Postgame Quotes (Ohio State vs. Navy) – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
OHIO STATE POSTGAME QUOTES
Jon Thoma, senior punter
On the game
“They fought hard and we fought hard. It was a great game and it looks like we’re going to have a great year.”
On the game against Southern California
“They are a different team this year and we are a different team this year. We did some things right today, but we have to get better. Hopefully we’ll get better with this week’s practice.”
On playing in a night game
“I’m not worried about playing in a late game. There isn’t much difference between playing in the day or night. I am mostly concerned with the wind conditions.”
Zach Boren, freshman fullback
On Ohio State
“(Terrelle) Pryor makes plays and he handles himself well on the field. He doesn’t force big plays. As a team, we played fairly well for the first week.”
On Navy
“Navy ran the ball well and the defense was flying. They played a great game today. We knew they stunted fast and we had to be ready for that.”
On playing as a true freshman
“I have been here since January so it just felt like another game to me. Granted, I never played in front of 105,000 people, but my brother and the team calmed me down and it was a fun day. “
Aaron Pettrey, senior kicker
On the pregame handshake
“It was good to see. You don’t always have to go out there and trash talk. I think it is something good for the fans and kids to see. I really liked it.”
On the missed extra point
“I left it out to the right. Everything was perfect, the snap and the hold. My follow through was aimed at the upright and that is where it went. I should have never put the defense in that position.”
Duron Carter, freshman wide receiver
On making his debut as a Buckeye
“It was great, running on to the field and getting the win. Coach (Darrell) Hazell put me in a position to succeed. I felt really comfortable out there.”
On having success in his first game
“I can’t say I expected it. I had a good camp and week of practice. Hopefully the coaches have trust in me since they put me out there.”
On the margin of victory
“We knew Navy was tough. No one mentioned USC all week. After watching the film, we knew we needed to prepare hard to get a victory.”
Brian Rolle, junior linebacker
On being nervous before Navy’s two-point conversion
“We were nervous for maybe a second. Then we realized there was no reason to panic now. We knew we just needed to step and make a play.”
On the Navy offense
“The coaches did a great job of settling us down sometimes. We knew they were a good team and were going to make plays. They have a great offense and we just knew we couldn’t get discouraged out there.”
On USC
“We need to focus on us. We can’t worry about USC all week. We know there are things we need to work on. You get lost if you focus on the opponent too much.”
Justin Boren, junior offensive lineman
On his Ohio State debut
“It was great to finally get out there. I’ve been working with the guys for over a year. I thought we played good as a unit (offensive line) today, but we can only keep getting better.”
On the game
“It was the first game. Obviously, there is still work to do. We need to work hard in practice this week and watch film. We’ll take it from there.”
Ross Homan, junior linebacker
On Navy
“We weren’t surprised. They play everyone tough. They keep coming no matter what the score is and that is what they did today. We knew it would be a challenge.”
On the mindset before Navy’s two-point conversion attempt
“We were calm. We knew we needed to execute, do our job and make a play.”
On USC
“We need to evaluate ourselves this week and watch film. We will have to correct our errors. We know as a team we can play much better.”
Devon Torrence, junior cornerback
On the game vs. Navy
“We got a win, which feels good, but we need to get better. I need to work on being more physical.
On preparing for USC
“I think the game today will help us prepare for next week. We got to hit other guys besides our own teammates, which felt good. This week was definitely different because we had to prepare against a different type of offense. Now we get to go back to work on the things we do against a more normal type of offensive team.”
Thaddeus Gibson, junior defensive end
On preparing for next week’s game against USC
“It’s going to be a great game next week. Everybody is going to be watching and the lights are going to be on. We are excited about that. We just need to get better as a team right now. I’m looking forward to this week to work on some things we need to get better at defensively.”
On forcing a fumble against Navy
“That’s one thing we wanted to do coming into this game, especially against a team that runs the ball as much as they do. We wanted to make some great hustle plays today. I just wanted to make a good run at the ball and I saw my opportunity and made the best of it.”
Daniel Herron, sophomore running back
On the game
“Navy played hard and they played to the best of their ability. Some of the chances they gave us, we didn’t take advantage of.”
On what he learned from the game
“We have to continue to fight until the end. We had a nice lead but they came back so it just shows that we can’t give up.”
Doug Worthington, fifth year senior defensive tackle
On Navy’s offense the first quarter
“The first two plays they came up with passes and I think they shocked us.”
On next Saturday’s game with USC
“There’s a great team coming in and it’s going to be a great battle Saturday.”
Kurt Coleman, senior defensive back
On possibly overlooking the game
“Obviously, there are things we need to work on. You learn to realize everything that happens is on us. It’s all up to us.”
On being a member of OSU football
“It’s an honor just to be a part of something this great.”
Were you looking ahead to USC?
“All of our focus this week was on Navy. Now it’s about fixing the mistakes we made for USC.”
Terrelle Pryor, sophomore QB
On next Saturday’s game
“We’re not worried about USC. We’re just worried about getting better this week.”
On the start of a new season as QB
“It felt good [today] just getting my feet wet.”
On Navy’s comeback
“My hat’s off to Navy. We saw today why they’re the best in the world at what they do. They never give up. They’re fighters.”
Austin Spitler, senior linebacker
On upcoming USC game
“This is the week we’ve all been waiting for. Come 8 p.m., this place will be rockin’.”
On the end of the Navy game
“Today at the end of the game I was just thinking, ‘What can we do? How can we be successful?'”
John Glenn
On dotting the ‘I’ on alumni band day with his wife, Annie
“It is alumni band day today so I thought it was fitting to wear this (his personalized band jacket). We are having a good time. This is a lot of fun.”
On Ohio State and Navy taking the field at the same time
“I particularly liked the opening today with the teams and bands coming out together.”
On dotting the ‘I’
“This is great; we are enjoying it. I had to look up tittle in the dictionary because I didn’t know what it meant and it is the ‘dot above an I’ so Annie and I will be the first co-tittle.”
NAVY QUOTES
Ken Niumatalolo, Navy head coach
On the Ohio State environment
“First of all, I want to congratulate Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel. It was a great environment. The people were phenomenal and I want to thank them for the hospitality and respect that they showed our kids and the servicemen.”
On turnovers
“Turnovers killed us. In camp, we focused on taking care of the ball, but when you turn the ball over four times you aren’t going to win any games. That sums up our game – turnovers.”
On field position
“If we could keep it to two touchdowns, we felt like we had a chance. I kept telling the guys to hold the course. We had some horrible field positions, but our defense fought hard. We had some bad field positions, but with an offense that good, you can’t do that.”
On preparing for the game
“We felt like if Ohio State came dialed in and totally focused, we had no chance. But we kind of had the perfect storm situation with USC coming up. We knew that if they separated any of their preparation time, then we had a chance to win.”
On coming into Ohio Stadium
“We came here to win, that was our goal for the past eight months. We didn’t come here to experience the atmosphere, we came here to win. Our kids are down. We’re a program that has won some games in the past. Our defense had some success stopping them at 4th-and-1, but they’re definitely bigger than us.”
On Terrelle Pryor
“We figured Pryor would be trying to work on his pocket presence, but he is such a phenomenal athlete that he broke down our angles. You have to tip your hat to the kid.”
On Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs
“He has a bright future. When you are playing the No. 6 team on the road and you have a chance to tie, that is all you can ask for. Everyone has things to learn, but I’m very pleased.”
Marcus Curry, sophomore slotback
On his 85-yard touchdown catch
“We caught them in a good defense a few times. When I caught my touchdown, as soon as I made the catch I made the move and had enough gas to get all the way there, but I was dying at the end of it”
On the team’s nerves
“We finally got the jitters out in the second half. When we started things off I was just trying to make sure I remembered all my assignments. In the second half, we really got dialed in and played well.”
Chase Burge, junior nose guard
On the opportunity to win
“We knew that we had a great shot to win this one and we came in expecting to win it as well. Playing like we did really just fortified our beliefs that we could do it.”
On strength and conditioning
“We really tried to compensate for the turnovers that we had by using our conditioning to our advantage. We took that stand on the fourth down as a big win for us. We take great pride in playing hard.”
Ricky Dobbs, junior quarterback
On capitalizing off of turnovers
“When they went for it on fourth down in the fourth quarter we felt that even if they kicked it and widened the gap that we still had a chance to win this one. We just have to come back and capitalize off of their mistakes. They definitely took advantage of turnovers we have come back and do that same”
On turnovers
“Turnovers just killed us. On the play they ran it back, the guy (Brian Rolle) just made a great break. But I take full responsibility for this one. We have no chance to win with turnovers.”
On the 2-point conversion turnover
“Brian Rolle just came under the route and popped out in front of the receiver. I tried to squeeze it in there by throwing it low but he just made a great break on it.”
On conditioning
“Our coaches do a great job preparing us for every game. ‘Stay tough, endure, never quit’. That’s our motto and that’s how we played by.”
On Ohio State overlooking Navy
“It’s really hard for Ohio State to not overlook a game like this. Some of the players may have been thinking that they didn’t want to miss next week’s game, but they were definitely able to handle it. They just played better.”
