Ohio State Player Quotes – 10/18/16
10/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 18, 2016
Dontre Wilson, senior wide receiver
On his touchdown catch Saturday night
“It meant a lot. I didn’t play as well as I wanted to, so we needed it the most. Like Coach Meyer said, I made a play that possibly won the game, so yeah, I’m pretty happy about that.”
On his thought process during the play
“I was just running a little bubble route and I had a linebacker on me. The play broke down, he (J.T. Barrett) had great protection up front, and I just took off running. I had to make that play for the team.”
On the success that J.T. has had
“Yeah, pretty cool. Me and him being from Texas, you know being far, far away from home. Him setting those records and fulfilling all of his dreams is a lovely thing to see for a person from down south.”
On playing in a close game
“That’s something that this program teaches you. I see something different in each and every one of us. When we were in overtime on that drive, I was standing beside him on the field and J.T. said ‘Come on, let’s go, let’s do this.’ That’s something you love to see in a guy in the heat of the moment like that.”
On what makes playing Ohio State difficult
“They are going to have to outplay us. We are going to play the whole four quarters or if it takes an extra overtime. We are going to play hard, and we are never going to give up. Even though we were down early, we came together as a team, and everybody could see what we were made of. That was really our first big test.”
Noah Brown, sophomore wide receiver
On why he can raise his level of play when he gets to the endzone
“I think it’s preparation. All throughout the summer, me and J.T. have been working on fades, end zone passes, and just routes in general. I have a great awareness of the field, so I’m pretty comfortable in that situation because I practice it a lot.”
On the difference in offensive play between first and second half
“We have great confidence as to what we can do as a receiving core, and an offense as a whole. We just tried to stay patient. We wear a lot of teams down throughout the course of the game, so we thought we could open it up a bit in the second half.”
On playing with J.T. Barrett
“I definitely think it is a blessing to have a quarterback as great as him. As a wide receiver, it makes a lot of things easier. The leader he is as a player keeps us focused and driven, so it’s a blessing to be able to play with him.”
On getting a quicker start on offense
“We just have to take advantage of opportunities. I think we had a couple balls we let go, myself included. On the first drive, I dropped an easy first down that could have got us going a little more in the first half. Things like that, we have to eliminate.”
Chris Worley, junior linebacker
On the Wisconsin game
“It was our first true test. Throughout the season there are ups and downs, but the teams that can find a way to push through that and come out victorious in games like that is a true battle scar.”
On the defense not letting teams get to the endzone
“I feel as if we bend, but we don’t break. No matter how tough it’s going, we always feel like we are going to get a three and out. We look forward to those challenges. That’s the biggest thing I think, it’s taking accountability and looking forward to the challenges that the game brings. As far as adjustments, it’s the greatest thing about our defense. We understand the total defense.”
On what the Wisconsin game can do for a team mentally
“We have a resilient group of guys that won’t take no for an answer. You need games like that in a season, especially if you are looking to go the distance. No team will go 15-0 and beat everyone by 40, it’s not the way this game works. To pull out a close game like that, it means everything to this team.”
On the red zone defense
“Coaches. Players. We got some tough coaches and players, guys that won’t back down from a challenge. If an offense has a 70-yard drive going, we still feel like we can stop them. There is never a doubt in our mind that we can’t stop someone. We have the ability to be humble and confident at the same time.”
Sam Hubbard, sophomore defensive end
On what the adversity of the Wisconsin game can do for the team
“I’m honestly glad it happened to us. We needed to get smacked in the mouth a little bit, face some adversity. I really feel like we came together on Saturday night and pulled it out together for the win. It’s something we’ll be able to lean on as a moment that we came together.”
On the team’s play during third downs
“Third down is the money down. It’s a defensive lineman’s time to shine. That nickel package has a lot of speed and a lot of skill on the field and it’s fun to be out there with those guys because anyone out there can make a play at any time.”
On the defense’s play in the red zone
“We’re just aggressive, we bend but don’t break. We’re going to make plays and once we get into the red zone we’re going to stay aggressive and we won’t give up a touchdown. We have pride in the way we play in the red zone.”
On playing in a game like the one this past Saturday
“Those are special experiences. I was at the Penn State game my redshirt year and that was a great environment too. You can’t really describe it. I tend to feed off of it, I really like it a lot. It’s not something that intimidates me, I much prefer playing in a place like that rather than a quiet little stadium.”
Jalyn Holmes, junior defensive lineman
On being a part of this defense
“It’s a party, we say it’s a party to the quarterback. Whoever gets there first, gets there first, and we celebrate. It’s very fun being out there with Nick, Tyquan, and Sam, and Reshod too. We get to show the world our talent and our speed; we can play anywhere on the defensive line.”
On the depth along the defensive line
“There’s not drop off at all. You have to believe when you go out on the field that you’re just as good as the starters. When you have that mentality that you’re a starter, you’ll play like a starter. That’s a shout out to the coaches and how they approach practice; the twos are treated no differently than the ones.”
On how he feels he’s been playing lately
“I feel like I’m playing well. I just feel like I’m playing fast and that I’m playing the game with a lot of energy. If I keep doing that hopefully the good things will keep on coming. As long as I keep playing like myself- I’m a passionate guy, I like playing hard and having fun- so as long as I keep playing like I am I’ll feel good.”
J.T. Barrett, junior quarterback
On setting the touchdowns record at Ohio State
“I’m just trying to win games around here, honestly. Records are great, maybe I’ll appreciate it more when I’m 40, 50. But right now records don’t matter much to me. I’m worried about winning. I’m grateful and honored to be at a place like Ohio State and to help the team wherever I can.”
On the overtime win at Penn State in 2014
“I think we grew up as a team that night. For myself, I think it was important to go through that adversity at my age, to see how far I could push myself. My knee was hurting, but I had an understanding that I didn’t need to come out of the game. I knew I could still play and still make plays, so it was something I had to fight through mentally. I did grow up in that aspect during that game, but the team as a whole grew much more.”
On the team’s current road winning streak
“I think it comes down to preparation. Also understanding that, all the things we go through in the offseason, all the things we get mad at coach for putting us through, they really come up when we’re on the road. They come up at home sometimes, but you have your family and your home crowd to support you. But on the road it’s just you and 70 other guys. It’s a credit to Coach Mick and the rest of the coaching staff.”
On where the passing game needs to improve
“Timing is one. Sometimes I’m ready to throw but the receivers aren’t open yet, or maybe I need to slow down my drop back to give them more time. I think timing-wise is the biggest factor when you’re throwing the ball deep down field.”
On the confidence level of the offense right now
“If you don’t think confident like that then you’re not going to win many games. It’s almost like you’re counting yourself out. ‘Man, they got us there.’ That doesn’t make sense to me. So I always have faith in our adjustments and what we’re trying to do on offense. I think the coaches do a great job of making those in-game adjustments and coaching us there on the sideline, and we do our best to execute those adjustments.”
