Gavin Holmes
(Richard Reese) – That was so much fun just to see him. He works so hard during the week. We knew he was going to have a big role today. And he definitely stepped up and it was really cool to see.
(Shapen TD end of first half) – We knew we were going to be in a 2-minute situation. So we know we wanted to drive down there and get some points. We started off shaky, a little slower than we would have liked to. But yeah, that 2-minute drill put us into gear for that second half.
(28-yard TD reception) I knew there had been holes in the middle of the field the whole game. I told Blake to hold it a little longer and I’m going to sneak through one those holes. And he saw and I saw green and I just took it. That was a good play.
(Halftime message) Like I said, we started offensively slower than we would have liked. But I felt like we were executing at a pretty good level. So I think the big message going into the second half for us was to play fast, play hard and play our game of football. And I think we did that.
(Injuries/waiting) Of course, I’ve waited a long time for this. I’m extremely blessed and thankful and taking it all in.
(Fast-paced offense) It was great. We worked 2 minute a lot during the week. The most we have with this staff (I cleaned that up) because we know how important those situations are. And you never know when you’re going to have to be in a 2 minute situation. We wanted to prepare to the best of our ability.
(Offensive steps) We played together today. Like I said we played a little slow. We know what we’re capable of, especially how we practice, the time we put in outside of the facility. We know what we’re capable of. We just have to go out and play our game and execute. That was the message going into the second half. We did make some mistakes offensively in the second half (turnovers). But we rallied together and were able to bounce back from those.
(Blake Shapen grade) I think he’s progressing continuously. Last weekend was a hard weekend for the whole team. We just wanted to get that taste out of our mouths. Blake was taking a lot on himself. We just rallied around him telling him we got you. We know that work that we have put in, the time we have put in. And we know what kind of player Blake is. I think he came today and played very precise, smart football.
(Guys out) We knew going into this week that we have some bodies down. But we were very confident in the guys who needed to step up. Everybody who had to step up did step up today. I think that’s a testament to our preparation, our staff and the work we put in.
(Run game help pass game) Especially with those playactions we were doing. The nakeds. We wanted to pound the ball at the beginning of the game. That kept bringing guys down into the box. And we knew we were going to hit shots over their heads. That’s what we did.
(11 am Heat) Not really. Yeah it was hot. But we practice every day at 3:00 pm so we’re used to it. That’s what coach was telling us. That’s why we practice at that time at the hottest time of the day for games like this. Yes, it was very hot but we were prepared for it.
Al Walcott
(Did y’all feel like the defense got better throughout the game?)
Yes, sir. Going into halftime, we knew we had a lot of things to fix, especially in the backend. We knew we had to dial in and fix those things, and that's what we did as a whole, even as a team. Everybody knew we had to pick each other up and that's what we did.
(Where do you feel like you are as a defensive back group)
We're progressing each and every week. We still have a lot of things to work on, as you can see, but the thing about us, we are really resilient. And we're gonna stay dialed in and focused and try to get better each and every day and each and every week.
(First half their quarterback completed like 80% of his passes, what flipped the switch for you guys)
Really just noticing what they wanted to get. Like short passes, that's what they really wanted to get. And they were just completing those and making plays and we were probably just missing tackles. And that's what got them those extra yards after the catch.
(Apu’s presence, how much of a lift does that give you?)
I just want to say I love our D-line. Those guys really help us so much in the backend especially with a younger group. So for those guys … I always tell them it starts with them up front, even offense. It starts with you guys up front and we could follow behind you guys and they did a really great job of doing that.
(Jalen Pitre was a finalist for us last year. How's it been stepping up? Into that leadership role? How to fill in those shoes in a secondary)
It's been good stepping into that role. My first year here I was behind Jalen Pitre, learning behind him. Great experience, great guy, smart dude. So I mean just taking the things I've learned from him really helped me and for us as a secondary, we're gonna be very good. We're gonna be very good I believe.
(After six quarters with no turnovers what was it like to be a part of one of those)
Amazing because honestly, I mean we emphasize trying to get the ball out every day in practice. So being able to be a part of that tackle and do that, it really means a lot for the defense, it really meant a lot.
(On those four and close, what is kind of the defensive mentality in those kind of plays)
Just stop them, really. We gotta get off the field. It's third and third fourth down. We have to get off the field, give our offense a chance to go down there and score. We have to get off the field and make those stops that are very important and critical.
(Will there be a shift of gear, maybe a change of focus and intensity this week in practice?)
I would say that we always have that same energy going in each and every week. So I'm not gonna say it's necessarily gonna change, but I know that we're gonna be even more dialed in, most definitely.
(Richard Reese) – That was so much fun just to see him. He works so hard during the week. We knew he was going to have a big role today. And he definitely stepped up and it was really cool to see.
(Shapen TD end of first half) – We knew we were going to be in a 2-minute situation. So we know we wanted to drive down there and get some points. We started off shaky, a little slower than we would have liked to. But yeah, that 2-minute drill put us into gear for that second half.
(28-yard TD reception) I knew there had been holes in the middle of the field the whole game. I told Blake to hold it a little longer and I’m going to sneak through one those holes. And he saw and I saw green and I just took it. That was a good play.
(Halftime message) Like I said, we started offensively slower than we would have liked. But I felt like we were executing at a pretty good level. So I think the big message going into the second half for us was to play fast, play hard and play our game of football. And I think we did that.
(Injuries/waiting) Of course, I’ve waited a long time for this. I’m extremely blessed and thankful and taking it all in.
(Fast-paced offense) It was great. We worked 2 minute a lot during the week. The most we have with this staff (I cleaned that up) because we know how important those situations are. And you never know when you’re going to have to be in a 2 minute situation. We wanted to prepare to the best of our ability.
(Offensive steps) We played together today. Like I said we played a little slow. We know what we’re capable of, especially how we practice, the time we put in outside of the facility. We know what we’re capable of. We just have to go out and play our game and execute. That was the message going into the second half. We did make some mistakes offensively in the second half (turnovers). But we rallied together and were able to bounce back from those.
(Blake Shapen grade) I think he’s progressing continuously. Last weekend was a hard weekend for the whole team. We just wanted to get that taste out of our mouths. Blake was taking a lot on himself. We just rallied around him telling him we got you. We know that work that we have put in, the time we have put in. And we know what kind of player Blake is. I think he came today and played very precise, smart football.
(Guys out) We knew going into this week that we have some bodies down. But we were very confident in the guys who needed to step up. Everybody who had to step up did step up today. I think that’s a testament to our preparation, our staff and the work we put in.
(Run game help pass game) Especially with those playactions we were doing. The nakeds. We wanted to pound the ball at the beginning of the game. That kept bringing guys down into the box. And we knew we were going to hit shots over their heads. That’s what we did.
(11 am Heat) Not really. Yeah it was hot. But we practice every day at 3:00 pm so we’re used to it. That’s what coach was telling us. That’s why we practice at that time at the hottest time of the day for games like this. Yes, it was very hot but we were prepared for it.
Al Walcott
(Did y’all feel like the defense got better throughout the game?)
Yes, sir. Going into halftime, we knew we had a lot of things to fix, especially in the backend. We knew we had to dial in and fix those things, and that's what we did as a whole, even as a team. Everybody knew we had to pick each other up and that's what we did.
(Where do you feel like you are as a defensive back group)
We're progressing each and every week. We still have a lot of things to work on, as you can see, but the thing about us, we are really resilient. And we're gonna stay dialed in and focused and try to get better each and every day and each and every week.
(First half their quarterback completed like 80% of his passes, what flipped the switch for you guys)
Really just noticing what they wanted to get. Like short passes, that's what they really wanted to get. And they were just completing those and making plays and we were probably just missing tackles. And that's what got them those extra yards after the catch.
(Apu’s presence, how much of a lift does that give you?)
I just want to say I love our D-line. Those guys really help us so much in the backend especially with a younger group. So for those guys … I always tell them it starts with them up front, even offense. It starts with you guys up front and we could follow behind you guys and they did a really great job of doing that.
(Jalen Pitre was a finalist for us last year. How's it been stepping up? Into that leadership role? How to fill in those shoes in a secondary)
It's been good stepping into that role. My first year here I was behind Jalen Pitre, learning behind him. Great experience, great guy, smart dude. So I mean just taking the things I've learned from him really helped me and for us as a secondary, we're gonna be very good. We're gonna be very good I believe.
(After six quarters with no turnovers what was it like to be a part of one of those)
Amazing because honestly, I mean we emphasize trying to get the ball out every day in practice. So being able to be a part of that tackle and do that, it really means a lot for the defense, it really meant a lot.
(On those four and close, what is kind of the defensive mentality in those kind of plays)
Just stop them, really. We gotta get off the field. It's third and third fourth down. We have to get off the field, give our offense a chance to go down there and score. We have to get off the field and make those stops that are very important and critical.
(Will there be a shift of gear, maybe a change of focus and intensity this week in practice?)
I would say that we always have that same energy going in each and every week. So I'm not gonna say it's necessarily gonna change, but I know that we're gonna be even more dialed in, most definitely.
