Syracuse Player Quotes
Syracuse Player Quotes
Syracuse vs. Wyoming
Carrier Dome/Syracuse, N.Y.
September 30, 2006
QB Perry Patterson:
Talk about Delone Carter for a bit.
“He finally got his chance to shine today. He’s a freshman who is stepping up and is showing what he is capable of doing. It is God give talent. I watched him play in high school and it was the same thing that it is now at the college level. He is one of those special running back who has burst onto the scene as we go along. Hats off to him, he had a great game.”
What was it like being that kind of game again? (Double Overtime)
“Wyoming is a tough team. People really have not given them enough credit. They are a tough Mountain West team that has some very big guys. So hats off to them because they played a great game.”
Did you show improvement in overtime plays?
“I think so. We did not want to play the ball. We just wanted to play defense, stop the running, and run the ball. We really showed improvement with that today. We showed Wyoming how tough we were.”
Were you playing for a field goal in the second overtime?
“No. We were just playing our basic stuff. It was Delone Carter who made it happen.”
How did you feel that they did not want to throw the ball in overtime?
“It does not matter to me. My job is to manage the game. It took a lot of pressure off of my shoulders. Any time we run the ball it takes a lot of pressure off of me.”
Does this say a lot about this team? Especially in comparison to how the team played last year.
“We are playing for respect. A lot of people do not respect us right now. As long as we keep getting the wins, it is going to start turning some heads. We just want to go out there and dominate. We are just trying to get back to the way things used to be and get this Syracuse program back on top again.”
Talk about how great it feels to have three wins in a row?
“It feels really good. It has been a long time since last year. And what a difference a year can make. This is a completely different team. The guys are really excited. We are just trying to bring the excitement back to the Dome again.”
In today’s game, what did you think about the receivers playing? Especially with Taj Smith being replaced.
“They ran some great routes. They just have to finish them. I did my best to put the ball right where it needed to be. We have a good group. They are just a young group. We just have to bring them along the way as much as possible.”
TB Curtis Brinkley:
It had to be tough on you to watch Delone Carter take off like that?
“Not even. I was having a bad game from the beginning. I told Delone, ‘You need to step up for me because things are not going right for me.’”
What happened with your fumbles today?
“It just was not happening today. I’m not perfect. I had a bad game. Things were not going my way, but we ended up with a win, so that is all that matters.”
How are you going to approach things in the next week?
“I am just going to be myself. Whatever happens, happens. I am going to keep on competing, keep working, and keep on congratulating Delone Carter or whoever else is playing well. I have not been raised to have hatred against people who are playing better than I am.”
What do you think of Delone Carter?
“I mean it was outstanding. It is what the big players are supposed to do. I told him (Delone Carter), ‘You need to step up. Big players make big plays at big games.’ And it was definitely a big game, and he was a big player that made big plays.”
FS Joe Fields:
Is it possible to say that you did struggle today?
“We did struggle a little bit. But we bounced back. And that is what we do. We are a close group.”
Talk about the win and the coaching of Coach Robinson.
“For us as a team, a win is a win. We will take them anyway we can get them right now. We did not blow them away on offense or dominate them on defense. Coach Robinson always tells us to take it one play at a time, and that is what we did.”
In the second interception, did you think you had your feet in?
“I thought I had my foot in. You never know what angle the referees were looking at. They probably were not going to change it, but yes, I thought I had my feet in.”
Did you plead with Coach Robinson to challenge it?
“He was right there. He saw it. That is why he challenged it. He thought it was complete.”
Are you excited or just exhausted after this game?
“We are excited. We only won one game last year. We feel like we have a chance to get better. We are definitely going to enjoy this but we are not satisfied.”
TE Tom Ferron:
This is by no means a perfect game. Looking back at last year, you probably would not have won this game. What does it say about this year’s team that you were able to pull it out?
“We know how to finish now. And we know how to win games. We have experience, especially having been through the Iowa overtime game.”
How about Delone Carter today?
“Delone played great. He was running hard and he ran hard when we needed him to. We needed first downs and we needed touchdowns, and he helped us with that. Everybody is very confident in Delone. He might be a freshman, but he does not run the ball like a freshman and he does not act like a freshman. We trust him with the ball and we know he will do well with the ball.”
Do you feel like you can be a contender in the BIG EAST?
“Definitely. We have Pittsburgh coming in next week to start the BIG EAST. We just want to try to keep it rolling. We know we can be a contender in the BIG EAST. We can play against anybody.”
Cornerback Tanard Jackson
On the game:
“We fight through a lot of adversity and it especially shows today. I tip my hat to those guys out there, offense, defense, and special teams because all the adversity we had to face throughout the game to come out with a win in overtime.”
On stopping the offense on 4th down in overtime:
“We had them cornered. We played for 60 minutes. It went over a little bit today but we played until the whistle blew. It shows as a result. We won the game.”
On if they’re a contender in the BIG EAST:
“Definitely. We start the BIG EAST and we call it the ‘tour of revenge.’ We didn’t win a game in the BIG EAST last year and we definitely have something to prove.”
Linebacker Kelvin Smith:
On Perry Patterson saying ‘it’s all about respect’ and how the team will be ready for next week:
“Pittsburgh is another good team. I can’t wait to play them. It’s always a competitive game. I know a lot of guys on the team, not personally, but from over the years playing. We just have to get it going. Last night we were watching the Rutgers/USF game. It kind of made a lot of guys angry because they talked about everybody but Syracuse, so guys weren’t really interested in what we had going on over here. We tried to make a statement. We have to turn it around.”
On what’s going on in Syracuse:
“We have a lot of good players. We have a lot of guys making big plays. We have Jameel McClain, Delone Carter. We have receivers in Mike (Williams) and Taj (Smith), who got hurt. We have some real good players, some exciting players to watch. I just want everybody to get on the same page and watch us. The more, the better.”
Defensive End Jameel McClain
On defense making the big play on 4th down near the end of the game:
“We knew we had to make a big play. That was basically what it was. Our seniors on defense were talking to us and we were talking to the D-line, knowing what we had to do. Basically, it was get big. Get big and play football and man up out there because we knew that stop was going to change the game and luckily it went in our favor. We stopped them and you all know the rest from there.”
On if it says a lot after Wyoming’s offense was dominating on previous plays:
“It definitely says a lot because we played football. We play until the game is over. There was no stopping. Everybody pulled deep within themselves and they show how hard that they work and how hard the other team works. To me, the better team won today. That’s just what it is to me.”
Wide Receiver Mike Williams
On the feelings of the offense after Taj Smith’s injury last week:
In practice, that’s what they were basically saying all week, ‘we have to go out and provide a spark like Taj (Smith) does. We have to catch the ball. Run after the catch,’ and that’s what we all tried to do. There were a couple drops out there but all receivers drop the ball. We tried to go out there and do the best we can.”
On his performance:
“I tried to go out there and play real hard. I told Perry to trust in me. I can be that spark. He trusted in me and I made big plays.”
On Lavar Lobdell’s performance:
“He played good. When Taj is here, he doesn’t get that many passes. The passes he got today, he caught a couple and he dropped one. He played good to me.”
Cornerback Terrell Lemon
On his fumble recovery:
“My job is to go down and make a play. When he bobbled it, it kind of bounced off his chest. I didn’t know the NCAA rules on that but I decided to snatch it anyway. I was fortunate enough that it was a fumble and I recovered it.”
On the rollercoaster of emotion during the game:
“Football, there are a lot of things going on that are very emotional. At times, you can be you, or you can be down on the next play. Our defense, coming off the Iowa game, we knew what it was about. We fight hard. We don’t get down. We can always keep up even when we make a mistake. We keep playing and our job is to get the ball back to the offense. At the end of the game, we made a big play.”
On if he was surprised by Wyoming:
“Not at all, especially their running back. He was pretty good. I think that during the end of the game, they got away from him. Overall, they did an outstanding job. All credit to them for coming out and playing hard. I didn’t expect them to play as hard as they did but when we watch film you never know some days can be kind of off.”
Running Back Delone Carter
On scoring four touchdowns:
“We needed all of that. My heart drove me through it. We went into overtime. The seniors told me to step up. I just grew a lot today as a player.”
On how his style stands out:
“I run hard. I don’t ever stop my legs. I can change direction real fast so they kind of had a problem with that today.”
On what takes over when he gets near the goal line:
“Once you see that goal line, you have to have the mentality that there’s nothing stopping you. They can hop on my back. They can do whatever they want but I want to get past that goal line.”
On his feeding frenzy:
“I was very hungry. That’s what we call that. I was hungry and I wanted to eat and I ended up eating a lot today.”
Are you still hungry:
“Yes (smiling). Always.”
On if he expected to have a game like this:
“I expect to grow every week, get better as a player, and improve my performance every week. The opportunity arrived and I was blessed enough to capitalize an opportunity.”
