Oregon Spring Game Quotes
Head Coach Mike Bellotti:
“It’s a good day at the office anytime no one gets hurt. We’re healthy, but we have to get Ryan Depaolo’s surgery out of the way and get him back as soon as possible.”
“Some of our young guys stepped up today along with Johnathan Stewart and Garren Strong. I was pleased with the way we competed, but I thought we played well overall.”
“Ryan Keeling was a pleasant surprise today, because he has been in Ed Dickson’s shadow all spring long thus far. He stepped up and made some plays.”
“Brady Leaf did what he does best, which is be cool and composed under pressure. Dennis was affected by the two-hand touch rule more than anyone because he was not down by contact and that really affected his game.”
“We will be much more serious about improving our kicking game in the fall. The addition of all-state kicker Daniel Padilla will certainly help with that.”
“I was pleased with the way that the offense controlled the ball, but we turned the ball over via a fumble and an interception and that was two too many.”
“The green team ran the ball better today and thus they won. That’s pretty typical of any college football game though, the team that runs the ball better is able to control the game and win.”
“Our offense was transplanted to a foreign country [last year] and they’re just finding their way back. Luckily we have a lot of time to get that ready to go.”
“We’re a good defensive football team and there is some good defensive tradition being created here. Our offense led the league last year and the fact that our defense was able to stop it today is certainly a credit to that unit. We won’t really know until we play an opponent and that will come in September when we play Houston.”
Ryan Keeling:
“We have a lot to work on, but we showed a lot of promise. The last couple of springs we have become closer as a team and with some more work over the summer I think we can do some things.”
Senior QB Dennis Dixon
“We had difficulty on the line today. I couldn’t really get to my third progression, but it just takes time. We have the whole fall camp, and we are going to get better.”
“My biggest focus this spring was on becoming a better leader.”
Senior QB Brady Leaf
On what the team improved on most this spring:
“I think it was just getting comfortable with our new offensive coordinator, and having everybody on the same page. The end of last season was rough, and we wanted to get the bad taste out of our mouth.”
Senior WR Garren Strong
“My main expectation this season is to stay healthy. I have been hurt every year, and this is my last season now, so I want to be able to stay healthy.”
On what to expect from the wide receivers:
“I think we can all have good years. We are playing with a chip on our shoulder, because we didn’t play as well last year as we thought we could.”
Junior RB Jonathan Stewart
On new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly:
“When he first got here nobody knew what to expect. We were all a little lost, but every practice we’ve been picking it up. I think now we have a real good understanding of what Chip (Kelly) wants to do.”
