Bryan Brown, Yasir Abdullah Recap FSU, Preview Wake Forest
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Heading down to Tallahassee, Fla. for their first true road game of the season, Louisville (3-1, 0-0 ACC) held off a second half rally from Florida State (0-4, 0-2 ACC), escaping Doak Campbell Stadium with a 31-23 win in their first game of ACC play.
Next up, the Cardinals will hit the road for a crucial matchup against No. 24 Wake Forest (4-0, 2-0 ACC) in Winston-Salem, N.C. Kickoff against the Demon Deacons is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 2 at 12:30 p.m. EST.
Prior to their upcoming matchup, defensive coordinator and outside linebacker Yasir Abdullah took time to meet with the media. They discussed the previous game against FSU, previewed the upcoming game against Wake Forest, and more.
Below is the transcript from their press conference, as well as the video:
Defensive Coordinator Bryan Brown
(On how he feels the defense performed against Florida State)
Overall, I thought our guys competed their butts off and executed properly 85% of what we actually had called. You talked about the big run plays, I think a couple of those we got guys at - one guy's in his gap, he just didn't get off the block. Next time, one of the long touchdown runs they had, actually came back and said that it was holding on a couple of guys that had actually hit in their gap. That's the tough thing after the fact. But other than that, we'll bend but don't break. We most definitely don't want to give up the amount of yards that we gave up. But as long as we're keeping points off the board, I'll take that any day of the week. Our guys responded in the second half, and made multiple stops on fourth down. That was very, very pleasing to see. Would liked to have a better end to the first half, that drive was three plays and a touchdown. That's not us, we got to execute there. I think the guys adjusted to what they were trying to do, and was able to get some stops after that. Overall, I was very, very pleased with giving up less points than we scored, but most definitely got a chance this week to continue to get better.
(On Jack Fagot's play against FSU)
Big Jack, he was playing some ball the other day, man. He did really well for us. I'm just excited when you see a kid making a lot of plays, and you just see that fire lit up in their eyes, and they're just so excited to make the plays, and things of that nature. It was awesome. It was awesome for me to be able to see Jack perform the way he's performed, being a former walk-on and and earning that spot. Just to see him, day in and day out, put the work in, it was a joy to see. I most definitely think that's the best performance by him, and he proved that on Saturday.
I think last Saturday was his coming out party with that. You've seen glimpses of it throughout fall camp, and throughout the first couple of games of the season. But Saturday man, he played his butt off, and that's what we expected for sure.
(On if he thinks the defense eased up after taking a big lead vs. FSU)
I would say so. We try to talk, "hey, you can't let up, put your foot on the throat," things of that nature. But I think sometimes, it's just human nature. The guys are just kind of like, "we got a big lead", and stop focusing on the minor details, and I think that's what happened to us. That series right before half, we kind of led up just a little bit, kind of like Malik (Cunningham) said after they did in the second half. I most definitely got that sense right during that series for sure.
(On the pass rush against FSU)
I thought they did great, especially when you're rushing three, and you're able to get sacks. That's awesome. I think our guys did a great job of studying film, and getting on edges, running their games. But just having that that relentless effort up front - there's times where it may be four or five seconds that the quarterback has the ball, and then we finally sack him. That's relentless effort, and that's what you want to see when we're doing a great job in coverage: those guys getting some pass rush. Times when I call four, or five man, the guys are getting downhill and playing fast, and getting to the quarterback. Yasir Abdullah did an awesome job this weekend, as well, in a four man rush getting sacks. I'm excited, and that's awesome to be able to get the amount of sacks we've had the last couple of weeks, and hopefully we can continue that trend. Because if we do, we'll continue to be a pretty good defense.
(On what's changed for Yasir Abdullah to become much more consistent)
I think Yasir is, number one, playing a little bit more, and not having as much rotation there at that spot. He's put in a lot of work in the offseason to work on his conditioning, and I think that's a big thing for him. In order to be in great shape, he can go a lot longer. I will attest that I think that's probably one of the main things that happened over the offseason, is him doing an outstanding job with (Strength) Coach Mike (Sirignano) and his staff, and getting in shape to where he can play a lot more snaps, and be as effective as he's been in the first four games.
(On if YaYa Diaby's performance vs. FSU is what he was hoping to see)
Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. He is more healthy down, and that's what we expect from big YaYa. Just so excited for him to have the game that he had, and knock on wood, hopefully he continues that this upcoming weekend, as well as the rest of the season. He's doing a really good job of sitting in the film room, and (defensive line) coach (Mark) Ivey's getting him in the right spots, teaching those guys understanding stance, as well as just their games, and how to run them in a perfect way, great pass rushing techniques, and things of that nature. I'm excited, but yes, that's exactly what we expect from big YaYa.
(On the challenges that Wake Forest presents offensively)
That's a great offense, up tempo offense. What they do, you have to be very, very disciplined, have great eyes, and you just have to do your job. As opposed to, okay, I'm in my gap, but let me go pick another gap, because I think that's where he's probably gonna run the football. No, you have to stay in your gap, because they will find that hole if you don't. You have to be really, really disciplined within that aspect of the game, and you have to do a really good job in coverage, because they will find seams as well. They run vertical concepts and curls, different misdirection things in the passing game. You have to be very disciplined against this group, because this group doesn't beat themselves. You have to do a great job of making sure that you're in the right spots, you're where you're supposed to be, and then at that point, you have to be able to make a play. But they don't beat themselves, and we have to do a great job of being disciplined. Do great job in the passing lanes, and do a great job getting pass rush when we need it. Very, very difficult offense, the slow ride zone read, the powers and counters, things of that nature - especially with the quarterback being an extra blocker at times. That's tough. That's tough at times. But we are getting prepared for what I think we've had a couple of good practices, so hopefully we can show that on Saturday.
(On how the young guys have progressed against Florida State, and how they are preparing to go against Wake Forest's slow ride read option)
I think that was huge for those guys, getting those reps in that game. Jaylen (Alderman), I thought he played really solid, I really did. I think he had maybe one actual M.A., and that's amazing for a true freshmen in this defense. I thought he played well, same with KJ (Cloyd). KJ had some really nice plays, he had a great tackle on a swing pass to the running back in the flats. He had one miscue in the passing game, but other than that he played solid, and as well as Deebo (Dorian Jones). Deebo got the pass interference, which I think was iffy. I think the receiver kind of ran into him, but I was very pleased with those guys, man. Being Jaylin's first start, that was awesome to see a true freshman go in there at Florida State, and have the game be played. These young guys, this week in practice, have done a really good job of focusing. They're trying to have extra meetings with each other, which is awesome. We got to be very disciplined at that position in order for us to be successful, and to be able to stop the run.
(On if they have to be patient when facing the slow ride, or attack)
The slow ride makes a lot of people, and teams - you got to be very disciplined within your gaps, you have to be. If you be slow, then it's going to be methodical the whole time. If you speed them up, then decisions have to be made quicker, and he's gonna throw the football at times. I think you got to mix it up a little bit, just to give them different looks. Hopefully we'll be able to show both, but just make sure we're very disciplined in what we're trying to get accomplished.
(On if he likes what he's seeing from the defense in terms of creating turnovers)
Absolutely. Anytime we get the ball back to our offense is a plus, and I think anytime we're in the plus category in turnover margin, we'll usually come out on top with a win. We're continuing to stress each and every day "we want the ball", and I'm seeing progress to where we're getting more turnovers, each and every game. We always count turnovers as well on fourth down stops, we count those as turnovers in our books here in the facility. Anytime we can get in that plus-range, man, that's awesome for us. Get the ball back for the offense, and go put some more points on the board.
Outside Linebacker Yasir Abdullah
(On what was different in the pass rush against FSU)
We just had to lock in, do what we had to do like in the offseason, just use our technique we've been using in the past, and just bring it to the present.
(On how much work he put in the offseason with his conditioning, and how it's helping right now)
A lot of other stadiums we did in the offseason, like gashers and suicides. But after that, on my own time, going to treadmill, do more gashers and suicides, just so I can have that extra push in the game.
(On how the defense has progressed up to the FSU game)
We just locked in. We played as a whole, we did our assignments, our gaps. We had a couple busts, but we didn't panic, so that's a good thing. If we don't panic, we just keep rolling and keep making plays.
(On if he feels the progress since the Ole Miss game)
Oh yes. I felt like Ole Miss was a life lesson, because we play high tempo teams. Florida State started running tempo, so we were ready for that at the end of the day.
(On if he feels like he is playing better each and every week)
It starts off with practice. It starts off on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, just preparation. If I do well in practice, I know I'm gonna do well in the game. Just like pre-preparation.
(On Jack Fagot and what he can accomplish)
When he moved, it was just like, he was comfortable. He played like he did at CARD. Just playing with Jack is really fun. He knows the game like he's a field general. He knows what I'm doing, he knows what everybody else is doing so. I love playing with Jack.
(On the progress from the defensive line)
They've just been working on the little things. Just getting the gaps, extra work at the end of practice, the little things during the week. That just shows up on game day.
(On Ashton Gillotte)
He's gonna be a beast here. He reminds me of Nick Bosa a lot. He just got the edge to him, and I love it.
(On Wake Forest's offense)
At the end of the day, we just have do our job. Keep our eyes and be disciplined. It's gonna be a game on Saturday, so we just need to fill our gaps, set edges, and just do our job right.
(Photo of Yasir Abdullah: Sam Upshaw Jr. - Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC)
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