John Cooper Quotes – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/5/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
October 5, 1998
On the Penn State game:
“We’re very very happy to come away with a 28-9 victory over a very good Penn State football team. I’ve got great respect for Penn State as I said last week. I thought they were a good football team going into the game, and coming out of the game I think they were even better than I originally thought, particularly on defense. We were a little upset after the game about only scoring two touchdowns offensively.”
“I gave Percy King five Buckeye leaves for blocking that punt. I thought that was a real big play in that game. We had worked real hard on special teams.”
On Illinois:
“They are a young football team, as you know. On the offensive side of the ball they only have three seniors that start. They start a freshman quarterback and they start a freshman running back that had an amazing game last week. He’s averaging 5.4 yards per carry.”
“Defensively, the only start one senior. They’ve got a better defensive football team. They are playing a lot of younger players. “
“We need to have a good week of practice. I just talked to some Illinois people and they asked me how I was going to get my team ready to play this week. That’s the least of my worries, to be honest with you. I worry more about preparation. If you practice hard during the week, you’re going to play good on Saturday. We’re going to have some really intense, physical practices this week.”
On how Illinois is improving:
“They’re playing a lot of young football players, and they are all playing better. Their running back, for example, makes them a lot better. I think their young quarterback makes them better. They are aggressive on defense. They are a young, scrappy football team.”
On the OSU linebackers:
“I like our linebackers. I say that all the time. I think we have three talented football players. You know about Andy. Jerry Rudzinski started every game for us last year. He’s a lot like Greg Bellisari was for us a couple years ago. He’s a very intelligent football player. He doesn’t make many mistakes. Nail Diggs has a chance to be a big time football player.”
