Colorado State University Athletics
Postgame Quotes
10/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
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COLORADO STATE HEAD COACH Jim McElwain
(on opening thoughts)
“That was kind of cool. The atmosphere was just outstanding, and I can’t praise our fans enough for coming out and supporting a group of guys who won’t say die. We struggled, obviously, immensely offensively, and that’s a really good defense we played. I thought our defense did a really good job. We gave up the big run early, but overall kept the ball in front of them, we challenged throws. I’m really proud of those guys. Kicker (Jared Roberts) came in and did his job. That’s good. That’s a good football team we just beat; that’s a really good football team we just beat. I’m just really proud for our team, our coaches, the organization and the people in the state of Colorado. We’ve got a winner here.”
(on the final drive and QB Garrett Grayson’s 46-yard pass to WR Rashard Higgins)
“We’ve got what we call Mayday Alert. It’s a planned deal we work every week where once we get it up over the 30 we feel like we’ve got a chance to maybe take a shot. They were giving us a certain look in this formation; great job by our offensive coaches on the last call. Sure enough we had a post-wheel with a flat combination. Rashard got an inch and Garrett threw it to him. That’s a planned deal going in; we’ve got a little screen smoke off the run that is there, as well. It’s something we work every week. There were actually three situations right there in the end that we work every Friday, so I guess they listened.”
(on what the win means)
“I just think it means so much for Colorado State University; I really do. It was fun, it was a great atmosphere. For us moving forward, obviously playing one of our three trophy games next week, we’re going to have to get back to work awfully early, but that was pretty cool.”
(on the resiliency of this team)
“The way they go about their business and the way they care for each other and the way that they continue to make people around them better... Just the way they affect people in a positive way. Going back to all of these games, there’s never been a sense of panic on the sideline. The guys are committed to getting the job done and doing what it takes, and at the end of the day we control what happens. I thought our guys did a heck of a job hanging in there and then figuring out a way to win a ballgame.”
(on winning ugly)
“My mind is on all the things we could have done better, and yet I’m not going to downplay the fact that was a heck of a football team we just played, and we found a way to win it. Just the way the guys competed, it’s just awesome.”
(on if CSU played differently after backup QB Craig Harrison went in for Utah State)
“They actually were playing the same play calls. They took a couple shots with him, so I don’t think it changed their approach much. You hate to see that. (Darell) Garretson, I saw his wrist in a sling, you just don’t wish that on anybody. You want everybody’s best at all times when you go out and compete, but at the same time, our guys did a good job with gap control. That’s something, I thought, we did really well with up front. Then the guys in the back end, they’re starting to compete, and I like that.”
(on the offensive line taking a step back)
“I think they took it to us, there’s no doubt about it. We knew we were goin to have some matchup issues going in; not to that extend. Yet, they found a way in the end to give us a chance to get the ball off. That’s a good thing. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re by no means anywhere near where we expect to be from a standpoint of being consistent, but I think most people stayed in the stadium today. They had an opportunity to feel good about themselves going home, and I can’t tell you how much I thank those fans for coming out. That was something special.
(on the team’s growth on defense)
“They’re playing with a cause. They’re playing with a mission. Really, that attitude of each play has a history and life of its own. It doesn’t matter what happened on the last one or what’s gonna happen down the road. What they have really done a good job with is just, ‘Win this play and give us an opportunity to win the next play.’ I see that in the way they approach the game. That’s something we’ve been trying to get that point across since we took over here, and you’re starting to see that come to fruition.”
(on kicker Jared Roberts, and his resilience)
“That was huge. I had no doubt. There was no doubt in my mind that Kicker would get up and kick it and make it go through the goalposts.”
(on penalties)
“I really felt like the penalties killed us. It’s uncharacteristic of who we are and what we’re all about. We’ll get that handled. Some of that might have been some anxiety. We have not been a penalized team, so to see some of those things happen, it was really disappointing. At the same time, we overcame a couple, and that’s a good thing.”
(on playing in front of a sellout crowd, and winning to hopefully draw the fans back)
“These players deserve the support. What they’re giving of themselves for this university, this community, the things they’re doing – not only the football part but outside of it – I’m just so proud of them. That fan base was something special, and it caused them (Utah State) some problems; it did. That’s what a home-court advantage gives you. I just can’t thank them enough.”
(on where this win ranks)
“I’m just so happy for everybody. I can’t express it. It’s long overdue. I’m happy for our administration and our president and the people who have supported us. That’s what I was brought here to do, and we’re going to continue to do it.”
COLORADO STATE PLAYERS
QB Garrett Grayson
(on the final pass play to Rashard Higgins to set up winning field goal)
“We had been trying to hit a post all game to be honest. There were a couple I overthrew, a couple we just missed. They (USU) were rolling (coverage) to him (Rashard), like we had been kind of saying for the past few weeks, I was expecting teams to start doing, and they were the first team to really do it. That’s why he’s the great player that he is – great players make big plays at the right time, and I knew I just had to give him a chance to make the play and that’s what I did.”
(on how “banged up” he feels)
“I can’t feel anything right now, to be honest, because my adrenaline is still pumping. I feel fine right now, I’m sure I’ll feel fine tomorrow. I got sacked a couple times but they weren’t like huge blows or anything like that. For the most part, I’m coming out healthy and I’m excited about where we’re at.”
(on becoming CSU’s all-time leader in passing yards)
“Just to be mentioned with guys like Terry Nugent, Moses Moreno, Bradlee Van Pelt, it’s a huge honor. I’m obviously very thankful for it and blessed. I had some crazy amount of athletes around me, good players, to make my job easier, make me look better than I am, so I have to thank all of those guys. But like I said, Bradlee Van Pelt is still the man around here in Fort Collins, so even to be mentioned with him in the same sentence is a huge honor.”
“Obviously it’s an unreal feeling. None have us have been here, and so for us, the seniors, because we’ve been through the very lowest of the lows with this program…to be here where we’re at today, I think all of us are pretty excited where we’re at obviously, and hopefully we can keep this thing rolling, because we’re just getting started.”
(on whether they were trying to run out the clock before the connection with Rashard)
“Well, to be honest we were running out the clock, and then our rule for a ‘mayday’ which is our two-minute, if we get to about the 30- 35-yard line that’s when we start going into our two-minute. Once Dee [Hart] broke that long run, that kind of changed everything up. We were running out the clock and were planning on going into overtime, so he had the long run, changed everything up, we called a time out, came up with a good play, and the rest is history.”
(on kicker Jared Roberts)
“I joked with him, I said ‘you missed that first one on purpose because you wanted it to come down to this.’ He’s a huge weapon for us. That’s why he’s the best kicker in the country, he shines in the biggest moments. You guys all saw it last year in the New Mexico Bowl, he lives for those moments. That’s something we know, and if we can just give him a chance he’s going to make it for us, and that’s obviously something we pride ourselves on. Like I said, if we can get it down there for him, that’s three points pretty much guaranteed.”
LB Max Morgan
(on how big the win is)
“It’s exciting, exciting for our fans, I’m grateful for everybody who came out; huge crowd for us, probably the biggest since I’ve been here, I think that’s a fact. I’m excited for our fans, I’m excited for this team in where we’re at. We’re blessed enough to be this deep in the year and have all of our goals ahead of us.”
(on how much the defense has grown over the last 2-3 weeks)
“A ton, and you can see it in the aggression in the back end and the way that we play the run. We need to eliminate some of those explosive plays early on, and I know they got us with one in the second half, too. I’m happy with our defense.”
(on what was different about the game, defensively)
“It’s a never-give-up attitude. And even then, if we have a negative play, guys are bouncing back and playing with the same tenacity they would have at the start of the drive, which maybe in the past we come out flat after a play like that, on our heels, but we stayed aggressive.”
(on comparisons with last year’s defensive battle with Utah State)
“Our offense was able to move the ball very well, and they put themselves behind the sticks a little bit here and there, but they did a great job of controlling field position too. Last year field position was a big problem for us.”
(on if it feels good to get an “ugly win”)
“It’s a great win, no matter what way you look at it.”
(on whether things changed in their scheme when Utah State had to change quarterbacks)
“We knew that they probably had to run the ball a little more, so we stayed out of our passing personnel’s a little bit, but not really.”
WR Rashard Higgins
(on the deep pass to him on the final possession)
“I knew the ball was coming to me. I tried to get myself in a great position to help win the game. I saw they had a post safety and press put on me, but it’s my job to come down with the ball and that’s what I did.”
(on if he was worried about the number of defenders around him)
“No, I have no doubt in my mind. It’s my job to get up and get the ball at all times. That’s why I play wide receiver. I’m just doing my job.”
(on how good Garrett Grayson’s pass was)
“It was on point. He saw the defender was right on me. I kind of had him beat a little bit, but he threw the ball and it’s my job to come down with it.”
(on how he felt knowing they were going to go for the win at the end)
“I didn’t think the ball was coming to me at first. We have weapons everywhere. But they called me for a deep post. I ran into wind and came down with ball. I’m so happy right now. I’m at a loss for words.”
(on the atmosphere and the feeling of being 6-1)
“People showed up. That’s what I live for. It’s great to be 6-1. I’ve never been 6-1 in my life. I’m happy for this team. We did something special today. I’m glad to be a part of it.”
K Jared Roberts
(on what was going through his mind during the timeouts before his game-winning field goal)
“It’s a little frustrating. You just want to get up there and kick it. After the second one I looked back and couldn’t believe they had another timeout. But luckily that was there last one, so I knew we were going to kick at that point. You just relax and trust it.”
(on his nerves during the last field goal attempt)
“You’re always a little nervous, especially a game of this magnitude. We had a sellout crowd and we have to give huge credit to the crowd for getting loud and rowdy tonight. They made a difference, there’s no question about that. This team has worked so hard during the offseason, over the summer, during fall camp. We set high goals and we’ve had a good start to the season. We knew this was a big step, and to have it sitting right there with one field goal left knowing we can keep this climb going, you just want to hit it for your teammates and for the university.”
(on his recent misses during home games)
“It weighs on you a little bit. It’s been a bit of a frustrating season. I’ve had some misses that I haven’t had in the past, but at the end of the day the team’s winning games and that’s all I care about. Luckily those misses haven’t cost us any games. I missed that one tonight and I knew it was going to be a close game, but to have the support of the team and the coaches gives you confidence. You never lose confidence in yourself, but it weighs on you. You want to do well for the team; you want to make every kick for the team. I know how hard those guys work and I want to do my job to the best of my ability.”
(on the difference between the one he made tonight and the one he missed)
“The hash (mark) doesn’t make too big of a difference. I say all the time my misses come down to my eyes. It’s like my golf swing. If I’m shanking it, it’s because I’m picking my head up and not keeping my eyes behind the ball. I knew it as soon as I hit it (referring to the missed field goal), it’s something frustrating I’m going through, but I was able to put that behind me and hit that last one.”
(on the feeling of hitting a game-winning field goal in front of a sell-out crowd
“It’s something you dream about, to see the crowd rushing the field. Again, I can’t thank the crowd enough for coming out and supporting us. It means the world to us. We want them to be a part of this season with us. We’re 6-1 and we want to represent the university, represent Fort Collins and the alumni, so to put on a good show for the crowd means a lot to us. We make a conscious effort. It’s just stuff you dream about. I can’t believe it.”
(on comparing this kick to his game-winning kick in last year’s bowl game)
“It’s a little different. That’s the end of the season; it was kind of the culmination. This one is one we needed to continue to keep building on where we want to go this year and to take the steps to build the program. So I’d say this one is maybe a little bigger. That one’s the end of the season, make or miss, whatever happens in the bowl game that’s the end. But this one, we’ve still got our goals ahead of us, and we’re going to go get ready for Wyoming now."
UTAH STATE HEAD COACH MATT WELLS
(on starting QB Darell Garretson’s injury)
“He’s going to be out for a while. We’re going to x-ray him again later. We have a little bit of an x-ray and it looks like he’s going to be down for next week I would assume. We’ll see and evaluate him tomorrow and Monday, and see right where he’s at. If he’s out for a while I’ll let you guys know, but we’ll see.”
“It was an arm injury below his elbow. We’ll get a better x-ray and know exactly what it is.”
(on backup QB Craig Harrison’s performance)
“I haven’t thought much about it. The obvious thing is that we’re going to have to run the ball. If Craig’s going to have to play, we’ll trust him in the system. He’s been in the system for a few years. He’s going to have to throw the ball and we’re going to have to get the ball to Hunter Sharp, which I don’t think we did a very good job doing that tonight. JoJo (Natson) and Devonte (Robinson) are going to have to make plays on the perimeter and manufacture plays. When you have injuries you have to improvise and adjust and we’re going to have to do that.”
(on tonight’s loss)
“Any last-second loss is a gut-wrenching loss. You have two teams with similar abilities, a bunch of tough kids, a bunch of skill out in the perimeter, kids that give it their all, two programs built on similar core values, and two good teams. When you think you have to get it to overtime, that’s gut-wrenching. It pulls your guts out and you hate it for the kids. You just hate it, but credit to them for making the kick. It was a heck of a kick.”
(on late-game run-off situation following illegal procedure penalty on Colorado State prior to field goal)
“I thought there would be a run off and they had told me that the clock had to have been running. It had to have been a live clock, but they jumped and backed him up. Again, credit to the kid (CSU kicker Jared Roberts); I didn’t have any more timeouts or else I would’ve given him another one.”
(on the rest of the season)
“We’ll see how it goes, it’s going to be game by game here in the conference.”
UTAH STATE PLAYERS
DE Jordan Nielsen
(on what it’s like to lose on a last-second field goal)
“It’s a tough feeling because everyone is out there working hard. They just made more plays than we did and there were plays out there that we could have made to keep us ahead, but we just didn’t make them.”
(on what was working for them to get constant pressure on CSU QB Garrett Grayson)
“We came in with a game plan to get pressure on him and hit him as many times as we could. We came out doing that and it just kind of let off towards the end.”
(on what it felt like to nearly block the game winning field goal)
“It’s a hard feeling to see that go, but that just means you have to step up and work harder next time to get a block out of that.”
(on how hard this loss is to take)
“Any loss is tough, but a loss when you know you played hard on both sides of the ball is really hard.”
(on giving CSU too many chances towards the end of the game)
“That’s one thing we try to pride ourselves on is getting them off the field on third down. There were a couple third-and-longs that we should have gotten off the field, but we didn’t and they kept the drive alive which hurt us a lot.”
(on how the team rallies around another quarterback change)
“When your number is called, you just have to step up and make plays. That happened with Darell (Garretson, when starting QB Chuckie Keeton was injured) and now it’s time for Craig (Harrison) to step up. Anywhere you go, you’re going to have injuries and you just have to be ready to step up.”
RB Joe Hill
(on how he would assess the running game)
“It was inconsistent, it wasn’t there. We had a couple big plays but I put in on the running backs, we could have made some better reads and offensive line made some mistakes. We have to build on that because it’s going to be a big key the next couple of games.”
(on what he saw on his touchdown run)
“The line did a great job of creating a hole, and gave me an opportunity to use my speed to the fullest and I took advantage of it.”
(on how the game changed when QB Darrell Garretson was injured and backup Craig Harrison came in)
“It was a shift, but we believe in Craig and he knows that could happen. Based off of all the injuries last year and even this year, guys have to step up. It was unfortunate but we tried to make the most of it and get the running game going, but it just didn’t go the way we wanted it to.”
(on what he saw out of freshman running back LaJuan Hunt)
“He’s been running hard. That was a big play right there (on his 22-yard run). I saw him run over a defender with his shoulder. That was a big play. He’s come a long way, and he’s a tough kid and he wants to do well.
(on losing the game on a last-second field goal)
“It was heartbreaking. We didn’t capitalize on our opportunities earlier in the game and it ended up hurting us. We didn’t want it to end that way. We didn’t finish. It was tough.”
(on how he thought QB Craig Harrison played)
“He did a good job. It’s tough getting thrown in the fire like that. You know it can happen but you don’t want it to happen. Unfortunately it did but it gave him an opportunity to gain confidence this week. Hopefully if Darrell (Garretson) isn’t OK, hopefully he (Harrison) will be OK and we can get the running game going as well as the passing game, and they hopefully they can work together because we’re going to need them to.”
