Photo by: Joel Broida
Tuesday Press Conference Quotes
September 06, 2016 | Football
Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre
ÂÂ On Rules For Targeting
"They're able to review it in the booth now to eject you. It used to be if they caught it on the field, then they reviewed whether it was an ejection or not. Now they can pull you from the box on a review and look for concussion symptoms also. We stress it hard. You don't want to catapult and lead with your head. You want to stay away from the above-the-shoulders. The hard thing for a defensive back or a linebacker is a lot of times a receiver or running back is coming across, goes to catch it, and as you're going to hit him he ducks. They've got to be able to tell that on video if they were ducking. You can't hit a quarterback low and you can't hit him high. You've got to find a way to do that. We've worked on it and we have tackling dummies that we've been hitting. Our kids are conscious of it."
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On Team's Attitude This Week
"They've been focused and working hard. Tuesday practices are always tough, because you put the pads back on. We got a lot accomplished today in practice. The guys that were beat up a little bit have been in the training room and being observant in the meetings. All of that type of stuff tells you that they're ready to go. They've got to keep pushing."
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On Preparing Team
"All we have to do is tell them about the head coach Mike Kramer. The head coach of Idaho State was the head coach of Montana State when they beat Colorado here. We've already shown them that game and some highlights of it. He's a heck of a coach; he's won everywhere he's been. He's not afraid of coming in here, I know that."
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On Tempo Of The Offense
"We've implemented a couple things that help us go a little faster communication and signal-wise. Our kids are in excellent shape. It's all about getting that first first down. Everybody always says that. That's the truth. The way we signal, the way we look at it, and our code words, we shortened everything down. One word means tons of things now. Our kids know the offense so well that we've been able to streamline that. We have very quick signals now. All of that helps."
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On WR Danny Galloway And Team Wearing 'Make CU Great Again' Hats
"I'm fine with it. His dad did it. His dad went to school here and is very proud. I thought it was a good thing. The kids wanted to wear them."
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On Tedric Thompson Returning to Practice
"He was in his protocol. I believe everything went really well and he should return tomorrow. Unless something happened between practice and now, we expect to have him."
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On Leadership On The Team
"I've said from day one that our leadership is good. We've got so many experienced guys that have been through the battle, have good work ethic, and understand that you have to show up every day to improve. I have seen a difference. They've just got to keep doing it. I've been very pleased with our leadership."
On Team Playing Fast Against Idaho State
"We're going to try to go at a fast pace. If we're able to move the ball on the opponent and keep going at that speed, then we're going to keep doing that. We ran up-tempo last year. We are more effective. We completed more balls, we had more runs that hit, and we were more precise in our blocking and our routes. We've just kept improving. If you have one bad throw, route, or block, it throws off all the timing. You've got to keep the energy going. I think our team is more precise in those areas."
On Jeromy Irwin Returning To The Field
"Jeromy played well in his first game back. He was excited after the game was over. He felt good in the game. Our offensive line played well. We've got a lot of improvement to do when you watch the tape. We blocked well enough to keep our offense going, but we're going to have to keep improving."
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On Stature And Play Of Kyle Evans
"He's pretty short. I saw his dad at our 'Stampede' the night before the game. He came up to me and said hi. He was all excited and thanking me (for giving Kyle a scholarship). 'No, you're son earned it. It wasn't anything given to him. He's a really good football player.' When I saw Kyle I said, 'Kyle I saw your dad.' He goes, 'Yeah he's shorter than me isn't he.' Kyle is a very good runner; he's very strong and powerful. Pound for pound he's extremely strong. He's also explosive and has good vision. He's kept working and working and improved into a really good football player. I was glad he decided to walk-on here. He's from the San Jose area and went to Archbishop Mitty High School. We're excited to have him."
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On Play Of Chidobe Awuzie
"Chido's an excellent player; he can do so many things. He needs to keep playing. He's very versatile. I don't think I've been around someone as versatile as him that can play all three spots and you don't even blink. You move him around and he's the best one out there on both sides of the field at whatever position you put him at. I'm very pleased with him and his work ethic. He's going to graduate in December in three and a half years. He's a special, special young man."
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On Idaho State
"Their offense is just like Hawai'i's was last year that gave us problems. They run a 4-3 defense. We'll have to get ready for that. They have wide ends like Oregon State used to do, so that will affect our tackles on pass protection. We're going to have to do well there. They're playing well; their punt returner is back and have some good players that have been making a lot of plays. They killed the team they played the other day, Simon Fraser. They're a good football team that will come in here ready to beat us."
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On Diego Gonzalez's Kickoffs
"It definitely helps when you know you can kick it out of the back of the end zone most of the time. He's powerful. He's able to also to control it and keep it in the air so we can cover our lanes correctly. He doesn't spray it around everywhere which hurts you sometimes on kickoff coverage. He's improved, because he's kept working at it. He got hurt a little bit a year ago in the summer overkicking, so we didn't kick him as much. We worked on his technique a lot and kept his legs fresh. He's really improved his technique and his swing. He's done an excellent job; he's a weapon. He's always had a super strong leg. People have seen it a couple times. Now they're starting to see what we see."
"They're able to review it in the booth now to eject you. It used to be if they caught it on the field, then they reviewed whether it was an ejection or not. Now they can pull you from the box on a review and look for concussion symptoms also. We stress it hard. You don't want to catapult and lead with your head. You want to stay away from the above-the-shoulders. The hard thing for a defensive back or a linebacker is a lot of times a receiver or running back is coming across, goes to catch it, and as you're going to hit him he ducks. They've got to be able to tell that on video if they were ducking. You can't hit a quarterback low and you can't hit him high. You've got to find a way to do that. We've worked on it and we have tackling dummies that we've been hitting. Our kids are conscious of it."
Â
On Team's Attitude This Week
"They've been focused and working hard. Tuesday practices are always tough, because you put the pads back on. We got a lot accomplished today in practice. The guys that were beat up a little bit have been in the training room and being observant in the meetings. All of that type of stuff tells you that they're ready to go. They've got to keep pushing."
Â
On Preparing Team
"All we have to do is tell them about the head coach Mike Kramer. The head coach of Idaho State was the head coach of Montana State when they beat Colorado here. We've already shown them that game and some highlights of it. He's a heck of a coach; he's won everywhere he's been. He's not afraid of coming in here, I know that."
Â
On Tempo Of The Offense
"We've implemented a couple things that help us go a little faster communication and signal-wise. Our kids are in excellent shape. It's all about getting that first first down. Everybody always says that. That's the truth. The way we signal, the way we look at it, and our code words, we shortened everything down. One word means tons of things now. Our kids know the offense so well that we've been able to streamline that. We have very quick signals now. All of that helps."
Â
On WR Danny Galloway And Team Wearing 'Make CU Great Again' Hats
"I'm fine with it. His dad did it. His dad went to school here and is very proud. I thought it was a good thing. The kids wanted to wear them."
Â
On Tedric Thompson Returning to Practice
"He was in his protocol. I believe everything went really well and he should return tomorrow. Unless something happened between practice and now, we expect to have him."
Â
On Leadership On The Team
"I've said from day one that our leadership is good. We've got so many experienced guys that have been through the battle, have good work ethic, and understand that you have to show up every day to improve. I have seen a difference. They've just got to keep doing it. I've been very pleased with our leadership."
On Team Playing Fast Against Idaho State
"We're going to try to go at a fast pace. If we're able to move the ball on the opponent and keep going at that speed, then we're going to keep doing that. We ran up-tempo last year. We are more effective. We completed more balls, we had more runs that hit, and we were more precise in our blocking and our routes. We've just kept improving. If you have one bad throw, route, or block, it throws off all the timing. You've got to keep the energy going. I think our team is more precise in those areas."
On Jeromy Irwin Returning To The Field
"Jeromy played well in his first game back. He was excited after the game was over. He felt good in the game. Our offensive line played well. We've got a lot of improvement to do when you watch the tape. We blocked well enough to keep our offense going, but we're going to have to keep improving."
Â
On Stature And Play Of Kyle Evans
"He's pretty short. I saw his dad at our 'Stampede' the night before the game. He came up to me and said hi. He was all excited and thanking me (for giving Kyle a scholarship). 'No, you're son earned it. It wasn't anything given to him. He's a really good football player.' When I saw Kyle I said, 'Kyle I saw your dad.' He goes, 'Yeah he's shorter than me isn't he.' Kyle is a very good runner; he's very strong and powerful. Pound for pound he's extremely strong. He's also explosive and has good vision. He's kept working and working and improved into a really good football player. I was glad he decided to walk-on here. He's from the San Jose area and went to Archbishop Mitty High School. We're excited to have him."
Â
On Play Of Chidobe Awuzie
"Chido's an excellent player; he can do so many things. He needs to keep playing. He's very versatile. I don't think I've been around someone as versatile as him that can play all three spots and you don't even blink. You move him around and he's the best one out there on both sides of the field at whatever position you put him at. I'm very pleased with him and his work ethic. He's going to graduate in December in three and a half years. He's a special, special young man."
Â
On Idaho State
"Their offense is just like Hawai'i's was last year that gave us problems. They run a 4-3 defense. We'll have to get ready for that. They have wide ends like Oregon State used to do, so that will affect our tackles on pass protection. We're going to have to do well there. They're playing well; their punt returner is back and have some good players that have been making a lot of plays. They killed the team they played the other day, Simon Fraser. They're a good football team that will come in here ready to beat us."
Â
On Diego Gonzalez's Kickoffs
"It definitely helps when you know you can kick it out of the back of the end zone most of the time. He's powerful. He's able to also to control it and keep it in the air so we can cover our lanes correctly. He doesn't spray it around everywhere which hurts you sometimes on kickoff coverage. He's improved, because he's kept working at it. He got hurt a little bit a year ago in the summer overkicking, so we didn't kick him as much. We worked on his technique a lot and kept his legs fresh. He's really improved his technique and his swing. He's done an excellent job; he's a weapon. He's always had a super strong leg. People have seen it a couple times. Now they're starting to see what we see."
Colorado Quarterback Sefo Liufau
ÂOn The Offense's Performance Against CSU
"I think for the most part after watching the film – I watched it Friday night after the game – for the most part, we played really well. There were a couple drives where we stopped ourselves with a couple of penalties and some fumbles, which was frustrating. We want to improve on that this week. But I think overall as an offense, we did very well."
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On The Team's Attitude After Beating CSU
"Definitely not cocky. I think that being in the program for three years when you're in a lot of close games, you get into this mindset of not wanting to give any up and that's definitely the mindset of this team going into this week. We don't want to give any games away, we don't want to have any close games if possible. So, we treat Idaho State with the greatest respect. They're a great team and anything can happen in any given week in college football so we want to come out strong and put our best foot forward."
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On Alex Kelley's Touchdown
"Hopefully he's not scoring touchdowns anymore. It's great that he scored his first touchdown but I think that I need to take better care of the football."
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On Offensive Improvements
"I think the goal ultimately is to execute. If we execute and build upon what we did last week, I think that'll take care of itself and the other guys will come in and play. Instead of kicking a couple of field goals and having a couple of turnovers, we'll put up three or four more touchdowns which will make everything a lot smoother. We feel a lot better about ourselves and obviously the other guys get in and get more playing time and not just running the ball out in the fourth quarter. If we execute better, then that will take care of itself."
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On The Offensive Line's Performance Against CSU
"The offensive line played very well last week. We had one sack which is normal. You're not always going to have your best play. So for the most part, they played really well. I'm pretty sure we had a lot of rushing yards and they did really well up there. They gave me time to throw in the pocket and like you said, Alex Kelley went down and Sully Weifels did a really good job of stepping up. That's what's expected, not just of the o-line but of everyone this year. If someone goes down, the next person has to be able to step up and play their part and do their job."
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On His Dinner Treat To The O-Line
"I'm taking them out Thursday. I found out yesterday that I was Pac-12 player of the week and Coach MacIntyre made a joke about taking the O-Line out to dinner and it kind of stuck. I'm taking them out Thursday, that's what it looks like."
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On The Goal Of Becoming Pac-12 Champions
"I think Coach Mac said it first a long, long time ago. I don't think the players talk about it as much to each other. It's our goal but it's kind of in the back of our minds, we want to just go out there and focus on the team that we're playing. Every team we've played in the Pac-12 for the past few years has been close games and most of the time we haven't been on the right side of that. Everyone wants to be Pac-12 Champs, that's the goal. We hold ourselves accountable now, even with the smallest things in practice. It's definitely a better attitude to have as a team compared to the last few years."
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On The Offense's Tempo
"I think the biggest thing is that a lot of teams, you can't practice tempo at that speed. You can't get your scout teams to go over there and run at that speed and tempo. So I think that's the biggest challenge for teams. Teams coming into Folsom this year, it'll be a bigger challenge for them given the altitude. Hopefully we can use that to our advantage. We've done a really good job as an offense upping our tempo. When we have to we can slow it down but our main goal as an offense was to control tempo and the defense and when they can and can't sub players onto the field."
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On Bringing In Back Ups
"We just talked about sliding. We had a sliding drill today that we practiced on. I just have to be smarter on when to run and when to slide. Given my Polynesian heritage, I like to go out there and play one speed, one tempo. But I need to be smart with the football and get down when I can. We haven't talked about coming out of games. It hasn't really been a thought."
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"I think for the most part after watching the film – I watched it Friday night after the game – for the most part, we played really well. There were a couple drives where we stopped ourselves with a couple of penalties and some fumbles, which was frustrating. We want to improve on that this week. But I think overall as an offense, we did very well."
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On The Team's Attitude After Beating CSU
"Definitely not cocky. I think that being in the program for three years when you're in a lot of close games, you get into this mindset of not wanting to give any up and that's definitely the mindset of this team going into this week. We don't want to give any games away, we don't want to have any close games if possible. So, we treat Idaho State with the greatest respect. They're a great team and anything can happen in any given week in college football so we want to come out strong and put our best foot forward."
Â
On Alex Kelley's Touchdown
"Hopefully he's not scoring touchdowns anymore. It's great that he scored his first touchdown but I think that I need to take better care of the football."
Â
On Offensive Improvements
"I think the goal ultimately is to execute. If we execute and build upon what we did last week, I think that'll take care of itself and the other guys will come in and play. Instead of kicking a couple of field goals and having a couple of turnovers, we'll put up three or four more touchdowns which will make everything a lot smoother. We feel a lot better about ourselves and obviously the other guys get in and get more playing time and not just running the ball out in the fourth quarter. If we execute better, then that will take care of itself."
Â
On The Offensive Line's Performance Against CSU
"The offensive line played very well last week. We had one sack which is normal. You're not always going to have your best play. So for the most part, they played really well. I'm pretty sure we had a lot of rushing yards and they did really well up there. They gave me time to throw in the pocket and like you said, Alex Kelley went down and Sully Weifels did a really good job of stepping up. That's what's expected, not just of the o-line but of everyone this year. If someone goes down, the next person has to be able to step up and play their part and do their job."
Â
On His Dinner Treat To The O-Line
"I'm taking them out Thursday. I found out yesterday that I was Pac-12 player of the week and Coach MacIntyre made a joke about taking the O-Line out to dinner and it kind of stuck. I'm taking them out Thursday, that's what it looks like."
Â
On The Goal Of Becoming Pac-12 Champions
"I think Coach Mac said it first a long, long time ago. I don't think the players talk about it as much to each other. It's our goal but it's kind of in the back of our minds, we want to just go out there and focus on the team that we're playing. Every team we've played in the Pac-12 for the past few years has been close games and most of the time we haven't been on the right side of that. Everyone wants to be Pac-12 Champs, that's the goal. We hold ourselves accountable now, even with the smallest things in practice. It's definitely a better attitude to have as a team compared to the last few years."
Â
On The Offense's Tempo
"I think the biggest thing is that a lot of teams, you can't practice tempo at that speed. You can't get your scout teams to go over there and run at that speed and tempo. So I think that's the biggest challenge for teams. Teams coming into Folsom this year, it'll be a bigger challenge for them given the altitude. Hopefully we can use that to our advantage. We've done a really good job as an offense upping our tempo. When we have to we can slow it down but our main goal as an offense was to control tempo and the defense and when they can and can't sub players onto the field."
Â
On Bringing In Back Ups
"We just talked about sliding. We had a sliding drill today that we practiced on. I just have to be smarter on when to run and when to slide. Given my Polynesian heritage, I like to go out there and play one speed, one tempo. But I need to be smart with the football and get down when I can. We haven't talked about coming out of games. It hasn't really been a thought."
Colorado Defensive Back Chidobe Awuzie
ÂOn Avoiding Targeting Penalties
"Coach Mac and Coach Leavitt, they do a tackling circuit with us where we always work on our tackling and how we hit. We call it out roll tackle technique, so it's really more like a shoulder tackle. I think all the players on our team know how to tackle and how to dodge the head. We actually had a couple of close ones in the game against Colorado State but I think we've worked on it and it will get fixed."
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On Targeting Penalties Being Somewhat Unavoidable
"Growing up and watching players like Ed Reed, Brian Dawkins, and Ronnie Lott, safeties back then used to make the big hits, and that's why you wanted to go out and play football, to hit somebody. Now you can't do that as much, and it's kind of sad to see because now people are going low and it's increasing the chance people can tear their knees or mess up their ankles. So it's kind of an in-between area but I can see now why the head area is more dangerous."
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On the Team's Mindset Going into Idaho State
"The mindset of the team is still the same, we still only have one goal and that's to be Pac-12 champions. I think we've been up front with that since the beginning. We definitely needed to get a victory against Colorado State, and that was a great team. But now we've got to be onto the next one and we're trying to go 1-0 this week."
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On Idaho State's Offense
"We've watched a lot of film already, and they've got two pretty good outside receivers and a pretty good tight end. Their running back is pretty fast, and I think their quarterback got second team all-conference. They're a pretty well developed offense, so it'll come down to us playing our game and doing what we do best."
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On Team's Confidence Level
"We still only have one goal, and Colorado State was kind of a speed bump on the way to that goal. They were definitely a great team. We went 1-0 that week and we're trying to go 1-0 this week. It's just the same mindset, we're really even keeled right now. Everybody on this team is pretty humble, and Coach Mac stressed that to us the other night to be humble and hungry. So we're still humble and hungry and we know that we have a lot of work to turn this program around. Our confidence has always been high throughout the entire time I've been here, no matter what."
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On Playing First Game of the Season at Folsom Field
"We're really excited, they came out screaming and yelling for us last week and I hope they do the same thing against Idaho State. Idaho State is a good team, and it's our first home game of the season so all the freshmen and newcomers get to experience a game here at Colorado."
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On the Defense Being Effected by High-Tempo Offense
"No there hasn't been any effect. In practice I feel like they go high-tempo, in fact we have what's called a high energy period during practice where we don't really take a break and just keep going for up to eight plays straight. I think it really paid off for the offense, but I really think it helped the defense as well because we're going to be facing some really up-tempo teams. I'm really proud of our offense, and we play at such a high altitude why not use that to our advantage."
Â
On Improvements the Secondary Can Make
"Definitely number one is communication, followed by technique at number two. Those are two things that you can always get better at. In the last game the DB's, we were the ones who gave up the only touchdown, so we definitely need to sure up the communication on that play. I think we'll be fine. We have a bunch of leaders and seniors in our secondary so I feel like that if we keep communicating and working on our technique we'll be fine."
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On Reaction Around Campus
"I haven't had a chance to get on campus just yet, but I heard that on Friday after the game there was a party for the football players. I don't think we've ever had that before. I think a lot of people are excited that we got that W and hopefully we keep getting W's."
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 "Coach Mac and Coach Leavitt, they do a tackling circuit with us where we always work on our tackling and how we hit. We call it out roll tackle technique, so it's really more like a shoulder tackle. I think all the players on our team know how to tackle and how to dodge the head. We actually had a couple of close ones in the game against Colorado State but I think we've worked on it and it will get fixed."
Â
On Targeting Penalties Being Somewhat Unavoidable
"Growing up and watching players like Ed Reed, Brian Dawkins, and Ronnie Lott, safeties back then used to make the big hits, and that's why you wanted to go out and play football, to hit somebody. Now you can't do that as much, and it's kind of sad to see because now people are going low and it's increasing the chance people can tear their knees or mess up their ankles. So it's kind of an in-between area but I can see now why the head area is more dangerous."
Â
On the Team's Mindset Going into Idaho State
"The mindset of the team is still the same, we still only have one goal and that's to be Pac-12 champions. I think we've been up front with that since the beginning. We definitely needed to get a victory against Colorado State, and that was a great team. But now we've got to be onto the next one and we're trying to go 1-0 this week."
Â
On Idaho State's Offense
"We've watched a lot of film already, and they've got two pretty good outside receivers and a pretty good tight end. Their running back is pretty fast, and I think their quarterback got second team all-conference. They're a pretty well developed offense, so it'll come down to us playing our game and doing what we do best."
Â
On Team's Confidence Level
"We still only have one goal, and Colorado State was kind of a speed bump on the way to that goal. They were definitely a great team. We went 1-0 that week and we're trying to go 1-0 this week. It's just the same mindset, we're really even keeled right now. Everybody on this team is pretty humble, and Coach Mac stressed that to us the other night to be humble and hungry. So we're still humble and hungry and we know that we have a lot of work to turn this program around. Our confidence has always been high throughout the entire time I've been here, no matter what."
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On Playing First Game of the Season at Folsom Field
"We're really excited, they came out screaming and yelling for us last week and I hope they do the same thing against Idaho State. Idaho State is a good team, and it's our first home game of the season so all the freshmen and newcomers get to experience a game here at Colorado."
Â
On the Defense Being Effected by High-Tempo Offense
"No there hasn't been any effect. In practice I feel like they go high-tempo, in fact we have what's called a high energy period during practice where we don't really take a break and just keep going for up to eight plays straight. I think it really paid off for the offense, but I really think it helped the defense as well because we're going to be facing some really up-tempo teams. I'm really proud of our offense, and we play at such a high altitude why not use that to our advantage."
Â
On Improvements the Secondary Can Make
"Definitely number one is communication, followed by technique at number two. Those are two things that you can always get better at. In the last game the DB's, we were the ones who gave up the only touchdown, so we definitely need to sure up the communication on that play. I think we'll be fine. We have a bunch of leaders and seniors in our secondary so I feel like that if we keep communicating and working on our technique we'll be fine."
Â
On Reaction Around Campus
"I haven't had a chance to get on campus just yet, but I heard that on Friday after the game there was a party for the football players. I don't think we've ever had that before. I think a lot of people are excited that we got that W and hopefully we keep getting W's."
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Players Mentioned
DB
/ Football
TB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
PK
/ Football
OL
/ Football
C
/ Football
QB
/ Football
DB
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