Colorado University Athletics
Colorado-Colorado State Quotes
August 31, 2008 | Football
Colorado Head Coach Dan Hawkins
On The Amount Of Skill Players He Has
“I think we just have to find ways to keep players involved. There's going to be those games where one guy gets more than the other. We are going to have to subordinate our ego. Hopefully we can get through the year fairly healthily. We will need all those guys.”
On Darrell Scott Climbing The Depth Chart
“We are going to continue to work him in there. If you are a freshman you are a freshman. And no matter what kind of player you are, there is still a steep learning curve. We want to make sure that we put him in a situation where he can be successful. He's going to be a great player, whether it's game one or game five. We are just going to keep bringing him along. Coach Hagan has done a nice job with that.”
On Winning The Rivalry Game
“Typically if you win your first game, you win 70 percent of your games. So that's a big deal to get going. With our schedule, every win is precious.”
Did CU See The CSU Offense They Saw On Film
“There were a few wrinkles in there and I thought our defense did a nice job to adjust. They were very close to what we thought by and large.”
Josh Smith's Kick Off Return
“I told our guys before the game that I thought we would score on some kind of return, because he is very dynamic, he is a real pleasure to have on the team and he is an awesome kid.”
Being Involved In A Game With Back-To-Back Kick Returns
“No not that comes to mind. We told our guys before the game these kind of things happen and you just have to roll with it. You can't get too hung up on the good plays, or too bummed out on the bad plays.”
On Moving The Game To Boulder Next Season
“I think the collegiate environment is always fun. It's obviously more intimate and you are not going to have as many people in there. We love playing at home, and Folsom is a good advantage.”
On Building The Offensive Line And It's 18-Play Drive Today
“I think when those guys establish continuity and start taking over and start asserting themselves that helps in a big way.”
On Ryan Walters
“He is a very smart player. He works hard and knows the defense. And he is a playmaker and he's got leadership.”
On The Team Being To Young For Expectations
“I always have great expectations. I don't know why you would ever have the bar low. We have had a lot of young teams in the past, but there are no excuses. But we are young so we have to study better and practice harder. And coach better, and keep working on it. The great thing is, I think the sky is the limit and we could get better each week. There were times I would look out on the field and see freshman and sophomores.”
Does It Worry You
“No it doesn't. It's just about being a great teacher. And it's about putting guys in positions where they can do things and use their skills.”
On The Field Conditions
“I have to be honest with you, I came down here the other day and it did not look very good. But I told our guys the field doesn't look that good, but I don't care if it's a cow pasture, I don't care if it's the best, we're just going to play. Just get it out of your head. It played great though, there were no issues.”
Defensive Line Performance
“We knew that we had to get better pressure this year. That's a key component of playing good defense. I think our coaches have done a nice job with that. And it's part scheme and part technique. We were able to mix guys up. There's definitely some potential there.”
On Team's Maturity Factor
“Our culture is getting so much more solidified. Over time, if they see you react a certain way in a certain situation, they start to take that on. And the nice part about that is that our coaches don't freak out. We don't want our guys to freak out and we tell them, people are going to make mistakes. And we just put it behind us. We don't try to chastise it. We try to fix it and move on. It allows our team to matriculate through those issues quicker. You have to be able to handle the highs and handle the lows.”
Colorado State Head Coach Steve Fairchild
On his assessment of the CSU offense tonight
“The first half... our third down was awful. It seemed like we were trying to convert all third and 11's, and based on a sack or a penalty, we got ourselves into a rut. I thought the kids played hard. We played physical.”
On Billy Farris' first start
“There's a couple of things that he'd like to have back, but he's a good, smart, tough kid. He's good enough to win games.”
On whether he thought his team was physically worn down in the fourth quarter
“I'm very disappointed we didn't win this game, but the things I wanted to come out of this game were, did we play physical and did we play together? I didn't want to be a soft football team, and I didn't want to hear any bickering. And I was really pleased in both those areas.”
On how he thought the team responded to big momentum shifts
“Good and bad. Our defense played very well, in the first half especially. We did some good things. We fought hard. I can't say enough, I like our kids. We have a chance to be a good football team if we play like we did tonight.”
On whether he was surprised by CU's pressure
“I was, and it's surprising. I thought we'd run the ball decent, and it looked like at times given the situation they had some safeties on or near the line of scrimmage a lot. For the most part, I thought our line did a good job on the run. I didn't think we'd struggle in the protection area like we did. Those guys are pretty good rushers with speed, and we knew that. But I thought we'd hold up a little bit better. Five sacks I think? You're not going to win very many football games like that.”
On what he thought was the game's turning point
“That drive (18 plays, 74 yards, 7:11 TOP). We were hanging on a little bit, but we got out-played. When they put together that long drive, it kinda sealed it.”
On the play of Gartrell Johnson, and whether he's solidified himself as a starter
“I thought Gartrell ran hard. I like what I saw from him. But, no, I still want to rotate all those guys. “
On what he learned about his team
“Like I told them before the game, I just want them to play, play as hard as you can. I thought we did that. I liked our effort, and I liked our toughness. We played a decent, physical brand of football. We gotta play obviously a lot smarter. We got to be better on special teams. I don't think we were very good on third downs. I know we weren't very good on sacks. And I think we had too many penalties. And against a good team, you're not going to win like that.”
On his first game as a head coach
“I was not nervous. I was excited like the players. This is a great environment to play a game in. It's a crying shame we're not back here every year. Somebody's got to spoil that. Everybody likes it. The players like it, the coaches like it. It's a great environment and it's a great game.”
Colorado
GERNERAL?“We are making a lot of progress. I think we had a great spring last year and a good summer, and we carried that into camp and into today. But I think we still have a lot that we need to clean up in order to be a good football team. Once we clean everything up, I think we are going to do some great things.”
ON RECIEVERS? “We really focused on getting better in the off season with our productivity and we wanted to take advantage of every opportunity. As a whole, I think our hands got better when we catch the ball, and also I think that we improved a lot mentally. We are all head and shoulders above where we were last year. We understand that as a receiver, we have the opportunity to make big plays and provide a spark to our team and help pile on points.”
ON TEAM PERFORMANCE? “It was a B-plus, but I give an A for effort, but I think we still have a lot to clean up. I think that we have the capability to be a really good team.”
LB Shaun Mohler
ON INTERCEPTION? “It was really exciting. I saw the ball coming right towards me and I could not believe it. It is just a great feeling to get this win.”
ON PLAY OF DEFENSE? “We have a lot of great players on this defense. I think that CSU could not do what they wanted to do against us, and the team effort of our defense was great. So I think we did pretty good tonight. I think that being able to get 5 or 6 guys up in box was key to helping us get pressure on the quarterback, and get those sacks.”
LB Brad Jones
ON GAME PLAN? “I think we are going to incorporate me getting after the quarterback into the game plan. It is going to be a lot of me getting up the field after the quarterback, and me dropping back into coverage, and stopping the run. It is going to be like a trio effect.”
ON FIRST GAME? “It was big. 70,000 people, and I cannot even tell you how I felt coming out of the tunnel. Everyone was expecting a lot out of me, and I hope there are not a whole lot of disappointed people out there. I was nervous, but I knew I had to get the job done. Coach (Hawkins) said we were going to run the ball in the second half.”
ON RHYTHM? “They wanted me to get into a rhythm. And once I found that rhythm, I started hit the holes faster. I just needed some time to get used to the college speed.”
GENERAL?“My uncle (WR Josh Smith), we had a prayer before the game. I was nervous and just wanted to get the jitter bugs out. Seventy thousand people, I was sweating bullets and didn't want to fumble looking out for Coach Hawkins. I'm just going to go out and try my best. If I do good, I do good. If I don't, I don't.”
ON GETTING BETTER AS THE GAME WENT ALONG?“At half time, Coach Hagan came down and told me to warm up my legs. So I thought it was time to get ready, get prepared. We are going to pound them, and that's what we did.”
ON WR JOSH SMITH'S KICK RETURN?“That fired up the whole team, but then CSU came back and returned their kick. So we had to regroup.”
ON FIRST TOUCHDOWN?“Cody (Hawkins) was playing with me. He was yelling “goose, goose, goose,” which means he is going to run up to the line of scrimmage and run it in himself, but he is like I have to get my first touchdown. And I dove it in.”
WR Josh Smith
ON HIS ROLE WITH THE TEAM?“I love my role on the team, they've got me everywhere. I'm back there for those punts, they get me warmed up. They are continuing to get me comfortable with more and more positions. I'm playing a lot more receiver and starting. It's always big that you got me and Pat (Williams) on both sides instead of competing at one position. A lot of things are opening up and continuing to trust in the offense.”
ON BIG HITS?“That's kind of my trademark, to catch people when they aren't looking. I had some big hits and made some big stops. And just took what came to me.”
ON PREPARING FOR COLORADO STATE'S OFFENSE?“Our game plan was to take the ball out of Kory Sperry's hands. We didn't know what to expect with the new head coach. So we game planned to stop their playmakers and stop Sperry.”
ON TEAM'S POTENTIAL?“We have a chance to be a great team. We have a lot of leadership and great defense, playmakers on offense. Cody Hawkins has been great for us.”
ON BACK TO BACK KICKOFF RETURNS FOR TOUCHDOWNS?“We can't let them run back a kick. We have momentum with Josh Smith's kick return, but we can't let them respond to a big play like that.”
ON WINNING THE FIRST GAME?“Our coaches have done a great job of giving us the philosophy of every game is just that important. Every game is like the Super Bowl, you have to win the next one. We are a different team than what we were last year. As a whole, we really came out and really attacked.
ON TEAM'S POTENTIAL?“We're 1-0 so obviously we are in the national championship picture. That's what we are shooting for though, we want to win each game, one win at a time. We're going to go in and look at the drawing board, look at what we did wrong, come back out next week, and hopefully put up a good effort against Eastern Washington.”
QB Cody Hawkins
GENERAL?“We have to keep pushing forward. We won this one which is what we wanted, but we have to keep being better and beat Eastern Washington and keep improving every week.”
ON TWO RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS?“I'm not a running back. I think anybody who was watching can tell that. I really enjoy it because I get to look unathletic in front of millions of people, but you have to do what you have to do in this offense. Lord knows my genes didn't help me out much, I just have to do what I can do.”
ON HALF TIME ADJUSTMENTS?“We realized we had to limit the turnovers, limit the penalties. We had no turnovers the second half and a lot more production. When you have the football in your hands and no penalties, it's a lot easier to win. Our offensive line did a great job for us in the second half. It's tough for them to move their 300-pound bodies up the line, but they handled it well. Our backs did an awesome job running the ball.”
ON WINNING THE FIRST GAME?“It's always huge. There's extra motivation with our rivals, CSU. We wanted to start fast and finish strong. That's kind of our motto for everything. It's definitely good to get our season off on a good foot.”
ON FIRST HALF INTERCEPTION?“I don't know if you saw that sweet tackle, definitely not a stat you want as a quarterback.
I've learned to put mistakes behind myself, and just play the next play. You're more successful when you forget about your mistakes.”
RB Gartrell Johnson On younger players now with experience heading into Week 2: “I think it's huge. This was a big game and there were a lot of people watching so they got the jitterbugs out. We're going to come out next week and have a good game.” On whether the offense is capable of more big plays: “Oh, yes. The senior leadership we have. The big-play guys we have, like John Mosure and myself and Dion Morton. Rashaun Greer stepped up big today. We've got a lot of playmakers; we just need to put drives together.” RB John Mosure On differences between 2007 CSU-CU game and 2008: “With our new coaches this year, everybody has bought in. Now it's important for me to help my team out every way I can.” On what CSU takes from this game: “We need to cut our mistakes. We hurt ourselves in the game. That's really all we take because we all stood by each other and we all love each other. We're going to go forward from here. We're going to try to go one-on-one with Sacramento State next week.” On whether Josh Smith's kickoff return for a TD inspired the Rams: “When I saw him return it, I said, ?Dang, we've got to answer.' My mindset going into the game was to do whatever I can to help my team out.” On whether the series leaving Invesco Field at Mile High is disappointing: “Not really because it'd be nice to get a win at Folsom in their territory. But we just know they're going to come back to Fort Collins our senior year, that's going to be an amazing game. Wherever we play, it's always a big rivalry. I don't care where we play. We can play in the parking lot, like Coach says.” FS Klint Kubiak On what CSU takes from this game: “It's not fun to get beat by a rival like that. But we're not hanging our heads; we've got a whole season ahead of us. And I think we've got a pretty dang good defense. We can contribute more in the special teams area. We just shot ourselves in the foot there.” On being disappointed with outcome: “It's very disappointing. We expected to be in this game and win this game. First half we had some chances. We got down and the defense got the ball back. We were excited about that. We just continued to kick ourselves in the special teams area. So we've gotta fix that. But I'm not worried. We're going to be a good team.” QB Billy Farris On his feelings going into game: “Surprisingly, I wasn't very nervous. I felt good going in. I felt like as the game went on, I kept feeling better and got more and more comfortable.” On what he can take into Game 2 of the season: “A lot more confidence. I'm not going to have to feel it out throughout the game. I feel really confident now, having gotten my first start under my belt playing in front of a ton of people. I'm ready to go now.” On CU's defense and its pressure: “I knew they had a good D-line. So I wasn't surprised. But I didn't expect it as much.” On third-and-long downs throughout the game: “Yeah, we need to eliminate that. That's one thing we've really got to take care of. We can't be in third-and-longs as much as we were tonight.” On CU limiting TE Kory Sperry (two catches, 11 yards): “We were expecting that, and we knew we were going to have to go to our young receivers. That wasn't unexpected at all.” On CSU's play: “We can be a lot better than we were. We have a lot of talent on this team, but I thought we did pretty well tonight. Obviously, we've got a lot of learning and a lot of things we can get better from. But I think that we will and I think our next game we're going to come out and really get after them.” On his first career TD pass, to Dion Morton: “Oh man, it was great. It was so exciting. I was jacked after that pass. It was a lot of fun. That's what you play for right there.”
