Postgame Quotes

Sept. 2, 2006

Recap | Final Stats | Notes |

Kansas 49, Northwestern State 18<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

Sept. 2, 2006

Kansas Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Mark Mangino

On special teams play:

“Our return guys did a great job. We had a punt return for a touchdown and a long kickoff return that set up a touchdown. We also had a blocked punt. We need to work a little bit though. The little things are important — snapping the ball to the punter and the punter catching it, and our kicker kicking it through the uprights. We have spent a lot of time on special teams and we are going to have to refocus a little bit more, not just on special teams but on the specialists themselves. Those are veteran guys, so we’ll hope they got it out of their system.

On Kerry Meier:

“I thought he did a great job for his first night out. You could see he stayed poised. He made a few mistakes here and there but he didn’t let it rattle him. You can just see that he has the ability to throw and run. I’m very pleased with Kerry’s first night out. We were a little conservative at the beginning of the game, but then (offensive coordinator) Nick Quartaro said `let’s let him loose.’ He has the ability to make plays so we let him.”

On the wide receivers’ play:

“I thought they did a pretty nice job. I liked the route running that they did. The thing that is interesting about this game is that we scored 49 points on just 51 offensive plays. We had a short field on special teams. The game was really quick. I thought that overall the offense did some really good things. Special teams had some really good things and the defense came out and had their backs to the wall and held them to field goals. You can see the toughness on that defense.”

On his team’s performance:
“I think we are about where I thought we would be. You can see some really positive things that really excite me about this ball club. We made some mistakes that need to be corrected. I think we are where we need to be.”

Running back Jon Cornish

On the game:

“I was a little scared coming out of the locker room at halftime. I needed to do a little something. Our offensive line did a great job tonight and last year’s experience is really helping us now.”

On the touchdown run:

“Typically, I run a little more bent over, but when I got in the open field I shifted to sprinter style.”

On Kerry Meier:

“I like to call him The Magic. He does just that. He threw two touchdowns and ran for two. As a freshman quarterback, he was little bit nervous but he got into his groove and was just great.”

Defensive End Paul Como

On comparing this year’s defense to last year’s:

“I think we’re a lot different. Last year we had a few leaders but this year everyone is capable of being a leader. I think different people need to step up at different times to do what we need to do.”

Wide receiver Brian Murph

On his punt return for touchdown:

“I didn’t think I was going to take it to the house that quick. I thought I was going to get one this year but for the first game makes you feel good. There wasn’t anything in the middle, so I just tried to make people miss and I saw the sideline open up and I just ran there.”

On Kerry Meier:

“He did what I said he was going to do. He’s poised and focused. I think we can go a long way with him. I think he did really well today.”

Quarterback Kerry Meier:

On the game:

“I’ll have to take a look at the film but there’s some plays I’d like to take back but there are also plays that I thought I did pretty well. I did alright but there’s always room for improvement and that’s what I’m going to do next week.”

On playing in his first ever college game:

“I was pretty nervous. I can’t lie, but that’s just part of the game. After the first play it was smooth sailing.”

On opening the offensive playbook in the second half:

“We established the running game and that helped open up the passing game which is great. Whenever we can run and pass the ball we’re going win some ballgames.”

Head Coach Scott Stoker

On the game:

“I thought we grew up a little bit. Obviously, special teams is a killer for us. They (KU) created mistakes for us to make in the special teams department. Any time you step up and play a Big 12 school you can’t afford to make mistakes on special teams. I thought we got a little better offensively in the second half considering we are so young. Give them credit. They have great players and they are heading in right direction. They had some guys injured just like we did. We just have to get better.”

On his team’s overall youth:

“I guess the offensive line is where it all has to start. I thought we got manhandled some in the first half, but our guys did a better job in the second half. I thought we played pretty good defense all the way through. We gave up some big plays due to missed tackles, but defensively I thought we played extremely well in the first half. I thought we didn’t play as well in the second half probably because of fatigue. Overall, I think we just need to improve and I think we will because we have some young guys and we have some guys that are good athletes.”

On taking a 6-0 lead to open the game:

“They had the same problems we had with special team blunders. They played good defense right off the bat. We had a chance to get into the endzone and we didn’t. I think our kids expected to come here and play well, but it’s critical we don’t make back-to-back special team mistakes like we did.”

Senior DT Tory Collins

On Northwestern State’s performance:

“We played real well on both sides of the ball. We had a lot of turnovers, so we need to take care of the ball more and be more physical.”

On the game:

“It was an intense atmosphere. It was a great crowd. We did some things that we messed up on. We have to go back to the drawing board and fix the things we messed up on.”

Junior QB Ricky Joe Meeks

On the game:

“If you take special teams out, we have a shot at the end. The game is three phases and you have to capitalize on all three. I thought Kansas played great. We can’t afford to make mistakes and you can’t bring anyone else in. We have the 11 out there and that’s what we have to play with.”

On Northwestern State’s offense:

“Offensively, we played a lot better in the second half. We still have a lot of corrections we have to make.”

On Kansas’ defense:

“It is very, very sound. They don’t make any mistakes and play aggressive. I tip my hat to them. They played a good ballgame.”

On the crowd:

“It was loud. As you can tell, I don’t have much voice left. It’s going to help us. It was a great atmosphere and one I had a great time playing in.”