Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcon Football Quotes
October 10, 2006 | Football
Oct. 10, 2006
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University football team returns to Perry Stadium for Saturday's (Oct. 14) Homecoming contest. The Falcons of head coach Gregg Brandon will take on Eastern Michigan University, with kickoff slated for 4:00 p.m. On Tuesday afternoon, Brandon and several BGSU players met with the media ...
BGSU HEAD COACH Gregg Brandon
What positives came out of the Ohio State game?
Well, it was a positive that the kids played hard throughout the game. When we got (the deficit) to two scores late in the third I think we had a chance, but then we couldn't get off the field after that. They converted those two third-and-longs, and if we would have just gotten off the field we would have had a chance. The game got away from us in the first quarter which is frustrating. And that's what we talked about, because everyone that has played them has given up field position and turned it over, and that's what we did in the first quarter. On the opening kickoff I didn't want them to start on the 36-yard line but I didn't want to kick it deep and have (OSU's Ted) Ginn run it back. So, we asked Sean (Ellis) to squib kick it, and he didn't kick it where he was supposed to, and then AT (Anthony Turner) throws the pick and then Alonzo (Rojas) shanks the punt and now you've got field position, field position, field position, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown. You can't do that against good teams. You can't do that against any team.
But you have to feel pretty good about hanging in there against the number-one team in the nation, right?
"Well, we lost, and you don't get medals for trying. We need to manage situations better. The guys need to step up. When we want the ball punted somewhere they need to punt it there, when we want the ball kicked somewhere we need the kick executed. When we say to take care of the football don't throw it to the other team. Those are the things where it doesn't matter if you are playing Ohio State or whoever. Those are the things we stress, and we didn't execute in the first quarter and it came back to get us.
Your team seems to have come out of the game relatively injury-free, which had to be a concern going into the game.
Well, the physical nature of playing a Big Ten team is always a concern. I thought defensively we did a good job of rolling guys in there. We kept fresh bodies in there and guys were playing hard. It was nice to see Vincent Corner and Tarell Lewis come in when Antonio (Smith) got dinged in the second quarter. We have a lot of bumps and bruises, not only from Ohio State but from other games. That's just the nature of the game at this time of the year, and that's why it is important to have depth and to have athletes who can step in and play for you.
What can you tell us about Eastern Michigan?
They have had some tough losses. Central Michigan was an overtime game
and they played Northwestern very tough. I think they struggled last
week (Sept. 30 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette). They didn't have the Jones kid, (defensive lineman Jason Jones); he didn't play, and I don't know if he is going to play against us. If he plays we are going to have to watche out for him. He is hard to block, people have struggled to block him.
And (EMU wide receiver) Eric Deslauriers, two years ago he hurt us here (at Perry Stadium). I think he caught something like 10 or 12 balls; every time I looked up, he was catching another pass. He is a real good-sized kid, he has better-than-average speed, great hands; he is a tough guy that can go up and make plays in traffic. He is definitely a threat for them offensively.
What else have you seen from watching Eastern Michigan on film?
I see that they are playing hard and scrappy. They are a quick defense. We have to block them. We can't just run plays; we have to make sure we know where they are and make sure our guys know what they are running. I think offensively they are struggling a little bit to run the ball right
now. Their quarterback is their leading rusher so at the other
positions they aren't having the productivity that they would like. I mean, their scheme is similar to ours where they run the quarterback. He is a weapon; he broke a long one against Central and got it going in that game. He had some runs last game. We are going to have to get him on the ground.
Any thoughts on being back at home, and on Homecoming Weekend?
Well, it is a MAC game, so it is a game that we are going to have to win to stay in the hunt. It's Homecoming so I hope we get a great crowd. With only four home games this year, you get all fired up and then the team leaves for several weeks. We got a great win on the road (against Ohio), and we really need great support right now. I think that's the great thing about a home game, to run down that tunnel and come out and see a big crowd, especially for the young kids. We need to pack the Doyt, with people getting loud. We are a young team, and we are getting better, and I hope people come on out to the Doyt and stick with these guys. I have seen progress, especially with our defense. Our defense is cranking it up. I have seen us getting some pressure on the quarterback; our D-line is coming together, and that is taking some of the pressure off of the secondary.
I just hope people embrace this team. If I'm a BG fan, I'm going to get cranked up for this game. I'm going to come out here, paint my hair, look like a whack job going up into the stands. If things go right, great, but if things go wrong, then hang in there with us. As I said this team is a work in progress and part of the reason these young guys came to BG is because of the great fan support. (While being recruited) they saw things like College GameDay here at BGSU, beating Toledo here to win the MAC West, beating Marshall two years ago. A lot of kids came here because they visited on days like that, saw the great home crowds, great student support and game-day atmosphere. I know I'm on my soapbox now, and I'll get off, but I just don't want people to write us off because we have gone through a few growing pains.
What do you need to do to put yourself in position to win the MAC East?
We just have to concentrate on trying to beat Eastern. We need to take care of our business and let the chips fall where they may. With as many games as there are left in the season, and with the way this league is shaping up so far, I mean who knows what can happen?
Can you talk a little bit about Terrel White, and how he came to be a part of the program?
He was a walk-on. He was a student here, and he just decided to come on out and help the team. He was a walk-on running back; I coached his position when I was an assistant coach. When I got the (head-coaching) job, I moved him to linebacker. He is a sideline-to-sideline player; great intensity, solid tackler, a quiet leader on our defense. We have both sides of the spectrum with 'T. White' and then Devon Parks. Devon Parks is going to let you know when he makes a play. White just goes back to the huddle because that's what he does. "I made the tackle, and I'm going to make the next tackle."
What was the reason you moved him to linebacker?
Well, we had P.J. Pope and B.J. Lane, and we wanted to give Terrel a chance to play somewhere. We knew that he could run and had nice hands and was a good athlete. He kind of looks like (former Chicago Bears standout) Mike Singletary. He has that same look, his glasses are similar to those that Mike Singletary used to wear. 'T. White' kind of looks like your typical student, though; Joe College. When you walk into a high school (while recruiting) and see a Terrel White, you look at him physically; you don't say, "Oh year, that is the guy I am going to take." But, you can't look inside a guy's chest and see how big and strong his heart is. He is a football player.
It seems like Ruben Ruiz is doing a lot of things to help your offense.
Yeah, Ruben did some nice things on Saturday. He caught a ball in the middle and then stiff-armed a guy and ran over a guy. He looked like a guy who was playing with the big boys. Ruben has had a nice season. He is
a very solid leader, not only with the receivers but with the team.
Where he jumped out to me was in Buffalo. He made some big-time plays
with AT, and that's what won that game for us.
Before the season began, you mentioned that the offensive line would be a key for your team this year. How do you feel they have performed to this point?
They are really playing well together. To come out to start the second
half and keep the ball for over eight minutes against the number-one team
in the country, that was pretty neat to see. (Kory) Lichtensteiger is a steady guy who is playing really well. (John) Lanning, there's a guy who has had five knee surgeries and now has turf toe. Drew (Nystrom) is beat up now, Kevin (Huelsman) is beat up now. Those are guys that are tough, and when they get hurt they get even better. We don't beat them up too much in practice at this time of the season. They are such good fundamental players that you can do that and they still can go and knock people out on Saturday. I think both lines have shown that. Those guys have to keep playing hard. The way this league is going right now, who knows?
BGSU Player Quotes
Derrick Markray
We've got a chip on our shoulder. The last time we were at home, we didn't perform well. So, now its time to get back to that tradition of
winning at home in the Doyt, and we are excited to try and do that. The coaches have a good game plan to get us to the point that we are going to perform well.
We competed in that game (last week vs. Ohio State). It wasn't really anything they did that shut us down, a lot of times we just shot ourselves in the foot. It just showed us that our team is capable of being a great team if we execute and do the right things.
Terrel White
As a defense, we held our own for the most part (in the Ohio State game). We had them in a lot of third-and-longs; we just have to get better on third downs. We can play with them, we just shot ourselves in the foot sometimes. But, I am not taking anything away from them; they are a great team and I give them a lot of respect.
I watched a little bit of film (on Eastern Michigan) this morning. Their quarterback runs a lot. We have to focus on the quarterback, stop him as much as we try to stop everybody else.
Anthony Turner
I can't wait til we play Eastern, can't wait to be back in the Doyt. It feels good to be home.
(On BGSU having more rushing yards than Ohio State Saturday)
Our running game has definitely been a strength throughout the season. It's gotten stronger as the season has gone on. That is a huge confidence booster coming out of Ohio State, and our running game should keep going sky-high.
(On Corey Partridge's one-handed touchdown catch against OSU)
That was a sweet catch. As soon as he caught it, I ran to him and
said da-da-da, da-da-da (Sportscenter theme song), and it made the Top Five on ESPN. It was a sweet catch, a great catch.
Michael Ream
We (defensive line) know that it all starts up front in the trenches. Since camp has started, you can tell the d-line has come a lot closer as a unit. If one guys makes a mistake, we will pick them up
and help them and be like 'we'll get them next play.'
We just go all-out every play, try to hit that quarterback. Hit that quarterback and just let them know that (the defense isn't) a weak spot of Bowling Green any more. It isn't just our offense any more; our defense is going to win games for us, too.
Brady Minturn
Even though we (defensive line) are young, we are very deep at each
position. Being fresh gives us the ability to go all-out every single
play. Rotating different guys through there gives different looks, making
it easier for our defense to adapt.
Jacob Hardwick:
(Devon Parks and I) have a thing we do every week. I go over to his house and we watch film for over an hour, and just find different ways we can help each other out. What we learn (from the film), we tell everybody else, too, and it helps us all come together as a unit.
Devon Parks
(On the younger members of the defensive line)
Every week during practice, these guys have gotten better, and
they work at getting better every single day. You see these guys at
times dominate, and they are all freshmen.
Ruben Ruiz
(Will it be hard to get up for a game against a winless team, after playing the number-one team in the country before more than 100,000 people?)
We have to come out with lots of energy every game. It doesn't matter who we play. One of the things I have learned is that you can't underestimate
anyone, I don't care who it is. I don't care if we are playing a high
school, you can't underestimate anybody. We have to give it our all this
week, just to prove to ourselves that we can do more than we have so
far.
