UNIVERSITY OF TULSA FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 19, 2022

Philip Montgomery

Press Conference

Tulsa 48, South Florida 42

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: You know, really just another example of how hard it is to win in this league every week. Proud of our guys. Back and forth the whole game. But just they stuck together. They were resilient and found a way to get it done. Guys stepped up made big plays.

Very talent team in South Florida. The running back, man, he's just slippery. You know, he's difficult to get down onto the ground. Quarterback was hot tonight.

But that being said, came up with big stops when we needed to. Turnovers were a huge part of the game. Made those in a lot of different ways.

And just couldn't be more proud of the way the guys stuck together, found a way on Senior Night to come out and really play a really good game and find a way to win.

Q. How gratifying was it to see after the last couple of games where the offense wasn't really doing very well to see that part of the game click and pile up the yardage?

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, you know, I thought it really started with our offensive line and run game. Got some things going there.

And then I thought Braylon really played a really nice game. Had his eyes in the right spot. Did a nice job of working some RPO game in there. Threw the ball well down the field. Guys made plays for him there. Did some things with his feet.

But, again, I thought we played really complementary offensively, run game, pass game, and those guys came out and performed at really good level. We have struggled the last couple weeks, but it was good to see some things start turning and the ball start bouncing our way, and we executed and made plays when we needed to.

Q. You mentioned the run game. Talk about Deneric and the night he had.

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, I thought Deneric had as explosive night again. Again, that starts with the offensive line and those tight ends, but he was really hitting some nice holes in there. Ran through arm tackles. Had explosive runs. Trusted his speed in the open field. Really his vision was really good tonight. He was seeing things really well. And just being really relentless in the style that he was running in it.

So I thought he did a really nice job.

I thought Steve came in and did some really good things too. Good to have him back. You know, those guys are seniors, and the opportunity to step out there on that field again and get it done, I thought they did a nice job.

Q. Just from a watching him a handful of times now, especially seeing the exuberance that he came off the field with, it seems like Braylon just brings really, really good energy. Can you maybe speak to as a redshirt freshman taking the reins and just can the energy, competitiveness he plays with?

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, he's got such a passion for the game. He's very confident in what he can do. Obviously last week it wasn't our best performance, but this week really he stepped out on the practice field, and I thought our guys came with the right attitude this week. They have every week, but they really came back with this desire to understand and know that we're better than what we did.

I thought this week stepping out there that they played with a lot of confidence. Thought those guys were really on point. You know, again, he protected the football, made good decisions, he was accurate with it. But like you said, he's got a natural quality about him that lights up the room, and people tend to really want to do good around him.

Q. What did he do tonight that really shows some progress? Got a chance against Ole Miss and did some good things, but I know it came in fits and starts.

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: I really thought tonight just his consistency and the level of play that he was doing. You know, he had his eyes in the right spot. Made some really good decisions. Obviously there are things we're going to find on the tape that we want to get better at. I thought he did a nice job of picking and choosing when he needed to do things with his arm, do things with his feet, let the run game really work, and knowing when it's time, where, you know, I need to go make a play.

I thought he did some of that as well tonight. But I thought he threw the deep ball really well. I thought he was a lot more accurate with some of his underneath throws than what he's been over the last couple weeks. That's just confidence. I thought our offensive line gave him protection. That was a big key to it as well.

Allowed him to get into that rhythm, and he did a nice job of really putting the ball where it needed to be.

Q. To the people on the outside, a team just is what its record is. How proud are you of a group that attacked the week coming off losing out on bowl eligibility the way they did; we heard the guys talk about how you had told them this is a week to embrace the fact that you love this game, and seemed like this resonated with them. I mean, to see them do that and get the result they got tonight, I would imagine you're pretty proud of that.

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, I really am. I'm proud of this group. We fought through a lot of different things throughout this year. You know, our goals and aspirations were much loftier than what they are at this point, right?

But this group has got -- it's a group of guys that have been through a lot of different things throughout their college careers. We talked about that last week. We talked about the pride that we play with, the passion that we play with, and understanding it's more than just the record, right?

And guys talk all the time about how much they love the game. They talk about how much they work and how much this means and this, that, and the other.

And when you get in situations like now, is that talk or is it the real passion that you have? I thought those guys -- I think it resonated with them, and I think they showed that tonight in the way they played.

Q. Last series of game for USF, you're going against a hot offense, they get the ball, I know it's a long field, but your defense really came through and didn't allow them a chance to do anything. Because they were hot. I mean, just talk a little bit about how they came through.

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, big stop right there at the end. Like you said, the quarterback had been hot all game. I thought our defense really -- I mean, get pressure on the first play, got a couple different throws in there where they're trying to get it out quicker. I thought our guys did a nice job of rallying to the ball and creating pressure in those type of situations, on quarterback and the receiver itself.

But for them to come up big right there when we know we needed it, just a huge stop by them, and couldn't be more proud of the way they just kept coming back and continued to battle.

That's a great stop for us. Needed it.

Q. First, talk about what were the emotions like during that Senior Night ceremony and how was that for you.

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: Yeah, those are always bittersweet for me. All of those young men on our football team that have dedicated so much to our program, we've always been here -- since day one since I've been here it's been faith, family, football, in that order.

I think our guys understand how much we care them. I think there is a real connection. I feel that connection to all of them. I feel like they're all my sons.

So I talked to the team today before we got on the bus to head back over here. You know, some of those old heads sitting in that room today in just a snap of the finger were the young ones. You think I got all this time left and all of a sudden it just snaps and it's done.

And so those guys, time just moves so quickly, and I love every one of those. I appreciate them. I respect them. I'm excited to see what the future has in store for them.

You know, I know they're going to do great things.

Q. Lastly, just talk about Davis and the decision for him to sit out, and when did you know that and kind of how is he going to go forward?

PHILIP MONTGOMERY: When we got back from last week's game kind of sat down and talked. You know, he's got an injury, and we wanted to make sure that we're making the right decisions for his health, helping him through that process, right?

So we knew pretty early we were going to take it day by day, but we had to plan and be ready if he wasn't going to be able to play. And Braylon did a nice job tonight.

Obviously we'll evaluate Davis and see where his injury is at and we'll go from there.