Everything BC Football Head Coach Bill O'Brien Said in Stanford Week Press Conference

Boston College football head coach Bill O’Brien spoke to the media following Tuesday’s team practice on Chamberlin Field outside of Fish Fieldhouse in preparation for Saturday’s road contest at Stanford, which will start at 10:30 p.m. EST this upcoming Saturday.

Here is everything O’Brien had to say a few days after the Eagles’ double-overtime loss to the Michigan State Spartans this past week.

Q: Did the subject of tackling come up in the Sunday meeting?

O’Brien: “Yes, a little bit. No doubt. We were positioned to make tackles, and we practice tackling everyday. We made some good tackles in the game, but we missed too many. We missed too many, so that's been a point of emphasis. Got a couple new drills for it today. We're on top of it, and we have good tacklers on this team. Got a lot of faith in those guys, but yeah, we need to improve tackling, no doubt."

Q: Chance to go 1-0 in the ACC, road test, how big is this game to get back on track?

O’Brien: “I think every game is big, you know. And I really have a lot of faith in this team. I think this team, you know, potentially can be a good team, but it only matters what we did today in practice. I thought they showed up. Wasn’t perfect, but ready to go today. Had a good meeting this morning.”

“It’s a difficult trip, right, going out there to a Frank Reich coached team at Stanford. We coached against each other in the NFL. Great player, great coach. So big challenge for us, you know, to go out there to play a night game. Gotta get the proper sleep this week. Gotta understand, a lot of these guys have not traveled as far as we’re going to travel. So we gotta teach them, guide them, and we gotta be ready to go when it kicks off.”

Q: On that a bit more, any thought of heading up on Thursday?

O’Brien: “Yeah, a little bit. But yeah, not much. I’ve talked to a lot of people about that, plus, you know there’s other factors that go into that, because that can be pretty costly. But no, we’ve decided [to go Friday].”

Q: Health-wise, how’d you guys come out from Saturday’s game?

O’Brien: “Not bad. Yeah, I think we’re in good shape. Couple soft tissue deals, but nothing major. I think we’re in good shape.”

Q: Just looking back at the running game tape from this past game, it’s been, I guess, maybe a little uncharacteristic for BC to not get most of its offensive yards on the ground, at least the past two years. Do you feel like that’s something that you guys need to continue working on? Is that run blocking?

O’Brien: "Yeah, we gotta run the ball better. Yeah, no doubt about it. I mean, it's everybody. It's not just run blocking. It's the back seeing it, you know, the quarterback getting us into the right play, identifying the front the right way, the receivers block and force the right way. We definitely have to improve the run game. We worked hard on it today, and we'll continue to work on it.”

“We want to be a balanced offense. We feel really good about our passing game as far as the last two games go, but we need to be more of a balanced offense without a doubt.”

Q: You’ve already mentioned practice a little bit and how they performed today. But have you seen a difference in the energy or motivation coming off this loss? Or has it just kind of been like the last couple weeks?

O’Brien: “These guys are energetic. Like I’ve always said, I love coaching this team. They show up every day. They pay attention in meetings. They have really good energy and practice. They're frustrated about losing that game. It was a hell of a football game, but they turn the page quickly, you know, and they're on to Stanford. And I got a lot of pride in this team. I think that this team can be a good football team, but, you know, we have to actually go do it.”

Q: Can you elaborate on that balance? What does that look like, running and passing?

O’Brien: “Fifty-fifty. First and second down, want to be balanced. We strive for balance, but we also do what we believe it takes to win the game. And then that game, the last game, we had to throw the football to move the ball, but the running game has to improve, and we want to be fifty-fifty. We go into every game wanting to be fifty-fifty."

Q: We talked a lot about Jeremiah Franklin, but he showed up again the other night. What does he bring to this offense that people may not see aside from the catches?

O’Brien: “Jeremiah does a lot of things well. I think he's a unsung hero. I think he's a really good blocker. And in this day and age, a lot of tight ends, they're more receivers, right? You know, you look at the best tight ends, the reason why, and I’m not comparing, I’m doing this, but just because I've been fortunate to be around some really good tight ends, and in my opinion, the greatest tight end of all-time is Rob Gronkowski, it was because he could do both.”

“He was incredible in the passing game, but he could set the edge of the defense. [Gronkowski] could block the edge of the defense. Again, you know, again, Jeremiah does a good job of blocking. He's good [in the passing game]. He's a reliable receiver, so he's a very important part of this offense."

Q: Talk about Dylan, just going to a second and third read.

O’Brien: "Dylan's smart. I give the line credit, they pass protected pretty well. Backs picked up the blitz pretty well. Dylan’s smart, he's got a good brain. It has to continue. It's only two games. I know we're not sending him, quite yet, to the BC Varsity Club Hall of Fame. We're not sending him to Canton, [Ohio], just yet, but he's off to a good start, and we're thrilled that we have him.”

“He does a great job. I think he’s got a really consistent personality. He’s exactly the type of guy you’re looking for at quarterback, you know, from a personality standpoint. He's got to keep working and getting better. Because I think from when I watched the film and I showed him this yesterday or Sunday, it could have been even better. There were things that he missed. He's as hard on himself as anybody is. He'll continue to improve."

Q: Andrew Luck, the new general manager at Stanford, I don’t know if your paths crossed in the NFL, but just talk about what he’s been able to do at Stanford.

O’Brien: "Oh yeah, our paths crossed. I was the coach of the Houston Texans and he was the quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts. I have tremendous respect for Andrew Luck. He was an awesome player. He was the type of player that was just an ultimate competitor. The play was never over. This guy was one of the most, one of the toughest, most complete quarterbacks we played against and a very bright guy.”

“Stanford's very lucky to have, no pun intended, to have a guy like Andrew come back and be willing to do that for the program. Because, you know, college football is different, even than when he played. But he loves Stanford, and I have great respect for Andrew.”

Q: Do you see any of Andrew [Luck] in Dylan Lonergan?

O’Brien: “I appreciate the question. Yeah, no, Andrew Luck was, you know, MVP candidate, All-Pro player, and incredible professional player. Let’s just keep Dylan getting better and better. Andrew was, you know, a big guy. He was a very intelligent guy. When you get into comparisons and things like that with guys that were pros and guys that are, you know, college players, it's tough on that person to do that, so I try not to go down that road.”

Q: Owen McGowan had some good tackles [Saturday], can you talk about him?

O’Brien: “Owen is a, he's a captain. Owen is a BC guy. He's a tough guy. He's really smart. I thought he played a great game the other night. There were a couple plays, just like everybody, that he probably wishes he had back. But without Owen, you know, we probably would not have been in that game. He was able to make some plays in the running game and in the passing game that really helped us. So, you know, I just have great respect for Owen, and I'm glad you guys are talking to him.”

Q: Luca Lombardo, what it meant to see him have that kick [to force overtime]?

O’Brien: “Luca’s done good. You got to keep it going. I mean the kicks, the field goals and PATs are excellent. Obviously, I think he’s 13-for-13. Kickoffs can be a little bit better. The hang time is really good, but sometimes the location, he’s got to work on that. But he’s a really talented guy, so I’m sure he's working to get better at all of those things.”