Powell on the RB rotation, the offense and more

Andre Powell met the media on Tuesday and talked about Pitt's running back rotation, the state of the offense, special teams and more. Here's a full rundown of his remarks.

It seems like in the last two games, you’ve pretty much followed a pattern of Rodney and C’Bo back and forth. What are you looking for in alternating those two guys? Is there an element of preservation with Rodney? What are you trying to get in going back and forth with them?
Powell: Well, here’s what I’ll say: everything we do, we evaluate and we look at it closely. Nothing’s off the table, and we’ll look at it, we’ll make adjustments, and those guys that played well. But when you get in the situation we’re in now, we’re looking to see each person, each room, who can do more, who can do what they’re supposed to do better? So we evaluate that stuff, and we’ll see where it goes.

Looking at North Carolina’s defense, would you say they’ve made some big improvements on that side of the ball, especially against the run this year?
Powell: I’d say they’re real big, for sure. Yeah, they’re better. They’re better. They’re not an overly-complicated defense, so it allows their guys to play fast and they’re talented, so they look like the typical North Carolina defense and we’ve got a big challenge in front of us to score some points. We know their offense can score points and we’ve got to score some points this week.

In addition to scoring points, I have to assume time of possession is going to be pretty important this week as well.

Powell: Well, scoring points is more important than time of possession. We’ve got to get the ball in the end zone.

From that standpoint, what’s missing offensively?
Powell: One of the things we have do - again, we’re mature, we’ve got some guys that have a good mentality on offense. And we look at every position, we look at every room, we don’t point the finger; we say, ‘What can I do better? How can I be more detailed?’ And that’s what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to be more detailed. We have to do more.

While the passing game is struggling, how are you seeing your running backs contributing in pass protection and presenting themselves as options for Phil?
Powell: Just like everything else: we’ve got to get better, we’ve got to do more. The good news is, we have not had any situations where we were mis-ID’d and let a guy run through. But we’ve got to block better. Our quarterback has to feel comfortable in the pocket and we’re a part of that. The other thing is, when you get in the passing game, we’ve got to make plays, and not just routine plays. Anybody here can catch a ball right in their hands; we’ve got to make the play that’s not routine. And that goes for every position.

Defenses loading the box against the run is nothing new, but have Cincinnati and West Virginia gone over the top a little bit, as far as putting an extra guy down that close?
Powell: It’s just typical. Defenses match personnel, normally; you put big people in the game, they put big people in the game, so that’s nothing unusual.

Pat said that Daniel has been working as the third-down back. What makes him a good fit for that?
Powell: Daniel’s really smart. The last two weeks, it was a scenario where some of the third-down pressures were a little bit exotic, and so Daniel does a really good job of sorting it out, communicating with the line, so that’s why he was there.

Has he done a good job in that role?
Powell: He’s done a good job, yeah.

When I look at Rodney, I look at a guy that looks like a power runner, he looks like a guy who, the more you feed him, the more he wears down a defense. Does it take away from his ability to do that when you guys are splitting carries, or is that something that can still be a factor in games if you guys are just in better positions to run the ball later?
Powell: Let me ask you this: What makes you say that - that Rodney is a power back? He’s never been a guy who’s had 20 carries in a game.

True, but when I’ve seen him come in the late part of games when Izzy was the top running back, I’ve seen him continue to bowl people over.
Powell: Right. So did Izzy wear out the defense or did Rodney wear out the defense?

That’s a good question.
Powell: Yeah. So here’s the deal: all the guys in my room are capable. Just like everything else, we evaluate and go, how can we do this better? How can we put our team in a better position to win? So all of those things we evaluated, and we’ll make all the necessary adjustments to make that happen.

Did Rodney not wear out the defense last year against Syracuse?
Powell: I can’t even remember the Syracuse game.

That was the game he started and he ran for 120 yards.
Powell: I can’t even remember the Syracuse game. In fact, I’m thinking about North Carolina, not Syracuse.

When a team loads the box like that, what do you do as a coach?
Powell: Here’s the thing, when they load the box and you’re running the ball, the defense has no layers. So if you crack a run, there is no layers. Some of the things you can do is run-action pass and pass the ball. There’s lots of options. There’s lots of options. And we’ve utilized some of those options; we just, for one reason or another, we’re just a hair off. And we’re working vigorously to get that corrected.

When you say a hair off, do you feel like you’re really close?
Powell: Every room can contribute. The coaches contribute. Maybe we called a play that’s not a good play. Maybe the tackle’s a step off. Maybe the back didn’t see it. Maybe the receiver’s a step off. It’s a lot of things. So I know from the standpoint of the people in the stands and the people that watch TV, it’s easy to point the finger at what they think the problem may be. But we’ve got issues where we just all have to be on the same page and all have to do more.

Caleb has taken a lot of steps in the last couple weeks as a punter. What have you seen from him that’s allowed him to become such a productive weapon on fourth down?
Powell: It’s just time. He hadn’t punted much, and the more he punts and the more he gets comfortable back there, the better he’ll be.

What has impressed you on punt coverage and kickoff coverage so far?
Powell: Well, our gunners can really run, and when you protect the punter and he can get the ball high up in the air, then there’s no punts to cover, you know? And that’s our goal: fix it where there’s no punts to cover. We’re trying to create fair catches. So the effort has been fantastic.

Who’s the fastest gunner?
Powell: We’ve got some fast guys. I don’t know. That’s a good - it would be a good foot race. I don’t know who’s the fastest, but we’ve got some guys, they can run.

What do you like that Kenny Johnson gives you in the return game?
Powell: Kenny can run. You can’t teach a guy how to run fast, and he’s just like Junko: the more he does it, the better he sees it. He’s a young guy, he’s not playing a ton of plays, so he’s not worn out or beat up, so he’s fresh when he goes in the game and he’s going to make more plays as we go down the road.

You watch all offense and obviously special teams. Him as a freshman, has he impressed you with his maturity and how he has come in?
Powell: Yeah, he’s never on the list, he’s always on time, he’s always got a smile on his face, he’s always coming by. He’s probably in my office right now, coming by to see what he can do more. You can win with those guys.