Student-Athlete Interview Transcript - Spring Game
Carrier Dome/Syracuse, N.Y.
April 18, 2009
Mike Williams, Junior, Wide Receiver
On scoring the first touchdown of the game:
“I came out of the huddle and I told [quarterback] Ryan [Nassib] to calm down. The defense had been covering me one-on-one all day. He has a quicker release. You have to get your eye on the ball. I said to just come up and throw it. He did and it felt good to get another touchdown.”
On spring practice:
Derrell Smith, Junior, Linebacker
On overcoming some defensive mistakes
“After the first couple of drives, we came over to the sidelines and said ‘Man, this isn’t us.’ We came together as a defense, talked in the huddle and came back and played.”
On playing without several of the regular starters on defense
“We just played well overall. There are a lot of things that we couldn’t do that they can do. Overall, I think we had a good game. We got off to a slow start, but I think we did well overall.”
On the “business-like” tone of today’s game
“That’s been the tone since day one when Coach Marrone stepped into the door. The first day he met with all the players, there was a tone set. Since then, we’ve been following that tone. Today was just a day that we could show everybody what we’ve been doing for the past three or four months. It was just a sample. When the season comes, they’ll get the main course.”
On the amount of penalties called during the game
“When you really look at it, we’ve only had 14 practices and one game. I think over the summer, everybody will get together as a team and work on that. When camp starts, we’ll work on that. So I’m not really concerned about that, it wasn’t a lot. It wasn’t as many as we’re used to in a game. We’re just starting off and we have a lot to work on, this is just the foundation.”
Chandler Jones, Redshirt Freshman, Defensive End
On the offense’s success over the middle
“On some of those plays, it was missed responsibilities but some of them were fluke plays. The quarterback made the reads and saw the middle of the field was open.”
On the secondary’s play during the game
“They did a great job. The secondary and their coverage is where most of our sacks came from. There’s something called a coverage sack and that’s when all the receivers are covered and the quarterback is just patting the ball and that’s a coverage sack.”
Jim McKenzie, Junior, Center
On the team’s play during the game
“Overall, I think we came out with some passion and some enthusiasm and we got some points on the board, which is good. I’m just real proud of my guys. This summer’s going to be a big time for us. We need to work on technique and fundamentals the most.”
On being able to pick up the blitzes through the middle
“It was good for the most part. I definitely want to cut the amount of sacks in half. We had a couple of pressures. It was all communication stuff, we just have to gel together as an offensive line and that takes some time. We’re definitely going to work on that this summer. We’re a work in progress, but we’re doing well."
On the team singing the alma mater and fight song at the end of the game
“I definitely got a little teary-eyed there. That’s the type of school spirit that Doug Marrone brings to this team and that’s something we really didn’t have prior to this. We’ve got such great alumni and such a great people before us so it’s great to bring that stuff back for them.”
Nick Speller, Redshirt Freshman, Offensive Tackle
On switching around players in different positions
“For the most part, I think we are [playing in our positions]. When we were moving around in the second quarter, it was mostly because of penalties. Coach has a strict no-penalty rule and when people jump offsides, they’re out of there.”
On the difference in the second half
“We had to come together as a unit, not only as an offensive line, but the entire offensive unit. We were only in the locker room for 10 minutes, so whatever we had to say we just said it. Basically what we said was all we can control is our effort and our attitude so we just had to come together as a unit.”
