Fresno State Athletics
Pat Hill Quotes from Monday's Press Conference
9/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 2, 2002
On the San Diego State game
"I thought we played hard against San Diego State. They were very good skill position-wise. I don't think we were prepared for all the blitzing they did, but that's because we really had nothing to base their performance on. That's what happens when you get an entirely new coaching staff in."
"We went in wanting to run the football, control the clock and the tempo of the game. In the first half, that's exactly what we did. We controlled the game. But in the second half, their athletes started to make some plays and they got back into it."
On the penalty problems
"I don't think the penalties are a discipline thing. I told our team we just need to play harder with better fundamentals. The thing is that none of our penalties are what I call administrative penalties. Those are the penalties before the ball is snapped, like jumping offsides or illegal formation. The ones we had were judgmental calls. There were two holding calls that you have to look really hard to find, but obviously they were there because they got called."
"The Bryce McGill late hit was a situation where he just didn't know where he was on the field. We talked about it, and he's just got to know where he is. It wasn't intentional on his part. But other than that I really don't see what I would call undisciplined penalties."
On the injury situation
"Except for Kendall Edwards (who is out for the year with an ACL injury), we are pretty much the same as we were heading into the game. Bernard [Berrian] is still out, and I don't think that Jeff [Grady] will go. Grady's the only one that can change. But I want to know by Tuesday who the starting quarterback is going to be for Saturday's game. The doctor's will take a look at him and let us know."
On Paul Pinegar's performance
"I thought Paul did a very good job with ball security. He needs to get a little better and throwing the ball away when he gets out of the pocket. And this week we'll hopefully get the ball in the hands of the guys that can make some plays. But overall, he did everything we asked of him. I thought it was a good performance."
On the running game
"This week we are going to go with Rodney Davis as the starter. We want to take a look at him. Matt Rivera has done a good job, but we'd like to see what Rodney looks like with the first team."
"[Backups] James Cummings and Therrian Fontenot just haven't seem much time in practice because there are only so many reps you can give your running backs. If the time comes during the game where we can put those guys in, then they'll play. But with Therrian, he is still hobbled by his high ankle injury. That's really cut into his practice time."
On Oregon running back Onterrio Smith
"We've played some good running backs, but Onterrio Smith...well, he might be as good as we've seen. We've gone up against LaDainian Tomlinson [of TCU], Mike Anderson [of Utah], but Onterrio Smith is a very good running back. He's strong, got good vision, he's fast. He's an oustanding running back. He's the type of guy who has a chance to take it to the house every time he touches the ball."
On the Oregon team
"They play at a fast pace, and there not a lot of teams who do that. They try and get plays off every 25 to 30 seconds. They are very well coached. We are running into a very well coached team. They've won a lot, and they certainly win a lot at home. They've got an expanded stadium."
"They've made the move to be a big-time college football team. They've made that commitment. Their commitment started seven or eight years ago. They are spending money, and they have put a great product on the field."
"We are trying to be a lot like them. I see a lot of similarities in the way the two of us play. But I want to make it clear that I don't think we are at their level yet. They were No. 2 in the nation last year. But in how we play, we are alike, I think. Since they've come in there, they haven't changed philosophies, and neither have we. I really think they are a top five team this year, and we are just trying to grow. Those people up there understand what it's all about. If you look at downtown Eugene during a home football game, and there's nobody there. They are all at the football game."
"I think you're going to see two teams that want to out-hit each other. Oregon just lit up Mississippi State, and they lit up Colorado. They are playing with a lot of guys we recruited, but they ended up getting them. We recruit a lot of the same players because we both look for the same type of player. Maybe they are the prototypical NFL guys, but they play hard and work hard. But there are some big-time football players on that team."
"What we do here, we really want to mirror Oregon in a lot of ways. They have an expanded facility, they've got great practice facilities, they coach hard and their players play hard. I'm very impressed with them."
