Colorado University Athletics
Colorado-TCU Quotes
vs
Arizona
Nov 1 (Sat)
5:00 p.m.
Colorado Head Coach Karl Dorrell
Opening Statement
“Well, I wasn't expecting that type of game. Unfortunately for us, we played decently in the first half, I felt there was obviously it was a seven-six game. We felt offensively we still had a lot of stuff to continue to move and improve on going into the second half. I think defensively we felt just as good. We need to shore up a few things, but apparently, they made better adjustments and in the second half defensively, knowing that they were to start with a ball. They scored pretty quickly in their first series of the second half. We've had some challenges with the things that they were doing: the quarterback run game and some other things that they were doing and unfortunately for us, we didn't quite get those executed properly to help us offensively they put a lot more pressure on us offensively to try to generate some drives. It was fourth down and I went for it in the second half and that was kind of short, didn't come up with and gave me short field and they scored quickly. We were trying to do the right things and trying to stay in the game but unfortunately, we couldn't stop what they were doing. With the rhythm offensively, we seem to not catch rhythm quite as well as we should have. We really hadn't caught rhythm the whole game if you think about it, even in the first half with the field goals. We did some positive things but it wasn't like it was a seamless operation. First game, we have a lot of work to fix and improve on and there's a lot of players playing and that's kind of what we understood that and that's not an excuse. We just have to get better. One game down and 11 to go and we know that in that locker room. We can get a lot better. I'm sure that's what their mindset is right now from what we just talked about. There's nowhere to go but up so we're going to continue to work and hopefully get better and get ready to play a really good Air Force team.”
On the Quarterback Situation
“We'll continue to work through it. I think we're going to have to get some film evaluation on both and to see what we do from this point forward. I don't have an answer right now after the game, but we're going to definitely have some discussion on that.”
On Determining the Quarterback After Halftime
“At halftime that was not a problem at that point in time because it was a seven six game and our plan was to play, start the second half with B Lew (Brendan Lewis) and eventually JT (Shrout) was going to get in there after a couple series. That was always the plan. We decided to keep JT in there the latter part of that the half in the fourth quarter. It seemed like he had a better rhythm going in terms of what he was doing. I still think he was moving out of the pocket prematurely at times. I saw that a lot but it's his first day back from playing though. He got a good chance to get the rest off from not having played in a year and I'm sure he's going to get better”
On the Flow of the Offense
“It’s hard to say because B Lew did some things too where the ball was moving. They were moving the football. We didn't score a touchdown until the very end of the game. That's the part that I'm more disappointed in is that we didn't have any productions with any points in the first half or really the second half. We have some work to continue to work on. We'll figure it out and I have good enough coaches to figure it out. But we'll figure it out.”
On the Offense
“We need to get a lot of our stuff offensively working to be more efficient. Whether it's the QB run or the RPO or the normal runs and throw-in game, I think all of those things in my mind, I felt like there was no rhythm. I think we’ve got to get better with the rhythm offensively. The quarterbacks will continue to work through that but I felt like the rhythm wasn't established at all. For example, TCU in the second half, their offense had good rhythm. Every time they stepped on the field. They were making plays and consistent sustained drives, we didn't have that kind of consistency. That's an area to me that I think is really important for us to address this week. You’ve got to play a team like Air Force that takes a lot of time off the clock. You're going to have to take advantage of your opportunities and we need to be much better next week.”
On Punting in the 3rd Quarter
“We did that the second time because when I did go for it the other time and we didn't get it, they scored quickly. We're down by 25 points in six minutes at that point in time. It's pretty hard to miss three touchdowns and a field goal to try to fix in such a short period of time. I didn't want to continue to put that much pressure on our defense. Normally I would want to do that if we're playing well defensively, but for some reason we were struggling just with what they were doing offensively.”
“Well, I wasn't expecting that type of game. Unfortunately for us, we played decently in the first half, I felt there was obviously it was a seven-six game. We felt offensively we still had a lot of stuff to continue to move and improve on going into the second half. I think defensively we felt just as good. We need to shore up a few things, but apparently, they made better adjustments and in the second half defensively, knowing that they were to start with a ball. They scored pretty quickly in their first series of the second half. We've had some challenges with the things that they were doing: the quarterback run game and some other things that they were doing and unfortunately for us, we didn't quite get those executed properly to help us offensively they put a lot more pressure on us offensively to try to generate some drives. It was fourth down and I went for it in the second half and that was kind of short, didn't come up with and gave me short field and they scored quickly. We were trying to do the right things and trying to stay in the game but unfortunately, we couldn't stop what they were doing. With the rhythm offensively, we seem to not catch rhythm quite as well as we should have. We really hadn't caught rhythm the whole game if you think about it, even in the first half with the field goals. We did some positive things but it wasn't like it was a seamless operation. First game, we have a lot of work to fix and improve on and there's a lot of players playing and that's kind of what we understood that and that's not an excuse. We just have to get better. One game down and 11 to go and we know that in that locker room. We can get a lot better. I'm sure that's what their mindset is right now from what we just talked about. There's nowhere to go but up so we're going to continue to work and hopefully get better and get ready to play a really good Air Force team.”
On the Quarterback Situation
“We'll continue to work through it. I think we're going to have to get some film evaluation on both and to see what we do from this point forward. I don't have an answer right now after the game, but we're going to definitely have some discussion on that.”
On Determining the Quarterback After Halftime
“At halftime that was not a problem at that point in time because it was a seven six game and our plan was to play, start the second half with B Lew (Brendan Lewis) and eventually JT (Shrout) was going to get in there after a couple series. That was always the plan. We decided to keep JT in there the latter part of that the half in the fourth quarter. It seemed like he had a better rhythm going in terms of what he was doing. I still think he was moving out of the pocket prematurely at times. I saw that a lot but it's his first day back from playing though. He got a good chance to get the rest off from not having played in a year and I'm sure he's going to get better”
On the Flow of the Offense
“It’s hard to say because B Lew did some things too where the ball was moving. They were moving the football. We didn't score a touchdown until the very end of the game. That's the part that I'm more disappointed in is that we didn't have any productions with any points in the first half or really the second half. We have some work to continue to work on. We'll figure it out and I have good enough coaches to figure it out. But we'll figure it out.”
On the Offense
“We need to get a lot of our stuff offensively working to be more efficient. Whether it's the QB run or the RPO or the normal runs and throw-in game, I think all of those things in my mind, I felt like there was no rhythm. I think we’ve got to get better with the rhythm offensively. The quarterbacks will continue to work through that but I felt like the rhythm wasn't established at all. For example, TCU in the second half, their offense had good rhythm. Every time they stepped on the field. They were making plays and consistent sustained drives, we didn't have that kind of consistency. That's an area to me that I think is really important for us to address this week. You’ve got to play a team like Air Force that takes a lot of time off the clock. You're going to have to take advantage of your opportunities and we need to be much better next week.”
On Punting in the 3rd Quarter
“We did that the second time because when I did go for it the other time and we didn't get it, they scored quickly. We're down by 25 points in six minutes at that point in time. It's pretty hard to miss three touchdowns and a field goal to try to fix in such a short period of time. I didn't want to continue to put that much pressure on our defense. Normally I would want to do that if we're playing well defensively, but for some reason we were struggling just with what they were doing offensively.”
On what changed in the second half with their run defense
"Because I think they had 70 yards in the first half. I think both. I think it's something that we were not doing and they were doing that we didn't have the right adjustment to. I think that's really the answer for that Sean. We didn't have the answers. They had better adjustments in the second half. We felt that we made adjustments but apparently they were not as good as they should've been. We're going to all learn from this first game and we're going to have to put our guys in better position. We're going to have to see what we really can do well versus what we shouldn't do anymore. That's on both sides of the ball -- and that's on special teams too. We knew this returner was a really good returner. We didn't span out and get great coverage lanes and they got us to the field [side]. There's a lot of work that needs to be done. That starts with me. I'm not pointing a finger at any of our players. Our coaches and I have to get this thing done. I'm very confident that this group of coaches will do that."
On when he felt like the momentum was shifting towards TCU
"The mindset going into the fourth quarter was to finish the game properly. Finish the game playing hard, playing the style of play that we should do -- get better at what we were doing in the process of the game. The offense scored on a drive. We didn't do that in the first half. I think defensively we had trouble stopping them. I think those are the things that -- it's pretty obvious the issues we were plagued for today. The challenges and getting those fixed in a week's time to be competitive next week. That's what we have to do."
On how important it was to win the time of possession battle in the first half
"It's hard to find a lot of positive today. I appreciate it with what you're saying. The first half I was disappointed because we weren't getting points in terms of touchdowns in a game like that. I knew TCU has enough firepower at some point in time that if you don't score touchdowns, it's going to get ugly quickly. That's the part we didn't do well. We didn't score touchdowns until the very end. There's a lot of areas that need to be worked on -- it's not just offense. We know that defense has some things we need to shore up there. We have to shore up our coverages on special teams. There's a lot of things in this first game that were exposed and we need to get it shored up pretty quickly because team's are going to keep coming. I appreciate your time, we'll get this right. We'll get it better."
On why they focused more on short passes and screens throughout the game
"Probably all three of those things. Guys were covered and going through progressions. That defensive structure that I've explained going into it -- it's a difficult defense to get over the top of because it's a 3-3-5 system that -- it's hard. There's not a lot of air in this defense. They've done a nice job of not giving up too many big plays. You saw [WR] Daniel [Arias] caught a few. I think there was a couple other plays and that touchdown at the end. We have to do all of our things better -- much much better. It starts with both sides of the ball. Shoring up the issues that we had today. I'm confident we can get it fixed though because I know we're a better team than what we played like today. We're better than that. I have to stop talking about that and we have to go prove it. We have to be better."
On what he saw from QB Brendon Lewis today and what his evaluation was
"I think he's different and better. We didn't have an idea of what he would look like today. Everything he's shown in the offseason up to this point, he looked really well -- did really good things. Again, we'll evaluate the quarterback thing now that we have a healthier room. We'll do what's best moving forward but I didn't think Brendon played poorly. He made a few plays. He did some things with his legs. He had some throws. He wasn't perfect though. Neither was [QB] J.T. [Shrout]. We'll watch the tape and assess [both of them]. Get a chance to fix and address some things and get ourselves ready to play this week. I'll say for our fans -- there's jitters in everybody [during] that first game coming back. Maybe it was too much pressure on him, who knows. I'm confident he's a better player -- I still feel like he's a better player than last year and I will tell that to my fans or lack of fans."
On if he expected TCU's Quarterback's to scramble as much as they did
"It probably showed up more in this game than I've seen it. I mean he's done it in the past. It was more prevalent today."
TCU Head Coach Sonny Dykes
ON OVERALL GAME
“ Well, it's good to go on the road and get a win. You know, let me just say this I thought Colorado really played with a lot of intensity early in the game. The crowd was was really impressive. It was a great atmosphere. You know, and we probably didn't handle as well as we should have early on. And again, you gotta give Colorado a lot of credit. I thought they played hard throughout the game and you know, I thought our guys really responded well and played better the second half. We couldn't really get anything sustained too much offensively in the first half. We had some opportunities to do it, I thought, but, you know, I thought it was a good starting point. Really proud of our guys. They played hard. They did exactly what we talked to them about. It’s amazing that we tried to prep all during fall camp and talk to them about weather delays and how to handle things and, and, you know, I thought we did a great job here on that. So, hats off to them, we're gonna have to certainly play better than we did, but I thought I thought we played well in the second half.”
ON HALFTIME CHANGES
“We were able to run the ball and came out in the second half and Colorado did a good job just kind of keeping us on balance. We really committed to running the ball in the second half, made a couple of adjustments on what we were doing, and guys did a great job making plays. We have good backs and those guys get on the field they can, create some offense. Thought they ran hard and you know, kind of got us going a little bit of momentum and you know, obviously Darius’ two touchdowns were fun to watch. It was the reverse and the punt return that were both big plays for us and you know, the guys liked that. It kept us in the game early on till we could kind of get our foot in a little bit.”
ON DEFENSE
“ I was very impressed. I mean, I thought the guys played exceptional. I really did. They had to play defense like 46 plays or something in the first half and those guys were on the field a lot in the first half just because of, you know, not doing particularly well offensively. The punt return made the defense go right back out there. We only ran 18 plays in the first half on offense and I was concerned that they might be a little tired. I thought it was really important for us. To come out. In the third quarter and sustain drive, and then scored a touchdown, which I thought was certainly a big moment in the game. Apart from that, we were surprised everything.
ON QB MAX DUGGAN
“Chandler got a little bit banged up and we'll get a sense of where he's at you know. Max came in and did exactly what I would expect Max to do, you know, and play like a veteran, play incredibly well. You know, there's not one person on our team that doesn't believe in Max. He has got so much experience and has done so many good things in the past and I thought he came in and handled it like a pro. My hat's off to him and he really thought he played well.”
ON PUNT RETURN
“ We were struggling to get anything going. And, you know, Darius had made a heck of a return. The other guys really liked it. If you give him some room to run, he knows how to finish and so you know, it's obviously still a good play for us kind of kept un in until we could get something going on offense.”
ON PLAYING 60 GUYS
“ At altitude, on the road, and just all the stuff that's really important for us to be able to play a lot of different people and that's who we're gonna be. I think that's the kind of team that we have. We've got a lot of good football players. A lot of guys deserve to play and when they get in the game, they can they can make plays, and they have different skill sets and bring something different to the offense or defense or special teams, whatever it is. So you know, I think it's big to have that kind of depth and to be able to stay fresh.”
ON QB CHANDLER MORRIS’ INJURY
“ I don't know. We'll kind of see where he's at. I think probably it's like it is with with any kind of joint injury. You know, we'll get a better sense tomorrow of what's going on.”
ON TODAY’s WIN
“ I think it was good for us to not have everything go our way early on. You know, we showed some grit and perseverance just really proud of those guys that just kind of kept playing and focused on doing their job and I thought they played really hard and played physical and we got a lot of guys on defensive run. You know, I think that showed up. The good thing is that we have three quarterbacks that can all play really well. SO Feeling good about that position.”
Colorado Players
OL Casey Roddick
GENERAL- “It just seemed like tough sledding from the offense this evening”ON WHAT WAS STRUGGLE- “No I think we had a lot of good drives, I think with the ball downfield. It’s just an aspect of finishing the first draft of the game. We had a tough couple plays we made a good third down catch on the sideline with Daniel [Arias]and then we kind of got momentum going and then we got down to the 20 yard line and we had a couple of plays down there that were momentum killing. But other than that the execution standpoint is improving drastically. But we’re right where we want. We’re improving daily and I think that today humbled us essentially, but from an offensive standpoint we need to keep improving which is the bottom line because that obviously effects the defense.
ON PENALTIES- “I mean yeah, in order for us to win we have to defend ourselves from losing. So I think that little penalties that are in such a crucial time in our most important times. I remember we had one that was 35 and really important. 35 minutes to start, but a really good cast to I believe Reese on a route that he ran that was called back for holding standards as well. So I mean, it's tough when you have momentum building plays that are killed by a flag and penalties like that. So definitely, that's just down the execution focus.”
ON QUARTERBACK SITUATION- “Not at all. I think that both quarterbacks played really well. I think that from a life standpoint, you still got to protect stuff to do your job essentially doesn't matter who's in or who's out. I mean, obviously, both quarterbacks will have different playing style, but you adhere to it, and be losing the plays and delays and one JT and JT is gonna throw the ball in the pocket more than be loose with the time so I mean, obviously that's a factor but you don't really look into that.”
S Isaiah Lewis
ON WHAT SLIPPED AWAY- “We just got to make our adjustments. We made them. They just weren't executed. We're going to carry that into next week and make sure that we do get those adjustments executed.”ON THE DEFENSE WEARING DOWN- “Being efficient as a defense is the goal. Just being out there can be a little taxing but we don't really worry about that. We're going to go out there and give it our all no matter what the circumstances. It was just challenging.”
ON DUGGAR COMING IN- “We knew he was a runner. We just needed to do a better job of executing our roles and our adjustments. That's all it really came down to.
ON BOUNCING BACK FROM LOSSES- “We’re familiar with this feeling of having tough losses and we're trying to never experience that feeling again. I feel like this will be the last time - especially after what happened last season - that we got through this.”
S Trevor Woods
ON WHAT GOT AWAY IN SECOND HALF- “Yeah, just a lot of small mistakes on defense especially, that's what I'm most worried about. On defense, one small mistake can lead to a big play. And those add up. You know, we have a lot of things that we got to fix, but we're going to get back to the film and we'll see how it is.”ON DEFENSES ROLE- “When, you know, we're really just worried about when we get there. You know, our goal is whatever offense is doing, we we want to hold them to under 10 points, under 17 points. That's our goal. We want to do our job of really holding them to zero. We're not worried too much about the offense.”
ON QUARTERBACK RUNNING GAME- “We were really ready for all of them. He's a good player,we have to tackle him.”
ON UPCOMING AIR FORCE GAME- “We've just got to be disciplined. That's the biggest thing with them. You know what they're gonna do. Everyone knows what they're gonna do. You just just got to play your part if you want to win. it's corny to say but.”
TE Brady Russell
ON DISCIPLINE-“I mean, it obviously could have been better. I even had a procedural mistake myself. Those things suck and we obviously need to do better and we will get better as the season goes. But that doesn’t really concern me at this point. I think that’s something that, like you said, both teams were doing the same thing.”
ON MISSED OPPORTUNITIES-“I don’t know if it was a feeling of missed opportunity. It was more of a feeling of optimism. I’d say just because we knew don’t get me wrong. I got to give TCU credit they were great. They did a great job. They’re a good team but they weren’t as good as we made them. I shouldn’t say they weren’t as good. We made them look a lot better than they were in the second half, and I think the first half showed what kind of team we are. We just got to figure out how to finish and we got to come together. I guess that’s about it.”
ON BRENDAN VS JT at QB-“I don’t know, I wasn’t thinking about it a whole lot. I was just trying to execute whatever my assignment was. I didn’t think about it. It’s not really something that crosses my mind. I’m just going to do my job and catch the ball that comes my way.”
ON BRENDAN’s IMPROVEMENT-“I mean, I think he’s a different guy. I’ve seen it in practice. I saw glimpses of it today in the game. I mean it’s not like it’s just on him. I don’t know why everybody feels like the quarterback gets all the blame all the time. There’s miss executing from the O line, from me, from the receivers. I don’t understand where that logic pops in and it makes me mad when I see B Lew getting attacked by other people. So sorry, I’m not mad at you.”
ON OPTIMISM & MENTALITY-“I think we were really optimistic at halftime just because the way the defense was playing. The way we were playing, the way we might be able to make adjustments in order to attack and be even better. I mean, you could tell we were moving the ball over and we just couldn’t finish the drive. So as an offense, we were really optimistic. All right, now we just got to start to piece it together. We’re going to get in the endzone. I think the part that disappointed me the most was in the fourth quarter when were down 13-6 or 14-6 and then especially when 17-6, I just saw way too many heads drop. I saw way too much defeat when we were still very, very much part of the game. If we started executing like we did in the first half, then we could have made it a game very easily. But I saw way too many heads drop that’s why I’m so mad right now. We just had too many people give up and that’s not the team we formed this offseason.”
ON LOCKER ROOM-“There’s a lot of angry people. Not a lot of talking and not a lot of anything. That’s about it.”
ON MENTALITY GOING FORWARD-“I don’t know. It doesn’t worry me. I think that’s part on me, on Quinn, on T Lang and all the leaders because the speed of the team is the speed of the leaders. There’s something we got to do differently in order to get the team to operate. I think there’s some stuff ingrained in guys from the past and what this program has been and we got to find a way to take that out of their mind and disregard it.”
ON MISSED OPPORTUNITIES-“I don’t know if it was a feeling of missed opportunity. It was more of a feeling of optimism. I’d say just because we knew don’t get me wrong. I got to give TCU credit they were great. They did a great job. They’re a good team but they weren’t as good as we made them. I shouldn’t say they weren’t as good. We made them look a lot better than they were in the second half, and I think the first half showed what kind of team we are. We just got to figure out how to finish and we got to come together. I guess that’s about it.”
ON BRENDAN VS JT at QB-“I don’t know, I wasn’t thinking about it a whole lot. I was just trying to execute whatever my assignment was. I didn’t think about it. It’s not really something that crosses my mind. I’m just going to do my job and catch the ball that comes my way.”
ON BRENDAN’s IMPROVEMENT-“I mean, I think he’s a different guy. I’ve seen it in practice. I saw glimpses of it today in the game. I mean it’s not like it’s just on him. I don’t know why everybody feels like the quarterback gets all the blame all the time. There’s miss executing from the O line, from me, from the receivers. I don’t understand where that logic pops in and it makes me mad when I see B Lew getting attacked by other people. So sorry, I’m not mad at you.”
ON OPTIMISM & MENTALITY-“I think we were really optimistic at halftime just because the way the defense was playing. The way we were playing, the way we might be able to make adjustments in order to attack and be even better. I mean, you could tell we were moving the ball over and we just couldn’t finish the drive. So as an offense, we were really optimistic. All right, now we just got to start to piece it together. We’re going to get in the endzone. I think the part that disappointed me the most was in the fourth quarter when were down 13-6 or 14-6 and then especially when 17-6, I just saw way too many heads drop. I saw way too much defeat when we were still very, very much part of the game. If we started executing like we did in the first half, then we could have made it a game very easily. But I saw way too many heads drop that’s why I’m so mad right now. We just had too many people give up and that’s not the team we formed this offseason.”
ON LOCKER ROOM-“There’s a lot of angry people. Not a lot of talking and not a lot of anything. That’s about it.”
ON MENTALITY GOING FORWARD-“I don’t know. It doesn’t worry me. I think that’s part on me, on Quinn, on T Lang and all the leaders because the speed of the team is the speed of the leaders. There’s something we got to do differently in order to get the team to operate. I think there’s some stuff ingrained in guys from the past and what this program has been and we got to find a way to take that out of their mind and disregard it.”
ILB Quinn Perry
ON 2nd HALF-“They definitely say that we’re in more of a split safety defense so they wanted to up the QB run game because obviously we’re going to be short in the run fits. So that was the biggest factor that they did. I don’t really think that their running backs had very many yards themselves. I think most of their rushing yards with their quarterback in the second half. But that’s really the main problem we had.”
ON DISCIPLINE-“As far as the defensive side, I don’t think we had too many. I know we had one pass interference, I’m pretty sure. Well, regardless, if you get penalties early on, you won’t even have a chance to be in the game. So I think if we knock those down, we will give ourselves a better shot to be a contender.”
ENERGY DEFENSIVELY-“Yeah, I definitely think we had momentum building up. I mean, we had I think for three nights in a row, but we’re definitely in the right mindset. We are very happy with how our offensive was performing but as well as Brady said, they have to just finish a little bit more. I think like what he was saying about some dudes mentally checked out at halftime, we got to do our jobs on the field, I mean what the hell is going on? I think there’s a lot of internal stuff with guys that did not show up during fall camp and during practices and stuff. We have to adjust and it just has to be taken out of their mind completely because that’s not who we are as a team. That’s not how I’m going to play. That’s not how all the leaders are going to play like. We just have to be fully invested and I think that we have to tighten up a couple screws. I mean we just need to finish at the end of the day. That’s really what we’re looking to do now is just finish.”
ON DISCIPLINE-“As far as the defensive side, I don’t think we had too many. I know we had one pass interference, I’m pretty sure. Well, regardless, if you get penalties early on, you won’t even have a chance to be in the game. So I think if we knock those down, we will give ourselves a better shot to be a contender.”
ENERGY DEFENSIVELY-“Yeah, I definitely think we had momentum building up. I mean, we had I think for three nights in a row, but we’re definitely in the right mindset. We are very happy with how our offensive was performing but as well as Brady said, they have to just finish a little bit more. I think like what he was saying about some dudes mentally checked out at halftime, we got to do our jobs on the field, I mean what the hell is going on? I think there’s a lot of internal stuff with guys that did not show up during fall camp and during practices and stuff. We have to adjust and it just has to be taken out of their mind completely because that’s not who we are as a team. That’s not how I’m going to play. That’s not how all the leaders are going to play like. We just have to be fully invested and I think that we have to tighten up a couple screws. I mean we just need to finish at the end of the day. That’s really what we’re looking to do now is just finish.”
TCU Players
WR Derius Davis
ON HIS PUNT RETURN TD- “Yeah, well all we knew was they ran like a pro style point. So, we knew we were gonna have time and a lot of space. So, I just cut it and got to it and made a play.”ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PLAY- “I feel like every play I just take it as an important play. That is just the type of player I am.”
ON THE REVERSE – “Yeah, we started it this week. I was looking forward to it. They blocked it out well and outside they were all blocked and I just made a play.”
ON THE OFFENSE’S SLOW START - “Yeah, I think it being the first game, you know, we came into an away game and they had the momentum. We just have to settle in and we came out in the second half with the run. So, I think when we establish the run that we're a better football team and better offense.”
ON THE DELAY – “We prepare for the delays. Back in December with Coach Dykes because he always preached to us with sports psychology stuff like we’re gonna have delays. So, we prepare for things like that so they really don't faze us.”
ON THE OFFENSE’S POTENTIAL – “Yeah, it says a lot because, you know, we got a lot of people that could go in and make plays and we didn't play good enough in the first half, you know, we always preach that we got to start fast. So, when we start fast, you'll see the full potential of our offense.”
ON THE DEFENSE – “It felt good. You know, they got a new defensive coordinator. And just to see those guys go out there and fly around and have fun it's exciting to watch.”
ON MAX DUGGAN – “Yeah, I’ve been hearing it for the last what, three or four years? Yeah, that just shows the type of player Max is. There’s a leader in him. So, he just came in. His number was called and he came in and made some plays.”
ON THE CROWD – “They had a deep crowd, but we also had a good crowd so shout out to our Frog fans we really appreciate y'all coming out and saying hello.”
S Mark Perry
ON BEING BACK IN BOULDER- “Man it was weird, but you know just trying to not really think about it. It’s just another game, same game of football. The environment was obviously hectic when we first got here, the student section was chanting explicit things, but we just didn't even pay attention to that and did what we had to do.”
ON THE MESSAGE TO THE TEAM IN THE FIRST HALF- “Just finish honestly. There's a lot of factors in away games that you know can be distractions. Whether it be crowd noise, lights, or altitude since we’re up here in Colorado. Just telling us to make sure we play on one play at a time, no matter if it was good or bad. After we hit the TFL cleared, next play. That's something that our team and our strengths preaches a lot the threat of good or bad, clear ultimately.”
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS WIN ON THE ROAD FOR COACH AND REST OF THE TEAM-“It's important we try to win every game we can, any game that we're able to line it up, we're trying to win. Being able to start off, you know, coach said he wants to win, my first game as a TCU player with a win against my old team, it was big win for the whole program.”
ON HOW THE SECONDARY WAS WORKING TONIGHT- “I’ve said it before, I feel like we can be one of the best secondaries in the country. We have a lot of guys that bring different things to the table and at the end of the day we can all run so I know we’re going to get done what we have to get done. I think on the couple that were called back those are whatever, but we just got to come back next week and try to get more.”
ON THE EMPHASIS OF GETTING GOOD OPEN FIELD TACKLES- “We were just focusing on hunting. We call ourselves the mob, the mob mobs all together. So all mobs get on the ball and just go all out there and hunt like wolves. We can all run, so trying to get to the perimeter. Its not going to go against us.”
ON IF ANY BUFFS COME OVER TO YOU-“Yea I talked to all my teammates, some of my former coaches, it’s still all love with those guys. It feels weird for sure, but I talked to all of them, shook about 45 hands after the game, its crazy.
ON THE IMPACT DAMONIC WILLIAMS MADE-“He’s 17 years old and that’s his first college game. That’s big and we have all the confidence in Dom. I know Dom has confidence in us and I think just us being able to feed off each other’s energies now even if he makes a bad play. Were going to build him up because we know he’s young. You got to get adjusted to it, but you know first game that’s good.
QB Max Duggan
ON HIS PLAY-“I'm just going to run the offense, you know? Put us in successful scenarios and just run the offense that Coach Riley and Coach Dykes expects and kind of rely on the o-line and the guys around us.”ON HIS LONG RUN-“Yeah it was a good play call by Coach Riley and the o-line did a great job and the running back stood up well. It's kind of getting the legs back into it kind of getting used to it but no they did a great job blocking at the line.”
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WIN-“Yeah, it was really big. Obviously, there's things that we need to improve on. You know, both sides of the ball, special teams, but I think it was good. There's a lot of things that you saw that we did well, and I think it's a lot of momentum that we can build on going into the next couple of weeks. So, obviously winning, you know, is a lot of fun. It makes you feel good. But there's things that we can improve on.”
ON THE PUNT RETURN TD-“Yeah, it was huge. Obviously a lot of momentum kind of just picked up and the vibe on the sideline. You know, having someone like that who’s a leader and has been around the program for a while, just seeing him making a play and we know what he can do so it just kind of lifted everybody up and kind of got us going a little bit. So it was huge.”
ON HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS-“We said let's just keep doing the things that we're doing. Obviously, there's things that were kind of self inflicting. And I think that was what was kind of slowing us down. So it was just kind of still relying on us, don't panic. You know, to do the things that we were taught in practice. Be disciplined, be detailed in the things that we're doing and just focus on us.”
ON THE DEFENSE-“Yeah, it was a lot of fun watching them fly around and have a good time. They were playing hard, tackling, covering. Obviously going against them all fall camp it was difficult for us, so I'm glad that we're not playing against them anymore. But playing like that every week makes our job a lot easier.”
ON THE SECOND HALF OFFENSE-“Yeah, I think that's just credit to the o-line, backs and receivers blocking up well on the outside. So I think their attitude changed a little bit and said you know this is what we're going to do and we're gonna make sure that we're the ones that are going to take over and kind of put the game out so they did a fantastic job.”
ON HIS NEW ROLE-“Yeah, I know what my role is. And that was being the best backup I could and helping out the team and helping out Chandler. And I think just when your number is called, just getting in there and do what you can to help the team be successful. We don't have any ‘I’ guys on the team. I think that's what really shows up. It's just we're all about the team, about however we can find a way in whatever role that is whether it's starting or handing out Gatorade on the sidelines.”
ON THE ENVIORNMENT-“Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Obviously, you get to play on non-conference road games and starting out their student section was loud. It's a lot of fun for us, but I think it helped us get into things. Obviously the first half and the second half there were things that we didn't improve on, but there's still things that we're happy with going into it. So I think we can always get better at anything.”
ON ANY SUPRISES-“You know, there's always things that you know teams do differently for wherever you are. So I think that was kind of the thing, just getting used to it and what they were trying to do and what their strategy was, what their game plan was for us and just kind of getting used to that was the big thing in the first half.”
NT DAMONIC WILLIAMS
ON HOW IT FELT TO HAVE FIRST COLLEGE GAME UNDER HIS BELT- “It felt amazing. I went out and saw the fans and was just like, wow. Breathtaking for sure.”ON GETTING A BETTER RHYTHM THROUGHOUT THE GAME-“Most definitely. That first play I was a little nervous, a little shaky, but after that it was just awesome.”
ON HOW MUCH CONFIDENCE COMING UP BIG ON 4th DOWN GAVE YOU-“A lot of confidence honestly. Seeing my teammates cheer for me and come up running to hug and congratulate me that was just amazing.
ON GETTING SACK FOR THE FIRST TIME-“It was just like wow. I really got a sack right now. My teammates came up to me after another play and were like ‘Yea Dom you did that’ and it was just really great.”
ON WHEN DURING CAMP DID IT CLICK THAT YOU CAN START-“Honestly it was against Steve and Ollie and knowing them and how good they are, they were just like damn you got this, believe in yourself.”
ON DOING ANYTHING FOR BIRHTDAY? “Yeah. Practice.”
ON HOW GOOD THIS DEFENSE CAN BE AS A UNIT- “We execute we do what we did got to do, we lock and stay focused. We're going to get right.
ON GETTING CONFIDENCE FROM HAVING A STRONG SECONDARY BEHIND YOU- “Oh, yeah, for sure. That's our linebackers, that our people doing right for them.”
ON THE CROWD BEIGN HOSTILE- “I ran out there and I looked around because it was what I dreamed of.”
ON HAVING A GOOD DEFENSIVE LINE HELPS KEEP THE LEGS FRESH- “Honestly, like knowing that my coach is looking out for us and everyday plays we just rotate no matter how it is. That's that's really helpful.”
ON THE EFFECTS OF THE ALTITUDE- “I mean, once you just get going, you kind of don't you don't think about that. You just got it on the next play.”
ON THE BOOST OF SCORING THE PUNT RETURN TD- “That honestly turned the whole game around. So him doing that gave us confidence on the defense was made us do better.”