Tulsa vs. Southern Miss Postgame Quotes
11/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 26, 2010
Recap | Final Stats | Notes
TULSA QUOTES
Tulsa Head Coach Todd Graham:
Opening Statement:
"That was an exciting game to say the least. I'm really, really proud of our football team. First of all, I want to comment on Southern Miss and Larry Fedora's team. I think you have to give those guys a lot of credit. They are a really, really good football team. I knew that going in. I think they are the best team we've played in conference play up to this point. It was a heck of a football game. Our guys battled in every way. It was an exciting game to watch. I'm very, very proud of our players. We had a lot of guys fighting through a lot of bumps and bruises to play out there. I'm especially proud of our seniors and how they have represented this program with class and integrity. I'm really, really proud and very thankful to have the opportunity to coach these guys. What an incredible football game. I'm really proud of Willie Carter. He stepped up big time. Charles Clay went down. I talked to Willie at half time and he was very emotional about it. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was excited. But he also loves Charles Clay. I told him to go play for Charles, and what an incredible game that Willie had. I'm really proud of how our guys battled in all three phases, and I'm really proud of this football team. I don't know if I've ever coached a team that I feel any better about. This is a special, special team because of what they've been able to overcome. Especially the senior bunch, who is my first bunch that I recruited here. I'm very proud to be sitting here at 9-3. I think it shows what this program is made out of. We started off and faced some adversity. A lot of people thought our program wasn't going in the right direction. We held together and trusted each other and our training and what we've been taught. There is no question that we persevered and showed what we're made out of. I'm very, very proud of our football team and our staff as well. I'm really proud of Coach Morris and the offensive staff, Coach Patterson and the defensive staff, and Coach Blankenship and the special teams staff. This is the best staff I've ever worked on and one of the most enjoyable years I've ever had in coaching."
On Trae Johnson's Performance:
"Wow. Trae flat stepped up tonight, and I'm just so, so proud of him. Spectacular catches. He was off the charts. Those will be catches for some highlight reels there. This means a lot to Trae along with the rest of all of our seniors -- Jamad Williams, Charles Clay and Trae Johnson--those are three really, really special guys on offense. I'm also really proud of Tanner Antle, Odrick Ray, and Charles Davis on defense. But Trae Johnson played lights out and made some unbelievable catches."
Tulsa Player Quotes:
Junior Quarterback G. J. Kinne
How does it feel to send the seniors out with a win in their final game?
"It felt great to send those guys off in the right way. Last year we won our final game on senior night, but we didn't send them off the right way. This year, we felt like we sent them off the right way."
Did you know before you went out that SMU had won their game and that the Conference Championship was not on the table?
"I really didn't know until someone told me in the first quarter. But that's just part of it. We couldn't control that. We just came out and wanted to get a win for the seniors."
Talk about Trae Johnson and what he has meant to the program and about his big catch in the fourth quarter:
"It's hard to say what exactly he has done for the program because he has done so much. There at the end, it's senior night, and I was just giving him the chance to go one-on-one. I just threw it up and he came down with a one-handed catch with pass interference. The guy was all over him but he made a spectacular play."
Talk about Willie Carter and his performance after Charles Clay was injured in the second quarter:
"We've known that Willie is a great player, but he's just been playing behind a guy [Clay] who has a chance to play in the NFL. He's a great player and you're going to see nothing but good things from him in the future."
Did you think it would be a shootout?
"You don't want to go into a game thinking like that, but I think that in the back of your mind, you might think that. Southern Miss has an explosive offense. The difference between this year and last year is that we are winning the close games."
Talk about Willie Carter's reverse run:
"Willie just found the edge. He's probably the fastest guy, running straight ahead, on the team. He just took it and he scored."
Closing comments...
"This year, we were playing for those seniors and to have some momentum going into a bowl game. We're excited to play, wherever we go."
Senior Linebacker Tanner Antle
You were the last one to leave the field after the game. What did it feel like to walk off that field for the final time as a winner?
"I didn't expect anything less than a win, and I didn't care how we got to that. That's what I asked for. All I wanted was a win. It feels great. I don't know if it's hit me completely yet. There's been times when I get emotional. I'm going to miss this place. I've been here for a while and the fans are great. Little kids and adults are always waiting to talk to me, and I feel like they're all my friends. I don't see myself as a hero, and I'm not more important than anyone else. I just enjoy being around these people."
Did you feel like you just needed one stop to win the game?
"Definitely. The word from the sideline was just, `One stop. All we need is one stop.' We stopped them on the two-point conversion and made it a two possession game."
Would it have mattered if you had known before the game that SMU had won and that you couldn't win the conference?
"No. The focus was winning this game. If you don't win this one then the outcome of that game doesn't matter."
Talk about the bowl game and having the chance to play one more game:
"I'm not surprised. I expected it. I don't care where we play. I don't care who it's against. I feel privileged to get to play in another game and get another win and put us at a 10-win season. That's my goal."
Southern Miss Head Coach Larry Fedora
Opening statement...
"That was a heck of football game tonight between two good football teams. We obviously made too many mistakes to win a football game like that. They are well-coached and did a great job. We turned the ball over too many times offensively, and defensively we gave up too many big plays. That's the gist of it you know. You can't do things like that against a good football team.
"I thought we did some really nice things in the game. I really did. I think we controlled [Damaris Johnson] pretty good, because he is very, very dangerous."
On the defense...
"We gave up way too many big plays, simple as that. Whether it is pass interference or just getting beat. You just can't do those things and expect to win big games. If you take away one of those big plays, it is a different game. Offensively, it is your job to score more points than the opponent and defensively your job is to hold them to one less point."
On G.J. Kinne's performance...
"The guy is a good quarterback and we knew that going into the game. He played really well. He was 23-of-37 for 406 yards with four TD's and two picks."
On fighting back from an early 28-10 deficit...
"Most people would have said we were out of it in the first quarter. But you know, our guys just kept fighting back, and fighting back. They got themselves right back into the game, and gave themselves a chance to win. We just made way too many mistakes."
