Fresno State-Nevada Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Jeff Tedford
On the win tonight…
"Thee defense played excellent, you know the whole game. I thought they did a nice job of pressuring the passer and played good in the second, got two picks so that was nice. But they did a nice job of flying around and doing a nice job at containing them."
On Camryn Bracha…
"I haven’t seen his stats yet but it seems like he was all over the place, he blitzed really well, though he made some nice plays in the secondary. We were down a couple guys tonight so Dean Clark didn’t play and then Kosi he went out in pre-game and so gave some of the other guys an opportunity to get in there and I thought Bracha and Comstock really stepped up."
On Jaelen Gill…
"Well I didn't know he was that fast, when he hit the sideline over there I didn’t know what they’re angles were and he really turned it on so he played well, caught some tough balls in traffic too, made some key first down for us. Yeah I thought he did a nice job of stepping up tonight. EB [Erik Brooks] got a little banged up there on one of the punt returns so other guys needed to step up."
On Malik Sherrod…
"We always play to the whistle, he rolled over, you know you have to hit the ground, he rolled over a player and it was heads up by him not to put his elbow down. I think he put his hand down but that’s legal and very heads up play by him."
On Levelle Bailey…
"Well his leadership is awesome and he plays well every week. I don't know what the stats look like but, he is our leader. He’s our vocal leader for the whole team not just for the defense but for the whole team. Works really hard in practice you know he epitomizes what Bulldog football is all about. That's to work hard all week long and then come out and play, play a solid game. Like I said I haven't seen that stats yet but he always plays well."
On adjustments after the first drive of the game…
"This is the same thing, I don’t know, I think we had it down there where we got the ball with five minutes and 32 seconds to go in the first quarter so they sustained drives, they got it on fourth and short and converted their fourth and shorts. The quarterback run was really their main effective offense in the first drive. It’s always difficult playing a quarterback who can run like that you know cause they spread you out and even when you have people covered, he’ll scramble and go make positive yards and then they have some designed runs for him as well. So I thought he did a nice job and we started getting after him pretty good. I'm not sure he was 100% through the game cause I think we hit him a few times pretty good, but I think He’s a very strong competitor. That’s a good football team. Their defense, I was very concerned going into this game cause their defense is very solid, very tough to run the ball against and I thought they did a good job most of the night of shutting us down in the run game and putting a lot of pressure on our passer. I have a lot of respect for them and what they did and how they plan and how they play on defense."
On sustaining drives…
"Taking sacks, I think we got ourselves in some bad situations of giving ground, we need to learn how to throw the football away at times and not trying to make big plays every single play. If something breaks down lets get rid of the ball and line up again. We’re in some pretty, I think early on we had some pretty poor field position too, we started backed up a few times but then tacking sacks, we just need to throw the ball away."
On the sacks…
"Mikey's the one with the ball in his hands so yeah but, he's trying to make a play, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. He’s trying to scramble and get out of there and make some plays, sometimes he’s made big plays doing that. That's just a feel, it's an experience thing of knowing when you can get out and make a play, and knowing when you need to throw the football away."
On Morice Norris…
"Great, yeah I thought he did a really nice job, he’s an effective blitzer for sure he's really good in the run game. Nice to see him get an interception as well. He got a little banged up tonight we’re going to really have to take care of our body’s cause we probably had four guys that didn’t play. Isaiah hurt his leg in the very first series, like I said Cam Lockridge didn’t play, Kosi went out in pregame, Dean Clark didn’t play, he’s had a foot injury all week long. We had a lot of guys that were banged up and EB’s [Erik Brooks] a little bit banged up now. We got a lot of guys right now that are banged up so we have to get healthy quick cause we’re getting ready to go play a really physical Wyoming football team."
Morice Norris Jr., Sr., NKL
First career pick…
“It’s a great feeling, I wanted to for sure get one this game. Having my guys out, cam always gets his hands on the ball I knew I had to step up and get my hands on the ball a little bit more.”
“It’s a great feeling, I’m going to put those gloves in my draw and keep them forever.”
On the defense…
“It’s fun when it’s clicking, on that type of level you are getting them out quick. All the guys are popping off and doing their thing. It’s a great feeling to be out there with those guys. The plays are fun to do.”
“I am worried about myself and my team!”
On being a great teammate…
“Told the guy’s todays the day, this is the game. Be the man you’re supposed to be. All those guys stepped up; everybody did a great job today.”
On Wyoming...
“We have been looking forward to this match up since before we got into conference. We knew we were going to have to play them and that they are going to be physical, but we are going to be more physical. Do our job, play dog defense and at the end of the day we are going to get that dub.”
“We all know the goal, our position and where we want to be at. We are going to take that hunger and drive to the field.”
On how you’re feeling…
“Always feels good to come off clean on some blitzes. I need to make all three of the opportunities next time, not just one. I feel good, I’m going to get back there a lot more.”
Jaelen Gill WR senior
Thoughts on how the day went…
“We just executed like we usually do, we run that play a lot in practice so we just went out there and did what we do best and executed it.”
On the first half…
“The first half we barely had the ball so it was all about going out there and making the plays that come to you and making routine plays whenever we could. Went out there and executed those big plays whenever we could.”
On the big plays…
“The touchdown I made coming out of the back field honestly wasn’t one I score a lot on in practice, but that's usually how it works. There are a lot of plays you run in practice, but it's usually the guy who never gets it in practice. That’s kinda how that went today.”
“I saw one guy that had an angle on me during my touchdown, but I wasn’t looking for anyone to come get me, I saw that green grass and just went for the run.”
On the team dynamic…
“The coaches do a great job here with everybody. I came here to try to be a difference maker and join some games and they're giving me opportunities. I'm just trying to go out there and make the most of them.”
On how you’re feeling…
“It's a great feeling getting the win this week but we have a big week ahead so we are going to enjoy this one but get back to the drawing board to prepare for next week.”
“I went out there and tried to be myself, Erik Brooks is a great player so I knew I had to step up, even with his injury he went out and made some great plays, he's a fighter, a great player, and teammate.”
“They were putting some pressure on us from the beginning but it was nothing we couldn't handle, it was more of a matter of finishing some of those drives and going out there and executing like we all know how to do.”
“I'm having a lot of fun out here at Fresno State and i'm enjoying myself, it's a great vibe in the locker room, great players on the team, great people on the staff.”
Camryn Bracha, Jr., DB
On having a game like this as a Fresno State Bulldog being a Valley boy…
"It’s been a dream come true. I’ve dreamed about these games since I was a kid, and at the end of the day the biggest thing is making my team proud. Growing up here in the valley, I harped that I was “Bulldog Born, Bulldog Bred”, so it’s just been a blessing to be here for sure, praise God at the end of the day for nights like this, but yeah it’s been a ride and I never gave up, that was the biggest thing."
On what made him so successful in his plays today…
"At the end of the day, it was just to trust my team had me. I knew I was gonna get the call today, and you know it was the first step, first start for the little kid from Clovis, so it was surreal. At the end of the day my teammates just before the game instilled their trust in me and that allowed me to trust myself, so being able to be out there with their trust gave me the trust in myself and at the end of the day I just want to make my team proud. It’s always a good day to win as a Bulldog, so making my team proud, my family proud, my home crowd proud, there’s nothing like playing in that stadium. It was surreal, it was an emotional ride before the game, but my teammates picked me up and they showed their trust in me and they believed in my ability and that was the biggest thing for me in allowing me to trust myself. It always goes back to my teammates, Coach Coyle getting us ready, and all the position coaches. We’re blessed with a great staff here, so at the end of the day they’re putting us in the right positions- they players play, but the coaches are the ones setting us up to win, so shout out to Coach for sure for giving us a great game plan and allowing us to go out there and win."
On which teammates he had to lean on getting ready for his first start…
"Carlton Johnson for sure, Johnny Hudson, Levelle Bailey, Malachi Langley, I mean the list goes on, the whole defense, Coach Coyle, Coach JD before the games they were encouraging me- there’s really nothing like the brotherhood we have here. I know you hear that from everybody, but it’s really surreal and especially on this defense, it’s a brotherhood. There’s not just one guy that was picking me up, it was every single guy out there telling me they believed in me. At the end of the day, the joy they had for me and how I played and how I made them proud was the biggest thing for me, it was surreal."
On how much fun it is to play…
"Oh my gosh it’s a blast. It’s fun in itself to be out there in front of that crowd every week we’re home. I was so stoked we were home this week, I actually thought we were away since we were home last week and to hear we were home two weeks in a row, that was just a joy. There’s really nothing like playing in front of that crowd- you hear it from us and you hear it from the people that come in here and that’s the truth. The Red Wave always shows out."
On how much advance notice he had for playing today…
"It was kind of week to week but it goes back to the spring, the summer, the winter, and it all snowballed into today. I knew if I got the call I was going to be ready, they’ve prepared me since day one. You could say it was short notice but I worked for this all from the winter, so I was ready."
On Dean telling him about coming into this game…
"It was kind of like the elephant in the room I guess you could say, but if he was going to go then he was going to go, and I was going to be ready for my shot. If he wasn’t then I was going to have his back, and hopefully play as good as he could play, he’s a heck of a player and someone we need on our defense. Him, Steve, that whole safety room has guided me for tonight, it’s a testament to how tight that room is."
On hearing his name on the loudspeaker…
"I didn’t know what to do with myself when I made a play, I was so excited and being able to hear that, even last week was so cool. I’m just happy to make my family proud and everyone around me proud, I know they’re so excited for me and that’s just a dream come true."