|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 4, 2013Nat BerheDylan DensoQuinn KaehlerAdam RobertsNEVADA – 44 Q. Thoughts on that last pass? QUINN KAEHLER: Obviously we wanted to get a touchdown and that's what our main goal was because we knew their offense had been moving the ball and a field goal really wouldn't have been that secure. Q. You had a lot of guys‑‑ talk about‑‑ QUINN KAEHLER: Yeah, everyone did a really good job, and especially Judge coming in and filling Colin's spot. Then we had Vizzi and Denso and obviously Ezel did really well and Roberts made a ton of huge catches and moved the chains for us. Q. You're the guy‑‑ making that same pass, first down catches? ADAM ROBERTS: It feels just as good to get the win, doesn't matter if I score or Judge scores, it's great, I'm glad we won. Q. He's obviously a great player‑‑ two touchdowns in his start, especially a game winner. QUINN KAEHLER: Yeah, he did a great job stepping up and he was ready to play today. Q. Inaudible. NAT BERHE: You've got to give credit to Nevada. They are a good team. Don't kid yourself. Cody Fajardo, he's a great quarterback. He's one of the best quarterbacks in the league. So I mean, you know, it's crazy how we don't stop him at all in the fourth quarter and then we go out and we stop them in overtime. I think it tells a lot about our defense. I'm just so proud of them and what they have done. A lot of people saying the defense isn't as good as last year and stuff like that, for us to come out and play a good Nevada team and get the win, kudos to those guys. Q. Inaudible‑‑ really sealed the win, how do you think you guys did‑‑ NAT BERHE: I think the corners played well. I talked to JJ after that first touchdown on him, and I just told him, you know, stay in the game. I mean, it's 60 minutes, that's why we play it. Just stay in the game, keep working, keep working and something goes and he makes a huge play for us in overtime. Just credit to him. Q. The two turnovers to the defense were huge‑‑ NAT BERHE: Of course. Q. You scored on both of those. NAT BERHE: That's just Coach Long instilling in us we got to get the ball out and we've got to make big plays. Montae did a great job knocking the ball out, stripping the ball. It's everything that we've practiced, and it's just great to kind of see it all come like full circle. Q. Going back to the first half, you guys had the last seconds in the first‑‑ 64 yards in six plays, a huge momentum shifter, describe how important that was going into the half and going into the locker room, how big was that? DYLAN DENSO: You know, that's something we practice every week, our two‑minute series, we call it our clutch series. It was kind of an up‑and‑down game at that point, and they said, we got that last point, so just said, we have got to go score, went to our two‑minute. Ezel had a big catch; I know Chad had one of those big runs. It's not all one big play; it's everybody's making those smaller plays and then getting us back into the red zone and then finishing it off. Q. Was there a feelingthat with Colin out, you guys all had to step up with the injury, was there a sense of that? DYLAN DENSO: Yeah, definitely, since it happened kind of late, no one was aware of it but once we figured out he wasn't going to be playing. Q. When did you find out? DYLAN DENSO: I believe it was Thursday. After that, we all get together after practice and we brought ourselves on, who is going to be the next guy to step up so that was the theme for tonight's game. Everybody has to step up and make plays. Q. The play calling the first half, was that something you guys expected? DYLAN DENSO: I believe we were always planning on going aggressive. We wanted to establish the run early, which I think that we did and I think that just sets up everything else that our offense can do. So establishing that run, I mean‑‑ Muema and Pumphrey both had unbelievable games so, that helps everything else and opens up the pass. Q. Can you tell the difference between past games‑‑ QUINN KAEHLER: Yeah, it was a lot easier because we got into third‑and‑man situations instead of third‑and‑longs and second and longs, so makes it easier and Coach Toledo did a great job calling tonight's game. He did a great job and the rest of the coaches did a really good job getting ready for this game. Q. On the sack‑‑ did you hold on to it too long? QUINN KAEHLER: Yeah, I just needed to hit the check down and he was probably there and he would have got the first down. Q. What were your thoughts on the o‑line; third consecutive start, do you see an improvement? QUINN KAEHLER: Yeah, they did a great job today both in the run and in the pass. I think that was the only sack and we ran for a ton of yards. It's not just the running backs; it's the offensive line creating holes for those guys and letting those guys do what they are good at. Q. Pumphrey, is it exciting to see‑‑ he's a potential starter‑‑ do you see that at all? DYLAN DENSO: Not going to hype him up too early, he's still a freshman. No, he's an exciting player, he's explosive and we all love him. He's got a great attitude and he wants to be great, so the ball is in his court. Q. Do you kind of see your season going through your eyes there at the end? Was it that type of feeling? DYLAN DENSO: I mean, we had a lot of chances to win that game right there, and then as things started unfolding, you know, a lot of things happened. Flashbacks almost to Nevada last year what happened, and almost, to me, after winning this game, it feels like it's the start. It's not really losing anything; this is the start, because how we started off the season and what we have for our goal is how we want to finish it, this is the start, so winning that first conference game is pretty big. Q. Describe how you've grown as a starter; three touchdown passes, just describe how you've grown as a starter. QUINN KAEHLER: I think the rest of the guys are playing really well and Coach Toledo is calling great plays and we had the running game going. So play‑action pass, there were guys open, and of course the receivers are making plays. I wasn't really, you know, exactly on, but Deno made the great catch in the end zone and Ezel made a one‑handed catch, Roberts had a big game. It was just all the guys coming together and it was really fun. Q. In the over time, was it like, gosh, got to get this back or were you excited? QUINN KAEHLER: No, I think we were excited, because it's fun to play in overtime. We were excited to get out there and then try to score a touchdown. DYLAN DENSO: Yeah, we believed we were going to win that game and there was a lot of chances for us to win that game. It's just us making that play. I know on the sideline, the energy was, we felt we deserved to win that game and we were ready at any moment. Q. When he calls his plays and gets in the huddle‑‑ inaudible. QUINN KAEHLER: Yeah, it brings excitement and the plays are drawn up really well. So D.J. on that play, he had a lot of room to run and then he did the rest. So they are great plays, and you know, they have been working for us. Q. Inaudible. QUINN KAEHLER: Yeah, the week went by fast, but we didn't have a lot of time. After the New Mexico game, we knew we had to get back to work because we knew we were going to lose that day of practice. Q. We keep asking, what is the mentality of this team, do you have your confidence; where is the team's mentality now? NAT BERHE: Well, I think the team is happy. I mean, you know, 1‑0 in conference, that's huge. But we can't get complacent, two wins underneath our belt. We've just got to keep rolling. Q. Do you think it's good to get this first win with so many big games coming up? NAT BERHE: Of course, it's always good when you win and it's always bad when you lose. For us to come out and win two in a row, that's huge for the confidence of this team. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|