Oregon football head coach was available to media on Tuesday for the final time prior to the team’s matchup against Arizona State in Tempe, Arizona. He spoke about the Sun Devils defense and some of his key offensive playmakers.
Last week marked the first time Bralon Addison and Darren Carrington played together in a game, and Byron Marshall is out this year. How hard has it been to gain some type of continuity amongst your receivers?
That’s interesting, I didn’t realize what you just said. It’s just kind of the reality of modern football, whether it’s injuries or whatever, having to plug and play and still play at an extremely high level.
You’ve talked about how Addison can do a lot for you offensively, with Carrington now in the lineup, does that allow you to get creative with Addison on where you put him in the offense?
Maybe. Yes and no, you’re still developing. We got some guys still working their way, whether it’s Darren or Devon (Allen) or all these other guys who are working their way to a different percentage of game snaps.
What’s the biggest difference in your team leading up to kickoff before the Washington game and now Arizona State?
I like how we worked, I think our guys have worked hard. We’re working smarter, working more efficiently. They had a really good day today as far as confidence of communication, which is a huge deal against these guys in every phase. They blitz from everywhere, and you have to identify the look then communicate it.
Why is saying ASU is a blitz heavy team an understatement?
Compared to the teams we’ve played, they are much, much higher percentage than is typical, and that’s their deal. They want to get behind and [create a] second and long, and then play with those looks and coverage out of it if they get ahead. You have to be aggressive and patient simultaneously, because they’re going to hit us five yards deep in the backfield – that’s going to happen. But the next play we have to be aggressive, we have to trust (the system).
Most of your players from Arizona are starters or key contributors, how much of a hand do you have in recruiting that state being at ASU before? 
Arizona is a great state to recruit. I think it’s a little over-recruited because guys like to go down there to play golf in the spring. It’s good football, a lot of really good coaches, programs. Obviously the population is significant. We love going down there.
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