Nov. 16, 2002
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UK Head Coach Guy Morriss
On Artose Pinner…
“It was good that he could put the exclamation point on his season here in front of the home crowd on Senior Day. He’s something else.”
On the game…
“I’m glad this game is over. I’m glad we won it and it’s out of the way. It was a game of two different halves. I was kind of upset with the defense in the first half after giving up the second touchdown. The offense was doing pretty good. Then we come out in the second half and the offense is sputtering. The defense picked it up and Dewayne (Robertson) made some good plays. A lot of those kids made some good plays.”
“We’ve been through 11 games now and I don’t think we’ve put a complete game together yet. Maybe we can save our best for number 12 (against UT).”
On what he said to Artose Pinner before the last drive of the game…
“I just told him we were getting ready to wear him out and he better hold on to the ball.”
On having a back like Pinner for the end of a close game…
“It’s always nice to have that caliber of running back. We were a little bit sluggish in the third quarter and couldn’t get on track. To have Artose and the offense go out and put together a drive like that is very satisfying.”
UK PLAYERS
Derek Abney, WR
On his kick return record…
“It was great. You never want to break a record away from home so it was good to get it here at Commonwealth in front of our fans.”
“It’s a great feeling, but I’m the same person that I was last year. I’ve got to give credit to Coach Nelson (special teams coach Mark Nelson) and the kickoff and punt return teams. They’re the only ones that have changed. A lot of times I made it up the field and didn’t even get touched.”
Aaron Boone, WR
On Coach Morriss…
“He’s a players’ coach. He makes sure that we are 100 percent when we’re out there. We want to win for ourselves, but also for Coach Morriss and the Kentucky fans. He always finds ways to motivate us.”
Artose Pinner, RB
On his performance…
“To get a game like this at home is something special. I wanted to go out on a good note. I think that getting the last touchdown in the last game at home was definitely something special.”
On the last possession…
“Coach Morriss told me before we got the ball that he was going to ride me all the way down the field. The offensive line stepped up and made a lot of blocks up front.”
Jared Lorenzen, QB
On Pinner’s performance…
“When he was playing like he was, being such a workhorse that he is, you have to get him the ball. He was on the sidelines saying how much he wanted the ball, and how much he wanted to carry the team, this being his last game here.”
On securing a winning season…
“Seven wins is a lot of wins for us. We had a lot of quality wins, and it’s a great feeling. It’s a good way to send out the seniors.”
On breaking Tim Couch’s record…
“It’s big. He still has the main one I want, and that’s (career) passing. It’s good, but today was the seniors’ day, and it was definitely Artose’s day.”
Vanderbilt Head Coach Bobby Johnson
On Kentucky’s offensive success…
“They have been doing that all year. [Jared Lorenzen] is a good quarterback. We respect him a lot. He’s very hard to tackle and got free a couple times when we thought we had him. (Artose) Pinner is a big, strong running back. He just doesn’t quit – his legs keep driving and he gets a lot of yards after contact.”
On big plays in the second half…
“Our defense was taking some chances in the second half, trying to stop the runs inside and they bounced a few outside on us. That can happen, though, when you bring everyone into a pile and think you’ve made the stop and then he pops it out on you.”
On his team’s comeback…
“I’m proud of our guys. I thought we did a lot of good things on offense in the second half. And our defense played well, knocking some passes down and coming up with that big interception late. I thought we had a drive going to tie the game – we would have been down at the 45-yard line with that pass to Dan (Stricker).”
On running back Kwame Doster…
“He twisted his ankle and we really missed him, especially in that fourth quarter. He’s not only good out of the backfield, he also helps us when we spread the field.”
VANDERBILT PLAYERS
Dan Stricker, WR
On dropped pass late in fourth quarter…
“It was definitely an arguable call. I feel 100% confident that it was a catch. It was knocked out after I hit the ground. Sometimes a call doesn’t go our way, but an individual play doesn’t make or break the game.”
“I think every player on our offense wants the ball when the game is on the line like it was. In previous years I knew the ball was coming to me when the game was on the line. That’s what I want, I wanted the ball when the game was on the line today. I only have one more game as a Commodore, and I’m going to give every once of energy to that game.”
Kwane Doster, RB
On injury…
“It’s just a high ankle sprain, I thought I broke it. I came off walking on my own power, though. I’ll just get treatment and hopefully be able to go next week.”
Hunter Hillenmeyer, LB
“It was a terrible field. I thought they were going to get two yards every play just by scrapping us through the mud. It’s basically painted mud. It’s green but it’s just paint. The offense knows where they’re going, but you don’t so if you make one wrong step your done.”
On Artose Pinner…
“A great running back can make a offensive line that’s not good look good. They do have a good offensive line, but his ability to pick his spots makes it so tough because he is only going to have one man to beat.”
Jonathan Shaub, SS
“We were trying to not give up many deep balls this afternoon, and we did that. By us concentrating on that they were able to take advantage and do some other things to beat us.”
“We played hard and hung together today and had a good second half. We needed to step up and make a play on that last drive. That is what makes a good defense a great defense.”
