Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

What Temple coach Geoff Collins is saying

Collins says quarterback Logan Marchi and safety Delvon Randall missed practice time but expects both to play Saturday at Army

Temple football head coach Geoff Collins talks to the media, Tuesday Sept. 12, 2017, in Philadelphia. ( H. Rumph Jr / For the Inquirer )
Temple football head coach Geoff Collins talks to the media, Tuesday Sept. 12, 2017, in Philadelphia. ( H. Rumph Jr / For the Inquirer )Read moreH. Rumph Jr.

Here are some highlights from Temple football coach Geoff Collins' weekly Tuesday press conference:

On whether starting quarterback Logan Marchi practiced:

"He was out there some and got tweaked the later part of practice and had to go in."

On whether he expects Marchi to play on Saturday at Army:

"I hope so. I will talk to (director of athletic training) Al (Bellamy) and I will know more. Same thing with (safety) Delvon (Randall) but we expect him to play. I will check with Al. when I get back in."

On what was it that Marchi tweaked:

"Lower extremity."

On running back Ryquell Armstead who has been battling a toe injury that hasn't kept him out of games, but limited in practice:

"He is better than he was last week. He didn't play a snap for us last week (in practice) and then kind of willed himself on that late Thursday, Friday. That is one of the advantages of having Thursday morning practice. You get another extra set of hours to rehab that if you practice Thursday afternoon you don't have that. So that is one of the advantages of our schedule. He was able to get himself ready to play and has practiced this week some so we are hoping he can go Saturday."

On starting left tackle Leon Johnson, who suffered an ankle injury on the second play of Saturday's 28-24 loss to Connecticut:

"He was out there today but he is still trying and is a tough kid who wants to be with his guys. We are hoping he is ready for Saturday and we are trying to have contingency plans at every single spot along the offensive line. So we have guys ready to go."

On playing for the moment:

"There are positives and I heard people talk about the transition years and all that stuff and we're playing so many young guys. We don't care of about that. We want to win and have a responsibility for everybody in this organization to give everything they have to these seniors on this football team. I think that is huge point for all of us. We want to play at a high level, we want to be successful and even though recruiting-wise we are looking for the future, right now we are staying in the moment, staying in the present and we got a great Army team we are preparing for Saturday and that is our complete and sole focus, is to go up there and execute very, very well."

On after being down 28-24 and having a 4th-and-7 from the UConn 24, would he still go for the first down. (The Owls receiver Keith Kirkwood dropped a pass that would have been a first down, providing he was in bounds):

"Looking back on it, the offense was playing really well, they were clicking, they were hitting things, the defense was playing well. We were in a position where wanted to go for a win. And if you watched the play again, we should have caught it and first down. I haven't talked a lot about it, we talked internally, we had seven drops in that game.  We had two drops on the last drive and we have to make sure we are improving. When we get the ball in our hands in critical situations or even routine plays, we have got to make those plays and that is coming from the receivers themselves. They are as self critical as anybody and they know when there are key balls to be caught, they have to catch them and even the routine catches, we've got to make them. It was a throw and a catch and should have been a first down. We didn't make it so I know that is going to hurt us, but I believe in these kids, I believe in the fight they have and how good football players they are, but some of the young guys can't make critical mistakes in key situations and expect to win against a good football team, against any football team."