Quick Quotes Week 8: Previewing Northwestern
10/14/2019 4:18:16 PM | Football
Justin Fields, QB
On his improvement this season:
My command of the overall offense and the team has definitely changed since the start of the season. I feel like I have total command of the offense. I’m the leader of the offense and I think those guys trust me.
On Bye Week Practice:
We got back to the fundamentals. We went back to week one and focused on the basics and tightened those up. I wanted to take all my reps and work on my footwork.
Shaun Wade, CB
On Jordan Fuller feeling bored playing safety:
He might as well keep being bored. Everyone has been playing well. We just have to keep it consistent. We can’t get complacent with this week’s game.
On coming to Ohio State:
I wanted to be far from home. The coaches are great. The education here is great. My mindset was just to get better. At the end of the day most Freshman here don’t play so my mindset was just to get better every day.
Wyatt Davis, OL
On what he needs to improve on:
I need to work on being a better overall leader. I feel like at times I’m there and at times I need to step up to the plate a little bit more. I’m always working on my technique in the pass game area with my feet and hands and on the run game working on keeping my hands inside and keeping, especially during bye week. He has been putting drills in place for us to get better on that. These things are always on my mind, but I always appreciate Day’s honesty, clarity, and reassurance. I am making sure to be more aware of these things now.
On bonding with the offensive line:
We just hang out with each other. Going to lunch and dinner together whenever we can. We always hang out with each other on the weekends. We play Fortnite together too.
Jeff Hafley, Co-Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Coach
On limiting big plays:
I think it’s a credit to our players and the staff, but it goes into a lot of things schematically. the number one thing we talk about when we put in new calls…we want to eliminate explosives. Everything thing we think about is explosives. Our whole philosophy is we want to make you drive the length of the field…We work really hard on tackling, so credit to our players and staff on that.
On what’s impressed him about Justin Fields:
He’s really challenging, that’s what we noticed at training camp. The way he sits in the pocket and stays in there and wants to throw the ball down the field…he makes you cover for a long time. He also has the ability to tuck it down late and run. That’s hard to defend. Â
He’s throwing the ball really well. It looks to me like our receiving are catching the ball pretty well, too. Those guys are doing a great job.
Jordan Fuller, SAF
On his performance the first half of the season:
Personally I feel like I’ve gotten better each week. I just definitely wanted to improve on a lot of little things from last year, and I think I’ve done that. I’m just trying to do my job to the best of my ability. I definitely have a lot of little things to get better at, too.
On coming back for his senior season:
The whole vibe as a team has been great. Â
I’ve just been having so much fun playing football. That’s really the main reason why I wanted to come back, just to try to leave a legacy here and have fun playing the game and go out like I really wanted to. I think we’ve taken the right steps so far, but we definitely need to keep going.
Josh Myers, OL
On approaching the starting center role:
I just approached it like I had something to prove and something to earn every single day, and I did. That’s how I approached it every single morning. It was on my mind before practice. I wanted to make sure I didn’t let it slip.
On how much his confidence has improved since week one:
Significantly. I was confident and comfortable week one, but there’s still a lot of questions I haven’t answered for myself yet. I’m just a lot more comfortable now after having experience the first half of the season.
Jonathan Cooper, DE
On how the defense has limited chunk plays:
I feel like with our attitude and the way that our defense has come out to practice every single day this year. We’ve taken it very seriously. We came from last year with something to prove. We take it every single day and just trust our coaches and our schemes. We came out with something to prove every single day.
On how close the defense is to reaching its potential:
I feel like we’ve just scratched the surface. There’s a lot of things we can get better at. There’s a lot of things we can still do. I feel like we’re taking the necessary steps each and every week to reach our potential.
