University of North Carolina Athletics
Postgame Quotes
September 19, 2015 | Football
North Carolina Coach Larry Fedora
Opening Statement
“I thought we had a tremendous team effort today, and in all three phases of the game I thought our team really played well. Obviously we made some mistakes out there today but the way we recovered, the way we played, the way we pulled for each other, I was impressed with. And that's the way we practiced all week. I'm proud of those guys for that. The defense kind of set the tone for the day. We gave it up, gave it up, gave it up in that first series and they got down in there, inside the five yard line, we stiffened up and didn't give them any points. So that kind of set the tone for the day and everybody responded to that. So, proud of them.”
On Marquise Williams's rushing opportunities
“Those weren't designated plays, actually they were reads for him. He reads it and if he decides to pull it, he pulls it. There was probably one time where he didn't get it that he pulled it, he got a little greedy there. We've always said, 'He can beat you with his arm and he can beat you with his legs.' He knows he is going to get a few of those opportunities in a game, and before the game I said, 'Hey, when you do run, run to score. Don't run to get a first down, run to score.' I would like for him to step out of bounds out there on the long one; we talked about that afterwards. But that's just his mentality. I'm not going to take that away from him.”
On Ryan Switzer's punt returns
“I think he was more frustrated there because he didn't score and he knows he should have [on the 21-yard return]. He would have probably been real frustrated if he doesn't get the 85-yarder. He has been frustrated. Today though, he got opportunities to return balls. There was not a lot of hang time on those balls and those other 10 guys were doing a great job up front, so he had some opportunities today.”
On Nick Weiler's kicking ability and confidence
“Really I sensed it last year, we just didn't get it last year. But it was there. He's had the talent. The confidence was the issue last year, and now this year he's full of confidence. He feels good, he's healthy, he feels good about the way he is hitting the ball. He had the one kick-off he doesn't want, but he hit the ball really well today. I bet he would tell you, the 48-yarder he didn't really hit it well. He put it through the uprights. But he's just got a lot of confidence right now.”'
On Quinshad Davis breaking the Carolina record for career touchdown receptions
“I don't say too many good things on the sideline, but in the locker room I did. That's pretty cool. I mean we have been playing ball around here for a long time, right? A long time. Anybody in here alive when we started? And to own a record like that, that's pretty cool. He's proud, and all of the guys are really proud for him. Quinshad Davis is a team guy. He is the epitome of a team guy. There have been a bunch of games where he could have broken that record and he hadn't. Never said a word, didn't care. That's not been his number one thing, to go break the record. His number one thing is to win football games.”
Illinois Coach Bill Cubit
Opening statement:
We just kicked ourselves in the foot. Way too many dropped passes. We didn't do a very good job of catching. We didn't do a very good job of some route running. I thought that we ran the ball probably as good as we have against a big time opponent, a power five like this. It's pretty obvious. We didn't catch the ball. Defensively, we didn't stop the run. Our kicking game was not effective especially on the coverage point. We have got to show our kids what went wrong, where it's at. You're not as bad as you think you are. You're never as good as you think you are. We've got to go out there and put back the work on Monday.
On being unable to convert
It's hard. When you play these type teams you've got to take advantage of every situation. We didn't. It deflates the sidelines at times. You see a guy come wide open and all of the sudden you don't convert. You throw in the sideline and that's what happens when you have this type of team that never got over the hump. We've just got to keep on working. That's all you can do. You know, that first drive was outstanding, but we didn't punch it in. We go down there again and we drop it. We miss a field goal going into halftime. You've got to find a way to get it done.
On fourth downs
We've been so good on fourth downs. We had a guy come in open. Unfortunately, he didn't convert.
On momentum in the game
We had the ball first. Our defense had been playing pretty well. Then they got the ball out there and as a coach you have confidence in your guys to stop them down there then you get good field position again. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
On talking to the team post game
[I told them] It's all about the team. Everyone's got a responsibility and everyone's got to be accountable when they're out there. You can't play with any less than 11. That's what happens sometimes. A guy makes a mistake and they get a big play. One guy makes a mistake and we're punting. One guy makes a mistake on the kick off or the punt returns and all of the sudden they've got two big returns. Kid's a good returner. We knew that. As coaches, we've got to go out there, work harder, keep these kids up, keep on fighting out there and learn from our mistakes.
North Carolina Players
Quinshad Davis, WR
On breaking Hakeem Nicks' school record for career TD receptions
“I was just happy to get it off my back. Everybody has been talking about it for the last three months since football season got started. I'm just happy to get it off my back, happy I'm in the record books. It hasn't hit me yet, but I'm pretty sure it will later today.”
On understanding the potential to break this record
“As a freshman, especially playing early, I felt like I could break a lot of records. That's one of the main reasons I came here because I figured I'd play early and get a chance to break some records.”
Ryan Switzer, WR
On second punt return
“I was just so happy. It's been a long time since we've been in the end zone, but we got the looks we wanted today and guys executed. It was a relief to finally get in the end zone on a punt return. Obviously, when you don't get in the end zone all year, you kind of start to, not doubt yourself, but you kind of start to lose focus. Very glad we got back on track today.”
On well-rounded effort
“It's something that we haven't done as a team in a while. I just feel like there's a different atmosphere around our guys this year. I feel like we're more poised, we're more comfortable with each other. It showed today. We had a lot of adversity going into this game, you know, people said we couldn't play at 12 o'clock, people said Illinois was a lot more physical than us, [that Illinois is] 2-0, and we responded. And it was good to see the guys do that.”
Elijah Hood, RB
On the win
“It was a good feeling. We came out; we made plays in all three phases of the game. I mean, what more could you ask for from a team? We did a lot of good things out there. We just have to keep working on our craft and keep taking it to the next level every game.”
