Weekly Press Conference Quotes
Nov. 2, 2010
Player Interviews: Qugley | McGriff | Laptad | Harris
Weekly Press Conference
Kansas Football
Nov. 2, 2010 – Lawrence, Kan.
Head Coach Turner Gill
Opening Statement:
“This is the week of Colorado. I am excited about this opportunity we have here. I want to first start off on the positives we had last week. I think we definitely improved as a football team. I thought our coaching staff did a very good job of preparing our football team to play an improved football game. As for execution, I thought our players executed the game-plan better than we have in the past, particularly on defense. I thought we put better pressure on the quarterback which is something we have been talking about for weeks. They also played physical. I thought our offense definitely played well as a unit with (quarterback) Quinn Mecham in his first start.”
“On to the opponent, Colorado. I think that Coach (Dan) Hawkins has a very athletic football team. They are multiple on the offensive side, they do a lot of multiple groupings and formations, so we have to prepare for a lot of different things. On defense, they kind of base on a 4-3 formation, but they also do a lot of man coverage. They do a lot of press coverage. we have to prepare for press coverage to make sure our receivers can get off the line of scrimmage.”
“We must have success early, we must play physical, and we must stay healthy. I think those are the three things we need to continue, and the last thing is to improve as a football team. The big question mark is Jordan Webb. I think we just have to wait and see here as we go through the week how it will be with his shoulder and we will just take it kind of day-by-day and make a decision at some point.”
“I also want to make a little bit of an update announcement on D.J. Marshall. As most of you know he had a lymph disease and he is now cancer free. He has been lifting weights and is also now doing minimal football activities. It is really a great to see a smile on his face; it is really good to see a young man who has had a lot of tough times get better. I am happy for him, but I am also happy for our football team as he continues to make progress.”
On how the offensive scheme is molding:
“It is not totally where we would like it to be. I think because of the inexperience of our quarterbacks, we are trying to see what we can do with them to be successful as far as making plays. We are still trying to get that ironed out. There is some other things we would like to do having a full back so I think next year we will be able to do that. We have most of the offense in, but it’s still not all of the things we want to do fully.”
On freshman wide receiver Erick McGriff:
“He is coming along in a steady way. He is definitely a young guy who has some good skills, good size, good hands, and I think he is good in what we are trying to get accomplished. When he has been called upon he has been able to be productive for us. It is possible for him to get another start, it depends on what formation we are in.”
Senior cornerback Chris Harris
On third quarter slides:
“When one thing happens, another mess up happens and little mistakes just keep happening. We have to be able to overcome those. They (Iowa State) did a good job of finding out and executing what we were doing on defense. We tried to make the quarterback run and they figured out a good way to answer what we were doing.”
After the first half:
“We know when we play sound and do what our coaches tell us to do and not have mental mistakes we know we can play. We have to continue to do that for a whole game.”
On Colorado:
“We definitely know Colorado is in the same boat as us. It is definitely a winnable game. They have great players so we have to be ready for them.”
Senior defensive lineman Jake Laptad
On chances against Colorado:
“Really we are just trying to concentrate on ourselves getting better and we can not really look at our opponent and underestimate them. I mean, first week, we obviously underestimated North Dakota State. So we can’t look at our opponent and their record and what they bring. We have to look at ourselves and get better week to week.”
On this game as a revenge game:
“We are not looking at it as though, “They beat us last year.” We are looking at it as this is our year and we have to go out there and get a win for this year’s team.”
On quarterback Cody Hawkins:
“From what I saw it looked like he was throwing the ball around a lot in the last game. He looks like he is a calm quarterback. He has been a starter before so he knows the offense very well and we are going to go out there as a defense and play as hard as we can.”
Freshman wide receiver Erick McGriff
On his first start:
“It was a lot of fun. I was just ready to get in there and do whatever we needed to try and get a win.”
On what he brings to the table:
“We’ve got a big group and I think I bring some height. I like to go deep and run long routes, I like that kind of stuff.”
On attacking the ball in the air:
“I definitely like to go get the ball and catch the ball first and try to make a play after that. That’s pretty much all I’m trying to do right now, catch the ball and then make plays for the team.”
On being on the field after watching from the sideline:
“It’s definitely hard to be on the sideline and watch (the losing). It’s helpful to be out there and kind of get a feel for the game and see what everybody else sees and it’s nice to be able to feel like I can help make changes and turn things around when I am out there.”
Halfback Angus Quigley
On playing a struggling Colorado team:
“It’s a positive for us; it gives us a little bit of motivation. It’s an opportunity to not be last in the Big 12 and it’s exciting.”
On the losing streak:
“Of course you can feel it. You’re always down a little bit on Sundays, the rides home and through the week. It’s tough. But you have to commend the team. Guys are having really good practices after the game. During the week, you can see that guys are maturing and trying to forget about the losing and focus on the upcoming game. Everybody has been putting (the losing streak) away and seeing what happens.”
“There have been some positives. We do have a lot of young guys, and as leaders we have to go out there and encourage. The coaching staff goes back to work and so does everybody else. Of course it’s going to be in the back of your mind, but for the most part, guys have been handling it well.”
On trying to win a conference game:
“I remember my first year, we were 6-6 and we had some success. Things have kind of gone downhill and it’s hard. I know everybody wants to blame Coach Gill and everybody has an opinion on things. We’re really thin. You look at our depth chart, we’re really thin. Guys are banged up, but we’re not going to make excuses and we’re going to show up to practice and work and do what we can.”
