Courtesy of WSU Athletics.

 

Transcript

Question: Besides his big hitting abilities, it seems like Shalom Luani has turned into quite an asset in pass coverage?
ML: Well, first of all he's a really quick guy. I think he's reasonably fast, but he's really quick and then I think it's just kind of coming together for him. He's getting into a rhythm, playing faster, he's seeing it better and that type of thing. I thought he really did a good job.

Q: After the Portland State game you talked about taking some of Luke Falk's pre-snap options. Has he been given them back?
ML: I think he's just sorting it out quicker. I think he sorts it out quicker. He's not pondering the mysteries of life, I think he's going out there and reacting quicker and it's helped him quite a bit.

Q: Why does the tempo slow down sometimes and why can't the players just speed back up?
ML: I think a portion of it is everything you do in football, first of all, has to be synchronized with 11 people and I think it requires, not only that, but a high level of effort. Very few people are doing anything in football that they're not doing in some level of pain.

I was disappointed that we didn’t play better the second half but we're going to have something to work on after this game, anyways, so that's one of the things.

Q: ESPN College Gameday might come to Pullman. Is that a show you pay much attention to?
ML: No, I haven't really. It's kind of a big deal if they come to your campus, I guess. We had it three weeks one year when I was at Texas Tech. Twice at our place, back-to-back, they just left there stuff there. Only time in history that's ever happened.

I'm sure there would be Coug flags flying all over, as there always is on College Gameday. College Gameday, it's difficult to watch, because we're always preparing for a game. We're always getting ready to do our game, so I hear about College Gameday from my relatives and stuff. If we were on College Gameday that would be exciting.

Q: Do you spend a lot of time doing prep work with the ESPN crew when it comes?
ML: Less than you'd think. But yeah, they're there. They're setting stuff up. They pick out parts of campus. They did it up there by all the pretty buildings and the Red Raider statue. It was sort of funny, though, because the first one we played Texas. We beat them. Then we were playing Oklahoma State the next week, and I think we were No. 4 and they were No. 3, something along those lines. And then, well, then there was Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit on the field after the game and they were just like, because they were getting ready to catch their planes or whatever, 'Well, I guess we're here next week. I'll see you here next week.' There was no, they'd never had to show up at the same place again. So there they were again.

*Note: Leach is mistaken about College GameDay going to Lubbock on consecutive weekends. As you can see, the show only broadcast at TTU once in 2008. ABC broadcast both the Texas and Oklahoma State games, so he probably means those crews kept their equipment in Lubbock.

Q: How have you noticed Arizona's defense change without Scooby Wright?
ML: They haven't changed a lot. He's a good player but, you know, they're fairly aggressive as far as getting speed on the field. They don't blitz a ton. They'll change up the leverage in their secondary. The biggest thing is they're kind of a try-it-out-there defense, but they do try to generate some speed as far as the body types they put out there. They don't blitz a bunch, though.

Q: What's the biggest difference in your team between now and Week 1?
ML: I think that some of the young guys are implemented better than they were before as far as knowing their role and their teammates around them being able to play with them and having an expectation of what they're going to do. I think there's a more focused effort in practice as far as details, which we still have to work on details but I think we're quite a ways off from beign as good as we can be as far as details and that type of thing. Doing something once, OK, now can you do it twice? Well now can you do it five times in a row? Can you do it 10? We're still battling all that.

Q: Kyrin Priester and Tavares Martin are getting more touches. Are they getting more comfortable?
ML: Just, they're improving. They're improving. They're doing their job better. We need to get them to do on the field what they do in practice.

Q: What's going wrong for the defense on the explosive runs they're giving up?
ML: Well, I think our defense plays together better. I think we're more, as far as everybody going the right direction I think we're better. But we don’t pay close attention on the run stuff. It's all contingent on detail and it's all, you know, when we play together we're pretty good and then too often these guys want to play street ball. All of a sudden you've got some guy who thinks he's going to do his own thing. He's going to worry about the other guy's job.

Well, the thing is, for whatever reason it's tempting to do that. 'Should I or shouldn't I? Should I or shouldn't I?' And then you give up an explosive. 'No. You're an idiot. Don't do it.' So there's a point where it's just like some kid that's wondering if something's hot and sticking his hand on it. So we've got a bunch of guys that need to let the blisters heal and not get blisters again.

Q: Are there similarities between this season and 2013? How does this team compare to the one you had two years ago?
ML: I don't even do that. I mean you just improve each week and each day and become the best team you can be. We just need to focus on the next play, the next practice and the next game.

Q: What has made the difference this season compared to where you were at the halfway point last season?
ML: Well, I think one thing is the offseason. I think we had a bit better offseason. I think the commitment to the offseason. I also think that there are a certain number of players back. So we're better on the defensive line and the offensive line, providing we play that way. But we have players that have done it before.

Q: Are you happy with the defensive line play, considering you lost Pole and Cooper from last years' team?
ML: No, I'm never pleased about very much. We need to just keep getting better, you know? You're going to lose people and new guys are going to come in and there's all kinds of (things) you need to improve and you need to figure out how to improve it.

Q: How do you sell running back recruits?
ML: Well, by position it's not unusual for our running backs to have more yards than running backs at other schools. I mean when you add up the amount of yards through the air coupled with on the ground. And then the other thing is if you look at the running backs and what they did on Sunday, depending on which team you're talking about in the NFL, the running back, that's what they do. They do what our running backs do. Our running backs are required to block, run and catch and (some) universities don't require all three things but in the NFL, they will, so it's a closer parallel to what they're going to be doing. And plus they get, as a position, they come away with more yards off of it.

Q: How would you evaluate your special teams through six games?
ML: I think spotty. I think our scheme is simple enough and you know we're breaking in a bunch of new people. Then when we really focus and do our jobs, we play really well. But then when we don't I think our focus breakdowns, I mean they're too big. And they're too inexcusable. I mean the same people who play really well the two or three plays before, then all of a sudden one play, you'll have guys take a play off.

Yeah, we need to address it, and we need to do it in a punitive fashion. And some of those guys on those teams need to feel very uncomfortable. We'll see that they do.

It's a little difficult because you have players, and almost every player, and somebody's first priority is defense, or his first priority is offense. And he may even be very committed to special teams, but still in the back of his mind he's thinking about something else probably more than he should be. But the biggest thing is it needs to be an identity for us to be committed to special teams. And I know coach Mele is. And several key players are but the things is we need to make it compelling to everybody because we've done some really good things on special teams. It's just the errors have been gigantic.

Q: What course would you teach at WSU?
ML: If I could teach a course at Washington State? What they'd have me teach and what I'd probably want to teach would be two different things. Well you know what I have taught. I've taught history. And I majored in American Studies and minored in English, so it would probably be a history or an English class. Or else it would be a law class. Hopefully not something as boring as business law or something. With all due respect to the business law crowd. and the accounting crowd. Knock yourself out. I didn't think it was that fascinating when I took it and I hope that I don't get stuck teaching it… but so probably it would be one of those. But more fun would be something like Anthropology or maybe uh, something related to archaeology where you go to digs or some really cool field trips, where you travel you know. You're the teacher that's gathering everybody up to go to Europe or whatever. And then once you get there so they have a full European experience you (blank) with the Europeans and then go do your thing and make sure you chaperone, so I think yeah that would be a good one.

Q: What are you like as a professor? 
ML: I don't know. That's difficult to say because you don't know on the receiving end exactly, you know, but I mean it's like I can guess but hopefully not boring. It's like even professors I did like, if they were boring… even if you're a great person but you're boring, well then in the end they'll still hate you, you know. The biggest thing is just don't be boring. So I'd like to think I'd try not to be boring.

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