Sept. 18, 2007
SDSU Football
Weekly Press Conference Quotes
Sept. 18, 2007
Aztec Athletics Center
Head coach Chuck Long
Opening Statement:
"We are finally at home this week and as a team we are really excited. With our late start due to the bye week and starting with two road games, it really feels like we haven't been at home in a long time. It will be a big night for us knowing we'll have a good crowd. It's always exciting to be part of the SkyShow every year."
"I really liked how we improved from game one to game two. As a head coach, you are always looking for improvement and we felt we did that. Offensively, we had a good mix, though we want to score more points. We are starting to have the physical nature in our play that we have stressed to this team since we've (Coach Long and his staff) been here."
On the team's lack of fumbles:
"We are pleased to be the only team in the country without a fumble, knock on wood. It's a huge plus that our turnovers, which were a sore spot last season, have drastically gone down this year."
On the team's defensive effort versus Arizona State:
"Defensively, we struggled with our young secondary in game one but were able to come back in game two and be in better position. As a result of being in better position, we played better throughout the contest. I like how aggressive our defensive line is becoming. They are starting to feed off each other on the line and have some fun doing it."
On the play the team's offensive line:
"Our offensive line is also starting to feed off each other and play better. Fred Amano and Lance Louis are really stepping up and playing well at the guard position. On Brandon Bornes' long run (versus ASU), Lance Louis was 40 yards down the field making a great block. That's a good sign that we struggled to find last season."
On the importance of getting the team's first win:
"A win this week will be huge for this team and its psyche because I know how hard they've been fighting to get a victory. It feels like it has been a while since we have won and to beat Portland State would give us a better record at this time versus last year."
On student participation at this week's game:
"We really want our students to come out to this game fired up. This year we are going to select a student that shows the most enthusiasm in the first half to run out with the team in the second half. We definitely encourage getting our students more involved in the game day atmosphere. We also are looking to get former Aztec football players to come out and be honorary captains at the coin toss."
On the emergence of the tight end position this year:
"We are big believers in using the tight end position. My roommate in college was a tight end and to this day he still reminds me to throw to the tight ends. It's an important part of our team. We believe in Steve Schmidt, who should be back this week, as well as Matt Kawulok and Alston Umuolo. Alston is a true freshman who we feel can be a special player here in time. We're happy to have Steve back this week because he brings experience and maturity and has great hands."
On the challenges of Portland State's passing game:
"We are going to be challenged again because this team does a lot of passing, especially with four wide receiver sets. The run-and-shoot is based on getting the ball down the field and our defensive backs have to be disciplined and keep their eyes on the football. We don't want our guys turning their back so they (Portland State) can slip those seam routes. We also have to make sure our (pass) rush gets pressure on the quarterback to get him off rhythm. They run a very rhythmic offense."
On what head coach Jerry Glanville brings to Portland State:
"He (Jerry Glanville) takes over a winning program which is what we aspire to be. They've been through the process of changing a program that we are in now. He has a lot enthusiasm and is primarily a defensive-minded coach. He also is noted for having teams with good special teams. We need to keep our eyes open for any tricks on special teams this week, which could be the difference in the game."
On the Aztec offense's ability to make big plays:
"That is one area we need to get better at. We would like to be able to get the ball down field more. We had a couple shots last week and had a sack on one and an incompletion on another. We would like to be able to make big plays down the field that aren't five yard passes that our guys break for more yards."
On learning from last season's loss at home to Cal Poly (a Football Championship Subdivision team):
"There were a lot of lessons learned from that game, like not taking any opponent for granted. Portland State is a good football team that has won a lot of games. That's a huge mindset to have for a team and you couple that with Coach Glanville and his experience, and you're in for a tough challenge. We will have a hard week of practice where we make sure our guys are focused going into Saturday."
Senior quarterback Kevin O'Connell
On Portland State, a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA):
"All of the teams in that subdivision can play. (Portland State) is going to come in here and bring their best game to Qualcomm Stadium. They will have some guys returning to the San Diego area, and I've played against Coach Glanville's defense before when he was at Hawai'i. I know their defense likes to run a lot and their special teams are always solid. It's going to be a game that we have to be 100 percent prepared for, and sitting at 0-2 right now, we're expecting nothing less from our team."
On Portland State linebacker and former Aztec Andrew Schantz:
"Looking at film, (Andrew) is really flying around out there and he looks like he's having a lot of fun in that defense. Andy's playing really well and I'm happy for him. He's definitely someone we will have to focus on in our game plan because he is a force on their defense right now."
On the Aztecs' first home game:
"I can say that it's nice knowing we will be at home and won't have to travel this week. With the SkyShow on Saturday, we're expecting a big crowd for our home opener. We see it as an opportunity to show the Aztec fans the new team we have this year. We've learned a lot in our first two games and I think we're in a good position right now. We're healthy for the most part, which wasn't the case at this point in the season last year, so we're excited."
On last week's game at Arizona State:
"(Arizona State) was ready to play right off the bat. I think we were able to come out and get a couple of first downs right away, but the way we countered in the second quarter was really big in my eyes. It definitely showed a lot of growth. We were able to establish the pass and kind of got them on their heels, which allowed us to hit Brandon (Bornes) up the middle a couple of times. Once we got inside the 10-yard line, we were able to score. I think we are 100 percent on scoring and 75 percent on touchdowns in the red zone this year, so we definitely want to keep those numbers up because it's a momentum changer for our defense. Once we scored that touchdown last week, the defense came out and got a stop. Unfortunately, we couldn't go down and get another (touchdown), but you could see a little life in our sideline and I think that's something to look for all year."
Sophomore defensive lineman Jonathan Soto
On Portland State allowing 25 sacks in their first three games:
"We try not to think about the numbers too much. I know that they have given up 25 sacks, but we just have to focus on getting better ourselves and keeping pressure (on their quarterback). As long as we put pressure on them, the sacks will come."
On how the team has been feeding off each other:
"The chemistry is definitely there. I think that we put too much pressure on ourselves the first couple games. We were a little bit too mechanical, but now we're starting to really have fun out there and you'll be able to see that more and more as the season continues."
On the run-and-shoot offense of Portland State:
"I think their style of offense gives us even more motivation to perfect our fundamentals. We just need to apply what we do in practice everyday. If we keep the pressure on them, find the ball and make the plays, we will be okay."
Senior wide receiver Brett Swain
On his chemistry with quarterback Kevin O'Connell:
"Kevin and I have been working hard all summer together. We've been coming out to the field and running routes as much as we can, but right now we're really working on spreading the ball around. From all aspects of the offense, we are trying to get everyone involved instead of just focusing on one player."