Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State-San Jose State Postgame Quotes
On tonight’s performance…
“How the game started, they hit some passes on us, we wanted to try and see if we could handle these guys and they took advantage of it. Some coverage things, some knowledge of their formations, we just messed that up but we settled down after that. I think Kevin Coyle did a great job mixing the coverages, keeping them off balance. I think we saw three different quarterbacks tonight so we did a great job there. Always on offense, we want to establish the run, they stuffed it a little in the meat of the game, but we started to get it going in the third quarter when we needed to so that was good to see. I thought Mikey did a great job controlling the ball, the players made plays, and we did what we had to do. We got some first downs on third downs, and it was a pretty good game.”
On the Red Wave’s support…
“They were the Black wave tonight. I thought it was awesome, I thought it was great. We felt the energy, it got our sideline going. The guys that aren’t in the game, they got going. It was a ton of energy; it was very electric. Once we got the lead we didn’t look back, we felt the Red Wave, and it was awesome to see and feel. It was great.”
On the defense’s turnovers…
“You know I love turnovers when we’re on defense. That’s what we want, recall defense. Everyone always says get the ball back. That’s our number one thing. We always want to get the ball back. Like I said earlier, I think Kevin Coyle did a great job of mixing up the coverages, keeping them off balance. We took advantage of that and made some plays, it was awesome.”
On winning the Valley trophy back…
“We’re just focused on being 1-0 each week, that’s all we’re focused on right now. We’re in this season and we have to finish it out. We wanted to be 1-0 this week, we accomplished that, next week we need to be 1-0 again. We’re in a 1-0 mindset. It is conference playoffs in our minds, but we know we need to be 1-0 in order to stay in that conversation so that’s the focus.”
On the energy on the sideline…
“Like I said Monday in the press conference, the sideline was going to be juiced. I thought we picked it up last week on the road against Nevada and then it carried over. I thought it increased, so we’re going to see if we can increase it this week. You can definitely feel it, especially when you're at home and the crowd gets into it and stuff. I think execution fuels emotion so as we kept executing, the crowd got into it, the sideline got into it and you could feel it getting better and better and better. We’re going to continue to improve that.”
On Mikey’s performance…
“He’s a veteran guy. Whenever something bad happens, he can tell you exactly what’s happening. That’s what you always want in your quarterback. He always knew what he needed to do, and how to correct it. I thought he did a great job tonight when they dropped eight guys in coverage, he just checked it down, I thought that was phenomenal. He’s a veteran guy, he did a great job.”
On the offensive ability to both throw and run…
“That’s what you want to be able to do, throw and run it. We have some playmakers. You get the ball in those receivers’ hands, they can do some things with it. They can run and get behind guys when they’re playing off coverage. We definitely want to be able to run and throw it, and you saw that tonight.”
On Al’zillion Hamilton’s energy tonight…
“All I can tell you about him is the challenge today was who’s going to be the best number 3. They have a good number 3, we have a good number 3. I thought he stepped up to that challenge, we talked about that all week. He was ready to go and he played a very good game. We’ll watch film to see if it was the best performance ever but I know he stepped up and made some plays.”
On defeating San Jose State…
“Every time you win it feels good, every time you win that trophy back it feels good. Biggest rivals so you have to be ready to go. That San Joaquin Valley versus the Silicon Valley is all up there, this is the 87th meeting between us, I wanted to continue that for the trophy. It was 5-5, now it's 6-5 so it feels good to be up there. We just gotta work to keep keeping that trophy.”
On the match up…
“Every single game has its own life and history, so today we made plays, we were able to confuse them, we were able to get some explosive plays on offense, it all worked out well for us. We just need to be 1-0 for four quarters and be the best team today.”
On translating this win to wins for the rest of the season…
“We’re trying to be 1-0 each week, we will carry momentum. When you talk streaks, they always start at one and now we’re on two, but we just want to be 1-0 each week. Let all the rest of that take care of itself. We need to practice well, we need to play well. If you can get that combo to go together, you’re going to be successful.”
On momentum from a “blowout” …
You know I never felt like we were blowing them out. Down there late in the fourth quarter there, I never felt like it was a blowout. I haven’t really processed that part yet, I’m just playing the series in my mind. I know we’re getting big turnovers and stuff, but I know this: we won the game, we were up for most of the game, and that’s a good feeling.”
Cam Lockridge, Sr., DB
On his two interceptions in the game...
"Great. I'm looking for my next one."
On the Bulldogs' defense...
"Just going out and executing our assignments. We're going to line up and play Bulldog football every time they put that ball down. That's all we're going to show"
On playing alongside Al'zillion Hamilton...
"I mean Az, Julian - our whole group. All three of us caught interceptions today. I don't know why I'm sitting up here, I should have one and two right here. We compete amoungst each other and people across the country. When we make plays the whole defense thrives."
On hoisting the Valley trophy...
"It feels great, knowing we can hoist it. Not only that, we don't play them for a good amount of time, because of conference realignment. They're going to have to pay to get another shot.
On his goal of being named MW Defensive Player of the Year...
"It's most definitely still a goal of mine. I just try to put my best foot forward every time, practice, games and even in the community. Just trying to be that person that everybody can lean on in this defense. When things go wrong, we need that person that's going to make that play."
On what people need to know about the Fresno State defense...
"That we're relentless, ball hawks and we're going to hit you in the mouth any chance we get."
On what a win like this does for the mentality of the team going forward...
"We're not going to get complacent with this one. We go into next week playing Hawai'i. We're going to try to get them from play one all the way to play 80."
On keeping the defense energized and juiced during the game...
"Just keep making plays and lead by example. Have it seep through everybody else. Because I know everybody else is looking at me, just trying to make a play. They need me to make a play when that play needs to be made."
Mikey Keene, Jr., QB
On how this win impacts the confidence of the team…
"Every single week it’s the same message, to go 1-0. Like coach Skipp (head coach Tim Skipper) said we’re in the conference playoffs so going 1-0 is the goal every single week it doesn't matter what the circumstances are. We knew going into this one we were going to have a lot of energy, that was a given you could feel it around campus this entire week. We did an excellent job promoting our homecoming, the blackout was phenomenal, it was awesome. These uniforms were sick, something like this gets everyone going automatically. We knew at that point we just had to come out and execute and do our job. That's the same message that goes into every week. The message going into the rest of the season is going 1-0 every single week."
On navigating an emotional season…
"That’s the name of the opposition though. I have to be able to take all the praise and I have to be able to take all the hate as well. There's a lot of praise and there's a lot of glory and there's also a lot of down in this situation. As Long as you stay cool, calm and collected and stay here while everything's going up and down, that's the game of football, that's the game of life. Nothings going to be perfect in this life and I feel like I am battle tested. I have a lot of mental toughness to be able to handle adversity and things like that. Obviously disappointing with stuff like the turnovers but that's something I have been working on and trying to get better at consistently. Stuff happens. There's nothing I can do about it now except continue to move forward and grow as a person, grow as a player and trust my ability. I am confident out there when I step on the field every single time."
On blocking out the noise…
"I think the biggest thing is just the conversations of the people inside this building. That's really all that I care about and everyone's been extremely supportive. They know the type of person that I am, know the type of leader that I am and type of player that I am as well. Nobody on this team has lost confidence in me and I am forever indebted to them because I appreciate every single one of these guys in this building that has not lost confidence in me. I understand all the stuff being said and things like that but it’s just outside noise in all honesty. We have to worry about ourselves and focus on what we’re doing inside this locker room to be able to get wins and ultimately that's what we did tonight so I'm proud of the guys and I'm proud of myself as well."
On his mentality of this game referencing last season…
We’re reminded of it frequently. Coach Skipper reminded us of that in our message to the team. He’s a great motivator and having that extra external motivation was huge coming into this game. We knew that this was a game that derailed our season last year and it was very upsetting for those guys who were there last year. We had bad blood in the water with those guys, that's a rivalry game, our biggest rivalry. Going into this game and having the effect that we had, the outcome that we had last year just added a little bit more to it. Like I said, the energy for this game aws going to be at an all time high for sure.
On what the San Jose Defense was showing him…
"They throw a little bit of different stuff. They obviously did a little bit of a drop eight in the second half and things of that sort but our offensive line did a phenomenal job protecting, giving me all day to go through my progressions. Like coach Skipp (Tim Skipper) I had to hit a couple of check-downs and things like that but five yards a pop is an efficient play for us on offense and any offense in the country. Every single offensive guy is going to say four to five yards a pop is an efficient play. Taking what the defense is giving me and not forcing anything, just staying with my game and playing my game."
On what a win like this does for the team…
"It’s huge. Obviously we can carry the momentum into next week, but off a big win like this we have to take it like a loss or in 24 hours we have to flush it in all honesty. We’ve had som losses in the past we had to flush and this is a big win we’re going to have to flush this as well and get ready for next week. We have a big opponent coming in here. It’s going to be a great game, an exciting game and that's how it is the rest of the season. The message, like I said, is going 1-0 every single week. If we don’t do that then what are we working on or what are we working towards. That’s the mentality going into the rest of the season and that's what everyone is on the same page with, going 1-0."
On his growth…
"Yeah, I have been tested a lot as a player, as a person but at the same time I know exactly who I am. The people in this building know who I am. I am going to stay confident in that and saty confident in the person that I am off the field and on the field, my work ethic, I am just going to put my head down and get to work. There's nothing I can do about the past except work towards a better future, that’s what I have been trying to do."
On what the goal was…
"I was just trying to get a win, that’s all I was trying to do. Every single week that’s my mission, to get a win. Ultimately that's the biggest stat line for the team, it doesn’t matter what happens here nor there but obviously I don't want to be a contributor to a loss or anything of that nature so interceptions are something that I am trying to limit and working on every single day, constantly trying to work on getting coverages and things like that to get an edge on the defense we’re playing this week. The biggest stat line for me is getting a win, just proud of the guys and proud of myself, we got it done today."
On his favorite offensive highlight tonight…
"Probably the catch that Jalen (Jalen Moss) had on the first touchdown. That was pretty awesome, that was a great catch in traffic and then to be able to make those guys miss, he's a phenomenal player. He’s one of those guys you can just put it in his vicinity and he's going to go up and get it, he’s a heck of a football player."