On Manny’s status…
“There is not much of any updater as of now. Obviously, he got pretty banged up so he will be on a day-to-day and a week-to-week basis.”
On the offensive line injuries and availabilities…
“AJ (McCollum) was a personal matter this week and we will see how that progresses. We are hoping that Sam (Jones) will be okay this week, but he will need to make some progress through the week. Salamo (Fiso) will also be questionable, but it wasn’t anything severe for him.”
On the defensive performance this week…
“I think offense, defense and special teams all had exceptional heart and effort. We shut down the run game and made them one-dimensional, which is what we wanted to do. We gave up two fades for a touchdown that we didn’t execute properly, but I thought our guys played with tremendous heart.”
On players’ attitude towards last year’s game against Oregon…
“I don’t think our guys think about last year very much. Obviously, they are very talented team offensively. Their wide receiver core is great and they probably have the best running back core in the conference. Offensively they are explosive and they can really hurt you, but their defense has struggled. They are very dynamic on special teams. Nelson is the best punt-returner and kick-returner that we will face. Obviously, it will be a difficult place to play, but we have to get on the road and play well.”
On Sterling-Cole’s first night starting and the struggles he has faced…
“He doesn’t have the foundation or a strong number of first team reps through the summer and spring ball. I thought he did a solid job and he got better as the game went on. I was really proud of the effort that he went out there and gave. Dillon made some fantastic throws. Once he got a few completions under his belt, he got better as the game progressed. I was also really proud of Demario and the other guys around him on offense who stepped up. Kalen (Ballage) and Demario (Richard) worked a lot with our different packages and special plays. Using them for our Sparky and Moose formations really helped us. Coach Lindsey did a great job with creating versatility. One of the challenges with a new quarterback is the lack of flexibility with plays because you don’t have the chance to master a lot of them. Obviously, when Manny (Wilkins) was in there, things were going really well and him leaving the game really hurt us. One of the most exceptional plays I have seen was Manny’s effort to score early on that read option. That was pretty phenomenal. On that play, Demario Richard’s effort was also pretty incredible because he went down there and blocked about three different guys.”
On having the members of 1987 Rose Bowl team on campus this weekend…
“It was phenomenal. Obviously, if you don’t strap the helmet on you don’t get to be in that huddle so I wasn’t in that huddle. I didn’t hear what they had to say and if I did, that would be something that is sacred to our players. I can tell you that all of our players commented to me on how powerful that was. Just what a unique group, you can tell when you get around them why they were champions. How they stuck together and just how they responded to the challenges they were handed. Coach Cooper came and talked to our team Saturday morning so it was a great honor to have them here. I think our players really enjoyed hearing the words of wisdom from those guys.”
On how the defense has played with Marcus Ball back…
“I thought Marcus has play outstanding. He really has done well. I think Laiu (Moeakiola) played outstanding. The key for us is to build on their play, obviously Armand (Perry) being out hurts and 90 percent of the time we play well at corner then we’ll give up a big play and that was the difference. We had an opportunity, we had a ball on the ground, we don’t get possession of it. We had an opportunity for a couple of picks and we come out with zero turnovers. I thought we played with a lot of heart, played hard, and I thought we did some nice things and I think Marcus has been really good. Laiu has been kind of the rudder for that group. I think that it’s hard to say, for the most part, I think those two guys have played very consistently and we’ve played well at corner at times then gave up plays where we don’t have good technique.”
Having Tim White back as a returner…
“He’s another guy that’s been banged up. I mean he had to go in after he missed part of the first quarter. Absolutely courageous. He is one of the toughest players I’ve ever coached. That punt return was phenomenal, not just by Tim. It was an absolutely extraordinary effort by him, but also the blocking and the execution of our guys. That was pretty incredible play and Tim is a very courageous performer and player. A guy that has great toughness and very explosive so I was excited to see him do that. On the flip side it, the kickoff return for a touchdown, we should have had him pinned within the ten yard line and so again you just have a few people that are not taking care of their responsibility. That play Das and J’Marcus Rhodes were inside the 25 when the ball was caught so we had great effort, but that play cost us, that was a tough play. Tim coming back and returning the punt for a touchdown was huge in the game and it shows the heart and determination of those guys because it was 11 guys on that play. Now it took an extraordinary talented returner to get us there, but all 11 players executed on that return for a touchdown so I was proud of how they did that.”
“There is not much of any updater as of now. Obviously, he got pretty banged up so he will be on a day-to-day and a week-to-week basis.”
On the offensive line injuries and availabilities…
“AJ (McCollum) was a personal matter this week and we will see how that progresses. We are hoping that Sam (Jones) will be okay this week, but he will need to make some progress through the week. Salamo (Fiso) will also be questionable, but it wasn’t anything severe for him.”
On the defensive performance this week…
“I think offense, defense and special teams all had exceptional heart and effort. We shut down the run game and made them one-dimensional, which is what we wanted to do. We gave up two fades for a touchdown that we didn’t execute properly, but I thought our guys played with tremendous heart.”
On players’ attitude towards last year’s game against Oregon…
“I don’t think our guys think about last year very much. Obviously, they are very talented team offensively. Their wide receiver core is great and they probably have the best running back core in the conference. Offensively they are explosive and they can really hurt you, but their defense has struggled. They are very dynamic on special teams. Nelson is the best punt-returner and kick-returner that we will face. Obviously, it will be a difficult place to play, but we have to get on the road and play well.”
On Sterling-Cole’s first night starting and the struggles he has faced…
“He doesn’t have the foundation or a strong number of first team reps through the summer and spring ball. I thought he did a solid job and he got better as the game went on. I was really proud of the effort that he went out there and gave. Dillon made some fantastic throws. Once he got a few completions under his belt, he got better as the game progressed. I was also really proud of Demario and the other guys around him on offense who stepped up. Kalen (Ballage) and Demario (Richard) worked a lot with our different packages and special plays. Using them for our Sparky and Moose formations really helped us. Coach Lindsey did a great job with creating versatility. One of the challenges with a new quarterback is the lack of flexibility with plays because you don’t have the chance to master a lot of them. Obviously, when Manny (Wilkins) was in there, things were going really well and him leaving the game really hurt us. One of the most exceptional plays I have seen was Manny’s effort to score early on that read option. That was pretty phenomenal. On that play, Demario Richard’s effort was also pretty incredible because he went down there and blocked about three different guys.”
On having the members of 1987 Rose Bowl team on campus this weekend…
“It was phenomenal. Obviously, if you don’t strap the helmet on you don’t get to be in that huddle so I wasn’t in that huddle. I didn’t hear what they had to say and if I did, that would be something that is sacred to our players. I can tell you that all of our players commented to me on how powerful that was. Just what a unique group, you can tell when you get around them why they were champions. How they stuck together and just how they responded to the challenges they were handed. Coach Cooper came and talked to our team Saturday morning so it was a great honor to have them here. I think our players really enjoyed hearing the words of wisdom from those guys.”
On how the defense has played with Marcus Ball back…
“I thought Marcus has play outstanding. He really has done well. I think Laiu (Moeakiola) played outstanding. The key for us is to build on their play, obviously Armand (Perry) being out hurts and 90 percent of the time we play well at corner then we’ll give up a big play and that was the difference. We had an opportunity, we had a ball on the ground, we don’t get possession of it. We had an opportunity for a couple of picks and we come out with zero turnovers. I thought we played with a lot of heart, played hard, and I thought we did some nice things and I think Marcus has been really good. Laiu has been kind of the rudder for that group. I think that it’s hard to say, for the most part, I think those two guys have played very consistently and we’ve played well at corner at times then gave up plays where we don’t have good technique.”
Having Tim White back as a returner…
“He’s another guy that’s been banged up. I mean he had to go in after he missed part of the first quarter. Absolutely courageous. He is one of the toughest players I’ve ever coached. That punt return was phenomenal, not just by Tim. It was an absolutely extraordinary effort by him, but also the blocking and the execution of our guys. That was pretty incredible play and Tim is a very courageous performer and player. A guy that has great toughness and very explosive so I was excited to see him do that. On the flip side it, the kickoff return for a touchdown, we should have had him pinned within the ten yard line and so again you just have a few people that are not taking care of their responsibility. That play Das and J’Marcus Rhodes were inside the 25 when the ball was caught so we had great effort, but that play cost us, that was a tough play. Tim coming back and returning the punt for a touchdown was huge in the game and it shows the heart and determination of those guys because it was 11 guys on that play. Now it took an extraordinary talented returner to get us there, but all 11 players executed on that return for a touchdown so I was proud of how they did that.”