Postgame Quotes – UCLA 35, Boise State 22
UCLA 35, Boise State 22
Starco Brands LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk
Inglewood, Calif. (SoFi Stadium)
November 25, 2023
UCLA head coach Chip Kelly
on if Ethan Garbers’ performance deterred him for looking for a quarterback in the offseason
“I think Ethan has won our team over a long time ago and he’s been our starting quarterback. The only issue we’ve had is Ethan’s got banged up. He knows he’s the starting quarterback here. I’ve got great faith in him. What we saw in him today is what we saw against Stanford. It’s what we saw against USC. Talking to him pregame, he didn’t feel like he was 100 percent and couldn’t go. That’s the type of player he is. He said, ‘I think you got to go with Collin [Schlee], but I’m ready to be a backup if we have to go.’ So Collin went down and I asked him are you ready to go and he said he was. He played fantastic.”
on his assessment for the season and plans to prepare for the Big Ten Conference move in 2024
“Our initial assessment is we wanted to send the seniors like Darius [Muasau] and Duke [Clemens] and Alex [Johnson], Kenny [Churchwell] out the right way and that was our goal. We did it. That’s what it is. There’s obviously the beginning stages of everything getting ready for the 2024 season, but there’s so many different things we have to do. We’re aware of it. We’re excited about the opportunity going into the Big Ten, but today we’ll savor this victory and the performance of these guys.”
on the defense’s performance
“I thought our defense actually played well in the first half. We just missed a couple of tackles. But they were where they were supposed to be. The runs were fit the right way. The long screen pass they had – we had a couple shots at him [but] we didn’t get him down. Give credit to the running back for Boise. It was a pretty good run by him. But we felt confident when we were in the locker room at halftime that everything that happened in the first half, it was us. It was missed tackles on defense and penalties on the offensive side of the ball. We felt that if we can clean that up, that we were poised to break out in the second half and that’s what happened.”
on playing in Los Angeles for a bowl game
“Being home in LA was awesome, and the fact that we can play in SoFi [Stadium] was really, really special.”
on if this win makes him feel vindicated
“No, because we don’t pay attention to that. These players can tell you that. We talk about being the most prepared and being the least distracted. If we did pay attention to that, we would be distracted. It’s tough. I’m older, so that stuff really doesn’t bother me. I’m not a social media guy. I can’t do that. I feel for our players at times, because we used to be in the information age. We’re in the information overload age. I think you have to build a moat around your mind and let the right things in and I think these guys have stayed the course through everything. You just watched their performance today. I think they’ve really done that. It was just a challenge for them. Not as much for me. I don’t pay attention to that. … I’ve got a job to do. My job is to prepare these guys and create an environment for them to be successful and then to get out of the way and let them do it. We’ve had challenges. We’ve had challenges with adversity. We’ve had challenges with injuries. We don’t make excuses, nor do we let other people make excuses for us. This is life. What these guys showed today, I’m really proud of them. I’m really proud of how they responded. That’s what a competitor does. A competitor responds. A non-competitor reacts. Did the ball bounce our way every single time? No, but that’s football. I think as a football coach, you have to teach life lessons. Sometimes those life lessons are hard and you have to go through them as a group. … When you look at statistics, this group won eight-plus games three years in a row. It’s the second time it’s happened since 1988 at UCLA. So that’s what I’m really proud of what these guys did and to beat a really good Mountain West football team in Boise State. Our guys came out in the second half and won that football game. It wasn’t handed to us. They won that football game.”
Redshirt senior linebacker Darius Mausau
on what adjustments the defense made in the second half
“In the first half, we weren’t really playing to the standard that we set out for ourselves coming into this season. Going into the locker room, this is a player-led team. Coach always says that all the time. We had our captains step up give a little speech, and that’s all we needed to kick our butts and get into the right mindset.”
on playing his final game as a Bruin
“Very bittersweet feeling. Sad that it’s my last collegiate game over these past five years. Love this game with all I got and I wouldn’t want to end it with any other team than the UCLA Bruins. Playing with the brothers I’ve had all year, I made a lot of great friendships that I’ll cherish forever. Great memories. You mentioned the defense we had this year. I was just so blessed to be on the field with these guys. We play for each other out there and I feel like it shows every game. We trust one another and we love one another so much. I feel like that’s how we play.
Redshirt junior quarterback Ethan Garbers
on if this was his best performance
“Yeah, that whole performances was for the team. It was for the seniors like Darius [Muasau], like Duke [Clemens]. They really laid the foundation for this program and for the younger guys. That win and that performance was all for them.”
on what he thought once Collin Schlee left the game with an injury
“When I saw Collin laying there and didn’t seem that he was ready to go, it kind of just flipped that switch in my head. It’s time to go to work. That’s what we did.”
on what was working well with wide receiver J.Michael Sturdivant
“All the work we put in since he got here last January. That whole year – in the summer, in the winter, in the spring. Working on that and working on those throws. At that point when we’re out there, it’s just muscle memory. We’ve done it so many times. We called it and we got the right look and we executed.”
on where his resiliency comes from
“I would just say my entire football career has been resilient. That’s life. Coach says all the time life is hard. If you could find a way to get through these battles and win these battles, it’s going to help you out in the long run.”
on if he is returning to UCLA next season
“Yes sir, I will be coming back next year for one more year and I’m excited to see where we can take this thing. Go Bruins, man.”
on if he’s paying more attention to detail in practice
“The game of football is broken down to every single play matters. The details of every single play – stepping the right way [and] putting the ball where it needs to be, it’s all important. The details are the little things what wins games and that really showed.”
on making the decision he couldn’t start the game
“This whole week, and just before the game, I wasn’t feeling 100 percent myself. When I looked out there – the team needed me and that’s my biggest priority. I sacrifice my body for the team and these guys. We put blood, sweat and tears into it. It’s all for them.”
Starco Brands LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk
Inglewood, Calif. (SoFi Stadium)
November 25, 2023
UCLA head coach Chip Kelly
on if Ethan Garbers’ performance deterred him for looking for a quarterback in the offseason
“I think Ethan has won our team over a long time ago and he’s been our starting quarterback. The only issue we’ve had is Ethan’s got banged up. He knows he’s the starting quarterback here. I’ve got great faith in him. What we saw in him today is what we saw against Stanford. It’s what we saw against USC. Talking to him pregame, he didn’t feel like he was 100 percent and couldn’t go. That’s the type of player he is. He said, ‘I think you got to go with Collin [Schlee], but I’m ready to be a backup if we have to go.’ So Collin went down and I asked him are you ready to go and he said he was. He played fantastic.”
on his assessment for the season and plans to prepare for the Big Ten Conference move in 2024
“Our initial assessment is we wanted to send the seniors like Darius [Muasau] and Duke [Clemens] and Alex [Johnson], Kenny [Churchwell] out the right way and that was our goal. We did it. That’s what it is. There’s obviously the beginning stages of everything getting ready for the 2024 season, but there’s so many different things we have to do. We’re aware of it. We’re excited about the opportunity going into the Big Ten, but today we’ll savor this victory and the performance of these guys.”
on the defense’s performance
“I thought our defense actually played well in the first half. We just missed a couple of tackles. But they were where they were supposed to be. The runs were fit the right way. The long screen pass they had – we had a couple shots at him [but] we didn’t get him down. Give credit to the running back for Boise. It was a pretty good run by him. But we felt confident when we were in the locker room at halftime that everything that happened in the first half, it was us. It was missed tackles on defense and penalties on the offensive side of the ball. We felt that if we can clean that up, that we were poised to break out in the second half and that’s what happened.”
on playing in Los Angeles for a bowl game
“Being home in LA was awesome, and the fact that we can play in SoFi [Stadium] was really, really special.”
on if this win makes him feel vindicated
“No, because we don’t pay attention to that. These players can tell you that. We talk about being the most prepared and being the least distracted. If we did pay attention to that, we would be distracted. It’s tough. I’m older, so that stuff really doesn’t bother me. I’m not a social media guy. I can’t do that. I feel for our players at times, because we used to be in the information age. We’re in the information overload age. I think you have to build a moat around your mind and let the right things in and I think these guys have stayed the course through everything. You just watched their performance today. I think they’ve really done that. It was just a challenge for them. Not as much for me. I don’t pay attention to that. … I’ve got a job to do. My job is to prepare these guys and create an environment for them to be successful and then to get out of the way and let them do it. We’ve had challenges. We’ve had challenges with adversity. We’ve had challenges with injuries. We don’t make excuses, nor do we let other people make excuses for us. This is life. What these guys showed today, I’m really proud of them. I’m really proud of how they responded. That’s what a competitor does. A competitor responds. A non-competitor reacts. Did the ball bounce our way every single time? No, but that’s football. I think as a football coach, you have to teach life lessons. Sometimes those life lessons are hard and you have to go through them as a group. … When you look at statistics, this group won eight-plus games three years in a row. It’s the second time it’s happened since 1988 at UCLA. So that’s what I’m really proud of what these guys did and to beat a really good Mountain West football team in Boise State. Our guys came out in the second half and won that football game. It wasn’t handed to us. They won that football game.”
Redshirt senior linebacker Darius Mausau
on what adjustments the defense made in the second half
“In the first half, we weren’t really playing to the standard that we set out for ourselves coming into this season. Going into the locker room, this is a player-led team. Coach always says that all the time. We had our captains step up give a little speech, and that’s all we needed to kick our butts and get into the right mindset.”
on playing his final game as a Bruin
“Very bittersweet feeling. Sad that it’s my last collegiate game over these past five years. Love this game with all I got and I wouldn’t want to end it with any other team than the UCLA Bruins. Playing with the brothers I’ve had all year, I made a lot of great friendships that I’ll cherish forever. Great memories. You mentioned the defense we had this year. I was just so blessed to be on the field with these guys. We play for each other out there and I feel like it shows every game. We trust one another and we love one another so much. I feel like that’s how we play.
Redshirt junior quarterback Ethan Garbers
on if this was his best performance
“Yeah, that whole performances was for the team. It was for the seniors like Darius [Muasau], like Duke [Clemens]. They really laid the foundation for this program and for the younger guys. That win and that performance was all for them.”
on what he thought once Collin Schlee left the game with an injury
“When I saw Collin laying there and didn’t seem that he was ready to go, it kind of just flipped that switch in my head. It’s time to go to work. That’s what we did.”
on what was working well with wide receiver J.Michael Sturdivant
“All the work we put in since he got here last January. That whole year – in the summer, in the winter, in the spring. Working on that and working on those throws. At that point when we’re out there, it’s just muscle memory. We’ve done it so many times. We called it and we got the right look and we executed.”
on where his resiliency comes from
“I would just say my entire football career has been resilient. That’s life. Coach says all the time life is hard. If you could find a way to get through these battles and win these battles, it’s going to help you out in the long run.”
on if he is returning to UCLA next season
“Yes sir, I will be coming back next year for one more year and I’m excited to see where we can take this thing. Go Bruins, man.”
on if he’s paying more attention to detail in practice
“The game of football is broken down to every single play matters. The details of every single play – stepping the right way [and] putting the ball where it needs to be, it’s all important. The details are the little things what wins games and that really showed.”
on making the decision he couldn’t start the game
“This whole week, and just before the game, I wasn’t feeling 100 percent myself. When I looked out there – the team needed me and that’s my biggest priority. I sacrifice my body for the team and these guys. We put blood, sweat and tears into it. It’s all for them.”