Postgame quotes

Sept. 13, 2014

Colorado State Head Coach Jim McElwain

(General)
“I was really excited about that performance. We went into the game wanting to get some things done and play a lot of guys, and you can see we played a ton of guys in that game when you look at the participation sheet, and that’s good.”

“I thought we started out offensively—you hate with your first 8 (plays) like that to go three-and-out, which we did. But the defense held them and we were able to get back on track offensively. We’re starting to get the ball in the hands of some our explosive playmakers. We’ve got a few good young ones and we’ve got to continue to do that. The offensive line, that’s just another great learning experience moving forward. We needed to get last week’s taste out of our mouths, and you know what, they’re going to win some games in the Big Sky Conference too.

(On if the game went according to script)
“You know, it’s disappointing. They ran ‘power’ down our throats those last couple drives, and I think Boston College runs that about every play. So we’ve got our work cut out for us there.  Really though, it’s what we wanted to go out and do. We wanted to dominate an opponent. I thought we did for the most part. This will be a good film for us to learn from.”

(On first time defense and offense performing at high levels)
“I thought it was a complete team out there.  And yet, each kind of picked each other up when they needed to. As I said, we’re getting better. We’ve got some good players, and we’re getting some players back (from injury) I think coming through this next week. I think this is where you kind of segment the season a little bit.  Kind of look at this as the end of the first quarter and we’re going into the second quarter now, and we’ve got to get a lot of good work done this off week, and keep working on the things we need to do to get over the hump.”

(On Garrett Grayson’s passing numbers)
“I know he threw for a bunch, but here’s the good thing: We finally hit some deep balls. I think the explosive guys played explosive and that’s a good thing. When we get the ball in their hands with them moving, they’ve got a chance to finish.  That’s kind of what we did for the most part. We missed a third down, and (UC Davis) does the exact right thing, kind of bust a route there right before half which was disappointing. If you know me by know, you know I’ll be up all night with a couple of those instances. But at the same time, I thought Garrett played like he should.

(On redshirt-freshman wide receivers Elroy Masters and Xavier Williams)
“We’re getting there. We’ve done a good job recruiting that position. We’ve got some good size, and now we sprinkle in a little more speed, and I think the future is bright at that spot. And the good part is we can continually grow and get better. A lot of those guys haven’t even played a ton of football yet, and that bodes well for the future.”

(On if there’s a go-to receiver)
“We’ve got ‘get-it-to’s’ in the game plan, knowing that guys have to touch the ball. We try everywhere we’ve been to spread the ball around as much as possible. I think it’s important not to let the defense hone in too much on just one guy. I know that on certain routes Garrett has a higher comfort level with some guys: Hansley he’s got a great comfort level with, obviously Charles Lovett. But the more we start to get these guys on a touches standpoint, I think spreading it around is the way I believe.”

(On getting young guys in the game: Nick Stevens, Kevin Nutt, Jr., Shun Johnson, etc.)
“Those guys played a lot and they played early (referencing Nutt and Johnson). We had a rotation set where a lot of those guys were playing throughout the whole game, not just on a mop-up duty. I think that that is something that shows the depth we’re developing and the competition level at positions. Those guys have practiced well, they deserve to get in and play, and that’s what we try to do.

(On wanting to get Nick Stevens snaps)
“We were wanting to do that and planned on doing it. As it was, they went down and scored so we threw Garrett back in and he got a cheap one to Elroy or whatever, but Nick came in and I think it’s good. He completed his first collegiate pass, I think, so that’s kind of cool.”

(On whether it was a conscious effort to go deep more today)
“No, you know, they’re all part of the reads. You count the… I think there were 10, I told you there were 9 last week, and we only completed two of them when we had guys there. That’s our responsibility to get the right play catchers in the position, and today we completed a few of them. Those are big. When you can get a couple of those, where you don’t have to grind out first downs all the time, that helps.”

(On the “stinginess” of the defense)
“We did. At the end we didn’t play with very good pad level. I’m sure the team we plays next will sit here in a couple weeks and be licking their chops a little bit. But we kept the ball in front of us, and we competed for most throws. I thought Shun (Johnson) there at the end, that was as competitive as we’ve had a corner be in a while there on that go route on our sideline, the one he almost intercepted. That’s good. We’ve got to keep that going.”

(On balance of Treyous Jarrells, Dee Hart and Jasen Oden in the backfield)
“They (Jarrells and Hart) were both really good baseball players when they were younger. About the third series I had to mention to them, every time you go up, it’s not a homerun. They try and bounce it around a get a homerun, but you’ve just got to go out there and do what you’re supposed to do. Eventually they’re going to pipe you one, and you’ll take it out of the park, kind of like on J.O.’s run. Those are lessons to be learned. I think we’re kind of starting to figure out our identity back there. Each guy plays a roll, I think it’s important to have options at those positions, and we’ll keep our ‘pitch count’ on their runs.”

(On getting healthy during the bye week)
“It’ll be big, but most of all we’re going to work against ourselves when we get back. There’re some things we’ve written down going into this bye-week that we’ve got to get strengthened from a fundamental standpoint, so we’ll do a lot of that. We’ll give these guys Monday and Friday off, and obviously Saturday, so they’ll have some time to rest their bodies, and really get ready to hit this next segment of the schedule.”

(On timing of the bye-week. Having three games’ worth of film)
“I think so. Bye weeks are good. We’ll have a chance to get out to some high school games here in Colorado, where we recruit the heaviest, and I think this’ll be good for that. And also, coming off that grind from two-a-days, the emotion of that kickoff game, not playing well last week. But the way we won, that’ll be a good feeling going into a bye week.”

Colorado State Player Quotes

QB Garrett Grayson

(On his performance statistically, for the second week in a row)
“Last week we lost, so it really didn’t mean much to me, so it means a little more (today) that I can help get a win. Many times at the end of the day all I care about is winning. I’m very happy with the way we came out and executed today.”
 
“It’s huge for us to come out here and execute the way we did. I feel like the receivers and me, we were pretty much on-point with everything we were doing. The timing was there, so that’s huge for us going into a bye week, because I’ve been on the end of a bye week when we lose with Coach Mac, and it’s not fun. So it’s a good thing to go into bye week with a win. Our heads are up high.”
 
(On the many deep balls he threw)
“We called probably the same amount of deep plays that we’ve had, our guys just beat them deep. That’s really what it comes down to.”
 
(On hitting on some of those deep balls)
“When you do hit the deep ball, like the one to Rashard [Higgins] in the end zone, that kind of makes you feel good about yourself. The team kind of looks at you and gives you a big ol’ smile… it just makes you feel good and you’re happy to execute for your team.”
 
(On how it feels to win at home vs. lose on the road)
“At the end of the day, if, you know I played terrible like I did the first half against CU, and we win the football game, that’s really all I care about, so it is always better to do it at home, in your home opener, and to do it in front of your home fans. It makes you feel good, and I hope those guys keep coming out. We need them all here.”
 
(On the ‘three-headed-monster’ running game)
“In fall camp I was talking those guys up as much as I could, and I think for the most part they’ve lived up to the hype. It’s something that we’re going to be using through the whole year. People say it all the time that a good running back is a quarterback’s best friend, and it makes my job a lot easier. It opens up everything when you have those guys.”

Safety Kevin Pierre-Louis
(General)
“We had the defense and offense clicking together, and anytime we click together like that we’ll always get a good outcome out of it.”
 
“I felt good about the performance. There were plays in there that we can work on still.”
 
(On preparing for Boston College)
“We’ve got to focus on the little stuff, little miscommunication and stuff like that, but we’ll get after it over the next two weeks.”
 
(On more young players getting playing time)
“As an upperclassman I like seeing the young guys, the future, going in there to play. It helped a lot because I get to rest and get a mental rep on what’s going on out there.”
 
“After last week we just had to come and focus on the little stuff like making tackles, not missing tackles, and communicate—don’t let the environment change how we play and stuff like that; really small stuff.”
 
(On the win overall)
“You’ve got to respect all of your opponents, so we just never let the foot off the pedal, even if the score was 60 to 0, we’re going to continue playing aggressive, because anything can happen—it’s football.”

RB Treyous Jarrells

(on if this was the performance the offense needed going into the bye week)
“Yes, we came out and executed today. Up front, O-line did an excellent job.”

(on the passing game today)
“It was a good day. All the receivers did real well. Garrett was putting it right on the money, and ‘Hollywood’ (Rashard Higgins) was making good catches and moves after the catch.”

(on if today’s offensive performance should be the prototype going forward)
“Yes sir. We have a good team. Our coaches say every week that we have to go out and play our game, and not anybody else’s game. So that’s what we try to do.

(on the team’s play in the first quarter)
“We came out fast and physical. We just wanted to win.”

(on the one-two punch with Dee Hart)
“Me and Dee, we’re still trying to hold it down. We’ve got JO [Jasen Oden] too. JO is a good back as well. Me and Dee, we try to one-two punch it. Like I said, when he gets tired, I come in and if I get tired he comes in. We just pick up each other’s slack.”

(on Coach McElwain’s comment to the running backs during the game about not trying to always hit home runs)
“Yeah, Coach Mac came up to us during the game and told us, ‘Think of it as baseball. You’re not trying to hit a home run every time you go up to bat. You’ve got to be patient, and play through the whole game. Eventually, you’ll bust one.”

(on his baseball playing days and if he could hit the curveball)
“Curveball, no. I played second base. I was a good second baseman. Hitting wasn’t my thing.” (smiling)

(on when Coach Mac made the baseball comment to the running backs)
“Early in the game, I believe it was like first quarter. He saw us trying to hit home runs every time we touched the ball and came up to us and told us to calm down, slow down a little bit. That’s what we did.”

(On how this performance changes the feel before the bye week as opposed to last week’s performance)
“It’s going to feel good. We’re going to enjoy this win. We’ve got to get ready for Boston College the following week.”

(on playing his first home game)
“It was wild. The crowd was really involved. I liked the atmosphere. I like playing in front of our fans, showing them what we can do.”

RB Jasen Oden
(on his 50-yard TD run)
“It felt really good. I’ve known since the beginning of the season – it’s going to be a long season. All three of us [running backs] push each other in practice still, and it felt good that when I scored that touchdown, the first person I celebrated with was Dee. He keeps on telling me to keep my head up and practice hard. I’ve just been waiting on the opportunity.”

(on whether it is difficult to play in a three-running back system)
“When Treyous and Dee Hart came in, I knew we were going to get some type of three-headed monster going on – that’s what we call it. It can get frustrating sometimes, but you’ve just got to keep it till you break through. It’s a long season. There are certain things that I know they’re going to be better me, and there’s certain things that I know I can be better than them. We all bring different types of rushing styles to this offense. I just want to get out there and help the team win.”

(on the receivers’ performance today)
“Coming into the season, I knew that was going to be one of our strong suits. It’s just a matter of when it’ll come along, because they’re young. As of today, they displayed great things, and I continue to look forward to those guys doing good things this season.”

(on if this is the prototype for the offense going forward)
“Yes sir. We feel like we have a great offense. We can run, we can pass. It’s good when everyone gets involved, when we’re both clicking. It’s just good when that happens, because everybody is satisfied and we’re going to try to do the same thing when we go to Boston College.”

(on the importance of this win going into the bye week)
“I feel like it was important to get everybody confident. The locker room was amazing after that win. It’s a long season. Like I said at the beginning, I don’t feel like there are any more games on our schedule that we can’t win.”

LB Aaron Davis
(on if this is the way the team needs to play going forward)
“Yeah, definitely. We just came out fast, like Coach always says. We performed well today.”

(on the consistency of the team as a whole)
“We wanted to be more consistent on offense and defense. Special teams also. I think we clicked on all cylinders today. I think we played well and started fast.”

(on how this changes attitudes coming out of last week’s game vs. Boise State)
“It’s definitely good to get that loss out of our system, and just get out there and play like we know we can play. I think we came out today believing that we were going to win from the start.”

(on the performance of the offense today)
“It definitely helps a little bit. It’s always good to see our offense running on all cylinders. It picks us up, too, as a defense. When they’re doing well, it makes us want to do well and get their backs.”

(on if the team is still figuring out how good it is)
“I think we know, as a team, how good we can be. We’ve just got to come out here and execute on Saturdays. During the week, we’ve got to watch more film and prepare more. We know our potential.”

RG Fred Zerblis
(On the win)
“It all started with preparation this week. We had great practices all week, and really prepared ourselves with the film and everything. Once we get out there we realize we can do it…we didn’t really see anything else that we haven’t seen before. We’ve gotten in the groove.”
 
(On the UC Davis defense)
“They weren’t bringing so much pressure; we thought they were going to be bringing more than they were bringing. With that, it was good; passing the ball and everything and running the ball, it was great.”
 
(On the upcoming bye week)
“It’s going to be good for us. We’ve got the bye week and then Boston College. We’re definitely going to prepare well, watch a lot of film, and work on some things. Hopefully we get our legs back under us, and we start honing in on BC.”
 

UC Davis Head Coach Ron Gould

(On how facing D1 FBS teams will help in conference play)
“We have had a tough schedule. It’s not going to get any easier, it’s definitely going to help our team. We have a young team and we need to gain some experience and so forth. (I) love the way the guys are competing and any chance you get to compete for 60 minutes it’s going to help us. You know we obviously have to get better at execution in all three phases, and we will. This is going to help us in terms of getting back to conference and so forth, so very, very pleased with that.”

(On how defense needs to improve after giving up some big plays today)
“Absolutely. You know you’re playing a really good football team and they had all day to throw the ball, and the quarterback could sit back there and pick those guys apart. They did a great job of execution on their part. So we’ve got to do a better job on getting pressure on the opposing team’s offense. And do a better job at containing those guys, and that’s something we have about two weeks to work on.”

(On secondary needing to improve)
“It’s all three phases. The secondary at times needs to cover a little longer and obviously give more pressure, so it’s a combination of things; it’s not just the secondary or the guys up front, it’s a combination of both.”

(On how he felt the team ran the ball)
“We missed some runs but I’m just pleased with how the guys competed from the start to the end. That’s something that we can continue to work on and focus on.”

(On injuries of team)
“We get banged up all season, that’s nothing we have to worry about. I don’t even need to talk to the team about injuries but it was good to have Gabe (Manzanares) coming back. I look at those situations as an opportunity for the back-ups to get some reps and develop and that’s going to help us down the line as the conference starts.”

(On Justin Williams and Colton Silveria doing well)
“We have talked about those guys being patient. We talked about it’s not speed to the hole, it’s speed through the hole. Learning to be patient and being decisive once they get it.”

UC Davis Player Quotes

RB Colton Silveria
(On what he takes away from this game and playing an FBS opponent)
“I felt like we had a good game plan, we just need to execute and work on the little things. We got away from our details so we need to work on those.”

(On what details they need to improve on)
“We need to be smoother. We need to make sure we’re coming down with the catch and we need to make sure the running backs are finding their spots and finding the right holes. We need to make sure we’re not missing our blocks because we can run the ball well, but if we don’t block, it doesn’t work.”

(On how playing FBS teams like CSU and Stanford helps going in to conference play)
“It’s great playing the D-1 schools. It definitely gets us ready and working a little harder.”

QB London Lacy
(On what it’s like playing against D-1 FBS teams and how it can help them going forward)
“Colorado State is a really good team. The level of intensity is really high when you play big teams like this. Us, as a team, we have to try and match it and do what we can to execute our offense. We just have to match the intensity.”

(On how he evaluates his team’s offensive play today)
“I thought we did well, I thought we left a lot out there though. (We had) a lot of missed opportunities and we can’t really get those back. As a whole, I liked how the offense finished the game, (we) didn’t give up and just kept playing.”

(On the running backs’ play)
“It keeps us balanced as an offense. A lot of backs ran hard today and that’s good to see. Overall, when you have a good running game, it really opens up the passing game and keeps us balanced.”

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Garrett Grayson

Jasen Oden