Transcript from GoHens portion of Monday's Zoom call with Coach Carty

[Big R]

On Monday, Dec. 5th, Coach Carty had a Zoom “Media Availability Call” which was hosted by Brendan Thomas.
Media participants were Kevin Tresolini, Andy Walter, Dan Steenkamer, and, I believe, Konner Metz from the UD Review.

I asked several questions at different points during the call, which I've transcribed below. As always, I refer to myself as GH (GoHens). Anything you see in parentheses are my own clarifying comments that I've inserted. Except for a final note, I've left other questions and answers to be addressed by the other media in their own publications / blogs / etc.

GH: Coach, there still seems to be a fairly significant gap between the very top teams in FCS and most of the teams in the CAA, UD included. it certainly doesn't appear to be at skill positions or coaching. Just looking at it with kind of uneducated eyes, it more or less seems to focus in on the size and strength of the offensive and defensive lines. Where do they get these guys? You've seen them where you were before, how do we get those guys?

RC: Yeah, the answer would be South Dakota, Nebraska - you look at their roster, right? It’s the five surrounding states – Minnesota (plus Iowa & North Dakota). North Dakota State is similar, you know they go into California a little bit and Florida a little bit, there's probably five or six guys from Arizona and Florida on their roster at South Dakota State, but for the most part they're kids from the local areas and they get the best ones that the Big 10 doesn't take, probably.

It’s true, Rich, I see the same thing from, I would say football-wise, a little bit more educated eyes as well, but you're right - I mean they are physical, long, big defensive fronts. There's not much difference between playing South Dakota State, North Dakota State, Montana State - those teams that I've played that we've run up against - they're all very similar on defense and they're all very good on defense but they're also really good at the skill positions and they also are really well coached. And you know, I'm with you - there's good coaching and good skill here in this league, and we'll see how William and Mary fares because I think they're a little bit physical up front on both sides of the ball as well. But you're not wrong. I would say there could always be a gap there. That's OK - you can still win with that. There was a gap there when we won the national championship at Sam Houston, too. We just had a bigger gap in the skill positions, and so it's not like you can't win – it’s kind of like the Big Ten versus the SEC, or whatever it is. You know it's not like you can't win that gap somewhere else, you can create a bigger gap for yourself somewhere else - whether it’s skill positions, or coaching or whatever it is, Rich. So, it's a good question and it's something that, obviously we're trying to do, is become that team that creates a gap somewhere between us and everyone else. And you get teams like James Madison that came from this conference that go and compete at that level, and teams like, whether it be Eastern Washington, or Sam Houston, or other teams that are in the conversation every year in the national championship talks and in the semifinals, that have created ways to combat that gap of maybe the physicality up front.

And then, I'd say with the advent of what has come (about) in college football, I think there are ways to get kids from different places in the country, and I think we do have enough big guys that can move (who come) from right around here, in our area as well - Pennsylvania and New Jersey and Virginia, and we have enough guys that you can find really good offensive lineman around here as well. So, I do think that we're doing our best - that is what we're trying to do here - is create something that is like what Coach Stieg has done there. What he's done there has been consistently dominant over the last 10 to 12 years, and I think that it's just admirable. You know, watching those guys - they're so sound, and so under control out there - nothing fazes them.

I also think that being the home team matters. We saw eight home teams win in the playoffs this week. It's not rocket science. Neutral sites can kind of handle that gap as well, you know what I mean? So, I think that also matters, and that's about how you perform during the season and being able to withstand the CAA, which is also a tough schedule, and those kinds of things (in order to get a top seed).

So I think there's a lot of things in the offseason to keep working on, and keep trying to get better at in certain situations. We'll have a lot of gaps on our team, just with the amount of guys that are leaving the program as well. That COVID year really made this senior class crazy big, so it'll be interesting to see you what we look like come next fall, because it'll be different that's for sure.

GH: So just to follow up on that - now that your season is done, what's your process over the next month to two months until final signing day and beyond?

RC: Well, the first signing day is in two weeks and we're really, obviously, trying to shore up the guys that we already have committed in the freshman class mostly, and then I'm getting into replacing some of the upper classmen with a couple of upperclassmen also, and that's currently going. So, it's basically recruiting until February, and then even beyond, now that the portal is what it is, and transfers are a little bit different than it used to be. So, it's not like it ever really ends, Rich, that recruiting part of it. We were recruiting kids, and we had kids on visits, all the way through the summer. Basically, Kyron Cumby came, like, the night before we started summer camp. So, there's gonna be guys that you take late as well. So, it's a weird time to be a college football coach and we're all trying to figure out our process and our schedule and our calendar, Rich - the entire college football world is - because this is all new for us and each year there's new timelines, and now there's different dead periods than there used to be, and different portal windows where guys can go in and out of it. So, everything has kind of changed from a scheduling perspective, so we're just doing our best to navigate it and try to make it work for us, and do whatever we can to also continue to work on our own guys and “player-develop” the people that are in the program currently, and make sure that we don't lose the great foundation that we set in our culture and in our fundamentals.

GH: Now, do you have end-of-season consultations set up with every player? You need to know where their heads are so you know if someone's planning to leave or stay.

RC: For sure, we do. We have individual player evaluation meetings after every spring ball and after every fall, and so those are going on in the next two weeks. Before break we'll get those all accomplished.


GH: Coach just moving on to your first year as a head coach, I don't know if this analogy makes sense, but we often hear it said that for a team, the biggest improvement is between game one and game two. Do you think that applies between the first season and second season for a head coach as well?

RC: I hope so.

GH: I know there's going to be a lot of self-analysis over the next 6 to 8 months, but what areas went as well as you thought they would, and what areas do you think we're surprising to you?

RC: Yeah, good question. Again, it's something we live by around here - I hope to improve every day, I really do, and I think if we do that, if, we try to get better every day - we make sure that every day we come in here we don't stay the same then we're getting better. And as a staff we're very self-reflective we do a lot of meeting together and make sure that we're going over every decision we make, and I make. Again, there's obviously going to be one “Big Whistle” they call it, and at the end of the day we're going to make that decision for the program. But there are a lot of people in this program that help guide it in the right direction and make sure we're all on the same page. That also helps when it comes down to implementing those decisions that are made. If it's a lot of people that are involved in in making it, there's obviously going to be better buy-in and a little bit better communication throughout the program when that decision gets implemented. So, we're going to do our best to continue to do that and whatever we think needs to be done to get the program better, we're going to, obviously, continue to work on that day-to-day.

And I would say things that were challenging or, obviously, the first time I did anything was always like “OK well, this is the first of that one”, “Oh I didn't see that coming”, and, over the course of time it probably happened daily, Rich, and we got better because of those situations, even when they didn't go perfectly. You know, those were things that happened, and now I know that they could happen, and will happen, again. And this is how I reacted to it last time. If it was good enough, that's maybe how I should react the next time, if not, we need to figure out how to react better the next time. Those are the things that people around me, and the support staff we have here in the administration, can obviously help us do. I think you know that, overall, it was a whirlwind of a year and, when I think about it, I probably got here on the 10th? 11th? 12th? last December, so I've been here for about a year now. I haven't gotten a ton of sleep, but I've enjoyed most of the minutes that I've been here. So, I’ve loved it here, I couldn't want to do anything else, I know that. So, I think, as long as we continue to keep trying to get better, I think the sky’s the limit here. I really do think that we have the capability of becoming something that's sustained, and consistently very good. So that's our charge right now for the offseason, and that's when most of those big things are going to happen - is how well do we continue to build on what we have right now as the foundation of the program.

Note:
Other media members asked some very good questions as well. In response to a question from KT, Coach Carty said that he thought the O-Line made the most progress over the course of the year of any position group, and most of them will be coming back bigger and better next year. Another position group that will be bringing back a lot of experience is the running backs. Andy asked about QB's and RC said it's a little bit up in the air with a couple of guys in the room and we don't have a ton of scholarship quartebacks on the roster right now and, hopefully, we have a couple of QB's coming in with this recruiting class.

[mpwerrell]

Thanks Rich!

[Hens79]

“We just had a bigger gap in the skill positions, and so it's not like you can't win”. Carty on how SHSU could compete with NDSU, SDSU etc … even though they were stronger on the OL and DL. That’s what I was hoping for this year with Henderson, Pitts, Townsend and Harvin and especially Henderson. But it just never panned out with Henderson not running due to injury or trying to prevent one and the OL and DL’s just weren’t good enough against better competition. Wasn’t expecting a national championship, but wanted better than 8-5 with that schedule. Like we all know, Carty has his work cut out for him.

[Udforever1]

Thanks Big R! Really like what Carty had to say. Only thing I’d disagree with is the oline part. That gap was way too much this past Saturday. Recruiting wise I feel like we’re off to a great start with Caccese and O’Neil, they are not only big but also athletic. However may take them a few years.

The guy does get it. He has goals for this program that go way past just being “relevant.”

[BigBlueRooster]

Thanks Big R! really appreciate all your contributions to the board. And Carty man I love listening to him. It's great to have a passionate coach again.

[Hensfansince03]

Thanks Big R! Really like what Carty had to say. Only thing I’d disagree with is the oline part. That gap was way too much this past Saturday. Recruiting wise I feel like we’re off to a great start with Caccese and O’Neil, they are not only big but also athletic. However may take them a few years.

The guy does get it. He has goals for this program that go way past just being “relevant.”

Agree with the OL comments. From all of his interviews recently and prior to last season he does not seem to grasp the urgency of improving the OL on a physical level IE: getting stronger faster players. He is fully prepared to bring the same OL back again next year and to continue recruiting the same areas using the same methods we have been for OL players.

Carty says he wants to have the best skill players and will continue to focus on WRs and creating a talent GAP in other areas to counteract the gap the elite teams have upfront. Reality is, as we saw on Saturday, Carty can have all the passion and speedy skill players he wants but it won't matter when our running backs are constantly smashed 3 yards behind the LOS and our QB runs for his life the entire game, gets sacked 5 to 10 times, and gets injured.

The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different outcome. If he does not correct the OL and DL issues, which means changing recruiting philosophy CARTY WILL FAIL as HC (the ceiling is winning the CAA, not beating MSVC teams in playoffs) and be offensive coordinator for life somewhere.

Do we have reason to worry? Does he REALLY GET IT?

[Info Hound]

Thanks, Rich. Really good questions. I appreciate the insights into what goes on ""behind the scenes". What a huge task it is to get this put together in order to field a successful team. Whew!

[HensRock]

Great job, Big R!
Thanks

[Section J]

Well done Rich.

The reality of the recruiting situation we have vs the SDSU/NDSU's etc is that there isn't as large a pool of the big uglies that are available locally as there is in that part of the universe. That is just a fact of life everybody should get used to. With the revolving door the portal provides, we or any CAA team might get lucky and come up with a good combination of big uglies for a season or two but sustaining that will to rough.

[77HEN]

Well done Rich.

The reality of the recruiting situation we have vs the SDSU/NDSU's etc is that there isn't as large a pool of the big uglies that are available locally as there is in that part of the universe. That is just a fact of life everybody should get used to. With the revolving door the portal provides, we or any CAA team might get lucky and come up with a good combination of big uglies for a season or two but sustaining that will to rough.

Those upper midwest states have a lot of big, “farm strong” boys to stock up with.

[J1705]

Thanks Big R! Really like what Carty had to say. Only thing I’d disagree with is the oline part. That gap was way too much this past Saturday. Recruiting wise I feel like we’re off to a great start with Caccese and O’Neil, they are not only big but also athletic. However may take them a few years.

The guy does get it. He has goals for this program that go way past just being “relevant.”

Agree with the OL comments. From all of his interviews recently and prior to last season he does not seem to grasp the urgency of improving the OL on a physical level IE: getting stronger faster players. He is fully prepared to bring the same OL back again next year and to continue recruiting the same areas using the same methods we have been for OL players.

Carty says he wants to have the best skill players and will continue to focus on WRs and creating a talent GAP in other areas to counteract the gap the elite teams have upfront. Reality is, as we saw on Saturday, Carty can have all the passion and speedy skill players he wants but it won't matter when our running backs are constantly smashed 3 yards behind the LOS and our QB runs for his life the entire game, gets sacked 5 to 10 times, and gets injured.

The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different outcome. If he does not correct the OL and DL issues, which means changing recruiting philosophy CARTY WILL FAIL as HC (the ceiling is winning the CAA, not beating MSVC teams in playoffs) and be offensive coordinator for life somewhere.

Do we have reason to worry? Does he REALLY GET IT?

I’m concerned. He might get it, but I don’t think he knows how to fix it and will try to fix it his way. Are we looking at Danny Rocco 2.0 here something something relevant …I hate to say it, but this year May have been our best year under the Carty regime. Prove me wrong Carty, but based on our line play you have to be kidding me if you think we can win without and upgrade. But maybe winning is just about the conference record and “making” the playoffs maybe that’s good enough for UD

[HensRock]

I get what Carty is saying with dividing the gap into 2 parts and that SHSU's SUPERIOR gap in skill positions more than made up for their INFERIOR gap in the trenches.
But he needs to understand the principle of Diminishing Returns.
There comes a point at which adding one more WR does not increase your positive Skill Gap as much as adding one more lineman would decrease your negative Trench Gap.

[Hensfansince03]

Thanks Big R! Really like what Carty had to say. Only thing I’d disagree with is the oline part. That gap was way too much this past Saturday. Recruiting wise I feel like we’re off to a great start with Caccese and O’Neil, they are not only big but also athletic. However may take them a few years.

The guy does get it. He has goals for this program that go way past just being “relevant.”

Agree with the OL comments. From all of his interviews recently and prior to last season he does not seem to grasp the urgency of improving the OL on a physical level IE: getting stronger faster players. He is fully prepared to bring the same OL back again next year and to continue recruiting the same areas using the same methods we have been for OL players.

Carty says he wants to have the best skill players and will continue to focus on WRs and creating a talent GAP in other areas to counteract the gap the elite teams have upfront. Reality is, as we saw on Saturday, Carty can have all the passion and speedy skill players he wants but it won't matter when our running backs are constantly smashed 3 yards behind the LOS and our QB runs for his life the entire game, gets sacked 5 to 10 times, and gets injured.

The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different outcome. If he does not correct the OL and DL issues, which means changing recruiting philosophy CARTY WILL FAIL as HC (the ceiling is winning the CAA, not beating MSVC teams in playoffs) and be offensive coordinator for life somewhere.

Do we have reason to worry? Does he REALLY GET IT?

I’m concerned. He might get it, but I don’t think he knows how to fix it and will try to fix it his way. Are we looking at Danny Rocco 2.0 here something something relevant …I hate to say it, but this year May have been our best year under the Carty regime. Prove me wrong Carty, but based on our line play you have to be kidding me if you think we can win without and upgrade. But maybe winning is just about the conference record and “making” the playoffs maybe that’s good enough for UD

Too early to judge. He had all of Roccos seniors plus some transfer WRs and Patriot L OL transfers. The only skilled player transfers he brought in that really contributed were Cumby and Harvin. Pitts and Townsend were still our top receivers and Cumby was only slightly above the rest of the pack at RB. The OL transfers added depth and rotated but were not an upgrade, they just blended in with mediocrity we had (mediocre in the CAA, god awful comparted to the northern title contenders). Excited to see Witcher next season.

So are going to find out if Carty can recruit and build a team. We have a full recruiting board right now and are going to need a decent class plus experienced transfers to fill the holes of what we are losing.

We are losing our top 5 players.
-Henderson
-Pitts
-Buchanon
-Plack
-Whitehead

UD has a ton of resources and support compared to the rest of FCS. We spend a little more on football than SDSU, NDSU, Montana State, etc and like quadruple the budget of an average FCS program. We have a brand-new state-of-the-art WAC, upgraded stadium, all the amenities of UD, PLUS another 80-million-dollar investment in football on the horizon. There is no excuse that we can't get bring players into the program good enough on the OL and DL to compete with the top tier of FCS.

How about we assign a coach to recruit the areas were those schools up north get their lineman? With our resources I am sure we can get a few of them, if a serious effort is made. If recruiting the lineman, we need to compete becomes a priority it will work out. Right now, from Cartys comments that does not appear to be the case. If we do not get better on the lines the ceiling Carty has is similar to Roccos and the "relevancy" continues.

I would be nervous if I was CR. Her football coach hires have been her only weaknesses so far.

[HENJOHN]

Got news for you. She isn't Nervous

[Udforever1]

Thanks Big R! Really like what Carty had to say. Only thing I’d disagree with is the oline part. That gap was way too much this past Saturday. Recruiting wise I feel like we’re off to a great start with Caccese and O’Neil, they are not only big but also athletic. However may take them a few years.

The guy does get it. He has goals for this program that go way past just being “relevant.”

Agree with the OL comments. From all of his interviews recently and prior to last season he does not seem to grasp the urgency of improving the OL on a physical level IE: getting stronger faster players. He is fully prepared to bring the same OL back again next year and to continue recruiting the same areas using the same methods we have been for OL players.

Carty says he wants to have the best skill players and will continue to focus on WRs and creating a talent GAP in other areas to counteract the gap the elite teams have upfront. Reality is, as we saw on Saturday, Carty can have all the passion and speedy skill players he wants but it won't matter when our running backs are constantly smashed 3 yards behind the LOS and our QB runs for his life the entire game, gets sacked 5 to 10 times, and gets injured.

The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different outcome. If he does not correct the OL and DL issues, which means changing recruiting philosophy CARTY WILL FAIL as HC (the ceiling is winning the CAA, not beating MSVC teams in playoffs) and be offensive coordinator for life somewhere.

Do we have reason to worry? Does he REALLY GET IT?

I’m concerned. He might get it, but I don’t think he knows how to fix it and will try to fix it his way. Are we looking at Danny Rocco 2.0 here something something relevant …I hate to say it, but this year May have been our best year under the Carty regime. Prove me wrong Carty, but based on our line play you have to be kidding me if you think we can win without and upgrade. But maybe winning is just about the conference record and “making” the playoffs maybe that’s good enough for UD

Are you two the same person? Man I’m all for some critique and criticism but you both are taking a small blurb from this interview and have been running away with it all week.