ball, or you know attacking the ball, or like just pointing our face to the ball when we tackling. It's just like the simple stuff that you know nobody worries about that we need to start doing more. But just number one thing is just keep doing our job. You know we've been having success this year, so we don't want to change any anything. But you know what we're doing, which is just doing our job and playing hard and playing for each other.
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Q: How long did it take you in your development as a quarterback? I mean, even before you got here, that you felt comfortable in your decision making, that you'd know when to run and when to go ahead and make the throw.
CC: I would probably say in fall camp it kind of just clicked for me where I was really just hit a spot where I was really comfortable, knew what I was seeing on defense and knew kind of just where the ball needed to go versus every look, and I feel like that's kind of translated this year. Now we are getting a ton of different looks just because of how diverse our offense is, and you know I'm still trying to work on that. But I think it was probably like the middle of fall camp where I kind of just felt like I got the hang of this thing.
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Q: Shutout at halftime. Then after three quarters, you guys talking about that defensively amongst yourselves. Hey, you know we got angle here. talking about it on the side.
MJ: During the game, we actually don't look at the scoreboard. That's one thing Coach Kelly preached about. You know, he said don't look at the scoreboard. So you know, focus on doing our job and playing six second every play. So we don't really have time to be thinking about that. You know, I didn't even know it.
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Q: Morven, having the issue with the injury last year, and then having to come back this year and get back into the groove, how much did the support of teammates help you?
MJ:Â Yes, you know through the whole process, they checked up on me. They brought me like even like the time it got hard, you know. I didn't want to show my face. My coach, Coach Kelly. Coach Kelly played a big part. He was the main one telling me to keep my head up, and he gonna make it happen for me to have another year. He was by my side the whole time. My teammates, they all would checking up on me, you know, cause like it's it happened so fast. Like in August missing the whole season, so it was like it just shocked everybody
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Q: Coach talked about having six true freshmen at some point on the field on defense, two of those guys are in your position group. Can you just share a little bit about what it's like being in the room each day and working with Jameson McCollough and working with Brayden Matthews and what they bring to your team?
MJ: They bring a different style of playing. They're like a sponge. It's like any little detail they just take it. You know, any little good thing you do, they gonna do it better. Or any little bad thing you do, they gonna learn from it and not do it or do it better. They play hard, seeing the young boys out there, they just play hard, and they just the same way I motivate them, they motivate me.
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Q: Wrap up Weekday CUSA going three-for-three in those contests with a big road win over New Mexico State. What were you most proud of in that contest?
A: I actually like the way our guys prepared for the game. I think a lot of people mistake that we did not win that game last Wednesday night. It takes a week to win a game. It takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of preparation. It doesn't just happen in one setting. I don't think people realize how much goes into that. Our off week, our players practiced; they prepared hard. Not one time did I have to say something about effort. They came to work to get better. So I'm proud of that as much as anything because that'll produce results, and we got to make sure that we stay focused on what it takes to be successful.
Â
Q: You've talked a lot over the last couple of weeks about focusing internally, as you kind of alluded to there. As you take on a team this week, new coaching situation there, record isn't quite what they wanted to. How much focus do you continue to put into what you guys look like each week?
A: Well, that's what we've got to focus on. Is what we have to get better at because we got a lot of things we got to improve on. Now, how you respect your opponent is how you prepare for your opponent, and I've got a lot of respect for those guys. Listen, I hate it for Coach (Phil) Longo. You hate that in this business. Anytime somebody loses their job, because it doesn't only affect him and his family, it affects all those coaches, families. It affects the players that came there. I mean, it's just tough. But I'll tell you this right now: they have good players. All you gotta do is cut the video on and watch. They got very good players. They played some people really tough. They had a chance to beat Troy at Troy, and Troy beat James Madison. They got basically the same team they had last year, who beat Oregon State at Oregon State. So all this about oh well you know yeah they don't have their head coach but they got their coaches and they got good players and those players they got a lot of pride in what they do and the way they play but again it can't be focusing on that we got to focus on what we got to do to get better
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Q: Could you talk about Caden (Creel's) running performance against New Mexico State? That's a lot of yards more than any quarterback here. And at the beginning of the year, you talked about being more balanced, but it seems like you still let Caden have that opportunity to big plays.
A: Well, when we say balance, I think the biggest thing where Caden has grown is taking what the defense gives you and trusting your eyes. And you know, in today's game, the advantage of being a mobile quarterback is a good thing, but I think you've seen him throughout the season when they gave him opportunities to get the intermediate passing game or take shots downfield. He's done that when they give him an opportunity to run the ball. He's done that. So I think that's what we mean by being balanced. Sometimes it happens that way, and you know, just making good decisions and processing the game. That's what our focus is with Caden, and I think he's done a good job of that. And I think that's where he's grown as a quarterback.
Â
Q: What do you think the biggest key is for you guys? Whether that's on the field, I guess more. I guess I'm asking more on like in the game to come out with a win on Saturday.
A:Â I think the things that, and I'm glad you asked that because you hear it's easy for a coach or myself post-game to be able to say we got to be able to do this. We got to be able to do this. We got to be able to establish a run. We got to be able to take shots. We got to be able to block, pass, protect on defense. We got to be able to stop the run. We can't give up explosive plays. Well, we know we've got to do that, so we've got to live that. And what I mean by living it, you got to do it in practice every day. It can't be wait till Saturday to do it. It's got to be something that you do every day. But I think those are the things that we've got to do, and then we got to create some more turnovers.
Â
Q: 14 straight drives without three and out. You can still have a negative outcome with that. But how important is it to not to like just to avoid the three and out?
A: Well, you know, one of the things that we look for on defense, three and out is almost like a takeaway. It's almost like a turnover. So when offensively, when you can avoid those three and outs, first of all, that helps you control the tempo of the game, and that that's the first thing that we talk about. We got to control the tempo of the game, and how do we get first downs? And then you know, then those explosive plays will come with that. But all it's really important in time of possession, and even if you go back, like you and I talked early in the year, our struggles early in the year, especially in the North Dakota State game, is we were always behind the chains. I mean, every time I looked up, it was second-and-15, second-and-12. Listen, I don't care who you are. I mean, you can be the Seattle Seahawks, when you get behind the chains, it makes it hard on any offense. I think we've done a good job of staying ahead and getting in manageable situations. And of course, we'll go far on fourth down. And you know, sometimes it works, or sometimes it doesn't, but you know we might not be right, but we're not going to be in doubt.
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Q: You mentioned you guys got to get more turnover. Is is there a way to like do that? I mean, the defense has been playing well, but just the lack of luck is it like a luck?
A: I think a little bit of it is, and I can say this: this is the only time in my career that we played eight games and a fumble has not hit the ground that we've gotten. We picked the ball off, and we work on it every day. Let me tell you, I mean, we work on punching the ball, stripping the ball. Now, that that being said, I'll give a lot of credit. I think offensive coaches, really good offensive coaches, our coaches do the same thing. We emphasize on taking care of that football because that's a huge deal. But you know, I think a little bit of it is. I think the mentality, and I think once we get some of those fumbles out, I think always said I believe turnovers come in bunches, and hopefully we can we can do that.
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LB Morven Joseph & QB Caden Creel
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Q: After dealing with the injury last year, how rewarding has it been to have the season that you've had this year, and to get this opportunity to move into the starting role and have a big impact?
MJ: You know, it's just been a blessing. Just keeping my head up, and taking step by step, day by day. I know what it was like, how it was to lose something that you love, and not be able to do it with your team. So me coming back this year was, I'm gonna put my heart into the team and just help my team win however they want me to win because I didn't like that feeling last year where I was just home and just watching the game on TV so this year I just want to enjoy every moment of winning.
Â
Q: Caden, for you, which would you rather, pass for 300 or rush for 200?
CC: You know, I don't honestly don't really care. You know, really just I know it sounds whatever, but whatever it takes to win. Everybody's gonna play us a little bit different. So if they want to give us some stuff in the pass game, then I'll take that.
Â
Q: You guys have been playing well, but just the lack of turnovers. What do you think you guys need to do to flip that, or is it kind of like the turnovers will come?
MJ: We just need to continue doing our job and just paying attention to the small detail more, like punching at the ball, or you know attacking the ball, or like just pointing our face to the ball when we tackling. It's just like the simple stuff that you know nobody worries about that we need to start doing more. But just number one thing is just keep doing our job. You know we've been having success this year, so we don't want to change any anything. But you know what we're doing, which is just doing our job and playing hard and playing for each other.
Â
Q: How long did it take you in your development as a quarterback? I mean, even before you got here, that you felt comfortable in your decision making, that you'd know when to run and when to go ahead and make the throw.
CC: I would probably say in fall camp it kind of just clicked for me where I was really just hit a spot where I was really comfortable, knew what I was seeing on defense and knew kind of just where the ball needed to go versus every look, and I feel like that's kind of translated this year. Now we are getting a ton of different looks just because of how diverse our offense is, and you know I'm still trying to work on that. But I think it was probably like the middle of fall camp where I kind of just felt like I got the hang of this thing.
Â
Q: Shutout at halftime. Then after three quarters, you guys talking about that defensively amongst yourselves. Hey, you know we got angle here. talking about it on the side.
MJ: During the game, we actually don't look at the scoreboard. That's one thing Coach Kelly preached about. You know, he said don't look at the scoreboard. So you know, focus on doing our job and playing six second every play. So we don't really have time to be thinking about that. You know, I didn't even know it.
Â
Q: Morven, having the issue with the injury last year, and then having to come back this year and get back into the groove, how much did the support of teammates help you?
MJ:Â Yes, you know through the whole process, they checked up on me. They brought me like even like the time it got hard, you know. I didn't want to show my face. My coach, Coach Kelly. Coach Kelly played a big part. He was the main one telling me to keep my head up, and he gonna make it happen for me to have another year. He was by my side the whole time. My teammates, they all would checking up on me, you know, cause like it's it happened so fast. Like in August missing the whole season, so it was like it just shocked everybody
Â
Q: Coach talked about having six true freshmen at some point on the field on defense, two of those guys are in your position group. Can you just share a little bit about what it's like being in the room each day and working with Jameson McCollough and working with Brayden Matthews and what they bring to your team?
MJ: They bring a different style of playing. They're like a sponge. It's like any little detail they just take it. You know, any little good thing you do, they gonna do it better. Or any little bad thing you do, they gonna learn from it and not do it or do it better. They play hard, seeing the young boys out there, they just play hard, and they just the same way I motivate them, they motivate me.
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Players Mentioned
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