Syracuse Student-Athlete Postgame Quotes
Syracuse vs. Maine
September 18, 2010
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
SU Student Athlete Quotes
Junior Wide Receiver Van Chew
On halftime adjustments:
“He (Coach Marrone) just told us to relax because in the first half we were making a lot of silly mistakes. He just told us to relax and in the second half we just picked it up.”
On the slow start:
“I think we were just nervous because it was our home opener and everybody was here. We had some jitters.”
On the play of the receivers:
“In practice we just came together as a receiving corps and worked on everything harder and emphasized every detail of every route and blocking scheme.”
Senior Tight End Jose Cruz
On the touchdown to end the first half:
“I just ran a little hook route, and I saw Ryan (Nassib) rolling out and I just decided to run with him. That’s what we’re taught to do and that’s what I did. Luckily he threw it. I never really doubted whether or not I caught it. Rob Long said ‘promise me you caught it’ and I did.”
On Nick Provo’s play:
“That’s (Nick Provo’s) game. That’s what he does. I’m more of a blocker who catches the tiny passes. Tonight that’s what we did and we came out and played a great game.”
On his first touchdown catch:
“Today I told my mom that I was going to dedicate my first touchdown to Aaron Weaver, who is my roommate. We’ve gone through a lot, transferring together and we’re both seniors. Transferring is really tough. It’s been hard for me, watching him go down. I did do that for
Aaron and I would never take it back.”
Sophomore Wide Receiver Alec Lemon
On the team’s slow start:
“The past two weeks we seemed to start fast and then end slow. This week was the opposite. We started slow. We all realized that we just needed to calm down and play. No one said it was going to be easy.”
On the team’s mentality:
“No one was too worried. We were calm, collected. We all knew what we could do and that Coach (Marrone) would call great plays for us.”
On the team’s receivers:
“Tonight showed that we have a lot of options. We’re not relying on just one receiver. We can spread the ball around and make the defense look at all the players. Not just one option.”
Senior Cornerback Da’Mon Merkerson
On what he attributes to the amount of penalties:
“Penalties are a part of the game. I don’t attribute them to anything but us having to get better. It’s a part of the game. You re-watch what happened and you get better.”
On what was said in the locker room at halftime:
“There wasn’t anything special said. We had to go out there, play sound, and play the football that we play. There was no mention of it (penalties) and we just played. Penalties are a part of the game. Mistakes are a part of the game.”
On playing Maine twice in two years:
“Maine is a good football team. They came out there and played hard, all the respect for them. We went out there with our game plan and played football.”
Junior Tackle Michael Hay
On in-game adjustments:
“We got more into a flow. We concentrated on our jobs. Especially with the way Maine came out, it was hard for everybody to get their head around and keep their hands inside. When we came out in the second half, we just wanted to do what we came out to do, straight dominate.”
On the team’s flow:
“It’s hard to describe. When you go out there, you just get a feeling. It’s like a natural high out there. Once you’re caught in the moment you follow your feet, follow your hands. You follow everything and rely on your technique and everything else.”
Senior Tight End Nick Provo
On getting more involved in the game:
“We just have to step up and make plays. I didn’t have many plays in the first few games so coach has been putting a lot of pressure on me to make plays this week.”
On his touchdown reception in today’s game:
“It felt good. I like helping the team win and I hope there are more to come in the future. I plan on making plays for the team that will help us win games.”
Senior Linebacker Doug Hogue
On perceptions of the penalties in today’s game:
“I really don’t know what to say about that. It’s a part of the game. There were things we had to fix, we addressed them at halftime.”
On recovering a fumble:
“I just want to thank God for whoever caused that fumble. It was just good defense. We saw what happened before, and we picked up the next play and we didn’t allow that play to get us down. It was a mishap. On the next play, we came out and we played better defense.”
On motivational talk during halftime:
“We went into halftime, we made some adjustments. Everybody came together at halftime. We got into the locker room and everybody said we can win this game. Put your head up and go out and play the game we know we can play.”
Senior Cornerback Mike Holmes
On his punt return:
“Anytime I catch a punt it’s an opportunity to score a touchdown. It’s disrespectful anytime they kick it to you. So I caught it, I don’t think I was suppose to catch it that deep so I knew I had to make a play or I would get yelled at on the sideline. I went to one side of the field and then reversed, and I saw a wall of blockers so I went from there.”
On how the punt return unit is progressing:
“The punt return has been coming along well. We practice it a lot and in a lot of different situations. We catch a lot of balls every week. It’s been coming along.”
Junior Quarterback Ryan Nassib
On improving play in the second half:
“We definitely came out a little bit flat in the first half. We did have a tough couple of drives and a couple missed assignments, but other than that we turned it on and we knew we didn’t want to leave anything out there. The receivers ran really great routes today and they got themselves open so all I had to do was get the ball to them.”
On setting a new school record:
“It feels pretty good, especially with all the great quarterbacks that have come through here. I am extremely humble and grateful.”
On how to improve:
“Just like every week, whether we win or lose, we have to correct our mistakes. They are going to happen and it is something we have to change because if we keep making the same mistakes, then they are going to come back and get us.”
On the teams overall mentality:
“As a team we were adjusting, but it is just part of the game and it’s what happens, so we need to learn from it and keep improving for next week.”
