Braun just wrapped up his weekly press conference, here are my initial notes. A full takeaways article will be up this afternoon.
Expect Sullivan to start
Braun was still non-committal on Bryant. Called it a "fickle deal" he's been working through and said they expect him to return this season. He said that nothing has changed from after the Penn State and Howard games when he spoke as if Bryant would return for the following games, and that those comments came from "optimism from our standpoint. We approach this with a mentality that guys are going to be back as soon as possible. We're going to stay optimistic with our rehab approach and keep certain elements of that in house and keep taking it day to day."
When I mentioned Sullivan being poised to start his third game, Braun didn't break stride in his response so I expect #6 to be out there again. He spoke to his progression and how he hopes to continue to see him improve as a signal caller.
"I see a young man that battles and that's all you can ask out of your quarterback. I'm confident and our group is confident we're going to continue to improve and find ways to protect Sully in the passing game. As long as he continues to trend in the direction he's trending right now, very confident that he is going to find ways to help us win a lot of games."
Braun still giving Bajakian room to operate
It was one of the more frustrating performances from a Northwestern offense under offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian against Nebraska, but Braun reiterated his light touch approach to the offense. He said there are conversations and discussions with Bajakian throughout the week but he puts the offense mostly in his hands on game day.
"Considering the context of the situation and the way this all happened, I was never going to be a micromanager on offense. The conversations and the consistency of those conversations has not changed."
"In game, it's more strategy, time management, things that I'm seeing."
There was a bit of a confusing statement as Braun highlighted the performance of Tre Tyus, who ended the game with 10.5 yards per carry, as something he commented on to Bajakian. Tyus finished with six carries for 63 yards and had just one carry after breaking a 39-yard run.
"Simple comments like keep rolling with it, Tre is running the ball really well right now. At the end of the day, I know from calling defense for a long time that one of the worst things you can do as a head coach is being too involved, especially when the offense or defense is on the field. You have to trust that a play caller is going to find a rhythm."
Braun backtracked a bit on his Tyus comment saying "I'm not mandating who's in and who's out on offense. I trust our offensive staff to make in-game adjustments and decisions as they continue to manage our offense. I'm going to continue to give feedback on the things I'm seeing, specifically from my role as head coach and years of experience as a defensive coordinator."
Team resetting its goals with Big Ten West title likely out of reach
Northwestern's goals are still ahead of them, but most likely out of reach. With three Big Ten losses a Big Ten West title would almost assuredly require the Wildcats to win out, but Braun isn't fazed and has adjusted his team's targets to the near future.
"The goal moving forward is find a way to beat Maryland. We're in the third quarter of our season and we have to set the stage for how we're going to move forward. All of our efforts and energy have to go into finding a way to get a win at Ryan Field."
Excitement still palpable from Braun
I asked him about the experience of Coco Azema and Rod Heard, and he still lit up with an opportunity to talk about the players. He was visibly disappointed with the team missing out on a win against Nebraska, but his fire and this team's fire are far from extinguished.
"It is so easy to get into this facility and be around our guys and just go pour everything we have into them. [It's so easy] to coach them hard and mentor them and spend time with them. I mean, Coco, the way that dude plays the game, all you have to do is turn on the film. It's contagious, it's energizing, it's awesome. It makes it awfully fun to coach this group."
Expect Sullivan to start
Braun was still non-committal on Bryant. Called it a "fickle deal" he's been working through and said they expect him to return this season. He said that nothing has changed from after the Penn State and Howard games when he spoke as if Bryant would return for the following games, and that those comments came from "optimism from our standpoint. We approach this with a mentality that guys are going to be back as soon as possible. We're going to stay optimistic with our rehab approach and keep certain elements of that in house and keep taking it day to day."
When I mentioned Sullivan being poised to start his third game, Braun didn't break stride in his response so I expect #6 to be out there again. He spoke to his progression and how he hopes to continue to see him improve as a signal caller.
"I see a young man that battles and that's all you can ask out of your quarterback. I'm confident and our group is confident we're going to continue to improve and find ways to protect Sully in the passing game. As long as he continues to trend in the direction he's trending right now, very confident that he is going to find ways to help us win a lot of games."
Braun still giving Bajakian room to operate
It was one of the more frustrating performances from a Northwestern offense under offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian against Nebraska, but Braun reiterated his light touch approach to the offense. He said there are conversations and discussions with Bajakian throughout the week but he puts the offense mostly in his hands on game day.
"Considering the context of the situation and the way this all happened, I was never going to be a micromanager on offense. The conversations and the consistency of those conversations has not changed."
"In game, it's more strategy, time management, things that I'm seeing."
There was a bit of a confusing statement as Braun highlighted the performance of Tre Tyus, who ended the game with 10.5 yards per carry, as something he commented on to Bajakian. Tyus finished with six carries for 63 yards and had just one carry after breaking a 39-yard run.
"Simple comments like keep rolling with it, Tre is running the ball really well right now. At the end of the day, I know from calling defense for a long time that one of the worst things you can do as a head coach is being too involved, especially when the offense or defense is on the field. You have to trust that a play caller is going to find a rhythm."
Braun backtracked a bit on his Tyus comment saying "I'm not mandating who's in and who's out on offense. I trust our offensive staff to make in-game adjustments and decisions as they continue to manage our offense. I'm going to continue to give feedback on the things I'm seeing, specifically from my role as head coach and years of experience as a defensive coordinator."
Team resetting its goals with Big Ten West title likely out of reach
Northwestern's goals are still ahead of them, but most likely out of reach. With three Big Ten losses a Big Ten West title would almost assuredly require the Wildcats to win out, but Braun isn't fazed and has adjusted his team's targets to the near future.
"The goal moving forward is find a way to beat Maryland. We're in the third quarter of our season and we have to set the stage for how we're going to move forward. All of our efforts and energy have to go into finding a way to get a win at Ryan Field."
Excitement still palpable from Braun
I asked him about the experience of Coco Azema and Rod Heard, and he still lit up with an opportunity to talk about the players. He was visibly disappointed with the team missing out on a win against Nebraska, but his fire and this team's fire are far from extinguished.
"It is so easy to get into this facility and be around our guys and just go pour everything we have into them. [It's so easy] to coach them hard and mentor them and spend time with them. I mean, Coco, the way that dude plays the game, all you have to do is turn on the film. It's contagious, it's energizing, it's awesome. It makes it awfully fun to coach this group."
