Cal Poly at Fresno State: Quotes
Head Coach Kalen DeBoer
On biggest takeaway from the game...
"Yeah, I think it was a great performance by our team all around, defense continues to be stingy, love the way they just play consistently through the course of the game. Really the only touchdown was the short field. We got a turnover that, again, in the first quarter that, early in the game that really gets the red wave rocking and gets a lot of momentum back on our side so, special teams, I think our kicking game continues to be consistent and solid. We’ve got Meono out there, we’ve got Montano and Meono. Those guys continue to do a good job and replace and filling in for Cesar. I thought it was a good team effort all around. The offense when it gets rolling is pretty tough to stop and you can see there’s a lot of different playmakers making plays and great to get Jaylen out there at the end of the game for the last quarter, quarter and a half. I think those are huge reps for us, just for him, if he has to be put out there in a situation obviously, we don’t want to be in, he showed what he’s capable of doing at least on some level. There’ll be some great things for him to learn from and probably got a little of those nerves behind him now and can learn from it. Great experience for him as well."
On offense starting slowly...
"I think it’s different each game. I think the first game we were probably a little amped up, I think the second game we got caught in some tough matchups and there was some crowd noise, and I think this game we probably pressed a little bit. So I think it’s something different, you can’t get caught up in it to where you’re pressing. I now Jake was pressing a little bit, just wants to get going, they want it so bad. These guys want it extremely bad; they want to be great and perform well and showcase what they’re capable of doing, from the beginning to the end. we got to just go about our business. You can’t let it affect your play calling and we always try to get the ball spread around and get it to different guys early in the game and show a couple different looks. We have to continue to do that and do what we’ve always done."
On Kevin Atkins...
"I think just in general Kevin is a guy that’s been here for so long in his career, He’s been so solid in his entire time here and he continues to do that. I think he’s playing at an extremely high level. There are some plays watching the film last weekend when I flipped it on Sunday and I’m like wow, Kevin’s really causing some problems in the backfield along with the other guy’s up front. Today, like you said, the guys upfront are going to really make life a lot easier for us in the back half of the defense. He’s got amazing attitude, he’s a team-first guy. He continues to work on just being better technically, physically and I’m super proud of him. He is an awesome teammate for our guys. I can’t say enough about how Kevin has just continued to evolve since we have been here the last two years."
On Kelly returning from injury...
"I don’t think it was anything serious, I saw he had a spat and I asked what was wrong and I don’t think there’s anything too major. It was a big play right there, he got back out there and performed and was just fine the rest of the game."
On Jalen Cropper at QB...
"The double pass, that was pretty impressive actually, he went from one read to the next and back to where he started with some pressure in his face. He’s trying to set himself up to be the all-time highest efficiency rating in Bulldog history amongst the greats who have played here, He’s already taking about that so maybe a couple more attempts to get him on the list is what he needs. It was pretty impressive what he did honestly and again it’s what Jalen does. I thought the run that he had early in the game to the left that came to our sideline, a lot of spinning, made some guys miss, gave us a great spark there and on that drive, we ended up scoring. That was our first touchdown.
On Henderson as backup QB...
"I think he has continued to develop and evolve. I don’t think he was ready in the first game to step out there. He needed to see what it looks like and what it feels like. You saw what he is capable of doing. He rolls out and throws a strike across the middle. He can get the ball out quick to the perimeter and then when things break down his decision making on a couple things, 3rd and one, we ran an RPO, he decides to pull up and throw and those are the things that were going to learn from and talk about. He will be better because of it. When we really need him, he’s ready to go. I thought he did a really nice job. When he decides to take off, he is a little different than most guys so it’s fun to see him run."
On preparing for UCLA...
"I look at the composite of all three weeks and see he we are stead and consistent. There is a physical toughness that we are trying to continue to have. We proved that last week and we continue to have that especially when you think about what were giving up run game on defense. Last week, we made it hard, almost impossible week one. And 35 rushes for 53 yards again tonight. When you can do that with your defense up front, that’s going to set you up for a lot of good things. That physical toughness that we want to have is going to continue to carry us through the season. We’ve got to always improve, and I challenge the guys with that. The mental toughness is the piece that last week was really challenged. We didn’t execute it as well as we wanted at times, ball security and so forth. It’s obviously been documented very well but our mental toughness and our character in those times was challenged, and we continue to thrive and today again I think we were very steady. We don’t have a glazed look in our eyes when things aren’t going right, we get back to work and I know that’s what our guys are going to do again this week. They are motivated because we know what we are capable of doing and becoming. The word “potential” is a scary word. I know that this team will put in the work because of the character we have."
On Jake Haener’s mental toughness...
"I think two things, one: Jake is an extremely competitive person. The plays that don’t go perfectly, I’m not even talking about the ones that aren’t successful, but the ones that don’t go perfectly, he is trying to make it better and trying to fix it. Second: hearing talk just a few minutes ago and taking ownership in it and being critical of himself, that says a lot about the type of leadership we have on this team. It’s not just him, there’s other guys as well. Every guy that didn’t play as well as they could have and made mistakes, they own up to it. When you have a culture where ownership is there and its player led, that’s when you can have a special team and I think that’s what were on the verge of doing. We just have to keep building and stick together. The chemistry is where it needs to be, but I know that even when we look at the end of the season, I hope it’s a lot better than where it’s at now."
On team depth and how super-senior year...
"A lot of teams are deeper because of that, it isn’t going to be just us. I do think that that’s something that we take a lot of pride in. I challenge the guys for it to make a difference in the third and fourth quarter. I challenge for it to be a difference maker in our special teams. If we are this deep of a football team, those should be areas where we thrive, and I think that’s shown up. When we’ve been good for the entire game, strong in the third and fourth quarter. I think our special teams have done a really good job."
On how valuable playing time is for freshmen...
"It’s fun to see those guys because a guy like Julius Lewis the last two weeks honestly, he gives everything he has. That guy got team player of the week the first two week, two for two. This week was no different. TO see those guys, give everything they’ve got, Braylen was the same way on offense. It’s fun to get those guys on the field and see what they are going to be. They are going to be extremely good football players and have a great career here, there’s no question."
Jake Haener, Sr., QB
On the offense…
“We came into the week focusing on ourselves and what we could do well this week. You want to start fast no matter who the opponent is. The past three weeks we have failed to start fast on offense. We haven’t put ourselves in the best positions going into the middle of the first quarter. Next week, I want to challenge the guys to start faster. We need to put the ball in the end zone on the first or second possession. When we give the ball over to the other team, we are just giving them more chances. I want to see us start faster.”
“Next week, we need to come out and be physical. I need to be better in the beginning of the game so that we can start faster. I need to get the ball out of my hands and get it into a playmaker’s hands. It starts with me. I need to get the offense rolling an move the ball up and down the field. I need to take ownership of that and do a better job.”
On the receivers…
“Those guys are really explosive. I think everyone across the country is starting to see how explosive those guys are when they have the ball in their hands. They make me look good and they make my job a lot easier. I’m grateful to have those studs outside running routes for me. They are explosive guys and they are just getting more experience. I’m proud of them.”
On his two rushing touchdowns…
“The first one was a read. The second one was a dead play from miscommunication on a screen that didn’t go our way. After that, I just decided to tuck it and try to get in the end zone. It worked out. You never like those kind of plays because you aren’t executing at a high level. With the guys that we have, we should be able to execute at a really high level every snap. We will get that cleaned up this week and move on to UCLA.”
On the crowd…
“I thought it was a great atmosphere in Bulldog Stadium tonight, especially to have the student section packed. We got to score a couple touchdowns in front of the student section which was pretty surreal for us to have that feeling again. It’s a really special feeling. Shoutout to the students for getting that section packed and to the rest of the Red Wave for coming out tonight and being loud for us. It makes such a big impact on the game. Especially on third downs and when the other team has the ball. I want the fans to know that they play a huge role in these wins and how much we appreciate them.”
On last week’s loss to Oregon…
“I thought I let the team down at the end of the game. I could have done a better job at protecting the ball in key situations. I know what I could have done better. I am taking that and learning from it. This week, I just wanted to execute. That’s what it comes down to and that’s what really good offenses do. I thought we did a good job tonight after the slow start. We started executing and getting the ball in the playmaker’s hands.”
Kevin Atkins, Sr., DT
About the energy in the stadium...
“It was great having a crowd out there. It really does give us that energy and disrupts the offenses as well. Especially having a sold out student section, they get real loud. That was a big night. Especially running out with that flag and showing people that we represent more than just football and more than just a sport. It’s more of a community and family, and tonight we showed that.”
About the defense's performances in the past three weeks...
“I feel like we still have things to work on. We are showing that we are able to compete with anyone. Just like coach Pat Hill says, ‘Any time, any place, anywhere.’ It shows that every day we go out there and work. I think we work harder than anyone we compete against.”
About takeaways from the Ohio and Oregon game...
“I was really more focused on what we had to do today. I watched a little of it and seen a couple of clips. That was about it.”
About confidence from tonight's game going into the UCLA game...
“The same thing I see every week. We play with a swagger, we play with confidence. We just feel like, as I said, we can compete with anyone. I feel like there is nothing that can break that down. We have a tight bond.”
About the defense's performance tonight…
“I give us a solid B. We have things to improve on, as we’ll see in film, and we have things we can correct. When we watch film we’ll see what mistakes we made and what mistakes can be better.”
About emotions from last Saturday compared to today...
“It's not so much of an emotional thing. I feel like every week we prepare for the opponent the same. We go out there, we work. Every day we just train and prepare. It was just Oregon, there was no difference.”
About what we can expect next Saturday...
“We’ll just come out there with the same energy. We are coming ready to play. There won't be a change in anything. We are going to have the same energy, come out with the same tenacity, and the same attitude that we play with every week.”
About what others need to watch out for from the defensive team...
“I know a lot of people might overlook us and say we might be a smaller team. But I feel like as a whole unit, the defense is sometimes overlooked. Like when we go and play out there and people feel us, the physical part that we really harp on, trying to be the toughest ones out there. When we say Bulldog football we really mean it. We’re going out there to play Bulldog football, no matter who we play.”
Jalen Cropper, Jr., WR
On the offense it around after a slow start...
“Jake came and talked to us and told us we needed to turn it around. The first couple of games, we came out slow. He told us that we can’t keep coming out slow. We just gotta start fast you know. We just got to play the ball in the right playmaker's hands. And we just have that little spark of energy, and that’s what happens.”
On proving a point after a loss...
“Definitely, you know just coming off a loss, there’s an extra chip on the shoulder. We just came with the 1-0 mindset as I said for all week. Coach Grubb and Coach DeBoer pitched it all week, just going 1-0 every day.”
On Oregon beating Ohio State...
“Yeah, we were all watching that game today. We saw the energy that Oregon had today. They came out and went 1-0. We had a close game with them last week, and that shows us the potential that we have on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. We are going to bring that confidence into next week playing UCLA."
On the crowd...
“Man, we loved it. Everybody was getting excited with the music going and you could just see the energy. We loved the energy of the crowd. It brings a different type of energy to the field and to the team. It brings us a lot of confidence knowing that the Red Wave is watching us and supporting us."