Quotations

«He was poised and gained confidence. I'm proud to be his coach.»

«Basically, he wasn't quite ready for the college experience, is the best way to explain it, ... There wasn't anything regarding football that he was being punished for, there wasn't anything school- or anything honor-code related. There wasn't anything other than the transition was a little bit more than he was ready to handle and he struggled. He just wasn't quite ready. I like him and I want what's best for him and his family. I'll support him any way that I can.»

«There's a very good chance he could contribute and play against Boston College or in our first three games. If things went perfect regardless of injury, then there's a chance also that we could save him.»

«He was confident with the football. He certainly wasn't afraid of contact; wasn't looking to run out of bounds. He was looking to gain positive yards. In fact, at the end of plays you see him tackled and then reaching the ball forward just to make a statement: One more yard.»

«If we play the run effectively we have an excellent chance to win the game, ... There's a demoralizing effect when you can't stop the run. When you know your opponent is going to run and you make your best call to stop it and they still get four or five yards, it has an effect on the defense in terms of physical play and losing those one-on-one battles.»

«With most teams I've had to guard against complacency with two weeks between games,»

«They know we have a lot of improvement to make. Our goals are eight weeks down the road at the end of conference play. I've been happy with our practices,»

«I see it expressing leadership, saying something he believes, ... He says what he thinks. I'm glad he's confident and I like him being himself.»

«The leadership of our quarterback and the resolve of the offense was exceptional. John was poised throughout the game and he gained confidence. I was proud to be his coach today.»

«What's interesting is they're running the quarterback, running him effectively and running him often. Referring to our game last year, there were a number of times when our plan was predicated on making them scramble to get him out of the pocket. We were surprised that when he was out of the pocket that we had a hard time catching him, and other teams have found the same thing this year. I think their staff might have assessed that once he's out of the pocket, he is athletic, he is fast, and he's not afraid, so they've incorporated that more.»