Tuesday Press Conference Quotes
November 24, 2015 | Football
Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre
General
“Excited about going to play Utah, they're an excellent football team and they always have a great atmosphere at their stadium. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful 12:30 p.m. kickoff so we're excited about that.”
On ending the season with a win
“You want to win every single game, but the thing about it being the last game is its final and the result sticks with you longer. Also you want to win for the seniors since it's the last time they will step out on the field for us. When you look around the locker you see it in the kids, they start to realize they're going to be a year older next season so it's kind of an interesting dynamic. But it's exciting to play against a very good football team and it'll be nice to beat them.”
On Utah's struggles
“The Pac-12 is a good football league and that's what I think you're seeing when you play nine games in the conference and other leagues only play eight this is going to keep happening for a while because there's so much parity in our league. I think that's what you've been seeing with Utah this season, I mean they've had some injuries but all of us have and you've got to find a way to overcome it. But I still see a very good football team.”
On the difficulty of learning how to win
“I think that we just keep maturing, and I knew it was going to be tough this year. I mean there's a couple of games for sure that we should have won that would have made a huge difference. WE would like to be further along as far as winning those games goes. Next year we're going to have a majority of seniors and juniors which will be awesome. And I think that'll help us get over the hump since they've been in some games.”
On number of upperclassmen next season
“It'll be around a ballpark estimate of 22 or so seniors and we'll have about 25 juniors.”
On the Utah rivalry
“It's the last game of the year and that's when a lot of the rival games happen. I think that this is rivalry week within the Pac12, we both came into the league at the same time and our state are very close together. So I think as more and more games happen, with some wild finishes and games I think it'll become more a rivalry game type aspect.”
On Sefo Liufau traveling to Utah
“He's still in the cast and everything with that. It depends on how he feels flying on the plane with the cast and having to deal with being on crutches.”
On the recruiting schedule
“The next week you meet with your players as they get ready to go home for winter break after they finish up with their exams. Then you're out on the road recruiting, we've already planned out what the entire staff is going to be doing. So I'll be a little bit of everywhere and doing different administrative type things with the team.”
On programs recruiting progress
“I feel like it's going well, and we have quite a few commitments right now. We don't have a lot of scholarships to offer right now so recruiting as hard as you can but you're also having to slow down a bit because you can't get to over committed. But I feel like it's all going really well and we've gotten a great response to our facilities and how we've been playing. Of course a few more wins would have helped in a lot of situations but I think the recruiting aspect is going well.”
On QB competition next season
“I tell all our guys every spring that everything is open. Unfortunately he won't be there in the spring so when fall camp comes it'll be open for competition. I think the competition factor elevates a player to do better. He's done a lot of great things for us and it's really a shame he got hurt against USC. I thought he was really playing well and was on fire and our offense was clicking to the point I thought that was going to be his moment. I think he's a heck of a leader for us and a great player and I'm glad he's going to be back for us to play another year. Of course he'll have a great opportunity to be the starter, but there's always a competition factor for any of the guys on our team.”
On holding the QB position open for Liufau
“The main question is what his health is going to be like. A lisfranc is not an easy injury to come back from. Hopefully he's back ready to go at full speed, but I'll have to talk to the doctors and trainers and we'll all have to take a look at that. You want to say 4-6 months but sometimes guys come back and they're ready to go and others have come back and it was still sore and they weren't ready. He does have a redshirt year available, but I hope that doesn't happen. First and foremost will be the health of Sefo and then we'll go from there.”
On not having a lot of scholarships due to the large senior class
“Yes it definitely is a reason for it. We've retained a lot of young men which is critical on rebuilding a program. You've got to build and develop them, and they have to learn how to win and to work together with the coaches. Now we've got a lot of guys next that truly played a lot. Our defense will have a lot of depth as we get back Addison Gillam, Ryan Moeller and others. On offense we should have Jeremy Irwin back and Sefo should be back, with Michael Adkins coming back as well.”
On Ryan Moeller's recovery
“He's doing well, but he still has some bad whiplash in his neck. He's going to be fine but the muscle is still tight. I've never been in a real bad car accident like that but p[people have told me that it takes a while to come back. Especially when he's going to be running into guys on a football field you've got to make sure his neck and everything is good. His recovery is coming along just fine but he's not going to be able to play this week and it's really a shame. I wish that guy hadn't given him a lift on his moped.”
On other injuries
“Michael Adkins won't be able to play, Ryan Severson and Jay MacIntyre will be a game time decision. They've been doing a little bit during practice but we'll see how they are when they get to the game.”
On seeing the players injured not being able to play
“It hurts to see all the guys not being able to play. The way Ryan Moeller's happened you're very sympathetic. With Sefo it was probably the lightest hit he's taken all year long, it was kind of a pile falling on him and I was surprised not to see him get up because Sefo always gets up. The thing that bothered me the most about Sefo was he had an unbelievable week of practice that week, and he was on fire. You could see it in his eyes and the team's eyes all week. So it was disheartening at that moment to see him get hurt.”
On Sefo Liufau's critics
“I really don't listen to anybody else to be honest with you. I really don't hear any of that since I don't read or listen to anything. We do what we feel like is best for our football team at every position. And I think that this team has grown. I think Sefo was a little bit ahead of everyone since he was able to come in as a true freshman and compete. I think our team is just now catching up to him, and I thought that the USC game would be a time people would get off his back but he got hurt and it didn't happen. At quarterback you're always going to get those doubts, and it seems like to me that maybe the best one ever is getting that right now.”
On the challenges of recruiting today compared to the past
“I think the cell phone is the unique thing. The internet, the blogs, the instant media and everything that goes with it is a whole new realm in recruiting. And the other thing is that recruiting has sped up. I played a long time ago, but even when I came back from the NFL I noticed how much its sped up because of the acceleration of kids committing in the summer. Now they're committing as juniors before even finishing their junior years. I guess there's nothing you can do to stop it right now. I have heard of some new rules they are thinking up to be able to communicate with the players during the spring of their junior year, and different things like that. I think one of the other things that have sped up the recruiting is access to high quality video that allows you to evaluate players faster than before. Everybody remember the VHS tape days? I used to go to high school and bring my own so I could make copies of tapes of players that I really liked. I think that video you can get on your own phone and other places has also sped that up. They say the eye in the sky doesn't lie, but I also believe that it doesn't tell all the truth either and you've got to go see them in person best you can.”
On building relationships in recruiting today
“I told my kids this the other day, there's no way I'd want to date today at all. It's the same way with recruiting it feels like you're trying to date the kid. You've got a million ways you can communicate with the player these days. I think that's just how it is, you're recruiting the player trying to woo them and he's checking you out so it's a lot like dating.”
On Cade Apsay's comments after WSU game
“I don't know anything about the comments this is the first time I've heard anything about it. It's good that Cade went and apologized for the comments. He's young and people get frustrated at times.”
On injuries to offensive line
“The offensive line is the stable of your offense, it stabilizes it and makes the engine go so to speak. With all the different injuries we've had there every week it has made it tougher to be constant. The positive side of that is all of those guys, except for Stephane Nembot, are coming back next year and they've all played this year. So hopefully we don't have as many injuries to the line next year. At least we've got guys who've played a lot and have experience playing.”
On what the offensive line needs to do in the offseason to improve
“Some of them definitely need to get stronger. I'll use John Lisella as an example he has gotten better as the season went along and he'll know this offseason what he needs to do to get even better. There are certain things we can do with him when we meet and show the film to him. We can teach him the things he needs to work on from all the time he's gotten on the field this year.”
On Larry Zimmer's last game
“It's been awesome working with Larry. We've talked a lot about what we went through with him last year and getting to know him and his wife Bridgette much better. Now seeing him with his smile and watching him be able to do something that he loves to do. A lot of people will be sad to hear his voice get off the air for the last time on Saturday. Getting old is no fun, but it's great that he's able to do what he's doing and go out the way he's going out.”
DL Jordan Carrell
On his transition from a Junior College
“I think it's been a fun year coming from a junior college. It was a hard transition getting adapted to school and being around the guys because I was the new guy and everting like that. But everyone was welcoming and everting. That helped to work into my position. With Leavitt coming in, I felt like I had an equal opportunity with everyone else because everybody else had to learn the new defense and everything. Throughout the season we had some tough breaks but I feel like we grew a lot as a defense from when Leavitt got here to now. Credit to him and the staff. It is a tough defense and I feel like we did a good job throughout the season with it.”
On his previous position experience
“In high school I played both ways. I was a center on offense and a defensive end in high school. I know what it's like. The games aren't as long but just as many reps. In junior college, I'd say I averaged about 60 to 70 snaps a game.”
On the reality of last week's loss and not getting to a bowl game
“It was rough knowing that we won't get a chance to go after a bowl game. But now it's all about doing it for the seniors. This is their last time suiting up in a Buffs uniform so I hope we just go out there and do what we're asked and execute on all cylinders. Hopefully we win. I know we can beat them. I wasn't here and didn't really watch the game last year but I know that it was close till the end. I feel like we're a stronger team so we can definitely get after this one.”
On what getting a win against Utah would mean
“I want to be able to go home to my family and friends and know that we ended the season with a win and didn't back down. Just because we know that we don't have a chance for a bowl game, we know that they're going to be talking about this game going into next year. We know we can [win].”
On the close finishes all year
“Just knowing how much work we put in in the off season, we do think if we would have done this, we could have executed that,' or looking back at the UCLA game. There was a play where it came down to me and the other defensive tackle and it was just lack of communication; we ran the wrong play and it hurt us. It's been close all year and that's how it's been for the last couple years where our team is just right there. This off season we really have to dial in and get stronger and continue to work and grow as a team. We have a big junior class that's coming back next year and we all have to come back with a lot more leadership. It starts right after the season.”
On Coach Leavitt's new offseason plan
“I think that, from the defensive side of it, Leavitt is already talking about winter conditioning. He wasn't here so it will be nice to see the changes made. We need to make changes with our strength programing and running so hopefully the positive attitude will carry over to the off season knowing that we can compete and win.”
QB Cade Apsay
On his performance last weekend against Washington State
“I think it was an average performance. [Quarterback's coach] Lindgren told me that he saw the good things out there but I saw the bad. Obviously I'd rather lean toward the good things. Like I said, it was an average performance. There are something things I could have done a lot better on.”
On the offense's struggles in the red zone
“I think it was a collective offensive effort. There's a lot of mistakes that were made, off sides, holding, bad snaps and bad throws. It wasn't a specific position or something that went wrong. As a collective effort, we couldn't capitalize, couldn't punch one in.”
On if Washington State offered any surprises
“Not at all. They didn't show anything new that we didn't see on film. There weren't a lot of new things, things that we weren't used to. Everything we saw on film they brought.”
On the lack of a run game in last Saturday's game
“Coach Lindgren told me at the beginning of the week last week that he wanted to start off the game, first offensive drive, with a lot of passes to get me in a good rhythm. That was a confidence booster coming out right away throwing the ball. It was definitely a good confidence booster.”
On how he needs to improve as a quarterback
“One thing was experience, having that experience under my belt. The other thing that I stated in interviews throughout the week is that the vocal leader in myself needs to be louder. There were times when the linemen didn't hear the call or the snap or the cadence or whatever. So, as much as I said I was trying to work on that, it was lacking this past game. Handling the crowd noise was hard [on my part].”
On Sefo Liufau's role as a mentor for the young quarterback
“The past two weeks, Sefo has been giving me advice on being a QB in general. I looked up to him as a backup and the beginning of fall camp was spent just mirroring what he would do with film and his work ethic. I respect him a lot and look up to him. I try to mirror him as a quarterback and as a man off the field as well. He's a great role model. I'd love for him to be on the sideline [against Utah]. It's the same as having Lindgren on the sideline, having an extra set of eyes and a voice in my ear helping me throughout the game. I would love that if he came.”
On his criticism of his receivers and linemen after the Washington State game
“I've apologized to the receivers and the linemen especially. I made some pretty harsh comments. I didn't realize that I was at the time. Post-game emotions got the best of me. When I did apologize to them, they didn't take much of it. Especially the linemen, they didn't really care. They don't read much of that stuff anyway. It was definitely some harsh comments that I made and I apologized to them but they didn't mind it at all. We're all pretty close anyways so even if I said something really bad to them to their faces, they would laugh it off.”
On getting the seniors a win this weekend
“I think the mindset this week is to get the seniors a win. We talked about that at the senior day game how our main goal was to get them a win for their final game at home. I think because we didn't get that win, that mindset carried over.”
On offensive play calling
“It's pretty much the same. The play calls are more tailored to my strengths. Coach Lindgren told me that he's trying to build on my strengths and steer away from my weaknesses. For me, throwing the ball on the run, I've done a better job at that. The game plan is pretty much the same but the throws in general are getting out of the pocket and working on my strengths.”
On his comfort level running the football
“I'm definitely [comfortable]. I'm not the fastest guy on the team but if I had to run, I think I'd be okay.”
On his comfort level with receiver Dylan Keeney
“Especially with Dylan Keeney, he's my roommate, we play catch a lot and I do have that comfort level with him.”
On the comfort of having a receiver like Nelson Spruce on the field
“With a player like that who will come out and catch the ball wherever you put it, any receiver like that is a benefit to any quarterback. Having a weapon out there like Nelson Spruce, obviously if you get the ball out, you can be confident that a receiver like him will catch the ball.”
