Oregon vs. South Dakota Postgame Quotes
08/31/14 | Football
Mark Helfrich – Oregon Head Coach
On the game…
“Offensively, I thought we got off to a really good start. Defensively, we didn't get off to as good of a start. We'll make some corrections, but obviously I'm very pleased with our victory. It's hard to win a football game 62-13. That's a good team and I feel horrible about their quarterback going down. I hope he's okay, he's a good player. Those guys are going to have a great year. We're going to regroup, have a quick night tonight, and start recovering and training for next week.”
On the freshmen…
“We had eight freshmen in there on one drive and nine right there at the end. That was great. It doesn't matter if it's the first play or the last play of the game, we're always out there competing.”
On the defense…
“I thought our tempo was a little off. I think those guys are so used to playing snap after snap after snap against our offense in training, and we just have to play a different style.”
On special teams…
“Pretty good. We had a couple of flubs on extra points. But Charles [Nelson], Royce [Freeman], Darren [Carrington], all those guys… We're excited about them with good reason.”
On young leadership…
“The credit goes to Hroniss Grasu, Marcus Mariota, and Keanon Lowe, who really embraced those young guys. I think this is a really mature group of young players. From our redshirt freshmen, to our true freshmen, they're mature guys.”
On the running back situation…
“We think those guys are really good players. Byron [Marshall] had a little bit different role tonight as more of a hybrid, downfield threat. That was by virtue of how they defended those formations. I think Royce [Freeman] has that ability, he just hasn't been here long enough to add that next layer of development to his repertoire. Thomas [Tyner] has that. They're all just good thumper running backs.”
“We'll continue to expand those guys and just fit packages how they come about during the game plan process.”
Marcus Mariota - Quarterback, Redshirt Junior
On True Freshman...
“They did a great job, they were a little antsy and anxious… they had typical freshman jitters. Once they got out there and played, they did a great job for us and we will continue to need that.”
On Byron Marshall...
“He is very versatile. He has done a great job on being able to make the most of his opportunity. He has done a great job trying to learn as much as he can and be a key for us out there. We are very fortunate to have him.”
On Offensive Line Performance...
“I have the utmost confidence in those guys, I trust them with my life. There is nothing they really need to work on for next week. Overall, I thought they did a great job. We did a good job communicating as an entire offense.”
On Jeff Lockie...
“He is that guy that everyone in the locker room has confidence in. He will step up to the plate, he is that type of guy. He has proven himself over the past couple of years. He is very smart.”
On Michigan State...
“We are very excited. It poses a good challenge for us. It poses a good challenge for the entire team. They're coming in as one of the best defenses in the country and any offense would love to face that challenge. It helps you see where you stack up.”
On Charles Nelson...
“He is a special talent, DeAnthony was the same way. Hopefully he can be half the guy that DeAnthony was because he was very special. He has come a long way already, he's a true freshman. He has done a great job on offense and he is on numerous special teams. He is a very team-oriented guy and I think that guy is going to be special.”
Byron Marshall – Running Back, Junior
On the way he was utilized…
“We worked on that a lot during fall camp and even more last week. It was something to be expected. I practiced there and everything.”
On the running back situation…
“I knew it was going to bob back-and-forth. We never know specifically how many carries we're going to get before the game starts, and that's not really for us to worry about. We just go out there, wait for our number to get called and go play.”
On his touchback fumble…
“Huge mental mistake. I've never really made a dumber play before in my life. Out of all the good that happened tonight, that's the only thing that's really on my mind. Stuff like that shouldn't happen. It happens. No one's perfect. But a mistake like that could cost us the game.”
“I always just have to keep playing. Coach is always saying, 'Just move onto the next play.' I can't do anything about that play, so I just have to keep grinding.”
On Marcus Mariota…
“Marcus did what Marcus does. I think he made plays and I'm never worried about how he's going to play.”
Charles Nelson – Wide Receiver, Freshman
On playing his first game…
“Going out there, I was nervous because it was my first game, but after the first play everything went away and it was just another football game.”
On his punt return for a touchdown…
“My main focus was just catching the ball. I was a little inconsistent during camp catching the punt. But after I caught it, it was just do what we've been working on and practicing. The blocks were there, so I took off from there.”
Ifo Ekpre-Olomu - Cornerback, Senior
On his ankle injury…
“I'm feeling alright. I'm battling an ankle injury, but I'm just taking a little extra precaution.”
On the guys who replaced him…
“I thought they did a great job. A lot of the younger guys got to make plays and a lot of guys got to play a lot of reps so that's a good thing.”
On the defense overall…
“Overall I don't think we played that great as a defense. I feel like we can play a lot better and I think that we will the next game.”
Arik Armstead - Defensive End, Junior
On the defense:..
“We didn't run to the ball with the standard that we have been. Guys were getting first-game jitters out and everything, but [South Dakota] was running a lot of quick runs. We were staying on our blocks a little too long. We're used to reading a lot more – we've been playing against our offense all fall camp. It's definitely going to prepare us for Michigan State because they do some similar things.”
On preparing for Michigan State:..
“Competition is good; I really like playing against good competition. That's why you play football – to play against good players. I think we'll be ready for the challenge. They're going to bring a good team here. I think it'll be a good experience.”
Royce Freeman - Running Back, Freshman
On training with Byron Marshall and Thomas Tyner..
“It's great to come into. Them being better, it's going to teach me a lot. They help me out with my game and I can give them breaks when they need it.”
On prepping for his first collegiate game...
“I tried to calm myself out before my first game, especially it being a late game at home. I just tried to relax and not do too much out of my element. I just wanted to go out and run as hard as I could.”
On his evaluation of his team's effort…
“I was really proud of our team's effort. We tried hard. We played a very good football team and a very talented football team. I think if you look back to last year, this is about what they did to most teams when Marcus Mariota was healthy. I think the first four games they averaged over 60 points a game. I hope to think that that is just their skill. They were just a little too much for us, that's for sure.”
“I am proud of the fact that we continued to fight even though we didn't score in the second half. I thought our kids played hard and got better.”
On the injury to quarterback Kevin Earl…
“Our doctors took a quick X-ray of it and they think we have an issue. We'll take him back to Samford, South Dakota, where we know they know what's right and wrong, and take a look at it there. But the initial diagnosis is that he has a fracture in his thumb, whatever that means. We'll get the real look on it as soon as we can.”
On Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota…
“He's really good. He's special and time will bare that out. He's a really good player and a good person, too.”
Jasper Sanders - South Dakota Running Back, Senior
On difficulty of facing Oregon…
“They were huge. I didn't realize how big they would be. They were all 6-foot-9, 6-foot-10 and fast because it's Oregon, of course.”
On confidence level after the big loss…
“I feel like we are a lot more confident. We played one of the best teams in the nation and there aren't many teams better than (Oregon), so confidence wise I feel like we are a lot stronger.”
On moving the ball down the field…
“I feel really good (about it). Like I said, they are one of the best teams in the nation and if we can do that against them then I feel like we can do it against anybody.”
On Kevin Earl's injury…
“He's good. We'll be good. We have a solid running game and we can move the ball down the field, so I feel like we'll be good.”
Keyen Lage - South Dakota Linebacker, Junior
On early play he made…
“It was awesome. It felt awesome to get the game started like that against a team like that, so it got me pumped up and ready for the game.”
On Oregon's offense…
“They were fast. Fastest team we've ever played against. They just don't mess up. They are amazing athletes and aren't really bigger than anyone else, but they are consistent and that is what makes them such a great team.”
