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NCAA DIVISION I FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: TOWSON v NORTH DAKOTA STATEJanuary 4, 2014Craig BohlRyan DrevlowBrock JensenCarlton LittlejohnSam OjuriFRISCO, TEXAS North Dakota State – 35 COACH BOHL: First of all, I want to congratulate Towson, Coach Ambrose, many times in the midst of a championship, what we fail to recognize is for two teams at this point, and I know that they desperately wanted to win the game as we did, but they had a phenomenal year and they're very well coached and I want to say congratulations to them. I also want to thank our administration, Gene Taylor and President Bresciani for the support through the years and really providing us resources to be successful, so I want to say thanks to them. Also want to say thanks to our football team, particularly this senior class. They have persevered a lot. Many of them came here after a 3‑8 year, and the other guys were here when we had the 3‑8 year, so to flip it around certainly speaks volumes about their character and resolve and belief in one another. Really a remarkable group. I know much has been talked about all the potential distractions. I think there's two times this whole season where the game was in doubt at the tail end of the game, and that's a real indication of an excellent football team, and today capped it off. It's hard to do. It's hard to run the table. It's not hard, it's really hard to do, and hats off to these guys. At this time I'll open it up to any questions anybody might have. Q. (Inaudible) the last four years. Is that a sign of what it takes to three‑peat? COACH BOHL: If you look at the number of games, somebody can probably tell me how many‑‑ pardon me? 59, that's a lot of football in a short amount of time. Football is a physical game, and you're going to have some injuries, unfortunately, but what has been really special is not only how these players have responded and come back‑‑ I mean, two guys are out there playing with torn ACLs which is somewhat unique. I think it shows their commitment. But moreover beyond these guys, there's so many others. It also shows this football team is a very deep football team, and there's a lot that goes into that. When you have strength and conditioning and off‑season programs, academic support, and then to overcome the injuries, I think Sanford Health does a phenomenal job getting our guys back on the field. But it's a phenomenal game. It's a 16‑round fight, and we've been crowned champions. Q. Coach, you talked the other day a little bit about Grant Olson. I noticed he got out there. Talk about how inspirational that was. And then also how big those two plays were, the blocked field goal and the interception. COACH BOHL: Well, I'll take them in backwards order. First of all, I thought those were key plays in the game. Towson is a very talented offense, and we were hanging in there, but they were moving the football, and so for us to cause those two, whether it was a blocked field goal or the interception, we scored twice on them, and I think that created a ton of energy and momentum. So I thought that that was really special. Concerning Grant, he's a really unique player. I don't know if I've ever been around a more instinctive football player, and I've coached a long time in a lot of different leagues. He's got great instincts, and this was the type of game that because of the injury that he sustained, he was still able to go in there and compete. He actually played a little bit more than what I thought he could play. So it was great to see him out there, and he was tackling a back that was preparing himself to go to the NFL. Really great effort by Grant, and it certainly meant a lot to our players to have him out there. Q. You probably looked at the numbers, but only the third undefeated national champion. Does that even bother your mind? COACH BOHL: Not right now, but I think in a couple months it's going to. This team, I've said this, they were possessed with perfection, and they relentlessly pursued it. You're not going to be perfect, but in the middle of it you're going to catch excellence, and they did. So when you look at that track, not only this team but the last several teams, when you start throwing those numbers out to me, it's pretty remarkable. When you're in the midst of getting ready to play a game, you don't even think about it, you just try to figure out how to get the next 1st down. I imagine in a couple months, a couple years, it'll all sink in for me personally. Q. Coach, you talked about trying to not get emotional during this playoff run. Can you just assess the next step for this program, maybe how Coach Kleiman can put his own stamp on the program? What's next here? COACH BOHL: Well, I think it's important that everybody has got to coach to their own personality, that's certainly what I've done, along with Coach Kleiman, the very best. We'd like to think our football program is in a different place than 11 years ago and the one thing we've always strived to do is leave a program better than what it was when we first got here, so want to wish Coach Kleiman the very best and just keep it going. Q. A couple things: First, field conditions, your thoughts on that, the turf? COACH BOHL: Well, quite frankly I was surprised. We had a lot of gouging with the turf out there. I noticed that during pregame warm‑ups, and it was really unfortunate, but sometimes those things come up. Both teams were in the same position. I was concerned about safety for our players, but fortunately nobody was injured. But this was atypical. The last several times we've been down there it's been a great track, so why it was different, I don't know, but I thought the officials did a great job of managing it. Q. Can you talk about Brent Vigan? He was a guy who I think barely hung on in the coaching change in 2002, through the old coordinator. Talk about his development. COACH BOHL: He's blossomed. It was interesting, I remember the first time I talked to Brent, I heard that he was offensive coordinator material but he was a young guy and I asked Brent to sit down and talk a little bit about himself and he started to blush, and he said, I'm pretty modest, it's hard for me to talk about myself. I said, well, you've got about an hour to save your job, so you'd better start talking, and he did. But Brent is a guy, he does not toot his own horn. He's unbelievably creative. He's a team player. There's many times as an offensive coordinator that we win as a team, and the things that you do on offense, there's a reason why our time of possession is what it is, and that certainly helps our defense. I've seen tremendous growth with Brent. I don't think that‑‑ not think, I know, there's nobody that has been critiqued or criticized more than Brent Vigen, and I just think his growth has been phenomenal. For 21 years he's been at NDSU, he's part of every game in the dome, and he's called an awful lots of plays, and I think what you're seeing now is he's hitting his stride. He's as good as what I've been around. I need to preface that. The last guy I was around like that, that could call plays like that, was Tom Osborne, and he's got a lot of similar qualities. That's a pretty high compliment. Q. Can you quickly comment on the crowd again? COACH BOHL: I never in my wildest dreams thought that there would be a crowd effect on supposedly a neutral site. I know Towson, a couple times they had some jumps, the crowd was into it, and to see all our fans come and really embrace this football team is really special. This is a big‑league venue, and we had a big‑time crowd following today from our fans. Hats off to them. Q. For Brock and Ryan, can you put this three‑year run into words, what this means to kind of cap it like this? RYAN DREVLOW: It's really hard to put into words. We've got a special group of guys, special group of men, love each other, we'd do anything for the drop of a hat. I mean, we've just looked at each other the last two years, last three years, and said I'm going to compete for you and you compete for me, and I'm going to leave it all on the field. That's just what we've done, and it's just been remarkable to be a part of it. BROCK JENSEN: I mean, you don't do the things that we've done these past few years without sacrifice. We all made a willing decision to make a lot of sacrifices to do something special like this, and it's a team effort. The coaches are unbelievable, and they put us in those situations. Coach Bohl and his staff, it's something I'll remember my whole life, playing for you guys. They're unbelievable, let me tell you. The teammates that I've had over the course of the years, I can't really say enough about them. It's been a blessing, and we've got something special here at NDSU. Q. Brock, you've been through three of these celebrations, but today seemed a little bit different. Obviously your senior year, and individual chance for individual players, yourself one of them. What was that moment like today? BROCK JENSEN: It's one I'll always remember my whole lifetime. Really special. It gets better every time, I think, you win it, definitely. But yeah, just to soak it all in, and that was the last time I put on a Bison jersey, but man, it's been a fun ride. Q. For Carlton and Ryan, could you talk a little bit about Grant Olson getting out there? He made some plays, just how inspiring that was for him to get out there when it looked like his season was over earlier? CARLTON LITTLEJOHN: It's great to see Grant out there. It's great to see him back out there with us, doing what he loves to do. When he went down with that ACL, he was down for a little bit, but he kept going. He kept working. He always had hope knowing that he would play one more game. He was able to play two more games, and I mean, just being out there on the field with him was great just to see him out there, running the defense, being the quarterback of that defense. It was great to see, great to play with him. RYAN DREVLOW: He's a great leader. Even when he went down he was there on the sidelines and we'd come off of a defensive series he'd be telling us what went wrong. Grant has great emotion, and he plays with great emotion, and he loves his teammates. Just to have him out there with us is special, it kind of completes the defense to have him out there. It was great to have him out there the last two games. Q. Ryan and Carlton, talk about the blocked field goal and then the interception back to back. How do you feel that affected the game and shifted it at that point? RYAN DREVLOW: It totally swung the momentum in our favor. I mean, there was a 10‑point swing right there after we blocked the field goal, and then to get out there right away and get that interception and then get that 14‑point lead was huge. I mean, it got the ball rolling our way, and it sprung us. CARLTON LITTLEJOHN: I thought it was huge. We knew in the midst of this game someone would have to make a play, and for them to make those plays was just great for us, great for the whole team. It got the offense going and gave the defense more confidence. Q. Ryan, you get a chance to rest your body now. Are you feeling any pain right now? RYAN DREVLOW: No, I'm high on Cloud 9. I'm sure I'll wake up tomorrow and hardly be able to get out of bed, but you know, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I mean, all of us have put our bodies through hell, but if you would ask me, I'd do it 100 times over. This is a special group of men, and NDSU is a special place. Q. Carlton, as you look around everywhere today, a lot of these seniors, they won't be here next year. How is that going to change for this team? CARLTON LITTLEJOHN: We still have capable underclassmen that are making plays this year. Going to get some guys ready for next year. We just have to not focus on what we're losing but what we still have and what we have to gain. I think we'll still be a good football team next year with the guys we have. Q. Sam, how was the turf for you, the footing? SAM OJURI: It wasn't that great, but the people did a great job putting the divots back in. It was a surface everyone had to play on, so it was equally fair for both teams. Q. Brock, you've been here five years, Vigen has been here his whole life. Reflect on that a little bit and his development that you've seen. BROCK JENSEN: It's been special to play for Coach Vigen. I don't know how he's been at this level. I know when he's played here before, and this means a lot to him obviously. To be able to coach at your alma mater is very special and something very few people get to do. But to have him at our level and have him here his whole coaching career is‑‑ I don't know how that happens. He's a very smart guy, very smart, knows the game in and out, and he's the one that gets our offense ready and gets us in a position to win games, to move the ball. We've got a lot of checks in games, and it's all him and what he tells me to do, I just have to perform it on the field. I can't thank that man enough for everything that he's done for me, and we can't thank him enough for everyone that he's done for this university. He's a very, very special person. Q. Sam and Brock, what can you guys say about this offensive line that's been together and been doing such a great job this year? SAM OJURI: The offensive line is the heart and soul of the offense. They pride themselves on opening holes, and it's usually them that gives us tips, just trust it, trust it. We just trust those guys up front and they get other teams moved out. They just do a great job keeping our offense moving forward. BROCK JENSEN: Our offensive line has done a tremendous job throughout the course of my career. Coach has done a tremendous job getting them ready for every game, and they're amazing, the way that they can run block. They always are communicating in loud environments. Nothing ever fazes them. They're an impressive bunch of guys, and they've kept me on my feet my whole career. I don't know how many times I've been sacked in my career but probably not a whole lot. They're a really good bunch. Q. Brock and really any of the players, what was the toughest moment of this season? BROCK JENSEN: I think just having that target on your back the whole year. You can't go into a game thinking that we're wearing the green and gold, we're the Bison and we're pretty good, so we're going to win this game. You can't go into a game with that mentality because it'll come back and bite you just like it did the past couple years with our one‑loss seasons. This year we had a goal that we wanted to go undefeated. We didn't have a goal to win the Missouri Valley or anything like that. That was our initial goal, but our main goal was to not lose a football game, period, and that's what we did. It's a pleasure to be a part of this. Q. This question is for Brock and Sam: What can you guys say about the rushing attack in this game? Once you guys got the momentum on your side you guys really effectively ran the ball. What can you say about it? BROCK JENSEN: Well, once again, our offensive line did a great job and our running backs do a tremendous job finding the hole and even making plays when there might not be one, which doesn't happen a whole lot. Sam and John do a tremendous job running the football, and we had some checks in the run game that we thought we could take advantage of, and I tried to do the best of my ability to get us in the right play, and sometimes, a couple times I didn't, but most of the time I did, and we did a good job of making the best out of the plays. Yeah, we ran the ball well today. SAM OJURI: Once again, Coach Vigen, he did a great job putting up our game plan and putting us in the right position to make plays. Brock did a really good job checking to players that he thought would work, and they usually do, and it's been a fun ride, me and John. We prioritized ourselves on our rushing attack and keeping each other going, whether it was me or whether it was him. It's always about the team, so we just did what we could. Just was important to get this team going. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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