Tulane vs. Missouri State: Postgame Quotes
Sep 14, 2019 | Football
TULANE FOOTBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Willie Fritz
Opening Statement
"We're just too excited. We got an opportunity to play almost everybody on the team that was eligible to play. Sometimes guys get in and they take advantage of the opportunity, and I saw four or five guys who got in and really did some good stuff. We're going to watch this film very quickly, we're getting up here early in the morning and we got a short work week. We've been preparing all summer and so we knew it was going to be Thursday for that game a long time ago. I also want to congratulate Darnell [Mooney] for going over 2,000 yards, great young man and he worked his tail off. His roommate scored more touchdowns than him tonight I believe. I was also proud of all of our guys for, sometimes getting up in these games the guys lose interest in what's going on out there on the field, but all of our guys - Justin [McMillan] and P.J. [Hall], Darnell [Mooney] - coaching the young guys who were in there and that's a step in the right direction."
On how helpful it is to rest the starters…
"It was great. You know, sometimes you tinker with getting them out there for one drive in the second half but it was put to bed pretty early and in the past, we have to fight and scratch and claw with these kind of games, but we obviously have better players than we had in the past so these guys came in, took care of business and did a really nice job."
On turning it around after four penalties…
"That was much better, I saw we had four of them I guess but we got away with it this game. We just want to be one of those teams who can just play disciplined all the time and we certainly need to do that Thursday evening."
On the kind of game the team needed coming off of Auburn…
"Yeah I think so, that was a tough, hard-fought game. Our guys were disappointed, we didn't play as well as what we're capable of playing, but you have to turn the page and move on and our guys did that."
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Graduate QB Justin McMillan
On bouncing back from the Auburn game…
"Like I said with this opponent, we take it as if it was the Auburn game again. We had a couple of mistakes that we needed to correct from the Auburn game. I feel like we made a lot of corrections going into this game. Got back to our base offense and, pretty much our bread and butter. We tried to work that a lot more. We tried to get an identity for this team and keep working in that direction. In the end it's still a new offense. I don't think people understand, but it's still a new offense and there's a lot of new players out there, like Tyjae [Spears] who are out there having a great time, but this offense will continue to work. The caliber of the team doesn't matter in my eyes, you can ask Darnell [Mooney] I don't think our offense sees it any other way. We're going to play hard and we're going to play hard on Thursday."
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On the offensive rhythm…
"Like I said, it feels good. Once we learn our identity and get better at it, we'll get better. Like I said this offense is non-stop progress for us and we hope to continue to grow."
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On Freshman RB Tyjae Spears…
"It's what I see everyday. I can say this as an older guy, going back to when I was a freshman, I didn't work that hard. He does it every day. It doesn't shock me, not one bit, to see him score touchdowns like that or get long runs like that because he works his butt off every day. Him and Cam [Carroll], in practice you're not going to get as many touches, but he's doing the exact same thing so to see those two guys go out there and perform the way they performed doesn't shock me at all. Honestly, I expect more out of them because I feel like they have it in the tank. I can't wait to see these two guys do in the future."
Senior WR Darnell Mooney
On going over 2,000 yards receiving…
"I'm honored. Put another achievement on my resume and hopefully just try for 3,000."
On short turnaround for Houston…
"It was good that we could get off of our feet early and rest because they played yesterday so, they're a day ahead of us. I felt like it was good for us."
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On the new offense…
"I feel very good. Even last week you could see that it was an opportunity we just had to execute. When we execute, nobody can stop us."
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Senior DB P.J. Hall
On the interception return…
"We've been talking about that play all week and I got the defensive call. I knew it was going to come out hot. Coach Curtis made a great call, and I just trusted it, and it ended up coming out hot and straight to me. We all knew it had to come out hot."
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On the three interceptions…
"That's big for us because last year we got our hands on a lot of balls, but we never completed the play by making interceptions. So that was a big thing going into fall camp, even in the spring. We just had to start catching balls and we did that tonight."
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On the front seven…
"I don't see that many teams, I don't see any teams on our schedule, running the ball against us. On the backend, as DBs, we just got to pull our weight. I feel like we are going to do that throughout the season."
MISSOURI STATE FOOTBALL POSTGAME QUOTESÂ
Missouri St. Head Coach Dave Steckel
On tackling and the kicking game…
"Yeah, our tackling was very poor, especially as we wore down. We just didn't tackle well. We just didn't keep leverage when we were supposed to. The other thing that was really embarrassing to me was the kicking game. The kicking game put us at some disadvantages."
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On the onside kick…Â
"It comes back to special teams and to our focus. The ball was sideways on the tee box and everybody was yelling. Instead of waiting to catch the ball, we needed to attack the ball and go recover it. I think they had paralysis by analysis or something, but we didn't move and they did."
On Tulane Football…
"They have a great defensive line. I really think next Thursday night is going to be a heck of a game between them and Houston. Willie [Fritz] has done a great job. I told him that before the game. On the offensive side of the ball, their speed is electric. They're very, very fast. Their backend, they play a lot of man, and they have a lot of speed in the backend. Their defensive linemen and their five offensive linemen are very, very stout, very strong, very physical players, and their D-line has good agility. He's done a very good job recruiting."
