Fresno State Athletics
Pat Hill Quotes From Monday's Press Conference
11/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 18, 2002
Opening comments
"The first thing I want to start off with is I think it's great the WAC has two teams rated in the Top 25. I think that speaks volumes for our conference. With Hawai'i breaking in at 25th, they have a great chance to finish 10-2 and I think Boise State is going to end up 11-1. I think that says a lot for WAC football. Those two teams are legitimate football teams and I've said that from day one especially after we played them. I really believe that the WAC doesn't get a lot of respect in many places but that the top teams in the conference are very good this year.
On the Nevada game
"That was a whale of a football game. Both teams had a lot on the line and I've got a lot of respect for the way [Nevada head coach] Chris Tormey has stayed the course and he's putting a very good team together. He's got a lot of good skill players."
"The score at the end of the first half obviously was very important. I thought that it was going to be a momentum builder coming out in the second half. It was, our defense picked off two and ran them in for touchdowns. But it really worked a little bit against us in terms of our offensive production. There was about 50 minutes our offense just sat on the bench. I don't think we ever got into a lather again. The tempo of our offense was slowed down and defensively we were on the field a lot in the third quarter. However, you don't mind them being on the field when they score two touchdowns."
"In the fourth quarter, the drive that Paul Pinegar led us on was a huge drive at that time in the game. We needed a drive to go back up to a two-score lead and I think in that drive the run game, the passing game and third down situations really were important. I think that was a drive that hopefully is one that Paul will take with him as far as taking over the football team at that time."
"We talked about it on the sideline. I got Paul off to the side, I really got in his face about how this is your time to lead us, this is a drive we have to have. At first he looked at me like what do you mean. I said you are the guy, you're the lead and you have to take this thing over. I think he went out and did an outstanding job."
"Duncan Reid made some big catches during the course of the game, two big ones on that drive. Rodney Davis ran really hard on that. The offense, for the first time in a long time, was able to get a first down against a stacked box. That's what you have to do to win games. It's not pretty sometimes but you have to be able to mash 10 yards against a stacked deck. I was very proud of the team for doing that."
"That was another big step for this football team in its development, closing a game out. Not having to go three plays or stop the clock with a pass and punt the ball. We had the same situation last year against Hawai'i, we had two runs for two yards and we to pass on third down and that's when David got hit, sacked and fumbled. Defensively, the pass rush was good all night."
On the injuries coming out of the Nevada game
"The one injury that we suffered in that game was [defensive lineman] Garrett McIntyre, who has been playing outstanding for us. So our numbers on the defensive line are now down to six. We're going to have to play with some linebackers on the defensive line probably this week to keep that pass rush alive. We'll have to make some minor adjustments there losing Garrett. He'll be back hopefully in about two or three weeks. That was the only major injury in that game."
"We came out of it healthy and we're going to San Jose with a healthy team. We're allowed to travel 60 but I think we think we're only going to be travelling 52 to San Jose. We won't have a full 60 players to go over there. The guys that we're taking understand what's at stake. Going into the San Jose game, this is the fourth year in a row that the San Jose State game has been a must win for us. We've had to win it every year to get to a bowl game. Our team has played in a lot of those games and they understand that situation."
On tight end Duncan Reid's performance
"Duncan was a walk-on here. He had played basketball at Glendora High School. The last team to beat Clovis West in their own gym was the team Duncan was on. When he came up here and wanted to walk on and play football, he was 200 pounds instead of 222 what he is now. I was a little worried about him getting broken up but he is a very tough guy, he is getting very good at blocking. I feel next year he'll be 235 pounds and by his senior year probably about a 250-pound player that can run. He earned a scholarship with Steve Spach last year and they were both walk-ons. We liked his athletic ability."
"He is a lot faster then people think, he's in the high 4.6s. He's got very good hands and we just worried about if he was physical enough to play tight end and he is really a tough kid. He just doesn't have that much body weight right now. His strength is increasing and I felt going into the season that as the year wore on he was going to become a weapon. I think Duncan is going to develop into a big-time player. He's come up with some big plays for us. Being a basketball player he's a very fluid athlete, he's a big target. That's a good combination, [QB] Paul [Pinegar] and Duncan.
On the TD pass Adam Jennings dropped
"That was a great pass to Jennings. That's one where I grabbed him right afterwards and said Adam you have made some big plays for us this year and you're going some big plays for your career, so don't go in the tank over that one. That's a great learning experience for him. That was too easy of a catch and sometimes those are the ones you drop. He made two spectacular plays against Colorado State. Adam Jennings is very tough. If you've ever watched him block, he's got a lot of the intangibles that a young Rodney Wright had. I'm not comparing him to Rodney Wright because as a fifth-year senior, he's as tough a player I've ever coached."
On backup RB Bryson Sumlin's progress
"Bryson Sumlin has a very good opportunity to earn a scholarship in the fall. I'd love to give one to him he just has to keep doing it in the classroom and have a very good spring. I think Bryson has a chance to be a very good running back for us. You talk about a kid with a lot of character. We had him at corner at the beginning of the year and I told him that we were going to move him to offense because we needed a scout team running back. He said, coach I need to think about it for a day because I don't know if it's worth my while to stay here. He told me, I might go home to Bakersfield because I want to be a running back. I said your role is probably going to be a scout team running back and if you show in Sunday night scrimmages and if you prove that you can be elevated from there, that's going to be up to you. He decided to come back and that's what football and life is all about. He worked his rear end off to get him into the position that he's in."
"When a young man does that I think it shows a lot of character. I think we have three really good years in front of us. He's strong, he's physical, and he's smart. I love his running style, he's a north-south, move the pile guy. He's still learning a lot. He's only been at running back for us since the third week of the season and there's still a lot to learn. I think he's doing a great job.
On San Jose State
"I think the quarterback is very, very good. They've got a lot of big play receivers with a lot of speed. Most of their receivers are back from last year. They've got a good offensive line as well. They are a very talented offensive football team. On defense they play very hard, a lot of new faces on defense. The strength of their team is their offense, they can score a lot of points and they can score quickly. They like to throw the deep ball. On defense, they're going to come at you from a lot of different angles. They a big play defense as well with 23 interceptions on the year. You have to have your head on a swivel because they are going to come at you and they're going to take chances. They're a lot like us, they're going to pressure you. Whenever you play teams like that, you have to have all your T's crossed and your I's dotted. This is a good San Jose team."
"They've had a tough schedule and they've won on the road. I credit their coaching staff for keeping that team on rhythm. I think they've played well all year. Thirteen games in a row is very difficult. I feel we'll get their best shot Saturday. They have a lot to play for, they're playing at home, they can definitely see that there is a golden ring out there for them if they win. I'm looking forward to a great game.
