University of North Carolina Athletics
Postgame Quotes
September 26, 2015 | Football
Opening statement:
“Good to get a win today. First of all I wasn't very pleased with the way we played in the first half, and that's my responsibility to have our guys ready to play mentally and I don't know if we accomplished that. So that's my responsibility. Challenged them in the second half to come out and play football the way we know we could and I thought our guys did a much better job executing and playing the way we should.”
On the switch to Mitch Trubisky
“I wasn't happy with the way we were executing and so we put Mitch in, and Mitch ran the offense well and did a nice job. So I decided to leave him in.”
On quarterback reps in practice
“We're a little different because we're probably about 55-45 practice wise, maybe a little bit more than that. But it's not uncommon for him to go in with the ones. And that's been all year and if you think about it, from last year, too. Our guys don't ever know who's going to be in there in practice, they really don't, so they don't even think anything about it. And that's really a good situation because if something happens to one, you want the other one to go in there and guys not to even think about it.”
On if the weather affected play
“I hope not, because we don't talk about the weather. It's not an issue for us. There's nothing we can do about it. No matter where we play, what time we play, what the conditions are. So I hope that's not an issue.”
On his comfort level with the team moving forward
“I'm never comfortable. I wouldn't have been comfortable no matter what happened in this game. We're fixing to go to Atlanta and play Georgia Tech, and play the triple option and get ready for it in about three days. So there's never a level of comfort for me since I've been coaching. But we've got to get our team ready. I think our guys will respond. I think they'll practice hard, and we can't waste a rep in practice. So we've all got to be locked in, ready to go tomorrow when we hit the practice field.”
On how Delaware's rushing attack compares to Georgia Tech
“There's really not any comparisons as far as what [Delaware] did and what Georgia Tech does. Georgia Tech, you have to understand your option responsibilities, you've got to defeat blocks and then you've got to make tackles. If you want to make that comparison, you've got to defeat blocks and make tackles. Those two things compare on any run.”
DELAWARE HEAD COACH DAVE BROCK
“Well I'm very proud of how hard the kids battled. You know, they came out; I felt like they had a real resolve about them. I thought they were really excited to come down here. You know, with the little bit of inside information I have, I was able to articulate what a special place it is, what a great place it is to come to and play a football game. I think they were real excited about the opportunity to come down here and play here, and I think it showed up in how we played. I think they were excited; they came out with a lot of energy. Obviously, when you get a little positive reinforcement like we did on the second play and you pop a run that helps everybody's confidence, everybody's enthusiasm. I think that they battled the whole game, and obviously we didn't get the result we would have liked but I'm very very proud of them. I thought they did a nice job. We ran the football. We were physical and ran it with authority, which is something we are really trying to do. I felt like we did a good job against the run for the most part - just too many explosive plays, and probably too many explosive players on their end. They were able to pull away. You know, 27-13 going into the fourth quarter is certainly where you would like to be. You feel like if you can make a play, you could put some pressure on them. We weren't able to make that play; they made it. Congratulations to them. I think Larry Fedora does a phenomenal job, and I think they've got a really good team, and that will show out over the next 9 weeks.”
“I think it is a good experience anytime. We talk about this; it's a player's game. This is a player's opportunity. They get to come down here and match up against ACC players, and somewhere in the back of these little minds, they want to be an ACC player or wanted to be or felt they should be. So, anytime you get an opportunity it's kind of like stepping up to the plate, and you get to take a couple cuts. You know, good for them. I think they hit a couple balls today, and I'm very very proud of them. You know, this team has competed like crazy in every game we've played. We have not gotten the result that we want or need, but I am thrilled with the kids. I love this team. We're going to fly home, and we're going to get to work on William & Mary and be ready to rock and roll.”
“Again, I think realistically, I think they have a few players that are better than some of our players. There is a talent differential in some spots, and I think you have to own that and see it. You know, we blew coverage, get a post thrown over our head and cover three. It should never happen; it should be noncompetitive play. We missed a jam on kind of a pump deal, and they get an easy one, and we let the little guy catch it. We blitzed him late in the game, which we probably shouldn't have done, and he gets out and turns a three-yard pass into a punt return. Again, that's why we didn't kick it to him all day, so it's frustrating. I bet they had 250 yards of offense in probably seven plays. I can't sit here and tell you for sure, but that would be my suspicion. That's hard to overcome, but they battled and forced a couple field goals in the first half and had a couple opportunities. We got the ball out to start the second half, ball in our hands on the 50-yard line, and the chance to go do something with it, and we didn't. Again, I felt like we had opportunities to do more than we did, and we have got to make the corrections. We have got to do a better job coaching without question, and we have got to clean some things up. Also, I'm not willing to concede that they don't have some really good players, and they can't make some really good plays because they made them against Illinois and made them against some other people, so I think you have to acknowledge that they've got some really good skill offensively. You know, they played to two quarterbacks; I don't know what happened to the first kid, but the second kid really threw it well today. He did a nice job, and you've got to tip your hat to him.”
“Whether people believe it or not, I think you always think you have a good plan going into a game. When it works, it is encouraging. If anything, I think Thomas' run kind of changed it a little bit. We had a couple things schemed up; they like to play a lot of man-to-man. We were trying to move people across people, and move them instead of block them kind of theory. They had a clean shot a Thomas, and he broke a tackle and got out. If they tackle him there, it's not such a good start. I felt like we had a good plan going in, and we're going to be able to run the football against the people we play. I felt like we could run it today, and we got good players up front. We lost Will Lewis this week; we didn't play him at all. We had a true freshman step in at right guard, and I didn't notice him so that's got to be a positive, and the rest of the guys battled like crazy. I'm proud of Thomas, and I'm proud of Larry. These guys battled their tails off.”
UNC Player Quotes
WR Ryan Switzer
On difference between quarterbacks Mitch Trubisky and Marquise Williams
“The rain held up for Mitch, other than that, I don't know. They both played with a lot of confidence. Mitch has done a great job all season and all off season just preparing himself for when his number is called that he can come in. Obviously that showed today, that showed his preparation, everything he's put in. I don't know when the switch happened during the game, you really don't pay attention that much. You know, you look out and you see that there's a different guy at quarterback, and honestly that's how it went today. But like I said, he came in and did a great job for us.”
On Coach Fedora's comments on lack of offensive execution in the first half
“Schematically, they weren't doing anything to upset us. We just were shooting ourselves in the foot, whether it was fumbled snaps, dropped passes, you know I had a drop in the end zone. But just to turn it up and guys kind of flipped the switch, the switch that we should have had coming out of the game, but for some reason we didn't. But fortunately, we were able to do that today and kind of extend the lead. Something that we can't do next week down at [Georgia] Tech.”
QB Mitch Trubisky, QB
On keys to success
“Just being prepared, practicing hard as I always do and having the other guys in the offense trust me and when my number is called upon they will do their job, which helps make my job a lot easier.
On conversation with Marquise Williams
“He just said, 'It's your time, roll baby.' He had my back, so that's how it was.”
On having two successful quarterbacks
“You just got to be a good teammate, and support whoever's in there. We both know what we're capable of, so whoever is out there, you got to support them. It's all about the team and getting the win.”
WR Mack Hollins
On the slow start
“I don't really know (what happened), obviously that was a problem we had last year, but we solved it last week and you can't come out sluggish. Luckily, we picked it up and turned it around. But, next week we can't come out sluggish and just expect to turn it around. Whenever you got to turn it on, you have to turn it on right from the first quarter, right from the first snap.”
DT Nazair Jones
On regression in today's game
“Today, I mean yeah (we regressed) because we were supposed to absolutely dominate this team because they were an underdog and sometimes they went on long drives, broke long runs, broke tackles, and did all the things a great offense is supposed to do. But, that wasn't supposed to happen against our defense, and unfortunately it did. But, we still get the win and that's all that matters at the end of the day.”
On preparing for Georgia Tech
“Fundamentals stay the same, you're going to have to tackle, you're going to have to track the ball. But, because of the scheme Georgia Tech runs, you do have to change a lot of what you're doing. I wouldn't say junk everything, but you do make changes.”
