It’s a longstanding college football tradition for head coaches across the country to meet with the media early each week, reflecting on the previous game while also looking ahead to their next challenge. These press conferences often provide valuable insight into a team’s mindset, key storylines, and how coaches are preparing for the road ahead. While fans are usually familiar with the comments coming out of their own program’s headquarters, they don’t always get a chance to hear what opposing coaches are saying about their team.
With Indiana set to host North Texas this weekend, let’s take a look at some of the comments new Mean Green head coach Neal Brown made during his Tuesday press conference when discussing the Hoosiers and the matchup ahead.
Q: On the matchup as a whole, and his mindset heading into Bloomington…
“I also think it’s a great opportunity going to Indiana and a lot of respect for what they’ve done. They play the game the right way. And really, what sticks out when you watch the film is extremely well coached in all phases. Sound. They don’t beat themselves, which I think is the number one sign of a well-coached team. And just a lot of respect for that staff, a lot of respect for Coach Cignetti. And it’s not just him. His dad’s a Hall of Fame coach, brother’s a great offensive coach. So really, that entire family, just a ton of respect for what they’ve done in their career to this point.
“But our guys are going to be ready to play. You know, we’ve — it’s a long time. It’s a journey. You start in January, and I say this a lot: football is a practice sport. And so you practice a ton for these opportunities to go play. And what an opportunity, probably the most watched, as far as television viewers, most watched game in history. And so our guys are looking forward to it, and we’ll travel well and be ready to go.”
Q: On Indiana’s turnaround under Curt Cignetti…
“Well, I think it’s the most impressive coaching job in any of the major sports, at least in my lifetime. It’s the most impressive coaching job. I grew up in the state next door and saw Kentucky and Indiana play several times in football, obviously, because of the geographic — how close, you know, even at West Virginia.
And so I don’t mean this lightly. I think it’s the single most impressive coaching job in any of the professional sports or the major sports at the collegiate level that I’ve seen in my lifetime.”
Q: On what success against Indiana looks like…
“Yeah, playing our brand of football. I think that’s the most important thing. You know, we’re going to prepare this week to play our brand of football. And I think that’s regardless if we’re playing Indiana this week, play UNLV, we want to put our brand of video, our brand of football on video. And that’s our entire focus right now.
“We worry about the results when we get into the fourth quarter, but right now that’s what we’re focused on, putting our brand of football on video.”
Q: On Tayven Jackson winning the starting QB spot and returning to Indiana…
“Yeah. I think he won the job, you know, and really not just in fall camp. He played extremely well in fall camp. There’s a maturity about him, right? I think when you go through adversity, he’s gone through adversity in his career. He hasn’t had a storybook career. He’s gone through adversity. He’s learned from it. He’s grown from it. I think he’s hardened. I like those guys. I think his story is going to be a story of redemption.
You know, this is a unique game for him, you know, because not only is he going back to a former school that he attended and played at, his brother played basketball there, but it’s really home, you know. He’s from 30, 45 minutes away from there. State champion quarterback in the state of Indiana. And so I think for him, he’s an older guy. He’s got to be really present. You know, the game’s not about him. He’s just a small piece in it. And so I’m excited for him for the opportunity to play. We’ll have a good plan. I think he’ll play well.
But he earned the job. He really did. He was extremely efficient. Took care of the football, which has been our number one item that we’ve asked him to do. And his biggest improvement issue that we’ve been pushing since January is taking care of the football, and he’s done a nice job of that. And he’s won over the team. The team believes in him as well.”
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