Cincinnati Head Coach Butch Jones Quotes
Cincinnati at Syracuse
November 26, 2011
Syracuse, N.Y.
Carrier Dome
Cincinnati Head Coach Butch Jones
On the game in general:
“This was a great key win. I keep saying that about our perseverance and resiliency. Our efforts as a football team were great. Munchie Legaux managed the offense and did a great job making some plays. Jordan Luallen gave us a spark. Obviously, I can’t say enough about the performance by number 23, Isaiah Pead. We talked about being able to distribute the ball and he stepped up like big-time players do. I thought our special teams were outstanding. We were able to flip field position. Look at Patrick O’Donnel l and how he was able to flip the field. Tony Miliano made some big kicks. Isaiah (Pead) sparked us as a punt returner, as well. Defensively, we bent a little bit, but we did not break. We got off the field when we needed to. We were a little bit better in third-down conversions. Defensively we were 4-for-15, which is a marked improvement from last week. I’m very proud of our kids, our players and the performance of Isaiah Pead.”
On what helped lead the team to victory:
“I thought we had a great game plan, but I also thought we won up front. It is a line-of-scrimmage game. Last week, we didn’t have big plays. We did not have any momentum plays. Look at the big plays and momentum plays we had, from the punt return to Ralph David Abernathy’s kickoff return, to start the second half where we scored on a big run the next play. We had those big momentum plays. I can’t say enough about our kids. Out of all our weeks, we probably had our top two or three weeks of practice and preparation. We challenged our players because we knew Syracuse didn’t have school this week and they had an off week. We told them that our preparation had to be two-fold. It had to be doubled up. Our kids responded. I can’t say enough about the leadership and character of our team.”
On playing sophomore quarterback Jordan Luallen:
“I think Jordan brings another dynamic to the field. I think what is lost in his running ability is that he can throw the football. We needed a spark. Our players believe in him just like Munchie (Legaux). We see him in practice. We see the explosive plays. He brings a little bit different of a spin to our offense. We went into this game just like we will next week and going into the ball game, pulling out all the stops to win the football game.”
On Isaiah Pead returning punts for the first time:
“Isaiah (Pead) has practiced it all season long. I told our beat writer at some point we were going to put him back there. He kind of chuckled and said, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ We see it every day in practice and our kids have a great belief in him. Danny Milligan did a great job back there, as well, but Isaiah is a special player and we went to manufacture as many touches for him as we can by putting the ball in his hands.”
On the touchdown off the screen pass:
“We had a middle screen. We knew they were going to be in cover zero. Munchie (Legaux) did a great job. It’s that maturation process from last week to this week. We ran that same play last week. The ball got batted down. Munchie did a great job of resetting his feet and throwing through the window. Obviously, Isaiah did a great job. He needs to hang on to the ball though.”
On whether Munchie Legaux improved from his experience as a starter last week:
“Absolutely. That comes with repetition and confidence gained throughout the week. Players around him made big plays for him today.”
On whether they did anything different to focus on stopping Nick Provo:
“We have a lot of respect for (Nick) Provo. He is a great player. I think (Ryan) Nassib is a great quarterback, as well. We just wanted to mix it up by not letting him set his feet and make him throw some hot throws. I thought we had a great pass rush. The quarterback hurries and knock downs are every bit as important as sacks.”
November 26, 2011
Syracuse, N.Y.
Carrier Dome
Cincinnati Head Coach Butch Jones
On the game in general:
“This was a great key win. I keep saying that about our perseverance and resiliency. Our efforts as a football team were great. Munchie Legaux managed the offense and did a great job making some plays. Jordan Luallen gave us a spark. Obviously, I can’t say enough about the performance by number 23, Isaiah Pead. We talked about being able to distribute the ball and he stepped up like big-time players do. I thought our special teams were outstanding. We were able to flip field position. Look at Patrick O’Donnel l and how he was able to flip the field. Tony Miliano made some big kicks. Isaiah (Pead) sparked us as a punt returner, as well. Defensively, we bent a little bit, but we did not break. We got off the field when we needed to. We were a little bit better in third-down conversions. Defensively we were 4-for-15, which is a marked improvement from last week. I’m very proud of our kids, our players and the performance of Isaiah Pead.”
On what helped lead the team to victory:
“I thought we had a great game plan, but I also thought we won up front. It is a line-of-scrimmage game. Last week, we didn’t have big plays. We did not have any momentum plays. Look at the big plays and momentum plays we had, from the punt return to Ralph David Abernathy’s kickoff return, to start the second half where we scored on a big run the next play. We had those big momentum plays. I can’t say enough about our kids. Out of all our weeks, we probably had our top two or three weeks of practice and preparation. We challenged our players because we knew Syracuse didn’t have school this week and they had an off week. We told them that our preparation had to be two-fold. It had to be doubled up. Our kids responded. I can’t say enough about the leadership and character of our team.”
On playing sophomore quarterback Jordan Luallen:
“I think Jordan brings another dynamic to the field. I think what is lost in his running ability is that he can throw the football. We needed a spark. Our players believe in him just like Munchie (Legaux). We see him in practice. We see the explosive plays. He brings a little bit different of a spin to our offense. We went into this game just like we will next week and going into the ball game, pulling out all the stops to win the football game.”
On Isaiah Pead returning punts for the first time:
“Isaiah (Pead) has practiced it all season long. I told our beat writer at some point we were going to put him back there. He kind of chuckled and said, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ We see it every day in practice and our kids have a great belief in him. Danny Milligan did a great job back there, as well, but Isaiah is a special player and we went to manufacture as many touches for him as we can by putting the ball in his hands.”
On the touchdown off the screen pass:
“We had a middle screen. We knew they were going to be in cover zero. Munchie (Legaux) did a great job. It’s that maturation process from last week to this week. We ran that same play last week. The ball got batted down. Munchie did a great job of resetting his feet and throwing through the window. Obviously, Isaiah did a great job. He needs to hang on to the ball though.”
On whether Munchie Legaux improved from his experience as a starter last week:
“Absolutely. That comes with repetition and confidence gained throughout the week. Players around him made big plays for him today.”
On whether they did anything different to focus on stopping Nick Provo:
“We have a lot of respect for (Nick) Provo. He is a great player. I think (Ryan) Nassib is a great quarterback, as well. We just wanted to mix it up by not letting him set his feet and make him throw some hot throws. I thought we had a great pass rush. The quarterback hurries and knock downs are every bit as important as sacks.”
