Troy Taylor, Jaxson Moi, and Casey Filkins look ahead to Colorado
On Monday, Stanford head coach Troy Taylor, sophomore defensive lineman Jaxson Moi, and senior running back Casey Filkins spoke to the media in advance of Friday’s game at Colorado, which will kick off at 7:00 PM PT on ESPN & KNBR 1050 AM radio. Below are some thoughts and notes on what they said along with a video.
VIDEO: Stanford Football: Coach Taylor Weekly Press Conference: Colorado
During the bye week, Taylor said the main thing was getting guys back healthy and then improve. He also said the staff went out and did some recruiting. Those were the three goals and he feels like they accomplished those things.
Taylor said he doesn’t know if any group particularly stands out in terms of improving more than others, but he feels like everyone is improving and getting better. A lot of inexperienced guys, but he’s pleased with how they have grown. All about adjusting to their players and what they do well.
Taylor said that quarterback Ashton Daniels will be able to play this week after getting hurt in the previous game. So that was one injury question that was addressed.
Taylor had good things to say about Colorado head coach Deion Sanders and the way he has rebuilt his program. He feels like he’s done a good job of adjusting to the climate of college football with regard to NIL and the transfer portal. He feels they play hard and are a better team than they were in the past. He said he’s not critical at all of what Sanders is doing and praised him for doing all he can to make his team better. He feels like they’re a very resilient group that finds ways to win. A team with a great belief and a special quarterback.
And on the flip side, Sanders had good things to say about Taylor and his team as well when asked about the Cardinal in his weekly press conference. Both coaches are excited for the atmosphere that will be present on Friday night. Another sold out game.
Taylor said Stanford is not going to be a program that builds through the transfer portal. It’s mostly going to be through developing high school players. He says it’s all about figuring out the climate and resources at your school, figure out what you can do well, and manage around what you are given as much as possible. Taylor likes the fact that Stanford is an outlier in terms of having to develop high school guys and having such academic prestige. It’s just that a rebuild might take a little longer.
With regard to getting his running backs more involved in the receiving game, Taylor said it’s all about finding the right balance between making sure they are taking care of things like running the football and pass blocking. So, it’s all about finding that right balance, but he does hope to get guys like Casey Filkins and E.J. Smith as involved in the pass game as possible. Same with the tight ends. Benjamin Yurosek is another guy who they want to get going more. Taylor praised how good Yurosek is in protection. Just about getting him involved without exposing other areas where they might be vulnerable in protection.
Taylor said a key to beating Colorado is going to be keeping them off the field and maintaining drives. The most important thing is execution and creating plays in the red zone. He also wants to see more big plays in their offense to find the end zone. He said Colorado will mix things up on defense and play really hard. He feels they are a challenging group.
Taylor was asked about the quarterback situation. He said where Justin Lamson and Ashton Daniels will need to separate themselves in the games in order to win the starting job. Until that separation comes, both will continue to be used.
On the option, Taylor said that’s always going to be a part of their offense because it forces defenses to have to account for the quarterback in the run game. At the same time, bad things can happen like a quarterback getting hurt or a turnover, but overall it’s going to continue to be a staple of what they do.
With regard to execution in the red zone, Taylor couldn’t pinpoint one specific issue. Just all about getting better in a variety of areas and executing the game plan. But he did acknowledge that’s something that is a focus.
Taylor feels like the bye week has come at a good time. Just given the injuries they’ve had a bit and giving guys a rest. He isn’t too particular about when he wants the bye week to come, but he does feel it’s coming at a good time for them.
Taylor also isn’t too worried about the elevation that comes with playing in Colorado. Just one of those deals that you don’t want to overthink but at the same time be aware of. Training hard in the offseason to be as well conditioned as possible as well as being prepared to adjust throughout the game as needed is the most important part of the altitude.
The last thing Taylor addressed was the Miami-Georgia Tech ending. He said he’d kneel in that situation, but also praised Georgia Tech for the way they bounced back. He had an unintentional pun inserted into his answer as well.
Moving on to Moi, he said Colorado’s offense has a lot of weapons. He said a key for them is to maintain the quarterback because he’s a special player who can make plays on the run and extend plays with his feet. Getting sacks and pressure on the quarterback. He feels like there’s going to be a lot of opportunities for them to do that. Not being hesitant, being decisive, making the right reads, and being more physical he feels are critical to improving in the pass rush.
Moi said he is excited for the atmosphere in Boulder. He is aware of the environment that Colorado has and the hate that they will get. He likes getting that attention and being in those moments. He embraces the challenge.
Over the offseason, Moi said he feels stouter in the run game and more decisive. He feels like he has a lot of room for growth, but he feels like he is better in the run game as a whole.
As a defense, Moi said the message is when everyone does their job, they are really good. But when one guy or two guys miss an assignment, that’s when issues arise. Consistency is vital.
On the bye week, Moi said getting healthy and staying on top of schoolwork is what they were most hoping to do. All about staying locked in and focused on the task at hand. They have the opportunity to win more games, but they have to take advantage of the opportunities that come their way.
Moi said defensively, it’s a different scheme week to week. All about adjusting to the offenses they see. Moi feels like that is preparing them well for the next level.
Given Moi’s dad played at USC, he is sad that the rivalry might not continue. He said his dad has been very supportive of his decision to attend Stanford and told him to go where he felt he would be valued.
Ending with Filkins, he said the Oregon team they just faced is one of the best Oregon teams he’s seen. Just all-around. He said it’s hard to rank them against other Oregon teams, but acknowledged they are the real deal.
On the Colorado defense, Filkins said they fly around, make things tough on the offensive line, have good defensive backs, and are active. The secret to being successful against their defense is sticking to the game plan and not backing down from what they are assigned to do.
Filkins said it was nice to have the bye week when they did. Especially since they’ve had earlier bye weeks in the past. He said they went after it in the bye week and practice was intense. The message is to remain consistent and take things one week at a time. He said guys are staying positive and encouraged by how they are coming together. Just about maintaining that belief.
With regard to playing in a noisy environment, Filkins said the noise can have a big impact. He said when they were playing at Washington last year, he couldn’t hear Tanner McKee next to him. What he does like about their offense is how reliant it is on non-verbal signals. That makes it so that the noise is much less of an impact. Filkins said they are excited for the environment. Filkins also feels like the fast pace they have practiced and played at will prepare them for the altitude. All about trusting their training and the work they have put in to get ready for games like this.
When asked about the return game, Filkins said they hope to make more plays in that realm, but at the same time there are some situations where they have to take the fair catch. Just about making the right reads and looking to find a crease to get some yardage. He feels optimistic about that aspect of their game.
On the running back rotation, Filkins says he likes being part of a four-back rotation. He thinks it’s great when you have a lot of guys who can go. He said running backs coach Malcolm Agnew has done a good job of putting them in the best position to succeed as possible and it has inspired them to be better. It’s been nice to have more depth and while it is different, it’s something he likes and appreciates.
Finally, Filkins had great things to say about walk-on running back Kenaj Washington and what he has brought to the room. It was cool to hear Filkins praise the way Washington has stuck with it and brought a lot of energy to the room. A guy who was crucial in spring ball as he was able to go in and be a serviceable back when others were not available.
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