Syracuse Student-Athlete Quotes
Syracuse vs. Maine
Sept. 26, 2009
Carrier Dome
Syracuse, N.Y.
Sophomore wide receiver Marcus Sales
On catching a touchdown pass from quarterback Greg Paulus:
"He called the play and I just knew it was coming to me before the play started. I felt like I had to make the play to get us going."
On if it was similar to the pump fake play used earlier:
"No it wasn't the same play. It was read from Greg. The guy came up on Mike Williams and I just took it."
On what it means for him to make a play:
"Whatever I can do to help the team. That's what I am all about."
On if the team was nervous after being down early in the game:
"No. We came out the second half after we had a talk as a team. We just told each other that we need to regroup and trust in each other. Basically, that’s what we did in the second half."
On what Coach Marrone was like in the locker room at half time:
"He was real calm. We really had to stay calm so we don't panic. We just had to keep going out there and make plays."
On if they were surprised by the trick plays:
"We were surprised by that. They definitely caught us off guard."
Graduate student quarterback Greg Paulus
On if he was nervous during the game:
"No, we knew we needed to change a few things and execute a little bit better. We needed to make a few big plays and we did that during the second half."
On his performance:
"I'll go back and watch the film. I have not been happy with the way that I have been playing yet. Hopefully we can get there. I think that we did a little bit better job on third down conversions. I don’t know what our rate was but we have to get that back up. We need to do a better job with ball security. I missed some open receivers today so I will go back and try to get that next time around. But it's coming little by little and hopefully we can just keep building on it."
On why he was not worried during the game:
"We have been in that situation before. We knew what we were doing as far as the things we needed to correct. We knew that we needed to put some points on the board to keep our defense off the field. Once we started to move the chains and get the momentum on our side, we started to make a few more plays, which is always a good thing."
On when they did the fake punt:
"It was a great call. They are a well-coached football team. They did a good job executing and we expected that coming in. They did a really good job. The onside kick and the fake punts – they did a really good job of executing their game plan and keeping us on our toes."
On if he was frustrated being on the sideline a lot during the first quarter:
"I actually watched the Colts versus Dolphins game the other day and I knew that the Colts offense did not get much time. Watching them and seeing that when they had the ball, they were efficient with it. That’s what I was telling our guys. Whether we get the ball with five minutes, three minutes, whether we are off the field for 10 minutes, we need to execute and we need to get a first down. I thought that we did that a lot better in the second half than in the first half."
On playing better in the second half:
"That is the type of efficiency that we need to have. Not punting and when we got in the red zone, we didn't get three points, we got seven points. That is a big thing. As long as we are doing that, moving the chains and running the ball. I think Delone (Carter) did a great job running, and Antwon (Bailey) and Mike Jones. I think the balance and the play calling from Coach Spence and Coach Marrone really kept them on their heels and we got some momentum and a good offensive rhythm. "
Sophomore linebacker Derrell Smith
On if it was planned to go after the quarterback more in the second half:
"We tried but he did a great job of getting the ball out really fast. For a couple of tries, we were one step away. But in the second half I think our defense picked it up a little, stayed on coverage a little bit longer and tackled."
On giving the defense giving up so many passing yards:
"It is not my job to be concerned about it. As a teammate, I can just try to lift them up. We just have to practice more passing and go harder in practice."
On playing South Florida next week:
"I'll be concerned about South Florida when we watch tape on them. I am just going to enjoy this victory right now and go home and get some rest. I'll watch them tomorrow."
Junior linebacker Doug Hogue
On his interception:
"Coach Conley told me to make sure to get great routes on these guys. They get the ball fast and they have a good timed offense. I just went through my progressions and saw the ball come my way and I tried to make a play."
On seeing an open field after his interception:
"I didn't see the guy come until late. I just was so happy that I caught the interception and that we got the ball back to the offense."
Sophomore defensive end Chandler Jones
On the second half:
“Going into the locker room we knew that we had to turn it up. We had to come out with a little fire under us.”
On overlooking Maine:
“It wasn’t a lack of focus; it was a lack of execution. We weren’t communicating and getting our stunts down. We started putting it together toward the second half.”
On adjustments made in the second half:
“There were not a lot of adjustments. Derrell (Smith) actually pulled the whole team aside and said, ‘Listen, we have to step it, this is not us, this doesn’t look us, these things shouldn’t be happening.’ We all took that in and went by it.”
Senior running back Delone Carter
On what happened and in the lockerroom at halftime:
“We just had to go in there and gather each other up. We had to have a few words with each other to get ourselves re-focused and get ourselves back in the game. A lot was said. We did not want to go back to our old ways and the pride we had to come out with in the second half and the level of heart we had to play.”
On winning two in a row:
“It feels good, it’s something we needed going into the BIG EAST with. It gives us more confidence. It makes us feel that we’re going into next week strong, too.”
On his four touchdowns:
“It feels good, but I have to attribute that to my offensive linemen. It was something that we worked for.”
On his touchdown reception:
“Greg (Paulus) saw me and I thought, “Does he really see me or is he going to throw it?” Then he finally threw it and I had to focus in and pull it in.”
Senior wide receiver Mike Williams
On the first winning streak since 2006:
“It feels really good. This is what we have been looking forward to. We’re .500, we haven’t been .500 since 2006. So it feels good to be back there.”
On concerns going into the third quarter:
“There were a lot of words said at halftime. Everybody was screaming then it calmed down and Delone Carter was the one who said the words. He brought the whole team together and said, ‘We’re not going back to our old ways. It’s not going to be the same anymore. We’re going to go out here and get these boys out.’ That’s what he said to us. We went out there and executed.”
