Sept. 25, 2010

Recap | Final Stats | Notes | |

Postgame Quotes

Kansas 42, New Mexico State 16

Lawrence, Kan. – Sept. 25, 2010

Kansas Head Coach Turner Gill

On how Kansas played against New Mexico State:

“I think two phases were pretty good. Probably half of the phase of special teams. I did not like the kick off, but I think offense and defense we definitely improved. We did some good things there, so it was great to see that from our football team to play somewhat of a complete game. Obviously, there are still a few things we need to get ironed out but I think overall I am pretty satisfied with where we are at.”

On Kansas’ special teams:

“I think that is the only phase where we didn’t do very well. We had not done very well the whole football season but unfortunately some of it started with our kicker. I think the first two he kicked were a little bit low number one, and number two, they were not deep enough when we had the wind in those opportunity situations. I think part of it was the kicker and you have to have people get off blocks and make plays too.”

On D.J. Beshears:

“D.J. did a great job. I take our hats off to him but more importantly to our offensive line. They did some great things here today. It is great to see our guys gel and do some execution. We talked about execution. I think the more time we spent running our offense and getting used to what we are trying to get done, the timing of things were a lot better tonight.”

On the rushing game (237) and gaining 501 total yards:

“Well that is what we like and hopefully we can be in that 175 to 200 every night, but I like the way we were balanced getting 200 plus yards in passing the ball and also rushing the ball. We want to have that balance and I think we are headed in the right direction.”

On the 99 yard drive:

“I think that just shows execution. Again, they made plays when they had to. We had guys that when the ball was in their hands, they didn’t make some plays. But obviously Patterson and Jordan Webb doing some good things of that nature, and then James Sims made some good runs. I think Chuck Long did a good job of play calling. I think we definitely had a better continuity on the offensive side of the ball as far as trying to make sure we had a better flow of what we were trying to get done.”

On wrapping up non-conference and beginning conference play:

“I feel better. No doubt about it, we still have some work to do. I feel good about us going into conference play. Obviously, coming in with a win is a good situation for us, but we still have some things to improve on. Our next opponent Baylor is a very good football team and we have to go down there to play them too. It will be a tremendous challenge but again we have to gear up to see what we can do.”

Kansas freshman quarterback Jordan Webb

On the team’s offensive performance:

“It was great. We all knew what we were capable of. We came out and executed well. We left a few points on the board, which is disappointing, but overall we played a pretty good game. The offensive line played really well. (James) Sims ran really hard. Receivers made plays for me. D.J. Beshears had a great game as well.”

On his mobility:

“People look at me as more of a drop-back passer. I look at myself that way but if the play breaks down I feel like I’m pretty good at buying time and letting my receivers get open downfield.”

On working D.J. Beshears into the offense at different positions:

“We’ve wanted to all along. He’s electric with the ball in his hands. He’s a physical guy. He’s fast and he wants to get into the end zone every time he touches it.”

On expecting a three touchdown performance from D.J. Beshears:

“I really think everybody was expecting it out of him. It came later actually than I expected it. We’ve been working him in, putting a lot of plays in for him and he really showed tonight that he deserves it.”

Kansas sophomore wide receiver D.J. Beshears

On the kickoff return for a touchdown:
“I have to give all of the credit to my blockers on the kickoff return team. I told them, ‘Go out there and make good blocks and I’m going to take it to the house.’ Coach (Aaron) Stamn has been emphasizing that we need a big return on kickoff return, so I just made it happen tonight. I saw the hole open up when Bradley (McDougald) hit the hole. After that I just saw daylight.”

On his versatility on offense:

“I’m a receiver but as of now I’ll do whatever it takes to win. Whatever position Coach (Gill) wants me to play, that’s what I’ll play.”

On how he feels about Kansas’ victory:

“I feel great. It was tough losing to Southern Mississippi. To get a win feels good.”

On the momentum gained from the kickoff return:
“It definitely gave us a boost. It pumped up a lot of guys on special teams and on offense and defense.”

Kansas senior wide receiver Jonathan Wilson

On D.J. Beshears’ versatility:

“He’s kind of a Reggie Bush type of guy. He can catch the ball out of the backfield, as a receiver and on special teams.”

On Jordan Webb’s development:

“He’s grown up a lot in the past couple of weeks. I have to be patient with him because sometimes I got frustrated in the first couple of weeks. I wanted him to make more plays for the team but he just wasn’t there. You just have to keep building him up with confidence.”

Kansas senior linebacker Justin Springer

On where the team is going into Big 12 play:

“We just have to be more consistent with everything. We have been up and down with what we have been doing so we just have to stay consistent and try and win against Baylor.”

On being satisfied with the defensive play:

“We are satisfied, but we are just not happy because we gave up 16 points more than our goal. It makes us think about some things that we could have done better but I will be able to sleep at night.”

On going back home to Texas for the Baylor game next week:

“I love going back to Texas and playing but it is actually like nine hours from where I (grew up) so it is not that close to home but at the same time, it is back in Texas and I love playing in Texas.”

On the tone of the game:

“We wanted to come out and get a three-and-out right off the bat. I think we did a three-and-out in the first series. We wanted to show them that we were excited and that they would have to work harder on the ball with us.”

Kansas junior defensive tackle Patrick Dorsey

On how it felt to see the offense explode tonight:

“It always feels good when the offense is rolling. It feels good because it takes pressure off of the defense so that’s always good.”

On getting a taste of a mobile quarterback in preparation of Baylor:

“It definitely helps to get a taste of it but it is nothing like the real thing, so we can only prepare this week for (Baylor quarterback) Christian Griffin and get better and try to settle him down next week.”

On how the defensive front has played:

“I am pretty happy with how we have played. I know we have not had a sack yet, that is our goal to get sacks, but other than that I feel like we have played pretty good.”

On being successful without sacks:

“I feel like we still can be successful but it is needed. Especially with conference play coming up, we need to get sacks and pressure on the quarterback. I feel like it is a must but we can get by without them.”

New Mexico State Head Coach DeWayne Walker

On KU’s hurry-up offense:

“We new they had that in their package, but we didn’t think it would be as fast as it went. I thought they would give us time to substitute and they picked up the pace even more. We had to play vanilla and they got the best of us.”

On quarterback Matt Christian’s play:

“He had a bad finger that he was nursing in the first half and I didn’t think it would affect him as much as it did in the second half.”

On the play of his safeties, George Callender, Donyae Coleman and Justin Smith:

“Well I think they did ok. George went out with another concussion and that’s concerning to us. We’ll find out what the injury is tomorrow and see where he is.”

On Taveon Rogers setting a school record for kick return yards:

“He was the star of the game, in terms of our football team, and he’ll definitely be rewarded for it.”

On Rogers getting more playing time on offense:

“Special teams and offense are two separate entities, but I know his explosiveness is definitely something we can use in terms of the scoreboard.”

NMSU Junior Quarterback Matt Christian

On the game overall:

“It was a rough one to take. That’s three in a row for us. We have to fix something. It’s just a rough one to take.”

On the effectiveness of the Kansas defense:

“Their D was about what we expected. I had a rough first half. The ball was wet and I might have broken my finger. There were some plays we could have had and I just couldn’t make the throw or we’d miss a block. They played well in the first half. Our offense came out better in the second half. We had some good drives and a couple of scoring opportunities. We put a few points on the board. They were big and could hit. Our scheme was there, we just couldn’t execute to keep ourselves in the game.”

On how his injured finger affected his throwing:

“It affected me a little bit in the first half, but no excuses. The rain and the wind had a little more to do with it than the finger.”

On the play of senior Marcus Allen:

“He played well again. He’s definitely picked it up from last spring. The talent has always been there, but I think the work ethic and understanding of the schemes is there now.”

NMSU Senior Wide Receiver Marcus Allen

On the game overall:

“It was a little frustrating. We could have put points on the board at times and we didn’t. It was frustrating.”

On the Kansas defense:

“There defense was nothing that we didn’t see on film. We prepared well for their defense. We just made little minor mistakes here and there. We need to correct those before our next game.”

On his overall play for the game:

“I wouldn’t say it was my best game. I would just say the concentration level of catching the ball and getting up field with the ball was there.”

On Kansas’ kick return for a touchdown:

“It hurt, but knowing that our offense is pretty high powered, we could have put points on the board. The minor mistakes hurt us.”