Matt Campbell spoke to the media about the upcoming game against Temple, and shared a few other tidbits about player availability for the upcoming games.
On player availability
LaVar Arrington II, Owen Alicene, Armstrong Nnodim, Elijah Reeder are all at varying stages of recovery, with the latter three closer to being able to play (questionable for Temple), and the former being out four to six weeks due to offseason surgery during fall camp. Gabe Burkle and Alex Tatsch, however, could have played in the opener, but were kept out of an abundance of caution. Team didn’t need either anyway. Cooper Alexander and Zion Tracy are good to go.
On the Marshal game
Matt Campbell acknowledge Marshall’s plan to defend the run, and called out the tight ends and receivers to do a better job blocking outside of the offensive line. On that same note, he praised Andrew Rappleyea for his blocking, pointing to his block that sprang the first touchdown and his execution on a screen pass.
Goes without saying, but Campbell also gave Josiah Zayas for his impact on the game, so expect to see more playing time out of the freshman.
Campbell also called out the low penalty count, and staff-player communication as positives.
On the running backs
Matt Campbell said every back ran hard and made good use of his touches, with no clear leader yet among them.
Translation: Quinton Martin is going to get more touches.
On the road game environment
He underscored the importance of playing a road game of any kind, saying good teams can win on the road. He also talked about the noon kickoff playing into the logistics of road games.
Full transcript: Gopsusports
Video: Gopsusports
