Oct. 25, 2016
San Diego State Football Press Conference Quotes
October 25, 2016
SDSU head coach Rocky Long
Opening Statement:
"As has been the case for the last three or four weeks, we have another important conference game this week. I know their coach very well. We used to work together and he'll have them ready to play. They had a big win last week that got them going again. I haven't seen Utah State in a long time so I haven't been there since they renovated the stadium. I hear it's really nice and they get a full house most of the time and the crowd is loud and supportive of their team and that makes sense since the last five years or so, they're 26-4 at home. Obviously, they play really well at home. We'll have to play well in order to win."
On if Utah State starting quarterback Kent Myers is the most physical quarterback his team has faced:
"I don't know about biggest or most physical; he's a very talented guy. He throws the ball very, very well and I think he's the third leading rusher on their team. They believe in him running the ball so much that it's not just scrambles and it's not just zone reads. They give you a lot of formations where nobody else is in the backfield but him and then they block plays for him as a running back. That's a little different than anything we've seen so far this year. They have some unusual plays where he'll have his own read play but really keeps the ball and it ends up being a power or counter play with him carrying the ball. No matter what the formation is, they have a chance for a wildcat play back there with the quarterback. They give us a lot of different things on offense that we haven't seen all year. He's the key because he runs the ball so well.
"The stress on the defense is when they spread you out in wide formations and so you have to spread your defense out, they can still run normal power running plays or normal running plays like they do through a tailback, except the quarterback is the tailback. In reality, it's like the wildcat formation you see on TV: they get an extra blocker. They don't put an extra blocker in the system; they just spread them out wide so you have to take one of your defenders out wide with him so that guy doesn't have to block anybody. He just lines up out there as a block because you move a defender out there. Now, you have five or six in the box with the quarterback as being the sixth or seventh guy and because you have to spread everybody out in coverage, you're outnumbered there because the quarterback is the ball carrier. It's the same theory as the wildcat formation; you get an extra blocker."
On the play of his team's defense:
"I thought we played well on defense the last three weeks. I don't think that's a trend until you do it for a longer period of time. For three weeks in a row, we've played very similar offenses so the carryover from week to week makes it much easier for guys to perform well because their assignments are basically the same from week to week. Until we had the injuries, we always thought we had really good depth on defense. Well, we don't have really good depth on defense anymore. We think we have some talented players behind the guys that are in the starting roles. We have some talented players but they're all true freshmen. For every true freshman that starts, you lose a game because he won't be in the right place at the right time."
On the challenge of playing at elevation:
"I think if they're a fast-paced team where they try to get a snap every 15 to 18 seconds, it's a challenge. I think the teams that live there and practice there have an advantage. If they're not a fast-paced team, it makes no difference whatsoever."
On junior cornerback Kalan Montgomery starting against SJSU:
"We didn't do anything differently to protect him (against SJSU). The biggest drop off is in experience. If you are playing man coverage, you've got man-to-man-to-man, unless they've got two receivers within a close proximity of each other and then you do some kind of combination coverage with the guy next to you. If they put three in proximity of each other, you have three receivers and three defenders comboing those routes. If you're playing zone, you have to read the entire route to know where you're supposed to be. A lot of times, it doesn't come to him having enough talent. Those freshmen I'm talking to you about, they have plenty of talent; they're fast, they're big, they're good athletes. But being in the right place in the right time is hard. We started the season with a very veteran secondary. We're not veterans anymore, so there's more of a chance of a blown coverage than there used to be."
On the reaction of San Jose State's sideline after was ejected for targeting senior running back Donnel Pumphrey:
"I don't think they were congratulating him for the hit. I think they were consoling him because he got kicked out of the game. He was one of their best players and he made a really good football play by old time standards. Those people on that sideline know he's a good guy and a good player, he just got kicked out of the game and he doesn't get to play next week. They were more consoling him than congratulating him especially because DJ was fine and in the next play, he ran for a touchdown. Why would you be congratulating him? He made DJ mad."
On comparisons of Donnel Pumphrey to other running backs:
"I only saw Marshall Faulk one time in person. Obviously, I heard about him a lot when he was at San Diego State but I only saw him once in person and a little bit on TV. I don't think they have the same styles. I think they're both great football players that are making the most of their talents. I don't know if you can compare guys like that or not. Pro scouts come in here all the time and want to have you compare DJ to somebody. I don't know who to compare him with. One of the pro scouts said that DJ reminds him of (College Football Hall of Fame honoree) Joe Washington at Oklahoma. I guess that's a good comparison. Joe Washington was good."
On how he feels about his offense against Utah State:
"I think we're concerned. I think we're a lot more concerned about how physical Utah State is in their front seven."
On John David Wicker named San Diego State's Director of Athletics:
"I had a good relationship with him. When he was here, he was in charge of football and we interacted almost daily. He and I were together a lot of the time. He's a guy that has a lot of integrity and works really hard. He cares about this place. He cares about our success and the student-athlete experience. I thought the best thing about him being hired is the whole department knows him and he knows the whole department. He was here with Jim Sterk at the time that a lot of changes were made and has had a positive effect on this department, so you have good continuity there. He already said something about what's most important for the football program and that's getting a new stadium. It's good that he's got the right frame of mind."
SDSU senior linebacker Austin Wyatt-Thayer
On Utah State starting quarterback Kent Myers:
"He's a dual threat quarterback. That's always a challenge. The last couple of weeks, we've been facing some dual threat quarterbacks but this guy, he can really run. He brings a whole new meaning to dual threat from what we've seen. He's used as another option. It's something we absolutely have to account for instead of sometimes. They have designed runs for him and that's something we definitely have to prepare for. We'll basically treat him as another running back or another threat."
On not allowing San Jose State to score a touchdown:
"I think it's important. It makes us a little hungrier. It's not something we obsess over but it is something we talk about and especially when we are on the field, we're hungry to get off and let our offense get another chance to score."
On what the team has to work on against Utah State:
"I feel like we can just work on the little things, more technique: not missing tackles or making any assignment errors, just little things like that throughout the game."
SDSU junior running back/kick returner Rashaad Penny
On the play of SDSU's defense:
"It's a good thing. They don't have to go out there and try to take one back. Our defense is just holding these guys. It feels good when you see your defense is out there doing their job; it's makes the job of the offense easier. We go against these guys every day so we know what it feels like for the other team. It's just getting us better and I can definitely see that."
On Utah State's defense:
"They're big, athletic and they can move. Just like any other front, we just have to prepare the same way we did the last few weeks. We just have to run straight downhill and playing to the best of our abilities. We just have to prepare. They're pretty big and they always can move. It's nothing we haven't seen so we're ready."
On having Donnel Pumphrey as a teammate:
"We both assist each other. Having him on the other side of the field makes everything easier if I'm getting a screen because everybody is so focused on him. It just makes our job easier. He can start the drive off and he can also finish it but he's a great player. I can't take that away from him. He makes everything look so easy. Right after that targeting penalty (against SJSU), everybody thought he'd be down but he just ran outside for the touchdown. He's an amazing player. We love to watch him."
On running the wheel route:
"We tried to run the wheel route against San Jose. Their linebacker went straight to the flat so it's something they got used to. Hopefully, we can work it to perfection. I know we've got a couple more chances that we can run it so it's just seeing what we can do at practice because I know what we do at practice, we'll do in a game."
On SDSU's offense:
"I feel like our offense is where we need to be. We still move the ball. We're the type to run the ball the majority of the time and then when we get into that play action, our receivers are open. We have really great receivers. We try to use them to the best of our abilities and try to get them open but they also make great blocks in the open field and they're doing a great job. I feel like we're clicking. We're going to continue to keep going and with the defense and what they're doing, they're helping us. They're giving us an edge. They're motivating us on the sideline to get the drive going and I think we're in a perfect situation right now."
On what the team has to work on against Utah State:
"I feel like our penalties. I feel like we just make simple mistakes with our penalties alone. I think that's something we can get better. It's just the little mistakes that are bothering us right now."