Offensive line coach Sam Pittman said Sebastian Tretola and Dan Skipper both graded out high (86 for both), and they feel that if they can get their line grading out at 85 or better they will win a lot of games. The other three starters had average grades, according to Pittman. And among the backups, Brian Wallace graded out well.
Pittman said one reason Toledo does such a good job stopping the run is they bring a lot of heat and get teams into negative yardage situations and force them to throw. Toledo was one of the nation's worst teams against the pass last season and one of the best against the run. He said they give every look imaginable on defense. The coaches said they will use more zone than UTEP, but they'll bring blitzes. They don't necessarily overload the box, Pittman said.
Receivers coach Michael Smith said he just wants JoJo Robinson to 'be the best JoJo' he can be, be a good person and be a good teammate. He said Robinson was disappointed he didn't get to play Saturday due to being suspended. Robinson is on pace to play Saturday. Smith said the corners will be on islands at times due to committing safeties to the run so much.
Jemal Singleton said Rawleigh Williams did some good things for a freshman playing his first game, though Williams was a little disappointed he didn't get more yards running. He said there were a couple of runs where he didn't find a hole that was there, but he's looking to be mixed in more early this weekend. Singleton said that while Toledo's linebackers are new to starting, they have played. One of them actually started three games.
Barry Lunney Jr. said being off to a great start recruiting the Natural State is a big understatement. They want to close out strong, but they're very pleased with where they are recruiting. They'll have a good number of recruits on hand Saturday for unofficial visits.
Brandon Allen said they will mix up the coverage a lot on the back end, and coverage identification is going to be big in this game. Having new offensive coordinator Dan Enos, who played Toledo last season as the head coach at Central Michigan, is big because he has already schemed against them. Toledo won that game last year at Toledo.
Tight end Alex Voelzke, who will wear Garrett Uekman's jersey, said he made a hard cut last Tuesday and tweaked his back. He said it was close as to whether or not he would get to play, but they decided to hold him out. Voelzke said he knew Uekman when he was a freshman.
