Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State-Utah State Postgame Quotes
Fresno State at Utah State
Maverik Stadium
Nov. 14, 2020
Kalen DeBoer, Fresno State head coach
Opening statement
"As always, when we get a win and even when we don't, I am proud of this team. I am proud of how we go about our business during the week. I am proud of how we respond to the good and the bad, and how we stay together. There were some ups and downs, and I think we took their best shot in the first quarter. Offense and defense really did a good job at picking each other up during the game. I am really proud with how we responded. There are areas that we can be better, but I like what I see. I am excited about the direction that we are headed. There are some things that we can improve on, but I know that with our mindset and the direction we are headed, we will have no problem taking care of that next week."Â
On QB Jake Haener...
"I think his confidence rose because of the experience that you go through together. There are moments of situational football that, until you have done it together, it is hard to talk through. You gain that confidence because you know what you have talked over and you know that it is so important to him. He will remember that he can do this or this the next time that a certain look comes out. I am really pleased with how he played. He came out slinging in the first half and put the ball where it needed to be."
On the offense...
"I thought the first half was done really well. If you look at the whole game offensively, the biggest things are the two turnovers. You can see all of our weapons out there. I thought our line played more solid and more consistent than they have played all year long. I think it was the best game that they have played so far. I think there was a balance where we can run or throw, and now the defense has to be ready for both."
On being 3-1 halfway through the season...
"We are never going to take a win for granted. I have been doing this for too long to not celebrate every win in a college football game. They're all hard. Every day in practice is something different. There are injuries, and then you bring the COVID precautions in. From one day to the next, it's about working with the guys that you have. You know that every guy is going to bring everything that they have each day. That's why you see some hiccups, because its a matter of the guys still trying to figure things out. I am super proud of where we are at right now. It is more about the attitude right now. We will come to practice on Tuesday with the intensity and mindset that we want to get better. We have belief in each other. We have goals, and we know that we have no room for error. We are gaining some steam and confidence. Every game means something from here on out."
Jake Haener, Fresno State quarterback
On Cropper's play style...
"I just try to read the defense. It helps when I have four or five really good play makers that I can disperse the ball to, and who I trust. I think Jalen [Cropper] having a hot game is going to happen, but I think that there are a lot of other guys who can do that too. Once they get hot, who knows what they can do. I thought we needed to score more points and have a better second half, but other than that it was a good team win."
On playing inside the pocket...
"I thought the O-Line battled their tail off. We challenged them before the game and I thought they played really hard and did a lot of good things. Some of those hits were on me. I thought they did a really good job at protecting me and keeping me upright for the most part today."
On how good he thinks this offense can be...
"I think we can be really good. I think we have all the tools. It's a 'never satisfied' mentality. We score 28 points in the first half, then seven in the second. It's just not acceptable and that is not the standard we want to have on offense. I think we can be better and have a lot of room for improvements, and that is encouraging for us."
On being the first Bulldog quarterback to throw for 400-yards since Derek Carr...
"It's pretty cool, its great and everything. It's cool to hear that after putting a really good team win together. It is the game. Sometimes I have to throw for a lot of yards, and sometimes we have to run for a lot of yards. It is a team game, and I wouldn't be here without them. It is all the guys around me helping me make good plays."Â
On sharing the quarterback spot with Ben Wooldridge...
"I think you just have to go into every game with a mindset of how you want to play, and how you are going to react when things don't go your way. If you make a mistake, you have to bounce back. If things aren't going the way the offense wants things to go, you have to do your part to make the offense roll again. When Ben gets in, he does a great job. Coach DeBoer and the staff, we all trust one another. I think we do a great job at communicating and doing the right thing. I support Ben and Ben supports me. I think it is really productive and something that we can build on as a team. All that matters is getting wins and doing what's right for the program."
On his communication with OC Ryan Grubb...
"We do a great job communicating. He listens to what I have to say, and I trust him to do his part and integrate it. It comes down to being really good communicators. When you have a quarterback, a head coach and an offensive coordinator who communicate in a way that is productive for the team, we can bounce ideas off of each other and see what is working. I think it's just going to continue to improve. I have been repping this offense for two months total and we knew there were going to be growing pains, and things that we were going to have to see in order to get better. I trust all of them. We have to keep building on it."
Kevin Atkins, Fresno State defensive tackle
On the win...
"It propels us forward and shows us how good of a team we can be when we come together and play to our full potential."
On recovering after giving up a big play to Utah State...
"Never lose hope. Just keep playing and don't let anything kill our energy. It really gave us a lot of energy when Evan Williams got that blocked PAT."
On the defensive line putting pressure on the quarterback...
"We work together as a unit. It is not just one person, it's a unit. We work as a piece of the puzzle to the whole defense."
On having a second half shutout...
"We preached all week about finishing and playing until the whistle. That is what we did."
On the defensive scheme...
"It is coming along great. We implemented a lot of new things. We take it day by day and learn everything that they throw at us."
Maverik Stadium
Nov. 14, 2020
Kalen DeBoer, Fresno State head coach
Opening statement
"As always, when we get a win and even when we don't, I am proud of this team. I am proud of how we go about our business during the week. I am proud of how we respond to the good and the bad, and how we stay together. There were some ups and downs, and I think we took their best shot in the first quarter. Offense and defense really did a good job at picking each other up during the game. I am really proud with how we responded. There are areas that we can be better, but I like what I see. I am excited about the direction that we are headed. There are some things that we can improve on, but I know that with our mindset and the direction we are headed, we will have no problem taking care of that next week."Â
On QB Jake Haener...
"I think his confidence rose because of the experience that you go through together. There are moments of situational football that, until you have done it together, it is hard to talk through. You gain that confidence because you know what you have talked over and you know that it is so important to him. He will remember that he can do this or this the next time that a certain look comes out. I am really pleased with how he played. He came out slinging in the first half and put the ball where it needed to be."
On the offense...
"I thought the first half was done really well. If you look at the whole game offensively, the biggest things are the two turnovers. You can see all of our weapons out there. I thought our line played more solid and more consistent than they have played all year long. I think it was the best game that they have played so far. I think there was a balance where we can run or throw, and now the defense has to be ready for both."
On being 3-1 halfway through the season...
"We are never going to take a win for granted. I have been doing this for too long to not celebrate every win in a college football game. They're all hard. Every day in practice is something different. There are injuries, and then you bring the COVID precautions in. From one day to the next, it's about working with the guys that you have. You know that every guy is going to bring everything that they have each day. That's why you see some hiccups, because its a matter of the guys still trying to figure things out. I am super proud of where we are at right now. It is more about the attitude right now. We will come to practice on Tuesday with the intensity and mindset that we want to get better. We have belief in each other. We have goals, and we know that we have no room for error. We are gaining some steam and confidence. Every game means something from here on out."
Jake Haener, Fresno State quarterback
On Cropper's play style...
"I just try to read the defense. It helps when I have four or five really good play makers that I can disperse the ball to, and who I trust. I think Jalen [Cropper] having a hot game is going to happen, but I think that there are a lot of other guys who can do that too. Once they get hot, who knows what they can do. I thought we needed to score more points and have a better second half, but other than that it was a good team win."
On playing inside the pocket...
"I thought the O-Line battled their tail off. We challenged them before the game and I thought they played really hard and did a lot of good things. Some of those hits were on me. I thought they did a really good job at protecting me and keeping me upright for the most part today."
On how good he thinks this offense can be...
"I think we can be really good. I think we have all the tools. It's a 'never satisfied' mentality. We score 28 points in the first half, then seven in the second. It's just not acceptable and that is not the standard we want to have on offense. I think we can be better and have a lot of room for improvements, and that is encouraging for us."
On being the first Bulldog quarterback to throw for 400-yards since Derek Carr...
"It's pretty cool, its great and everything. It's cool to hear that after putting a really good team win together. It is the game. Sometimes I have to throw for a lot of yards, and sometimes we have to run for a lot of yards. It is a team game, and I wouldn't be here without them. It is all the guys around me helping me make good plays."Â
On sharing the quarterback spot with Ben Wooldridge...
"I think you just have to go into every game with a mindset of how you want to play, and how you are going to react when things don't go your way. If you make a mistake, you have to bounce back. If things aren't going the way the offense wants things to go, you have to do your part to make the offense roll again. When Ben gets in, he does a great job. Coach DeBoer and the staff, we all trust one another. I think we do a great job at communicating and doing the right thing. I support Ben and Ben supports me. I think it is really productive and something that we can build on as a team. All that matters is getting wins and doing what's right for the program."
On his communication with OC Ryan Grubb...
"We do a great job communicating. He listens to what I have to say, and I trust him to do his part and integrate it. It comes down to being really good communicators. When you have a quarterback, a head coach and an offensive coordinator who communicate in a way that is productive for the team, we can bounce ideas off of each other and see what is working. I think it's just going to continue to improve. I have been repping this offense for two months total and we knew there were going to be growing pains, and things that we were going to have to see in order to get better. I trust all of them. We have to keep building on it."
Kevin Atkins, Fresno State defensive tackle
On the win...
"It propels us forward and shows us how good of a team we can be when we come together and play to our full potential."
On recovering after giving up a big play to Utah State...
"Never lose hope. Just keep playing and don't let anything kill our energy. It really gave us a lot of energy when Evan Williams got that blocked PAT."
On the defensive line putting pressure on the quarterback...
"We work together as a unit. It is not just one person, it's a unit. We work as a piece of the puzzle to the whole defense."
On having a second half shutout...
"We preached all week about finishing and playing until the whistle. That is what we did."
On the defensive scheme...
"It is coming along great. We implemented a lot of new things. We take it day by day and learn everything that they throw at us."