What Kirk did may have been a surprise to some people, but it wasn't a surprise to me. A lot of people talk about how you can't do this or you can't do that, and I'll listen to it if it's coming from a football coach. If it's somebody in the media, I'm not going to pay a lot of attention to it.

This is a great (defensive) system. This is a defense that is going to squeeze and constrict. It doesn't matter who you put (at middle linebacker). They're still going to make plays.

It's like fine-tuning a car. When you want the car to go a little faster, you tune it up so it revs a little higher. We just have to get everybody on the same page (against Air Force). If one person breaks down, then those guys are out the gate.

Brett and Russell had a great game against UCLA. They've put themselves in this position. They're too good to keep off the field.