Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Football Postgame Quotes
10/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
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MARSHALL
Doc Holliday, head coach
Opening statement:
"Offensively, the biggest thing I was proud of was that we took care of the football and didn't turn the ball over, which is huge. That's the number one thing we try to get done on offense."
"I thought the defense played really well. That team had less than 250 total yards until the last drive when we had some starters out, so we took care of the job there."
"Our special teams played well. Our kicker (Nick Smith) went in there and made his kicks. Our punter (Tyler Williams) punted it well. We had the one fake punt, which was good and will help us down the road. Overall, I thought we just kind of took care of business and we've got to get ready to go again this week."
On homecoming crowd:
"The fans were tremendous. Our Thunder Walks this year have been unbelievable. When the players get off that bus and see the parking lot the way it is and see the band and the excitement, it's great. I thought our fans showed up and showed off again and it was a great homecoming."
On team performance:
"At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is you win the game. That's the only thing that matters."
"We're 7-1. Our young freshman quarterback is 6-0 and that's where it starts. You see him continue to grow every week and we're trying to help him with some things."
"We just have to continue to follow the plan to win and if we do that, we will be fine. It starts with playing great defense. The second thing is taking care of the football and we were able to do that. Then there's scoring in the red zone. We were 6-out of-7 there. The only time we didn't score was when I didn't want to kick a field goal and get it blocked down there at that time. Then, we wanted to win the kicking game. So, we followed the plan to win, which if we continue to do that and win the game, that's what matters. So, we just need to keep doing what we're doing."
On defense in red zone:
"We work a lot on that. We spend a lot of time in the red zone in practice and when that field gets restricted down there, it's hard to score points when you're on offense. Like I said, we spend a lot of time working against each other down in the red zone and I think it's paid off."
Kendall Gant, sophomore safety
On being able to make plays when you haven't gotten much playing time:
"That's what we practice for. When you practice good, you play good. That's what coach is always preaching to us."
On help from the veteran players:
"They help me so much, whether I know about something or not, they'll always help me."
Remi Watson, redshirt senior running back
On being one of the only senior running backs:
"It's a part of the leadership role that I have to take on now that I'm one of the older guys, because now I don't have Cato or those guys that have been playing with me since we were freshman and sophomores."
On the run game being effective in the first quarter:
"Just watching film, studying the defense and their weaknesses, that's one of my biggest things because you know I'm not a 240 pound guy that can just come out there and be a bulldozer so I have to pick up on small keys and things like that and take advantage of that."
Hyleck Foster, sophomore wide receiver
On back-to-back weeks with over 100 yards:
"It feels good. It's a great honor. I give credit to the offensive line for that."
On how comfortable are you getting on the field playing running back:
"I feel like I'm getting more and more comfortable out there in the backfield. The linemen trust me and I trust them."
Ryan Bee, redshirt freshman defensive lineman
On blocking one of the first passing attempts:
"Coach [Mirabal] always tells me I'm 6'7" so I have to get my arms up and eventually it will work and it did."
On early pressure on the quarterback looking at Marshall's defensive line instead of looking at his men:
"That's one of the things we always get told, get to the quarterback and hit him and eventually he'll stop looking at the receivers and start looking at the rush and that's just one thing we really keep trying to do."
NORTH TEXAS
Mike Canales, interim head coach
On meeting with Marshall coach Doc Holliday after the game:
"The first thing Doc said to me when we got across the 50-yard line; he said 'You guys got these kids playing so hard.' I said 'Doc they aren't playing for me, they're playing for each other.'"
On defensive performance:
"That's a good football team over there. They're averaging maybe 40-50 points a game. I am so proud of our defense. Our defense stood up and really made plays."
Austin Orr, senior defensive tackle
On team performance:
"I think this is the first game we've held someone under 40 points. As a defense I think we've taken big strides."
On why he thinks North Texas played so well:
"We've got some guys that were just so fed up. We worked so hard. All of us on the team can say that this is the hardest we've worked for anything. The fact that we are where we are, 0-7, that's just not cool."
Jeffry Wilson, sophomore running back
On how North Texas mistakes early in the game:
"When you're playing a good team like Marshall, you can't make mistakes that early in the game. We just have to come out early in the game with the fire we had in the second half."
On personal performance during the game:
"I felt good; it felt good running the ball. My line was giving good blocks and giving good looks, and the quarterback was giving good reads. Everything was running smooth."
DaMarcus Smith, junior quarterback
On how the team plans to fix their offensive struggles:
"It all comes to us getting more time together. We're doing well in seeing our potential. We know we can move the ball and now we have to really work hard on really finishing the drives, not just getting down to the red zone."
On losing bowl eligibility with this loss:
"We have a lot of guys coming back (next year) and we have a lot of guys that have something to play for. We have a lot to look forward to in moving forward, even with this season. For a lot of the guys that may be seniors and may not have a chance, we just want to make the best of what we have."
