Matt Wells met with the media on Monday to discuss his first game as the Red Raider head coach. Here are the takeaways from his first game week press conference.
Breaking Down Montana State
Coach Wells said he's not surprised by the success Montana State has seen, such as an FCS playoff appearance, under coach Jeff Choate.
When looking at their offense, Wells said the Bobcats could use up to four quarterbacks during one game. He expects them to use a wildcat package at some point that moves the running back to the QB spot.
The Bobcat offensive line is very experience despite not being seniors. Troy Andersen lines up at running back and linebacker for the Bobcats. Wells said Andersen is like the "mountain version" of Collin Klein, except Klein didn't play linebacker.
The Montana State defensive line then features some transfers from Washington. They have plenty of depth at linebacker, too. The secondary of the Bobcats bolsters Jahque Alleyne, the Virginia Tech transfer safety, who was an All-American last year.
Wells said the Red Raiders will have to be very prepared for the Bobcats when they step onto the Jones turf on Saturday.
"Home opener. I'm excited for us to finally – it's almost going to be nine months to the day when Kirby (Hocutt) made the phone call for me and our staff. But, we're excited to play in Jones Stadium. We need 60,000 – 13,420 students ... hopefully come out and support our guys. I see the weather report; it's going to be a little cooler. Still Texas hot, though, but a little cooler then what we're used to here in Lubbock the last month, six weeks so that'll be nice ... We understand how important it is for us to play well at home in front of our fans, our alumni, the players that have played in this program before so we take that as an honor to do that but also a tremendous responsibility to play well in front of our home..."
Standouts on the Depth Chart and Question Marks
Tyrique Matthews earned the number one spot at Raider for opening weekend. The freshman from Houston (TX) is more mature for his age, Wells said. Early projections had LB Xavier Benson starting at the position.
Wells said one of the best traits a player can have is his availability. Matthews showed he had that through practice as he didn't miss any time and picked up things well.
The kicking position is still up in the air until game day. Wells said they'll go through Friday at kicker and deep snapper to see who they'll trot out there on field goal team.
WR Erik Ezukanma has been blazing through practice and, like Matthews, hasn't missed time. He continued to stack good days on top of one another and has made himself a started on this football team.
Wells said Ezukanma has taken more live-snaps during the spring and training camp than any other receiver. He showed improvement throughout three scrimmages and just picked up where he left off.
Ta'Zhawn Henry will start on Saturday at running back but they'll send in Armand Shyne right after him followed by SaRodorick Thompson. Not much separates Henry from his group. Wells will consistently rotate them through the early part of the season and is comfortable with any one of them leading the team there.
Left tackle will be a game-time decision with Terence Steele recovering from his upper-body injury. However, Steele is practicing and things are going positive with him.
Offense's Comfortability with Speed
The speed of this new offense under Alan Bowman is getting closer to where coaches want it. Wells said the improvement from now compared to where it was in the spring is an improvement for sure.
Wells said the progress is being shown through the offensive lineman, who dictate the speed of the unit more than skill players.
Is it more mental or physical to go as fast as they want? Wells said it's fairly even because they're mentally strong enough to get through practices in the heat during the midday in Lubbock.
Wells added that the offensive line must work like a fist with five guys joining as one. They'll get better as game experience helps this offense week-by-week although the front five have more experience than some other spots.
Bowman's continual buy-in with the program relates to his leadership with the rest of the players. Wells said they're rallying behind him with that sense of comfort Bowman's established.
The last half of fall camp, Wells has seen his starting quarterback take steps forward in his leadership. The first step of leadership, in Wells' eyes, is production, which Bowman's been doing this late half.
Anxious Butterflies for the Red Raider coach
Coach Wells will try to become the sixth consecutive first-year head coach to secure a winning record in his debut season, joining David McWilliams (1986), Spike Dykes (1987), Mike Leach (2000), Tommy Tuberville (2010) and Kliff Kingsbury (2013).
Wells said he can't wait until he gets to run behind the Masked Rider with his team.
"I can't wait. It's exciting. You'll have your game day butterflies, which to me are anxious butterflies," Wells said. "That means you're prepared. You understand the moment, you're being in the moment. Nervous butterflies are when you're not prepared. We've prepared for this moment. I've prepared for this moment for a long time. So has our staff, so has our players. To run behind Fearless – I think it'll be fun. I think it'll be pretty awesome to see 60,000 in there. We need their help – loud. The "Raider Power" chants. I can't wait. You know it's just a tremendous opportunity for us to start off and give Red Raider nation a product, a team that they're proud of, that they deserve.
"That knows we're going to play with a tremendous amount of passion. Every Saturday, every game day, we'll be extremely well prepared and that's what you can expect out of (this team)."
