Northwestern vs. Eastern Illinois Game Quotes
9/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 10, 2011
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Postgame Quotes
Northwestern vs. Eastern Illinois
Ryan Field o Sept. 10, 2011
Northwestern Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald
Opening statement...
"It was great to come home. I feel like it's been forever since we played Iowa here last year. We've been on the road for a long time. We had great fan support today. It was great to see the number of students we had come back even though we're not in school yet. I'd also like to thank Randy Stoneberg and his crew. Ryan Field is in incredible shape and to put the N flag on the 50-yard line was neat. Those guys work tirelessly and we can't thank them enough for the work that they do.
"They [Eastern Illinois] had a great plan and, at times, we executed extremely well, but we've got to eliminate the red zone penalties on both sides of the ball. That's going to hurt us down the road. We have to catch the ball when we have it in our hands on defense, but I like the way we took care of the ball today. We controlled the line of scrimmage and we were much better on third down, which are some signs for improvement. We've got a lot to work on and now our focus shifts to an Army football team is as good as anyone at what they do. It's going to be a great challenge for us."
On quarterback Kain Colter's performance...
"I thought the way he played looked like he really improved from last week from a standpoint of taking what the defense gave him. I thought outside the one high throw to Drake [Dunsmore], I thought he made a lot of really good decisions in the passing game. Running the ball, they [Eastern Illinois] made a decision that they were going to let him run the ball early and I thought he ran well. He needs to get down and be smarter, but he's playing beyond his years. He's a very talented young man."
On the running backs...
"I thought they played really well. Mike [Trumpy] was not cleared for the game and to have those guys step up the way they did, I thought we ran it really effectively. We've got an experienced offensive line and we've got to continue to control the line of scrimmage to win."
On Treyvon Green...
"When we recruited him, he reminded us a lot of Tyrell Sutton. He's really thick in the lower body and runs well behind his pads. I just like the passion he plays with. He was excited out there and excited to play. To get that kind of production from a handful of guys that can really make a difference and keep them fresh, if one guy evolves we'll see, but if we continue the way we are, we have a pretty good situation."
On the improvement from week one to week two...
"I saw guys trying to get the ball out a little bit. We had three guys raise their hand when we asked who tried to strip the ball. We don't have it as a habit yet, but that's fine, we'll continue to work that and get it corrected. We had our hand on the ball twice, we have to intercept those balls. Those are difference making plays. Again we have to sure up the penalty situation in the red zone on both sides of the ball. I liked our guys' aggressiveness."
On Bryce McNaul...
"It was a great interception by him. He had great discipline on his drop. I thought Bryce is continuing to improve and get better. The whole linebacking corps is continuing to improve and get better. That group is starting to come together well."
On the play of the offensive line...br>
"We're starting to play good football up there. There are still plenty of things to correct, like I said, in the red zone, we can't have that. That group understands that; they've seen a lot and they've experienced a lot together."
Northwestern Players
RB Jacob Schmidt
On the play of the offensive line...
"Credit to our O-line, in Brandon [Vitabile], [Brian] Mulroe and [Ben] Burkett up the middle. They did a great job just getting off and getting a great push. There would be times we (the running backs) would get the ball and we'd be four or five yards without even being touched yet. "
On getting in the end zone for the first time since last season...
"It felt good to get back in, especially from a tight zone and coming off of how my season ended last year. It felt good. Third time's the charm I guess. We'd like to get it on the first or second time, but I'll take it."
On quarterback Kain Colter...
"He's a tough one. I think he showed that at the end of last year in the bowl game and so far this year. He's a tough nut. I'd like to see him slide a bit more, but when he's out there making plays, hey, let the kid make plays and we'll fix him. We'll go from there."
On freshman running back Treyvon Green...
"He just has a natural ability to find the hole; he's got great vision. I haven't seen his breakaway speed yet, but he's got a knack to find that hole, to jump cut, whatever he's got to do to get up and get positive yards. If you do that, you'll have a chance to play."
QB Kain Colter
On sliding and keeping his body healthy...
"During the game, especially in the red zone, you smell blood and want to score a touchdown. You got to get those tough yards, but definitely in the open field, when it's two defenders on me, I just need to get down; just get the yards that I can and just slide. It's going to be a long season, and I'd like to think that I need to be in there and help the team in anyway possible, so I need to keep my body healthy throughout the season."
On the passing game...
"I feel like this was a game where the defense tried to keep everything in front of them, so a lot of our passes were short little passes, check downs to the running back. I felt like there were some opportunities, and maybe we could have taken a little more advantage of them when they were playing man, but it's just something the offense just has to fix. I really felt like we haven't shown our true potential in the passing game. We have a lot to improve in that area. I am proud of our offensive line and receivers for blocking today. I think we rushed for 320 yards, which is a great amount of yards for us. I feel like we haven't done that in a long time. It's something that we pride ourselves on, and we did a great job of that today."
On Dan Persa dressing for the first time this season...
"It actually surprised me, I didn't know he was going to do that. But I feel like it's great for Dan. That was the first time he was able to suit up for the first time. I think it was great for him to put on the pads and put on the jersey, and really feel maybe a little bit more part of the game. Throughout the game he had the headset on, telling me what he saw out there and what he thinks I can improve on. I think it was big for him to go out there and suit up."
RB Treyvon Green
On his passion for the game...
"I'm the type of player that goes full speed, no matter how much time is left on the clock, it doesn't matter. (Coach Fitzgerald) told me, "I like your juice." He kept on telling me that. I was just trying to stay fired up. I was just very excited to be out there, be out there with my teammates working hard. It just felt great."
Eastern Illinois Quotes
Head Coach Bob Spoo
Opening Statement...
"We got outmatched. What can I tell you? We just couldn't stop the run and they did a great job. I don't know how good Persa is-he's an All-American but this kid [Kain Colter] is unstoppable. I thought in the first half what was really significant were the two turnovers that resulted in scores. We also had two major penalties on a couple of their drives that helped them in those drives. The effect of the turnovers and the penalties, and even the kickoff returns in the second half, was that they had a short field. I'm anxious to see where they started their drives, but it was on the short field most of the day. You cannot stop Northwestern on the short field. You can't stop them on the long field. It just takes them longer.
"We just did not tackle well. They rushed the ball extremely well. They're a very fine football team. But, those elements-field position with the turnovers and a couple of penalties assisted their drives-not that they wouldn't have scored anyway...but it might have taken them longer. So, we played an excellent big-time football team. Tennessee Tech is playing Maryville-not sure how good Maryville is, but I know they are not as good as Northwestern is, so I think we'll be prepared for next week when we get back into league play. It was a good experience for us-I thought our guys played well, but we just got overwhelmed."
On whether there were more positives or negatives about the way his team played...
"Both. Obviously the guys did some good things at times-there's no question about that. But, we were unable to slow them [Northwestern] down."
On Cory Leman's injury...
"I saw him re-enter the game after that. I don't know how bad it is, though. I need to check on that. I don't know the extent of the injury. If he's gone, that would hurt us. Obviously, he's not only a fine player, but also a fine leader. But, someone would just have to step up. Everyone gets hurt in this game, and so we'd have to find someone to replace him."
On Kain Colter's performance...
"He's got excellent speed. He's got great elusiveness. I thought their [Northwestern] whole running game-he [Colter] and all the running backs were going north and south. They didn't hesitate to take you on straight ahead. And, that was impressive in my mind. He is a fine football player."
On the EIU penalty when the game was 14-7...
"That's one of the penalties that I thought hurt us. When we made it 14-7, and one of the referees called the offensive gesture, we had to move to third down on the 15. We gave them the short field, and they came right back to make it 21-7. You can't do those kinds of things. I didn't see the penalty so I don't know if it was merited, but I asked the two officials on the sideline, and they said he made one of those slashing sighs, and that's a penalty."
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo
On the play calling during the game...
"I don't know if it was just because they were a Big Ten team or if we were trying to not show the conference what our playbook was but I think opening the playbook would have given us a much better shot at winning. We called a good amount of pass plays today and opened up the book a good amount but I think we could expand on it a little bit."
On throwing the ball deep...
"Personally I love it. I think that's one of my attributes, one of my strongest points. I mean we have the speed on the outside and the hands on the outside I think we could take just about anyone deep. I feel confident in all of our outside receivers in beating a one-on-one match-up and even beating a safety over the top. So I think it's one of our strong points and we should get back to it pretty soon."
On how they're different from NU...
"I'd say consistency. They didn't mess up much on defense and we messed up a pretty good amount. I mean, the first turnover and the first interception-it was pretty devastating. You can't start that way if you're going to beat a Big Ten school."
Wide Receiver Kenny Whittaker
On the outcome of the game...
"We really thought we could take advantage of Northwestern as a Big Ten team, playing Iowa and Penn State the last two years we thought this was a team we should go after. We just didn't get off to - two turnovers early really sank us pretty quick, so after the turnovers we pretty much went south from there. But we bounced back and cut the deficit so, can't be too mad about that. They're a great team."
On play calling during the game...
"Overall, I mean, just the play calling today, I wish we could have opened up the book a little more. Maybe we're saving it for our conference, which is fine. So we'll see what happens."
On the unsportsmanlike conduct call...
"I didn't think I did too much. I did my Randy Moss impersonation to the student section. I wanted to say something else, I guess that got me the flag anyways, but I won't do that again and coach laid into me for that one."
