Louisville Postgame Quotes
October 24, 2015 | Football
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Louisville Head Coach Bobby Petrino
“I'm excited for us. The thing I'm most pleased with is how our defense came back. We worked extremely hard all week. They came out and played fast and physical. We had a really good plan for our defensive staff and the kids executed - we put a lot of pressure on them. You know, we talked all week long that we can't give them points and that's what we did. We gave them points with the offense and not being able to finish the game at the end with the ball. We put a lot of pressure on the defense—they responded. They made all the plays when the pressure was on and really dominated the game. I was very proud of them offensively. When you look at the first half I thought we did some really good things. We had good stats at half time. We were doing good on third downs - we had moved the ball. We left a few points out there in the first half, but the second half was not anywhere close to what you need win a game. We did move the ball a few times when we were backed up—to flip the field and work some clock—but we need to get the ball into the end zone. We had a nice drive going and actually called a fade into the boundary and he (Lamar Jackson) threw it to the field. He had been making good decisions on that drive, but made an error there. We had a guy that can really run fades for us, in Jamari Staples, against their third corner and that's where you need to attack—that's what you need to go after. He just needs to learn that because we did a nice job moving the ball and he made good decisions driving it down there—then to throw that interception into the end zone really hurt—because we didn't get even a field goal out of it. We will keep working at it. We need our offense to come back like our defense did this week.”
(On the style of game, back-and-forth)
“I think they are a very good defense, they are experienced. They made some adjustments out there. Their players were smart. They showed all year long they can play some defense. That is why I was happy with where we were at halftime. I felt we could come out and score a couple times in the second half and finish the game. But instead, we gave them some points on the board and really made it a close one. I was nervous about our defense because I felt they played well against Clemson—they ran the ball well, they made some plays, they got the ball in the end zone. So when you are looking at the scoreboard you are very nervous, but our defense just did a great job and came up with huge plays.”
(On getting a win)
“It is great getting a win, no question. It was not pretty—it was ugly. But there are a lot of positives there too. We have to build on the positives and try to put a streak together—which would start Friday night at Wake Forrest, so it is important for us to do a good job on our preparation. We are going to give them Sunday off, so they'll be off tomorrow. We'll bring them back in late afternoon on Monday, and practice Monday night—which will be a normal Tuesday practice for us, and we'll just get on that type of schedule.”
(On whether he ever considered changing quarterbacks)
“I didn't have any thought of that at all. I think that when we didn't move the ball a lot of it was up front. We turned some guys lose and we had some negative plays. Against that defense, you can't have negative plays. There were times we drove it down there and then we had a misread, lose five yards, get a penalty, lose five more yards, and move the ball backwards. That's something that we have to really work on and get better. I was really disappointed in our penalties. We had a couple of them at the center, we had a couple of them jumping offsides. That, I think, hurt us just as much as anything.”
(On false starts against the center)
“He's moving the ball. He was anticipating. Again, little things that we do every single day. We've got to get that straightened out.”
(On whether the defense success was more attributable to effort or the opponent)
“I think definitely a better effort. Our team played extremely fast and they played extremely hard. Someone told me that we held them to 71 yards. Now that's not the best offense we've faced all year, and they've had their issues all year, but we dominated them. And we needed to win the game. That's what we needed from our defense. I know we're going to put the video on and see them flying around and playing with a lot of enthusiasm, and making plays.”
(On what he liked from his team offensively in the second half)
“I liked the two times when we were backed up, that we were able to move the ball and switch the field, but we made some mistakes and we weren't able to go in and score. We weren't able to do that. We did do a good job of completing some passes when the pressure was on. It's really nice to have Jamari (Staples) back. (James) Quick's doing a great job for us. It was great to see (Javonte) Bagley step in and make plays for us. He's a guy who really didn't start playing football until he was a junior in high school. He's extremely talented, but he's kind of just learning the game. He keeps getting better. When Jaylen (Smith) got hurt, it was great to see him come in and make plays for us.”
(On Sheldon Rankin's fumble return touchdown)
“That was a nice run, a nice scoop-and-score. It was a really nice job. I think everyone gave him a hard time last year when he picked off that shuffle pass (against Wake Forest) and got tackled, so he might have spent some time working at it.”
(On the performance of Trevon Young)
“He's doing a real nice job for us. He's extremely quick. He's doing a good job of anticipating the snap and working hard in the video room to give him some tips, much like Elvis (Dumervil) used to do. Elvis used to study the quarterback, used to study the center. They'll have him get off and get on the edge. I'm really proud of him. I think he's done a great job for us and really has been our best edge rusher.”
(On the offensive line play)
“Yeah, they didn't play well. They didn't play like we need them to. But, that's probably one of the best front guys and group of linebackers that we're going to face. They're very, very experienced. They're very smart. They did a good job. And we knew going in that it was going to be hard. No. 52 (Steven Daniels), he's just a really good player, and smart and he does some things on his own that really are hard for you - gap's covered, he goes to the next gap. He's not only just a really good player he's very smart. He's a lot faster than he was a year ago. He's trimmed down and he's having a great year for them.”
(On the tight end position having zero catches today)
“We needed to use them in protection a lot today. That was the hardest thing. It was frustrating for our tight ends. They like catching the ball. They're good at it. They can run and catch the ball. But, they were utilized a lot in protection to try to help us get the ball out and convert some passes and some third downs.”
Sheldon Rankins, Sr., DE
(You held them to 79 yards, what was the key to the defense today)
“We had to get after them, we came up with a great scheme and just knew we had to execute. Obviously last week didn't go the way we wanted it too so rebounding this week was big for us. Back at home, ACC game we knew we had to come out with a win.”
(Take me through your fumble recovery score. What was going through your mind?)
“The first thing I'm thinking is just don't let it slip through your fingers. Then when I finally scooped it up the first thing I'm thinking is I hope nobody is behind me to tackle me. Then when I got into the open field it was good to see my teammates blocking for me, pushing me in the end zone. We came away with a touchdown.”
(On defense, did you all ever feel that the game was out of hand? What was the talk on the sideline?)
“We just knew that we had to keep plugging. This was a defensive game and they are the number one defense coming into the game. So we knew it was going to come down to defense. We knew we had to come out, maybe we aren't statistically the best defense you know better than them, but today we had to be the better defense and I think we did that.”
(When you picked up that ball, how bad did you want that touchdown?)
“About as bad as I want a sack really. As soon as I picked it up, I was just praying that no one was behind me to knock it out of my hands, and the rest is kind of history. You know, some natural running back ability came out, so I'm happy about that today.”
(On his reaction if he sees the play on SportCenter's top 10)
“First of all, I hope it's on Sportscenter Top 10, but just, I'm probably going to smile every time I look at it. Probably gonna watch it all night, tomorrow, the next day, it's one of those things that I'll never forget.”
(On how the defense took control)
“Yeah, just coming off of last week, guys knew we had to step up. Guys looked at the tape last week, you know, we didn't like what we saw. I won't get into the details of what we saw, but know it wasn't what, you know, we want to be as a defense. You know, our identity as Coach Grantham likes to say, so just coming into this week we had great practices, everybody was focused, went out there in warm-ups today, everybody was ready to go, and we came out and executed. We came away with the victory. Like I said earlier to someone else, we may not statistically be a better defense than Boston Collegebut today we knew we had to be a better defense than them.”
(Did you get the game ball?)
“I didn't. I want somebody to bring it to me, but I doubt that'll happen, but it's neither here nor there.”
(Take us through when Trumaine Washington stripped)
“My job on the play was to contain. So once I did that, I just kind of locked out and found vision on the ball, and as soon as I did that, the ball was on the ground. It just kinda rolled my way, and it's like God told me, 'Go pick it up, and have fun with it,' you know, and I did it.”
(Have you scored a touchdown in the past?)
“In college, no. High school, yes.”
(As a running back, or as a defensive player?)
“Both.”
(Do you remember the last time this defense scored on a fumble return?)
“A fumble return? No.”
(You stripped it and Preston Brown scored.)
“Oh yeah, wow. That's taking it back, ok. Sophomore year. Yeah. Glad to be a part of both of them then.”
(Someone at ESPN tweeted out that you were 260 pounds. How long has it been since you were that?)
“Uh, it's been about four years. It's been about four years since I've been 260 pounds.”
(So what is your official weight right now?)
“My official weight? I couldn't tell you. It's probably, it's anywhere between 300 and 305.”
(So you view these second, last six games as a kind of new start to the season, or is it?)
“Not necessarily. We've always kinda had a “one game” mentality. Every game is a, you know, it's a one game season every week. Next week it'll be something different, you know, maybe we struggle next week, offense has to pick us up. It just comes with the territory of playing football, so we pick it up as one game season and try to execute to the best of our ability each week.”
(Is your approach changed at all when you look outside and see weather condition wise it's not sunny, it's rainy off and on, and possibly sloppy.)
“No, not really. I mean, when you think about football it just kind of, it just kind of comes with, you know. Most times it's raining, you know, most teams are gonna try running the ball and trying to not throw the ball, you know, it can get slippery, things like that. So we knew, rain or shine, we were gonna have to stop the run. That's what they hang their hat on. We knew we were gonna have to stop the run, get them behind the sticks and make their quarterbacks beat us, and we were able to do that.”
Lamar Jackson, Fr., QB
(How did you feel your effort was today? How was ankle?)
“I just felt a little tedious nag, but I still should have performed better.”
(What do you think you could do better?)
“Make the right decision. I was trying, but at the same time I know I could have been better… and those turnovers were not good.”
(On that last throw, where was the pass supposed to go?)
“It should have been to the back shoulder because both my guy and their guy were even, and I just floated it up trying to give my receiver a chance, but I made a bad decision.”
(Talk about what it was like in the locker room after the game)
“All of us were really excited because we just lost last week.”
(Do you come away really happy after a game like this because you won, or do you have some disappointment that the offense didn't get going?)
“I'm happy we won because everyone wants to win, but my performance and how the offense performed was not good. I should have been the leader of the offense so we should have just gone out there and gave the defense a lot of time on the field and we should have been running up the score.”
(How good was the Louisville's defense?)
“Our defense did do really good today.”
(What made Boston College's defense so tough?)
“Well they were sending a lot of blitzes and trying to mix up their defense and it was just throwing our offense off a little.”
(BC came in today ranked as a top total defense, but you guys managed 365 total yards, but only 10 points off of them. What was the offense's frustration like?)
“We kept getting too excited because we were thinking that we were about to score and we were getting anxious trying to make a big play instead of staying focused on offense.”
(What kind of things could you work on in practice to help improve on that?)
“Practice in the red zone and just go harder.”
(Talk about DeVante Peete and the chemistry that you all had on the field today.)
“Yeah. In practice he had been showing a lot of effort and had been getting open in practice, so I just knew that he was going to do the same thing in the game. The opponents that was guarding him were making it easy.”
(How are you coming along with your game and learning the offense and how much longer do you think you have to go?)
“I need to work on a little more so I can get some more passes off sooner instead of just running plays.”
(On how comfortable he is with ReggieBonnafon in the backfield)
“Very comfortable. We are close and we have a lot of chemistry together and we talk about it a lot together.”
(How is he progressing at the running back position?)
“He looks pretty good, very good. He can run the ball and he can take hits and he delivers the blow.”
Keith Kelsey, Jr., LB
(On Sheldon Rankins touchdown and athleticism)
“I was happier than he was when he scored that touchdown. The athleticism to be that big and to see how the fans got loud. I was happier for him so I had to show him my love when he got there. It was a great play by Trumaine Washington with the strip fumble on the quarterback and then heads up play by Sheldon to just pick it up and run. We just had to block for him and he got there. Well you don't see that too often. Sheldon ran 4.8 when we did 40s at 300 something pounds. You don't see that very often, he's real athletic for his size.”
(On defense having something to prove and practice this week)
“It was really tough. Coach P got on us and we just went hard. Last week was over and we just had to come forward and work on a new game plan. Everything else is behind us and we wanted to have fun.”
(On defense winning the game)
“It felt great. To see the fans get into the game and get loud and the whole sideline. We had a lot of fun out there too. It's very easy when you have a lot of fun.”
(On mentality of defense in practice this week)
“We got just as good players as anybody else. We just had to keep that focus in the locker room, in the film room, and on the field because we know we have great athletes as well, but we just have to gel together as a defense.”
(On where defensive intensity comes from)
“It came from within. We've been playing football since we were young. We went out there and had fun in the rain, ran the ball, went out there and just did it.”
(On defense playing well but the game remaining close due to the offense)
“Offense is our brothers, we always got their back and they got our back. Defense's job is to go out there and help the offense and offense helps the defense.”
(On Trevon Young's potential)
“Trevon is athletic too. His get up off the ball, we see it every day in practice and now he's finally getting to show his talents out there on the field and everybody can see him.”
(On going through concussion protocol this week)
“It was a long process. Got to be very cautious on that because concussions are very serious nowadays. You got to take a lot of tests, get up early and just do a lot of tests. Overall it went good, I got to get out there with my brothers.”
(On the defense's focus on effort today)
“It was a pride thing, we know that wasn't us last week. We know we're supposed to go out there and play hard every week. Coach Grantham puts us in the right position every game and it's up to us to go out there and make those plays.”
(On today being an ugly game)
“No, this was the type of game I like to see right here. The whole defense, the team in general, and offense too. Offense made a couple big plays today as well too so we can't overlook that.”
(On thoughts about being in the spotlight for Friday's game)
“We're going to feel good, we know we have to play for each other and everyone in that locker room. We don't focus on anything else.”
(On whether coach's message was effort or fundamental related)
“It was everything – effort, fundamentals and things we've been doing our whole life and been doing since we've been here so there was no excuse for that.”
Boston College Head Coach Steve Addazio
(Opening statement)
“Obviously disappointing, obviously our kids battled. We gave up eight sacks. Eight sacks led to uncounted amounts of yardage that were given away on sacks and negative yardage plays which is just not acceptable. We have got to play so much better up front then what we have played today. That was just not good. There was effort all over the field, but eight sacks, I don't think I have ever seen that before. Whether we were throwing play action on first and second down or whether we were throwing drop back, we couldn't protect the quarterback at all. We threw the ball a lot more than we ever have, but if you can't protect the quarterback and end up with negative yardage plays then that's what's going to happen. Did we battle, did we scrap all over the field? Yes, we did all over the field. Were there some moments? Yes there were some moments. My mind just goes to eight sacks when you have a bunch a guys free. It is as simple as that. We didn't take care of the football on one of the corner blitzes where he strips the ball and it results in a touchdown. Taking a sack is one thing but we can't give up the ball like that. The ball came out and I think we had one turnover and that was it. So we had the one turnover that resulted in a touchdown but the story is to not being able to protect the quarterback. That's the story on offense. If you're going to start throwing the ball, if you're starting to play a lot of play action and you don't protect the quarterback it is not going to happen. Even with all that we had an opportunity at the end off of Elisha's fingertips to get a first down to get us in a somewhat manageable position to win the game.”
(On injured player being carted off the field)
“He is in the hospital right now having surgery.”
(On defensive performance)
“They played strong, they played hard, created some turnovers which is terrific. Early on in the game we flipped the field negatively, which is always problematic when you're struggling on offense and you get the field flipped. One time we had field position when we got stripped, sacked which resulted in a touchdown. We actually had good field position. Otherwise we saw the long field. From that advantage point obviously we want to keep the field but I thought we battled.”
(On momentum change after blocked punt)
“I felt good about the spark, but I'm a line guy. When I know that we're not blocking them up front, I know that usually means trouble. I loved the spark. I felt good about it and I was hopeful that we could get it going up front, but all day long we had so many guys just cut free. I don't think I have ever seen anything like that. Just one on one, it is the same old story. We make a lot of mental mistakes. You know, they're young and it is going to take a while. And that's just a fact. And that's what's going on right now, a lot of youth that is always getting beat. We have to mature up front.”
(On if the eight sacks attributed to a veteran defensive line going up against your young offensive line)
“Yeah, I don't know exactly which guys were free. I told you earlier in the week that I thought they had some really good pass rushers. But you know, you don't need to be cutting guys free like that. Jeff Smith I mean, they were on him so quick that he couldn't even take a step. That happened a countless amount of times. All the way up until the last play of the game. We were beat on the edges and the kid didn't even have a chance to throw the football. Got beat so fast.”
(Did Jeff Smith get hit on the last pass to Elijah Robinson)
“I don't think so.”
(Did it just come off his hand bad)
“I am not sure. I heard some talk of that but I am not sure if he got hit. Maybe, I don't think so but you know what happens some times is that you are kind of throwing off your back foot. That is what my guess would be, but I will have to watch the tape to make sure. I think the ball was still probably catchable though. Sometimes when you are smaller in stature back there, it is hard to see over that and you can get swallowed up in the pressure. Then what happens is you to start to bail out of there a little quicker because you want to see it and sometimes you need to stay in there because that is where the pocket is. But on that particular play, there was definitely penetration so I am guessing is that he threw off his back foot a little because of that penetration that would be my guess. But I don't know that.”
(On winning the last four out of five games and this loss putting Boston College under pressure to be bowl eligible)
“Yeah it does, sure. I am more focused right now on the eight sacks right now and finding the rights mix of guys up front. You know we are playing a lot of young guys up there with a sprinkling of old guys rotating. I have to take really good look at that and just get my arms around it because it was just particularly poor. We have played some really good defenses up to this point, but I haven't seen it quite like that. Now we also threw the ball an uncharacteristically amount of times today. That lends itself to that because we were getting a lot of eight and nine guy pressures. We made an effort to get the ball out quicker; he just couldn't set his feet.”
(On if it was the game plan to come in and throw it more often)
“We tried to throw some play action passes in there yeah. Tried to get some more balance so there wouldn't be so much onus on the front. We lost Tyler Rouse during the game and then we lost Marcus Outlow for a while during the game. He was pretty banged up, Jordan Gowins didn't practice during the week with the groin, so we were down to Myles (Willis) and we were really depleted at the running back position at that point in time. I don't think I have ever seen a season with so many running backs get depleted like this. So we tried to throw more play actions because we were getting eight and nine man fronts, but also in addition to that we were running out of gas. We are taking a real hit there right now and now we are down to our second string quarterback which is tough. I thought Jeff (Smith) was working hard in the game, he was just a victim of poor protection.”`
(Still you want him making that play for you on that sweep Jeff Smith)
“That was the rollout? We tried to roll out as much as we could today to get away from the pressure, there was a lot of field edge pressure coming. Down there we were able to get the corner and he was able to score there which is great I think the ball was on the ground I think Louie recovered the ball in the end zone for the touchdown. I think we lost the ball on contact. That's when he got knocked out.”
(Is he going to be out for an extended period)
“You never know with those things. You have no idea. It all depends on what happens in the next couple days.”
(On the TV broadcast, an analyst said something to the effect that Steve Addazio knows a bowl game isn't in the cards this year. Do you still believe this team can make a bowl this season)
“I'm glad he's speaking for me. I'm just worried about getting a first down right now. I'm worried about winning. I don't really sit there and go through all that stuff, when you're in the middle of this right now, playing a bunch of young guys and you have a bunch of injuries like we do right now you're trying to find the right pieces to win. That's where I'm at right now. As Mike just said it right there, he said that to me, I'm sure were up against it right now, no question; because we need seven this year we don't need six we need seven; but right now, my total focus is, trying to shore up where all the leaks are right now and they keep coming. See what happens is when you just get completely decimated with injuries and you were young before you even started the year, this is what happens. So I've got to, one step at a time address what happened with the young offensive line here. Go back to work and fix it. I got to take a look at the running back situation, were pretty depleted right now. Who's really going to be available and take a hard look at that. We're a run team and we kind of got taken out of that game today because of personnel. That's not going to be good for us, so my thing is one day at a time. One day at a time one week at a time. We made progress coming off the Clemson game and I felt good about that. I was concerned coming in here. I figured like usual, we'd make a few, give a few, make a few, give a few. That's what I kind of thought would happen here, and it started that way a little bit and we just couldn't keep doing that. Going to play action passes really hurt us. We were throwing a lot on first down. It hurt us badly, because early down, play action when you give up sacks on those. Just negative yardage plays that's why the stats are so poor at the end. I'd like to see how many lost yards there were. Probably 100, 100 lost yards I'm guessing, that's a lot. Then of course the strip sack goes against you; all those lost yards in there. It's hard to start chucking it around when you're really young up front. It's very very difficult and that's why, but we wanted to create some explosives, we were depleted in the running backs; so you're like this, darned if you do darned if you don't. That's what happens, that's it in a nutshell, that's not who we are, when you get out of your element. We're probably down about 7 or 8 guys right now.”
(On considering moving personnel around for that running back spot)
“We have Rich Wilson that we kind of converted to a fullback, but we'll bring him back into the fold, Jordan Gowins, were all excited about his potential, hopefully he can practice this week and we can kind of get him going. That would help us a lot. Miles, his shoulder looked like it was bothering him at the end he tried to warrior it out; Marcus the same thing, I have to get updated exactly what his status is right now. I just know Tyler was out I don't know what his status is right now, I haven't got any feedback yet in terms of real determination status. Then of course Jeff, I'm sure will be day by day which is never good when you have a freshman quarterback who probably won't practice; so that's never a good thing because there's a protocol and once you trigger that protocol there's 'X' amount of days before you can go, you might get cleared but again, freshman quarterback, I don't know.”
Boston College Players
Troy Flutie, R-Fr., QB
(Did you feel prepared when you came in to execute the offense?)
“Yeah, definitely. I've been working, working hard this week, I thought. I thought I could have come in there and did it, but some plays didn't go our way and I missed some passes and we didn't get it done.”
(How intense was the pressure?)
“They brought some pressure, but it wasn't that intense. Nothing we hadn't seen before.:
(In terms of when the defense came up with that big turnover, did you get a sense that you could get this thing done?)
“Absolutely. I had confidence in us the whole time. I had confidence in myself. I knew we could have come out there and did it, but we just didn't get it done.”
(Was the timing off because of the pressure you guys kept seeing?)
“Not really. The passes were there, they were there. They brought some pressure, but it wasn't a full out blitz.”
(Was the throw to Elijah (Robinson) of the back foot?)
“Yeah, definitely. I didn't step into it. It was short. It was a huge missed pass.”
(Do you think you have enough experience to go in to Virginia Tech with confidence?)
“I've been in there. I've played enough. If I end up playing, which I don't have any ideas with what is going on yet, that's a question for coach, but if I do get thrown in, a good week of practice I think we will be ready.”
John Johnson, Jr., DB
(Can you just comment on the game Steven Daniels had, and that senior leadership he showed out there on the defense?)
“He had a great game. It was great leadership. He went down for a little and I thought he was done, but he came back and finished the game strong. I'm proud of him and I love him as my brother.”
(It seemed like there was one sequence that sparked this team… the sack(Gabriel) McClary) had and your blocked punt and the return by Elijah (Robinson) for the touchdown. It seemed like a couple bang-bang plays that may have given you guys the sense you could turn it around?)
“Yeah, we thought we had them. Momentum started going our way, but we didn't get the scores we needed to win the game. At the end of the day we just have to keep making plays to put ourselves in position to win the game.”
(Was that a stunt on the line or did you break through clean?)
“Oh yeah we schemed it up, but I'm not going to release exactly what we did. We definitely schemed it up and it paid off.”
Harris Williams, Sr., OL
(On giving up eight sacks?)
“It was very tough. It's on us - the offensive line. We have to come back next week. We have to be better. Definitely on us and definitely a chip on our shoulders. It's not anybody else's fault besides us.”
(How uncharacteristic was it to turn guys loose like that?)
“It's hugely uncharacteristic of Boston College. You know our pedigree is something that we pride ourselves on. So it's something that is really, really getting at us.”
(Do you see things that you can fix this week at Virginia Tech?)
“Yeah, definitely. We've just got to work on our coming together as a unit and playing more confidently.”
