Oregon vs. Eastern Washington Quotes
09/06/15 | Football
Mark Helfrich – Oregon Coach
On Vernon's performance…
“Pretty well, especially given the circumstances of playing his former team and the emotion of that. He did some good things naturally that he does from an athletic standpoint and then had a few unforced errors. The good thing from the mistakes he made, they are going to be 'oh my gosh, why did I do that' type of things on film.”
On going into Michigan State next week…
“They are just a complete team, a great team, very well coached. I have a ton of respect for coach Dantonio and everything that they do. Connor Cook is obviously leading the pack there. It will be there home opener; it will be a great night.”
On cleaning up coverage…
“Well tackling and doing your job are the two main things. We didn't do a ton defensively and what we did obviously we want to do cleanly and well. They need to tackle better. First game, you're always concerned about tackling."
Vernon Adams - Quarterback, Senior
On play tonight…
“I thought I did okay and as a team, we did really good. I have to take care of the ball, that fumble I had is not acceptable. As a whole, I think we did really good. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to compete for this starting job and get out there and have some fun.”
On emotions about playing former team and starting for Oregon…
“Throughout all of fall camp, I didn't know how I was going to feel. When I came out early for pregame, it was emotional seeing my friends and hugging them. It was really fun coming out there and starting my first game as a Duck and we had a lot of fun out there. The fans are awesome."
On talking trash…
“I don't talk trash. If guys say something to me, we might go back and forth, but I don't say anything first. One of my buddies over there, he plays corner, we mess around a lot and we were messing around last night before the game, but it was all fun and games."
On thoughts on running on and off the field in Autzen…
“Both, awesome. It was great going out there and the fans going crazy. I had goosebumps, my heart was beating and it was crazy. Running off with the victory was great too. Like I said, I just have to take care of the ball, we left a couple of plays on the field, but it was an overall fun game and I'm glad we got the win.”
On the hit…
“I'm feeling good, I will be out there next week. I don't know if it was a cheap shot or not.”
On his performance…
“Hard work and dedication is the key. I really love football, this is what I do, it is what I know. I've been playing since I was two years old. I love it all.”
On critics…
“It felt good to silence them. We will see when we start getting into the FCS teams and start going from there, but I am very excited. The team we have, we can do a lot of special teams this year.”
DeForest Buckner – Defensive Lineman, Senior
On his expectation of Eastern Washington's offense…
“We were expecting them to come out and attack and they did a really good job tonight. Our defense has a lot of things to work on come Monday, and they exposed some of our weaknesses.”
On his role on defense and how they can improve…
“Getting off blocks more quickly, and to put that pressure in the quarterbacks face.”
Royce Freeman – Running Back, Sophomore
On impressions of his teammates' first carries…
“It was great. I see it every day in practice so it doesn't surprise me, I see the hard work these guys put in. It was nothing new.”
On working with Vernon Adams…
“I'm very proud of him and the way he performed today. There was a lot of anxiety out there, a lot of people wondering what he was going to do and how he was going to do it. At the end of the day, I like him because he's a baller. He's going to go out there and help the team and be the guy he is.”
On what it means to take it up a notch…
“I'm just trying to go out there each and every week and perform my best. Sometimes you have a performance that's not as good, but I'm trying to eliminate that from my mindset, and just progress as the season goes on.”
Chris Seisay, CB, Redshirt Sophomore
On overall play of secondary…
“We played alright. We didn't come out how we wanted to. That all comes with it being the first game of the season. We will be ready for next week."
On if the game was good for the defense…
"It definitely was good, to see our first game just to see what we need to work on for next week. We saw great receivers tonight, and we will see great receivers next week as well."
On what the defense can work on from this game…
"Press coverage, sticking on receivers, finding the ball, and knowing where to be at the end of a route."
Kani Benoit, RB, Redshirt sophomore
On running back plan going into the game…
“Its what the coaches decide, Its not up to us. I usually have a general idea of the running plan.”
On weird running style, and similarities to Royce…
“Styles are similar to Royce, Im always looking at what defenders are, doing and how they are playing me. I prejudge what I'm going to do before it happens”
On replacing Thomas Tyner, and the running game as a whole…
“Running back by committee a little bit, we are all good running backs and they are going to use us all”
Beau Baldwin - Eastern Washington Head Coach
On the game...
“Oregon's a premier program and they do so many things well and have for so many years. We knew what we were up against. We knew we would have to try and steal a possession here and there and do some things. Our kids fought hard and there are a lot of things to clean up and a lot of things to learn from, but I have so much respect for this program and Coach Helfrich and how he does things. We came in here and fought for 60 minutes. We had the mindset that we wanted to be there late in the game and we knew it would take a lucky bounce or two, but our kids fought hard. There's a ton of stuff we can coach off of and a ton of stuff we can work on and we know it because we have a tremendous opponent next week in Northern Iowa.”
On Cooper Kupp's play...
“I'm proud of a lot of our guys and with Cooper, he just keeps taking it to another level. He's done something special and then he comes out and does more. It's a joy to coach that young man.”
On Jordan West's play...
“I'm so proud of Jordan. It was obviously unfortunate that he started cramping. He was playing his tail off and doing some great things and standing in there in his first true start as the starter.”
On what he takes from this game...
“There's a ton of stuff we can coach off of and a ton of stuff we can work on and we know it because we have a tremendous opponent next week in Northern Iowa.”
Jordan West – Eastern Washington Quarterback, Junior
On how the four games he played in last season prepared him for tonight's game...
“Those four games, those were huge for me. Getting those four games under my belt and then knowing in the offseason that I was competing for that starting job going into the year, and ending up getting it. It feels really good to be out here. We were clicking on offense for most of the game. It's a shame that I had to come out because of cramps.”
On what he said to Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams after the game...
“I said congratulations and it was good to see him. I saw him a little bit before. It was nice to see him out there. I haven't talked to him in a while face-to-face. We text from time to time just to say 'what's up', but it was good to see him.”
On if it was weird seeing Adams on the other sideline...
“It's different, but we've known he was going to be over there for months and months. To see him out there is a little different, but it was cool and I'm glad to see him play.”
Cooper Kupp – Eastern Washington Wide Receiver, Junior
On his 246-yard, three touchdown game…
“I didn't even know I scored three times until my wife told me after the game. That was fun. It was a fun game. Offensively, we had a lot of things going for us. Jordan (West) played great, and even when he went down, Reilly (Hennessey) came in and played a great game. Kendrick (Bourne), Shaq (Hill) and all these guys made great plays for us, and that helps me get open. I was able to make a few plays for us. Hopefully, we can keep this thing going. It's going to be a fun year for us.”
On his ability to get so many yards after the catch…
“I don't like getting tackled. That's it. When you don't like getting tackled, you're going to try not to get tackled. It's all reaction. I'm just trying to react and make a play. I take it as my responsibility. If all of these balls come in early and we get a five or 10-yard catch, I want to be able to double that. I take pride in running after the catch and playing physically. That's something that we try to do as a team. We want to go above and beyond what we're called to do. It's very easy for a coach to say that they're going to try to get you open on a 10-yard out. It's our responsibility to extend that.”
On if he was nervous before tonight's game…
“I'm going to be honest. I was nervous, but I was also nervous for the (Division II) game we played last year. I get nervous for every game, because at that point, that's our biggest game. I'll be nervous this next week, I'll be nervous the week after that. That's just the way things go and that's the kind of person I am.”
