Syracuse Player Quotes
Syracuse University Football Student-Athlete Quotes
Syracuse vs. Louisville
November 1, 2008
Carrier Dome – Syracuse, N.Y.
#29 Running Back Antwon Bailey
On his touchdown:
“I had to give Curtis a break on the play. I broke through the line on the first tackle and I saw the end zone from there. When I saw Marcus get the block on the corner, I knew it was show time for me.”
On how satisfying it was to finally get that big run:
“It feels great to finally reach the end zone at the college level and for it to be in this game, the biggest game we’ve played and won so far, it just feels great.”
On whether the win felt great or was a big relief:
“It felt great, but of course there is a little relief. We got the monkey off our back, but it’s not like we weren’t in previous games. We’ve been right there, but today we finally finished a game out.”
#6 Wide Receiver Da’mon Merkerson
On how important the bye week was:
“I think the bye week helped that we had. Just getting back into the flow, it helped getting used to the plays and getting back with the offense. The bye week definitely helped and gave us a little edge, I think.”
On being a main receiver:
“Like I’ve said from the beginning, I’m here to help the team and if the team requires me to step up and play a receiver role. If they need me to go back and play defense, then I’ll go back and play defense. I feel like I’m the type of player who is just going to do what is needed by the team.”
#35 Free Safety Mike Holmes:
On being a safety:
“Being a safety, I am able to see the whole field and contribute more to the game. I am really enjoying it. It has a good feel.”
On the play when he got the fumble:
“I was deep back in coverage and they dumped it up there. Their player was running and he started to cut back across the field. I was mirroring him and somebody shifted, and I just slid in and got the ball. I’m not even sure who stripped it.”
On his reaction to the play that Louisville’s Troy Pascley dropped the pass:
“I was upset that he broke the coverage, but very relieved when he dropped the ball. It could have gone either way because we had plays that could have been different. That is just how football is.”
On how good getting this break feels:
“It feels good, but I don’t consider it a break at the end. We controlled the entire game and we didn’t even play our best football. I am looking forward to these next games and finishing the season off.”
#95 Defensive Tackle Nick Santiago
On the defensive performance tonight:
“They averaged 200 yards rushing and 200 yards passing a game, so they have a real complete offensive. For us to come out and minimize that and slow them down to 21 points is pretty good for our defense. I think that builds confidence for the younger guys. Our defensive line is getting better every week and I feel like a lot more exciting things are going to be coming in future games.”
On what changed after the first possession:
“We had to get used to this game. We knew they were going to come out and try to run the ball and get us with some dump passes and out passes. One of the things that I felt changed was we got more aggressive. We had to get comfortable because we are used to playing running quarterbacks and a lot of zone teams. We figured we had nothing else to lose. We had to come hard and that’s what we did. We brought blitzes off the end and our d-line was giving a lot of pressure so that’s what helped us out.”
#15 Strong Safety Bruce Williams
On getting a win:
“It felt good. I was kind of disappointed I dropped that punt. I think it was a lot more fatigue than anything on that punt, so I’m thinking to myself, ‘Oh man, my team’s going to be mad.’ Jake [Flaherty] and a couple other guys just came up and told me to just wipe it off because they were going to need me this game. That last play, I just read his eyes. I saw the double pump and I just jumped it. I wasn’t even supposed to be on that side, but I just jumped it anyway.”
“It felt pretty good. We always have the confidence. I don’t think anyone doubted us on confidence and how hard we go. We just listened to Coach and believed in ourselves and it came out as a W.”
On winning a BIG EAST game:
“I’ve been telling everyone that we’re going to be in the mix, that we’re going to ruin a lot of people’s chances. That’s what we’re out to do when we’re out to win these last four games now. We’re going to take it one game at a time and take it and go with it. We’re going to believe in Coach Robinson and believe in our team. That’s our motto right now.”
On the change in defense:
“The only thing that changed was A.J. Brown went down and that caused me to go in. I was worried about A.J. more than the game and Coach is probably going to be mad at me for that. That’s my boy and I was worried. Other than that, Coach just kept his game plan and he just buckled and we won it.”
On getting back to playing:
“I was kind of mad in the beginning because I’m thinking to myself, I’ve got one more after this in the Dome. When A.J. went down, I still thought this was a cheesy way to go in, but after awhile A.J. just came back out and told me, ‘Listen, just ball out because this team is going to need you.’ That’s what I had to do.”
On why he hasn’t been playing:
“I had never been told. The last couple of games was a different game plan for Coach, but still I don’t even know if I’m going to start. A.J. could be back and still I just know that when I get my chance, I have to make plays.”
On making the interception at the end of the game:
“When I caught it, I felt it hit my arms. I was like, ‘Yes, I got this.’ When I got up, I didn’t see anything. I just heard everything and I kind of blacked out. Coach came to me and asked if I caught it, and I said, ‘Yes, Coach, I caught it. I promise you I caught that.’ He was proud of me. He told me that’s the way to come back and make a play for this team. He was proud and I was thankful for my teammates and I was really happy for myself.”
#22 Running Back Curtis Brinkley
On breaking records:
“It feels good, but I understand the fact that records come and go. I give all it to my offensive line, my fullback and my wide receivers. They play a major part in the yards that I get. I tip my hat off to them.”
On the emotions in the locker room:
“It was unexplainable. It hasn’t felt that way in a long time. Coming into the game, I explained to the guys that if we lost this game, there’s definitely no bowl for us. The guys came out hyped up and ready to play and we came out with the win. It’s unexplainable. I’m just so happy right now.”
On the second half:
“It was just being patient. I knew I was going to break off in the second half, I had to get a feel for the defense. The offensive line just came out fired up in the second half and just ready to execute.”
On playing against Louisville:
“We knew it was going to be a brawl when we first came in. We knew they wanted revenge. We beat them last year and we knew we could do it again. It came out in our favor today.”
On being successful against one of the best rushing defenses:
“During the week, I was hearing a lot about how we can’t rush on Louisville and things like that. That pushed me a little bit. I’m glad that we did. I just wanted to prove a lot of people wrong.”
On the chances of a bowl game:
“This game is definitely a help. It was a boost there and we have to go into Rutgers with the same mindset. I just feel like we’re going to go up from here; I don’t think we’re going down. I feel very good going down to Rutgers; they have a very good defense as well, but we’re looking forward to competing with those guys.”
#4 Quarterback Cam Dantley
On getting a BIG EAST win:
“The feeling is unexplainable. Just to come into the locker room and see everyone excited and see everyone know that we worked hard for two weeks with a bye week to come out and prevail against a BIG EAST opponent in Louisville that has a great defensive team, a great quarterback and a great offensive team, as well. There’s really no words to explain it right now. Just to see everybody jumping around and excited shows that we know everything came together this week like we had hoped for in past weeks. We came out and we prevailed in the end. We’re definitely going to think about this one a lot and know that we played hard and executed like we wanted to. We’re just going to have fun with this one for awhile until we get ready for Rutgers next week.”
On the emotions in the locker room:
“It was crazy. Just to see some people that really aren’t jovial all the time, to see them jovial for that point in time is great. To know that emotionally, they feel about this team just like everyone else does – they feel about this team so much from the coaches all the way to the players and everyone on the staff. Just to know that everyone is in it and just wants to win and just knows that everyone did a great job just to come out and prevail in the end – it was great to see everyone the way they were in the locker room.”
On the game:
“I thought we ran the ball great, we passed great. Unlike in South Florida, I thought we were consistent for the whole game. We didn’t really pass the ball as much in the second half because Curtis [Brinkley], Antwon [Bailey], and Doug [Hogue] were running great. To know that we can run the ball and our offensive line can block great and we can put on the shoulders of our running backs and our offensive line sometimes is good. To know that we were consistent the whole game was great and also it helped that we started off the game pretty good as well. To come out and score touchdowns rather than field goals was also very important for us.”
On the creativity of the offensive:
“It shows how diverse we are. We can do a whole lot of different things. It shows that Coach believes in us as an offense to get the job done and we did that on a lot of plays today. That play to Da’Mon [Merkerson] was a great play for us to score after we were going on fourth down, to know that he got open and that we executed a lot of plays was great. To know we’re diverse and we can do a whole lot of different things on offense is great for us in the last four games.”
On taking Louisville by surprise:
“I think we kind of did. They played some of the trick plays pretty good. I don’t know if they thought we were going do something like that, but it actually worked. We executed it. They played style defense and we just executed our offense and that’s why we came up with a win in the end.”
Syracuse vs. Louisville
November 1, 2008
Carrier Dome – Syracuse, N.Y.
#29 Running Back Antwon Bailey
On his touchdown:
“I had to give Curtis a break on the play. I broke through the line on the first tackle and I saw the end zone from there. When I saw Marcus get the block on the corner, I knew it was show time for me.”
On how satisfying it was to finally get that big run:
“It feels great to finally reach the end zone at the college level and for it to be in this game, the biggest game we’ve played and won so far, it just feels great.”
On whether the win felt great or was a big relief:
“It felt great, but of course there is a little relief. We got the monkey off our back, but it’s not like we weren’t in previous games. We’ve been right there, but today we finally finished a game out.”
#6 Wide Receiver Da’mon Merkerson
On how important the bye week was:
“I think the bye week helped that we had. Just getting back into the flow, it helped getting used to the plays and getting back with the offense. The bye week definitely helped and gave us a little edge, I think.”
On being a main receiver:
“Like I’ve said from the beginning, I’m here to help the team and if the team requires me to step up and play a receiver role. If they need me to go back and play defense, then I’ll go back and play defense. I feel like I’m the type of player who is just going to do what is needed by the team.”
#35 Free Safety Mike Holmes:
On being a safety:
“Being a safety, I am able to see the whole field and contribute more to the game. I am really enjoying it. It has a good feel.”
On the play when he got the fumble:
“I was deep back in coverage and they dumped it up there. Their player was running and he started to cut back across the field. I was mirroring him and somebody shifted, and I just slid in and got the ball. I’m not even sure who stripped it.”
On his reaction to the play that Louisville’s Troy Pascley dropped the pass:
“I was upset that he broke the coverage, but very relieved when he dropped the ball. It could have gone either way because we had plays that could have been different. That is just how football is.”
On how good getting this break feels:
“It feels good, but I don’t consider it a break at the end. We controlled the entire game and we didn’t even play our best football. I am looking forward to these next games and finishing the season off.”
#95 Defensive Tackle Nick Santiago
On the defensive performance tonight:
“They averaged 200 yards rushing and 200 yards passing a game, so they have a real complete offensive. For us to come out and minimize that and slow them down to 21 points is pretty good for our defense. I think that builds confidence for the younger guys. Our defensive line is getting better every week and I feel like a lot more exciting things are going to be coming in future games.”
On what changed after the first possession:
“We had to get used to this game. We knew they were going to come out and try to run the ball and get us with some dump passes and out passes. One of the things that I felt changed was we got more aggressive. We had to get comfortable because we are used to playing running quarterbacks and a lot of zone teams. We figured we had nothing else to lose. We had to come hard and that’s what we did. We brought blitzes off the end and our d-line was giving a lot of pressure so that’s what helped us out.”
#15 Strong Safety Bruce Williams
On getting a win:
“It felt good. I was kind of disappointed I dropped that punt. I think it was a lot more fatigue than anything on that punt, so I’m thinking to myself, ‘Oh man, my team’s going to be mad.’ Jake [Flaherty] and a couple other guys just came up and told me to just wipe it off because they were going to need me this game. That last play, I just read his eyes. I saw the double pump and I just jumped it. I wasn’t even supposed to be on that side, but I just jumped it anyway.”
“It felt pretty good. We always have the confidence. I don’t think anyone doubted us on confidence and how hard we go. We just listened to Coach and believed in ourselves and it came out as a W.”
On winning a BIG EAST game:
“I’ve been telling everyone that we’re going to be in the mix, that we’re going to ruin a lot of people’s chances. That’s what we’re out to do when we’re out to win these last four games now. We’re going to take it one game at a time and take it and go with it. We’re going to believe in Coach Robinson and believe in our team. That’s our motto right now.”
On the change in defense:
“The only thing that changed was A.J. Brown went down and that caused me to go in. I was worried about A.J. more than the game and Coach is probably going to be mad at me for that. That’s my boy and I was worried. Other than that, Coach just kept his game plan and he just buckled and we won it.”
On getting back to playing:
“I was kind of mad in the beginning because I’m thinking to myself, I’ve got one more after this in the Dome. When A.J. went down, I still thought this was a cheesy way to go in, but after awhile A.J. just came back out and told me, ‘Listen, just ball out because this team is going to need you.’ That’s what I had to do.”
On why he hasn’t been playing:
“I had never been told. The last couple of games was a different game plan for Coach, but still I don’t even know if I’m going to start. A.J. could be back and still I just know that when I get my chance, I have to make plays.”
On making the interception at the end of the game:
“When I caught it, I felt it hit my arms. I was like, ‘Yes, I got this.’ When I got up, I didn’t see anything. I just heard everything and I kind of blacked out. Coach came to me and asked if I caught it, and I said, ‘Yes, Coach, I caught it. I promise you I caught that.’ He was proud of me. He told me that’s the way to come back and make a play for this team. He was proud and I was thankful for my teammates and I was really happy for myself.”
#22 Running Back Curtis Brinkley
On breaking records:
“It feels good, but I understand the fact that records come and go. I give all it to my offensive line, my fullback and my wide receivers. They play a major part in the yards that I get. I tip my hat off to them.”
On the emotions in the locker room:
“It was unexplainable. It hasn’t felt that way in a long time. Coming into the game, I explained to the guys that if we lost this game, there’s definitely no bowl for us. The guys came out hyped up and ready to play and we came out with the win. It’s unexplainable. I’m just so happy right now.”
On the second half:
“It was just being patient. I knew I was going to break off in the second half, I had to get a feel for the defense. The offensive line just came out fired up in the second half and just ready to execute.”
On playing against Louisville:
“We knew it was going to be a brawl when we first came in. We knew they wanted revenge. We beat them last year and we knew we could do it again. It came out in our favor today.”
On being successful against one of the best rushing defenses:
“During the week, I was hearing a lot about how we can’t rush on Louisville and things like that. That pushed me a little bit. I’m glad that we did. I just wanted to prove a lot of people wrong.”
On the chances of a bowl game:
“This game is definitely a help. It was a boost there and we have to go into Rutgers with the same mindset. I just feel like we’re going to go up from here; I don’t think we’re going down. I feel very good going down to Rutgers; they have a very good defense as well, but we’re looking forward to competing with those guys.”
#4 Quarterback Cam Dantley
On getting a BIG EAST win:
“The feeling is unexplainable. Just to come into the locker room and see everyone excited and see everyone know that we worked hard for two weeks with a bye week to come out and prevail against a BIG EAST opponent in Louisville that has a great defensive team, a great quarterback and a great offensive team, as well. There’s really no words to explain it right now. Just to see everybody jumping around and excited shows that we know everything came together this week like we had hoped for in past weeks. We came out and we prevailed in the end. We’re definitely going to think about this one a lot and know that we played hard and executed like we wanted to. We’re just going to have fun with this one for awhile until we get ready for Rutgers next week.”
On the emotions in the locker room:
“It was crazy. Just to see some people that really aren’t jovial all the time, to see them jovial for that point in time is great. To know that emotionally, they feel about this team just like everyone else does – they feel about this team so much from the coaches all the way to the players and everyone on the staff. Just to know that everyone is in it and just wants to win and just knows that everyone did a great job just to come out and prevail in the end – it was great to see everyone the way they were in the locker room.”
On the game:
“I thought we ran the ball great, we passed great. Unlike in South Florida, I thought we were consistent for the whole game. We didn’t really pass the ball as much in the second half because Curtis [Brinkley], Antwon [Bailey], and Doug [Hogue] were running great. To know that we can run the ball and our offensive line can block great and we can put on the shoulders of our running backs and our offensive line sometimes is good. To know that we were consistent the whole game was great and also it helped that we started off the game pretty good as well. To come out and score touchdowns rather than field goals was also very important for us.”
On the creativity of the offensive:
“It shows how diverse we are. We can do a whole lot of different things. It shows that Coach believes in us as an offense to get the job done and we did that on a lot of plays today. That play to Da’Mon [Merkerson] was a great play for us to score after we were going on fourth down, to know that he got open and that we executed a lot of plays was great. To know we’re diverse and we can do a whole lot of different things on offense is great for us in the last four games.”
On taking Louisville by surprise:
“I think we kind of did. They played some of the trick plays pretty good. I don’t know if they thought we were going do something like that, but it actually worked. We executed it. They played style defense and we just executed our offense and that’s why we came up with a win in the end.”
