Fresno State Athletics
Georgia Southern-Fresno State Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Matt Entz
On the game…
"Exciting night — that’s all I can say. We’ve got 113 young men in that locker room who, last December, had a stranger walk in and tell them, ‘Those who stay are going to be champions.’ Tonight was a step in that process. For them to buy into our staff’s message, my message as head coach — I couldn’t be more excited or more proud of this group.”
“We had our best week of practice since I’ve been here. Mother Nature even tried to throw us a curveball with lightning — someone said it was the first time in 17 years we’ve had that happen — and I knew then it was going to be a good week. Someone was looking down on us.”
“We talk all the time about exactly who we want to be, and you see it on the back of every shirt: Toughness Wins.Toughness is highly trained individuals playing for each other — and that’s what this group has. Through adversity, they rally around one another. That’s when you see veteran leadership step up. Roland Fullwood, our right tackle, was unbelievable tonight. He looked at me and said, ‘Coach, we got this. We should be winning at halftime.’ I said, ‘All right, let’s go do it then.’ It’s easy when you’ve got motivated young men like that.”
“I can’t say enough about our staff either. It was 14–13 at halftime, then we pitched a second-half shutout. We ran for 350 yards, went 20-for-27 throwing the football — all the numbers you want to see. That’s winning football. Sure, there are things we’ll clean up on Monday, but the effort tonight is exactly what we’re building toward.”
“We didn't give up explosive plays. You know, I'm sure there's a few plays we wish we had back, maybe a third down or two, but overall, you know, I was really excited. And, you, the other thing that I'll say in two games, we have five penalties. We’re playing clean football. Now, we got to take care of the ball security. That's the last thing. We can't beat ourselves with turnovers. But our kids are listening.”
“Football is about response. Bad things happen to good people all the time, but how you respond shows your character. That’s what separated us tonight.”
On personnel changes throughout the game…
“Well, I think we got banged up a little bit at times, so it was a next-man-up mentality. But again, it goes back to the way we practice. You all saw it — two fields going at once, double-repping. We’re a premier developmental program. Nobody stands around at practice. Everybody gets coached. Everybody gets developed. Nobody leaves saying, ‘I didn’t get any reps.’ That’s why we’re able to plug people in. It’s because of the way we do things, the way our staff teaches and meets, and it validates the people we have in this program.”
On the offensive line opening up the run game…
“We had answers. And again, this is a process — step by step. We anticipated they were going to so a lot of what Kansas did against us, and we made sure we were ready for it. Coach Crabtree, Coach Ferentz, Coach Davis, Coach Hosseini did a tremendous job. I sat in the offensive line meeting this week, and the vibe was unbelievable. Those guys were locked in on the details, asking questions. I loved it. Honestly, if I came back in another life, I’d be an O-line coach. I love that group, and we’ll go as far as they take us.”
On Bryson Donelson…
“He was getting downhill, but it all starts up front. That room is highly competitive, highly talented, and they’re servant leaders to one another. You saw it after every score — Brandon scores, everyone’s celebrating. Bryson scores, Rayshon scores — the whole group is jumping around. Coach Prier does an unbelievable job with them. There’s only one ball, but he’s got them believing they’ve got to be great without it, too. Protection, route running — all those things matter.”
K'vion Thunderbird, So. LB
On his first game in Valley Children Stadium....
"Oh, That feels great. I feel like the crowd was great. The fans came out to support it, and that definitely helped us tonight. "
On defensive impact in the second half...
"I just feel like we felt like we were the better team and we needed to come out and execute better in the second half, and I feel like we did that. "
On watching the offense go to work...
"It was very fun. Those guys get me going on the sideline, definitely keep me motivated and keep us [the team] pumped up for when we take the field."
On creating a hot start...
"It was very important. I knew we needed something going, and I knew I had to do something, get out on the field and go have to play."
On motivation coming off last week...
"We just knew we had to come out better from last week. Last week, we didn't play that well, and we knew we were a good team. And today, I feel like we did that in the second half."
On the energy in the locker room...
"It was great. It was fired up. Everybody was fired up that we got the dub."
On coming back from the noise...
"Well, I actually felt great this whole week. Our heads were down. We're trying to pick everybody up, knowing that we' gonna be a good team, so we knew we were gonna come out and eventually get a win. Yeah, that felt great."
On the defense coming together...
"We knew we were the guys. We had to come out and just talk to the defense and pick everybody up, the whole game."
On the leaders in the locker room...
"It was me, JP, Simi, Harris - and really everybody, everybody knew we had to come out. But yeah, we were the guys that just spoke up, like, we got to get our stuff together. Cameron Bracha as well. We just knew we had to pick our stuff up and get our game.
On the atmosphere tonight...
"That was great. I felt like the fans were great. They were really loud on third down. I felt like that was great for us. We needed that. Yeah, it was a great experience, though."
Bryson Donaldson, So., RB
On the run game tonight...
"I feel like we had the same game plan. We're going to run the ball for week one, didn't it go too well. We got punched in the mouth and I thought that's what fueled us for tonight."
On the runningbacks' involvement tonight...
"How many times did we run the ball tonight? 45. Come on now. Like, who doesn't want to be involved when the team that is about 45 times, you know? I feel like we all stepped up and did a good job."
On having Brandon Ramirez as a teammate...
"Man, I just know Brando, he runs hard. That's all of us, so we all run hard. We all get the job done. And being able to rotate and catch a breath, that's what keeps our legs fresh. That's what really gives us the ability to break off any play."
On the locker room atmosphere...
"Oh, man, it was amazing. We finally got to sing the fight song, just great energy. We're all really happy."
On winning for Coach Entz...
"I mean, we knew we owed him one. We got butts whip last week, you know? I mean, me and Speedy, we dressed up with the gatorade after the game because we know how big of a win this was. First one at Valley Children's Stadium, you're not gonna forget that one. "
On getting touches tonight...
"It feels good. I do want to say I put the word in, so I was ready for it. But yeah, it's a really good feeling. You know that you know the guy. But we're all the guy, you know?"
On a personal best night...
"Feels good, but I'm still gonna push for more. You know, I'm never satisfied"
On being a threat in the pass game...
"I feel like that's really important because I got a linebacker. You gotta play me differently, you know? You can't just let me go out on a route cause I'll make you pay."
On the offensive line's performance...
"Man, I owe them a steak dinner. all of them a steak dinner. I mean, they stepped up big time. I tell them every game, I can't be me unless y'all do the work, you know? They basically do the work for me. I'm just running behind them."
On sharing the ball...
"Man, I'm all for it, you know? I mean, I'm one person, imagine one person getting the ball 45 times. That's kind of crazy and speedy. So that's home run kid back there. I know he's gonna get it done. So I'm not even mad when I get pulled off the fields, because I know someone just as good as me is going to tot the rock and do a good job."
On bouncing back from a fumble...
"Oh, man, I was - I almost broke my helmet. I was really upset, but then AP told me at halftime we need you. So I learned and said, learn, burn and return. I burnt it, I just knew how to step up, get the win."
On the locker room's response to Coach Entz...
"At first, there were a lot of question marks, you, a new coach, he came in, took all our he tore down the walls, put up his own walls, you know? It was a lot of randomness, but we all learned that he's a really good coach. He's a really great person, God driven, everything. So we kind of followed him, you know? And that's what it takes. We all bought in, and that's what I showed tonight."
On playing at home...
"It feels amazing. I get playing in front of my family and who doesn't want to do that, you know? And I mean, that's what drives me, my family, so why would I not want to play in front of them."
Rayshon Luke, R-Jr., RB
On tonight's performance...
"I feel good. I want to keep going. I'm excited, all glory to God. Shit, I'm still, like, shocked at all that even happened. "
On seeing the ball as the backup running back...
"That feels amazing. Just being able to get an opportunity and then showcase my talent, and everybody else in the room, but, it feels amazing to be able to, of course, not start, but knowing that you're still a part of the team, a part of the role, a part of the game plan. So it was good."
On first touchdown as a Bulldog...
"I was excited. I mean, I'm pretty sure you've seen after I scored, I didn't even know what celebration to do. I did, like, three and one. I was just too excited. I was just, like, shocked I did that. I'll glory to the O-line. Without them, I wouldn't have even got that. So, just being able to just enjoy it with my teammates is just amazing."
On this week's preparation...
"Yeah, this week was just playing even harder, planning even faster, playing more aggressive, more angry, just because we had goals set out in the last game that we weren't even close to achieving. So this week we just had like, we wanted to come and take everything from them, take their souls really."
On the difference this week...
"Just the preparation, just being angry, not being able to do what I wanted to do last week. So coming out here, it was like, I have to do it. It was almost mandatory."
On tonight's speed...
"It's normal. I mean, I've been doing this since I was six years old. Played three different sports, ran track, basketball and football. So playing fast is normal. I've been doing this since I was a little kid, so it's second nature to me."
On the teams mentality...
"Oh, yeah. Everybody, like, keep running down their throat. I mean, it shows that not nothing towards them, but, I mean, they're probably soft football. You never know, you know? We are playing hard nose football over here, so, I'm pretty sure you see the signs all around toughness wins. So, I mean, just playing with that mentality, it rolls throughout special teams, defense, offense, through the coaches, GAs, everybody."
On what to know about the running backs...
"I'm always playing with my heart. I'm always aggressive, I always play fast. And I'm gonna just give you everything I got. I'm not going to take a playoff every play I can hopefully score. That's the mentality. Hopefully getting the first down, that's the mentality. So just running like that, you guys need to know. I'm always running like that."