Coach Shafer Quotes Following Boston College
Syracuse Football
Syracuse vs. Boston College
November 30, 2013
Carrier Dome
On the hard-fought win and the crowd at the Carrier Dome:
“When I first got the job here I talked about character and what I like the most about this senior class is their character. Going into this game we’re seven points shy of having two more victories and if we do that everyone’s happy around here, but we didn’t do it. We came up short. Today it was a war. It was a war about character. I loved the crowd. I love Syracuse. You criticize the ones who don’t show up but you need to give the ones who do show up credit. That’s what I’d like to say first and foremost. I credit our fans for helping us win that game today because when it got down to crunch time that thing got loud out there and that helped us win this game.”
On the ‘Next Guy In’:
“I’m proud of my coaching staff. Our creed has always been character wins out. We’ll never, ever, ever give up. Never. And I don’t care if it was Florida State where we got our butts kicked or Clemson when we let ourselves down, most importantly, our kids never quit and they come back the next week and they’re resilient. The last two weeks we’ve been beat up, beat up pretty damn good. We had a lot of guys out. That ‘next guy in’ has been our creed. I don’t care what your name is, I don’t care what jersey, I don’t care what position you’re supposed to be playing, but the next man in is up and it’s his job to get it done.”
On left tackle Sean Hickey playing injured:
“Today was a great example of the next man in. Hickey played the game, he didn’t practice a down this week, not one, not one snap. He said, ‘Coach, I’m playing. I’m for sure playing, Coach.’ We waited as long as we could and then we shot him up and he played as long as he could for as hard as he could and he just went. Finally he couldn’t play anymore so Lasker goes in and he plays a good football game.”
On wide receiver Quinta Funderburk:
“I’m more proud of Quinta Funderburk off the field. He’s got his life in order, he’s had some bumps in the road and I’m proud of him as a human being. Character guys make plays and that’s what happened. He made a play because he’s done things right off the field and he’s learned a lot about himself through this educational process at an unbelievable school. He comes in, back shoulder, great catch.”
On wide receiver Alvin Cornelius III, tight end Josh Parris and free safety Durell Eskridge:
“Alvin Cornelius two weeks in a row comes in. No one knows who Alvin is except Jimmy Monson, his high school coach. Alvin comes in, he blocks well and makes plays. Josh Parris he told me he never really watched football too much until junior year of high school. He’s the next guy in, playing after Beckett Wales gets hurt and does a great job. We throw Durell Eskridge in on offense and he goes up and makes a great catch. We take our free safety, he goes in at wide receiver and makes a catch. Prince-Tyson Gulley is out so George Morris runs like the man I knew he is. I can go on and on, this is a team of character. We’ve got new names on the football field and I couldn’t be prouder of them. This is what college football is all about. There’s not a waiver wire, you can’t pick up the phone and say let’s get so-and-so. No, this is college football. You’ve got to step up to the plate and say, ‘Hey, what’s your name again? You’re in.’”
On not giving up after Terrel Hunt was intercepted:
“You have children, I’m so proud of my daughter Elsa and Wolfgang, but my extended family, these kids, I couldn’t be prouder. That defense, how many of you said it was over on that interception? Someone said would you ever just let them score so you have more time on the clock? Hell no, we’re not doing that, what kind of message does that send to the kids? This isn’t the NFL this is college football. Fight the good fight the right way with integrity and you find a way to win the game. I love this team, I love this town.”
On sticking with quarterback Terrel Hunt and offensive coordinator George McDonald:
“Terrel Hunt kept fighting the good fight, he works hard, he’s of high character. He’s a hard-working kid and he’s going to compete. Did I mention how proud I am of [offensive coordinator] George McDonald, too? He has pieced this thing together and he’s made some great calls. I thought Coach McDonald kept them off balance all day long. People say, ‘Let’s run it on them.’ Well he changed it up, we went empty backfield the first three plays, I think. He changed it up, he was creative, he’s a bright young coach. He’s learning a lot about the game as he moves forward. He had a lot of criticism and I couldn’t be prouder of George.”
On the SU defense against (#44) Andre Williams:
“[Defensive coordinator] Chuck Bullough and the defensive staff did a great job. What we wanted to do was to make him go sideways, make him go east and west. When we looked at his productivity, he was like Floyd Little he would put his foot in the grass and get north and south. If you came into him he was going to hurt you and that’s why he wears number 44. We wanted to make him go sideways and then rally and have our secondary tackle. Our kids did a good job. I saw Jeremi Wilkes come up and make a big hit early in the game. Hats off to BC, they did a nice job adjusting to the elements. They changed some things up on us. They ran some passes, some hard play-action, crazy throwback wild stuff that we hadn’t seen a lot of.”
On northeast schools in the ACC:
“It was 1924 when we started playing these guys, northeast football. I can’t wait for the day that these two teams, Syracuse and Boston College, really have an impact on this ACC conference. Both of us need to continue to recruit to catch up with those two teams in front of us that are a little bit more talented than the rest of us, but it’s nice to have that northeast flavor in the ACC. I couldn’t be prouder to be part of it.”
On what he did before the final drive of the game:
“I didn’t say anything to Terrel Hunt, I just clicked over to [offensive coordinator] George McDonald and said do what you’ve been doing all day. You’ve been getting after them all day, you’ve had them confused all day long, keep going. As we went down the field, he made a great call on that throw back, I thought that was an awesome call. I couldn’t be prouder, the kids just kept fighting. The thing that’s so fulfilling, there’s nothing better than when you look into a kid’s eyes and they don’t give up, even when a lot of the people around them have. It stays true to the philosophical point of view that we have, which is build character first and then they’ll go play football for you. That’s what this group is. These kids are of high character.”
Syracuse vs. Boston College
November 30, 2013
Carrier Dome
On the hard-fought win and the crowd at the Carrier Dome:
“When I first got the job here I talked about character and what I like the most about this senior class is their character. Going into this game we’re seven points shy of having two more victories and if we do that everyone’s happy around here, but we didn’t do it. We came up short. Today it was a war. It was a war about character. I loved the crowd. I love Syracuse. You criticize the ones who don’t show up but you need to give the ones who do show up credit. That’s what I’d like to say first and foremost. I credit our fans for helping us win that game today because when it got down to crunch time that thing got loud out there and that helped us win this game.”
On the ‘Next Guy In’:
“I’m proud of my coaching staff. Our creed has always been character wins out. We’ll never, ever, ever give up. Never. And I don’t care if it was Florida State where we got our butts kicked or Clemson when we let ourselves down, most importantly, our kids never quit and they come back the next week and they’re resilient. The last two weeks we’ve been beat up, beat up pretty damn good. We had a lot of guys out. That ‘next guy in’ has been our creed. I don’t care what your name is, I don’t care what jersey, I don’t care what position you’re supposed to be playing, but the next man in is up and it’s his job to get it done.”
On left tackle Sean Hickey playing injured:
“Today was a great example of the next man in. Hickey played the game, he didn’t practice a down this week, not one, not one snap. He said, ‘Coach, I’m playing. I’m for sure playing, Coach.’ We waited as long as we could and then we shot him up and he played as long as he could for as hard as he could and he just went. Finally he couldn’t play anymore so Lasker goes in and he plays a good football game.”
On wide receiver Quinta Funderburk:
“I’m more proud of Quinta Funderburk off the field. He’s got his life in order, he’s had some bumps in the road and I’m proud of him as a human being. Character guys make plays and that’s what happened. He made a play because he’s done things right off the field and he’s learned a lot about himself through this educational process at an unbelievable school. He comes in, back shoulder, great catch.”
On wide receiver Alvin Cornelius III, tight end Josh Parris and free safety Durell Eskridge:
“Alvin Cornelius two weeks in a row comes in. No one knows who Alvin is except Jimmy Monson, his high school coach. Alvin comes in, he blocks well and makes plays. Josh Parris he told me he never really watched football too much until junior year of high school. He’s the next guy in, playing after Beckett Wales gets hurt and does a great job. We throw Durell Eskridge in on offense and he goes up and makes a great catch. We take our free safety, he goes in at wide receiver and makes a catch. Prince-Tyson Gulley is out so George Morris runs like the man I knew he is. I can go on and on, this is a team of character. We’ve got new names on the football field and I couldn’t be prouder of them. This is what college football is all about. There’s not a waiver wire, you can’t pick up the phone and say let’s get so-and-so. No, this is college football. You’ve got to step up to the plate and say, ‘Hey, what’s your name again? You’re in.’”
On not giving up after Terrel Hunt was intercepted:
“You have children, I’m so proud of my daughter Elsa and Wolfgang, but my extended family, these kids, I couldn’t be prouder. That defense, how many of you said it was over on that interception? Someone said would you ever just let them score so you have more time on the clock? Hell no, we’re not doing that, what kind of message does that send to the kids? This isn’t the NFL this is college football. Fight the good fight the right way with integrity and you find a way to win the game. I love this team, I love this town.”
On sticking with quarterback Terrel Hunt and offensive coordinator George McDonald:
“Terrel Hunt kept fighting the good fight, he works hard, he’s of high character. He’s a hard-working kid and he’s going to compete. Did I mention how proud I am of [offensive coordinator] George McDonald, too? He has pieced this thing together and he’s made some great calls. I thought Coach McDonald kept them off balance all day long. People say, ‘Let’s run it on them.’ Well he changed it up, we went empty backfield the first three plays, I think. He changed it up, he was creative, he’s a bright young coach. He’s learning a lot about the game as he moves forward. He had a lot of criticism and I couldn’t be prouder of George.”
On the SU defense against (#44) Andre Williams:
“[Defensive coordinator] Chuck Bullough and the defensive staff did a great job. What we wanted to do was to make him go sideways, make him go east and west. When we looked at his productivity, he was like Floyd Little he would put his foot in the grass and get north and south. If you came into him he was going to hurt you and that’s why he wears number 44. We wanted to make him go sideways and then rally and have our secondary tackle. Our kids did a good job. I saw Jeremi Wilkes come up and make a big hit early in the game. Hats off to BC, they did a nice job adjusting to the elements. They changed some things up on us. They ran some passes, some hard play-action, crazy throwback wild stuff that we hadn’t seen a lot of.”
On northeast schools in the ACC:
“It was 1924 when we started playing these guys, northeast football. I can’t wait for the day that these two teams, Syracuse and Boston College, really have an impact on this ACC conference. Both of us need to continue to recruit to catch up with those two teams in front of us that are a little bit more talented than the rest of us, but it’s nice to have that northeast flavor in the ACC. I couldn’t be prouder to be part of it.”
On what he did before the final drive of the game:
“I didn’t say anything to Terrel Hunt, I just clicked over to [offensive coordinator] George McDonald and said do what you’ve been doing all day. You’ve been getting after them all day, you’ve had them confused all day long, keep going. As we went down the field, he made a great call on that throw back, I thought that was an awesome call. I couldn’t be prouder, the kids just kept fighting. The thing that’s so fulfilling, there’s nothing better than when you look into a kid’s eyes and they don’t give up, even when a lot of the people around them have. It stays true to the philosophical point of view that we have, which is build character first and then they’ll go play football for you. That’s what this group is. These kids are of high character.”
