Colorado University Athletics
CU-CSU Quotes
September 01, 2007 | Football
Colorado Head Coach Dan Hawkins
General
“I totally believed we were going to win...We had a few issues and stubbed our toe. I expected to win.”
On Third Quarter Deficit
“I'm really just a philosophical person. There are a few principles in philosophy that you have to adhere to to become a champion. I thought last year we started really fast. But we didn't finish. You have to be a guy that says ?I'm going to finish in rain, shine, bad calls, injuries.' I told the guys if a good play happens you have to refocus, and if a bad play happens you have to refocus as well. You have to be able to lay it all on the line and let it happen. I thought that if we made a couple big plays on offense we would win the game.”
On Fourth And Four Play In the Fourth Quarter
“I'm going to tell my guys that we are going to play to win. You have to take shots, if you don't believe in the play or your kids don't believe in the plan then you don't have anything. So, sometimes you're going to come up and sometimes your not, but if you keep pushing the issue you're going to come out on the plus end.”
On QB Cody Hawkins
“I thought he did OK. He would be the first one to tell you he missed a few throws. But in general, not bad. I was more pleased with the overall team effort. He has been around this so many times. He has been on the bus, and he's been on the big stage so for him it's just another day in the park. We knew emotionally he wasn't going to have a problem. He knows the greatest joy is going out there saying that I have the guts to play in front of 65,000 people and lay it on the line.”
On Contributions From Younger Guys
”They did well, and they needed to. I have to push the envelope with these guys because they are not in the position to sit around for a couple of years.”
“It's interesting because every coach and every team goes through different stages of [a] rivalry. When it becomes tight like that, no matter how it goes it is a rivalry, but when one breaks away, the rivalry lessens. As long as this game stays close like this it is definitely a rivalry.”
Colorado
General
“[QB] Cody [Hawkins] and [WR] Pat [Williams] hooked up on two huge third down conversions. Cody is a very high-resolve guy and he showed it today. I don't think his performance surprised our team, and we know he is only going to continue to get better.”
On The Offense
”Overall, the offense was OK. We had a good game plan going in and we knew the guys were prepared from how they practiced. We played [well] for a first game, and our main mistakes are all fixable things. We just have to keep improving and keep preparing like we need to. It's always better to go to work and keep trying to improve after getting a win rather than a loss.”
Colorado State
General
“From where I was standing that seemed like a hard-fought ball game by two teams that seemed fairly evenly matched and it was back and forth all day long. I'm proud of our football team. They played hard. They did everything they could. In our business it comes down to one false step, a little of this, a little of that. I just want to give credit to CU and Cody Hawkins. I thought he was pretty special today. We had momentum in the third quarter but we just couldn't hold it. The kids played their hearts out as hard as they could possibly play.”
On TE Kory Sperry
“He is a great football player. As far as him running, catching balls, competing and doing everything that you want in a football player, he did. I hope his blocking was half as good as what he did out in the open field.”
On trick plays: “A little bit early in the game, the first drive, we hadn't seen any motioning out of the quarterback. They got a couple 5-yard runs out of that, but I don't think they got much out of it.”
On going for it on fourth downs
“I don't even remember how many times we did that. From what I remember, we were moving them a little bit and our running game was going just about like I would hope it would go. We felt like we could get some 2- or 3-yard gains. “
On interception in overtime by Caleb Hanie
“I was standing right there and I guess he didn't get out of the pocket. I guess the best he could do was throw it up in the stands in hindsight. There were a lot of bodies running around there. After all the good plays he made I certainly wouldn't even talk to him about that one. “
On CSU's Special Teams
”The last punt, we tried to punt it away from the returner, but sometimes you out-think yourself as coaches. (Kaylor) is a pretty good punter, we could hit it as far as we could and into the endzone. At the end of the game there were some other issues there. “
On the squib kick recovered by Jermaine Walters
“We just tried to squib it hard and then it turned into real good fortune on our part. And at that time, momentum was really flying our way.”
On concerns of losing a game of this magnitude so early in the season
“I've said this for three years, our guys are not going to give up. They are going to play. This is the team we are. Caleb (Hanie) is going to come out next week and do the same things, hopefully a little better. Kyle (
On significance of the rivalry and close games
“I think this rivalry has a lot to do with it. They've all been fairly close. We as a staff and as a team, we knew it was going to take everything against a school with tremendous tradition, a good coaching staff. They have good athletes. But I do think with college football, you cannot blink or you will get beat.”
Colorado
QB Cody Hawkins
GERNERAL?“Getting the win and doing what we came here to do was what really felt good. We came in prepared and just went out and did what we needed to do. We knew coming in , it was going to be a crazy game, we new the crowd was going to be a factor and we had to make some changes. We changed up the snap count and just did a couple other things differently. It was a dogfight all day and in the end we came out with a win.”
ON LATE FOURTH DOWN CONVERSION?“I think anytime you have players like Patrick Williams, you have to have the confidence because you have a great player out there to help you make the play. When we called the play, and when I released the ball, I new he was going to make the play whether they threw the flag or not.”
GENERAL-“It was a close one and we knew it was going to be right down to the end. They definitely gave us a run for our money and we had some things fall our way in the end.”
ON THE ENERGY THIS SEASON-“It's pretty crazy if you go into the locker room, especially with the seniors in there. They've been through a lot. We talked about coming out fast and finishing strong and we came out and had an awesome first two drives. Toward the end, we finished when we had to. For (the seniors) to get a win against CSU is huge for them.”
ON HIS PERFORMANCE-“I think anybody in here can go out and throw to my receivers, with my line, especially when Coach [Mark] Helfrich is drawing stuff up like he is. I've got all the time in the world back there and our receivers make great plays for me. It's not how you start the game; it's how you finish that's important.”
ON NOT GIVING UP-“We just kept talking to the defense, telling them to get the ball back. We still had some plays and game plan stuff up our sleeve that we hadn't used yet. We knew we had a chance. We knew it was going to pop as long as we got the ball back and stayed confident.”
ON HIS INTERCEPTION-“It was supposed to be a third and short play, but we got a little antsy and tried to go throw it and Mr. Buzz Cut [Hawkins] didn't make such a great throw.
ON LATE FOURTH DOWN CONVERSION-“We always say we're going to play to come out to win, not play not to lose. We had a lot of confidence in what we were going to run and we had a good play call. We knew they were going to bring the heat and we had Patrick [Williams] in single coverage and he went up and made a great play. Regardless of the flag, he was probably the guy I was going to go to. In those kinds of situations he's definitely the guy you want to get the ball.”
ON TB HUGH CHARLES-“I hope he heals up and can come back later in the season. He's such a key part of our offense. He's a huge asset that we lost today, but we had guys step up in his place.”
ON HIS EMOTIONS-“I was really excited. I'm not a kid who goes and gets nervous a lot because I just like to go out and have fun. I just came out here to have fun and lead my guys. They allowed me to do that today and we came away with a ?W.'
ON PERSONAL PERFORMANCE?“I guess I would say it was just another day at the office. Coming in I knew it was a big game, I'm a fifth year senior and I had to leave with a win. I said earlier today, ?you can take offense to it if you want, that I'd come out and drop-kick someone to get a win today.' Basically I would have done anything I needed to do to leave this field with a win, I just did what I had to do to help this team when today.”
ON BEING A TEAM LEADER?“Going into my fifth year on the team, I knew it was time to step up and be a leadrer in the locker room in addition to on the field. I've always been kind of quiet but after losing to these guys last year, I just came in and told the team that we had to win. I was hurt and in pain filled with aggression and anger after last year's lose and I know everyone else in here feels the same way. “
ON BEING A SHUTDOWN CORNER?“It's very frustrating because you want to help the team. I know I'm helping the team by taking away half of the field but you want to go out there and make plays for your teammates not just eliminate part of the field. I want to make plays for the team and you saw what happened today when they tried to test me. I want to be known as more than a cover guy, I want to be good and run support and I think I did a good job of that today.”
ON THE DEFENSE-“They definitely presented us with some problems today. They really didn't show anything that we didn't game plan for. We just didn't execute as a defense. At halftime we made some adjustments. We played some more man to man instead of just running through the zone and it paid off for us.”
ON CSU THROWING HIS WAY IN OT-“It really doesn't surprise me. I'm about 5'9” and he's [CSU TE (Kory Sperry] about 6'5” so I figured they were going to throw the fade to him. He broke off his route and actually went back inside. I don't think he realized I was in the zone. Sperry wasn't technically my guy so he didn't expect me to be there. I just came across and the ball was there.”
ON PK KEVIN EBERHART-“I just walked up to him and told him to do what he normally does. Kevin's a good kicker and I just told him that I set it up for him and he could seal the deal.”
ON HIS FEELINGS FOR THE WIN-“I'm probably just the same as everyone else on the team. If you listen to some of the speeches that were given before the game, they were all emotional before the game. To have all that pent up aggression, all that anger and hurt, that you keep inside for the whole year, it's good to get a chance to let it out on the field. We showed people today that we have heart. This wasn't like a regular football game. It's almost like a street fight and whoever wants it more wins. You may knock us down, but we're going to get back up and we did that today.”
ON LATE FOURTH DOWN CONVERSION?“I don't even know where to begin. We always start out by visualizing and we started that last spring. Going into that fourth down I felt like I've already made that play before and it was just time for me to go out and do it. I felt like they were going to put us in the right position to make the play and the coaches did a gret job of preparing us all week.”
ON THE PLAY OF CODY HAWKINS?“Cody played like a man today. He stepped up big time and made plays, I don't think anyone could tell he was red-shirt freshman, he looked more like a fifth-year senior. He played with confidence all day and just made the plays he needed to make.”
ON THE BEGINNING OF THE GAME?“Both offenses came out like gang-busters on defense we are a little young and we showed that with how we played early. We made a lot of young mistakes, not holding our assignments or being in the right spots, but they are mistakes we can fix.”
ON CSU'S THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY?“We definitely need to get off the field when we force the offense into a third and long. Again, it's fixable mistakes, we usually had guys in position we just didn't make the plays.”
ON BEGINNING SECOND HALF?“Our coaching staff told us ?sometimes you have to take it on the chin, sometimes you have to take their best shot and get hit hard before you can come back and win.'”
ON CSU RUNNING BACK KYLE BELL?“Kyle Bell is a great running back, he runs hard and follows his blocks; he sees the hole and hits it fast.”
ON FOURTH DOWN STOP?“It was a huge play for us, our backs were against the wall and we had to make the play. Coach Hawk told us that if we made this one play that we could go out and win this game.
ON GETTING HIS CHANCE-“It's been a long time coming to get this opportunity. [PK] Mason [
ON THE GAME COMING DOWN TO FIELD GOALS-“You always think and hope that that will happen. I was just happy to get another chance after that bad ball I hit earlier. I'm just glad to get this opportunity. It's a great win for us and I hope it will catapult us into a great season.”
ON TEAM CHEMISTRY-“It all goes back to team chemistry. We had a long, grueling camp together. Hopefully this shows what it will be like in the future for us, when we can pull off these close games.”
GENERAL?“It feels amazing to get the win and to bring the trophy back to
ON TOUCHDOWN RECPETION?“It felt good, it was a great experience, the play developed like it was supposed to; the lane opened up, Cody (Hawkins) threw a great ball and the O line gave great protection.”
ON THE WIN?“We're going to enjoy the win tonight, but we're going to game-plan tomorrow and work hard next week to prepare for
TE Tyson DeVree
GENERAL?“It's great to beat CSU and I really felt like our offense is difficult to stop, we have too many threats. It was a great game and coming out on top feels awesome. Everything we did on offense was a collective result of all the guys and we did what we needed to when it counted the most.
ON THOUCHDOWN RECEPTION?“Cody threw a great ball, I was wide open and I wasn't going to drop it. Cody had a great day and he deserves a ton of credit.”
FS Ryan Walters
GENERAL-“We just hung in there and fought hard all the way to the end. All the hard work we put in during the off season really paid off.”
ON CSU's OFFENSE -“They came out of the gates really strong in the first and the second half. We made a few minor mistakes, but then we came out and made some plays.”
ON HIS FOURTH DOWN STOP-“This year I've been playing down in the box a lot more than last year. I love the contact and I love to be in there and be physical. On that play, I was playing down at linebacker and [LB] Jordon [Dizon] took the fullback on one side and I came around the other side and stopped [CSU RB Kyle]
ON THE OFFENSE-“We knew the offense had our back out there. We just had to come out and do our jobs.”
ON HIS DEBUT-“The line played great and opened holes for me today. I was just lucky enough to find them.”
ON THE OFFENSE-“Coach [Dan] Hawkins and the other coaches want us to have a high-powered offense. They want us to have a big-attack offense where we can throw and run the ball down the field.”
ON HIS FIRST COLLEGIATE TOUCHDOWN-“I've got to give all the credit to the big guys up front. It was definitely something I've dreamed about since I was a kid, to get that first touchdown in college.”
GENERAL“It's great to get this win. That was a dirty taste in our mouth for a whole year. We need to keep that trophy in
ON CODY HAWKINS-“I hope he plays for another four years here. He was amazing today. He did everything I thought he would and more. I knew he could do it and I think everybody knew he could do it. I was impressed with his performance.”
ILB Jordon Dizon
ON THE DEFENSE-“We came out kind of flat in the first half and the beginning of the second half. We need to fix some things, but most of our mistakes were little details. They are all things we can fix and are willing and able to. Everybody played their butts off today. We really need to give it to the defensive line. They are the core of our defense. When I get 20 tackles it's because they're doing their job in keeping people off of me. They did a great job today. The secondary did awesome. The linebackers need to fix some little things here and there, but overall our defense played well.”
ON THE DIFFERENCE OF SEASONS-“A big thing is maturity and that comes from experience. What also comes with experience is confidence. Today was a good stepping stone for us. The longer the season goes on, the better we're going to get.”
RB Kyle Bell ON STAYING POSITIVE- “We just need to rebound and focus in on Monday. I know it was a loss but we have got to take some positives and take the things we did wrong and fix them. “Like I said we have got to take positives out even though it was a loss.” ON HOW THE OFFENSE PERFORMED- “Offensively we did some good things, and we are going in on Monday and look at the things we need to do better.” ON THE CLOSE GAMES EVERY YEAR AGAINST COLORADO-“We knew going in there that it was going to be a wire-to-wire bout and I thought we fought hard, but you got to be proud with the way we stuck in there and the way we played.” QB Caleb Hanie ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE OFFENSE- “We hit the play-action passes down the field. They were playing for the screens this year so we hit them down the field.” ON THE FOURTH-AND-1 SNEAK - “The first half we felt good on offense but we stopped ourselves a few times. On the quarterback sneak, on that fourth-and-1, we had a missed cadence and we snapped it a little bit early.” ON THE OT INTERCEPTION-“I probably should have thrown it out of the end zone but I just scrambled out and I was actually trying to get it to Johnny (Walker) and Kory (Sperry) was supposed to be in the corner of the end zone on that play, so I didn't expect him where he was and they ran into each other and that guy was there to make the play.” DT Blake Smith ON THE SECOND HALF DEFENSIVE LET DOWN-We just made a couple of stupid mistakes and they capitalized on them a couple times. That last drive we didn't put on enough pressure. “We thought we had the game. There isn't much more to say to that. They came and tied it up on us.” ON THE PASS INTERFERENCE CALL ON JOEY RUCKS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER- “I turned and saw it. I thought it was a good play by him. It's kind of like ?could have, would have, should have,' but we still lost and that's the game. ON OUTLOOK FOR THIS YEAR'S TEAM-“I think everyone saw we have a good team. This game could have went either way and we knew it would come down to the wire. We are very much improved. You saw our offense with Kyle ( ON THE OVERALL DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE- “We played good at times. Even in the second half but in the end it just wasn't good enough.”
