Lunch with Les - 2016 Week 1 vs Wisconsin

Les Miles won’t talk to you if you’re not Australian

By PodKATT Aug 30, 2016, 8:25am CDT

Miles welcomes the crowd and laments that Ted Castillo isn’t here this week...”Leonard Fournette is fine. There is no issue with his health.”...”We have Josh Growden that will be the third Aussie in a row for me and if the guy can't speak Australian, then frankly I'm not interested!”...mentions that Fournette could return kickoffs, though Tre'Davious White is ahead of him for that...even though Wisconsin recently named Bart Houston their starting QB, he expects the badgers to use 2 QBs in the game...it will be Miles first time ever at Lambeau...Miles expects that OLB Michael Divinity will see a lot of playing time...the team should not have trouble focusing for the opener, even though Wisconsin is unranked...At least for the first game, all assistant coaches will work the game from the sideline, though their will be some staff assistants up in the booth. If it doesn’t work out, those plans may change quickly...Fournette wont be used if he’s tired, plenty of other talented backs on the team to give him a rest when he needs it. Also “I think balance is a way to remove people from the box and allow us bigger plays. So if we can do the job that we have planned to do throwing the football, then I think you will find that there will be less people in the box and then maybe more productivity out of less carries.”...TE DeSean Smith is missing from the depth chart, Miles says it’s a mistake and that he will play...when asked about LSU possibly playing 2 QBs this weekend “We would prefer to play one, but we never decline the opportunity to improve our team. Should we play two, it would be for that advantage.” I don’t think this should be read as anything more than a Les-ism. It’s pretty clear from earlier statements that Harris is the starter...NT Greg Gilmore and ILB Duke Riley are two guys who worked very hard to ear their starting spots and Miles knows they’ll work even harder to keep those jobs...Miles sin’t sure Arden Key will make his predicted 20 sacks this season, but believes he has the talent to pull it off...OG Maea Teuhema is healthy and will see plenty of time, even though he is behind both Toby Weathersby and K.J. Malone at the starting tackle spots...Colby Delahoussaye is showing a lot of mental toughness in recovering from the car crash that took his friend’s life...When asked if he ever expected NT Travonte Valentine to make it back to the team after having to dismiss him:

“I really suggested that he invest in himself and that he needs to make a change in his life for him, and really I did not necessarily see his return. What was depicted to me is that change had been made and what I've seen since he's been with us is he's -- and I think this is personal discipline, if a guy is thinner, I think that's something that shows you that he can have a self-discipline. And he's done a good job in the classroom. I wouldn't know exactly, but I think he's got a 2.3, 2.4 range and really has not missed a class. So we like the turn that we've seen and we hope that it stays that way. We would expect it to be. It's one thing when you don't make mistakes and you're going to class and you're doing the right things, it's awfully easy to smile and he's got that. He's got that little extra pep in his step and he's got a smile on his face most of the time.”

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