I watched his press conference from earlier in the week.
Overall, he comes across very much as a young DC thrust suddenly into a head coaching role, just trying to keep things afloat. Well spoken, intelligent guy. But his head is probably swimming right now.
Some notables:
-Doesn't have much to say specifically about the offense. It seems he is continuing to focus on the defense. I would expect a vanilla approach as usual. Our improved run fits will be put to the ultimate test.
-He is very blunt about the uncertainty surrounding the football program
-He talks about guys going in different directions, some buying in right away, some looking for the exit door. Could be some locker room issues. Jumping on the scoreboard early could be huge for either team.
-He talks about 'just getting to the bye week'. Like Purdue, it sounds like a lot of their guys are playing hurt. Do some of their banged up players go into self-preservation mode? I am particularly interested to see how they manage Allen in this game. He touched the ball 32 times in a losing effort last week. Leonhard makes a comment about him being less effective with that many carries and needing to distribute the load more.
Overall, this type of situation can go either way. I can't help but think psyche will play a big role in this game. Put Wisconsin down early, and, not only is their offense ill suited to play from behind, but how motivated will they be to put it all on the line in a season that is well below their standards. They are essentially playing for pride. Conversely, if they were to get a pick 6 on Purdue's opening drive or get consecutive stops, that could breath all the life they need into their sideline.
Overall, he comes across very much as a young DC thrust suddenly into a head coaching role, just trying to keep things afloat. Well spoken, intelligent guy. But his head is probably swimming right now.
Some notables:
-Doesn't have much to say specifically about the offense. It seems he is continuing to focus on the defense. I would expect a vanilla approach as usual. Our improved run fits will be put to the ultimate test.
-He is very blunt about the uncertainty surrounding the football program
-He talks about guys going in different directions, some buying in right away, some looking for the exit door. Could be some locker room issues. Jumping on the scoreboard early could be huge for either team.
-He talks about 'just getting to the bye week'. Like Purdue, it sounds like a lot of their guys are playing hurt. Do some of their banged up players go into self-preservation mode? I am particularly interested to see how they manage Allen in this game. He touched the ball 32 times in a losing effort last week. Leonhard makes a comment about him being less effective with that many carries and needing to distribute the load more.
Overall, this type of situation can go either way. I can't help but think psyche will play a big role in this game. Put Wisconsin down early, and, not only is their offense ill suited to play from behind, but how motivated will they be to put it all on the line in a season that is well below their standards. They are essentially playing for pride. Conversely, if they were to get a pick 6 on Purdue's opening drive or get consecutive stops, that could breath all the life they need into their sideline.
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