Louisville-Kent State Postgame Quotes
September 23, 2017 | Football
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No. 19 Louisville 42, Kent State 3
Sept. 23, 2017 | Papa John's Cardinal Stadium
Postgame Quotes
Louisville Head Coach Bobby Petrino
(Opening statement)
“We basically came out and took care of business and did what we were supposed to do. I thought that the defense did a nice job of controlling the line of scrimmage. I thought we played physical. I liked the way we tackled. It was good to get a whole bunch of guys in there and get experience. Obviously, we weren't challenged with the passing game at all, but it was good to see them play fast and do their assignments. You know, the biggest thing when you go against an option team is being disciplined with your assignments. We took the dive. We got the quarterback and the pitch. They did get us a couple of times on that quarterback draw when we actually put six guys in the box and told them it was coming. So, it was a good job by them executing that play.
Offensively, we were sporadic. I liked the way we opened the game. Took the ball right down and scored. I liked what we did right before half. It was a nice two-minute drive, nice job of executing it. I'm really disappointed in the turnovers. I didn't feel we would come in here and turn the ball over. I did like the fact that we got Puma (Jawon Pass) in there and Colin Wilson, some of our younger guys. I liked what I saw from Puma. He executed. He made a check out there to a really nice run play. He did a good job. Unfortunately, Josh (Johnson) fumbled the ball out of the end zone. It would have been nice to take it and go 99-yards and get a touchdown. But, we didn't get him in enough. That's what is disappointing to me is that we weren't able to get enough points on the board early to get him in earlier in the game. And they did play four corners on us. That's always frustrating. I don't like that very much. I thought our kids kept their poise. The defense played hard. It didn't affect how our defense was playing. So, that was good.”
(On Malik Williams)
“Malik does a nice job of seeing the hole and accelerating. I think that's the thing that he gives us, that acceleration and power. He does get hit hard. He gets banged up. He's limping again today, so it's going to be important that we continue to bring Colin (Wilson) along and get (Reggie Bonnafon) his catches and touches. We're doing a good job getting Reggie catches, but we need to get him more touches. It was kind of a situation where we didn't have the ball enough really to run it and force the run. We just had to go throw it. I thought Lamar made good decisions. It's unfortunate the one pick was right in Dez's hands and then I don't know what happened on the other one. You'll have to ask him, because that's unusual for him. I don't know if he had pressure in his face or whatever, but the ball just got away from him. And then obviously we can't turn it over with the fumble. I think as the week went on our offensive line got better and worked hard at it. It was good to get the young tight ends in. Jordan Davis… woke up this morning and Micky Crum was very, very sick. He was up all night throwing up, so he wasn't able to play. So, I thought those two guys did a nice job. Jordan wasn't even supposed to be in on that first play, but he ended up running the right route and catching the ball. We've got to quit getting caught from behind. We need to get a little second gear. We need to go score.”
(You talked about Micky (Crum). There were some other players held out today. What's the overall health of your team, and what was the decision to hold those guys out?)
“Jalen's (Smith) got an injury, unfortunately. The time table is up in the air a little bit, he won't play next week for sure. It's a sad thing. He's been playing really, really well for us and he's our go-to guy and he's going to be out for a while. Drew (Bailey) is kind of nicked up with his ankle, and he wasn't able to practice full-speed, or practice much all week, so we made the decision to hold him. Stacy (Thomas) was serving a one game suspension for violation of team rules. I thought it was important for him to be on the sideline and help his teammates, so that's why he was dressed.”
(You seemed frustrated with the O-line after the fourth down stop. Did you like the way they responded after that?)
“Yeah, I was really frustrated with the fourth down. We need to be able to come off and power block, power run the ball, and we didn't get anything. So it was upsetting to me. I did think they came back and did some better things as the game went on, but we have to count on that. We don't want to have to be throwing the ball on fourth-and-1. We want to be able to hand it off, block the guys, get a lead blocker out there. A lot of times that's your opportunity to make big plays, because everyone gets so tight that you can go through and make big runs on fourth down. We'll make sure we spend some good time working on that.”
(Cole Bentley was another one (injured player))
“Cole got hurt in practice. It was Monday night. He was playing really hard, doing a great job, then he got a concussion and had to go through the concussion protocol, and that put him out for the game. It's just one of those things that happens. It's terrible timing because we were going to play him a lot, get him a lot of experience. He's been really coming along and doing a good job for us. I even wanted to have him in there with the 1s, so it's just one of those situations. Hopefully he gets back and can play next week, but I'm not really sure where he's at right now.”
(Do you feel that you got the player response that you were looking for after last week?)
“Yeah, I did. I thought they came out and worked extremely hard during the week. They had a good attitude. When you lose a game like we did to Clemson, it always challenges your attitude first, and our guys had good attitudes and put a lot of hard work on the field. Like I said, we did some 1s versus 1s in inside run and we did some 1s versus 1s in what we call PUP, which is pass under pressure so we get the live look in pass rush, and for our D-line because of what we were facing this week we wanted to continue to work on pass rush even though we weren't going to see it in this game.”
(Did Jaylen get hurt in practice?)
“No, he got hurt in the Clemson game. We don't know exactly when because he woke up the next morning with it. We're thinking it was late in the game on Dez's (Fitzpatrick) touchdown is what I was told. He ran an in-cut and they held him. It might have been the play before when he dove for the ball. That's when he's thinking it happened, but he really come in after the game, but the next morning.”
(On the injuries starting to pile up)
“You don't really think about those things, you've just got to go, compete and the next guy has got to stop up and go. You need more play out of Dez (Fitzpatrick) he's going to be in there for a lot more reps and be able to make plays. Corey Reed is a guy that had a great week of practice. I was really excited about the way he practiced. He's a big, physical young man and he's going to be a really, really good player here before it's over with and we've got to get some catches and yardage out of him. And then Josh Johnson, you saw his ability to run after the catch and that's something that we've got to be able to use too – tuck the ball away and not get fumbled from behind. It is what is, you've just got to keep going.”
(After starting the season against three tough power five teams, was it nice to have a game like today?)
“No, not at all. Games like this drive me crazy, to be honest with you. You want to do everything right and everything perfect. You don't even really look at the scoreboard. You're just wanting to execute. It's hard to be happy in a game like this.”
(On the key to offensive consistency)
“I think it's all the weapon guys doing their job together. When you're not consistent – one guy makes a mistake here, the next guy makes a mistake over here - we worked really hard in practice this week trying to correct that. We had an extra meeting on that alone. Offense is a side of the ball where all 11 guys have to do their jobs. They have to do it together and pose great effort and we're just making too many errors right now and that's my job to make sure we execute what we're calling and what we're running and get off and play fast. We've got to get rid of the errors.”
(On Jawon Pass going in on the one-yard line)
“I was glad to see that when you put pressure on him, he can throw the ball. That was good for him, something that you always want to be able to do coming out of there. He made great decisions. Even on that play, the corner was kind of hanging in nowhere land he went outside in and made a good decision to take Josh on it instead of trying to force the hitch out there. He made a really nice check out of a bad run play into a good run play. That was really good to see. That was when Colin hit really hard and had a chance to go. Then he executed and did his progressions. Jawon is always kind of a laid back guy. I get on him all the time about walking too slow or being the last guy to do this. Maybe that really helps him because he doesn't get too upset. He's very coachable, he takes it all. I think he tries to drive me nuts by walking slow.”
(Over the last couple of weeks there seem to be some balls that have gone through receivers' hands, is there something in practice you do to try and fix that issue)
“I disagree with you that they don't give the max effort, because I think our guys play really hard. They work real hard at it and today we didn't look the ball in on the one interception. Dez was trying to run too quick with it. He has great hands so sometimes he gets away with that. We have to go back and do a drill we call 'words and blanks' where you have to look it all the way in and tuck it way and blanks are showing at you or words are showing at you, so you over emphasize the look and the tuck. We don't like to see dropped balls, we work really hard at it. Â But, that is part of the game and what you have to do to be able to overcome it, that's the biggest thing.” Â
Lamar Jackson, Jr., QB
(What went into coming back off that loss last week and just getting back on the field?) “That's part of the game. Sometimes it's not going to go your way. The week before, you've got to either have it in your mind or go out the next weekend and perform well.
(You set another school record today, how many more do you think you'll set while at Louisville?) “I'm not trying to set any records. I just go out there trying to help my team get in the best situation, win games. That's all it's about. If records come, they come. “
(Are you focused at all on winning another Heisman?) “I'm just trying to win all these games, that's the main thing. I'm not worried about a Heisman.”
(What did you think of Jawon (Pass)'s performance when he goes in at the one?) “I've been telling you guys I love seeing him out there. That's just the beginning, what you're seeing. He's making checks and stuff on his own. And that's tremendous. I probably wouldn't have done it- I would've been too scared, if anything. He's great.”
(How sharp did you feel early passing the ball? You seemed to be fairly crisp) “I just went out there calm. Followed the game plan. Tried to get the ball out of my hand as quick as possible. Tried to get my receivers and playmakers the ball.”
(Lamar, did you notice Colin Wilson throw up a little on the field?) “He told me, and I told him 'I'm glad you didn't get it on me.”
(How did things change without Jaylen (Smith) in the lineup?) “We had a couple new guys out there but they learn fast. They run their routes full speed, out there trying to better themselves. It started in practice, but we're going to keep going. Jaylen not being there, guys are filling in and working hard.”
(Were you entertained by the squirrel out there on the field?) “I heard everyone cheering and stuff, and then I noticed the squirrel out there. It was funny. All of us started laughing, it was cool. He scored a touchdown.”
(He had more rushing yards than Kent State) “Yeah. He got more than me, I think too.”
(How frustrated were you about the three turnovers today?) “I wasn't really frustrated. I was got mad at myself because I threw one last week, then I threw one this week and I threw another one. I was kind of ticked off, but you know, you just got to go and play football, that's all it is. I just don't like a screw up when we were trying to score.”
(The second interception- what happened there?) “I pump faked  the ball and tried to get it to Traveon (Samuel) overthrown. It was a bad throw. He probably would've scored off that. I owe him. I always say, if I mess up, I owe you.”
Jawon Pass, r-Fr., QB
(Jawon what's going through your mind when you know you're going in and the ball is on the one yard line?) “I just tried to stay focused, you know and move the ball given that situation that we was in.”
(Kind of a sense of relief after that first play, when you get a little distance from you and the goal line?) “I knew that once we got out of the goal line we would get rolling, things would get rolling.”
(Given your spot do you route for a lead, score more touchdowns so I know I can get in later?) “Yeah that's what I was hoping, they did a good job of getting a good lead so that I could get an opportunity.”
(Jawon were you surprised there was a pass play was called there on the one inch line, for your very first play?) “No, I was expecting coach Petrino to take a shot, he likes to take a shot in the goal line so I was ready for it.”
(Coach said you are pretty laid back, how would you describe your personality?) “I would say I'm laid back too, I try to stay calm and collected.”
(He said you walk too slow) “He always tells me to speed up or pick it up. He be messing with me about that. Yeah I'm pretty laid back.”
(What's it like playing he hind the Heisman trophy winner?) “I look at it as a positive I get to watch him and learn from him. He gets to go out there, I learn from his mistakes so it's a blessing to me to be behind the Heisman winner.”
(What are some of the things that he has taught you?) “Everything, not just about football but off the field too. How to handle success and a lot of things. I just learn from him everyday.”
(Jawon did you have to keep a leveled head and kind of temper your expectations knowing you're going in for less than a quarter and it was already a big lead. What's your mind set in that kind of situation?) “I didn't try to worry about it too much I tried to get the most out of my opportunity.”
Colin Wilson, Fr., RB
(Colin what was it like getting in there and seeing your first real minutes of the year?) “It felt good I just be waiting, being patient, trying to get in shape but other than that it felt really good.”
(Tell us about that one play, you showed some pretty good balance.) “I don't know I just felt my body on top of his, I just knew I didn't go down so I just played through the whistle.”
(Did you get sick a little bit out there) “I don't know what happened. I just got in my chest and I let it out.”
(But you kept playing you didn't come out) “I had to keep playing through it, I had to fight through it.”
(Have you ever done that before in a game?) “Yeah I've done that in practice before, but that was the first time ever doing it in a game.”
(Colin what's it been like for you coming in late and having to kind of catch up. What's it been like the process to get to this moment where you finally get in the game?) “Well it took a minute to get the plays once got in I started getting in the process, getting in the rotation, it felt good.  I was feeling alright.”
(Do you see your roll increasing now that you're starting to pick things up and becoming part of the rotation?) “I feel like coach will start putting me in a lot more as the season starts getting deeper and as we get to the playoffs and all that.”
Malik Williams
Dorian Etheridge
Jonathan Greenard
(Malik, talk about that touchdown run)
Malik Williams: “I felt real comfortable with that run. I saw Dez Fitzpatrick had a nice block on the edge and Reggie [Bonnafon], he had a nice block for me too. I just had to stiff arm and high step into the end zone.”
(Malik, what do you all think when you get a crowd going crazy and you look up at the scoreboard and see a squirrel out there and you see it on the field?)
Williams: “That was great. It was nice to see him score a touchdown and it had more yards than me.”
(How important do you think it is to get the Louisville running game going?)
Williams: “It's great. I think it's important to get the running back game going. It opens up a lot of the pass plays we do. It's just great to be out there performing.”
(How big is it to get Colin Wilson out into the group?)
Williams: He's a great back. It's great having him here. He's helping out tremendously, and it's great to have him in the mix.
(Did you think you got confidence boost just in the locker room after last week do you feel like you got that?)
Williams: “We all knew we had to come back and work harder and prepare harder, practice a lot harder, go over techniques, make sure we were fundamentally sound to do what we needed to do to go out and perform.”
(How were you physically?)
Williams: “Nothing, just a banger, stinger at the ankle. I'm alright though.”
(You finished leading the team in tackles today, how did you feel out there today?)
Dorian Etheridge: We just needed to get back into our groove after last week's game, and we were out there just flying around.
(Did you think four games into your career at Louisville you'd be leading in tackles?)
Etheridge: “Oh no. I mean it was a goal.”
(Talk about the defense's performance today)
Etheridge: Yeah, we were all definitely focused in on our assignments. With them being a triple option team, you've just got to do the same thing every play you can't get bored with doing your job right.”
(For any of you guys, how do you feel like you responded after the Clemson game during practice this week?)
Jonathan Greenard: “We were pretty focused throughout the whole week. That was our main thing going into this week. It's a loss so we've got to bounce back. It's our home, and we can't let up any more like we did last time so just stay with it. Stay focused. We kept pushing each other and picking each other up because we've still got a goal to reach at the end of the season, and that's why we were so focused this week.”
(A couple sacks for you today, you know what is it that makes you such a difficult pass rusher?)
Greenard: “I try to stay relentless. If you can't get there just keep going. Most times when you start lacking someone else makes the play, so I try to make every play out there. In my mind, even if its 30 yards down the field I'm still trying to make my play somehow, so just stay relentless and really being in good shape too.”
(What was the key to stopping Kent State's offense?)
Etheridge: “Everyone just playing disciplined. Because if you try to make too many plays on what's not your coverage or your responsibility, then, when it is your time, they can pop one out. Everybody just stayed together and really just did their job.”
(How difficult has it been to change defensive systems and how are you all adjusting?)
Greenard: “It's pretty much the same system we ran with our last defensive coordinator, Todd Grantham, but it's just new terminology. Once we realized that this play is this play, we all basically played the same as last year. At that point, it's just a confidence thing, and we just make sure we know the play and play faster and do different things out of different formations and do different things out of different blitzes. All of that just plays in the maturity of us and the gel we have together and the bond that we have—all realizing that we have to learn the defense as a whole, even if you don't know your position, you have to learn different positions to help each other out on the field. It's not that much of a difference, like I said, just different terminology. Staying focused is definitely key.”
(Does increased carries help you get into more of a rhythm?)
Williams: “No, I don't think it changed how I played. I just have to get in a rhythm, get focused, and read my keys and do what I can.”
(How much of a lesson was Coach Petrino pointing out a missed assignment last week?)
Williams: “It was a great lesson. I knew it. I just messed up and that's the thing, I just have to limit the errors and we'll be a great team.”
(Was the defense more aggressive today?)
Greenard: “Definitely. Our front—if you've seen the defense we played, I haven't even seen the defense before. It's definitely made for that offense. I feel like we just out more physical than them and hit them every time. We made sure we set the tone. We can't really adjust—got to make the other teams adjust to us. We went in with that mindset and were more physical than them, and that's what we did today.”
(What is like to have so many underclassmen on the field with the defense?)
Greenard: “It's cool because you realize these kids are just getting out of high school to play at this level, like Dorian came in early and just balled out—worked hard in the weight room, worked hard on the field, got in the film room. It's good to see that, to know that you're not the only one doing the extra stuff in film, extra workouts, you've got younger guys doing the same thing. So, his future's really bright. The sky's the limit for him.”
(Could you catch a squirrel in open space?)
Greenard: “I would say yes. I mean, I'm not going to say no, but I'm going to try my best. That squirrel today, he was a little slow, so I've got more of a chance.”
Kent State Head Coach Paul Haynes
Opening Statement
“Again overall thoughts, there were a lot of good things. Louisville is a great football team, give them credit, they have very dynamic players out there. We are shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit with turnovers when we start to move the football, but again you look at a guy like (Dustin) Crum, who is a true freshman quarterback that we threw into the mix, he did some really good things. But, this is when our season really starts. We're going into conference play and will be going against teams that are like us in all types of ways and we look forward to that. I'm proud of our guys and our effort. There was a lot of times defensively it was a bit of a dumb break, we kept on getting turnovers, which was good. Again, Demetrius (Monday) had two of them and Elvis Hines, another freshman, ripped the ball out. If we continue to do those things, then we will have chances in our upcoming games. You look at our cover units, it's the same thing, we are doing a good job and that will give us a chance to win some games.”
Down 21-0 on the road, are you doing the same things as a coaching staff?
“It's tough again, especially when you are talking about a team like this and getting down 21-0. It is tough to climb out of that hole. But, again, like I said, I like our guys' fight because we didn't give up. That is really all we talked about at halftime; I don't know what it was, what 28-0 or something. It basically is on how we play the game and what we do fundamentally to make sure that we continue to get better. We shot ourselves in the foot with the turnovers, but like I said, there are a lot of good things moving forward.”
You played two quarterbacks today, what did you see in each guy?
“Again, out of Bollas you look for the experience and being confident. He has the tools and the talent. We just have to make sure we bring it out of him. Crum is one of those, I have to choose my words right, but when you are a freshman, you just kind of go play and that is kind of what he is doing. I think he is a very smart kid, so he will get better with reps. You never know how a young kid is going to do until you throw him into a fire. He did a lot of good things out there, but ball security and stuff like that, we have to make sure we handle it better. But, there are a lot of good things you can take from this tape of a young freshman quarterback that you can win some football games with.”
Defensively Lamar Jackson didn't go off as he has in the past, anything specific you guys did to stop him?
“I think there was a little bit of two things, probably a little bit of it was their game plan. You can see him sitting in the pocket, and in other games you can see him taking off a little bit more. But, we didn't do anything special to sit there and make him do those things. I think maybe he had the thought process of staying in the pocket and trying to find more receivers, which I'm thankful for.”
Talk a little bit about Kesean Gamble and his yards after contact.
“He looks like another No. 34 we used to have, you know in Trayion (Durham). But, Kesean is another young freshman that plays the right way. He runs downhill and he's tough to tackle, he's a big ole back. Again, when we look down the road with all these opponents we have coming up that are a little bit more like us, then he should be a force for us.”
21 Demetrius Monday (CB)
Walk through your two interceptions.
“Both of them were kind of like just there for the taking. I just have to thank my teammates for the second one, our players were in the right position to force Lamar to overthrow it a little bit. The first one, I'm just glad my teammates were there, I have to give them thanks. We fought hard and some things you just have to seize the moment”.
How difficult is it to get down in a game against an opponent like that on their field? Like you said, you all didn't give up and you kept fighting, can you talk about that?
“It's always difficult because you don't want to point the finger at anybody; you just want to keep your team together, so it's pretty hard. But, we have a lot of leaders that try to step up, like myself and a lot of seniors, we try to step up and keep everybody intact. We try to make sure no negative thoughts come out, keep it positive because anything can happen in the game, so we try to keep our heads up and keep fighting.”
Obviously, you all think you did that and kept fighting.
“We did, and our coaches always tells us, always got to keep fighting, you never know what might happen and we had a lot hustle plays where we were fighting. We got a lot to improve on; there is always room for improvement. We just have to keep going out to practice and fix it.”
