- --in the room, but
box in the hallway for y.
Also, the press conference will
be available on the FTP site
if you need to download
any audio or video as well.
The following representatives
will be here probably
in the next four minutes or so.
[chatter]
One more announcement to make
sure our microphones back
in the back, either get his
attention or my attention--
will make sure I get the
microphone in front of you.
Please use your
name and affiliation
on the first question.
I don't know if you need to do
it on the second or followups,
but that is very helpful
for everyone in the room.
JMU will be here
in just a minute.
All right.
Part two of today's
press conference.
I'd like to welcome news the
following members of the James
Madison University Dukes.
Our head coach Curt
Cignetti, then to his right--
in your right to left--
we have Ron'Dell Carter, Ben
DiNucci, Dimitri Holloway,
and Rashad Robinson.
I'm going to ask Coach Cignetti
to please give an opening
statement, and then please
the first round of questions
direct to the student athletes.
We'll get those done, and
then the coach can answer
the rest of the questions.
- OK.
Appreciate the hospitality.
You know, Frisco, the
organization of the NCAA
as we approach
kickoff time here.
From my standpoint
now, the goal is,
you know, 5:00 we have a
team meal and a quick meeting
at 6:00 for the players to
be able to kind of get away
from everything and sort
of get in a good place
so they can sort of be at
their best tomorrow morning.
It's going to be an early
morning, early kickoff.
So it's been a good experience
down here, and time to go play.
- First question for
the student athletes.
- Dimitri, Wayne Epps with
the Richmond Times Dispatch.
North Dakota State,
a team that loves
that they run the ball,
you know, power team--
what jumped out to most to
you about their running game?
How was it having multiple
guys who can run it,
including the quarterback
in Trey Lance?
What has jumped out to you
the most to you about that?
- They got multiple backs, all
of them very capable runners,
and they got a great O-line
that does what they do.
That's one thing that
I know the coach has
said they've always been doing.
They just do it.
They play bully ball.
That's their pride and joy, and
that's what we got to plan on,
putting our pads on and just
going to be ready to go.
- Ben, Noah Ziegler
with The Breeze.
What of the players that
have been here in this,
you know, in Frisco at
the national championship,
what advice have they
given you since it's
your first time here?
- You know, not much.
I try to lean on
those guys when I can,
but we're trying to keep this
thing as lowkey as possible.
To us, it' just
another game, you know.
We're down here for
one reason, and that's
to take care of business.
But nothing much has really
changed from from, I guess,
when they were here a few
years ago, but just being
able to kind of pick
their brains a little bit
about the experience in the
game and, you know, kind of what
to expect has been good for me.
- There's some
questions up here.
Second row.
- Dave Thomas of [inaudible].
Rashad, let's talk
about Trey Lance,
what he's been able to do
this year as a quarterback
and defending the many
targets that he has.
Just talk about
what you've seen out
of him and trying to keep him
from being as efficient as he
has been this year.
- He's a very good
quarterback for as
young as he is, you know.
He's very patient.
He has the open receivers.
He has good playmakers
on the outside
to fill in the back end.
We just got to make sure
that we're doing our job
and playing sound football.
- Craig Medea,
Daily News Record.
Ron'Dell, when did you get a
sense that this group that you
play with, they were coming
together and was on the right
path toward having a season
that you guys have had up
to this point and
would have a chance
to win a national championship?
- I already knew once
we played Stony Brook.
When we played them, we had
that shootout against them.
We didn't fold one
time, you know.
We was poised the
entire time, and that's
one thing Coach
Cignetti preached to us
when he first got in here.
He said, we're
going to be a team
that never loses our poise.
We're going to be calm, cool
and collected in any situation.
And you know, he told us that,
like one of the first three
things he told us.
So we play Stony
Brook and, you know,
we was basically going up and
down, back and forth with them.
And you know, once overtime
came, when I seen him,
he was just happy-go-lucky
the whole time.
You know, at that
point, when I see
how we fought that
entire time when
Rashad was banged up that game.
I was banged up the
week before, and then
when we still stayed
together the entire time,
and we show people we can do so.
That moment right there, I was
just like, this team was going.
I already knew.
- Any additional questions?
Back here in the back.
And then we're going to
go over to the right too.
No, he can go to him first,
and then we'll back to.
- Ron'Dell, Isaac
Deneson, [inaudible]..
What's it like to be nominated
for the Buck Buchanan award
here?
- It's an amazing
honor, you know.
You know, for me, I was
always that big team guy.
You know, obviously I want to
win a national championship,
but personally for me, that
would be a huge accomplishment.
But just to be nominated
alone is just like, you know,
that's an honor.
And no one has won at JMU
since Arthur Moats did,
you know, 11 years ago in
2009, and that would be good,
not just me but for our
school, you know what I mean?
Just to see someone out of James
Madison win a Buchanan award.
So, I mean, that would be
like a huge honor for me
and my institution and, you
know, just a huge shoutout
to my teammates.
You know, without them,
I wouldn't be able to do
what I've been doing this year.
Without my coaches,
I won't be able to do
what I've been doing this year.
So before me, I want
to make sure I give
a huge shoutout to them
because without them,
it's definitely impossible.
- Ron'Dell, Rob
Washburn from CAA.
North Dakota State's offensive
line has three guys that
earned All-American top honors.
Obviously, you and John had.
As you studied their
offensive line,
what has impressed
you about them,
and what are you guys going to
have to do to have the success
you've had all year?
- Oh yeah.
Well, based on who
their coach is,
you know, I know
him pretty well.
Coach Blazek, he was the O-line
coach when I was at Rutgers.
I know exactly what kind
of mentality he brings.
I know exactly how their players
are going to probably play.
They're going to
be well coached,
going to be disciplined, going
to do every little thing right.
I mean, that's how he's
always taught guys,
and I'm assuming
since he left, he's
not going to change
that just because he's
at North Dakota State.
And, you know,
just traditionally,
they've just been having
a great offensive line.
So they had three
All-Americans--
I think all but one of
juniors, so just for them
to be relatively young
and still be as, you know,
disciplined and well
coached as they are,
I just expect them to
be the same exact way.
They're not going to probably
do a lot of trash talking,
you know.
That's not the type
of team that they are.
But they are going to
play very physical,
going to play till the
end of the whistle,
and we gotta be
ready for that, but I
think we'll be up
for the challenge
because our guys are
ready for that for sure.
- For each of the players,
there's been so much
talk this year about, you know,
obviously last season didn't
end the way you wanted,
and the way the 2017
national title game went--
could you put into words what it
would mean to each of you guys
if you're able to finish the
job and get a win tomorrow?
- Rashad, can you
start at the end
and kind of come back this way?
- It would mean
everything, especially
with the things that
some of these guys
have been through in that
locker room, you know.
We have a lot of older
guys that was here in 2017,
and we've fought
through adversity
through these last
five years, so it would
just mean the world to us.
- It would be special, just
knowing that all the ups
and downs that we've
been through as a team
or individually, just
knowing that you could finish
your last game the right way.
That's the best way to go out.
- I would say just
putting the cherry on top.
As seniors-- all four of
us up here are seniors--
it's kind of the way you want
to go out in your last game,
having played in a
national championship.
You can't really ask
for anything else.
- Yeah.
For me, I play for these
guys, you know what I mean.
For guys like, you know,
Rashad and Dimitri who've
overcome drastic
injuries, for them
to come back and bounce back,
and now we have the opportunity
to win a championship.
For me, like I said,
personally, I definitely
want a ring on my finger
by the end of this week,
but like I said, I
play for these guys.
These are my guys.
We're here, all three of
them, and the rest of guys
in that locker room.
So I want to do it for them.
I want to do it for
the school, absolutely.
This would be like,
great right here.
- Kind of going off that,
Rashad, especially talking
about how you were here and 20 I
guess 20 18 and then the season
ending injury before
NC State last year.
What does it mean to
you that now you're back
in this position and potentially
your last game as a Duke
can finish with the
national championship?
- Yeah, it's a blessing.
You know, I feel like
everything comes full circle,
and everything
happens for a reason.
Last year with a drastic
injury, God had other plans,
but to come back this year
and fight through that,
and I just gotta give credit
to the guys in the locker
room for keeping
my head up in 2018.
It was a hard time for
me, having an injury
like that on my senior
year, but like I said,
it just comes full circle
and have the opportunity
to play out on that field
for a national championship
with my last college
career, you know,
it just means the world to me.
- Dimitri,
communication has been
such a vital part of the success
of this defense this year.
You're looking at a
North Dakota State team
that uses multiple formations.
They move guys around,
run guys in and out.
Communication you guys are
going to need tomorrow--
just talk about what
you've done to this point
and how you're going to have
to elevate that tomorrow.
- Communication always key.
I think that's the
main thing the coach
is always harping on us about.
I know Coach Cig back in the
spring when he first got here,
he used to get on us
a bunch because he
used to say the defense
doesn't talk a bunch.
And I think that's just
because we was just getting
used to the defense,
so we didn't really
know the checks and
this and that and third,
but now the guys have been
going together and just doing
the right things, everybody
talking to each level
and just saying the right
things to one another,
and as long as we're
all on the same page,
everything should go smooth.
- Alex Benzegala at AM
1100 The Flag in Fargo.
This question is for Ben.
Can you talk about
the playmakers
you have on offense around you?
- Yeah.
I tell people all the time, it
makes my job really easy when
I've got all day to
throw, and the guys
outside are getting open.
I think you can see Brandon
Polk is a guy that, you know,
we didn't necessarily have
a threat like him on offense
last year.
He's done a heck
of a job this year
of taking the top off the
defenses and [inaudible]
the first few games
of the year, but he's
come on really strong
the second half
of the year and these playoffs.
We're going to need
everyone tomorrow morning,
but, you know, those guys set
the tone for our offensive,
all the offensive
line, you know.
Nothing goes-- I'm one of 11
and without the other guys
around me, nothing's possible,
so they do a heck of a job
of making our offense go.
- Right here in the middle.
- For all four of you
guys, was there a moment
that you felt like
everything really
started to click in terms of
what coach and the new staff
kind of wanted to do in terms of
transitioning from last season?
- Ron'Dell, this time I'll
start with you and go.
- Could you repeat the
question one more time?
I'm sorry.
- Oh yeah.
Was there anything,
like a moment
that you felt like everything
sort of really clicked in terms
of practice, workouts,
that sort of thing with
understanding what coach and
the new staff were trying to do?
- Well, for us, I mean, pretty
much after the Colgate game
last year, we all
made our mind up that,
you know, we didn't
want a repeat of that.
So, I mean, thankfully we
got these coaches to come in,
but we wouldn't be
ready for gauntlet
because we weren't doing
that this year, period.
I'm just being honest with you.
We weren't gonna go for that.
I mean, that was pretty
much the moment for us,
and then, you know, once we
got into our summer workouts
and then, you know, we had
this little thing where we
called it summer of validation.
You know, we wanted
to validate everything
while we were, you know, the
number two ranking or anything
like that, there's some of
the validity that, you know,
we did that this
season, and now we
just gotta finish
it off tomorrow,
so that's what I believe.
- I would say after
the West Virginia game,
and kind of piggybacking
on what Ron'Dell said,
you know, that Colgate game--
as a team and personally--
that wasn't necessarily how we
wanted to end last year,
and it felt like that wasn't
necessarily a representative
sample of the players
in the team that we were.
After that West Virginia game,
I think in that locker room
there were a lot of heads
that were not held low.
A lot of guys had their heads
up and were like, all right,
this is the last time
this is happening.
This isn't happening again.
And being able to play
a team like that the way
that we did and
kind of physically
dominate them up front
and do some things,
we kind of felt like, all
right, this thing could could,
so we got to really put
our foot down and go do it.
- I think the moment
for me was honestly
towards the end of camp when
we were about to go into West
Virginia cause back then, I
wasn't actually practicing due
to my hand, but I just
heard certain conversations
and things like that that
was going on on the sideline
with the defense as a whole
and just on the offensive side.
Just seeing how the
guys clicked out there.
We was just going and
battles and different things
like that, doing
the hard camp days.
And then you got the offense and
defense chirping at each other
and going back and forth
on the practice field,
and you saw that
competition level,
and that's when I
knew right there.
- For me, I would say
the Villanova game.
It was a top five matchup,
and I believe we were down 10
in the middle of the fourth
quarter, and the way we
fought back.
Offense picked us
up, and defense
were knocked down bottom.
I believe we got four turnovers
in the fourth quarter alone,
three or four turnovers, and
the way we overcame adversity
in that game, close CAA matchup
at Villanova, top five matchup.
I believe when we got in that
locker room after that game,
everyone looked
around like, yeah,
we really can do this thing.
- OK.
At this point, that will
conclude our portion
with the student athletes.
I'm going to dismiss them.
Thank you, gentlemen.
And then we'll have time for
the coach to answer questions.
All right we'll open up
the floor for questions
for Coach Cignetti.
- Coach, you mentioned
on the teleconference
last week that your father will
be watching the game back home.
I was wondering, what have
maybe your conversations been
like with him leading
up to his game,
just talking about
this opportunity
and maybe any advice from him
just heading into this game?
- He got out of the
hospital today, actually,
and he's been in Pittsburgh--
Mercy-- and he's
going with my sister,
so he'll watch a game with her.
I really haven't talked to him--
I talked him
yesterday, briefly--
quite as much here lately.
Everything-- the prognosis,
rehab-- has been really good.
So not a lot of
football talk, really,
to be quite honest with you.
- Coach Cignetti, you've
been a part of many teams,
and this one is pretty
special in some ways,
but what makes this group?
What's their personality,
because every team
seems to have a
different personality.
- This is a great football
team with a lot of guys who
play a lot of football, a
lot of really good players,
exceptional players
at their positions,
and personalities,
good leadership.
There's a great culture
at JMU with the tradition
and the success of
the past, you know.
Itreally, to be able to coach
this team, but we had a plan
and we knew we wanted,
you know, and improve
the team without question.
But this team kind of got it
after a while, kind of what
I was looking for, which are
those crisp, short practices
focused in, locked in.
This play's over-- tear
off the rear-view mirror,
never too high, never too low.
Practice is kind of like a
game, really fast, you know.
You got to be able to--
six seconds a player plays in
a life, a history of its own.
They did a great job
with their focus focusing
in on the right things,
played consistently
throughout the season,
practiced that way also,
handled business that way also.
We have no off-the-field
problems at all with this team
and, you know, these guys have
played a lot of ball together,
so here we are, ready to go.
- Back here to the left.
- Bobby Broyles
with CAA Football.
Coach, just talk about your
special teams a little bit,
you know.
Could be a big factor
tomorrow, especially
with the unpredictability of the
weather and a veteran kicker.
- Well, you know,
special teams is huge.
We've made some really big
plays on special teams lately.
You know, we've had
a few negative plays
throughout the season also,
but, you know, I think it's
going to be critical tomorrow.
You know, we've done a
nice job with our punt,
Harry, and pinning people back.
Amos has done a nice
job with the return
with blocks and punts.
We also have
prohibited fake punts,
blocked quite a few field goals,
always alert for a fake there.
Ratke, you know, has been
pretty consistent, kicked
the ball very well
this week in practice.
And our kickoff return
game has really been good,
and most people
don't kick to us,
and I think North
Dakota State will
because that's what they do.
They have good
coverage, and I expect
the wind will be a factor.
We don't know what
it's going to be.
I've seen anywhere from
15 to 30 miles an hour,
so it's going to be very
important at the end
of every special teams play
that you retain possession
of the ball, and we've got to
catch the punts and same thing
on kickoff return.
So, you know, everybody
talks more about offense,
but teams-- that's
good question.
- Coach, Jackson Roberts
of KVRR in Fargo.
I'm just wondering, is there one
thing in your time in Alabama
under Nick Saban that
you take with you
in coaching every single game?
- Well, you know,
Nick had a way,
and when Nick went
to Alabama, he
had been head coach at
Michigan State six, seven years
and was at LSU for two or three
and then Dolphins for two,
so he knew what he wanted to do.
And every day was a great
learning experience.
Every day was like
fourth and 1, you know.
There was a great
sense of urgency.
Yeah, there's a whole
lot of things there.
But, you know, as
son of a coach too,
as you go on-- this is year
nine-- you kind of develop
your own mode, so to speak.
I think the base and the core is
very similar in a lot of things
I learned there, and
then you incorporate
things that you think fit
this particular situation.
- Nick [inaudible] on Fargo.
You're coaching for
your first championship
in your first season.
So is Coach Entz.
What have you seen from him
that's made him so successful?
Coach Entz.
- Well, you know, the
North Dakota State
program, what it's
accomplished is
unprecedented over the years.
Coach has been there a while.
He understands how it's run.
He's done a great job
in his first season
because regardless what you
say, being the head coach
and assistant coach is a
totally different thing,
you know, and you
learn so much really
in year two from year one.
But look at them.
They're 15 and 0.
They're in the
top, statistically,
in almost every category
in the conference.
They've been number one
throughout the whole season,
have not played in
very many close games.
And, you know, he was
able to hire great people.
He's got really good players.
They have a system.
They have a way of
doing things, and they
haven't they haven't skipped a
beat, so he's done a great job.
- We've talked about the
weather and what could
happen or could not happen.
Your staff this year seems to
have, at least from the outside
looking in, been able to
adjust and adapt and make
adjustments in game from
first half to second half,
those kind of things.
Talk about how that
experience this year
could help you in maybe having
to adjust for the first quarter
or the second quarter with the
weather being so iffy every 15
to 20 minutes, possibly?
- No, wind could definitely
be a factor in a game,
and I guess we're not really
going to know until tomorrow,
but it is going to be cold too.
Fortunately, we've
played quite a few cold
weather games here recently.
We practice outside in the cold.
We do have an indoor also,
but we practice outside.
We're used to playing
in the cold weather,
and it doesn't affect us.
So, you know, I kind of
like the weather forecast,
to be honest with you.
But the game's gonna be won
out there between the lines,
so we'll see what happens.
- Alex Benzegala at AM
1100, The Flag at Fargo.
It's been a big year
on the other side
for Trey Lance, the
quarterback for the Bison.
How do you contain
him in this game?
- The best way to contain
any quarterback, really,
is to put pressure on him in
the pass game, hit him a lot.
They've designed quarterback
runs and to get multiple hats
to the ball and hit them hard.
Now, that hasn't
happened very often
to him because they have really
good players across the board.
On the offensive line,
at wide receiver,
running back, and the
multiplicity of their offense
is such that, you
know, you can't hone in
on one or two things
because they're
so multiple in what they do.
And week to week,
some things show up,
and then you don't see them
again for three or four weeks.
But look, if we want
to play good defense,
we got to stop the run.
We got to stop the run.
We have to create turnovers.
Limit the explosive plays,
get them off field third down.
- Coach, Coach Montgomery
won the Football Scoop
FCS coordinator of the year.
What does it mean for
the team to have someone
with his experience,
especially with someone
with head coaching
experience at the FCS level?
- Well, you know, I
hired him because he
was an experienced guy, and
I was looking for new ideas.
I'm involved offensively.
I think it's more a testament
to the whole offensive staff--
the other guys, the line coach,
every guy coaching on offense--
because the offense
was sort of a creation.
Some things were done at
Elon, some things that
had been done at Youngstown and
Charlotte, and some new things.
And so, you know, one guy
always gets the credit,
but a lot of people, you
know, contribute to that,
but Shane's done
an outstanding job.
- Are there any
additional questions?
- Coach, something that
Ron'Dell said yesterday was that
the seniors on this team have
been really good about keeping
one another, the younger
guys, accountable, you know,
in moments when you're
away from the coaching
staff and that sort of thing.
Having a guy like that as
sort of a pillar of your team
who's not just one
of the best players
but also kind of
that sort of leader--
what has he sort of meant to
the success of the program
throughout this first year?
- It's really hard to
quantify something like that
because Ron'Dell has such a huge
personality, and when he talks,
people listen.
So to have leadership
that steps up
off the field in those moments
that you don't even know
about-- you have no idea about.
You know, a lot of great
teams have that kind of guy,
and I think we've got
those kind of guys,
but there always is one
alpha dog, you know,
and I think for the whole
team, when Ron'Dell talks,
people listen.
- Are there any additional
questions at this time?
And that concludes
today's press conference.
Thank you, Coach.
Thanks, Coach.
Good luck to you too.
