Everything Jeff Brohm said after Louisville’s win over Duke

(Opening Statement)

“Very proud of our team today, we rose to the challenge. It is never fun to go into a bye week with a tough loss. I hate it and our players hate it and I think in order to be a good winner, you have to really hate losing. So, it was a rough two weeks but we put in the work, we worked hard to improve some things that have hurt us and I thought we made tremendous strides. So to come out here in front of great fans, support, great turnout who were all into the game. We were really efficient on offense, be really physical up front, run the football at them and take advantage of what the defense was giving us. We set the tone early with two touchdowns early, had a 14-point lead against a team that doesn’t like to be down like that allowed our defense to go out there and dominate. I think we throw a lot at our defense, ask them to do a lot and today we had a mixture of disguises and coverages and things we were doing and shifts and stemming that threw the defense off and it paid off. I think our defensive coaches had a great week, our players were into it and we got after the quarterback but I think being efficient on offense and getting the lead was the most important thing. Not turning the ball over, being smart with our special teams, who was efficient as well, we made all our kicks and we kicked it out of the end zone, we covered kicks. I think we had one penalty but whether it was or not we will take a look at it. Just a really good day for us and it was good to come out against a really good opponent that had fourth quarter leads in both their losses and other than that, they have played some outstanding football. I thought we really came ready to play today so very, very proud of our team.”

(On the defense and the gameplan against Duke)

“Well I like the scheme of our defense, I like all the different things that we do. Like I said, all the disguises, all the stemming, all the shifts, all the rotations after the snap and I think it gave them problems. When you can get a lead and make a team throw it more than they would like to, it allows you to do that even more. So today we wanted to be efficient early, see if we could not turn it over and get a lead and help us get back with good momentum to set the tone. On our defense we rotate guys in there, they play hard and I think it was just a great day for us. We shut down about everything they had, we got after the quarterback and we did a really good job. It was a great effort and we have to build on it. I think all of ties together, the offense being efficient, running the ball and controlling the clock and the defense being able to get after the quarterback.”

(On the status of Jarvis Brownlee, Jr.)

“Well unfortunately Jarvis has a foot that is not 100% and he was not able to play a whole lot today. Storm (Duck) stepped in there and a did a really good job. We played multiple other guys at corner as well and they held their own and we just have to continue to build on that. I think that is why it is important to have depth, build depth throughout the season. We have done a good job on the defensive line, being able to rotate quite a few guys in there. We are trying to get there at the linebacker position and I think in the secondary we are building that as well. I think everything matters when you win and I do think that the plan was really good, the disguise was really good and the aggression was really good.”

(On why is it important to you to have the former players invested)

“That’s what it’s all about, really, the guys that put the blood, sweat and tears into helping this program. All of them love it here, a lot of them still live here, a lot of them moved on, but they love coming back. It was great to see them here and put on a good performance. This is a special place, it’s a great university with a lot of history and tradition, super fans that want see high-level championship games being played. And there have been some good players come through here that have played at the highest level and some players that were great teammates that really loved their experience here. That’s why, sports in general, but definitely the game of football is such a great game. It kind of builds that camaraderie – everybody wants to be the star and catch the ball so that’s great, but you need role players and guys that do other things. You need guys that don’t do as much, but they just love being a part of it and they’re ready when their number is called and that’s what these guys are that show up here. We had a great turnout, I hope they enjoyed it as much as we did. We’ve got to continue to keep pushing this thing forward, but all the help that they give us is tremendous and we’ll keep asking for it.”

(On what Jawhar Jordan means to the offense)

“Well, he is humble. He’s softspoken and you wouldn’t think he could do what he could do. But, he was injured, didn’t practice a lot and I didn’t know for sure if he was going to play – we don’t want anybody to play that can’t – but obviously if you can, we’d love to have you out there especially when you’re a difference-maker. He stepped in and played at a high level. We relied on that running game today and man, when you give him some space, he’s just got some wiggle and some quickness and some toughness as well. When they do hit him, he just gets right back up. It was a great day for the offensive line, tight ends and running backs, our receivers were unselfish and quarterback was efficient. But Jawhar is a difference maker, so we’ll continue to build the running back room with others, but he definitely has stepped in there and made some big-time plays.”

(On Jeff Brohm’s growth as a coach, integrating offense, defense and how it reflect on him)

“It all comes into play. I have learned a lot along the way. Scoring points and putting up passing yards and throwing deep is a lot of fun to do but at the same time, the game has changed a little bit. Referees calling certain things a little differently in the secondary changed things a little bit, so you have to take what the defense gives you. We wanted to set the tone early. Teams play us for the pass quite a bit so you have to be able to run the ball. I think when teams will play us for the run and I think you need to be able to throw the ball. In order to be a great team, you have to be able to do both. You have to work at it and I think I have grown in making sure we still have the ability to do both and without question defense is vital to success. We built that up to this point. We had a really good stint on defense. We have had some very good moments. I think the package we put together is good and it’s multiple and able to do a lot of things a lot of different ways. Our defensive coaches work with me, and we want to do a lot of things to be able to confuse the quarterback. We want to do things to throw him off – that is who you have to beat. It’s one thing to be a play caller but you have to beat the quarterback. He is the one who has the ball in his hands. He is the one who has to make the quick decision and the quick read. You have to beat him. I think our package today was able to confuse him and our D-line was able to get in there and make a lot of good plays.”

(On the defense putting the offense in a situation of low risk, fewer going for fourth downs etc.)

“We were low risk today. Yes, it is hard to do that for me. But, last week we lost and that was not very fun. You get about ten to 11 possessions a game and if you turn over three or four of them, you are not going to win. You have to massage and balance that and make sure you are efficient. Would I love to throw it deep and get a bunch of long touchdown passes? Yes. We have to pick our moments to do that. The plan today was to not ask Jack to do it all. Let’s not make passing game do it all. Let’s rely on the offensive line. I knew the defense was probably going to be thinking, ‘hey this team throws it and we need to be prepared for the pass.’ We saw a lot of play action throughout the year and that softens things up for the running game. So, we took advantage of that. Of course, when our defense is playing like that then it really adds to a complete game. We will keep building on it. At some point, we will need them both to win a game. At some point we may be down and have to throw it. We have to be efficient in that as well.”

(On the bye week’s emphasis on protecting the ball)

“Priority number one and priority number two and priority number three. We talked about it a lot and we weren’t really pointing a finger. You are going to make a couple of mistakes. Sometimes they are completely your fault and sometimes they are not. They go on you. When you win you get a lot of credit and when you lose you get a lot of blame. But it is important to minimize turnovers and interceptions and fumbles. We evaluate each one individually. You can’t take a sack or a fumble on a screen pass. I think we want to value the football. Yes, it was talked about a lot. But you just have to go out and do it. The ball is in your hand every play and I am asking the quarterback to throw a lot and you are getting pressure and guys are not getting wide open. It is not easy. I think we had a conservative plan with the ability to open it up if we needed to but we didn’t have to get to that point because we were efficient, got ahead early and our defense was playing well.”