Syracuse Student-Athlete Quotes
Junior Running Back Antwon Bailey :
On playing their hearts out in the final home game:
“It’s definitely disappointing. We wanted to send the seniors out the right way.”
On the first offensive drive of the second half:
“Every man did his job, we were all focused, whatever was called we were making it work.”
Senior Linebacker Derrell Smith:
On how Boston College’s offensive line and running back Andre Williams were able to be so effective:
“They did a pretty good job and they did a couple of things that we haven’t seen before. They took care of it.”
On running back Andre Williams’ performance:
“He is a pretty good player and we knew coming in that Montel Harris wasn’t going to be playing this week. We knew the freshman was coming in and he did a good job running the ball. Obviously he’s a Division I player and we have to respect him. He did a good job.”
Senior Safety Max Suter:
On the last home game of his career:
“It’s definitely not a good feeling but the good thing about it is that we still have one more game to go. We can’t get down on this game and we just look forward to whoever we are going to be playing.”
On the defense’s play today:
“They had times where they had us on our line and we just couldn’t stop them a couple times. We were in bad field position and you can’t win games if you can’t stop them.”
On making a bowl game and ending the regular season on a low note:
“Our goal was to make a bowl game and once we got it, we wanted so much more after that. The Louisville game, the Connecticut game, we wanted a lot more and we knew we could’ve got it but it’s tough to swallow.”
Junior quarterback Ryan Nassib:
On the pressure the offense faced today:
“Being the quarterback, I almost try to do too much, which usually comes back and gets you. Everyone is trying to make plays and we just have to relax and play ball.”
On running back Delone Carter being out and how much harder it was on offense without him:
“Delone is such a big part of our offense and Antwon (Bailey) was getting a lot of carries and a lot of touches. It was disappointing (to have Delone out).”
Junior wide receiver Dorian Graham
On special teams up and down playing:
“There were some things we did not execute on but overall I think we did a solid job, but there are always things that we can improve on. We now have to go back and watch the film, see what mistakes were made and get those corrected so that we can execute better next game.”
In a low scoring game, how important is field position:
“It’s definitely important because no matter of how many points you win by - a win is a win. Special teams play a big role in field position and we just did not get the job done today.”
Coach Nathaniel Hackett
On reaction of first offensive drive of the second half:
“It is an emotional reaction because that has been the combination of our whole season. I was so proud; that next to the South Florida drive and the Rutgers drive. Those three drives right there are as close to perfect as you are going to get. Even with the penalty and us being pushed back, that drive really shows the character of our guys.”
On defense’s play, bending but never breaking to give up the touchdown in the first half:
“It’s the story of the season. Our defense has been fantastic. I wish we could have done more than what we did on offense, but I cannot say enough bout our defense and how well they play.”
On preparing the offense on the sidelines during a long opposing offensive drive:
“We encourage them to move around and not be dormant, keep going over plays and making sure they know what they are to do during the next series.
On post touchdown drive, what changed on offense:
“It wasn’t necessarily that anything changed, I just think that that is the story of our season, we get one perfect drive and then all of a sudden things start breaking down.”
Senior nose tackle Bud Tribbey
On defense breakdown towards the end of the game:
“We just didn’t take advantage of opportunities and execute in the second half.”
On how the regular season record plays a role in the post season bowl game:
“7-5 is not the greatest foundation but we did achieve our goal of being eligible for a bowl game. It is a good foundation for next year and we hope that future teams can build off of this and do a better job then what we did this year. Winning this bowl game would be big. It gives us another opportunity as seniors to still go out as winners and we just have to be sure to take advantage of it.”
