Kentucky Postgame Quotes
Kentucky 24, Southern Miss 17 (Sept. 2, 2017)
Head coach Mark Stoops
Opening statement
“One heck of a victory for our team. Very proud of this football team and to come away with a win like that does so much for you. All the points of emphasis that we worked so hard on in the offseason were evident in certain areas, and in certain areas we know we need to keep on working. That’s what the first game is all about. That shows a lot of character, guts and determination from that football team to come out and win that game when you’re not playing your best football, certainly on the offensive side of the ball. I’m not worried. I know we’ll get better. We’ll get some things fixed and we’ll go from there. I was really just proud. The improvement defensively was very, very evident. We would’ve never won this game had we not improved our run defense, and we certainly did that. There were some pass plays that we need to do a better job, and we will. There were some, what we call 50-50 balls, that were hung up there that we just need to work on and get better at playing the football and coming down with our share. They hit some big plays on those. You take those plays out of it and I think we really played solid defense. The position on the football was much better, our run defense was much more stout and I thought our defensive line, in predictable pass, we were hard to block. We executed some things very well.”
On Southern Miss’ offensive effort
“I thought they did a nice job, again, at just getting some first downs, being aggravating and keeping the defense on the field. They converted two fourth downs which was tough on us. It’s basically another possession there defensively.”
On the forced fumbles
“They were very big. We talked about how we had to win the turnover margin. Us turning it over down in there early was disappointing. We’ll get that fixed. The defense creating the turnovers was very big.”
Kentucky quarterback Stephen Johnson
On if the previous year’s comeback affected team’s mindset during second half
“No, not really. Coach Grant’s main thing is the story of Peter in the Bible, stay centered and stay focused. Try not to focus on the negative too much, try to do our job and move the ball down the field.”
On Southern Miss’ defensive line
“We saw that on tape. Those guys are extremely fast. They twist and move a lot which cause a lot of havoc up front. We knew that going into the game. They have some really talented guys on that side of the ball.”
Kentucky defensive end/linebacker Denzil Ware
On the team’s turnaround from the previous year’s defeat to Southern Miss
“It feels great. Southern Miss is a real good team and I wish them the best in their season. But at the end of the day I respect their players but whoever hits the hardest and plays the hardest is going to win the game.”
Southern Miss Quotes
Head Coach Jay Hopson
Opening statement
“Tough loss, hard fought loss. I felt like we played well and just didn’t execute on some things, had some turnovers and some problems with our eyes at times but I felt like as a whole we played pretty hard nose football. We might have out gained them by a hundred but guess what we made some mistakes that led to turnovers and touchdowns, we just need to clean it up.”
On starting quarterback Keon Howard
“He had probably been healthy all summer and had been really solid toward the end, so we decided to go with him. Right before half we decided to put Kwadra [Griggs] in and let him roll. Both young men did some positive things so we will just grow and continue to do better.”
On the defensive effort
“We played pretty physical, a defensive game. I thought we did a good job stopping the run and I though on the whole it was a strong defensive effort.”
On the play of his wide receivers
“Quez [Watkins], he had a couple big catches, another freshman that is going to be a special player. Korey [Robertson] had a good game but certainly like to see the ball in Allenzae [Staggers] hands a little bit more and get a few more catches but sometimes that’s just the way to ball bounces.”
Quarterback Kwadra Griggs
On mood after the game:
“We lost. It’s a bad feeling. I wish we could’ve won it. We left some plays on the field but we’re to continue to get better.”
One his attitude in the second half:
“I tried to stay positive. Told everyone on the offense to stay calm, stay relaxed. We’re going to do this together. I just tried to lead the team the best way possible. I’m not a selfish person. I’ll just do what I have to do for this team.”
On playing with Korey Robertson:
“Koerey is a playmaker. He’s a big receiver. He’s got a big body and incredible hands. I’ve never seen one person tackle Korey. We’ve been playing together since I was 7 years old. I’ve never seen one man tackle him one on one. Never.”
Defensive lineman Rod Crayton
On the feeling of the team
“Everybody just feels like we should’ve executed just a little bit better. At the end of the day, I feel like we should’ve won the game. The game of football is all about execution and we have to execute every play and play with the best of your ability to get the win.”
On the defense
“I think we showed we’re very physical and we can play. We can play with anybody. We just have to get better week in and week out. At practice, make each other better.”
On coach’s message after the game:
“He told us to keep working. He always tells us that life is about adversity and when we go through it, we just have to get better. We can let it get us down or we can come stronger next time. It’s our mindset to get better.”
Wide receiver Korey Robertson
On mindset with both touchdowns
“Honestly it was just to get to the endzone. When I catch the ball, the only thing I’m thinking about is the endzone.”
On the offense in the second
“We got it rolling when we made big adjustments to how the defense played. Once we saw that and we got it clicking, we just had to execute the rest of the game.”
On Kwadra at QB making something out of nothing
“Yeah, he did that in high school so it wasn’t a big surprise.”
On how Kwadra played
“He played well coming off an injury. He played well coming in from the second half and not playing at all in the first half. Him just getting out there, stepping up and making plays when he needed to, he played well. Of course there’s things he can work on and we can work on, but I think he did a good job.”
