ARMY BLACK KNIGHTS FOOTBALL

November 2, 2024

Dewayne Coleman

Kanye Udoh

Press Conference

Army - 20, Air Force - 3

Q. Guys, congratulations on the win today. Kanye, big day for you on the ground. 22 carries for 158 total yards, looks like. Talk a little bit about the offensive line and the holes they were giving you. I know there seemed to be a really good push, especially in the two A-gaps. The center and two guards. Talk about that.

KANYE UDOH: The mob, shout out to them. Shout out to Coach Viti, Coach Drinkall. They said at halftime, we'll put our culture on display and we'll go out there and knock them off the ball and just play physical football. They went out and did exactly that. I couldn't be more proud of them.

Q. Dewayne, with your first start today, obviously, you've gotten some good reps in this year. How much did the experience in the fourth quarter that you've gotten throughout the year, because of the way Bryson, the starters were able to kind of lull people out, how much did that help having some great game reps going into your start today?

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: Yes, sir, I think it benefited me. I felt comfortable. I trusted my O-line in front of me, and I trusted the coaches to give me plays to execute well.

Q. Last question, Dewayne. Anything surprise you out there today in your first start? Did you kind of expect everything the way it went down?

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: No, sir. I was just very excited for our defensive and offensive line. How Kanye was running the ball. We shut them out in the fourth quarter. It was very, very much appreciated.

Q. Dewayne, congratulations on your win today. When did you find out that you might be starting or would be starting? What was your reaction? How did you prepare?

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: Yes, sir. Bryson just a little ill now. He's getting better. In it was a game-time decision. In our quarterback room, we have Cale Hellums, Ethan Washington, Mitch Bolden, and Bryson Daily. We're all prepared to go when our number's called. My number was called today. I'm glad we came out victorious.

Q. In the first half, you got a couple of field goals. You came out in the third quarter and had a couple of runs. And Kanye, you carried seven times for 53 yards. Maybe you could describe, what made that drive work?

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: Yes, sir. Like Kanye said, at halftime, Coach Viti challenged our offensive line to dominate the front. That's what they did. Kanye ran hard, protected the ball, and we got the job done.

Q. Kanye, an important turning point in the game. You had seven carries. Tell us about how it went for you.

KANYE UDOH: Like he said, the turning point, flipping the switch coming into the third quarter. We knew we'd get the ball back. We had to set the tone, get the momentum on our side. Being able going out to execute, execute, execute, play after play, and move the ball down the field and score was huge.

Q. Dewayne, how was the work of Brady Small making the conversion and making it work seamlessly?

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: Yes, sir. It was great. Brady is a great leader. He's a great leader on the mob, a great leader in the locker room and on our team. He plays his balls off every play. It was good to trust him, get behind him in the mob and trust they'll do their job and execute as best I could in my position.

Q. You talked about flipping the switch in the third quarter. Talk about that. It seemed in the first half the offensive plays seemed to be very conservative. And then with the offensive line opening more holes, you guys got a little bit more aggressive with your play calls. Talk about that, if you could, either one.

KANYE UDOH: I would just say, like, we started getting comfortable. Everybody started settling in to the game. Like first half, everybody's jittery, a little nervous from top down, like, coaches down to players.

Second half, we just got back to what we get to and just dominated and did what we had to do.

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: Yes, sir, these CIC games are always challenging to win. Coach Monken says that all the time. Any college football game is hard to win. We needed to come out with a different type of intensity. I thought that's what we did. Kanye running the ball as hard as he did, we got the job done.

Q. Can you describe the feeling of playing in a CIC game at home before the Corps and getting the result? Kanye, getting into the end zone twice, and especially the last touchdown right in front of the Corps and the reaction you got.

KANYE UDOH: Any CIC game -- I played in two last year -- they're huge. It's an entire different energy, entire different vibe in the air. You can just feel the difference. Every game is important, but CIC games is just different. It's hard to describe. Then being able to go out at home and the adversity that we faced as a team, and still being able to execute and perform is huge. It's a great feeling.

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: Yes, sir. CIC games, like I said, they're hard to win. We knew it would be a dog fight. We put it in terms of being a war out there. Our defense showed up and showed out, and I'm very excited and proud of those guys.

Q. Kanye, did your mindset change today when Bryson wasn't playing? What were your thoughts before the game?

KANYE UDOH: I talked to Bryson throughout the week just letting him know, like, we got his back as a collective, as a brotherhood. Having the season he's having and not being able to play in his last game against Air Force, I can only imagine how he's feeling.

So I just wanted to reach out to him and let him know that we got his back, and we're here to support him. We're going to perform and get this one done for him. And he talked to me before the game. Just, like, go out there and play your game and perform. I felt like I had a responsibility to kind of fill the shoes, so to speak, of Bryson and go out and play my best game.

Q. So, Dewayne, you guys scored six points the first half and then you scored two touchdowns the second half. So what kind of halftime adjustments were made?

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: Culture plays. In the second half, we came out and ran straight culture plays. That's our mob dominating the line of scrimmage and quarterbacks and running backs running the ball as hard as they can, protecting the ball. That was the difference.

Q. Also, talk about your mindset when you knew you were going to be the starting quarterback. What was your mindset? How did you prepare?

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: Yes, sir. I talked to Bryson a lot this week with preparing to get ready for the game. He instilled some great knowledge and wisdom into me. I feel like I went out there and played comfortable in practice and trusted the guys around me to get the job done.

Q. Congratulations, gentlemen. Kanye, with a new quarterback, a backup quarterback going in, was there any issues with play calls, play reads, et cetera? Because there were a couple times where you guys -- I'm not sure if they were designed or whether you guys weren't on the same page.

KANYE UDOH: Yeah, you know, there's little wrinkles. It happens any position first time going in a game. Once we get settled in, D-Cole did a great job. We told him we trust him. We believe in him 100 percent. We're behind him no matter what. He executed, ironed out the wrinkles, and the rest is history.

Q. Kanye, what's it like to go untouched on two long touchdowns?

KANYE UDOH: That's not me. That's all O-line. They blocked it up perfectly. All I had to do is run straight. You could put anybody back there. They're scoring those touchdowns. It's a testament to them and their hard work.

Q. Dewayne, what's it like watching Kanye to do that?

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: You see the back of 6 jersey, you know it's a touchdown every time.

Q. Dewayne, you mentioned about going in today. I know you've been playing football for a long time, and you have seen action. To know you were the guy, you were the starter, honestly, tell us what your feelings were going in. How much pressure was there?

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: Yes, sir. Not any pressure. Backup, starter, third string, fourth string. Everybody knows what we do in our culture, and we believe in our brotherhood, our defensive and offensive line and our backs and receivers to make plays. It was a matter of me going out there and doing my job.

Q. Does it feel good to get this one out of the way, though?

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: I wouldn't say out of the way, sir. Any game feels great. If you become victorious in the game, it feels better. We're excited for next week, getting prepared for North Texas.

Q. Dewayne, you mentioned earlier how you guys came out the second half with trying to dominate up there. But what was going wrong in the first half, and how concerned were you?

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: Sir, it was just a few wrinkles to get ironed out, like Kanye said. We had to go back to our culture plays, trust each other. By doing that, we got the job done.

Q. Dewayne, first start out of the way. In terms of your game, your command of the offense, whatever you want to call it, what do you think your biggest takeaway is?

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: Yes, sir. I have a lot of things to improve on. I'm going to get to the film with Coach Worley and some of our other quarterbacks in the quarterback room and get those things fixed in practice so I can be more efficient coming up in a future game.

Q. You're 8-0. How does it feel?

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: It feels great. We don't get complacent. It's 0-0 the next game. We'll do all we can to prepare for North Texas and try to dominate, get the victory again.

Q. Dewayne, what did it mean for you and the Corps that the Secretary of the Army stood in front of the team and absolved a number of demerits? What does that mean? Some people might not know what it involves.

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: Yes, sir. It's a lot of excitement when we see those high roles coming around, especially from the Army. We saw her at the Army-Navy game last year, and she spoke to the team. It felt great to have her in front of the Corps and give those out. Us as the cadets, we pride ourselves on the Army and the big Army. So seeing the familiar faces come out in person and give us rewards for being victorious feels great.

Q. (No microphone)?

DEWAYNE COLEMAN: No, ma'am. When you practice every week and have guys around you like, you trust, there's nothing nervous about it. You go out and execute.

KANYE UDOH: One thing I want to say about D-Cole, to highlight him real quick, talk about him not being nervous. This man, Bryson Daily goes down. Heisman candidate, right? D-Cole did not flinch at all. Like did not flinch in the slightest. Still the same Number 10. Wasn't nervous. Still got confidence in all of us and led us to victory today. I want to congratulate him.