Sept. 8, 2001
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University of Kentucky vs. Ball State University
Post-Game Quotes
Coach Guy Morriss
On how it feels to get a win:”It feels a lot better than it did last week, I guarantee you that. We finally got the monkey off of our back after ten outings without a win. From that standpoint it feels good. I think everyone is pumped up about it. It feels a lot better.”
On Shane Boyd’s staying in the game:”We wanted to give Shane an opportunity to show us what he could do from the beginning of the ballgame instead of coming in at the start of the second quarter or during the fifth series or so. He was moving the club and was doing a good job so we decided to let him keep going. I think he will start at Indiana.”
On why Shane Boyd got the start:”He showed he is very confident in his ability to move the team. He was sharp mentally. We thought we would give him the opportunity, and he did a good job for his first start.”
On Shane Boyd’s slow start:”You have to give him a chance. A series or two is not fair. It’s not a true evaluation of what he can do.”
On Shane Boyd running the offense:”He was very composed for his first start. He missed two or three signals. He can do a better job there. I felt like he had a good command of the offense and what we were trying to do. He kept the guys around him going, and the whole operation was good. I like the way he handles himself and the little swagger he has.”
On the first touchdown:”It was kind of a relief. I think everyone was waiting to explode. It happened and everyone started to relax and got into a rhythm.”
On the white uniforms:”Just a little something different. It was used to psyche the guys up. It was a nice little change to get the guys fired up. You never know what might spark a team. When the guys showed up in the locker room there was a little buzz. The guys liked the look.”
On Derek Abney:”It is always important to have a target. Derek Abney did a good job. All the receivers did a better job today of uncovering themselves. I think our offense will be better and better as we get more comfortable with it.”
On the offensive line:”It’s the first season we are putting an emphasis on the running game. It takes time. Some of the plays we are using take a lot of reps anyway. It takes time to build continuity, and to some degree toughness, to be a good run blocker.”
On Jared Lorenzen:”He has kept a good attitude. He is in a tough position but it is something he is just going to have to deal with. He has to keep himself involved as we are going to keep giving him reps. He is in a good frame of mind and has stayed focused. He has to be ready to go in at any time as he is one play away from going in.”
UK Player Quotes
QB Shane BoydOn getting his first start…”Throughout the week I was getting the majority of the reps and working with the first string. It was good for me to get the jitters out last week and come out and be comfortable starting today. The offensive line and defense played great and it was good to come and help my team get a win.”
On the offense stalling at times…”We call it a turkey when the offense goes three and out. Today we had too many turkeys. Our goal is to eventually limit the turkeys to two a game.”
On the win…”The effort, heart and spirit were all there today. It was great to bounce back from last week and get our first win.”
On his relationship with Jared Lorenzen…”Jared and I are cool. We have a healthy relationship. We both want what is best for this team. He could get the start next week and if he does I have to be ready to step in if he goes down. It’s the same thing with him. Today if I had gone down, his number would have been called. We don’t mope around because we know we have to be prepared for anything.”
On the upcoming Indiana game…”We got a home win, but next week we have to be a good traveling team to get a win at Indiana. We want to carry this momentum on to next Saturday.”
WR Derek AbneyOn the quarterback situation…”Shane finds the open man. Today, I happened to be the open man. I don’t necessarily see myself as the go-to guy in this offense, but it was good to contribute today.”
On adjusting to Shane…”There is definitely a lot of adjusting to do when a new quarterback gets the start. I am very comfortable with Jared because we have an entire season together already. I am sure in time I will be able to develop the same relationship with Shane.
TE Derek Smith“A win feels good these days. The team was talking all week about how bad we needed a win. We were 2-12 in out last 14 games. After the game in the huddle we decided that we are not 3-15 now, but we are 1-1 in our last two games. I think we will do well the rest of the season, and I really think we changed things today.”
“I still think Jared is a great quarterback. The battle is not over yet. Jared will continue to work harder. We just want a quarterback to lead us down the field. We should be thankful that we have two great quarterbacks.”
DE Dennis Johnson“I think we really improved in some areas since last week. In key times today we made key plays and that is what is important.”
“I know Indiana will have their best game come Saturday. Now we just have to get busy watching tape and getting prepared for the game.”
On his brother’s blocked FG…”It was the first blocked field goal in history by a guy with a two-inch vertical.”
Ball State Coach Bill Lynch Quotes
Thoughts on the game…”We had a good week of practice. We wanted to come out and win, but we didn’t get it done. I am disappointed with today. After how we played at Auburn, we decided on Monday we weren’t going to worry about what would or could have happened. Right now we are going to go home and prepare for Southern Illinois.”
On the impact of the injuries…”It was definitely a big part. One guy’s misfortune counts as another’s opportunity. That person needs to be ready, and if not, then he will fail. I think our backup did a good job today. The guys really stepped up and played well.”
On what went wrong…”It’s very simple. We were not in the right position at any time, and we definitely were not tackling when we needed to be. I could tell that from the sideline so who knows what I will see when I watch the tape. Hopefully, if we keep working on it, we will get it right.”
On Kentucky…”I think Kentucky is a team with a bunch of skilled guys and lots of speed. We knew that going in and hoped we could deal with it. I think the young quarterback played well. He made throws, seemed to be in control out there, made good decisions and didn’t throw it to us. The team itself has the ability to throw and make plays when they need to.”
On the Cardinals game…”We didn’t win. I honestly thought that we could come in here and win, but we couldn’t. We didn’t play well enough to win and that is something that our program has to learn. Being good at two out of three things is not good enough to win.”
On the team’s improvement from last week…”With every game that you don’t win you let an opportunity get away. I am discouraged because this is our second game, and we are supposed to improve from our first game. I think our offense moved the ball and had balance. We didn’t turn it over, and I’d say that would be an improvement. Our defense looked the same. We were good at times but we need to learn how to not give up too many big plays.”
Ball State Player Quotes
QB Talmadge HillOn preparation:”We spent all week preparing to come away with a victory today. We weren’t satisfied with just showing up.”
On the offense:”The option worked well against their 4-4 defense. We didn’t change our plan when Marcus (Merriweather) went down. We practiced all week preparing for something like that. If our No. 1 running back gets hurt, we can turn to No. 2. If he gets hurt, we can go to our No. 3 back, and so on. Today was more reflective of how we can play offensively. We have a very explosive offense.”
RB Scott BlairOn running game:”The key to our running attack is depth. We are very deep at the running back position. Since Marcus went down, I had to step up. The No. 3 running back was prepared in case I got hurt. We prepare in practice for situations like that.”
LB Lorenzo ScottOn defense:”Our defense played very strong today, especially for the first couple of drives. We didn’t give up anything. But we gave up the big plays. That’s something we concentrated on not doing. We were very pleased though that we didn’t let them drive down the field.”
