Doug Martin chats about upcoming rivalry game with Akron
9/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
9/29 Transcript of Doug Martin's Weekly Press Conference
Opening Statement
“It's going to be nice to play at home for the first time in awhile. We've had five games and one home game, so it'll be nice to be back in Dix Stadium. We had some long trips. I think we got back at four in the morning from Iowa State and five in the morning from Louisiana and Ball State's a long trip, so it'll be nice to play in front of the home crowd. I know our players are excited about this game. This is what college football's all about. You get to play your cross-town rival. It should be a great atmosphere.”
On how rash of defensive injuries impacts game plan
“We've still got guys that have played. Dorian Wood has played a lot of football, and he'll step up and play well. He's played a lot this year. Derek Burrell has obviously been playing a lot. The guys that we've moved are mainly in the backup roles so unless we get another guy hurt, they probably wouldn't play very much anyway. We've got to go play better on defense, and we've got to start creating some turnovers defensively.”
On what needs to be done to improve pass rush
“We're not getting a lot of pressure from our four down. We need Monte Simmons to come back and start making plays off the edge to where he can't get single blocked, and same with Kevin Hogan. The main thing with us is that we've got to continue to stop the run. We played the run better at Ball State. We just couldn't get stops on third downs, and a lot of that is because we couldn't get pressure on the quarterback. We may have to start bringing more pressure. We tried to bring a little bit more pressure at Ball State from the perimeter.”
On dealing with injuries
“Nobody's feeling sorry for us. The next guy has got to go play. We're coaching as hard as we can coach with who's there. That's who we've got to go play with. It's a great opportunity for the guys who are going to go get a chance to play. Jon Simpson is playing his best football since Jameson Konz went out. We really haven't missed much of a beat right there. He's one guy that's taken the opportunity. We've just got to keep going, but the injuries have obviously been a problem around here for a long time.”
On motivation provided by taking on rival Akron
“You usually don't have to work very hard at motivating guys to get up for this game. It's one of the games we usually have a nice crowd here at home. It's like I told our guys, we're 0-1 in the conference but so is everybody else on the East side. Akron's 0-1 in the conference. We both lost to the same team by about the same score. If our guys want to make it to the MAC Championship Game, they've got every right to do that. All they've got to do is go play like they've capable of and win a game and go win the next game. That's where we are. They need to quit feeling sorry for themselves and go play.”
Opening Statement
“It's going to be nice to play at home for the first time in awhile. We've had five games and one home game, so it'll be nice to be back in Dix Stadium. We had some long trips. I think we got back at four in the morning from Iowa State and five in the morning from Louisiana and Ball State's a long trip, so it'll be nice to play in front of the home crowd. I know our players are excited about this game. This is what college football's all about. You get to play your cross-town rival. It should be a great atmosphere.”
On how rash of defensive injuries impacts game plan
“We've still got guys that have played. Dorian Wood has played a lot of football, and he'll step up and play well. He's played a lot this year. Derek Burrell has obviously been playing a lot. The guys that we've moved are mainly in the backup roles so unless we get another guy hurt, they probably wouldn't play very much anyway. We've got to go play better on defense, and we've got to start creating some turnovers defensively.”
On what needs to be done to improve pass rush
“We're not getting a lot of pressure from our four down. We need Monte Simmons to come back and start making plays off the edge to where he can't get single blocked, and same with Kevin Hogan. The main thing with us is that we've got to continue to stop the run. We played the run better at Ball State. We just couldn't get stops on third downs, and a lot of that is because we couldn't get pressure on the quarterback. We may have to start bringing more pressure. We tried to bring a little bit more pressure at Ball State from the perimeter.”
On dealing with injuries
“Nobody's feeling sorry for us. The next guy has got to go play. We're coaching as hard as we can coach with who's there. That's who we've got to go play with. It's a great opportunity for the guys who are going to go get a chance to play. Jon Simpson is playing his best football since Jameson Konz went out. We really haven't missed much of a beat right there. He's one guy that's taken the opportunity. We've just got to keep going, but the injuries have obviously been a problem around here for a long time.”
On motivation provided by taking on rival Akron
“You usually don't have to work very hard at motivating guys to get up for this game. It's one of the games we usually have a nice crowd here at home. It's like I told our guys, we're 0-1 in the conference but so is everybody else on the East side. Akron's 0-1 in the conference. We both lost to the same team by about the same score. If our guys want to make it to the MAC Championship Game, they've got every right to do that. All they've got to do is go play like they've capable of and win a game and go win the next game. That's where we are. They need to quit feeling sorry for themselves and go play.”
New Kent State Football Special Teams Analyst Josh Cribbs Previews the 2026 Season and His New Role
Tuesday, May 05
Kent State Football 2025 Early Signing Day Press Conference
Wednesday, December 03
Kent State Football vs Northern Illinois 11.28.25 | Cinematic Recap
Sunday, November 30
Kent State Football vs Northern Illinois 11.28.25 | Football Game Highlights
Saturday, November 29
