Postgame Quotes
September 11, 2010 | Football
Sept. 11, 2010
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Eastern Kentucky vs. Louisville - Sept. 11, 2010 - Postgame Quotes
Louisville head coach Charlie Strong
(Opening Statement) It is great to see our guys they work so hard and we watched the way we went out and played in the first half and in the second half, we kind of got out there and didn't play as well as we would have liked to. What was disappointing was the number penalties. We had a lot of penalties on offense to stop drives and a lot of penalties in our kicking game. But it was so good to get that win, to see our guys just come out and compete today.
It is important, and I said it today, we have to go out and win a football game, because our guys are football players. Let's go out and win a game. And to see them come out working ... compete and work. And if you watch the game, and watch the whole flow of it, I just thought we were in total control of the football game which was good for our program.
(What the win meant to him) I didn't really think about it and because I was just more concerned about our team and wanted them to get a win so bad, more than myself.
(On defense) Rodney Gnat was really special today. If you look at that, he was in there for four or five sacks. Dexter Heyman, where he was incredible, was that we lost Brandon Heath in the middle of the week. So Dexter, when we go to our substitution package, which allows us to put our athletes on the field and more speed on the field, then Dexter worked at middle linebacker. He got the guys lined up. We ended up playing a freshman, BJ Butler, but Dexter and Rodney both played outstanding.
(On Beaumont's touchdown) Mr. Reliable: that is what he is. He is involved in every kicking play, he is on punt, on punt return, he's on kickoff and kickoff returns. He scores a touchdown and didn't get a chance to celebrate because he had to run back down on kickoff. I told him he could spike it, but he didn't hear me and he said, `Coach I forgot.' I was just so happy for him. It was (one of Adam Froman's better passes.) He laid it out there for him and Beaumont ran underneath it. And he made the catch and kind of ran away from the defensive back.
(On Beaumont leaving field for short period) He was worn out and went inside and got an IV. It was just the number of plays and snaps. I saw him on offense one time and said, `we need to get Beaumont a rest.' And then he came out and cramps up some and so we took him inside and IV'ed him. I told him, `Beaumont, if I you get worn out, you gotta come out.' He said, `Coach if I get tired I will come out.' Watching today, there were a number of plays where I could tell he was getting worn out. I could just tell in his routes. He was running the routes but just not as quickly as in the beginning. He played a lot of snaps.
(On shutout early) It was just our pressure and everything we were coming with. And if you were watching, we kept their offense behind the chains. We were able to get pressure. Guys were able to get sacks and we were able to control their offense. We didn't break down on defense in the second half. I think the only time they got a drive was when they broke the long run. But other than that, we still brought pressure and still contained them.
(On third-down conversions) That is an area we need to work on. Because you can just look at us offensively, it was like we never got in rhythm. Even in the second half, the offense never got in rhythm. We made a catch. Never got a rhythm. We went for it on fourth down, but two receivers actually hit each other. We made a catch, but we were still short. We just never got in rhythm.
(On rhythm of the game) Guys just have to finish the game. Guys get relaxed, thinking the game is over and their focus and concentration misses. We will have to talk about at halftime is that we still have 30 minutes to play. So let's not sit back and relax. Let's keep playing and keep playing hard. That is what we didn't do.
(On time of possession) I think that has a lot to do with it in the second half. We punted the ball a lot and gave it back to them. Looking at it, we turned it over. We had two turnovers and the onside kick, they got it back. So we had some critical plays in the second half.
(On next week) Well, it is going to be a hostile environment going into Oregon State. That is a really good football team. So we are going to have to improve as a football team. We have to get better on both sides of the ball, plus the special teams because we are going to go play a good football team. When you are on the road, I tell them that you have to pack your defense, pack your kicking game and pack your togetherness. I think the thing the defense can do is control the crowd. If you go and play bad defense and the crowd stays into it, then you are in trouble. We have to go play great defense and great special teams. They have some really good players so it is going to be a great challenge for us.
Doug Beaumont
(On his first career touchdown)
"Now I don't have to worry about anybody else asking the question. If I had a dollar for every time I was asked, I'd be rich by now."
(On what was going through his mind when he saw the ball in the air and he was near the end zone)
"I was just trying to concentrate on the ball. When I caught the ball and I was across the line, I was relieved, I raised my hand.
(On the importance of the win)
"It was a big win. One thing, it gets the monkey off our back. It was our first win of the season, we can fix the mistakes we made today and go on and get some momentum."
(On the touchdown play)
"It was a deep post route, me one on one with the cornerback. I stuck him pretty good, got open and then he threw me the ball."
(On the team's progress)
"Coach is a very motivational speaker, he tries to motivate us each day. We go out there just and try to execute the schemes we have from the practice week and execute the plays for the next opponent."
(On how much he thought about getting his first touchdown)
"I imagined it each day. One thing I did was to try to get a win for the team. If it takes me to score, then I try to go out there and score for the team."
Rodney Gnat
(On whether there was a point where he thought today was going to be a good day)
"I just approached it like every other day. I came out excited, I was focused and just very excited to get out there. Losing to Kentucky was just very frustrating. We're the only class to lose four years in a row and I kind of took that personally. I took that approach to practice, I took every rep like a game - which is what you should do every day. I tried to have a good week at practice, I focused on the little things like coach wants us to do and everything just started rolling downhill."
(On how it feels to get the first win for Coach Strong)
"I think it was good. Not only was it his first win here, it was his first win as a head coach period. I feel like hopefully we can get the ball rolling and keep getting wins. There was something he said earlier in the week - he was kind of joking about it, but some of the guys took it personally. He said you guys haven't won a game since the middle of last year. To win feels good and hopefully we can keep it rolling this weekend at Oregon State because they're a tough team with Rogers brothers and the quarterback. We've got our work cut out for us."
(On having to be a threat for sacks)
"It's just knowing your opponent, technique and relentless effort. One of the quotes on the board in the team room is play with relentless effort. Coach tells us it doesn't take talent to play with effort, if you play with effort good things can happen and I think that was part of it today."
B.J. Butler
(On the position he was playing)
"Today, they had me playing linebacker because Brandon Heath was out, so I had to take his spot. I had to fill in and do what he usually does."
(On playing multiple positions)
"Coach asked me to play linebacker. I already knew the plays, so it was easy and I think I did pretty good today."
(On how the defense played)
"The first half, we played really good. We came out in the second half and we weren't focused. We let a couple of big plays go and they ended up scoring."
(On how Rodney Gnat played)
"He was outstanding today. We've been talking about getting sacks all week in practice and making big plays and Rodney came out and played well today."
(On getting the first win for Coach Strong)
"I can't even put it into words. For him getting his first win as a head coach, he's very excited and for us to get our first win also is really nice for the program."
Hakeem Smith
(On the difference between first half and second half)
"We came out a little sluggish at first but then we started getting the defense together and started moving, flying to the ball and making plays."
(On Rodney Gnat's performance)
"He was amazing, that was exactly what we needed today. When the defensive line gets to the ball, it makes it easier for the safety."
(On using a lot of different players at linebacker)
"We subbed a lot of people in and out just trying to get everybody a feel for the position."
(On improvement from last week to this week)
"We were able to get more pressure on the quarterback. Our corners were making plays on the ball."
(On getting the first win for Coach Strong)
"It was really good. I know he feels good about it. It's a start and we want to keep moving and finish strong."
(On how he feels about he and Shenard Holton being young on secondary)
"We are very good friends. We just try to play hard and fly to the ball. We're going to keep playing the way we have been and continue to get better. We're coming together strong as a core. Once everyone knows their jobs and responsibilities, we're going to key in and make plays and get some interceptions."
(On getting pressure on the quarterback)
"It made it a lot easier for the secondary. We forced him to throw the ball and we were able to get some sacks. Being a defensive back, I love to see sacks."
Eastern Kentucky Head Coach Dean Hood
(Opening Statement)
"I felt good as far as the kids never giving up. At times it looked like they could have shut us out, and it not have been a football game. But our kids hung in there and kept battling and kept fighting. Some of the early scores were some things we could have, would have, should have done better."
(On how Brendon Gregory played)
"He did pretty well. He proved that in the spring. We knew we had a dependable backup from the spring game. He definitely brings a different skill set to the table. TJ can normally run and accelerate and run spread routes. Brandon is a bigger kid and is hard to tackle."
(On Jeremy Caldwell)
"You throw his direction and you better be on the end of your seat. Next week we will get him back involved in the return game. We didn't want to put too much on his plate the first week. The first week we kept him out and he probably practiced five or six hours all week. But we didn't want to put him at a disadvantage of going out there in the speed of the game. Practice this week is going to be on defense and returning kicks. And next week we will get him rocking and rolling."
(On TJ Pryor)
"TJ had a pulled groin, and he showed an incredible amount of toughness staying in there as long as he could. Because it happened in the first half, it was best for us to get him out of there because we have a lot of football ahead of us."
(Penalties in the game)
"It sure was a killer right off the bat in the beginning of the game. We were off sides and there were a ton of situations where it looked like we were going to make a big play and it wouldn't go our way and we would get a penalty. Even in the two point play it was a tip ball and as far as I knew with a tipped ball you could run into as many people as you want to. The refs are telling me that the pass interference happened before the tipped ball. I asked if we could have a review and he said it was a non reviewable play. I don't know what you do from that point."
Matt Denham, So., RB
(On getting his first carry)
"It was a big relief. I had a lot of things to get off my shoulders. I had to show coach I could play at this level like he expects from all of his backs. We have to go out and perform and do what we do."
(On any talking between him and William Savoy)
"We've been talking a little bit on Twitter and talking about the game. Also, Chris White had texted me about it. So there's a little bit of home school rivalry going on there."
(On what it's been like to get some playing time)
"It feels good. UK didn't really work out for me like I expected it too. Coach Damron recruited me out of high school. He went to talk to coach Hood and coach came and talked to me and got me into the program. It took me a while. Last year I played a lot of special teams. Honestly, I thought I was ready, but I wasn't ready to play at this level. I came in and had a good spring, had a good camp and I felt coach could give me a little more lee way and that's where I am now."
(On how good Eastern Kentucky could be)
"We have the capability of being a really dangerous team. We came out here ready and executed. We had a couple bad calls by the refs that kept us out of the game. We have a good receiver and a good quarterback in T.J. Pryor. Our defense shows us that every game. We can be really dangerous going into the rest of the regular season."
Paul Henry, So., DL
(On going from offense to defense)
"It's been a big adjustment. It's a whole new type of play. You're a lot more on your toes and it's something I had to get used too this whole spring. I think I'm finally getting it going into the start of the season."
(On if he feels more comfortable on the defensive side of the ball)
"It seems like it's the best fit for me. Even the coaches have said they feel like they have found a home for me. The offensive side of the ball didn't seem to fit me right. So far this seems to be going good."
(On what it was like to play in this kind of atmosphere)
"It's something we got to do last year playing in the Indiana game. It's great when you get into this kind of atmosphere and you're buzzing and ready to go. Everybody is excited. It doesn't matter if it's your atmosphere or the other team's atmosphere. It's just something that gets you excited to play."
(On what they have learned about his team after two games)
"The first game we came out and were unhappy with the results we got. We have to give a lot of credit to Missouri State. They played a great game. We thought we got our heads screwed on straight this game. We came out and played hard. We prepared well. Louisville came out and played a good game and you have to give them credit for it. I think we've seen a lot of fight in our team and next week you'll see a team that is even better."
