Postgame Quotes – UCLA 20, Fresno State 13
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 20, Fresno State 13
Pasadena, Calif. (Rose Bowl)
Nov. 30, 2024
UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster
opening remarks
“This game went very similar to how our season went. We had a few ups and downs, but my guys are very resilient. They’ve continued to play hard. They don’t let things affect them. I’m just blessed that I had the type of team that just continues to fight. We came out of the half and scored some points and got it going.”
on Bruins’ quarterback Ethan Garbers and what he has given to this program
“Just really fired up for him. That was something important to Ethan. We just wanted to stress how bad it was for us to make sure we send our seniors off the correct way. I’m blessed that I have the type of team that comes out and they’re just resilient. The fact that my seniors just kind of set the standard for the rest of the team, and just to let them know that no matter what the score is, or what our record is, we’ve still got to come ready to play. I’m just excited.”
on UCLA having a five-win season and facing a challenging schedule
“Just staying positive, that is the number one thing. If you stay positive and good things can happen. So I just wanted to continue to speak life into them. As long as you do that, they’ll play hard for you. That is one thing that you can’t coach, is how hard guys are going to play. In each game, we came out and nobody can say that we quit. Especially with the type of season that we had. I know that there are a lot of other teams where people are opting out of their last game, and you know, I had 42 seniors and every last one of them played in this game. They were excited to play in it. I’m just glad that we were able to go out on the right foot, get into this offseason, but more or less, I was just glad that we were able to send our seniors off the correct way.”
on what changed the Bruins made in the second half of today’s game
“It was just more about us. It wasn’t anything that we needed to correct. We were kind of getting in our own way in that first half. So it was just more or less, we’ve got to get out there and execute – just stop doing things that will stop drives. Just have to find ways to execute a play. Defensively, they did a great job. They came out and played well. Carson [Schwesinger] had 15 tackles, and that is probably the Butkus winner. Everybody make sure that you do your part. I’m saying to do your part because you guys see Carson every day. You guys see him at practice. You see how he has played in every game. You know that he didn’t start those first three games, and he still leads the nation in tackles. It was just a testament to what type of player he is – a former walk-on. And we probably shouldn’t even be saying that because he’s most definitely a scholarship player, but that’s just where he started. If he leaves, that is somebody who is going to be missed. He’s most definitely put his stamp on this program."
on having been dealt a challenging hand and what his message has been to recruits
“This is football. So whatever our schedule is, we’ll line it up. Wherever we’ve got to fly, we’re playing. That is what I never wanted to complain about what we are doing with our schedule, who we had to play, why we are playing this team, we just knew that we had to play. A lot of other coaches, they give a couple of disclaimers out and say stuff that is kind of making excuses for things. But we are going to play ball, and if we would have beat some of those teams, we would’ve been ranked. I look at it like that. We were able to show up and play against a good LSU team, played a Penn State team pretty tight, Oregon came in here and played well. We played here against Indiana and they played really well against us. But it just shows, we are resilient. If we continue to grow and get to the point where I know this program can get to, we will be ready to play anybody no matter what.”
on running back Anthony Frias II getting so many carries in the fourth quarter
“TJ [Harden] missed the last two days because he was sick. That was one guy that was out. Keegan [Jones] was already nursing an ankle. That was unfortunate. Next man mentality, we were down to our fourth left tackle, next man up. We were down to our third running back – next man up. It’s more about how he practices every day and prepares to play like he is starting. It was exciting that he finally got his shot. When his number was called he was able to capitalize and make some plays for us.”
on the quarterback position looking toward next season
“Justyn Martin played really well for us. He’s still a Bruin and everything, so we will evaluate everything. But when you have a backup quarterback that can come in and play well like that, everyone is excited about him. His future is bright here with UCLA.”
on what he’s learned about himself from this football season
“I guess, my patience, just being patient. A lot of things didn’t go the way that you want it go to, but you’ve got to stay patient and positive. You just can’t be up-and-down. These players have to look at somebody who is calm. Just holding them to a standard, and they understood – it’s how you have to execute and what you have to do. In that last drive, that fourth quarter kind of showed who we were as a team.”
on the advantage to having a full offseason
“We’d love to be in a bowl game, but it’s unfortunate that we came up a game short. Just building the team. They’ll be able to get some rest. I think it will help them. When they come back, they’ll be eager to get going. I’m looking forward to this offseason, building a roster with high school kids and a couple of portal players. I’m just excited that we were able to send my seniors off the right way with a victory. And, we won’t be hearing about having lost four in a row [to Fresno State] anymore. So you can all put that to rest. But, [Fresno State coach] Tim Skipper is a great coach. Those boys were ready to play. I have known him for a long time. I know what type of family he comes from. His father was my running back coach at Carolina. His older brother was my running backs coach here at UCLA. I wouldn’t be in the coaching position if I didn’t have the Skippers. He’s a great coach. He did a great job having these boys ready to play. They’re going to a bowl game. Hopefully they’ll keep him so that he will be in the same situation as I am and lead his alma mater.”
on Bruins’ tight end Moliki Matavao and if there was a plan to use the tight end
“Just kind of what the game dictated. Ethan was just finding the open receivers. One thing that Ethan does well is to spread the ball around. It was just good that he could find the open receivers and find guys. You know, Moliki, he stepped up the whole season. He has made plays all year and he’s most definitely going to be missed.”
UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers
on winning his final game as a Bruin
“It felt great, honestly. It was a team effort. All 11 guys came out in the second half and dominated. We did what we needed to do and we were successful.”
on his touchdown pass to J.Michael Sturdivant in the fourth quarter
“Calling that play, we were anticipating throwing it. They wanted me to take a sack if it wasn’t open, or throw it away. But I said ‘Screw that, let’s win this game’ and J.Michael made a great play on the ball."
on his message to the returning quarterbacks ahead of next season
“They just have to do what they’re told. They just have to keep learning and keep doing their thing. There’s a big saying in our program to just take it one play at a time. That couldn’t be more true for the young quarterbacks coming up.”
on the lessons he learned while playing football at UCLA
“I would say the number one lesson that I’ve learned during my tenure at UCLA is discipline. Being the 18-year old kid coming into college, you don’t have a lot of discipline. You want to procrastinate and you want to do whatever you want to do and not set a schedule. It sets you up for life. In life, you have to be discipline in everything that you do. I think that’s just been the biggest lesson that I’ve learned.”
on Coach Foster’s growth in his first season as head coach
“I think the biggest thing I saw in Coach Foster was his ability to just not give up. He persevered through anything that came his way. We didn’t start the year how we wanted to start it. He told us that he’s not changing anything. The next day, we’re going to put our pants on and go to work. I just think he’s done such a great job with the motivational speaking part of it too. Being a position coach and then becoming a head coach is a pretty dramatic change. It’s a lot of public speaking, meeting with media, and in front of the team. He’s done a great job of working through that and he’s going to make the program better in the future.”
UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger
on his decision this offseason
“There’s a decision to be made over the next couple of weeks. I’ll weigh the options and see what it comes down to. Coach Foster will be the first person I tell that decision.”
on the lessons he learned while playing football at UCLA
“Another lesson I was able to take is just how to live life as a man. We’ve had a lot of examples come in through Coach Foster, Coach Malloe, and the whole coaching staff. Just seeing them carry themselves through life is something that is going to be very helpful moving forward.”
UCLA tight end Moliki Matavao
on his takeaways from his experience at UCLA
“Just the bonds that we have with this team. Especially this senior group, we’re all really close both on and off the field. It’s just awesome seeing us all success, especially after this last game. We started off slow, but we came out after halftime. It was fun to see everyone do their part, do their job, and come out with a victory.”
on the lessons he learned while playing football at UCLA
“The biggest thing that I learned is how to persevere through adversity. This season has been full of its ups and downs. When you get knocked down, you get back up and keep swinging harder every time. That’s something that has been ingrained in us and this culture.”
UCLA linebacker Kain Medrano
on his takeaways from his experience at UCLA
“Just the bonds and the brotherhood from everyone on this team. I’ve been here for six years so I’ve seen people come, people go. The bond and the chemistry I had with the people in this locker room will be something that I cherish for the rest of my life.”
on the team’s message to recruits after this season
“We need you, at this point. We’ve got a lot of seniors leaving. We need you guys and why not come play football in LA. It’s 75 degrees and sunny all year round. You get a great head coach, great position coaches, and a great support staff behind you. It’s a great education. I don’t see who would not want to do that. Come be a Bruin and let’s carry on this momentum into the offseason.”
on Carson Schwesigner’s standout season and his chances to win the Butkus Award
“Turn the tape on. That’s all I’ve got to say. You’ve seen my man, he’s out there balling. Every play is 100 percent. If you turn the tape on you should be able to see who’s going to win that award.”
Fresno State interim head coach Tim Skipper
opening remarks
“In the first half they had all the penalties, and we had none. Then you go to the second half, that’s when we started having penalties, and they didn’t have any. They made enough plays. I like the way we started. It was a dirty game, a hard-fought game in the trenches, went in 10-6 at halftime. I felt good about how we were playing, and then in the second half, these lulls we kept having, slowing the whole pace of the game down, and then they took advantage of situations. We made long fields on offense, and things like that can’t happen when you are playing a football team like that. That’s a good team, they play one of the most difficult schedules in all of college football, so we went out there and slugged matched with them. We just have to make plays, it’s a game of situations, and they made more plays in those situations. They got the victory, and I tip my hat to those guys, they did a good job and they finished it.”
on running the ball more in the second half
“Yeah, we tried to get some juice going in there, it was tough sledding. They are one of the top defenses against the rush. Pass-game, there were some areas where we missed some throws, missed some catches, but we definitely tried to run it. Tried some fly-sweep, some draw stuff to get them flowing. We had that reverse play, it was all misdirection style runs. We couldn’t just go downhill, they ahead some big guys up front that were knocking us back so its kind of limited us on what we could do run-game wise.”
on the offensive issues in the second half
“You have to start fast, right? You have to finish, that’s the bottom line. When you get paneities and go behind the sticks, and if a defense is good, you are never going to accomplish what you want to accomplish in that sense. Then that makes you very one dimensional when you are always behind the sticks. That’s what I attribute it to, especially today, today was a perfect example of that. We have to work on that and get better in that area.”
on bowl game preferences, and maybe going back to Albuquerque for the New Mexico Bowl
“I have no idea. All bowls are good bowls in my opinion. That means you won six, and it’s a tribute to the guys in the locker room. Obviously, you want to win more but where we go, we go. I’m not going to be one of those guys who is a fortune teller or anything on that.”
on his message to the team afterwards
“It was a lot about us finishing. We came out and played hard, we play Bulldog football, but you have to finish. You have to finish. That’s what this game is, it’s big boy football. As the game keeps going, we need to get stronger, and we haven’t done that. We had some opportunities, especially at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and then we couldn’t make the play that we needed to make. It was right there, we didn’t make the play. Tip my hat to those guys, like I said, they made the plays, they drained out the clock at the end, all those things that helps you win tight games.”
on the talent record and if the 6-6 record accurately reflects this team
“You know, we’ve been battling all year. We have had injuries, all kinds of stuff going on. I like the effort of these kids, these kids have bought in every single week. You can talk talent, talk all of that stuff, it’s all about effort and they have had that all year long. I like where we are, we just have to finish games. So many one score games, it's crazy. We just need to finish. I’m a no-excuse guy. I think we started the most combinations of offensive lineman in the country. Things like that, you can make every excuse you want, I’m not that guy. We are going to work, whoever is here and healthy and ready to work, and we are going to go try and win a game. We just need to finish. That’s the key word, finish. One possession games we have to finish.”
on Bryson Donelson and his future with Fresno State
“He’s a very good back. That kid had a knee injury that a lot of people would not have came back from. Didn’t practice Tuesday, Wednesday he looked like he was 100%, just miraculous. That’s just the type of mindset he has. You can’t forget he’s a freshman, he was at the prom not that long ago. He is a kid that is very strong willed and wants to play. He’s kind of a throwback, wish I could play with that guy.”
on the future of his job and any potential effect from today’s game against UCLA
“Look, in coaching you have to win, bottom line. You have to win. Every single game I ever coached whether I was an assistant or a head coach, whatever it is, we need to win. That’s the nature of the business. It’s not about me at all. It’s about those kids, giving the effort that we give, and play Bulldog football, we will go out there and do what we have to do. The rest of that speaks for itself, I don’t get into that too much. Like I said, it’s not about me at all. I never came into this thinking about me at all. You have to win in this business, that’s what it is.”
on how his team’s offense can find some confidence before the bowl game
“I think we had some spurts and some moments that have been pretty good. We are just trying to put four quarters together, that’s the whole key, and finishing games, punching it in. At least get down there and get in field goal range. We still have 10 (points) on that scoreboard and then we got the field goal there late, trying to play clock situation. Definitely have to get more points, we just have to keep working. No excuse to it, we just have to keep working to punch it in.”
on signing day and the transfer portal with the upcoming bowl game
“This program is built on hard work, that’s where it is. Guys that want to be Bulldogs will still want to be Bulldogs. The way college football is now, you have signing day, then you have the portal. All of that stuff is part of the job, it’s just normal now. You just keep on working and making your calls. You keep preaching what Bulldog football is, keep recruiting the Valley, keep recruiting the outskirts, and guys will come. It’s a strong program here, very rich tradition, and people want to play here.”
UCLA 20, Fresno State 13
Pasadena, Calif. (Rose Bowl)
Nov. 30, 2024
UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster
opening remarks
“This game went very similar to how our season went. We had a few ups and downs, but my guys are very resilient. They’ve continued to play hard. They don’t let things affect them. I’m just blessed that I had the type of team that just continues to fight. We came out of the half and scored some points and got it going.”
on Bruins’ quarterback Ethan Garbers and what he has given to this program
“Just really fired up for him. That was something important to Ethan. We just wanted to stress how bad it was for us to make sure we send our seniors off the correct way. I’m blessed that I have the type of team that comes out and they’re just resilient. The fact that my seniors just kind of set the standard for the rest of the team, and just to let them know that no matter what the score is, or what our record is, we’ve still got to come ready to play. I’m just excited.”
on UCLA having a five-win season and facing a challenging schedule
“Just staying positive, that is the number one thing. If you stay positive and good things can happen. So I just wanted to continue to speak life into them. As long as you do that, they’ll play hard for you. That is one thing that you can’t coach, is how hard guys are going to play. In each game, we came out and nobody can say that we quit. Especially with the type of season that we had. I know that there are a lot of other teams where people are opting out of their last game, and you know, I had 42 seniors and every last one of them played in this game. They were excited to play in it. I’m just glad that we were able to go out on the right foot, get into this offseason, but more or less, I was just glad that we were able to send our seniors off the correct way.”
on what changed the Bruins made in the second half of today’s game
“It was just more about us. It wasn’t anything that we needed to correct. We were kind of getting in our own way in that first half. So it was just more or less, we’ve got to get out there and execute – just stop doing things that will stop drives. Just have to find ways to execute a play. Defensively, they did a great job. They came out and played well. Carson [Schwesinger] had 15 tackles, and that is probably the Butkus winner. Everybody make sure that you do your part. I’m saying to do your part because you guys see Carson every day. You guys see him at practice. You see how he has played in every game. You know that he didn’t start those first three games, and he still leads the nation in tackles. It was just a testament to what type of player he is – a former walk-on. And we probably shouldn’t even be saying that because he’s most definitely a scholarship player, but that’s just where he started. If he leaves, that is somebody who is going to be missed. He’s most definitely put his stamp on this program."
on having been dealt a challenging hand and what his message has been to recruits
“This is football. So whatever our schedule is, we’ll line it up. Wherever we’ve got to fly, we’re playing. That is what I never wanted to complain about what we are doing with our schedule, who we had to play, why we are playing this team, we just knew that we had to play. A lot of other coaches, they give a couple of disclaimers out and say stuff that is kind of making excuses for things. But we are going to play ball, and if we would have beat some of those teams, we would’ve been ranked. I look at it like that. We were able to show up and play against a good LSU team, played a Penn State team pretty tight, Oregon came in here and played well. We played here against Indiana and they played really well against us. But it just shows, we are resilient. If we continue to grow and get to the point where I know this program can get to, we will be ready to play anybody no matter what.”
on running back Anthony Frias II getting so many carries in the fourth quarter
“TJ [Harden] missed the last two days because he was sick. That was one guy that was out. Keegan [Jones] was already nursing an ankle. That was unfortunate. Next man mentality, we were down to our fourth left tackle, next man up. We were down to our third running back – next man up. It’s more about how he practices every day and prepares to play like he is starting. It was exciting that he finally got his shot. When his number was called he was able to capitalize and make some plays for us.”
on the quarterback position looking toward next season
“Justyn Martin played really well for us. He’s still a Bruin and everything, so we will evaluate everything. But when you have a backup quarterback that can come in and play well like that, everyone is excited about him. His future is bright here with UCLA.”
on what he’s learned about himself from this football season
“I guess, my patience, just being patient. A lot of things didn’t go the way that you want it go to, but you’ve got to stay patient and positive. You just can’t be up-and-down. These players have to look at somebody who is calm. Just holding them to a standard, and they understood – it’s how you have to execute and what you have to do. In that last drive, that fourth quarter kind of showed who we were as a team.”
on the advantage to having a full offseason
“We’d love to be in a bowl game, but it’s unfortunate that we came up a game short. Just building the team. They’ll be able to get some rest. I think it will help them. When they come back, they’ll be eager to get going. I’m looking forward to this offseason, building a roster with high school kids and a couple of portal players. I’m just excited that we were able to send my seniors off the right way with a victory. And, we won’t be hearing about having lost four in a row [to Fresno State] anymore. So you can all put that to rest. But, [Fresno State coach] Tim Skipper is a great coach. Those boys were ready to play. I have known him for a long time. I know what type of family he comes from. His father was my running back coach at Carolina. His older brother was my running backs coach here at UCLA. I wouldn’t be in the coaching position if I didn’t have the Skippers. He’s a great coach. He did a great job having these boys ready to play. They’re going to a bowl game. Hopefully they’ll keep him so that he will be in the same situation as I am and lead his alma mater.”
on Bruins’ tight end Moliki Matavao and if there was a plan to use the tight end
“Just kind of what the game dictated. Ethan was just finding the open receivers. One thing that Ethan does well is to spread the ball around. It was just good that he could find the open receivers and find guys. You know, Moliki, he stepped up the whole season. He has made plays all year and he’s most definitely going to be missed.”
UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers
on winning his final game as a Bruin
“It felt great, honestly. It was a team effort. All 11 guys came out in the second half and dominated. We did what we needed to do and we were successful.”
on his touchdown pass to J.Michael Sturdivant in the fourth quarter
“Calling that play, we were anticipating throwing it. They wanted me to take a sack if it wasn’t open, or throw it away. But I said ‘Screw that, let’s win this game’ and J.Michael made a great play on the ball."
on his message to the returning quarterbacks ahead of next season
“They just have to do what they’re told. They just have to keep learning and keep doing their thing. There’s a big saying in our program to just take it one play at a time. That couldn’t be more true for the young quarterbacks coming up.”
on the lessons he learned while playing football at UCLA
“I would say the number one lesson that I’ve learned during my tenure at UCLA is discipline. Being the 18-year old kid coming into college, you don’t have a lot of discipline. You want to procrastinate and you want to do whatever you want to do and not set a schedule. It sets you up for life. In life, you have to be discipline in everything that you do. I think that’s just been the biggest lesson that I’ve learned.”
on Coach Foster’s growth in his first season as head coach
“I think the biggest thing I saw in Coach Foster was his ability to just not give up. He persevered through anything that came his way. We didn’t start the year how we wanted to start it. He told us that he’s not changing anything. The next day, we’re going to put our pants on and go to work. I just think he’s done such a great job with the motivational speaking part of it too. Being a position coach and then becoming a head coach is a pretty dramatic change. It’s a lot of public speaking, meeting with media, and in front of the team. He’s done a great job of working through that and he’s going to make the program better in the future.”
UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger
on his decision this offseason
“There’s a decision to be made over the next couple of weeks. I’ll weigh the options and see what it comes down to. Coach Foster will be the first person I tell that decision.”
on the lessons he learned while playing football at UCLA
“Another lesson I was able to take is just how to live life as a man. We’ve had a lot of examples come in through Coach Foster, Coach Malloe, and the whole coaching staff. Just seeing them carry themselves through life is something that is going to be very helpful moving forward.”
UCLA tight end Moliki Matavao
on his takeaways from his experience at UCLA
“Just the bonds that we have with this team. Especially this senior group, we’re all really close both on and off the field. It’s just awesome seeing us all success, especially after this last game. We started off slow, but we came out after halftime. It was fun to see everyone do their part, do their job, and come out with a victory.”
on the lessons he learned while playing football at UCLA
“The biggest thing that I learned is how to persevere through adversity. This season has been full of its ups and downs. When you get knocked down, you get back up and keep swinging harder every time. That’s something that has been ingrained in us and this culture.”
UCLA linebacker Kain Medrano
on his takeaways from his experience at UCLA
“Just the bonds and the brotherhood from everyone on this team. I’ve been here for six years so I’ve seen people come, people go. The bond and the chemistry I had with the people in this locker room will be something that I cherish for the rest of my life.”
on the team’s message to recruits after this season
“We need you, at this point. We’ve got a lot of seniors leaving. We need you guys and why not come play football in LA. It’s 75 degrees and sunny all year round. You get a great head coach, great position coaches, and a great support staff behind you. It’s a great education. I don’t see who would not want to do that. Come be a Bruin and let’s carry on this momentum into the offseason.”
on Carson Schwesigner’s standout season and his chances to win the Butkus Award
“Turn the tape on. That’s all I’ve got to say. You’ve seen my man, he’s out there balling. Every play is 100 percent. If you turn the tape on you should be able to see who’s going to win that award.”
Fresno State interim head coach Tim Skipper
opening remarks
“In the first half they had all the penalties, and we had none. Then you go to the second half, that’s when we started having penalties, and they didn’t have any. They made enough plays. I like the way we started. It was a dirty game, a hard-fought game in the trenches, went in 10-6 at halftime. I felt good about how we were playing, and then in the second half, these lulls we kept having, slowing the whole pace of the game down, and then they took advantage of situations. We made long fields on offense, and things like that can’t happen when you are playing a football team like that. That’s a good team, they play one of the most difficult schedules in all of college football, so we went out there and slugged matched with them. We just have to make plays, it’s a game of situations, and they made more plays in those situations. They got the victory, and I tip my hat to those guys, they did a good job and they finished it.”
on running the ball more in the second half
“Yeah, we tried to get some juice going in there, it was tough sledding. They are one of the top defenses against the rush. Pass-game, there were some areas where we missed some throws, missed some catches, but we definitely tried to run it. Tried some fly-sweep, some draw stuff to get them flowing. We had that reverse play, it was all misdirection style runs. We couldn’t just go downhill, they ahead some big guys up front that were knocking us back so its kind of limited us on what we could do run-game wise.”
on the offensive issues in the second half
“You have to start fast, right? You have to finish, that’s the bottom line. When you get paneities and go behind the sticks, and if a defense is good, you are never going to accomplish what you want to accomplish in that sense. Then that makes you very one dimensional when you are always behind the sticks. That’s what I attribute it to, especially today, today was a perfect example of that. We have to work on that and get better in that area.”
on bowl game preferences, and maybe going back to Albuquerque for the New Mexico Bowl
“I have no idea. All bowls are good bowls in my opinion. That means you won six, and it’s a tribute to the guys in the locker room. Obviously, you want to win more but where we go, we go. I’m not going to be one of those guys who is a fortune teller or anything on that.”
on his message to the team afterwards
“It was a lot about us finishing. We came out and played hard, we play Bulldog football, but you have to finish. You have to finish. That’s what this game is, it’s big boy football. As the game keeps going, we need to get stronger, and we haven’t done that. We had some opportunities, especially at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and then we couldn’t make the play that we needed to make. It was right there, we didn’t make the play. Tip my hat to those guys, like I said, they made the plays, they drained out the clock at the end, all those things that helps you win tight games.”
on the talent record and if the 6-6 record accurately reflects this team
“You know, we’ve been battling all year. We have had injuries, all kinds of stuff going on. I like the effort of these kids, these kids have bought in every single week. You can talk talent, talk all of that stuff, it’s all about effort and they have had that all year long. I like where we are, we just have to finish games. So many one score games, it's crazy. We just need to finish. I’m a no-excuse guy. I think we started the most combinations of offensive lineman in the country. Things like that, you can make every excuse you want, I’m not that guy. We are going to work, whoever is here and healthy and ready to work, and we are going to go try and win a game. We just need to finish. That’s the key word, finish. One possession games we have to finish.”
on Bryson Donelson and his future with Fresno State
“He’s a very good back. That kid had a knee injury that a lot of people would not have came back from. Didn’t practice Tuesday, Wednesday he looked like he was 100%, just miraculous. That’s just the type of mindset he has. You can’t forget he’s a freshman, he was at the prom not that long ago. He is a kid that is very strong willed and wants to play. He’s kind of a throwback, wish I could play with that guy.”
on the future of his job and any potential effect from today’s game against UCLA
“Look, in coaching you have to win, bottom line. You have to win. Every single game I ever coached whether I was an assistant or a head coach, whatever it is, we need to win. That’s the nature of the business. It’s not about me at all. It’s about those kids, giving the effort that we give, and play Bulldog football, we will go out there and do what we have to do. The rest of that speaks for itself, I don’t get into that too much. Like I said, it’s not about me at all. I never came into this thinking about me at all. You have to win in this business, that’s what it is.”
on how his team’s offense can find some confidence before the bowl game
“I think we had some spurts and some moments that have been pretty good. We are just trying to put four quarters together, that’s the whole key, and finishing games, punching it in. At least get down there and get in field goal range. We still have 10 (points) on that scoreboard and then we got the field goal there late, trying to play clock situation. Definitely have to get more points, we just have to keep working. No excuse to it, we just have to keep working to punch it in.”
on signing day and the transfer portal with the upcoming bowl game
“This program is built on hard work, that’s where it is. Guys that want to be Bulldogs will still want to be Bulldogs. The way college football is now, you have signing day, then you have the portal. All of that stuff is part of the job, it’s just normal now. You just keep on working and making your calls. You keep preaching what Bulldog football is, keep recruiting the Valley, keep recruiting the outskirts, and guys will come. It’s a strong program here, very rich tradition, and people want to play here.”