Postgame Quotes
8/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
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2008 Houston Cougars Football Postgame Quotes
Southern Jaguars (0-1, 0-0 SWAC) at Houston Cougars (1-0, 0-0 C-USA)
Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008 * John O'Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium * Houston, Texas
HOUSTON HEAD COACH Kevin Sumlin
"It's one game at a time. That's where we are. Its coach speak, but that's where we are. This one's over and we will enjoy it tonight but we have another tough one next week. The thing that is positive about tonight is that we played a lot of people and they got some meaningful minutes. A lot of guys played a quarter and a half and two quarters for some of the young guys. Nick Saenz got an interception. Both the freshman (running) backs got in there and I saw David Hunter in the game. Our seniors have been doing a great job."
"We're proud of how they played. Early I thought the intensity level was good. Obviously they were well prepared and our coaching staff did a good job in getting the players to execute. I thought we tackled really well in the space in the first group. When you play a bunch of spread offenses it's not so much the throwing and the catching it's what the people do after they catch the ball and get you in space and I thought we tackled really well in space and that's key. Every week we are going to face some pretty good offenses. If we can tackle like that and create some turnovers I think we will be fine."
"I thought he (Case Keenum) got off to a good start after the first pass of the half and after that he was `Steady Eddie'. We created some bad situations for ourselves with some dumb penalties that put us in some third down situations but we converted on the third down situations and kept the ball moving. As we progress through the season we have to eliminate some of those penalties and some of the things that put us in those situations. We have to improve in the red zone. When we get down there we have to be able to run it and do some things in the red zone that can win us some points and not get stopped."
"They protected him (Case Keenum) well. They had one sack in the first group but Case said that was on him and he fell a little bit trying to create something. He is pretty heady back there. He moved around a little bit and got away from some things but when we get in the red zone we have to be better as an offense and we will be. There are some things that we need to do, and we probably need to have a little bit more in our arsenal. There are plenty of things for us to work on offensively. We have to be able to convert in the red zone and we have to eliminate the pre-snap penalties that put us in some second and third-and-long situations and be able to control the ball better. I thought we managed the game early but with all the snaps we had we need to get more points."
"The running backs were pretty good. (Andre) Kohn got out in the open field a couple times and he made a guy fall down and miss. He has the tools. Bryce (Beall) has been pushed. He is a big powerful guy and is a different style of runner. He doesn't look it but he is a 205 lb. to 210 lb. guy. He is a little but stronger than some other guys. I was real happy that Jackie Hinton Jr. got in and got some touches. The two freshmen give us an added punch. It's a long season and the running backs take a lot of shots."
On the wait to start the season
"The wait for months and months was not as long as the wait this morning. Today was forever. I turned on the TV and other games kept coming on. We probably got a little antsy. We got here 15 minutes early because I was tired of being at the hotel. We were early the whole day because I was antsy. I will be better next week. I am happy and I told the guys, don't take winning for granted because winning is hard. Half the teams that went out on the field today didn't so have fun and then it's on to next week and Oklahoma State
SOPHOMORE WIDE RECEIVER L.J. Castile
"The first touchdown, the lineman gave Case [Keenum] time to throw the ball. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. The second touchdown we just told him to throw it up and I jumped up and got it. I definitely would like to thank the lineman for giving him time to throw the ball."
"I just played as fast as I could and when the ball was in the air, I jumped as high as I could to make the catch."
On Southern's defensive scheme against the receivers
"Most of what we saw was cover two. They were trying to prevent the deep balls. That was the main defense that they put up against us."
On replacing some major offensive contributors from last season
"We had some shoes to fill. We had guys like Donnie Avery who came through for us last year. Coach Sumlin told us to play our best game and that is what we did."
"Tonight is just the first step. We are just trying to get better as a team. For me, the main focus was to get better and to get the win."
SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK Case Keenum
"We did some things that were good tonight. I saw things we needed to work on. We saw a lot of young guys step up and make some plays, which was awesome. The offensive line did a great job tonight. They protected well. We didn't run the ball as much as I thought we would. If the offensive line is working, the offense is playing well."
"The offense did a great job seeing what was in front of us and making good plays and communicating and doing it fast. It is not always about the best play being called, but executing the play that is being called. I think we did a pretty good job doing that."
On the things that the team needs to work on
"There are a lot of little things that we can work on as far as seeing the defense and knowing what play to get into, the best play. We just need to take in what the defense gives us. There are a lot of things we need to work on and we have a long way to go."
"Ball security has been a key issue during the spring and fall camp. We have been working on that a lot. We had the ball on the ground a couple times, a couple too many, but we did a good job of keeping it out of Southern's hands and we tried to keep our defense off the field."
On L.J. Castile
"L.J. [Castile] did an incredible job. It is good to have someone like that to bail you out whenever you need it. He is very talented and has the ability to go up and get the ball. That is a huge plus as a quarterback to know he will catch it wherever you throw it."
On the win for the new coaches
"We didn't know what it was going to be like having new coaches and new players, but we did a great job. The defense stepped up and allowed them only three points. It was a heck of a defensive game. All around it was a pretty good win."
On how he felt during the game
"I started off shaky. Once I got in the groove, I settled down a little bit, but there are some things I need to work on; communicating and getting people in the right place and faster."
SENIOR SAFETY Kenneth Fontenette
On the goals for the defense in tonight's game
"We had a couple goals; we wanted to get three turnovers, and four sacks. I don't think we got the sacks, but we did get the turnovers, so that was good. We wanted to play hard, physical and smart, and I think we did that. "
On Southern not scoring a touchdown
"We didn't want to give them a touchdown. I think we did well tonight. We definitely didn't want them to score a touchdown. "
On the defense's pressure on the quarterback
"Southern did a good job, but we did put pressure on the quarterback. We feel good about that as a defensive unit. As long as he was running, he could get a few yards, but he wasn't passing, which was the game plan."
"The guys behind me in the secondary did a great job of making the quarterback hold the ball and throw it off target."
SOUTHERN HEAD COACH PETE RICHARDSON
"I thought (coming into the game) the offensive and defensive line would be a challenge for us. We clammed a lot of times when it got tight. We had a tough time handling them, especially when it got tight. We couldn't getting the pressure up front and get to the quarterback. The quarterback (Case Keenum) did an outstanding job pinpointing passes. We had a couple secondary people hurt.
On the threat of Hurricane Gustav
"We are going to get back home and sit down and decide which direction we have to go. We have to look forward to next week.
On Houston getting the breaks in the game
"When it's your game, it's your game. They were in the right position and went out and made the right plays. It's an experience that we have to go through.
On the positives from the game
"Overall, we gave some of the young kids opportunities against a fine football team and hopefully they will help us out later on.
