Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State-Sacramento State Postgame Quotes
On his happy attitude on and off the field…
“I always try to have a smile. Life is too hard, so I like to celebrate all wins whether it is on the field or off the field. Smiling makes me feel better, when I’m not smiling it's not good. I don’t like feeling not good. I smile as much as possible, but trust me, I have a serious side too.”
On Mikey Keene and Mac Delana’s connections throughout the night…
“It was great, we wanted to be on the attack today, that was a goal of ours. We didn’t have that many opportunities last week so we wanted to take advantage of some stuff, force the issue, and fortunately for us we connected on a lot of deep balls, that was good to see.”
His description of the game in one word…
“LONG. Too many turnovers, a lot of penalties, there were turnovers on both sides of the ball. A lot of penalties. It just seemed like it took forever. It was sloppy, it was muddy, and we got better in the second half but to me, it seemed like the longest game. We just need to clean up some things. It was just a long game if you ask me.”
On Cam Lockridge’s performance…
“He’s a ballplayer. His first year here he was a good player for us, made a lot of plays and unfortunately got injured so now he’s back again this year. He is just playing the way he always does, he’s dealt with a lot of stuff off the field so I’m proud of him to be out there making plays and happy and smiling. That’s a kid who’s fought through a lot. You look at the word “adversity”, he had to deal with it in a million different ways. Very happy for him, I’m glad he is doing what he loves to do and enjoying it.”
On Cam Lockridge embracing the Bulldog culture…
“Hair on fire guy, hair is flying around everywhere. He plays with a ton of energy, he is a captain for a reason and you are finally able to see that on the field so I think he will continue to get better but he is your traditional linebacker. He fills the gaps, sideline to sideline he plays hard.”
On his first win at Valley Children’s Stadium…
“It might happen when I get home but right now I’m just excited that we won the game. I haven't had a chance to reflect yet. That thing went all the way down to the end, they had a drive going, and we had to keep them out of the endzone before we were finally able to kneel. I’ll reflect for sure when I get time for like 30 minutes tonight, then we have to get ready for next week.”
On the offensive performance…
“Up and down, right? We got rolling and then we had some turnovers happen, a couple penalties, and then we had some bonding time at halftime, and we were way more efficient. We need to figure out how to get more yards on the run game, but those guys fought, they never lost confidence, they stuck to the plan.”
On the defensive momentum carried over from Michigan…
“It’s different styles right, this team is totally different on offense than Michigan, there are literally no similarities, completely zero. This was a space game, Michigan was more a box game, they make plays in space, we blew a couple of coverages and they took advantage of that. We hung tough and made plays when we needed to. We still forced turnovers in the red area, which was huge. I like the performance; we will keep getting better.”
On Jalen Moss…
“He’s one of the guys. He’s paid his dues. I know he wishes he could get that punt return back that he dropped, and he made up for that return one. He’s a playmaker. We’re going to continue to find ways to give him the rock.”
On Tyler Mello’s touchdown…
“We’ve been practicing [that play] for a while, he comes in, he plays fullback and there’s a couple plays that we have for him and that situation called for that call and he was in the flat wide open and we gave him the rock and he caught it.”
On Josh Wood’s performance…
“He’s always available, he’s a good athlete, we’re going to use him as much as we possibly can. Mikey (Keene), him, even Jayden (Mandal). All three of those guys are always ready.”
Mac Dalena, Wide Receiver, Sr.
On his performance tonight...
"We game planned it all week, we knew they were playing a lot of corners, had low safeties, we worked on it all week, rep after rep. We kept connecting. We knew coming into this game, knowing how it was going to go and we executed pretty well."
On coming off of the game at Michigan...
"I think it's great the way we responded. Our motto all week was big response, and I think that's what we did as a whole offense. There's some things we have to do better in, but overall we had a good game today."
On connecting with the 75-yard TD on the first play...
"We rep that multiple times, knowing it was the first play of the game. We didn't know it was going to end up that wide open, but it did, we didn't panic. He (Mikey Keene) threw a great ball and just knowing all week that no matter what, that this is the first play and that's how it's going to go. We were prepared, it wasn't a surprise.
On having a deep ball to kick things off in the home opener...
"It's great knowing that coaches and players have confidence in me running that deep ball and getting open and me having a lot of confidence in my quarterback and coaches being able to call that play at that time."
On his relationship with Mikey...
"I think we've gotten much closer hanging out outside of football. Just creating a brotherhood, more than like a job. Football is work but you can create more of a family and friendships. There are a lot of bigger bonds you can create, this offseason has just changed between the whole offense, that's had a huge impact on tonight."
On giving Coach Skipper his first win...
"I think just having a head coach like that, that's been through it, played here, grinded just like us and worked his way up to the top. It's a really good feeling that we can give him that win. It means a lot to us and I know it means a lot to him."
On knowing he's number one in the stat sheet...
"It makes me feel good, but I'm just doing my job. I was put there, in that position this week to go win on the deep ball, we did that. That was my job this week, so I went and did it. Just having a game like that is great but getting the win is a much better feeling."
On letting loose on offense...
"I think it was great, coach McCann said it the best, we need a big response, so we're throwing it deep. Having that confidence all week, learning on Sunday and working all week to execute it. It was a great response and the offense did well."
On learning from past receivers...
"I'm always learning and always getting better. Being an old guy now, five years in, I've learned a lot and that's totally helped my game."
On the offensive potential...
"I think we're always on the rise as coach Skip says. We're going to go into film tomorrow and realize how much we left on the field. I think there's a lot more that we can do in this offensive and make it more explosive."
On the brotherhood in the locker room...
"We know what we have on this offensive, we have depth and weapons in every position. Coach McCann has a lot of fun with that and puts people in different positions at certain times. We know our own strengths that can help this offense. We learn through each other, it's definitely fun playing around all these explosive athletes.
On this performance helping his confidence for the season...
"It definitely helps my confidence. I'm not the type to ever need a confidence booster. But it's great knowing I had a game like this to help the team win and just moving forward with it and seeing if we can do it again."
On what he learned last week to implement today...
"I wouldn't say so, I did a really good job on my preparation and so did our offense. I think holding myself to that standard every single week no matter who we play and I think that helped a lot this week."
Camryn Bracha, Defensive Back, Senior
On how the game felt…
"No doubt, tonight for some reason felt like a long game. I mean we were ready for them to throw the ball 40 times, I don't know how many times they ended up throwing it but it was a long game but we were able to trust our conditioning. Through the summer we worked our tails off, all summer coach Ward has done a great job with us so that’s our strong suit, we have to be able to win games at the end. I feel like we kind of let off the gas today towards the end in the second half. It’s great to walk out with a win but I think there's a lot we can improve upon so that’s encouraging as well."
On winning this week for coach Skipper (Tim)
Yeah, I mean we just want to represent him for what he’s done for this university, this program. He’s done a great job. He is Bulldog born Bulldog bred and there's a lot of people in this building that are that way. He (Tim Skipper) does such a great job it feels like he’s been the coach for a long time and so last week we talked about that a little bit. He takes it like it’s another day, another opportunity, he never wants to make the moment about him. That’s just the selfless guy he is and he always wants to make it about us. We just want to represent him the right way. What he’s done here as a player, as a coach, you know we owe it all to him. He’s done a great job of getting us ready every week and so that’s what he deserves, more wins in the future for him and I’m excited to see where he takes this program.
On becoming a leader on defense…
It’s been a long journey. I was always kind of the underdog growing up, I never wanted to claim that but I wore it on my shoulder, it was a chip on my shoulder. Coming out of high school I wasn’t a very recruited guy, coming out of junior college I had a great year, and wasn’t a very recruited guy. That’s the culture we embrace here, we’re always looked over, looked past here in his building, the Bulldogs. I've just embraced that culture, what it means to be a bulldog. I just want to play hard for my buddies, my teammates. That's the end of the day's goal. To be able to wear this helmet, represent this team is a dream. I grew up in this stadium. That's what I was talking about with some friends throughout the week and just thinking on my own. I’ve seen more Bulldog games as a kid in the stands than I’ll ever play and that’ll continue when I’m done here. It’s just exciting to be here and to be able to play with these guys. Every week we have something to build upon and I’m excited to see where this team goes.
On playing with Cam Lockridge…
He’s huge for us. He’s a ball player. I tell everyone who asks that he should be in the NFL right now, unfortunately things went different than we planned for him last year but I’m fortunate to have him back. He is such a great leader in our room and such a smart guy. Someone I can learn upon everyday. Although I am one of the older guys in the room I’ve only been here for two years so there's a lot of guys I can still look to and learn from each and every day. Cam (Lockridge) was also a guy when I was at city that I was watching him and seeing him play with the season he had two years ago and I'm excited to see what he builds upon that this year. The position he puts himself in when the draft comes in April and what he’s going to do with the opportunities he has this year is going to be awesome to watch so keep your eyes on him forsure.
On his biggest takeaway…
I think there were glimpses of who we are as a defense. We did a lot of good things tonight but we also let a few things up so that’s a little disappointing but it's encouraging because we can learn. At the end of the day we get the job done, we gotta win so that’s the most important thing. Just like last week we did a lot of good things and we messed some things up so there were a lot of good things we could learn. As long as we got the win we’re happy but coming in tomorrow we’ll be able to break down the tape and see a lot of good things we did and a lot of bad things. Get ready for New Mexico State. They're going to come in here ready to play, we have to put our best foot forward again.
On what he learned from playing Michigan…
I just wanted to have fun last week, that was a heck of an opportunity playing in front of 100 thousand people;. You're never going to get that opportunity again. So last week my main goal was just to go in there, have fun and enjoy the experience. As the game kind of came to the end I remember just holding some guys up, holding their heads up and just telling them to look around and enjoy this opportunity that we have. This is only a special season we’re going to get once in our life and in a few months we;re going to be looking back on these memories and in a few years I’ll be taking my family back to these games, talking about the things I did as a Bulldog. That's the biggest thing this year, the X’s and O’s there’s things we’re looking at every week but I just want to be present this year and have fun and enjoy it with my brothers because the season is going to go fast but its just an honor to be out there with them, to represent this staff and what they’re doing upstairs ad the hours they put in is unbelievable. Biggest thing I just want to have fun all year and that’s when I’m playing my best.
On giving up thirty points two weeks in a row…
I think, definitely two different attacks but I just think we got a little relaxed a little in the second half and that kind of happened last week with Michigan aswell, as the game unfolded we were letting some plays up. We let up a big drive last week against Michigan but 30 is too much in both games for this defense for sure with what we can do. The turnovers we forced tonight was a team effort from everybody but that's too much for us in any aspect. So we’ll be looking to get better, just as we learned last week. This is going to be a good opportunity to learn just a different aspect of the game because they threw the ball alot more, so they challenged us. We have a great secondary so it was great to have that challenge. We’ll be able to get back tomorrow and see what we have to do to get better is going to be great for us. Thirty is too much, shout out the offense. They did an unbelievable job in the second half in getting the job done so they were able to carry us. As they get things going we have to be able to continue to keep the foot down. It seems like as we’re playing well maybe they’re relying on us, and as they are playing well we’re not doing our job. We have to just play a complete football game, all three phases and we’re going to be a scary team this year, we’re going to be a good team so the potential is there. We’ve seen it and we just have to put ourselves in a position to play all three phases of the game.
On the confidence for this week…
We were excited with how we played last week. We represented Bulldog football but we left Michigan without a win so the goal was not fulfilled. It was good to walk out of there with how we played and see our preparation through the Summer, Winter and Fall come together. Every week is a new opportunity for su to showcase who we are so we have to continue to do that every week. Every week is going to be a great opportunity for us. What was done in Michigan was history, what was done tonight is history so we learn upon tonight and get ready for New Mexico State because they're going to be a great team coming in here. Depending on our performances the weeks before, teams are going to challenge using those ways. Sacramento State came in with a great game plan and they challenged us tonight, they threw the ball all over us. Like I said that was too much for us but we’re looking to learn upon every game and every week. Although it was a good performance, there's just things we knew we have to get better with.
On coach Jeff Tedford…
He has done so much for me and my family. He was the one that really brought me in, really recruited me. I still remember meeting with him on Wednesday on less than a 24 hour notice that I was going to be meeting with coach Tedford. That was pretty cool, I have looked up to him as a kid, he’s been the coach here forever so as long as I’ve been coming to games he’s been the coach. To be able to be under his leadership for that time was priceless but I am glad to see he's making the decisions for himself, his family and his health. That’s at the end of the day the most important. To have him around fired up alot of the guys, to hear him say he's proud of alot of u s means alot and I know everyday he's at home still thinking about us. There’s no doubt he's thinking about us everyday, when he goes to bed his mind is probably still racing about Saturdays like this. He cares so much about us and just because he’s not on staff anymore doesn't mean he's not involved with us. His culture that he’s implemented here still runs deep and we’re not going to lose that culture, Skipper is just going to continue to build upon that foundation. It feels like we’re representing both of them at the end of the day and what they’ve done for us. Coach Tedford is the definition of Bulldog born, Bulldog bred and to have him around, just alot of love for him in that room.