Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State - New Mexico State Postgame Quotes
Jeff Tedford, Fresno State head coach
Opening statement…
“If you go on the road and play a hungry team, which we knew they would be, you have to find a way to win. We are fortunate to have done that. Every week, it’s about opportunities and how we can get better, and we are going to continue to do that.”
On things that stood out to him…
“There is always things to clean up, no matter what happens. We need to put the ball in the end zone instead of settling for field goals, that is one big thing. I thought we played well on special teams tonight. Turning the ball over right out of halftime is not something that you want to do. Our defense came up big with some turnovers. Wylan [Free] had two picks and one for a touchdown, which was critical for us. We had some guys step into some new roles for us tonight, and some playing for the first time, and I thought they did a great job. Again, the bottom line is to get a victory. You’re going to learn from any game, win or lose, so we will take the lessons from this game and move forward.”
On Chris Coleman…
“He is a great athlete. Initially we recruited him as a defensive back. We have had some injuries there, and we have some young guys there who we want to spot-play but we don’t know if they are ready for the big time yet. We knew it wouldn’t be too tough for Chris. He is a tough guy, very athletic, very smooth and I thought he played very well tonight.”
On Emoryie Edwards…
“He made some huge plays. To have him back and to be able to get the offense down, play the role that he did and compete the way that he did – he played quick for us. He made some big plays in key situations.”
On Jalen Cropper…
“You hope to put your players in the position to be successful. We had no idea if he was even going to play tonight. It was nice to be able to see him recover and contribute to the win.”
On Air Force…
“We get a couple weeks to prepare going in to Air Force. We understand what a team Air Force is. They are a great football team, obviously unorthodox running the options. There are some different things you have to do there. They are very good on defense as well. They have a very solid program and going on the road there is a challenge, but to have two weeks to prepare, we are going to work our hardest to be ready to play there.”
Wylan Free, sophomore DB
On his pick six…
“It was a big impact on the team to go out and execute a play that we have worked on. For me, it was a pretty big thing. It was my first pick this year and my first pick six while in college. It definitely will hold some significance.”
On the team’s mindset now…
“We are in a pretty good place right now, but we can’t get complacent. We are going to enjoy this victory for 24 hours and then we have to come back ready to work even though it is a bye week. We can’t get complacent and that is the biggest thing. We have to be ready to work. We have some things to do and a lot of things to clean up, so that is our focus right now.”
On rating the team through the non-conference slate…
“I would say we are a B. We are definitely not our best. We have a lot of things to work on – tackling, better execution and competing. I feel like we got a lot better. Everybody is falling into their roles pretty good. We had a lot of freshmen who have had to step up in big games because of some injuries, but I think we are at a good point right now.”
Jalen Cropper, freshman WR
On his touchdown run…
“When I got the ball, I cut the corner and saw Jared Rice and Cam Sutton blocking and doing their jobs, and I just saw green. After that, I turned on the burners and didn’t look back after that. With that being my first touchdown, it meant a lot to me and I know it meant a lot to the team. I went in and executed the play the way I was supposed to. Being a freshman, coming out on our fourth game, knowing that the coaches trust me with the rock in my hand and being out there makes me feel blessed. It is a great feeling. I feel blessed each and every play that I am out there with my teammates.”
On finishing non-conference 2-2…
“Right now I think we are getting to where we want to be. We have to take it day-by-day. We have to get better each and every week. We have to work on the little things, and when we do that and execute then the big things are going to happen and we will have a lot of success on this team.”
On the defense…
“This defense is a special defense. When they play like that, it makes the offense want to get out there and make some plays for them. It is that mojo the team has. Once we see everybody having success, it’s all out from there to the end of the game.”
Emoryie Edwards, redshirt freshman WR
On his first game as a Bulldog…
“I had butterflies and was shaky throughout the week knowing I was going to play this Saturday. It was a restless night last night. It felt amazing to get out there. It is good to be back.”
On fitting in to the offense…
“I am just trying to play my role and do what they need me to do at the moment. I am excited for the rest of the season. I can’t wait, hoping to stay healthy and positive, and keep it going.”
On being from the Valley…
“The support is crazy. People from everywhere in the Valley support and the support that they show is something special.”
Chris Coleman, sophomore WR/DB
On finding out he would be playing on defense…
”I found out Monday morning at about 9:32 AM. Coach Tedford called me and asked me how I would feel if they needed my help at corner with all of the injuries at that position. At first I was apprehensive because I hadn’t done any DB work in two and a half years. He told me I was an athlete and he knew I could do it. The coaches were behind me and it gave me the drive to do it. I said I was more than willing to do what the team needed me to do.”
On his first game on defense…
“For the first game, I thought that I did pretty well. There are still some things. I have to get my eyes right but that comes with time in being on the defense. I learned everything this last week, so with a little more time, I can get things right.”
On playing offense and defense…
“I did take one rep on offense tonight. It was designed for me to get the ball, but it didn’t work out. Coach Tedford told me that I would be playing both ways, but my roles on defense would be a lot bigger than my roles on offense.”
On being 2-2…
“Our mentality is to win out. Winning this game and making the statement that we did is very good for the upcoming weeks. We have a bye and then we have Air Force. We have to grind and get better day-by-day and week-by-week.”
On being on the defensive side of the ball…
“Defense brings a whole different type of intensity. Coach Watts’ intensity level is a lot higher. In offense, you have to be level-headed and pay attention to things. On defense, you have to do that too but you really are out there just playing. You have to go full speed and make a play. There is a big intensity difference.”
Opening statement…
“If you go on the road and play a hungry team, which we knew they would be, you have to find a way to win. We are fortunate to have done that. Every week, it’s about opportunities and how we can get better, and we are going to continue to do that.”
On things that stood out to him…
“There is always things to clean up, no matter what happens. We need to put the ball in the end zone instead of settling for field goals, that is one big thing. I thought we played well on special teams tonight. Turning the ball over right out of halftime is not something that you want to do. Our defense came up big with some turnovers. Wylan [Free] had two picks and one for a touchdown, which was critical for us. We had some guys step into some new roles for us tonight, and some playing for the first time, and I thought they did a great job. Again, the bottom line is to get a victory. You’re going to learn from any game, win or lose, so we will take the lessons from this game and move forward.”
On Chris Coleman…
“He is a great athlete. Initially we recruited him as a defensive back. We have had some injuries there, and we have some young guys there who we want to spot-play but we don’t know if they are ready for the big time yet. We knew it wouldn’t be too tough for Chris. He is a tough guy, very athletic, very smooth and I thought he played very well tonight.”
On Emoryie Edwards…
“He made some huge plays. To have him back and to be able to get the offense down, play the role that he did and compete the way that he did – he played quick for us. He made some big plays in key situations.”
On Jalen Cropper…
“You hope to put your players in the position to be successful. We had no idea if he was even going to play tonight. It was nice to be able to see him recover and contribute to the win.”
On Air Force…
“We get a couple weeks to prepare going in to Air Force. We understand what a team Air Force is. They are a great football team, obviously unorthodox running the options. There are some different things you have to do there. They are very good on defense as well. They have a very solid program and going on the road there is a challenge, but to have two weeks to prepare, we are going to work our hardest to be ready to play there.”
Wylan Free, sophomore DB
On his pick six…
“It was a big impact on the team to go out and execute a play that we have worked on. For me, it was a pretty big thing. It was my first pick this year and my first pick six while in college. It definitely will hold some significance.”
On the team’s mindset now…
“We are in a pretty good place right now, but we can’t get complacent. We are going to enjoy this victory for 24 hours and then we have to come back ready to work even though it is a bye week. We can’t get complacent and that is the biggest thing. We have to be ready to work. We have some things to do and a lot of things to clean up, so that is our focus right now.”
On rating the team through the non-conference slate…
“I would say we are a B. We are definitely not our best. We have a lot of things to work on – tackling, better execution and competing. I feel like we got a lot better. Everybody is falling into their roles pretty good. We had a lot of freshmen who have had to step up in big games because of some injuries, but I think we are at a good point right now.”
Jalen Cropper, freshman WR
On his touchdown run…
“When I got the ball, I cut the corner and saw Jared Rice and Cam Sutton blocking and doing their jobs, and I just saw green. After that, I turned on the burners and didn’t look back after that. With that being my first touchdown, it meant a lot to me and I know it meant a lot to the team. I went in and executed the play the way I was supposed to. Being a freshman, coming out on our fourth game, knowing that the coaches trust me with the rock in my hand and being out there makes me feel blessed. It is a great feeling. I feel blessed each and every play that I am out there with my teammates.”
On finishing non-conference 2-2…
“Right now I think we are getting to where we want to be. We have to take it day-by-day. We have to get better each and every week. We have to work on the little things, and when we do that and execute then the big things are going to happen and we will have a lot of success on this team.”
On the defense…
“This defense is a special defense. When they play like that, it makes the offense want to get out there and make some plays for them. It is that mojo the team has. Once we see everybody having success, it’s all out from there to the end of the game.”
Emoryie Edwards, redshirt freshman WR
On his first game as a Bulldog…
“I had butterflies and was shaky throughout the week knowing I was going to play this Saturday. It was a restless night last night. It felt amazing to get out there. It is good to be back.”
On fitting in to the offense…
“I am just trying to play my role and do what they need me to do at the moment. I am excited for the rest of the season. I can’t wait, hoping to stay healthy and positive, and keep it going.”
On being from the Valley…
“The support is crazy. People from everywhere in the Valley support and the support that they show is something special.”
Chris Coleman, sophomore WR/DB
On finding out he would be playing on defense…
”I found out Monday morning at about 9:32 AM. Coach Tedford called me and asked me how I would feel if they needed my help at corner with all of the injuries at that position. At first I was apprehensive because I hadn’t done any DB work in two and a half years. He told me I was an athlete and he knew I could do it. The coaches were behind me and it gave me the drive to do it. I said I was more than willing to do what the team needed me to do.”
On his first game on defense…
“For the first game, I thought that I did pretty well. There are still some things. I have to get my eyes right but that comes with time in being on the defense. I learned everything this last week, so with a little more time, I can get things right.”
On playing offense and defense…
“I did take one rep on offense tonight. It was designed for me to get the ball, but it didn’t work out. Coach Tedford told me that I would be playing both ways, but my roles on defense would be a lot bigger than my roles on offense.”
On being 2-2…
“Our mentality is to win out. Winning this game and making the statement that we did is very good for the upcoming weeks. We have a bye and then we have Air Force. We have to grind and get better day-by-day and week-by-week.”
On being on the defensive side of the ball…
“Defense brings a whole different type of intensity. Coach Watts’ intensity level is a lot higher. In offense, you have to be level-headed and pay attention to things. On defense, you have to do that too but you really are out there just playing. You have to go full speed and make a play. There is a big intensity difference.”