-
SUN DEVIL HEAD COACH HERM EDWARDS
On what he was thankful for during the game:
“It’s one of those games that we have a lot to learn from. But, holding a team to three points, that’s a pretty good night for football.”
About what the team has:
“It’s a team that has great camaraderie, they like each other. We’ve talked about it, but then you have to be about it.”
On anxiety going into the game and how they handled it:
“They did it well, and we’re at home. Speaking of home, that student section, there were 13,000 students up there; I can’t thank them enough for showing up. You can feel the student body and their energy, it’s fun to watch. I thought that for the first home game and for us to win a game as a team, it’s important. When you’re picked as a favorite to win, it’s easy to say that you’re going to win, but then you have to go do it.”
On team mentality throughout the year:
“I said we were going to be aggressive, I told the football team that anytime we got inside, plus I wanted to get our offense going. We got to leave, we mess around, kind of a go back and forward pass. But that’s okay, I just think we have to be aggressive, we’re going to be more aggressive this year. What everyone else does is great, and when I do it, it’s like why did you do that coach? The worst thing that could happen is what happened, three points.”
On how defense handled NAU after the Lumberjacks’ first two drives:
“Donnie did a good job calling defense for his first night. I thought Glenn did a great job calling offense on what we were trying to get accomplished. We were pretty vanilla, actually and made a couple of coverages. We got so many young guys in the secondary and I thought for the most part we didn’t let them have any vertical passes. We got to throw the ball inside, but for the most part we did a good job. We had a couple of chances to get a couple of interceptions, close if you think about it. But holding the team to three points, that’s pretty good.”
On offensive lineman Ralph Frias’ return:
“That was good to see. We came in with a pretty good group of offensive linemen, but we will get some guys back next week. I think their ability to play multiple positions has helped us win. Coach Cav(anaugh) has done that, we talked about that last night. We said if this guy goes down, you need to put in that guy over there. We were playing musical chairs if somebody goes down and we had to do some shuffling.”
On Joey Ramos:
“Ankle, just ankle. He’s a lineman, he's a tough guy and hopefully he will be back this week. Our other guy should be back too, so we will be okay.”
On Messiah Swinson’s performance:
“That’s why we brought him here and he catched a lot of balls, so I told him if I throw it to you, you have to catch it. He’s a big guy, big target. All of those tight ends are, I’m glad we’re using tight ends on offense. It’s fun to watch them, they’re harder to defend, especially when you get them in certain formations.”
On Emory Jones’ performance:
“We will be having a little conversation. You know he’s got to know when his journey is over. He’s got to learn to slide, I don’t want him taking hits, it’s not worth it. It’s not worth it, that’s what I tell our quarterback when the journey is over. You got to just play to play. Just slide, just slide– play IT like baseball.”
On first game with the two new coordinators:
“They were good. I know Donnie, I mean Donnie went on the side, he didn’t come out of the booth like he did before one time in New York. I thought they were good, they had a good presence about what was going on. I thought the coaches on the sidelines made good adjustments and I always call the sidelines the information booth. Over there, the coaches will tell you what’s going on to adjust, I’ll chime in on both parties and both coordinators. I thought the key for us in the third quarter was really taking time off the clock.”
On if he anticipated the defense would play as well as they did:
“I thought the front played good because we have a lot of depth. I was talking with the players and coaches, and I said, ‘don’t be surprised if they hurry up because they don’t want your rotation in the defensive line.’ Take a peek at the team we’re playing next week- they are really fast. It’s not even ten seconds. I think that was a part of it. I thought the front played pretty good. They stopped the quarterback’s run. That’s what you need to do, stop the run. They are a running football team like us. The linebackers played fairly well. The corners- that’s what I wanted to see. They didn’t give up any vertical balls. A little couple double moves, good coverage. When you get two interceptions, that’s pretty good. We talked about that, we needed two turnovers tonight. That’s our deal every week, you have to get two turnovers. We were able to do that. You get two touchdowns on interceptions, that’s a pretty good night on defense.”
On the team’s discipline:
“It wasn’t that bad. Last year (in the season-opener) it was 13 (penalties). 11 in the first half and two in the second. But I showed the team that and, look, for the most part if you average four or five fouls a game you're okay and you’ll be pretty good during the season. You just don’t want them to be ones that really hurt you and a couple of them stalled drives offensively. We got one and it kicked us back, right? Defensively, we had another opportunity – two of them for touchdowns – and they get called back.”
On keeping it simple:
“Yes, not a lot, did some things over and over, repeated things over and over. I guess you guys know why we did that right.”
On spreading the ball around:
“Absolutely, because when you think about it. Thompson is a veteran guy and so is Andre. So the rest of these guys are young so we have to get them reps. They got two pass-interference calls which is good. They were open and got pass-interference and there was another one that I thought was pass-interference but that’s okay. I thought those guys and the tight ends.”
EMORY JONES
On getting to play for the first time:
“We had 40 new players, 43 new players, so honestly we didn’t know what type of team we were going to be. We’ve been practicing and going against our team but it’s different when you get out here with the lights on. I think we played pretty good, but there are definitely a lot of things to clean up on. I am really excited about where this team is going, and we just really keep that work for next week.”
On getting week one anxiety out of the way:
“I can say that. First game here, and the first time wearing cleats out there on that field. It was all new for me, I definitely was a little amped up and excited but in the game I settled down it felt like. Like I said, I am just excited about this team. We did some great things out there.”
On rotating players on offense:
“Like I said last week, I am the type of guy I just do what coach wants me to do, and I put the ball in everybody’s hands. I just go through my read… we have a lot of talented guys and receivers so we definitely have to rotate and get different guys in there.”
On the offense settling in and moving the ball:
“I think everybody had that feeling [of being anxious] so we were a little amped up and antsy. I feel like we definitely settled down. The whole team honestly settled down and we came to play.”
On the sack and fumble before the half:
“I had a guy wide open. I was trying to sit on him and get something bigger. That was my fault and I see what happened. That’s just a learning experience, just taking what the defense gave me. That’s on my end and something I have to clean up.”
On the new guys’ performance:
“I've been waiting for this moment to see those guys go out there and perform and they did what they were supposed to do, usually do every single day. Cy he’s a big target… you have people bouncing off of him and that’s something I love about the big targets you just put it up in the air for them. X [Xazavian Valladay], he just brings a dynamic he can break out and go score at any time. I am just really excited about those guys, they put in a lot of work and it’s showing.”
On the O-line giving him a clean pocket:
“Those guys, they definitely did their part. They've been working for awhile now. Just learning how to play together… We had to move some guys around and we had some guys in different spots so it was a learning experience for everybody. Those guys definitely have been improving every single day and I am excited for that group for sure.”
On getting into a rhythm:
“It wasn’t that bad getting the signals. We definitely had a couple of drives that we were a little slower I feel like. We looked off the tee at times, but that was something that we have to push through. That's something we can talk about tomorrow and have cleaned up.
On his anxiety:
“I don't think that was really serious. We have 43 new players, a lot of guys it’s their first time even playing on this field. It's the first game. I think they got it out of the way. It felt really good.
On playing in front of ASU fans for the first time:
“It was crazy. That was probably one of the best entrances I ever saw.. I am on the sideline as a captain, so just watching… the fans were definitely loud.”
On getting in the box for the first time:
“That was a play. I just had to go out there. I had an open field I had to make a couple people miss. Coach was getting on me to stretch the ball.”
On if he got in on the overturned TD:
“In my head I'm thinking I’m just going out there. I thought I was in. My elbow was down though, I saw it on the jumbotron but the second time I definitely had to get it in there.”
On not needing to open the playbook in a blowout win:
“Yeah, I would say that. We took a couple of shots. I feel like I definitely want them back. The first one down there to Bryan Thompson, I should have probably thrown it a little farther in and the other one to Zeke but it's a learning experience for all of us. We have to go back in the lab and find ways to get better from this game.”
On facing OSU at home next week:
“I'm excited. I like real hostile games. I feel like that's one that we all will rise up to the occasion for. We need to get to work. The game will be won…we just will get in the lab and watch film.”
XAZAVIAN VALLADY
On getting out there and getting in the end zone:
“It's been 100 and something days to get out and play football against a team,, but I give my all to God and it was definitely a great feeling just to be back on the field with my new family. We got our first win together so many more things to come.”
On showing the fans what he’s got:
“I definitely have more in the tank. I have some things to clean up and go back these next couple days and get in the film room and see what we did wrong and try to clean them up and come back better and stronger next week.
On running behind the O-Line:
“Me and the o-line, we have been working since Spring ball started and just grinded throughout this last offseason… put a lot of very hard work in throughout this offseason and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into. Definitely just had a lot of success and that's what weve been preaching on telling everybody about and how excited we are for this football team running and passing the ball. Like I said, I just have to get back in the film room. There are some things that we have to clean up for next week.”
On the offense settling in:
“We just didn't want to shoot ourselves in the foot. This is the first football game so there's definitely a lot of emotion flowing around and just being able to play fast and not let the game overtake you.”
TRAVEZ MOORE
On the feeling of being back:
“It felt good. I am not going to lie, I was a little scared at first, but when I stepped on the grass it was like a bolt of energy came in and it felt good. A long nine months of recovery, so I was excited.”
On the adjustment and shutting down NAU after their first series:
“Just keep doing what we’re doing. If it aint broke dont fix it. We just kept tackling and tackling, so they had to come off of our tempo.
NAU HEAD COACH CHRIS BALL
Opening Statement:
“We didn’t take care of the ball tonight. We knew they were going to be good in the front 7; they have a lot of guys coming back who played a lot of football. We didn’t do what we needed to do to establish our run game. We turned the ball over, we made a mistake on the field goal and that cost us. Everything I saw out there is fixable. We just didn’t take care of the ball and execute like we needed to do tonight.”
On closing out multiple defense drives with ASU Field Goals:
“There’s a lot to build on. I love our culture, I love our players. We have a good football team. This game really doesn’t make or break our season. This is a game we have to play every year, either Arizona or ASU and every goal we have on the board is still attainable. This hasn’t knocked us out of the Big Sky Championship, it hasn't knocked us out of the playoffs. This is a game that we love to play, we love to come down and every game it always comes down to a handful plays. We turned the ball over, and yea, our defense played well but there were other times we missed some plays. We’re going to look at the tape and we don’t have 29 days to get ready for Sam Houston State, we have to go back to work. We have another good team coming up, another team that just moved up to FBS so we have to go there and play. Quick turnaround, get everything fixed, but I thought the defense played really well at times.”
On how playing a team like this helps NAU later in the season:
“It helps. As long as you can stay healthy and come out of it good, it helps us. Any first game, any game helps. We’ve been practicing against each other since July 31, so any game helps us. These are tough for FCS schools, but we have to play them and we’re up for it. They say you make your biggest strides between game one and game two and that is what we need to do. Like I said, everything is correctable. Everything is correctable. I still think we have a really good football team that is going to compete in the Big Sky. Every goal we have is still on the board.”
On how injury to Anthony Sweeney impacted team:
“Anytime one of your stars, one of your captains, you know we have a 15-players council and they help lead this football team. At the end of the day, he’s just one guy and you could put a ‘C’ on his chest and he could be a captain. The kid got hurt last year and busted his butt to get back and we’ll wait to see what happens with him now. Yeah, that takes the wind out of you a little bit. But that’s part of the game. The game is very adverse and it's about how you respond to the adversity that is going to determine how successful you are going to be. You need to be able to handle those situations and be able to move forward, it’s not different from life. That’s why it’s such a great game. They’re not going to stop the game and say ‘okay, let's get it together, Sweeney’s not there anymore.’ It’s not like that in life, you know it’s not ‘okay, let’s stop life and freeze until we get it together.’ That doesn’t happen. You have to learn to handle those situations and move forward. I thought we did, I don’t think anyone was out there pouting and feeling sorry for themselves because Sweeney wasn’t out there. We’re very deep at that position over in the secondary. I feel really bad for Anthony, really bad for him.”
On going through the change with special teams:
“We’ve been spoiled. We have had two All-Americans in the last three years. That’s hard to replace. Yes, we’ve been spoiled. We lack experience there. The whole group is new, so that is something we are going to have to deal with and continue to develop, especially confidence-wise. Collin [Robbins] has kicked really well in the last week-and-a-half in practice. We put him in some tough situations. We have to get that ball down. You look at that play, and you look at the turnover that they scored fourteen points off of and when you look at it, it could be 10-3, going into halftime. Again, you have to take care of the ball. The number one thing is taking care of the ball - it’s on our wall, ‘own the ball.’”
NAU QUARTERBACK RJ MARTINEZ
On how difficult it was to get looks down the field tonight:
“It was difficult. All week we were expecting them to play a lot more man. Obviously we have great receivers. We were expecting them to be in all-man and have a lot more matchups but they went to more of a two-high quarters defense so it prevented us pushing the ball down the field. We went underneath and they were getting home with four. They were good defensively up front and we knew that. They were banged up in the secondary but obviously going zone helps with a banged up secondary. But like I said their front seven was good. Being able to push the ball down the field was a little difficult for us this game and we’re hoping to correct that next weekend and hopefully push it more down the field against Sam Houston.”
NAU NOSE TACKLE SHELDON NEWTON
On his forced fumble in the first half:
“We ran a great stunt. Mark Ho Ching penetrated really good and it freed me up so I got a hit on the quarterback and knocked the ball out. It was a big momentum change.”
On the preparation for ASU’s run-game:
“They moved lateral all game. We practiced all week and practiced going power, power, power, but they switched it up on us and we’ve got to be ready for that, but they went lateral all game.”
SUN DEVIL HEAD COACH HERM EDWARDS
On what he was thankful for during the game:
“It’s one of those games that we have a lot to learn from. But, holding a team to three points, that’s a pretty good night for football.”
About what the team has:
“It’s a team that has great camaraderie, they like each other. We’ve talked about it, but then you have to be about it.”
On anxiety going into the game and how they handled it:
“They did it well, and we’re at home. Speaking of home, that student section, there were 13,000 students up there; I can’t thank them enough for showing up. You can feel the student body and their energy, it’s fun to watch. I thought that for the first home game and for us to win a game as a team, it’s important. When you’re picked as a favorite to win, it’s easy to say that you’re going to win, but then you have to go do it.”
On team mentality throughout the year:
“I said we were going to be aggressive, I told the football team that anytime we got inside, plus I wanted to get our offense going. We got to leave, we mess around, kind of a go back and forward pass. But that’s okay, I just think we have to be aggressive, we’re going to be more aggressive this year. What everyone else does is great, and when I do it, it’s like why did you do that coach? The worst thing that could happen is what happened, three points.”
On how defense handled NAU after the Lumberjacks’ first two drives:
“Donnie did a good job calling defense for his first night. I thought Glenn did a great job calling offense on what we were trying to get accomplished. We were pretty vanilla, actually and made a couple of coverages. We got so many young guys in the secondary and I thought for the most part we didn’t let them have any vertical passes. We got to throw the ball inside, but for the most part we did a good job. We had a couple of chances to get a couple of interceptions, close if you think about it. But holding the team to three points, that’s pretty good.”
On offensive lineman Ralph Frias’ return:
“That was good to see. We came in with a pretty good group of offensive linemen, but we will get some guys back next week. I think their ability to play multiple positions has helped us win. Coach Cav(anaugh) has done that, we talked about that last night. We said if this guy goes down, you need to put in that guy over there. We were playing musical chairs if somebody goes down and we had to do some shuffling.”
On Joey Ramos:
“Ankle, just ankle. He’s a lineman, he's a tough guy and hopefully he will be back this week. Our other guy should be back too, so we will be okay.”
On Messiah Swinson’s performance:
“That’s why we brought him here and he catched a lot of balls, so I told him if I throw it to you, you have to catch it. He’s a big guy, big target. All of those tight ends are, I’m glad we’re using tight ends on offense. It’s fun to watch them, they’re harder to defend, especially when you get them in certain formations.”
On Emory Jones’ performance:
“We will be having a little conversation. You know he’s got to know when his journey is over. He’s got to learn to slide, I don’t want him taking hits, it’s not worth it. It’s not worth it, that’s what I tell our quarterback when the journey is over. You got to just play to play. Just slide, just slide– play IT like baseball.”
On first game with the two new coordinators:
“They were good. I know Donnie, I mean Donnie went on the side, he didn’t come out of the booth like he did before one time in New York. I thought they were good, they had a good presence about what was going on. I thought the coaches on the sidelines made good adjustments and I always call the sidelines the information booth. Over there, the coaches will tell you what’s going on to adjust, I’ll chime in on both parties and both coordinators. I thought the key for us in the third quarter was really taking time off the clock.”
On if he anticipated the defense would play as well as they did:
“I thought the front played good because we have a lot of depth. I was talking with the players and coaches, and I said, ‘don’t be surprised if they hurry up because they don’t want your rotation in the defensive line.’ Take a peek at the team we’re playing next week- they are really fast. It’s not even ten seconds. I think that was a part of it. I thought the front played pretty good. They stopped the quarterback’s run. That’s what you need to do, stop the run. They are a running football team like us. The linebackers played fairly well. The corners- that’s what I wanted to see. They didn’t give up any vertical balls. A little couple double moves, good coverage. When you get two interceptions, that’s pretty good. We talked about that, we needed two turnovers tonight. That’s our deal every week, you have to get two turnovers. We were able to do that. You get two touchdowns on interceptions, that’s a pretty good night on defense.”
On the team’s discipline:
“It wasn’t that bad. Last year (in the season-opener) it was 13 (penalties). 11 in the first half and two in the second. But I showed the team that and, look, for the most part if you average four or five fouls a game you're okay and you’ll be pretty good during the season. You just don’t want them to be ones that really hurt you and a couple of them stalled drives offensively. We got one and it kicked us back, right? Defensively, we had another opportunity – two of them for touchdowns – and they get called back.”
On keeping it simple:
“Yes, not a lot, did some things over and over, repeated things over and over. I guess you guys know why we did that right.”
On spreading the ball around:
“Absolutely, because when you think about it. Thompson is a veteran guy and so is Andre. So the rest of these guys are young so we have to get them reps. They got two pass-interference calls which is good. They were open and got pass-interference and there was another one that I thought was pass-interference but that’s okay. I thought those guys and the tight ends.”
EMORY JONES
On getting to play for the first time:
“We had 40 new players, 43 new players, so honestly we didn’t know what type of team we were going to be. We’ve been practicing and going against our team but it’s different when you get out here with the lights on. I think we played pretty good, but there are definitely a lot of things to clean up on. I am really excited about where this team is going, and we just really keep that work for next week.”
On getting week one anxiety out of the way:
“I can say that. First game here, and the first time wearing cleats out there on that field. It was all new for me, I definitely was a little amped up and excited but in the game I settled down it felt like. Like I said, I am just excited about this team. We did some great things out there.”
On rotating players on offense:
“Like I said last week, I am the type of guy I just do what coach wants me to do, and I put the ball in everybody’s hands. I just go through my read… we have a lot of talented guys and receivers so we definitely have to rotate and get different guys in there.”
On the offense settling in and moving the ball:
“I think everybody had that feeling [of being anxious] so we were a little amped up and antsy. I feel like we definitely settled down. The whole team honestly settled down and we came to play.”
On the sack and fumble before the half:
“I had a guy wide open. I was trying to sit on him and get something bigger. That was my fault and I see what happened. That’s just a learning experience, just taking what the defense gave me. That’s on my end and something I have to clean up.”
On the new guys’ performance:
“I've been waiting for this moment to see those guys go out there and perform and they did what they were supposed to do, usually do every single day. Cy he’s a big target… you have people bouncing off of him and that’s something I love about the big targets you just put it up in the air for them. X [Xazavian Valladay], he just brings a dynamic he can break out and go score at any time. I am just really excited about those guys, they put in a lot of work and it’s showing.”
On the O-line giving him a clean pocket:
“Those guys, they definitely did their part. They've been working for awhile now. Just learning how to play together… We had to move some guys around and we had some guys in different spots so it was a learning experience for everybody. Those guys definitely have been improving every single day and I am excited for that group for sure.”
On getting into a rhythm:
“It wasn’t that bad getting the signals. We definitely had a couple of drives that we were a little slower I feel like. We looked off the tee at times, but that was something that we have to push through. That's something we can talk about tomorrow and have cleaned up.
On his anxiety:
“I don't think that was really serious. We have 43 new players, a lot of guys it’s their first time even playing on this field. It's the first game. I think they got it out of the way. It felt really good.
On playing in front of ASU fans for the first time:
“It was crazy. That was probably one of the best entrances I ever saw.. I am on the sideline as a captain, so just watching… the fans were definitely loud.”
On getting in the box for the first time:
“That was a play. I just had to go out there. I had an open field I had to make a couple people miss. Coach was getting on me to stretch the ball.”
On if he got in on the overturned TD:
“In my head I'm thinking I’m just going out there. I thought I was in. My elbow was down though, I saw it on the jumbotron but the second time I definitely had to get it in there.”
On not needing to open the playbook in a blowout win:
“Yeah, I would say that. We took a couple of shots. I feel like I definitely want them back. The first one down there to Bryan Thompson, I should have probably thrown it a little farther in and the other one to Zeke but it's a learning experience for all of us. We have to go back in the lab and find ways to get better from this game.”
On facing OSU at home next week:
“I'm excited. I like real hostile games. I feel like that's one that we all will rise up to the occasion for. We need to get to work. The game will be won…we just will get in the lab and watch film.”
XAZAVIAN VALLADY
On getting out there and getting in the end zone:
“It's been 100 and something days to get out and play football against a team,, but I give my all to God and it was definitely a great feeling just to be back on the field with my new family. We got our first win together so many more things to come.”
On showing the fans what he’s got:
“I definitely have more in the tank. I have some things to clean up and go back these next couple days and get in the film room and see what we did wrong and try to clean them up and come back better and stronger next week.
On running behind the O-Line:
“Me and the o-line, we have been working since Spring ball started and just grinded throughout this last offseason… put a lot of very hard work in throughout this offseason and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into. Definitely just had a lot of success and that's what weve been preaching on telling everybody about and how excited we are for this football team running and passing the ball. Like I said, I just have to get back in the film room. There are some things that we have to clean up for next week.”
On the offense settling in:
“We just didn't want to shoot ourselves in the foot. This is the first football game so there's definitely a lot of emotion flowing around and just being able to play fast and not let the game overtake you.”
TRAVEZ MOORE
On the feeling of being back:
“It felt good. I am not going to lie, I was a little scared at first, but when I stepped on the grass it was like a bolt of energy came in and it felt good. A long nine months of recovery, so I was excited.”
On the adjustment and shutting down NAU after their first series:
“Just keep doing what we’re doing. If it aint broke dont fix it. We just kept tackling and tackling, so they had to come off of our tempo.
NAU HEAD COACH CHRIS BALL
Opening Statement:
“We didn’t take care of the ball tonight. We knew they were going to be good in the front 7; they have a lot of guys coming back who played a lot of football. We didn’t do what we needed to do to establish our run game. We turned the ball over, we made a mistake on the field goal and that cost us. Everything I saw out there is fixable. We just didn’t take care of the ball and execute like we needed to do tonight.”
On closing out multiple defense drives with ASU Field Goals:
“There’s a lot to build on. I love our culture, I love our players. We have a good football team. This game really doesn’t make or break our season. This is a game we have to play every year, either Arizona or ASU and every goal we have on the board is still attainable. This hasn’t knocked us out of the Big Sky Championship, it hasn't knocked us out of the playoffs. This is a game that we love to play, we love to come down and every game it always comes down to a handful plays. We turned the ball over, and yea, our defense played well but there were other times we missed some plays. We’re going to look at the tape and we don’t have 29 days to get ready for Sam Houston State, we have to go back to work. We have another good team coming up, another team that just moved up to FBS so we have to go there and play. Quick turnaround, get everything fixed, but I thought the defense played really well at times.”
On how playing a team like this helps NAU later in the season:
“It helps. As long as you can stay healthy and come out of it good, it helps us. Any first game, any game helps. We’ve been practicing against each other since July 31, so any game helps us. These are tough for FCS schools, but we have to play them and we’re up for it. They say you make your biggest strides between game one and game two and that is what we need to do. Like I said, everything is correctable. Everything is correctable. I still think we have a really good football team that is going to compete in the Big Sky. Every goal we have is still on the board.”
On how injury to Anthony Sweeney impacted team:
“Anytime one of your stars, one of your captains, you know we have a 15-players council and they help lead this football team. At the end of the day, he’s just one guy and you could put a ‘C’ on his chest and he could be a captain. The kid got hurt last year and busted his butt to get back and we’ll wait to see what happens with him now. Yeah, that takes the wind out of you a little bit. But that’s part of the game. The game is very adverse and it's about how you respond to the adversity that is going to determine how successful you are going to be. You need to be able to handle those situations and be able to move forward, it’s not different from life. That’s why it’s such a great game. They’re not going to stop the game and say ‘okay, let's get it together, Sweeney’s not there anymore.’ It’s not like that in life, you know it’s not ‘okay, let’s stop life and freeze until we get it together.’ That doesn’t happen. You have to learn to handle those situations and move forward. I thought we did, I don’t think anyone was out there pouting and feeling sorry for themselves because Sweeney wasn’t out there. We’re very deep at that position over in the secondary. I feel really bad for Anthony, really bad for him.”
On going through the change with special teams:
“We’ve been spoiled. We have had two All-Americans in the last three years. That’s hard to replace. Yes, we’ve been spoiled. We lack experience there. The whole group is new, so that is something we are going to have to deal with and continue to develop, especially confidence-wise. Collin [Robbins] has kicked really well in the last week-and-a-half in practice. We put him in some tough situations. We have to get that ball down. You look at that play, and you look at the turnover that they scored fourteen points off of and when you look at it, it could be 10-3, going into halftime. Again, you have to take care of the ball. The number one thing is taking care of the ball - it’s on our wall, ‘own the ball.’”
NAU QUARTERBACK RJ MARTINEZ
On how difficult it was to get looks down the field tonight:
“It was difficult. All week we were expecting them to play a lot more man. Obviously we have great receivers. We were expecting them to be in all-man and have a lot more matchups but they went to more of a two-high quarters defense so it prevented us pushing the ball down the field. We went underneath and they were getting home with four. They were good defensively up front and we knew that. They were banged up in the secondary but obviously going zone helps with a banged up secondary. But like I said their front seven was good. Being able to push the ball down the field was a little difficult for us this game and we’re hoping to correct that next weekend and hopefully push it more down the field against Sam Houston.”
NAU NOSE TACKLE SHELDON NEWTON
On his forced fumble in the first half:
“We ran a great stunt. Mark Ho Ching penetrated really good and it freed me up so I got a hit on the quarterback and knocked the ball out. It was a big momentum change.”
On the preparation for ASU’s run-game:
“They moved lateral all game. We practiced all week and practiced going power, power, power, but they switched it up on us and we’ve got to be ready for that, but they went lateral all game.”