I'm sure this hasn't been as long a week for you guys as it has been for me um but there's a little bit I knew going into this ball game that that it was going to be a battle and uh I'm not saying everybody knew that or everybody um knew what kind of week it was going to be you know our guys respected that but um this was one that to be honest with you you know I just knew it was going to be some version of a a true battle and a fight um you never quite know um exactly how things are going to turn out and I think some people just assume you know that you're you know hey your guys are going to blow out these first couple games and things are going to roll but I had a good idea that we were going to be tested and tested in a different way um we got tested in the first week we got tested again this week but I I'm telling you that these are the things that continue to make us grow these are the things that get you battle tested um I know there's a lot of things we want to look better at there's a lot of things we want to be able to do um creating turnovers defensively is just one of those things that man you know they haven't come you know and you know it's our job to make them um but you know first two weeks those guys have done a really good job that's a good football team a lot of fifth and sixth year guys that uh are battle tested and and uh you know like I said knew that they were going to give you some different things to to make you have to work and grow and um another chance for us to to grind it out in the fourth quarter and find a way and um it's weird I I can't put a finger on it just yet every team in every group and every year is obviously a little bit different but there was more energy I felt better and had more confidence and energy just from the guys around me after we got the stop in the Red Zone after we fumbled the pond on the four yard line get a targeting give him another three or four plays than even I did at halftime and I don't know why um but it was still like we we kicked a field goal last week going into halftime we kicked a field goal this past week going into halftime and it was almost like for some reason it was a let down and I can't put a finger on it again you want to score points as you go into half that's one of the biggest you know things that you know we we've really put an emphasis on um and both of them I think in some ways have have not been a positive for us so there's some things we got to do a little bit better job of in particular that coming out the start of the second half but uh we grew up even more today and uh I'll just get there's three guys that I brought up there real quick after the game and they all three are new guys but new in different ways and Tyler van djk who obviously is an older guy but new to our team and program and really really think he's continuing to take some steps um and tacket Curtis was a guy that had to go go in he had played earlier but had had to go in there in a really really tough situation and and you know I think we really saw what T Curtis has made of tonight uh this afternoon and then Xavier Lucas who who was a guy that's played a bit obviously you saw him last week but um played a little bit but had to go in a little bit when when NY got dinged and had to stay in and uh three guys in three different kind of situations that all had an incredible impact on that uh on that game today questions chz Maloy really went through the ringer last season what's your reaction to seeing him come back and and to have such a important impact today in this game I think I said it in the postgame um sometimes you talk about young guys growing up and and chz is a 60-year guy I think that uh I've seen grow up more I think in the last month or so than than I've seen in the in the year and a half that I've been here and I just mean that like everybody knows you got to battle through injuries and things like that happen in football it stinks um but a lot of the other emotional things that he's had to go through the ups and the downs and um I think I've uh seen him at his best you know today and and this past week and even last week as as the things that he had to you know kind of handle um and where he's grown I mean like I said I talked about some younger guys now they've grown here's a guy that's been in the program been in college for six years and continues to grow and uh it's the best I've seen him and I don't just mean playing I just mean as a leader as a guy that can provide some energy and a guy that can provide some spark and uh it's a great reminder to us especially us that uh understand that this landscape of college football is changing that even the older ones can truly grow and continue to grow look he guys went back and forth between the two-man front on the defensive line the three-man do you feel like you need to go more three-man to help against some of the the Russians yeah we definitely again that they I thought that they would you know play with play us a little bit bigger um you know and be in more you know two three tight ends and and um so we had you know obviously had planned and prepared to play with those guys a lot more um but you know that some of the different things that they were doing early on with with three backs in the back field they are a challenge and and I mean that like they're similar to some of the you know the Iowa of the world that do some some unique things running the football but they're as uh they're as creative in the Run game um you know as as anybody that I've I've played and uh I think that's where they're kind of uniqueness is in what they do and they do a really good job at it and so so it does make it difficult in some of your preparations to you know the different kind of personnels and things that they're going to do and um so yeah I think that's something we got to continue to figure out how we can you know best fit some of those things um but yeah there there were some there was some of those little gaps in the kind of like the week before uh Luke just you you mentioned uh Jake and and the targeting call what was what was your take on that you know what did you know they had a guy thrown out of the game and I I I just still think we're wrong in college football and I'll look everybody in the face I like can't like we're wrong in college football to throw kids out of games I mean their kid gets thrown out of the game last week the kid got thrown out of the game this week I mean I'm not just saying that because Jake Cheney got thrown out of the game like at some point in time we try to adopt all these things that the that the NFL does does but yet we throw out kids that get 12 guaranteed games to us to things that aren't malicious I'm not saying that we taking the head out of the game is not what we need to do we penalize us and and things like that but to to throw kids out of game I think it's I think it's the wrong thing I've said that for a couple years um they don't listen so you know they continue to you know hold to their to their uh to their roles um but it it's unfortunate you know it's a bang bang kind of play I tell you the truth I did not even see it um it it's a I guess it's his head in the stomach and that's probably the first time I've ever seen a guy thrown out of the game for get hitting a guy in the stomach with his helmet um but to the letter of the law I'm sure it's you know it is what it is um so that it's a tough one it's a tough one to swallow it's it's a tough one on a kid like Jake cheny who works so darn hard um you know and and I just say it again I don't think kids should be thrown out of football games Luke with K yel I know we talked about him recently but just what how is how have you seen him just do what he's been able to do these first might be one of the most unselfish kids we have in this program and uh from about the middle of the Spring ball on kayada has done nothing but impress every single coach and every single player in that in that locker room he starts on Three Special Teams he would start on all four special teams um you know he he I'm not saying he takes a back seat but I mean you know there's you know chz maloi and and and the the slew of uh Tai we and the slew of other running backs that everybody talks about and the young kids and there's Kate who just continues to battle and fight and work and uh takes every role that that that you give him and just accelerates at it and he's a heck of a running back um you know all of a sudden in the tack of Curtis is you know obviously playing starting a middle linebacker and you one of the last kickoffs you know like oh hey we need a guy we got get C put put Kade in and so that means kade's on all four special teams yet he's still running the football um so he he is a he's an integral part of what it is we do but he's even a better leader and example to what the selfless nature of what we need to continue to put forward this team is really about Luke I realize you'd probably like a day to celebrate this win but how ready do you think your team is for Alabama given mean it again every game is different I mean we're not going to lie me yeah it's you know the top team in college football in the last 20 years I mean um you guys knew it yeah it was daunting it's been hanging over top of you know your head from the time you walked in the door here um but it's also to say hey you got to find a way to to to to continue to measure yourself right and it doesn't mean that you didn't measure yourself in the first couple weeks you're challenged incredibly but you'll be challenged in a completely different way uh and we'll find out where we are and uh you know I think that's probably the thing about these guys that I'm learning and and getting a feel even better you know week in and week out that they do love challenges you know they handle them in different ways um you know but uh we know darn well what's walking in here and um we haven't like sat you know had our guys practice in for and things like that um we had enough work to be able to you know make sure we were on the right page and finding ways to win the first couple games but uh you know it'll be a heck of a week for us back with the big 10 schedule coming up and Alabama as you mentioned battle tested would you rather have a game like this where you grind it out when it's all said and done yeah there's there's things you learn about your crew um you know when you battle like this too you also get some some injuries and you know we had some guys go down today and other guys had to step up um so two fold yeah I I do think that you know you grow from these things um but also got to continue to build confidence and that's where you know every group is a little bit different and like I told you I we turn the ball over on the four yard line we get a huge stop and eight plays or whatever it was seven plays and all of a sudden I felt better about the sideline and the energy and the the confidence level than than I did probably the entire game and so those are the things that you continue to build on and um you can't write the script yeah you you love to say every every week would have been really smooth and you know you every guy got you know the amount of runs and touches and plays he had a chance to get but um the best way to grow is to go through adversity Luke as a defensive coach is it frustrating at times when you're aren't getting some of those maybe tfls or some of those run stops that you feel like you're scheming up for like how how did you kind of T the first couple weeks where you seemed a little more yeah the the the the the Run game has has been something that's you know in and into the boundary and and really it's been the stretch play the the both weeks it's been the same play that uh you know has caused us more issues and and this week was a little bit different there's some two back stuff that you know everybody around here has been used to seeing for a long time that you just don't see as much in college football and that's why I said it was different in some ways and um so give credit they did a really good job with that but we we've got to do a better job but making sure that uh you know we don't put oursel in those situations where it's four five six yards sometimes on first down we were we were better in the other situations but the first down ones probably what made us the you know have the most issues you said something in your intro was interesting about people assuming that you're just going to roll through this game and and be the last game why shouldn't people assume that will happen because if you assume you make a out of both you and me right so why not I mean that's not what we do so you guys can do as you please but I think that's just kind of the realities of you know what we have to deal with every single day and you know I mean we can't write the scripts um winning is not easy you know don't get me wrong guys I mean we all have a vision of what it is that we want it to look like and you know if there's anybody that loses more sleep of I promise you you didn't have as long a week as I did and uh not saying that there aren't other things that are going on but um you know you have a plan and you got to be able to adapt and adjust and I'll give our guys credit for that that with the adversity has given you an opportunity to learn how to adapt and adjust and uh and challenge yourself a lot more couple more um on on your last touchdown the one chz scored I mean you could have went for the Ki you know kick the field goal and went up by two possessions can you talk about that that decision and you know what you know why you decided to go that route what would you it yeah it's it's it's not the you know it works it works right but no it's a tough decision to be honest with you um but deep down inside you know if we can't run the ball in if we can't score from the inside the one yard line then I don't know that you deserve to win and I know there's a time of being aggressive and there's a time of being smart and but I to be honest with you I had the utmost confidence in those guys up front I know the play before we got stopped inside the one as well um but if you're rolling the not rolling the dice if you're taking you know who you're going to put your the the the pressure on I'm going to put the pressure on the offensive line and I'm going to give him the opportunity and uh that was there was a no-brainer you know but as we're going up to the line I I am kind of pinching myself and just to make sure like okay you know you said you want to be aggressive you said you're going to put it on the offensive line you said this is who you want to be well then you got to hold true to your to your to what it is that you say you're going to be because as like you said we all have this vision like if you can't go back in that locker room and say you want to be something different on every other day and so as much as anything that that sticks in my head um that we trust those guys up front Carly yeah Luke you talked a lot about um just taking advantage of the home crowd how do you feel like your team did today especially with next week I assume that's going to be big yeah no I thought it was it was a great atmosphere it was a great crowd um you know we kind of told him before the game it's our job to make sure that there's energy and emotion in in in the stadium it's not everybody else's job it's not you know the student section's got to get there it's it no it's us and the way we come out and the way we you know attack and be aggressive and I thought we did a really good job of that I mean offense did a really good job in the first couple drives and um you know I thought we got the thing rolling and it was really good and and uh you know again the late in the game you when it when you need them the most maybe maybe the crowd maybe the the students kind of started to venture off a little bit but but um no it was a great atmosphere I think our guys you know understand that you know it's it's a two-way street right we want them there we want them screaming hollering but uh we have a job to do to make sure that we give them what they want to see so we can create this home field advantage Luke CJ Williams had his first College touchdown almost had a second one how have you seen him over the year plus you've got to know him kind of deal with maybe some of the frustration not getting the same run that he may wanted but then now get it's the same thing we have right I mean every every kid walking in's got a vision of what it is he's coming from USC he's coming from the top programs and high school he's coming from all this hype and different things like that and things don't always go the way you envision and the way you plan and you know if you can't handle you know Finding different ways and battling through some of these things especially in this game today you won't be successful and I'll give him credit you know I mean even in that first year it you know I'm sure it didn't go the way he envisioned and even the start of the season um but he's a guy that's very consistent in what he does we ask our guys more than anything to be consistently good not occasionally great and if you can really truly believe in that and you can every single day kind of have that in your heart like at some point in time you have a chance to to be great uh he's a guy that is consistently really good and uh he'll continue to get better and he'll he'll have a bigger and bigger role for us I think each and every week