Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Football Postgame Quotes
9/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 13, 2014
On overall game:
"I think that the one thing that we talked about at the press conference, Tuesday, was that we had to be the better team today in all three phases. Last year we weren't that and they were. I think that we came out today and played well in all three phases and the result is because of that."
On the game being "easy":
"I don't think it was very easy, to be honest, or it wasn't easy to me. I felt that it would have been a solid defense going in. I thought offensively, building that offense, they did a tremendous job. They executed and again our outside receivers came up with some big plays. If we continue to get production out of those outside guys, number one it is going to open up the run game and (Tommy) Shuler and those inside guys will be more productive. Overall, I think we are pretty balanced. We were running and throwing it. If we continue that then we have a chance."
On Devon Johnson:
"Early on, I think that they wanted us to run the ball a little bit. The one thing that we were able to do, is they played that corner-press coverage, and we were able to run by those corners and make some outside plays. That helps us. Regardless, if they had that extra hat in the box, those corners were always one on one. If you can't win outside, you have problems, and we were able to win today."
On setting the tone for the game:
"We always talk about setting the tone for the game. I think Raheem Waiters set that tone, at that first kick-off. He went down there and made a big time play. He ended up completing that long ball. Number eight (Ohio wide receiver, Chase Cochran), is a good football player. It was huge that our defense stood their ground right there. I thought that was a critical part of that game for the defense to get that stop even after giving up that big play. I thought the defense played tremendous. We get some guys in there in the end and we would like to see those guys step up. We had some trouble getting them lined up at times. We were playing a lot of different players and trying to get some of those guys out. When we play those guys they need to be able to play and get people stopped, that the one thing I was disappointed with the young players.
On winning the Battle for the Bell:
"They take pride in winning the game. They like ringing it. I'm just concerned about winning the game, not so much as winning the bell."
Davonte Allen, redshirt junior wide receiver
On finally beating Ohio:
"It's a great feeling, being here for three years and seeing us finally execute a game plan well. Today, we came out early, fast and stepped on the pedal. In all areas, everything was executed well. From the score, you can tell it was."
On the special connection he and quarterback Rakeem Cato share:
"We've been working all season. I tell him to throw the ball up and I'll be there. I'm going to try my best to go get it and no one else will come down with it. He's got that confidence in me."
Clint Van Horn, redshirt junior offensive lineman
On 'the Bell' returning to Huntington:
"It feels amazing. I haven't had it since I've been here. We've been game planning all week; we wanted to be prepared. We watched a lot of film - I probably watched more this week than I have any other week."
Rakeem Cato, senior quarterback
On the improvisation on plays like one he had with wide receiver Angelo Jean-Louis:
"That's just making a play. The pocket was clean and I just saw him and threw the ball. He made a great play with a great run. That's all him."
On finally adding 'Beat Ohio' to his resume:
"It's a blessing just to win this ball game. It's great for the Herd to win for the first time in three years, and they're a tough team, so this is a great win. We came out on fire and just kept it going."
On having receivers like Davonte Allen and Angelo Jean-Louis to go to:
"Those guys are great. They're great wide-outs, and they go hard every day. They're willing to get better and listen to what Coach Legg has to say and understand what he wants to do with this offense. To see those guys making big plays, that's a blessing for our offense."
Darryl Roberts, redshirt senior defensive back
On shutting down the Ohio offense:
"We didn't really make any adjustments. The coaches talked to us, and we knew we just had to zone in our techniques. We had to do the little things. It makes a big difference when offense can go down and make big play drives. The crowd gets into and you get momentum, and we just feed off each other."
On the moment he realized Marshall had the win:
"From the moment we got on the field, from that first kickoff, we all told ourselves we weren't going to let the game go. We wanted this one and we knew we just had to stay on top."
Frank Solich, Ohio head coach
On progress made with the Ohio offense:
"I was pleased with the fact that they hung in there and continued to battle. They were able to put some drives together and were able to find a way to put points on the board. When you get into those kinds of situations, sometimes it snowballs on you and you're not able to get anything done. I thought we were able at times to do some things athletically from the offensive side that gives us some hope that we can have this young offensive football team grow and continue to develop."
On Derrius Vick returning at quarterback:
"I think it's very important for us and for him to come back and play well. He's a great competitor so I didn't doubt that he would give 100 percent with everything that he was doing. I thought he made good decisions today. Sometimes you can be trying awfully hard, but the decision-making process isn't good, so the game doesn't come away as being good. But I thought he played well today."
Nathan Carpenter, redshirt senior safety
On preparing for the end of Ohio's non-conference schedule:
"We had a tough three-game stretch on the road. We won our first game, which was a huge high point. We played arguably the two toughest teams on our schedule, both away, in pretty big atmospheres. We didn't get a win at either place, so we need to turn it around and go back home for a while and get home wins."
On handling Marshall's offense:
"You need to make a team one-dimensional in order to win the game. When you're dealing with Marshall, they're a great team. There's a reason they're supposed to go undefeated. There's a reason they have a dark horse Heisman candidate. They have unbelievably talented athletes. They made a lot of plays today. It seemed like nothing could go our way. They had a lot of unbelievable catches that not a lot of guys have seen before. We clearly did not stop either the run or the pass today."
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | USATSI Photo Gallery 
On overall game:
"I think that the one thing that we talked about at the press conference, Tuesday, was that we had to be the better team today in all three phases. Last year we weren't that and they were. I think that we came out today and played well in all three phases and the result is because of that."
On the game being "easy":
"I don't think it was very easy, to be honest, or it wasn't easy to me. I felt that it would have been a solid defense going in. I thought offensively, building that offense, they did a tremendous job. They executed and again our outside receivers came up with some big plays. If we continue to get production out of those outside guys, number one it is going to open up the run game and (Tommy) Shuler and those inside guys will be more productive. Overall, I think we are pretty balanced. We were running and throwing it. If we continue that then we have a chance."
On Devon Johnson:
"Early on, I think that they wanted us to run the ball a little bit. The one thing that we were able to do, is they played that corner-press coverage, and we were able to run by those corners and make some outside plays. That helps us. Regardless, if they had that extra hat in the box, those corners were always one on one. If you can't win outside, you have problems, and we were able to win today."
On setting the tone for the game:
"We always talk about setting the tone for the game. I think Raheem Waiters set that tone, at that first kick-off. He went down there and made a big time play. He ended up completing that long ball. Number eight (Ohio wide receiver, Chase Cochran), is a good football player. It was huge that our defense stood their ground right there. I thought that was a critical part of that game for the defense to get that stop even after giving up that big play. I thought the defense played tremendous. We get some guys in there in the end and we would like to see those guys step up. We had some trouble getting them lined up at times. We were playing a lot of different players and trying to get some of those guys out. When we play those guys they need to be able to play and get people stopped, that the one thing I was disappointed with the young players.
On winning the Battle for the Bell:
"They take pride in winning the game. They like ringing it. I'm just concerned about winning the game, not so much as winning the bell."
Davonte Allen, redshirt junior wide receiver
On finally beating Ohio:
"It's a great feeling, being here for three years and seeing us finally execute a game plan well. Today, we came out early, fast and stepped on the pedal. In all areas, everything was executed well. From the score, you can tell it was."
On the special connection he and quarterback Rakeem Cato share:
"We've been working all season. I tell him to throw the ball up and I'll be there. I'm going to try my best to go get it and no one else will come down with it. He's got that confidence in me."
Clint Van Horn, redshirt junior offensive lineman
On 'the Bell' returning to Huntington:
"It feels amazing. I haven't had it since I've been here. We've been game planning all week; we wanted to be prepared. We watched a lot of film - I probably watched more this week than I have any other week."
Rakeem Cato, senior quarterback
On the improvisation on plays like one he had with wide receiver Angelo Jean-Louis:
"That's just making a play. The pocket was clean and I just saw him and threw the ball. He made a great play with a great run. That's all him."
On finally adding 'Beat Ohio' to his resume:
"It's a blessing just to win this ball game. It's great for the Herd to win for the first time in three years, and they're a tough team, so this is a great win. We came out on fire and just kept it going."
On having receivers like Davonte Allen and Angelo Jean-Louis to go to:
"Those guys are great. They're great wide-outs, and they go hard every day. They're willing to get better and listen to what Coach Legg has to say and understand what he wants to do with this offense. To see those guys making big plays, that's a blessing for our offense."
Darryl Roberts, redshirt senior defensive back
On shutting down the Ohio offense:
"We didn't really make any adjustments. The coaches talked to us, and we knew we just had to zone in our techniques. We had to do the little things. It makes a big difference when offense can go down and make big play drives. The crowd gets into and you get momentum, and we just feed off each other."
On the moment he realized Marshall had the win:
"From the moment we got on the field, from that first kickoff, we all told ourselves we weren't going to let the game go. We wanted this one and we knew we just had to stay on top."
Frank Solich, Ohio head coach
On progress made with the Ohio offense:
"I was pleased with the fact that they hung in there and continued to battle. They were able to put some drives together and were able to find a way to put points on the board. When you get into those kinds of situations, sometimes it snowballs on you and you're not able to get anything done. I thought we were able at times to do some things athletically from the offensive side that gives us some hope that we can have this young offensive football team grow and continue to develop."
On Derrius Vick returning at quarterback:
"I think it's very important for us and for him to come back and play well. He's a great competitor so I didn't doubt that he would give 100 percent with everything that he was doing. I thought he made good decisions today. Sometimes you can be trying awfully hard, but the decision-making process isn't good, so the game doesn't come away as being good. But I thought he played well today."
Nathan Carpenter, redshirt senior safety
On preparing for the end of Ohio's non-conference schedule:
"We had a tough three-game stretch on the road. We won our first game, which was a huge high point. We played arguably the two toughest teams on our schedule, both away, in pretty big atmospheres. We didn't get a win at either place, so we need to turn it around and go back home for a while and get home wins."
On handling Marshall's offense:
"You need to make a team one-dimensional in order to win the game. When you're dealing with Marshall, they're a great team. There's a reason they're supposed to go undefeated. There's a reason they have a dark horse Heisman candidate. They have unbelievably talented athletes. They made a lot of plays today. It seemed like nothing could go our way. They had a lot of unbelievable catches that not a lot of guys have seen before. We clearly did not stop either the run or the pass today."
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