Syracuse Student-Athlete Quotes
Syracuse Football
Syracuse vs. Boston College
November 30, 2013
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Syracuse Student-Athlete Quotes
Terrel Hunt, Sophomore, Quarterback
On his improvement in the last couple of weeks:
“I’m starting to understand the game better. I’m more confident; my receivers are getting open and doing what I expect them to do. When they do their job it’s easier on me.”
On his thoughts throughout the final drive:
“Keep pushing. I didn’t even look at the clock. That’s the crazy thing. Coach had called a spike and I ran it for the first down and more. Just keep moving, I wasn’t even thinking of the time or that we were down. That pick was kind of messing with me, but Charley (Loeb) and a bunch of other guys said, ‘We’re going to win this for you.’ Just keep playing.”
On what winning to be Bowl eligible meant to the team:
“It means a lot, but really more for the seniors. We get to come back, but at the same time the seniors turned the program around. To get this win for them was a lot more.”
Macky MacPherson, Senior, Center
On his feelings at the end of the game:
“I was about ready to collapse, I can tell you that much. It was a hard fought game, and to be honest with you I think it was one of the top five Syracuse games that has ever been played in the Dome. I’ve been watching games here for a while and to go out like that, that’s going out with a bang.”
On the crowd:
“I feel bad for the people that left, because they missed one hell of a game. The crowd was awesome though. They were really loud, that’s probably the loudest I’ve heard them in a long time and it wasn’t even at full capacity, which was awesome to hear. They really helped on a lot of third downs and I can imagine the defensive guys could tell you a lot more about that.”
On his thoughts about the bowl game:
“All I can say is that I’m incredibly proud of the program. Syracuse University has been, between Coach (Doug) Marrone and Coach (Scott) Shafer, what we’ve put together here at Syracuse I couldn’t be more proud as a fan, a person who grew up here and as a player. It’s just a dream come true to be part of something like this and to see Syracuse to excel and I can’t wait to see what they do in the future.”
Jerome Smith, Junior, Running Back
On what the defense gave them today:
“We knew they were a physical team. We knew they were going to be a good football team. We took what they gave us. We fought for every little bit.”
On Terrel Hunt’s versatility:
“You can’t just key on the backs. They have to respect the bubbles that we throw. It helps out a lot.”
Sean Hickey, Junior, Offensive Tackle
On what the win means to him:
“It was weird seeing it from that point of view for me not being in there for the last quarter and a half (Hickey left the game with an injury). It was amazing. The way we were moving the ball up and down the field all day. Once Mike (Lasker, Hickey’s replacement) got in there it basically stayed the same. It gave me a lot of confidence that they were going to go down the field and scored like that. It didn’t shock me at all, but it was an adrenaline rush for me. It was an amazing feeling.”
On Terrel Hunt’s performance:
“He was having a good game all day, but when he threw that pick – I’m not going to lie, there was a lot of shock on the sideline – he was given another opportunity. He could have crumbled but he stepped up and kept going. He won the game for us. That’s a major growing experience seeing that before your eyes. How mature he is and how he handled that situation was incredible. “
Jay Bromley, Senior, Defensive Tackle
On what it feels to close his Carrier Dome career with a game like that:
“It means everything. This was a real team win, offensively and defensively. That’s the greatest thing about it because we came out here as a unit. We bended in certain circumstances, but we didn’t break. For us to go out as winners and to a bowl game for this great senior class that I am a part of, it’s beyond words.”
On the senior class’ legacy:
“Hopefully, a winning mindset. It has shown throughout the years that we’ll bend in certain circumstances, but we will never give up. This senior class was very strong. We’re strong-headed. We don’t give up. We don’t let anyone push us down. We’re not taking that from anybody. We want to instill in the rest of this team for the future that Syracuse, whatever you say about them, will never give up on anything. They are going to be a hard team to face every time we face them. We’ll have our bad days, but you better be prepared for our best. “
On the defense’s ability to slow down Andre Williams:
“I believe in penetration. Penetration kills offenses. We knew coming into this game that he averages about 200 yards a game rushing alone. We knew that. Second in the Heisman. We knew all of those things. We wish the best for him, but when you come into the Carrier Dome, you’re not going to win the Heisman on us. And that’s how we looked at it. As a defense, we took that personally and went out there to do a job and got the job done.”
Josh Parris, Redshirt Freshman, Tight End
On feeling of catching the game winning touchdown:
“It was unbelievable, everything was unbelievable. The throw, play call was perfect. I didn’t think he was going to call the play. It was a great play call.”
On making key touchdown catch:
“Coach preaches ‘he’s the next man up’ and everybody has to be ready at any point in time.”
Marquis Spruill, Senior, Linebacker
On emotions at the end of the game:
“I was very happy because I love this team. Ever since I’ve been here I have always liked the team I’ve been on, but it’s something different about this. We are just closer and I want to have some more time with it and keep playing.”
On legacy of the team and moving forward:
“Coach Schafer used to say how we could build the program back up and bring it back to a level of prestige that it was. And it’s what has worked for us and what we try to do.”
Syracuse vs. Boston College
November 30, 2013
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Syracuse Student-Athlete Quotes
Terrel Hunt, Sophomore, Quarterback
On his improvement in the last couple of weeks:
“I’m starting to understand the game better. I’m more confident; my receivers are getting open and doing what I expect them to do. When they do their job it’s easier on me.”
On his thoughts throughout the final drive:
“Keep pushing. I didn’t even look at the clock. That’s the crazy thing. Coach had called a spike and I ran it for the first down and more. Just keep moving, I wasn’t even thinking of the time or that we were down. That pick was kind of messing with me, but Charley (Loeb) and a bunch of other guys said, ‘We’re going to win this for you.’ Just keep playing.”
On what winning to be Bowl eligible meant to the team:
“It means a lot, but really more for the seniors. We get to come back, but at the same time the seniors turned the program around. To get this win for them was a lot more.”
Macky MacPherson, Senior, Center
On his feelings at the end of the game:
“I was about ready to collapse, I can tell you that much. It was a hard fought game, and to be honest with you I think it was one of the top five Syracuse games that has ever been played in the Dome. I’ve been watching games here for a while and to go out like that, that’s going out with a bang.”
On the crowd:
“I feel bad for the people that left, because they missed one hell of a game. The crowd was awesome though. They were really loud, that’s probably the loudest I’ve heard them in a long time and it wasn’t even at full capacity, which was awesome to hear. They really helped on a lot of third downs and I can imagine the defensive guys could tell you a lot more about that.”
On his thoughts about the bowl game:
“All I can say is that I’m incredibly proud of the program. Syracuse University has been, between Coach (Doug) Marrone and Coach (Scott) Shafer, what we’ve put together here at Syracuse I couldn’t be more proud as a fan, a person who grew up here and as a player. It’s just a dream come true to be part of something like this and to see Syracuse to excel and I can’t wait to see what they do in the future.”
Jerome Smith, Junior, Running Back
On what the defense gave them today:
“We knew they were a physical team. We knew they were going to be a good football team. We took what they gave us. We fought for every little bit.”
On Terrel Hunt’s versatility:
“You can’t just key on the backs. They have to respect the bubbles that we throw. It helps out a lot.”
Sean Hickey, Junior, Offensive Tackle
On what the win means to him:
“It was weird seeing it from that point of view for me not being in there for the last quarter and a half (Hickey left the game with an injury). It was amazing. The way we were moving the ball up and down the field all day. Once Mike (Lasker, Hickey’s replacement) got in there it basically stayed the same. It gave me a lot of confidence that they were going to go down the field and scored like that. It didn’t shock me at all, but it was an adrenaline rush for me. It was an amazing feeling.”
On Terrel Hunt’s performance:
“He was having a good game all day, but when he threw that pick – I’m not going to lie, there was a lot of shock on the sideline – he was given another opportunity. He could have crumbled but he stepped up and kept going. He won the game for us. That’s a major growing experience seeing that before your eyes. How mature he is and how he handled that situation was incredible. “
Jay Bromley, Senior, Defensive Tackle
On what it feels to close his Carrier Dome career with a game like that:
“It means everything. This was a real team win, offensively and defensively. That’s the greatest thing about it because we came out here as a unit. We bended in certain circumstances, but we didn’t break. For us to go out as winners and to a bowl game for this great senior class that I am a part of, it’s beyond words.”
On the senior class’ legacy:
“Hopefully, a winning mindset. It has shown throughout the years that we’ll bend in certain circumstances, but we will never give up. This senior class was very strong. We’re strong-headed. We don’t give up. We don’t let anyone push us down. We’re not taking that from anybody. We want to instill in the rest of this team for the future that Syracuse, whatever you say about them, will never give up on anything. They are going to be a hard team to face every time we face them. We’ll have our bad days, but you better be prepared for our best. “
On the defense’s ability to slow down Andre Williams:
“I believe in penetration. Penetration kills offenses. We knew coming into this game that he averages about 200 yards a game rushing alone. We knew that. Second in the Heisman. We knew all of those things. We wish the best for him, but when you come into the Carrier Dome, you’re not going to win the Heisman on us. And that’s how we looked at it. As a defense, we took that personally and went out there to do a job and got the job done.”
Josh Parris, Redshirt Freshman, Tight End
On feeling of catching the game winning touchdown:
“It was unbelievable, everything was unbelievable. The throw, play call was perfect. I didn’t think he was going to call the play. It was a great play call.”
On making key touchdown catch:
“Coach preaches ‘he’s the next man up’ and everybody has to be ready at any point in time.”
Marquis Spruill, Senior, Linebacker
On emotions at the end of the game:
“I was very happy because I love this team. Ever since I’ve been here I have always liked the team I’ve been on, but it’s something different about this. We are just closer and I want to have some more time with it and keep playing.”
On legacy of the team and moving forward:
“Coach Schafer used to say how we could build the program back up and bring it back to a level of prestige that it was. And it’s what has worked for us and what we try to do.”
