San Diego State Press Conference Quotes
Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019
Head Coach Rocky Long
Opening statement:
"I think last week was a productive week. We got a lot of things done and hopefully we made our team better. We look forward to playing again this week against a very talented football team and a very explosive offensive football team. All you had to do is watch Utah State and Colorado State play, and they're exactly the same athletically. They're explosive - they can run it, they can throw it, all those kind of things. They're scoring a lot of points and gaining a lot of yards. It's going to be a very tough football game."
On if this is a desperation game:
"I don't think you are far enough in the season to have a desperation game. You play every game a week at a time and see what happens."
On how the players are feeling after being idle last week:
"I think our players would've rather played last week. I don't think players this time of year like to practice without the opportunity to play a game, but we got some things done. They were pretty enthusiastic yesterday to be back out there. We'll see how they are today."
On if they are targeting anything special with Colorado State:
"I don't think so. We're just trying to make ourselves better. I think they present a real issue for our defense on offense. They're a pretty balanced football team. They've got a couple of really good running backs and they've run the ball really well. Then when people have slowed them down running the ball, they've thrown it really well. It's going to be a challenge and hopefully we can score more points than they do."
On the health of Juwan Washington:
"I watched him yesterday. He ran around pretty good, but he didn't look 100 percent. I guess he's the only one who knows how close he is to 100 percent. Hopefully he'll be fine by Saturday and can play."
On when he'll decide if he can play this week against Colorado State:
"I think it's way too early in the week to figure that out. We'll see how he runs around on Thursday to determine on how much and at all if he's going to play."
On if they'll be able to take advantage of Colorado State's turnover problem so far this season:
"We talk about this all the time, but I think turnovers is the biggest factor in winning and losing, especially when it's a close game. And I think they come in bunches. That doesn't mean they are going to continue that way (for Colorado State). Some years we get a lot of interceptions and some years we don't. Some years we cause fumbles and get fumble recoveries, and some years we don't. Sometimes it's just the game. Last week I watched their game (at Utah State) with many other games and there was terrible weather. The quarterbacks had a hard time throwing the ball and the receivers had a hard time catching it, because the wind was blowing and it was raining. If you count both teams, there were five fumbles in the game. So some of it had to do with the weather."
On the Senate Bill 206 passing:
"I have some personal feelings about it, but publicly it doesn't happen until 2023. I'm not thinking about it because it will change dramatically between now and then so it's no big deal."
On something he said about going pro and getting paid recently:
"I think all college athletes ought to be allowed to go to the pros whenever they want to. If they're good enough, they ought to be allowed to go."
On gives them the best chance to beat Colorado State on Saturday:
"Trying to slow them down and keep their point total down to a point that our offense can outscore them."
On Colorado State's defense:
"They've been able to cause turnovers. Last week they jumped out ahead of Utah State because they intercepted two passes and one of them they ran back for a touchdown. They also blocked a punt. They're doing really good on special teams. Statistically their defense doesn't look very good, but they've been really active, and have given their offense some short fields and some momentum. That's partly why their offense is scoring so many points."
On getting a chance to play in Canvas Stadium:
"I'm looking forward to seeing it, because I've heard a lot of really good things about it. I've seen it online and it looks real nice, so I'd like to see it in person."
On if any player has put their name on the transfer portal:
"They haven't come and told me, and I would know if they put their name on the (transfer) portal. I find out. None of our players have done that yet. I think that's something that happened that nobody anticipated. That they play four games and audition so they can be recruited while they stay on full scholarship for the rest of the season. The way I understand it, the kids just walked in and said they're going to redshirt, and put their name on the portal. I'm not sure anybody anticipated that part of it."
Senior tight end Parker Houston
On what the week off did for the team:
"It allows a lot of our injured guys or the guys who have ailments to get healthy. It allows us to work more on things we do during camp like our fundamentals and stuff like that. So we get back to executing footwork, blocking techniques, and route running. We get to do the little things right again."
On was this past week a typical bye week following the loss:
"I think some aspects of the bye week were influenced by our loss. Sure, our workouts were tougher to get us more, but the coaches kept it pretty simple. We talked about that. We went back to fundamentals, we emphasized that a lot during the week, and we didn't focus too much on Colorado State during practice. It was maybe 15-to-20 minutes out of a 2-hour practice. We worked on going against hard our defense, trying to get that physicality that we're known for back. Just working on those fundamentals."
On if the team feels comfortable on offense after four games:
"I think we've started to work into it. It's just a learning curve for a lot of us. I'm sure a lot of guys in high school ran some sort of spread because it's so popular. But our team is just a whole different team, it's different players, different guys, different coaches, different plays and things like that. That kind of makes it difficult to work into early, but I we are starting to find our groove."
On if there is any particular part of the offense makes it difficult:
"We changed some verbiage and things like that where one play was called this last year and now there's a totally different name for it. We have groups of plays that make it easier for a signal. I think just the verbiage for a lot of guys is probably the hardest thing. I mean we've got some pretty smart guys on the team so it wasn't that bad."
On incorporating the pass into the offense:
"Passing is a part of football. It's always in our offense, it's just that we didn't do it as much. When we changed, we were maybe 80-20 run-to-pass and now it's what, 65-35? It's just reincorporating that into our offense. It's something that's part of football and guys get recruited off of receiving skills and quarterbacks get recruited off of arm strength. It's always going to be a part of it."
Junior cornerback Luq Barcoo
On Colorado State:
"We are facing a very talented team. They are a very similar team to Utah State, their offense has put up a lot of points. I think we need to be very detailed in our practices and in the film room, and I think we will be OK."
On taking advantage of Colorado State turning the ball over so much early on in the season:
"Taking our practices very seriously as far as technique and detail. We have got to be pretty much on it. They have a new quarterback, their starting quarterback got hurt. There's going to be some opportunities for turnovers and we just have to take advantage of those."
On Colorado State's explosive offense and what concerns him:
"There's not necessarily anything I see that concerns me, but I do see that they have a lot of talent on the field and that means they have a lot of opportunity to make big plays. So for us, we just have to limit those big plays and try to stay as technically sound as possible in order to come out with a (win)."