Post-Game Quotes: Rutgers
11/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Head Coach Mark Dantonio
Opening statement...
Obviously a big win for our football team today. We kind of climbed out of under the rock a little bit. The guys are very excited. When you go seven weeks like we have, you sometimes get so far away, and at some point this happens, it feels pretty good. As far as reasons for winning - I thought we came out with energy. Obviously, the drive after we went three-and-out on defense, the second offensive drive for a touchdown was big. And then following that, Demetrious Cox's pick for a touchdown was a big thing as well. And then the throw to Trishton Jackson, true freshman, big run after the catch.
Our guys just played well. We ended up plus-two in the turnover margin, which is something we have not been able to accomplish since the Notre Dame game. We stopped the run effectively, stopped the pass effectively, we were able to renounce defensively, and get a shutout defensively. On the offensive side of the ball, 35-0 at half I think it was, so very productive in that as well.
Great job of Spartan Nation coming out to this football game. You'd wonder what the crowd would be like, but they showed up, and they stayed throughout. I appreciate that very, very much. It's a good feeling, a good feeling. You'd have thought we'd won the championship in that locker room. It's been a long time.
On the impact that Connor Cook and Shilique Calhoun's visit had...
All of our guys have an impact that come back. We've had a lot of guys come back that have been with us. Bennie Fowler has been here, Marcus Rush has been here. A lot of guys have come back that have been a part of the last three years. You have to appreciate every time our guys come back. It's always nice seeing them. They brought a lot to this program and they've done so much for it and they've had great success here. Both those guys were All-Americans, both those guys were draft picks, they play for Oakland and are on a 7-2 football team right now and both of them were instrumental in leading us to really two out of the last three years, Big Ten champs, so we really appreciate it.
On the teams character now after a win...
I've said this week in the press, and I've told our football team, when you come to practice, you're competing for a championship, or you're playing where we were at right now. You really can't tell. We've got different people out there a little bit, some freshman, etc. But, different freshman, but the mindset has always been good, the energy has always been good. And really when you look back at our games we've played, we've been ahead, we've played into the fourth quarter. It's just things haven't worked at times. But, we've never lost, we've been resilient is what I'd say, and I think that's a great character, a great trait. And I've told our football team they'll draw on this season. It's not always the ups that bring you forward. Sometimes, you have to go through the downs, too. So, we'll draw.
On how good getting a shutout feels... I think that we needed energy. We got energy from everybody on our football team, not just the guys on the field. We got energy from the fans and we continued with that energy throughout. And when you have that, good things tend to happen. When we start to play with more confidence, good things start to happen. I thought Justin Layne played well at corner. We played Donnie Corley at corner as well. Two big picks, obviously one for a touchdown, and then Montae Nicholson. So we got some turnovers and we just sort of started the ball rolling a little bit, just started inching it forward. We'll see what that brings us next week.
On the shutout...
As a defensive coach anytime you can shut anybody out this day in age, it's a pretty big accomplishment. It's a big deal because everybody has players, and this is a team that's been playing well the past couple of weeks. Rutgers took Indiana to the end, Illinois, Minnesota with that last second kick, and they played Iowa 14-7. So they've had their ups-and-downs obviously, but they had the ability of coming in to play us and play us very close as every other team has done. As a defensive coach, you get a shutout that's big. We needed it. We needed things to go in our direction just once, go in our direction totally. Offensively, defensively, and really on special teams we played very well.
On freshman turning the corner as they get playing time...
I think freshman turn the corner, really, at the end of the season once they have the chance to digest everything, and they grow from that. Right now every week something changes. It's a different game plan, and a different group of people that you are playing against. There's different pressures - that sort of thing. I think they played better. [Donnie] Corley played about a quarter on defense and had a big play on third down, so we used him on both sides of the ball. He had a big catch and a nice run, but I do think freshmen tend to grow up a little bit more in the offseason than they do during the season because it's pretty chaotic during the season when everything is going on. I'm proud of how they played and we have some guys that obviously are playing well. Joe Bachie made a nice tackle out there in space. He's got the ability.
On how much of 2017 was on the field today...
I would have to count them up. Young players are going to progress. I think it's an interesting thing to note that our seniors have stayed the course too. R.J. Shelton is having a great year, and I think Tyler O'Connor has been playing very well. If you look at what he's been able to accomplish, really the second half of this season, he's played solid. You've got some other guys out there playing. They're just hanging tough and playing through the pain a little bit. That's something that's got to be of note too. We've got a lot of younger players. You start a redshirt freshman at tackle, and a redshirt freshman at guard and you have guys in and out, certainly. We just have to close at the end. A lot of games we haven't been able to close.
On Demetrious Cox's pick...
He played the back end and he played the secondary. Good things happened and bad things happened. We were playing the hot coverage where we send a blitz, you look at the quarterback's eyes and make a break on it, and he picked it clean. So, that was a great play by him and it was good for him to get that. It will help his confidence, even at the end of the season like this. I think it helps player's confidence. He needed something good to happen to him. I think that was fortunate for him. Not fortunate, but well-played.
On Trishton Jackson...
You know, Trishton is an exciting player. He came out of the Ann Arbor area there - no he didn't - West Bloomfield. I forgot. But anyway, he is. He has ability. He's got great running ability after the catch. He's got great hands. I think his coach in high school, Rob Bellamy, did a great job with him. You see the result of that. He's a guy that's been playing a little bit, but he's got to transition to start playing more and more as guys go, but he plays behind R.J. [Shelton], so it's hard to get him in there sometimes. He played quarterback in high school, so he's a guy that understands the schemes, concepts, route-progressions and placements, and things of that nature, so he's ahead of the curve in his learning. He is an outstanding athlete and will be a very, very good player for us.
On Austin Wolfe getting playing...
I wanted to get Austin in there, being Armed Forces day. He's never really had an opportunity to play much and he's a senior and has been a guy that's come out every single year. He will be a second Lieutenant next year in the US Army and we are very proud of him, as we are of all our players.
Rutgers head coach Chris Ash
Opening statement...
To start, obviously played a good football team, talked about this a lot during the week with their football team, that was a team that was 2-7 but did not see that on the tape or on the field, from the film that we had watched in our preparation. They got a lot of players that have played a lot here and been a part of a lot of success, and they just dominate up front on both sides of the ball. We struggled to get anything going offensively, up front, the run game, struggled to stop the run up front on defense and if you can't control the line of scrimmage you really have no chance to win football games. More disappointing than the score I think was just there were some things happening out there that took us away from focusing on doing our job, we got distracted, got caught up in some things that we can't do to win football games and, we have got to teach guys how to stay focused and lock in our jobs and not get worried about extracurricular activities, talking back and forth to the other team. It's just not the way we are going to be and that's not the way you get your job done, especially where you're at where we're at right now.
On the matchup between two 2-7 teams...
It had nothing to do with that, that's still a good football team. You go down, you look at their roster of guys that are playing this year and that played last year in the National Semifinal, there's a lot of players that played. For whatever reason, it hasn't necessarily gone the way they've wanted but that's still a good football team. If you go and play a good football team and you're not performing to your full potential and you get distracted on top of that, you're going to struggle and things aren't going to go your way. They dominated us up front, that's what happened with the start either way, we got dominated from the start to the finish up front on both sides of the ball.
On the lack of the rushing game...
They were taking away a lot of the runs. Rushing attempts when you run the zone read, it's a read and based on the play of the defensive ends will determine whether you're going to keep it or you're going to hand it off and they took it away and that's what it is.
On quarterback Giovanni Rescigno's play overall...
It wasn't good, you look at the stats it wasn't good. We had hoped that he would be better and he wasn't today. It's not just him, it starts up front and if we can't run the football, we're not going to beat anybody by standing back there in the pocket and throwing it all over the field and expect to beat someone. We got to run the ball, we got to be able to protect the quarterback and we struggled to do that, that's two weeks in a row that we struggled to do that, we got to get that fixed.
On his confidence in quarterback Giovanni Rescigno...
Yeah, we've gone through a lot of quarterbacks. Right now we still feel that he gives us the best chance to go out and play. Tylin Oden played some today, again Tylin [Oden] isn't a whole lot different than what he was a few weeks ago, I mean he struggles with some of the throw game stuff like you saw that today with some of the opportunities that we gave him to throw. We got to continue to bring him along, but the whole thing starts up front. Right now if we're going to expect a quarterback on our roster to go out and win games for us it's not going to happen, we got to be able to be a balanced offense, be able to run the football and we could not do that today. It's disappointing, that's two weeks in a row.
On the team not having a lot of experience...
Experience isn't all what it is. Experience doesn't determine that you're a good football player or that you're going to go out and do your job consistently, that's not what it is. That doesn't make somebody go out and perform the way they need to perform, there's a lot of things that go into it so it has nothing to do with whether they are a freshman or a junior or a senior, it's collectively as a group on both sides of the ball we have to play better.
On the message to fans...
That we didn't play very well. I just look at the 10 games we've played, we've played three top five teams. Up until today, you take those three top five teams out, we had a chance to win every game in the fourth quarter and we didn't. We have got to find ways to get that done. Would not have thought today would've happened because I thought our guys were locked in, had a good week in practice, the attitude has been good. I think our guys have a strong love for each other, I think they're still committed to the cause, I think the older guys that go out in practice want to play hard to leave their legacy here at Rutgers. But we're getting better in a lot of areas, today didn't look like it. Up until today, I thought we were making a lot of improvements in a lot of areas.
Michigan State Co-Offensive Coordinator Dave Warner On the offensive line...
Well, they came to play. Obviously, we've been a little beat up at that position, and I think we went into the week trying to solidify it a bit and guys knew that. We had those pieces put into place with Cole (Chewins) starting at left tackle. And getting Kodi back was big. He's a great competitor up there. Bottom line is the guys played good and they were responsible for us being able to run the football and take on our opponent.
On the feeling of getting a win...
I'm happy, I'm happy for these guys right here. I'm happy for our football team more than anything. They've continued to work extremely hard through the tough times and obviously it's what we've been waiting for. We hoped it would happen sooner than it did, but like I said, I'm just more excited for these guys than anything.
Michigan State co-defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett On the need for a game like this...
Absolutely. Guys came out and played hard. We talked about this being a starting point to build from and taking momentum into next year. So we want to finish these last three games out strong, and our guys started off right so let's see if we can keep it going.
On starting two freshmen on the defensive line...
I never perceived it happening, but we saw those guys playing for us, just not starting for us. But, based on how the season was going with injuries and what not, hey, you got to do what you've got to do. It'll serve us well going on into the future.
On the shutout...
It's always awesome for a defense to get a shutout. It's good for the players to hold an opponent scoreless. It makes everybody's confidence go up and all those types of things, but it's hard to do in college football. I don't care who you're playing against. So, credit to the players for busting their butts and getting it done, understanding the game plan, and executing the game plan the entire game, so credit to them.
On going into next year...
Well the momentum just in itself, by winning today carries you into next week's game and then hopefully it carries through next week into the Penn State game. It definitely helps. One thing that definitely helps our guys, like LJ was saying about practice, is that our practices have been good. Shockingly, you'd be like `wow', they practice well. They come out there with energy, with enthusiasm, they're communicating. So the practices have been pretty good, we just weren't getting the results on Saturdays. So hopefully we can keep the momentum going, but getting this win today does springboard us into next week as well.
On the importance of turnovers and sacks...
We have been emphasizing them and that was another thing that emphasized today, getting to the quarterback. Unfortunately, we weren't able to, but we're going to keep swinging at it and eventually we'll get there. And when they come, they're going to come like an avalanche.
On Donnie Corley's play on defense...
I was not (expecting his hard hit on defense). We are the point in the season where he doesn't have to show us that he can hit like that. He's a football player, he's just a natural born football player. That was great to see, I can't wait to watch it on film.
On the seniors...
Absolutely and in particular, Demetrious Cox getting the pick six felt really good for him because he's had a rough time, he's been banged up and he's kept battling and trying to be a team leader. Riley Bullough has been doing a really good job all year and he's been banged up and people don't really understand just how much he's banged up and been battling through and fighting through. Tyler O'Connor on the offensive side of the ball, did a really good job. Our seniors, we always talk about, Coach Dantonio always talks about, for us to have a good year, our seniors need to have their best year. It's been up and down for those guys but they can get it right these last three games. So they did a good job today and hopefully they can get it rolling in the next two.
Michigan State sophomore running back LJ Scott On the importance of the win...
Getting the win is huge. Obviously this season hasn't gone as planned, as we wanted it to, but the main thing is keep focusing, keep pushing forward and good things will happen.
On the young offensive lineman...
They definitely still have a lot to learn, including myself. We are a young team, we're still working hard and pushing forward, all goals we're shooting for. This offseason will definitely be interesting, but the guys up front, I give all my credit to them. They work hard, they come to play every day in practice and throughout the game, but like I said they're still young and just need work.
On how to attack future games...
First off, like I said, staying focused. We've got two games left, we've really got nothing to lose, so right now it's about each other, going out to play for the guy next to us, and getting the win is the most important thing. Today, we had Shilique and Connor come in and talk to us. The main thing they emphasized was playing with passion and going out and having fun, playing for the guy next to us, playing for the program, playing for our mom and dad, and just do it for each other.
On how recent performances have affected practice...
It's been the same, nothing's really changed except we were hurting ourselves in those games. Our numbers say it all, we're just not really finishing in the fourth quarter.
On what the offseason will hold...
A lot of work. I know Coach Mannie could tell you a lot from his end because he already told us. We just need to come to work, and come prepared, and take this year as a lesson and be ready to go next year.
Senior quarterback Tyler O'Connor
On what the feeling inside of the locker room was like after the game... There were a lot of happy people. This is probably the first time in a while that I have faced you guys on this end. It is very exciting and thrilling. We come with the mindset and the confidence that we can win every game. The fans were there to support us today. It is awesome to still see people pack Spartan Stadium. We are playing for people like that. We are playing for former players. It was great to have Connor (Cook) and Shilique (Calhoun) back. They obviously had some great words to say for us, and you kind of reflect on the older guys that are watching you and you play for them. So, it was a great feeling in the locker room, and it was great to be a part of that.
On what worked today...
We ran the ball well. We did a lot of things we've wanted to. On top of that, we got a play-action pass that we scored on as well. I loved the call. Coach (Dave) Warner called it well, getting me on the move, getting the outside and some play-action and some power. It was a wide variety of things today. Throwing the ball on the three-yard line is something we haven't done much either. It was a great mix up, and we executed well.
On how important TE Josiah Price is...
You could probably look and see games Josiah catches at least one touchdown pass, and I think we are probably pretty good. He does a great job of getting open. We call him the magician in our room because sometimes he fools us as well. He runs some routes that we maybe don't draw up, but he gets open. He is great to have on our end.
On what the last week has been like for him after going through the concussion protocol...
That was frustrating. I was playing pretty well at that point. We had just gotten a first down and were looking to go down and score. It is unfortunate and you can't go back in a situation like that. I knew that I was going to be able to play come this week, I was very confident in that. My symptoms only lasted a day or two and then I was ready to go. I had a pretty good week of practice, and I think we all did. There was high energy and that is one of the biggest challenges when you have a team that has had a rough stretch like we have had. To get people excited about practice is not easy. It was a great week of practice and there was still excitement, so it was very rewarding to get a win.
Senior linebacker Riley Bullough
On how everyone on the defense played...
I think they did a good job. I can count on the guys out there to have my back because I have their back. That is important for a defense to have that trust. I think the guys did a good job today. The energy we got was really good.
On how big the pick-6 by Demetrious Cox was for the team...
It was huge. Football is a game of momentum and that is a huge momentum changer. It is hard to come back from that from the other team's standpoint. We just kind of rolled from there. Any time you can get a play like that, it is important for a team.
On if this win felt like it counted for more than one...
It feels good to get a win. It feels good to dance in the locker room again. Hopefully we have some momentum going into next week because obviously it's a big game. We can gain some confidence from this game, which you should and we will keep moving.
On the seniors fighting through the pain and what that says about the character of the team...
I think we are competitive. We come in every day and have extremely good practices each week, even after losing seven-straight games. We are coming in and practicing hard, and I think that is a testament to the guys and coaches that we have. I am thankful we could get a win. I am happy for our team and also for Spartan Nation. They have been waiting and finally we could deliver a win.
Junior wide receiver Austin Wolfe
On being honored on the field for Veterans Day with his dad... He and I got a chance to go out in the north endzone and be recognized on the Jumbo Tron with 70,000 people around, and that is something I have never experienced in my life. It is not only for me and him, but it was for all other veterans out there. It was definitely nice to be recognized and it is bigger than me or my father. It is for everybody out there, so it was definitely a great moment.
Junior linebacker Chris Fry
On the post-game feeling in the locker room...
It feels great. It is great to know that the streak of loses that we had is finally over. We tried to have fun in the locker room after the game. We know it's still not the season that we expected, but we know it's an opportunity to look forward. We got a win today, and we are looking forward to getting another one in the weeks following.
On how the interception from Demetrious Cox sparked the defense...
That was one of our goals. One, get an interception and two, get a defensive touchdown. Anytime there is a turnover for the defense it boosts the morale for everybody. It gets everybody going. That interception pushed us in to the rest of the game, and we were just rolling. I felt like we played really good from there on out.
On what the difference was today...
I think finally, I can't say finally we got sick of losing, but we got to a point where we needed to win. We had a really good opportunity to come out and pursue that and that's what we did today.
On the defensive shutout...
That's a goal, that has been something we have talked about since I've been here. Every week we say, `let's get a shutout, let's get a shutout.' We have been close at times, and I don't know if we have had one since I've been here, so that's huge for us especially moving forward in to next week where we have a big game. A shutout is big for our defense, especially since throughout this year we may have a good first half or a good few quarters and then we fall apart at the end of the game, and today we were just able to keep going and finish the game strong.
Senior tight end Josiah Price
On his first performance of two touchdowns in one game...
It has always been something I have had as a goal. I have always let Connor (Cook) and TO (Tyler O'Connor) know that too, so that was pretty special. I told Tyler after the second one, `hey you got me a career goal today, thanks I appreciate it'. So yes, it was a special day for me for sure.
On being fourth all-time in touchdown catches, and will he look back and appreciate it...
I don't think you really appreciate it when you're in the moment. You're just trying to live in the moment, be the best player you can be, get the most touchdowns you can, and make the most plays you can to help this team win, but I think I will definitely look back in the future, and think `man that's crazy to be up there with some of the greatest names in Michigan State history.'
On his play in the redzone...
I don't know if it's anything special about the redzone, but I think it's anytime my name is called, I try to pride myself on catching the ball. Today I had three targets and three catches, and they were all third downs for first downs. That was pretty special, and that is what I try to pride myself on. When you get in the redzone, well that has been our emphasis. Last week was a rough week in the redzone, so all week we have been emphasizing you have to score touchdowns, we have to score touchdowns. I think we all took that personally, Tyler threw two great balls to me and I was able to get two catches, and that was pretty special.
Redshirt freshman offensive tackle Cole Chewins
On his perspective with the success of today's run game...
I think we were just gelling as a unit. The offensive linemen were doing their jobs, the wide receivers were doing their jobs, the running backs, the quarterbacks, everyone did. I thought we did a good job preparing, the coaches did a good job preparing us for what we were going to see. Based on the defense we decided to go with the play calling that we did, and it just clicked.
On the young players, and the excitement for the future...
I am very excited. As you can see we have a lot of talent, a lot of potential, but we just have to stay focused on this year and next week. We need to continue to grow each game, and take each game as a learning point so we can continue to grow as players and people.
On his play on the left side, and working and growing with Tyler Higby...
This week was definitely a growing period for us, just being able to play next to each other. We had played a little bit next to each other at the beginning of camp, but it's just good having someone by your side. He does a good job communicating, and just growing confidence in each other, and being able to trust each other is key. I'll be there if he needs help, or he'll be there if I need help, so just a good relationship.
On if playing time last week helped him this week...
I do feel when you have experience in the game and on the playing field it definitely carries over. You continue to learn from it, and develop from it just as any other thing. Same as in practice, you work on reps, you see different things, and you're able to adapt and learn from those things.
Rutgers Quarterback Giovanni Rescigno
On what went wrong with the offense...
Things just didn't go our way. To start off, we couldn't really bounce back from a couple touchdown deficit. We didn't really bounce back well enough, but, from here on out we have to learn from that and keep getting better.
On the pick six...
I just misread it, I should've handed it off, they got free, safety came down and jumped the route.
On his struggles in the game...
I just try to go out and play the game perfect every time. That's what I want to do, I want to play the game the best I can. Mistakes are going to happen, I understand that, but at the same time I need to learn from them and get better. From here, going to watch film and keep getting better in that aspect. Like I've said before, I put my eyes on certain plays and I think that will help me out.
On Coach Ash saying guys were guys getting distracted...
Yeah, I guess. I wasn't really playing attention when some of the guys were jawing with the other guys, but Coach Ash talks about it all the time, we have to stay focused on the task at hand and what we're doing. Especially if we're playing in a big game like today, we can't let little things like that distract us, because that takes away from what we're trying to do. So we have to focus more next time.
On team morale...
Obviously we want to win, we don't want to lose. So everyone is upset that we lost. But one thing that we've been doing since the beginning of the season is always worked hard. We've had confidence. I think if we keep having that, things will start getting better.
On being discouraged from the last two games...
I don't think so, I think, like I said before. The guys keep working hard in every practice. So I think these past two weeks had any indication on how the outcome was today.
On young player looking at the bigger picture...
I hope some of the young guys take from the older guys, the seniors especially, that don't give up, keep working hard. A lot of credit goes to the seniors for not giving up, even the guys that are starting. So if that relays down to the younger guys and they keep working hard and have that same mentality, we'll be alright.
Rutgers Left Guard Dorian Miller
On what went wrong with the offense...
It's tough for me to tell right now, you just have to go back and look at the film. Off the top I know we've got to convert on third down better, but I mean other than that, I've got to see the film in order for me to make any claims or make any type of assessment.
On Coach Ash saying guys were guys getting distracted...
I saw one instance, but I mean, that just something, us as a team, we can't do that, guys have got to be focused. If you want to win football games, that's just something you can't do.
On if team was frustrated...
Honestly, I don't know, I don't even know who it was exactly, I saw guys maybe having to break people up.
On blocking and pass rushing...
I know pass wise, there's a lot of things that they do. They mix it up and they run a lot of different fronts. That's just another one of those thing you got to see the film. Playing O-line and especially in the right game, it's different things that they can bring and you don't know where certain things broke down and who did what.
On fans who might be discouraged...
Just continue to have faith in us. Coach Ash and the rest of these guys every week they coach like it's a championship game. There are a lot of guys in this program approaching every week like that, and obviously the results aren't what we want, but guys are going hard everyday in practice, and we're doing what we're being asked. I think if we just continue to follow this process and trust in it, there's going to be success on the back end. Just have faith and we'll be there.
On team morale...
Guys are just still continuing to go to work, and that's all that we can do. We've got two more games left and we've just got to make the best out of both of those.
On if the game outcome surprised him...
Obviously sitting here at the end of the game, yes, but, there's always, when you go back and watch the game, there's always reasons why and there's always explanations for everything. So, like I've been saying, you've got to see where things broke down and in the run game, see what happened.
On if this feels different than last year...
It definitely feels different, obviously last year, the situation feels different, where there's a lot of noise about what's going to happen with the coaching situation going on. We know Coach Ash is our guy and everything is stable from that standpoint. So all you can do is continue to go to work and have faith in him.
