It was important (to win). I think the biggest importance today was that a lot of guys who hadn't played or were special teams players played critical snaps today. Finishing the game and getting the win is big. Coming in with a short week and getting some confidence was what we wanted to get today and I think we got that.
On Myles: I knew Wednesday. He was bouncing around and running and his GPS got to 21.9 MPH, and that's Christian Kirk, wide receiver speeds. That's ridiculous. We hadn't seen that in a while. He was smiling. He was bouncing around. I can't tell you what a great teammate he is. He could have shut it down, he could have done a lot of different things but he played through it. What he did in the two-OT game, when he said he wasn't coming out; he re-injured it in practice and that compounded it. For a guy with such a bright future, who played when he could have saved himself, it shows what kind of man he is, what kind of player he is and what kind of teammate he is. And we appreciate a healthy one, too. He's a dominant player when he's healthy.
(Josh Reynolds) has been great. When the ball is in the air, as a coach and probably as a QB, it's just throw it over there. He'll come down with it. He's got tremendous ball skills. That's who he is. All the coaches have faith in him. He'll make the catch or it'll be really, really close. When they throw it up, it's not a 50/50 ball for him. It's almost 100% for him. Coming back was the right decision for him, but he's become a better receiver, a better blocker.
(on the O-line): Jermaine got nicked up early in the game, so he wasn't 100%. We didn't want to risk it, because he was limping around. Koda Martin gives us some versatility, he can play right or left; Colton Prater, for a freshman, has been a really good player. The combination of Jermaine being able to play guard or tackle, Prater being able to play guard or tackle and Koda being able to play either side gives us some flexibility. We've got some moving pieces, but it's everybody at this time of year. There are no excuses for games; guys have to be flexible and pay attention.
(The Tray Williams TD): He was a little frustrated in the first half, and I said, "hey, you're going to pop one. Stop dancing around." Keith Ford is a different guy. Put your head in a crack and hit the first hole you see. Tray isn't that kind of guy. Things were getting washed, and if there's a crease, it's tough for Trayveon because he's more of a cutback guy. But it was good for him, and good to see him do that. And James White was really physical at the end of the game to kill the clock and do some things.
(Lack of penalties): We've had a couple at different times, but I thought our focus was really really good this week. We were down a few players this week and were going to play a certain style of football this week. We wanted to be efficient, take some pressure off of Jake, get into the red zone and score points. The biggest point, for the number of people who played, who were inexperienced in those situations, you didn't see anything bad going.
On the secondary: Priest hasn't really done much the last 3 weeks in practice, he wants to play but he's been hurt. It's been frustrating. The high ankle sprains are really tough on guys. Yesterday, we were down to 7 DBs for the game. As a side note, Terry Joseph came to me and says, "When you recruited Pope, wasn't he an All-American free safety? We may have to put him in and play the post." That's not something good to hear the day before the game. But Pope was fired up yesterday and was kind of mad today.
On Hubenak: I thought he was effective. That's two weeks in a row. We were concerned about him, but he managed the game. He did a great job of managing it, moving the ball and getting us into position to score points. He's been effective in what we've asked him to do. He's getting our playmakers involved. He got Ricky involved in the middle of the field, and that was good to see. The other guys have to make plays for him, especially on the outside with Josh and Ricky. And when our backs ran the ball, they ran it well.
On Myles: I knew Wednesday. He was bouncing around and running and his GPS got to 21.9 MPH, and that's Christian Kirk, wide receiver speeds. That's ridiculous. We hadn't seen that in a while. He was smiling. He was bouncing around. I can't tell you what a great teammate he is. He could have shut it down, he could have done a lot of different things but he played through it. What he did in the two-OT game, when he said he wasn't coming out; he re-injured it in practice and that compounded it. For a guy with such a bright future, who played when he could have saved himself, it shows what kind of man he is, what kind of player he is and what kind of teammate he is. And we appreciate a healthy one, too. He's a dominant player when he's healthy.
(Josh Reynolds) has been great. When the ball is in the air, as a coach and probably as a QB, it's just throw it over there. He'll come down with it. He's got tremendous ball skills. That's who he is. All the coaches have faith in him. He'll make the catch or it'll be really, really close. When they throw it up, it's not a 50/50 ball for him. It's almost 100% for him. Coming back was the right decision for him, but he's become a better receiver, a better blocker.
(on the O-line): Jermaine got nicked up early in the game, so he wasn't 100%. We didn't want to risk it, because he was limping around. Koda Martin gives us some versatility, he can play right or left; Colton Prater, for a freshman, has been a really good player. The combination of Jermaine being able to play guard or tackle, Prater being able to play guard or tackle and Koda being able to play either side gives us some flexibility. We've got some moving pieces, but it's everybody at this time of year. There are no excuses for games; guys have to be flexible and pay attention.
(The Tray Williams TD): He was a little frustrated in the first half, and I said, "hey, you're going to pop one. Stop dancing around." Keith Ford is a different guy. Put your head in a crack and hit the first hole you see. Tray isn't that kind of guy. Things were getting washed, and if there's a crease, it's tough for Trayveon because he's more of a cutback guy. But it was good for him, and good to see him do that. And James White was really physical at the end of the game to kill the clock and do some things.
(Lack of penalties): We've had a couple at different times, but I thought our focus was really really good this week. We were down a few players this week and were going to play a certain style of football this week. We wanted to be efficient, take some pressure off of Jake, get into the red zone and score points. The biggest point, for the number of people who played, who were inexperienced in those situations, you didn't see anything bad going.
On the secondary: Priest hasn't really done much the last 3 weeks in practice, he wants to play but he's been hurt. It's been frustrating. The high ankle sprains are really tough on guys. Yesterday, we were down to 7 DBs for the game. As a side note, Terry Joseph came to me and says, "When you recruited Pope, wasn't he an All-American free safety? We may have to put him in and play the post." That's not something good to hear the day before the game. But Pope was fired up yesterday and was kind of mad today.
On Hubenak: I thought he was effective. That's two weeks in a row. We were concerned about him, but he managed the game. He did a great job of managing it, moving the ball and getting us into position to score points. He's been effective in what we've asked him to do. He's getting our playmakers involved. He got Ricky involved in the middle of the field, and that was good to see. The other guys have to make plays for him, especially on the outside with Josh and Ricky. And when our backs ran the ball, they ran it well.
