Fresno State Athletics
Nevada-Fresno State postgame quotes
Fresno State Head Coach Kalen DeBoer
Kalen DeBoer on today’s performance…
“I guess if you want to watch a game till the last second just come watch us play, right? About every game comes down to the last drive. Proud of the guys, it was a lot of what we thought. The momentum swings and knowing what they had offensively, just trying to find a way to get off the field was hard at times, but the defense got it done with some big plays. Probably not how you want to draw it up at the end, but we got the stop, and it's probably the best team game I think we’ve played. You think about even Cesar’s kicks that were huge in the 4thquarter. The offense getting it down in there far enough to be able to kick it. Just really proud of the defense, Perales with the strip-sack. Even though we didn’t get a first down, it’s another couple of minutes come off the clock and makes life tough for them. But credit to them, they’re a really good football team. We knew they were going to fight; they had a lot to play for just like we do. What a game.”
On defense performance…
“I just love the way they’re coming out and playing with confidence and playing together. Setting the tone early. It's hard because offenses are always going to show you and little wrinkle here and there. A game plan like we had tonight, we had a lot of three down rushes, that’s not something that we do a lot of and so from the beginning of the week, I thought the coaching staff did a nice job of committing to that being an additional part of our game plan and putting in a lot of different looks that require different personnel that is going to be in some different spots. Extra defensive backs in the game, some young guys at times, in the end, there were some times where those young guys got picked on a little bit but they also came through with some big plays and so I am really proud of the defense and how we can go from one week playing a team like Wyoming and having to play smashmouth and get after them upfront and then going against a team that’s going to be wide open, spreading the line all over the place and doing a good job of keeping things under wraps.”
On Surviving and advancing…
“It’s just one step at a time, one foot in front of the other. That’s all we're concerned about now, moving on and playing San Diego State who we know is a phenomenal football team and we are going to have our hands full again in a much different way, right, it’s just different types of teams that were playing. From schemes to personnel. Tomorrow’s going to be fun, we'll celebrate and learn from things we need to improve on and also learn from the successes that we had today as well. It’s going to be an awesome week for prep. The guys are going to have just as much energy if not more than we had this week. The momentum again, that’s going. We had a little blip on the radar a couple weeks ago. Other than that, I thought we’ve been doing a pretty good job stringing things along and continue to get better.”
David Perales, Sr., DE
About wearing his cowboy hat during the pre-game 'March to Victory' and post-game press conference…
“Our team decided to dress up today, and I thought it would be a perfect fit for the valley. Trying to represent.”
About the defensive performance...
“Everybody was playing so hard. I am so proud that everyone gave it their all. We went through a tough time when they scored, and everyone just stuck together and finished the game off. The offense was doing a great job scoring. We have to go on the field and stop them, and at some point that didn't happen. We just kept our head up and we just kept on chopping wood, and we got a big stop.”
About what this game meant to them...
“It meant a lot. A lot of our families came today, to perform in front of them and the fans. It’s just a good opportunity to make the best of our opportunities.”
About big plays firing up the team...
“I was pass rushing the previous two drives. I was just going power, trying to bull him. I bull-rushed him for the like five straight pass rushes. I knew that he was going to try and lean on me because I was bringing that pressure. So I just went for a swipe move and that’s how I got the free release on him.”
About focusing on the next must-win game...
“We need to treat every team with the same respect. We’re not going to take anybody lightly. We’re just going to practice hard and our coaches are going to get us right for the game. We’re just going to study film and get us right.”
Jordan Mims, Sr., RB
On when he realized he was having a pretty special game…
“I really wasn’t thinking about it, nor really thought about it. If I had 134 yards or not. I just took every play and tried to execute what I had to do.”
On being mentally prepared for the opportunity…
“I feel pretty good. I obviously put on some more weight and got more explosive and things like that. But for the most part, I feel really good.”
On the win…
“Really big. A West team, we knew what it would take and we got the job done tonight… Just the execution that offense had, and what our offensive line did today. It was really good.
On next week’s game at San Diego State in Carson…
“We know that San Diego (State) is a great team, but this one was an important one. We handled this one today so, 24 hour rule, we’re going to celebrate this win and then scratch it and prepare for San Diego State.”
Jake Haener, Fresno State quarterback
On the balanced attack on offense…
“I thought it was a great team win. We came out, we ran the ball well, and did enough in the pass game to get it done. We made it close at the end, but we’re just happy to get a win.”
On Jordan Mims’ game…
“Yea Jordan stepped up. He’s a great player, great friend of mine, good kid - ran his tail off tonight. He’s the reason we got this win, stepping up the way he did and just being a physical runner and a great ball player. Really proud of him.”
On the game getting close…
“I think we could have done a better job on offense, scoring touchdowns. We had the drives rolling then kind of stalled out at the end, to settle for three. We need to do a better job of finishing when we have the opportunity and when we got it rolling. And that’s me as well making better decisions with the football at times. Overall, it was a great team win but we could have done a little better in certain areas.”
On the significance of the win over Nevada…
“It’s a big game and they have a lot of really good players, so whenever we get a win against a really good West opponent, it’s big. So we knew the implications coming into tonight. And I just kind of had a feeling, the preparation this week was really good, the guys came out each day with a purpose and a plan and we executed on offense during the week. It was a team win, just like it was last week and I couldn’t be more proud of the guys.”
Kalen DeBoer on today’s performance…
“I guess if you want to watch a game till the last second just come watch us play, right? About every game comes down to the last drive. Proud of the guys, it was a lot of what we thought. The momentum swings and knowing what they had offensively, just trying to find a way to get off the field was hard at times, but the defense got it done with some big plays. Probably not how you want to draw it up at the end, but we got the stop, and it's probably the best team game I think we’ve played. You think about even Cesar’s kicks that were huge in the 4thquarter. The offense getting it down in there far enough to be able to kick it. Just really proud of the defense, Perales with the strip-sack. Even though we didn’t get a first down, it’s another couple of minutes come off the clock and makes life tough for them. But credit to them, they’re a really good football team. We knew they were going to fight; they had a lot to play for just like we do. What a game.”
On defense performance…
“I just love the way they’re coming out and playing with confidence and playing together. Setting the tone early. It's hard because offenses are always going to show you and little wrinkle here and there. A game plan like we had tonight, we had a lot of three down rushes, that’s not something that we do a lot of and so from the beginning of the week, I thought the coaching staff did a nice job of committing to that being an additional part of our game plan and putting in a lot of different looks that require different personnel that is going to be in some different spots. Extra defensive backs in the game, some young guys at times, in the end, there were some times where those young guys got picked on a little bit but they also came through with some big plays and so I am really proud of the defense and how we can go from one week playing a team like Wyoming and having to play smashmouth and get after them upfront and then going against a team that’s going to be wide open, spreading the line all over the place and doing a good job of keeping things under wraps.”
On Surviving and advancing…
“It’s just one step at a time, one foot in front of the other. That’s all we're concerned about now, moving on and playing San Diego State who we know is a phenomenal football team and we are going to have our hands full again in a much different way, right, it’s just different types of teams that were playing. From schemes to personnel. Tomorrow’s going to be fun, we'll celebrate and learn from things we need to improve on and also learn from the successes that we had today as well. It’s going to be an awesome week for prep. The guys are going to have just as much energy if not more than we had this week. The momentum again, that’s going. We had a little blip on the radar a couple weeks ago. Other than that, I thought we’ve been doing a pretty good job stringing things along and continue to get better.”
David Perales, Sr., DE
About wearing his cowboy hat during the pre-game 'March to Victory' and post-game press conference…
“Our team decided to dress up today, and I thought it would be a perfect fit for the valley. Trying to represent.”
About the defensive performance...
“Everybody was playing so hard. I am so proud that everyone gave it their all. We went through a tough time when they scored, and everyone just stuck together and finished the game off. The offense was doing a great job scoring. We have to go on the field and stop them, and at some point that didn't happen. We just kept our head up and we just kept on chopping wood, and we got a big stop.”
About what this game meant to them...
“It meant a lot. A lot of our families came today, to perform in front of them and the fans. It’s just a good opportunity to make the best of our opportunities.”
About big plays firing up the team...
“I was pass rushing the previous two drives. I was just going power, trying to bull him. I bull-rushed him for the like five straight pass rushes. I knew that he was going to try and lean on me because I was bringing that pressure. So I just went for a swipe move and that’s how I got the free release on him.”
About focusing on the next must-win game...
“We need to treat every team with the same respect. We’re not going to take anybody lightly. We’re just going to practice hard and our coaches are going to get us right for the game. We’re just going to study film and get us right.”
Jordan Mims, Sr., RB
On when he realized he was having a pretty special game…
“I really wasn’t thinking about it, nor really thought about it. If I had 134 yards or not. I just took every play and tried to execute what I had to do.”
On being mentally prepared for the opportunity…
“I feel pretty good. I obviously put on some more weight and got more explosive and things like that. But for the most part, I feel really good.”
On the win…
“Really big. A West team, we knew what it would take and we got the job done tonight… Just the execution that offense had, and what our offensive line did today. It was really good.
On next week’s game at San Diego State in Carson…
“We know that San Diego (State) is a great team, but this one was an important one. We handled this one today so, 24 hour rule, we’re going to celebrate this win and then scratch it and prepare for San Diego State.”
Jake Haener, Fresno State quarterback
On the balanced attack on offense…
“I thought it was a great team win. We came out, we ran the ball well, and did enough in the pass game to get it done. We made it close at the end, but we’re just happy to get a win.”
On Jordan Mims’ game…
“Yea Jordan stepped up. He’s a great player, great friend of mine, good kid - ran his tail off tonight. He’s the reason we got this win, stepping up the way he did and just being a physical runner and a great ball player. Really proud of him.”
On the game getting close…
“I think we could have done a better job on offense, scoring touchdowns. We had the drives rolling then kind of stalled out at the end, to settle for three. We need to do a better job of finishing when we have the opportunity and when we got it rolling. And that’s me as well making better decisions with the football at times. Overall, it was a great team win but we could have done a little better in certain areas.”
On the significance of the win over Nevada…
“It’s a big game and they have a lot of really good players, so whenever we get a win against a really good West opponent, it’s big. So we knew the implications coming into tonight. And I just kind of had a feeling, the preparation this week was really good, the guys came out each day with a purpose and a plan and we executed on offense during the week. It was a team win, just like it was last week and I couldn’t be more proud of the guys.”