Fresno State Athletics
UNLV at Fresno State: Quotes
Head Coach Kalen DeBoer
On the team’s overall performance…
“Find a way, right? That’s what it’s all about. It wasn’t pretty at times, but you have to tip your hat to UNLV as well. There is no question that they are a better team than what their record shows. Their schedule has two top 25 teams earlier and one of the better teams in the FCS that got away from one of those games. Knew they’d come in swinging and playing hard. They did a nice job with some things, just little adjustments, some things that maybe they hadn’t shown on offense much, if any, especially the screen game and some of those things. We have to adjust better and quicker. Offense got caught behind chains at times, just not being able to run the football but we found a way to win and found a way to get the ball in the air and score in the second half. There’s no question the guys in that locker room care so much and sometimes they maybe care too much, and they just have to go out there and have fun and play ball. Proud of this team because the way they kept playing until the very end. There are some lessons were going to learn, there’s some things were going to be able to get better at from watching the film but it’s obviously better to do that coming off a win than coming off a loss."
On the shift in offensive momentum…
“One thing this team has, when times get tough, we’ll find a way to keep fighting and keep playing. Pretty proud of the way the guys finished out the game.
On Cropper and Haener’s connection…
“Obviously, the touchdown catches were all big ones. He is becoming a complete receiver. He is not just this fast guy that’s running around that you just get the ball in his hands. He’s winning but running good routes and getting just enough separation. Finding a way to pull the ball in in traffic and I thought a lot of our receivers did that. You know Keric made some nice catches on some crossing routes. Josh did as well when we needed it, so they did a nice job securing the ball. There were some hard hits going there. One guy wraps you up and you spin out of one and here comes another guy. We took care of the ball in that way.”
On Haener bouncing back from the physicality of last week…
“There is something about what Jake does where he’s just going to fight. It all comes down to zoom focusing in on what’s in front of you, just picking yourself back up. It’s a fight, it’s a competitiveness that he has and a spirit that he has that we rally around. He rallies around a lot of the other guys that do that same thing, the big plays and the big catches. There were just guys making plays for each other. You don’t throw for 378 by accident, that’s for sure.”
On adjusting to being a ranked team…
“We have certainly addressed that people are going to come after us. I really feel like the guys put a great week of work in. I think it’s a limited week of work, it was a short week, and you try to simplify the game plan but there’s some things that our coaches do schematically on both sides of the ball to where when you have an extra day you can put in a couple more wrinkles and we have a group now that can execute those wrinkles. That’s why we thrived on some of those bug games, we had that extra day.”
On mindset going into the week as a ranked team…
“We are going to get everyone’s best. A night like tonight, I don’t think it’s a wakeup call, I don’t want to say that because that means that we didn’t do what we needed to do in preparation for this week. But it certainly shows that we need to be ready to play our best and we certainly have to keep getting better, because what we did tonight won’t get us where we want to be.”
On Keric’s performance…
“That big catch he had in the middle of the field in the third quarter, that was a huge spark for us. That’s what he does, that’s a huge piece that he gives to our team and the number one thing that I love is that he caught it first, because everyone wants to score and probably could have taken his eyes off and moved quicker but the key is to get us out of our own territory, and he caught the ball first and he found a way to get down. I think Jake threw It about as far as he could throw it. I’m proud of those guys for having confidence to take another shot and make the play.”
On atmosphere at Bulldog Stadium…
“Man, it was awesome. We can’t say enough about how it feels to walk into a stadium, coming down the ramp in the third quarter. These guys want to do it so bad for the Red Wave and they love hearing that place rockin’ so thank you so much to the Red Wave. We’ll keep working hard to make you proud.”
Jalen Cropper, Jr., WR
About the relationship between Jalen and Jake Haener...
“I just feel like there is a lot of trust between me and Jake on and off the field. I think going through summer, spring ball, and fall camp we had a lot of practices, a lot of time, a lot of chances where we were able to connect on certain plays. Getting in the film room and studying a lot of the film on opponents this season, and I feel like just everything we do from on and off the field to whatever we do with our relationship. I think that ties in to what we do on the field.”
About Jalen’s response to Keric’s performance...
“You know we always tell each other, play your game. At the end of the day you're here on a scholarship for a reason and you're playing for a reason. So just show why they can trust us on the field with the ball in our hands.”
About the play that changed the team’s momentum...
“I would say in that first half we ran a fly sweep and we came out of Cal Poly and that first fly sweep was the play that got us going. We just need that first, first down, we need that energy – we need a highlight play. Coach Grubb is able to trust me with plays like that. I feel like I bring that certain type of energy to the team, to the offense especially. Coming out slow, coming out flat like that in these last couple of weeks. We just got to go through the weeks, through practices, and stuff like that and just work on starting fast. Coach Grubb always tells us starting fast is the main thing we need to do. In these past couple of games we weren't able to do that so something has to change when it comes to the first drive of the game.”
About what this game means to them...
“It definitely motivated us more to just not take any opponent lightly. We came off a win off of UCLA last week, and we came in this week knowing that we were playing a 0-3 team. It was certainly different, we didn't overlook them, but they came out with the fire knowing that we’re a ranked team. We’re going to get the best effort out of everybody we play this season. It’s conference play now so everybody wants to go 1-0 every week and there’s certain games that everybody’s going to play differently.”
Aaron Mosby, Sr., DE
On tonight’s game coming off last week’s thrilling road victory at UCLA
“For this game, I’ll just say it was a humbling moment for our team, you know. Coming off a big win, you have people pumping you up, your head’s in the sky and stuff like that. Going into a conference play, everyone wants that title and adversity hit. Like I said, it was great to see our team keep fighting and come out with a victory.”
On the defense’s mindset coming after halftime
“Really, just keep playing football. Football is a four quarter game. And how they came out at halftime, it hit us again. And we were like ‘okay, we’re gonna have a long day.’ So, just us and our defensive mentality - just try to get the ball back to that dominant offense that we do have. And that strip sack was a perfect time and place for it and the team needed it.”
On facing a different offensive style that team wasn’t used to and that shifted in the fourth quarter…
“It was really, just you know, having adjustments. You obviously have to make adjustments to your defense and our coaches did that at halftime... Charles, I give props to him. He was running hard and our defense turned it on at the end at the perfect time that we needed it. But, we gotta get back to the drawing boards and gotta get better because we’re not supposed to have a hundred yards of rushing on our defense. So, we’re gonna get ready.”
On mindset and game plan for the next week…
“Just take every practice and every rep. Like, we were playing against a dominant Oregon team or a top 5 team in the nation or something like that. So, really just take every rep like we’re gonna go into a battle and hopefully the rest take care of itself.”
On the team’s overall performance…
“Find a way, right? That’s what it’s all about. It wasn’t pretty at times, but you have to tip your hat to UNLV as well. There is no question that they are a better team than what their record shows. Their schedule has two top 25 teams earlier and one of the better teams in the FCS that got away from one of those games. Knew they’d come in swinging and playing hard. They did a nice job with some things, just little adjustments, some things that maybe they hadn’t shown on offense much, if any, especially the screen game and some of those things. We have to adjust better and quicker. Offense got caught behind chains at times, just not being able to run the football but we found a way to win and found a way to get the ball in the air and score in the second half. There’s no question the guys in that locker room care so much and sometimes they maybe care too much, and they just have to go out there and have fun and play ball. Proud of this team because the way they kept playing until the very end. There are some lessons were going to learn, there’s some things were going to be able to get better at from watching the film but it’s obviously better to do that coming off a win than coming off a loss."
On the shift in offensive momentum…
“One thing this team has, when times get tough, we’ll find a way to keep fighting and keep playing. Pretty proud of the way the guys finished out the game.
On Cropper and Haener’s connection…
“Obviously, the touchdown catches were all big ones. He is becoming a complete receiver. He is not just this fast guy that’s running around that you just get the ball in his hands. He’s winning but running good routes and getting just enough separation. Finding a way to pull the ball in in traffic and I thought a lot of our receivers did that. You know Keric made some nice catches on some crossing routes. Josh did as well when we needed it, so they did a nice job securing the ball. There were some hard hits going there. One guy wraps you up and you spin out of one and here comes another guy. We took care of the ball in that way.”
On Haener bouncing back from the physicality of last week…
“There is something about what Jake does where he’s just going to fight. It all comes down to zoom focusing in on what’s in front of you, just picking yourself back up. It’s a fight, it’s a competitiveness that he has and a spirit that he has that we rally around. He rallies around a lot of the other guys that do that same thing, the big plays and the big catches. There were just guys making plays for each other. You don’t throw for 378 by accident, that’s for sure.”
On adjusting to being a ranked team…
“We have certainly addressed that people are going to come after us. I really feel like the guys put a great week of work in. I think it’s a limited week of work, it was a short week, and you try to simplify the game plan but there’s some things that our coaches do schematically on both sides of the ball to where when you have an extra day you can put in a couple more wrinkles and we have a group now that can execute those wrinkles. That’s why we thrived on some of those bug games, we had that extra day.”
On mindset going into the week as a ranked team…
“We are going to get everyone’s best. A night like tonight, I don’t think it’s a wakeup call, I don’t want to say that because that means that we didn’t do what we needed to do in preparation for this week. But it certainly shows that we need to be ready to play our best and we certainly have to keep getting better, because what we did tonight won’t get us where we want to be.”
On Keric’s performance…
“That big catch he had in the middle of the field in the third quarter, that was a huge spark for us. That’s what he does, that’s a huge piece that he gives to our team and the number one thing that I love is that he caught it first, because everyone wants to score and probably could have taken his eyes off and moved quicker but the key is to get us out of our own territory, and he caught the ball first and he found a way to get down. I think Jake threw It about as far as he could throw it. I’m proud of those guys for having confidence to take another shot and make the play.”
On atmosphere at Bulldog Stadium…
“Man, it was awesome. We can’t say enough about how it feels to walk into a stadium, coming down the ramp in the third quarter. These guys want to do it so bad for the Red Wave and they love hearing that place rockin’ so thank you so much to the Red Wave. We’ll keep working hard to make you proud.”
Jalen Cropper, Jr., WR
About the relationship between Jalen and Jake Haener...
“I just feel like there is a lot of trust between me and Jake on and off the field. I think going through summer, spring ball, and fall camp we had a lot of practices, a lot of time, a lot of chances where we were able to connect on certain plays. Getting in the film room and studying a lot of the film on opponents this season, and I feel like just everything we do from on and off the field to whatever we do with our relationship. I think that ties in to what we do on the field.”
About Jalen’s response to Keric’s performance...
“You know we always tell each other, play your game. At the end of the day you're here on a scholarship for a reason and you're playing for a reason. So just show why they can trust us on the field with the ball in our hands.”
About the play that changed the team’s momentum...
“I would say in that first half we ran a fly sweep and we came out of Cal Poly and that first fly sweep was the play that got us going. We just need that first, first down, we need that energy – we need a highlight play. Coach Grubb is able to trust me with plays like that. I feel like I bring that certain type of energy to the team, to the offense especially. Coming out slow, coming out flat like that in these last couple of weeks. We just got to go through the weeks, through practices, and stuff like that and just work on starting fast. Coach Grubb always tells us starting fast is the main thing we need to do. In these past couple of games we weren't able to do that so something has to change when it comes to the first drive of the game.”
About what this game means to them...
“It definitely motivated us more to just not take any opponent lightly. We came off a win off of UCLA last week, and we came in this week knowing that we were playing a 0-3 team. It was certainly different, we didn't overlook them, but they came out with the fire knowing that we’re a ranked team. We’re going to get the best effort out of everybody we play this season. It’s conference play now so everybody wants to go 1-0 every week and there’s certain games that everybody’s going to play differently.”
Aaron Mosby, Sr., DE
On tonight’s game coming off last week’s thrilling road victory at UCLA
“For this game, I’ll just say it was a humbling moment for our team, you know. Coming off a big win, you have people pumping you up, your head’s in the sky and stuff like that. Going into a conference play, everyone wants that title and adversity hit. Like I said, it was great to see our team keep fighting and come out with a victory.”
On the defense’s mindset coming after halftime
“Really, just keep playing football. Football is a four quarter game. And how they came out at halftime, it hit us again. And we were like ‘okay, we’re gonna have a long day.’ So, just us and our defensive mentality - just try to get the ball back to that dominant offense that we do have. And that strip sack was a perfect time and place for it and the team needed it.”
On facing a different offensive style that team wasn’t used to and that shifted in the fourth quarter…
“It was really, just you know, having adjustments. You obviously have to make adjustments to your defense and our coaches did that at halftime... Charles, I give props to him. He was running hard and our defense turned it on at the end at the perfect time that we needed it. But, we gotta get back to the drawing boards and gotta get better because we’re not supposed to have a hundred yards of rushing on our defense. So, we’re gonna get ready.”
On mindset and game plan for the next week…
“Just take every practice and every rep. Like, we were playing against a dominant Oregon team or a top 5 team in the nation or something like that. So, really just take every rep like we’re gonna go into a battle and hopefully the rest take care of itself.”