Fresno State Athletics
Pat Hill Quotes From Monday's Press Conference
10/29/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 29, 2002
On Jeff Grady
"He?s our second team quarterback and he?ll work with the second team. Pinegar is still our starter, there?s no change there."
General thoughts on the Hawai`i game
"I think we played really hard. It?s really a shame. I mean, I think our players played very, very hard. At times we just didn?t play smart. I think we did a lot of things that we had to do for three quarters to win that type of football game. We held a very high scoring team down to nine points."
"I think a lot of that is due to the fact that we weren?t controlling the ball like we were in the first half. In the first half we really controlled the ball well. It wasn?t pretty, three tight ends and a guard at fullback. It was something that we hadn?t done all year but I think it was something that gave us an edge in a game like that. It gave us a ball control edge. To go in at halftime 9-7 is not pretty, we had the long pass to Duncan Reid that was perfectly executed but we got the holding that brought it back. We had another drive where we were 1st-and-10 at the 24 and got sacked which took us out of field goal range. We made some critical mistakes at tough times, a lot like we did in the ?98 season. We made a lot of those mistakes back then ?in a high pressure game against good teams."
"I thought the effort was very good but there in the end when we had to make plays we just fell apart, we just didn?t make the plays. Give Hawai?i a lot credit, they made some big plays. Twenty-two points in the fourth quarter for the second year in a row against us; a lot of that might be attributed to the tempo of the game. It was such a high speed tempo in the fourth quarter that we might?ve ran out of gas."
"Hawai?i is a good team who has a chance to be 10-2. From a physical standpoint I liked the effort that we played with, I liked the way we bounced back after the devastating loss to Boise State. We just didn?t finish the game. That?s a depressing thing because that?s a game where there are so many opportunities to win the game and we just didn?t get it done."
"I guarantee if we had won the game 21-16, which we should?ve, we would've all been sitting here talking about a conservative offense today because it was. It was very conservative because it was designed to keep our people off the field and control the game. We did everything field position wise (three punt downed inside the five) we needed to do, we just didn?t finish it."
On the penalty problems
The two delay of games should have never happened. I?m very mad at myself for not calling timeout. I?m looking at Paul and I thought he was looking at the clock when it was down to three. I just about ran onto the field and called timeout. He was still in the cadence when the clock was at zero. He was trying to check into something but our clock awareness has to get better."
On what the team will work on this bye week
"We need to have a great week of practice this week where we get better on our fundamentals. We have a lot of good young players here and we have to keep working. We?re not going to change what we do, we?re going get better at the things we do as an offense and hopefully we can win this next game and hopefully take four in a row and if it gets us to the postseason, fine. If it doesn?t, keep moving on. We?re not going to change drastically what we?re going to do. That?s why you have to stay the course. Not everything is lined up perfectly maybe like it was last year."
"We have to keep getting these guys better. I think Adam Jennings, Jermaine Jamison and Duncan Reid are making big progress. There are some guys that are stepping up and making progress we have to keep working with. Tyrone Culver, Awan Diles I think made some good plays in the game and McIntyre is just playing awesome so we just have to keep getting those guys better. McIntyre is not going to be 18 until December so we just have to keep getting better. We can?t put together plans or schemes or things like that are not going to be what were are, we just have to keep getting better. Obviously against Boise State and Hawai?i we didn?t have as good a personnel. We didn?t have as good personnel against them last year because we lost both of those games. We have some catching up to do with those teams."
"Our matchups right now with the teams that spread out [aren't very good]. We?ve got to get better at the speed positions. We?ve got to get more DB?s on the field that can really run, more linebackers that can really run and a pass rush that can stay on it play after play after play against teams like Hawai?i."
On the four remaining games
"I think we can win them all. To get this team to a postseason game would be a heck of an accomplishment. I think the ground work and the foundation and what they been through this year have been outstanding. They?ve lost to some very good teams but we have lost three games in the fourth quarter and that to me is disturbing. I think that?s when you have to make the plays -- in the fourth quarter -- and I think as these kids come on, they will. College football is a game of highs and lows and the main thing is to stay on course with the team we have because I really believe that we have some very good players that are going to develop as time goes on."
On Fresno State's personnel
"When you look at who we play in our conference, you have to stop a spread offense. You have to have a lot of speed on the field and I think where we have really improved ourselves is in the secondary. The problem is it?s very, very young. We put Bryce McGill at linebacker for a reason. He still learning but I think he?s the type of weak side linebacker we need to win against the Hawai?i's and the Louisiana Tech?s and the Boise State?s. When you play Tennessee, you stuff them all in the box and play with your bigger linebackers. It?s all personnel. There are so many personnel matchups in college football that you have prepare for."
On the wide receivers
"Our receivers have to be better at being bumped. They have to be better at getting open in man-to-man coverage. They?re blitzing, five, six, seven guys at us. If you?re not getting open, you?re going to get sacked. The last play Pinegar thought he had a play and went with it. Over time he?ll go with the check-down and get the field goal and go into overtime."
On Paul Pinegar's performance this year
"I think there is a lot more pressure on him now. I think people are starting to figure out how to play our personnel a little bit better. Hawai?i came up and challenged just like Boise State and Oregon State. They pressured us. We weren?t able to beat them in man to man routes, which causes Paul to hold onto the ball a little longer. It?s nice and easy to get back there and zip it. It?s all about matchups."
"I think over time the Jermaine Jamison and Adam Jennings lineups we?ll be very good. We have to learn to get off the bump and that everything is based on timing. We have to get off the ball and get off the bump and get open. Paul has to be able to hit the step and throw the ball and know they are going to be there. Right now we don?t have the confidence that we are hopefully going to get with the timing."
"I think Paul is doing fine. He had a couple bad plays but he was very close to pulling this thing off. I think Paul is coming along really well. He?s in some high-pressure situations right now. Hawai?i can bring the heat and I thought he did a good job staying in there. On third down we didn?t convert real well. The run game was keeping us in it early. We were controlling the tempo of the game."
