Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State-New Mexico State Postgame Quotes
Interim Head Coach Tim Skipper
On tonight's performance...
"It all started with us with the week of practice, we gave Tuesday a nickname, it's dirty Tuesday. We wanted to get grimey and physical. We had to get ourselves better in order to play better on Saturdays as far as in the trenches and it showed out there today. Both sides of the ball were very physical in the run game, it was something we wanted to work on offense, defense. We've been good in that category and wanted to continue it. We had a good week of practice. On Friday we talked at night, we were like it's going to come down to the trenches and we showed it today. Little areas we got to get a little better in, get better on third downs on offense, we got a little sloppy in the first half. We've got to get these penalty downs, there were way too many penalties. Emphasis on the penalties we have got to get that corrected."
On what he's most pleased by tonight...
'I just like the way we play. It's all about our style of play, that's all we talk about. You have to show your personality, you have to have a certain style. And we wanted that style to be tough, hard nose and it showed out there, the guys were very physical. I talked about being consistent for four quarters, we did that today. We were consistent, put up forty-eight points and got a shutout."
On extra preparation this week for a more sound game...
"It wasn't about extra, it was about more effort and physically as we practiced. We went against each other good-on-good and said let's go. We just got physical and said we're going to battle each other to get better to celebrate on Saturdays."
On what coach McCann is doing for the WR to show up big on game day...
"He's (Coach McCann) is a great play caller, he's mixing it up keeping defenses off-balance. The main thing is to showcase your playmakers, let them touch it. We're able to get the run game going, Malik got going. We have to always be consistent and be triggering on all cylinders, all the time together. It showed today we hit some big plays, a lot of explosives. "
On Cam Lockridge's NFL potential...
"He definitely has the talent. If you just go off of pure football players and instincts. He's definitely that caliber, that level, he just has to keep showing it. I'm glad he's here (on our team), he's a good player. "
On Sherrod's performance...
"He's been battling through it, this has been his best week of practice where he looked like Malik. He had the eye of the tiger today and made some big time runs."
On the first game without a turnover...
"We always talk about winning the turnover battle and it felt good to do that. Ball security is always at a premium, if you want to win in college football, you can't turn it over. "
On the quarterback group...
"We're blessed with three good quarterbacks and we're going to keep playing as many as we have too. We have three guys who can go in there and play, it's a blessing."
On Raylon Sharpe's breakout game...
"He practices hard out there. He got this payday today, he made some plays. We got to keep that going"
Cam Lockridge, Defensive Back, Sr.
On tonight's shutout...
"It's big for us, we came up short the last two weeks trying to pitch a shutout. This week turned it around, starting from Tuesday. Just told ourselves that no one is going to score on us."
On his two interceptions...
"Just seeing the ball off the quarterback's hands and seeing him throw it. Taking advantage of the quarterback's inexperience. "
On his confidence three games in....
"The same. I just go out and execute and dominate when I get on the field."
On the DB room's work ethic...
"It's just coming in everyday and getting better. I'm in a room full of talent, it's just wanting to get better. "
On looking at New Mexico State's offense...
"Looking to neutralize their run game. Shut down the run game, make them pass and be one dimensional."
On his ball instincts....
"I just want to score the football on my own. Once I get the ball I love to score, If I don't have it, I can't score."
On his takeaways for the upcoming game...
"Just build up on this goose and next week try to pitch another goose egg."
On potentially leading the FBS with career interceptions (12)...
"Where's number thirteen."
Malik Sherrod, Sr., Running Back
On getting the run game going…
“It feels great. We’ve struggled in the run game for the past two weeks. We tried to be really intentional all week with our preparation and our execution to change that, and it paid off. We were able to turn in around on the ground tonight with 281 yards.”
“It all starts in practice. Practice is supposed to be harder than the game. Everything that we do has to be intentional. We are working on finishing better through contact. I think we showed up today, but we have a lot of season left.”
“We all established throughout the week that we were going to run the ball tonight. We didn’t like what people had to say about our run game. We were 119th in the country in rushing and that didn’t sit well with us. We have a lot to prove still.”
On using four running backs tonight…
“We have a deep room. We have a lot of guys that can go. We saw four go in tonight. We have a lot of big play guys, home run guys.”
On getting the ball in the end zone when in the red zone…
“My position coach preaches that we have to find a way. It doesn’t matter if we get the blocks or not, we have to find a way. That’s just the mentality that we have as a room. It doesn’t matter what happens around us on the field, we have to make something shake.”
Korey Foreman, R-Jr., DE
On how it feels after this win…
“It feels really good going into the locker room knowing that we had a donut out there, that means the defense did everything that they could to play a complete game. We knew that we had a great week of practice, so the outcome wasn’t surprising to us. We were mentally, physically and situationally prepared.”
“I get to go to work with a wonderful group of guys everyday. We just bounce off each other. We have great coaches and staff. It’s a blessing to see all the guys go out there make plays, and do what we intended to do.”