Chris Hilton practiced today in "full capacity." Jordan Allen is dealing with turf toe.
Says Hilton has made progress over the last few weeks and it's more of a conditioning thing than a foot thing now. Don't want him to go out there and pull a hamstring or injure himself more because he's not ready.
They were blaring music as we walked in to the presser today. Says they're not too worried about the noise and their communication, but they just want them to get lined up and communicate a bit faster than they did last week. Don't want the offensive line to be in a three point stance for 20+ seconds, like they were at times last week.
Said the secondary stuff A&M does is similar to what Mike Elko did with him at Notre Dame, but the front seven has shown some new things he didn't see when Elko was with him.
Calls A&M a different team from the one who lost to Notre Dame in week one. Says there's not a whole lot they can get from looking back that far, so they're focusing more on the more recent weeks.
Doesn't think his team had an identity early in the season, but the last few weeks they've found one, especially on defense. The edges are getting after the QB, their LB tandem is playing at a high level and their secondary is doing their job.
Calls Garrett Nussmeier a playmaker who can come up with big plays when you desperately need it. Says their offensive pieces are "coming together at the right time."
Thinks a big part of their defensive success has been based around confidence. Early on, they didn't make many plays on defense, but recently their guys have started to make some big plays and it's built their confidence up.
Says he spent time talking to his team about not looking ahead and focusing on this game. Says you don't want to sit around all next week during the bye with regrets.
