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DUKE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 15, 2018

Quentin Harris

Waco, Texas

Duke - 40, Baylor - 27

Q. First start today, what is on your mind and what did you think of the performance?
QUENTIN HARRIS: Yeah, I mean, definitely a little different than going out there and starting. But on a week-to-week basis it didn't change for me in terms of my preparation. I've got to play and prepare each week like I'm going to be starter for a case or an example like Northwestern. Daniel was having a great game until he went down, and I had to kind of step in there and just trust my preparation.

So nothing really changed for me on a day to day basis or week to week basis. But just really proud of the team effort we put together and were able to come out on top.

Q. Something talked about with Chris was just you're out of routine this week and had to come down early because of everything going on back home. What's it say about you guys putting that all aside and jump being out to the 23-0 lead in the first half?
QUENTIN HARRIS: Yeah, you know, it says a lot about just our focus, I think. Obviously a little bit of an unorthodox schedule for us this week having to come out on Thursday morning. But I thought guys, we were here for Thursday and Friday for our practice, had great focus. We were very detail oriented and just kind of continued things like clock work, like normal.

It shows the maturity and just the focus that our group had, and I was really proud of everybody. Had a lot of guys step in and play some snaps when they haven't previously, including myself, especially on the defensive side of the ball. So just really proud of the team effort and how guys stepped up into roles and really performed well.

Q. You kind of lost momentum there early in the third quarter, had three straight three-and-outs and they blocked the punt return for a touchdown. You guys come out and go 75 yards for a touchdown, how big was that for you guys?
QUENTIN HARRIS: You know, that was big for us. We definitely wanted to answer that after they had scored on that blocked punt. Just kind of was telling the guys on the sideline, we built up a cushion for a reason. Now we've got to go execute and score again and increase the lead.

So just really proud of the drive we put together there. Just kind of mixed and matched in different match-ups and different guys and everything. I thought that came at a really big time for us, and that really helped stretch the lead and stretch the game in our favor.

Q. I know you'd probably like to complete a few more higher percentage of passes. But no big mistakes. Three touchdown passes. Overall, how do you feel?
QUENTIN HARRIS: Yeah, definitely I thought I had a couple balls I probably could have been more accurate on. Definitely want to get the completion percentage up. But at the end of the day, it's a team game and my individual stats don't matter. As long as we come out on top, I'm happy as can be. It says a lot about the team effort we put together to be able to come back after we fought adversity in this game.

Q. Talk about the team effort. You guys did a good job capitalizing on the defense with the first quarter with the fumble and scoring on the same drive after the blocked field goal. What is your mindset after a turnover like that? You guys are set up in good field position.
QUENTIN HARRIS: Yeah, it's a jolt of excitement on the sideline when you have some of those turnovers. We had a couple of them today. Just the mindset I was saying. Reiterating to the guys that we've got to score here and take advantage of it, because when you get those opportunities they are rare in football. So when you get those opportunities, especially on their side of the field, you've got to go ahead and score and capitalize on it because they're very precious. And you want to extend the lead when you can and not let your foot off the gas.

Q. In last year's match-up against Baylor, every touchdown was more than 30 yards. How much was on your mind today? You had a lot of explosive plays. That was a theme for the team last year, so trying to develop that?
QUENTIN HARRIS: Yeah, definitely I think we've kind of had a pretty aggressive offense over the last couple -- dating back to last season. Definitely wanted to -- we've got a lot of trust on our guys on the outside, lot of great receivers in the room that can all play. Definitely had a lot of trust in them to get the job done. All we had to do to get up there and know they're going to make the play and do all the work.

But, you know, I think we just have a very dynamic offense. Lot of different guys can step up into roles. Great running backs, great receivers, great tight ends, great linemen up front that blocked for us today. So definitely wanted to capitalize on those explosives. But definitely was really proud of the drives we were able to put together and sustain.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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