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GILDAN NEW MEXICO BOWL: CENTRAL MICHIGAN VS SAN DIEGO STATEDecember 21, 2019Jim McElwainAlbuquerque, New Mexico San Diego State - 48, Central Michigan - 11 JIM McELWAIN: Well, first and foremost, just want to start off with this, I want to thank all those fans, our band, the people who made the trek down here and stayed with us all year. That was an incredible year, one of the most enjoyable years I've ever had doing this. Great people, great coaches, and a group of guys in that locker room that no one gave a chance. To our seniors, who made the choice and decision to make something out of nothing, I'm really proud of them. I'm disappointed with the last two ballgames. We came a long ways. But now the next step as we build this program is to learn what we need to do to take the next step and become a consistent winner. We've got parts, and we've got parts coming in. I'm excited about them. We start back on January 12th with a team meeting with a group of guys that have had a taste of what it is. Hopefully they come back thirsty for more. As far as the ballgame goes, you're not going to beat anybody turning it over four times. I knew what kind of team we were playing. Those guys are really good. And yet these are the kind of games that we've got to get used to playing. These are the type of teams we have to get used to playing against. And these are the type of teams that we should want to play against, and that's what this off-season is going to be all about. Again, I appreciate what everybody has done for us this season, but it's only the beginning. It's the beginning of something really great at Central Michigan University, and I'm proud to be a Chippewa. I can't wait to get started after this break. Q. You mentioned the turnovers. You knew they were a good defensive team coming in. Did they do anything in particular -- JIM McELWAIN: No, we just gave them the ball. First series they bat a ball to get it and go in and score. You're not going to beat anybody doing that. And then we get down there before half, if you throw it to the boundary, we've got a touchdown. It is what it is, but they took it away, so therefore they were better. Q. You touched on this a little bit, but your message to your players in the locker room after this, can you address how you feel about them and that kind of thing? JIM McELWAIN: Well, I think I did. They mean everything to me, and I said that earlier in the opening statement. Q. Coach, you kind of touched on it already, but would you consider this season a success -- JIM McELWAIN: Oh, absolutely. I mean, why wouldn't it be a success? I mean, we went to the MAC Championship, right? We were picked dead last with a bunch of guys no one believed in. You're absolutely right, it was a great success. It didn't end the way we wanted it to, and yet here's what I'm going to tell you you do: You learn from your failures. That's what you do, and that's how you become successful. We failed. Q. Jim, looking at Quinten today, the turnovers were obvious. What was going on with him and what did you say to him to try to get him back on track, and when you decided to go to Lazzaro and Richardson, what was that process like? JIM McELWAIN: Well, I wanted to give Daniel a chance to go. They beat the heck out of us up front. It was tough to make throws back there when you got the pressure like we did. Q. As you look back over the season, what is the formula that was used by you and your coaching staff to turn it totally around? JIM McELWAIN: Yeah, I'm not sure we got there totally, but we made it a long, long ways, believe me. I think more than anything, it was empowering our players to make choices and really determine who they are and who they want to be and what they are. And not demanding it, yet simply take accountability for who you are. And if you can do that and you give it your all for the guy next to you, you've got a pretty good chance to be successful, and we had a lot of guys do that, and I'm proud of them. Q. Coach, one guy we saw today, Dishon McNary, it was his first time playing all season. Could you give us an evaluation of how you thought he played and an evaluation of the defense as a whole? JIM McELWAIN: Well, I thought the defense played good enough. Yeah, we gave up a couple long plays, but they played good enough. We just didn't get anything done on offense. Dishon, you know, he played bail and ran about 20 yards past the sticks and gave up a critical 3rd down, which is something that we talked about going in that you can't do, but it was good to get him in the game. Now he's got some work to do here in the off-season, both as a player and as a student. We'd sure hope to have him next season. Q. Looking at Kobe, he's reached the 1,000-yard plateau. He and J-Ward -- JIM McELWAIN: Proud of him. Q. They're the first duo in Central Michigan history to both reach 1,000 yards. How big has Kobe been and that one-two punch been for you guys? JIM McELWAIN: Well, you know, I'm proud of both those guys. I love the way they work together and complement each other. To get Kobe over 1,000 and obviously Johnathan over 1,000 and missing a couple games, credit the guys up front, as well, but obviously they're a talented duo. I'm really happy for Kobe. He works his tail off. Q. And looking forward to the 2020 season, you plan to be the head coach next year? JIM McELWAIN: Yeah. I mean, didn't I just say that? Thanks, though, I appreciate that. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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