On Eno Benjamin’s play
“He is a guy we have been howling for quite some time. He is still learning, still developing and he went in there and had a great touchdown run. Gave you a little glimpse of what he is capable of. He is only going to get better and better. It’s awful tough to get reps because we have such a talented running back core, but really proud of him and it bodes well for our future at that position. He is a guy that has great promise.”
On Demario Richards evolution over the course of his career
“Those guys got to be mentored by a championship team and the guys from the 2013 team were the guys that really mentored them. He played as a true freshman. You always want to play as freshmen, but really when you look back we wished we would of redshirted him. Unfortunately, most really good skill players are like that. He has been a very good player, where he has developed into a guy that is a tough, physical runner. He has done a great job for us. Looking at the numbers he has put up over his career has been pretty impressive. Pretty certain he will be a top 10 guy in the history of our program. He has really matured mentally and the way he has played. Its not what you say, its what you do -- I just think he has stepped to a different level in his leadership.”
On the transition for Jay Jay (Wilson) from offense to defense
“He has done a great job for us. Very athletic. He is getting better and better fundamentally every day. You’re still talking about two or three weeks of actually practicing. We get two practices a week and Thursday is more of a dress rehearsal. He has had probably less than 10 practices over there and he has done a great job. It’s been a big deal for us. We play both him and A.J. (Latu) on third down in our speed package. He has picked it up and learned -- he is only going to get better because as he learns and gets a true mastery of what he is doing.”
On the situation with who will handle kick returns
“Obviously Kalen is a dynamic returner as well, we want to give those guys a taste of it. There will be a competition every week and we will utilize our best guys based on how they practice.”
On Evan Fields performance
"I think Evan did a good job. You don’t really know what it is like to get in there. He has had two games in a row, in big conference games where he has gotten to play. Each time he as settled a little bit better -- calmed down a little bit. It’s just a lot faster than what we practice it for him. He is going to be a great player, all he needs is snaps.”
On possibly a three-back rotation between (Demario) Richard, (Eno) Benjamin, and (Kalen) Ballage
“Demario (Richard) and Kalen (Ballage) are proven backs and there a big part of our game plan every week. We will get guys snaps and reps based on how they practice and what we think we have to do to win.”
On Eno Benjamin having to carry the load after this season
“We have Nick Ralston too. I like the diversity of their talents. It's hard to replace two backs of their caliber and how talented they are. They have been a big part of helping us to recruit those two young guys. I think we will be solid moving forward.”
On Manny Wilkins improvement from year one to year two
“I said this earlier in the year. Instead of playing like an athletic quarterback, he is playing like a disciplined quarterback. I can tell he is trying to do the things we ask him to do because how we have taken care of the football. That is our number one objective. I thought he did a nice job making decisions -- pulling the ball down and making first downs. It makes it really difficult for the defense. Your first year, it's different when you're not experienced. The game is really fast for you and I think its slowed down for him. He is a veteran quarterback doing a great job leading our team. This is his team.”
On Chase Lucas’ development week to week
“He’s just a guy that’s gotten better and better every week. He’s got untapped potential. He’s still very young and still learning. He’s done very well. I told Coach (Phil) Bennet the other day, ‘You don’t hear much from him,’ and that’s what you want out of a corner. He does a good job of being sound vertically and challenging his guys when he needs to, so he’s a guy that I’m really proud of his development and I think he’s solid.”
On Josh Rosen’s injury status
“I fully expect him to play. We’ve got a plan for him to play. If he doesn’t play, then they still have very capable guys. I’ve looked at the film. They’re very very talented on both sides of the football. You can watch and see how they just dominated Oregon. They’re undefeated at home and then they’ve had their struggles on the road. But, they’re an extremely talented team physically.”
On the challenges UCLA poses
“Big plays and their ability to throw the football. They’re talented at receiver and their tight ends are very talented and deep. Their offensive line is very good because they’re big. Obviously, they have a good quarterback.”
On fourth quarter explosion of run game
“I don’t think it’s being patient with it. I think we wore them down. I think getting stops -- we were six out of ten on third down defensively in the first half and then we were 100 percent in the second half. They didn’t convert a third down. So, I thought that was big. Getting off the field defensively and the snaps. We got the snap count back in our favor. I'm talking about the total snaps we’re playing on defense. It’s a combination of things -- we’ve got to get off the field. It’s not just the offense that determines how many snaps you play on defense. We got the snap number up where we wanted to be, were very patient with it and kept pounding it."
On Demario Richard’s attitude rubbing off on other guys
“It does. I think it really does. He’s just relentless with how he finishes runs and the way he runs the football.”
On Renell Wren's role vs. Colorado despite being banged up
“He got banged up in the USC game and he wasn’t 100 percent in this last game. I think he played 30 something plays. He didn’t play as many plays; He’s feeling a little bit better now. He should be a little bit more healthy this week and he’s really been a dominant force in there. George (Lea) is questionable. I don’t know whether he’ll be able to play this week or not. I don’t foresee George being out a very long time. We’ve been working hard these last couple days to get him where he’s feeling better. We also need Renell (Wren) to be 100 percent.”
On the package that included Jay Jay Wilson and AJ Latu at the same time
“I like that. That’s our speed package. I like that on passing downs. I still feel pretty good about being able to handle the run out of that. So, I think it helps us.”
On offensive line progression over the course of the year
"I think it’s been pretty steady. Our big deal is taking care of the football and eliminating the negatives. If you look at the negatives, we’ve really done a good job of cutting those down and that’s been something that’s been in a steady decline since about week three or four.”
On thoughts on stadium going through final renovation process
“Oh man, I think it’s awesome. I think it’s very innovative. It’s reflective of our university and it makes sense. Why would you have a stadium when you use it seven or six times a year when we can use it more for education, teaching and bringing as many people into our venue as we possibly can. I think it’s a great thing. I’m excited to get it finished."
“He is a guy we have been howling for quite some time. He is still learning, still developing and he went in there and had a great touchdown run. Gave you a little glimpse of what he is capable of. He is only going to get better and better. It’s awful tough to get reps because we have such a talented running back core, but really proud of him and it bodes well for our future at that position. He is a guy that has great promise.”
On Demario Richards evolution over the course of his career
“Those guys got to be mentored by a championship team and the guys from the 2013 team were the guys that really mentored them. He played as a true freshman. You always want to play as freshmen, but really when you look back we wished we would of redshirted him. Unfortunately, most really good skill players are like that. He has been a very good player, where he has developed into a guy that is a tough, physical runner. He has done a great job for us. Looking at the numbers he has put up over his career has been pretty impressive. Pretty certain he will be a top 10 guy in the history of our program. He has really matured mentally and the way he has played. Its not what you say, its what you do -- I just think he has stepped to a different level in his leadership.”
On the transition for Jay Jay (Wilson) from offense to defense
“He has done a great job for us. Very athletic. He is getting better and better fundamentally every day. You’re still talking about two or three weeks of actually practicing. We get two practices a week and Thursday is more of a dress rehearsal. He has had probably less than 10 practices over there and he has done a great job. It’s been a big deal for us. We play both him and A.J. (Latu) on third down in our speed package. He has picked it up and learned -- he is only going to get better because as he learns and gets a true mastery of what he is doing.”
On the situation with who will handle kick returns
“Obviously Kalen is a dynamic returner as well, we want to give those guys a taste of it. There will be a competition every week and we will utilize our best guys based on how they practice.”
On Evan Fields performance
"I think Evan did a good job. You don’t really know what it is like to get in there. He has had two games in a row, in big conference games where he has gotten to play. Each time he as settled a little bit better -- calmed down a little bit. It’s just a lot faster than what we practice it for him. He is going to be a great player, all he needs is snaps.”
On possibly a three-back rotation between (Demario) Richard, (Eno) Benjamin, and (Kalen) Ballage
“Demario (Richard) and Kalen (Ballage) are proven backs and there a big part of our game plan every week. We will get guys snaps and reps based on how they practice and what we think we have to do to win.”
On Eno Benjamin having to carry the load after this season
“We have Nick Ralston too. I like the diversity of their talents. It's hard to replace two backs of their caliber and how talented they are. They have been a big part of helping us to recruit those two young guys. I think we will be solid moving forward.”
On Manny Wilkins improvement from year one to year two
“I said this earlier in the year. Instead of playing like an athletic quarterback, he is playing like a disciplined quarterback. I can tell he is trying to do the things we ask him to do because how we have taken care of the football. That is our number one objective. I thought he did a nice job making decisions -- pulling the ball down and making first downs. It makes it really difficult for the defense. Your first year, it's different when you're not experienced. The game is really fast for you and I think its slowed down for him. He is a veteran quarterback doing a great job leading our team. This is his team.”
On Chase Lucas’ development week to week
“He’s just a guy that’s gotten better and better every week. He’s got untapped potential. He’s still very young and still learning. He’s done very well. I told Coach (Phil) Bennet the other day, ‘You don’t hear much from him,’ and that’s what you want out of a corner. He does a good job of being sound vertically and challenging his guys when he needs to, so he’s a guy that I’m really proud of his development and I think he’s solid.”
On Josh Rosen’s injury status
“I fully expect him to play. We’ve got a plan for him to play. If he doesn’t play, then they still have very capable guys. I’ve looked at the film. They’re very very talented on both sides of the football. You can watch and see how they just dominated Oregon. They’re undefeated at home and then they’ve had their struggles on the road. But, they’re an extremely talented team physically.”
On the challenges UCLA poses
“Big plays and their ability to throw the football. They’re talented at receiver and their tight ends are very talented and deep. Their offensive line is very good because they’re big. Obviously, they have a good quarterback.”
On fourth quarter explosion of run game
“I don’t think it’s being patient with it. I think we wore them down. I think getting stops -- we were six out of ten on third down defensively in the first half and then we were 100 percent in the second half. They didn’t convert a third down. So, I thought that was big. Getting off the field defensively and the snaps. We got the snap count back in our favor. I'm talking about the total snaps we’re playing on defense. It’s a combination of things -- we’ve got to get off the field. It’s not just the offense that determines how many snaps you play on defense. We got the snap number up where we wanted to be, were very patient with it and kept pounding it."
On Demario Richard’s attitude rubbing off on other guys
“It does. I think it really does. He’s just relentless with how he finishes runs and the way he runs the football.”
On Renell Wren's role vs. Colorado despite being banged up
“He got banged up in the USC game and he wasn’t 100 percent in this last game. I think he played 30 something plays. He didn’t play as many plays; He’s feeling a little bit better now. He should be a little bit more healthy this week and he’s really been a dominant force in there. George (Lea) is questionable. I don’t know whether he’ll be able to play this week or not. I don’t foresee George being out a very long time. We’ve been working hard these last couple days to get him where he’s feeling better. We also need Renell (Wren) to be 100 percent.”
On the package that included Jay Jay Wilson and AJ Latu at the same time
“I like that. That’s our speed package. I like that on passing downs. I still feel pretty good about being able to handle the run out of that. So, I think it helps us.”
On offensive line progression over the course of the year
"I think it’s been pretty steady. Our big deal is taking care of the football and eliminating the negatives. If you look at the negatives, we’ve really done a good job of cutting those down and that’s been something that’s been in a steady decline since about week three or four.”
On thoughts on stadium going through final renovation process
“Oh man, I think it’s awesome. I think it’s very innovative. It’s reflective of our university and it makes sense. Why would you have a stadium when you use it seven or six times a year when we can use it more for education, teaching and bringing as many people into our venue as we possibly can. I think it’s a great thing. I’m excited to get it finished."