Football Quotes (Sept. 26, 2006) – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 26, 2006
Antonio Smith, senior cornerback
On the dream of scoring a touchdown
“It rarely happens in a game. It’s always a pondering thing in your mind, but when it happened, it was great.”
On his grandmother’s reaction to his TD
“I heard she almost knocked somebody out of the stands. She was very excited.”
On nine winning grades on defense
“This year, that is the most we have gotten. We’re coming together. We are getting better individually and as a defensive unit.”
On facing an experienced QB like Drew Tate
“Being an experienced quarterback brings confidence. You know what you can and cannot do. You know what to do in key situations. You can control the game and be a key factor in it.”
On how film prepares the team
“I have studied film a lot more. The defense as a whole studied film, especially before school started. The more film you watch, the more confident you become. You can see what play they might run if they line up a certain way.”
On playing Iowa at night
“They are a physical team – a team always ready to play. They have a great offense that can run and pass the ball. They are one of the top contenders in the Big Ten, so we just have to be ready. Our players are ready and eager to play regardless of night games.”
Brian Robiskie, freshman wide receiver
On growing up with a father involved in the National Football League
“It was a blessing for me to see the way the guys in the NFL practiced and worked on the field and in the weight room. My father always told me to never quit when I’m on the field. He has helped me so much by not pressuring me about football, but he always ready to sit down and talk to me when I have a question.”
On the match-up against Iowa
“The Iowa defense looks like the same scheme from last year, but the guys are coming back with more experience. On offense, we know we have to come out a lot faster than we have in the past two weeks. Our slow start against Cincinnati and Penn State were the result of us making mistakes and causing penalties and not executing our plays.”
On standing in the spotlight of a No. 1 team
“It is a fun atmosphere and the coaches are doing a great job keeping us humble. They like to shield us from attention. Ohio State is a good program with big traditions, but we want to end up No. 1. It’s all how you end. Our seniors have been to a national championship game (in 2002), so they know what it takes.”
On visiting Iowa at their home field
“It will be a hostile environment. It is a Big Ten stadium and both teams are playing real well. They will be a challenge for us. This is our first Big Ten road game, so it is important to listen to our coaches and do what we are supposed to do.”
On the pink visitor locker room at Iowa
“I have heard about the pink locker room. In high school, our opponents sometimes made us go in girls’ locker rooms and they were pink. I don’t know what to expect, but when we are on the field, we will be ready to play football.”
On what the Ohio State offense needs to improve
“For the past two games, we have started off slow. We still have a bunch of things to work at as a unit. When we get into the Big Ten, it is a matter of us coming out to play. If we can do that in the first half, we’ll be alright.”
Malcolm Jenkins, sophomore cornerback
On his interception during the Penn State game
“I’m not focusing on that pass any more. I am concentrating to perform in this game (against Iowa). We just want to win the turnover battle. We are going to put a lot of pressure on them and do what we did last week.”
On the play of his fellow teammate Antonio Smith
“He is a hard worker and a smart guy. I see him in the film room all day, learning his craft. It has definitely been helping him, as you can see.”
On his success on the field
“I didn’t expect to make an impact as quickly as it happened. I just keep trying to get better every day. Going up against Ted (Ginn), (Anthony) Gonzalez and (Brian) Robiskie all day in practice – that can only make me better.”
On Iowa
“They have good players and good freshmen. They won’t fall asleep. I think they have a good lineup, even with the young players. We have to affect them early as we don’t want to fall asleep on them.”
Antonio Pittman, junior tailback
On his ability to make plays
“I never question myself. You must have it in yourself to win and if it’s not in you, you can’t win the game. I just keep going and try not to think about the touchdowns I make. If a touchdown puts us ahead, great, but I’m just worried about winning.”
On the game at Iowa two years ago
“The score stands out to me the most. It was a long day from start to finish. We have to go out there and get better. We took that loss personally. Our team was alright that year, but getting beat like that is something we don’t tolerate.”
On Iowa’s stadium
“It is different. They have that pink thing going on with their locker room and their fans are really loud. They sit right behind our bench and the fans have all day to get prepared. We just have to tolerate the game, go out there and be focused.
On what the offense needs to improve
“Offensively, we can always improve, because we can never go out there and have a perfect game. We just need to make sure we don’t have that many mistakes. It will take a faster start and we can’t turn the ball over early. We want to put points on the board, but it’s going to be tough.”
David Patterson, senior defensive tackle
On playing at Iowa
“It’s all in our heads. We know what it’s like to play up there. We know it is a hostile environment and they play extremely well at home. We know they are going to come out fired up. They have a great crowd, a great stadium, and it’s just going to be a great atmosphere.”
On Iowa quarterback Drew Tate
“He is a tremendous quarterback. He does everything well. He’s able to get out on the perimeter and just put the ball on the money. He’s a real tough guy. He’s one of those guys who is like a linebacker playing quarterback.”
On Tate’s recent injuries
“I don’t think that matters. He’s going to come out ready for us and ready to play.”
On the Ohio State defense
“I had really high expectations for this defense this year. I’ve seen these guys play for so long that I knew they had the talent. It was just a matter of getting used to the game and the speed of the game and being comfortable out there. That was the key for them.”
On which areas the defense has progressed the quickest
“Turnovers, definitely. We are doing a better job creating turnovers this year. It’s a credit to the whole defense really. The defensive line is giving a little pressure, the linebackers are playing great coverage and the defensive backs are being speedy. They have the mentality that if the ball is in the air, it’s ours and they are trying to go get it.”
On Tate’s experience
“Basically it adds a whole other aspect to the game. He’s not going to get rattled at all. If anything happens he’s going to be prepared to do whatever he does. Being a three-year starter, he’s experienced just about everything you can at the quarterback position. He’s going to be ready to go and whatever we throw at him he’ll be ready.”
On preparing for Albert Young
“We have the luxury of having a guy like Ray Small back there, who’s doing a tremendous job of giving our defense a look. He is a fast, quick guy and he is trying to watch film and simulate things he (Young) does in the back-field.”
Troy Smith, senior quarterback
On the last trip to Iowa
“It was a hard-fought game, a long game. The fans were some of the best that we have played against and it was a hard-fought game all the way through.”
On Iowa being a tough place to play
“I don’t want to take anything away from Iowa or their stadium, it’s a tough place to play, but anywhere in the Big Ten is a tough place to play. Everybody’s fans are going to give you their all. Every stadium you go to you have to be ready to play. It is tough to play out there because it is an environment that Midwest teams are not really used to. That weather and that wind that just kept hitting us is. It was something that we hadn’t experienced.”
