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Postgame Quotes vs. NIU
9/7/2019 3:19 PM | Football
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham
Opening statement…
"It took us a little longer to gain control than I would have liked, but we eventually got control in the second half. First half was kind of back and forth, we didn't play very well on defense in the first half. We gave up that 88-yard drive and a big ball in a cover two scheme that was a touchdown. Just didn't play our best football defensively in the first half, but offensively we did from start to finish. I thought Tyler was outstanding, he was accurate, and we didn't turn the ball over for the second week in a row. Special teams was very much improved. We punted the ball well. We didn't really have any kicks that tested us. We made all of our PATs. It was a clean game overall, but disappointing we had the one hold on Covey's return. It was a good win for us though. We move on though because we have Idaho State coming in here next week. We got out of here relatively healthy, got a few guys a little banged, up but nothing serious."
On Tyler Huntley's grade through two games…
"I think that he is playing outstanding. You mentioned that he hasn't been sacked in two weeks, that is a credit to him for his presence in the pocket and his ability to get out of trouble, but he hasn't really been in trouble. The offensive line has done a nice job protecting him. He has made great decisions."
On the adjustment they made in the second half on defense…
"No real adjustments, just played better. We had a few nice plays in the backend and had that nice interception by Julian. We just played tighter coverage, did a better job at getting to the quarterback and we were more gap sound as far as the run. I think the only had 60 or 70 yards rushing, which is where we like to be. If we can turn a team one-dimensional, then we've got them. If we force them to throw, that really forces things into our hands."
On what NIU did to make Utah not run the ball as effectively…
"They had a lot designed run blitzes where you run through gaps. There are two reasons to blitz for either pass or run defense and their run blitzes were good. We did a poor job picking them up. You have to keep your eyes up and pick them up as they come through, but they had good scheme. I thought their first couple of drives they put together a nice drive and we couldn't stop them. After that we started to get control and like I said, the second half was all Utah."
On Bradlee Anae and him getting three sacks today…
"He is a force. He is a force off the edge. He has a great motor and a great get-off. He had a sack there that was outstanding. He is one of the best pass rushers in the Pac-12, if not the best, and one of the top in the nation so we are glad we have him on our side."
On how Bradlee Anae has improved over the years…
"Bradlee has just refined his game. He was a little bit of a loose cannon when he first got here as far as assignments and being undisciplined, but he has really started to play within the framework of the defense and not take as many chances. You don't want to say to not take any chances because that is not his game, but his risks are more calculated now and he does a better job at making decisions now."
On if there was more of a conscience effort to make the offense more balanced…
"Yes but also like we talked about prior, whatever the defense is giving you will dictate your offense. This week, there was very few drop-eight situations and it was a much different scheme, so that let us throw the ball a little more. We had good production. I think we were a little over 400 yards which was about 200 passing and close to 200 rushing, so that is good, not great, but good. We can get better."
On the Hallandale Trio (Zack Moss, Tyler Huntley, Demari Simpkins) all scoring rushing touchdowns in the first half…
"Those three guys are terrific. They have been just great teammates and great team players since they got here. They are disciplined, they are talented and they work hard. I can't say enough good things about those guys. They are all graduating this December. They have done everything we have hoped they would and more since they have been here."
Utah Players
#2 Zack Moss, RB
On what he saw from NIU's defensive front…
"They fall off their blocks really well. They swarmed to the ball really well and they were able to get around our guys a little."
On the versatility of the offense…
"If you can pass the ball, the running lanes will be there. The goal every week is for the run game to help the pass game and vice versa."
#1 Tyler Huntley, QB
On what he saw from NIU's defense…
"The defense was not dropping eight, so we just saw a chance to throw the ball."
On Andy Ludwig's expectations in-game…
"He asked a lot of me and that puts more pressure on me to execute every play. I do not have a chill play in the offense, I need to get us in a better spot to execute."
On not being sacked…
"The offensive line is playing well. Coach Jim Harding is a great coach. He puts them in positions during practice so that during the game it is easier for them."
On the difference from last season…
"I feel like I have matured more. I want to take every play one at a time and put our offense in a great position."
#6 Bradlee Anae, DE
On what happened defensively in the second half…
"We were more pissed off. They scored on their first drive in our stadium and we were ticked off. We wanted to play harder as a unit."
On what NIU was doing that proved difficult…
"Their offense was getting the ball out quickly. One or two second releases. We need to get our hands up as a defensive line. We made the adjustments at halftime."
#23 Julian Blackmon, FS
On the overall performance of the defense…
"There are some things we have to work on. We started to make our adjustments and they did not score in the second half. There is always an area we can improve on."
On the advantages the secondary has playing behind this defensive line…
"Playing behind a defensive line like that makes it easier. The quarterback has to get the ball out and that is why we get our picks. That and the defense of Josh Nurse. We get our picks because of their effort."
NIU Quotes
Head Coach Thomas Hammock
On how the game played out…
"Utah is a great football team. We knew that going in. We knew we had to make plays to give ourselves an opportunity to win the football game. Our goal was to get it into the fourth quarter and give ourselves a chance to win. It didn't happen the way we wanted it to. We have much respect for them. Our players are resilient and played hard. They expected to win and came in here in a hostile environment and handled the environment. Very proud of our team. There are no moral victories but at the same time we're trying to build a football team that can compete in the MAC. We took some steps forward."
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On why Tre Harbison had just one carry in the first half…
"In the game plan we had some different type of run-pass option plays, and they were giving us some different looks that led us to throw the ball. I think the quarterbacks and receivers did a great job of taking advantage of what the defense gave them. In the second half, we came out with the idea that we wanted to try to establish the run and get the running game going as well."
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On putting a lot of guys on the box on defense…
"We knew that the running back is a guy we have to respect. I thought he did a nice job of running downhill and braking tackles. For us to stop the run, we need to try to get more guys to line of scrimmage and give ourselves a chance. The quarterback did a nice job of delivering the ball in spots."
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On the play of Spencer Tears…
"With Spencer, we wanted to give him an opportunity. Last week wasn't his greatest but he responded this week in a positive manner. There's still some things we're going to try to do better and get cleaned up. Hopefully we can be more dynamic and explosive in the second half and give us some opportunities to catch the football. But this is a good team [we faced] with good DBs."
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#14 Spencer Tears, WR
 On how he's played the first two weeks of the season…
"I felt like last week I left a couple of plays out there. It was a good win for sure for the team, but for me individually, I felt like I could have done better. Overall, I was kind of pissed off this week and had something to prove this week. We came up a little bit short, but we will get better this following week for the next game."
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#12 Ross Bowers, QB
On what was working well in the first half…
"I was getting a lot great protection. I thought our receivers played really, really hard. I thought they did a good job of pressing Utah's secondary, which is very elite. I really just stuck to my rules and the game plan. Coach E, our offensive coordinator, had some great stuff that he put in. We were fortunate enough to execute in the first half. I just couldn't get it done in the second half for us."
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On what changed in the second half…
"I started off with a pick and the pick killed us. That took all our hope away. And I was just holding the ball a bit too long, and that caused some sacks and that really hurt us, too."
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Opening statement…
"It took us a little longer to gain control than I would have liked, but we eventually got control in the second half. First half was kind of back and forth, we didn't play very well on defense in the first half. We gave up that 88-yard drive and a big ball in a cover two scheme that was a touchdown. Just didn't play our best football defensively in the first half, but offensively we did from start to finish. I thought Tyler was outstanding, he was accurate, and we didn't turn the ball over for the second week in a row. Special teams was very much improved. We punted the ball well. We didn't really have any kicks that tested us. We made all of our PATs. It was a clean game overall, but disappointing we had the one hold on Covey's return. It was a good win for us though. We move on though because we have Idaho State coming in here next week. We got out of here relatively healthy, got a few guys a little banged, up but nothing serious."
On Tyler Huntley's grade through two games…
"I think that he is playing outstanding. You mentioned that he hasn't been sacked in two weeks, that is a credit to him for his presence in the pocket and his ability to get out of trouble, but he hasn't really been in trouble. The offensive line has done a nice job protecting him. He has made great decisions."
On the adjustment they made in the second half on defense…
"No real adjustments, just played better. We had a few nice plays in the backend and had that nice interception by Julian. We just played tighter coverage, did a better job at getting to the quarterback and we were more gap sound as far as the run. I think the only had 60 or 70 yards rushing, which is where we like to be. If we can turn a team one-dimensional, then we've got them. If we force them to throw, that really forces things into our hands."
On what NIU did to make Utah not run the ball as effectively…
"They had a lot designed run blitzes where you run through gaps. There are two reasons to blitz for either pass or run defense and their run blitzes were good. We did a poor job picking them up. You have to keep your eyes up and pick them up as they come through, but they had good scheme. I thought their first couple of drives they put together a nice drive and we couldn't stop them. After that we started to get control and like I said, the second half was all Utah."
On Bradlee Anae and him getting three sacks today…
"He is a force. He is a force off the edge. He has a great motor and a great get-off. He had a sack there that was outstanding. He is one of the best pass rushers in the Pac-12, if not the best, and one of the top in the nation so we are glad we have him on our side."
On how Bradlee Anae has improved over the years…
"Bradlee has just refined his game. He was a little bit of a loose cannon when he first got here as far as assignments and being undisciplined, but he has really started to play within the framework of the defense and not take as many chances. You don't want to say to not take any chances because that is not his game, but his risks are more calculated now and he does a better job at making decisions now."
On if there was more of a conscience effort to make the offense more balanced…
"Yes but also like we talked about prior, whatever the defense is giving you will dictate your offense. This week, there was very few drop-eight situations and it was a much different scheme, so that let us throw the ball a little more. We had good production. I think we were a little over 400 yards which was about 200 passing and close to 200 rushing, so that is good, not great, but good. We can get better."
On the Hallandale Trio (Zack Moss, Tyler Huntley, Demari Simpkins) all scoring rushing touchdowns in the first half…
"Those three guys are terrific. They have been just great teammates and great team players since they got here. They are disciplined, they are talented and they work hard. I can't say enough good things about those guys. They are all graduating this December. They have done everything we have hoped they would and more since they have been here."
Utah Players
#2 Zack Moss, RB
On what he saw from NIU's defensive front…
"They fall off their blocks really well. They swarmed to the ball really well and they were able to get around our guys a little."
On the versatility of the offense…
"If you can pass the ball, the running lanes will be there. The goal every week is for the run game to help the pass game and vice versa."
#1 Tyler Huntley, QB
On what he saw from NIU's defense…
"The defense was not dropping eight, so we just saw a chance to throw the ball."
On Andy Ludwig's expectations in-game…
"He asked a lot of me and that puts more pressure on me to execute every play. I do not have a chill play in the offense, I need to get us in a better spot to execute."
On not being sacked…
"The offensive line is playing well. Coach Jim Harding is a great coach. He puts them in positions during practice so that during the game it is easier for them."
On the difference from last season…
"I feel like I have matured more. I want to take every play one at a time and put our offense in a great position."
#6 Bradlee Anae, DE
On what happened defensively in the second half…
"We were more pissed off. They scored on their first drive in our stadium and we were ticked off. We wanted to play harder as a unit."
On what NIU was doing that proved difficult…
"Their offense was getting the ball out quickly. One or two second releases. We need to get our hands up as a defensive line. We made the adjustments at halftime."
#23 Julian Blackmon, FS
On the overall performance of the defense…
"There are some things we have to work on. We started to make our adjustments and they did not score in the second half. There is always an area we can improve on."
On the advantages the secondary has playing behind this defensive line…
"Playing behind a defensive line like that makes it easier. The quarterback has to get the ball out and that is why we get our picks. That and the defense of Josh Nurse. We get our picks because of their effort."
NIU Quotes
Head Coach Thomas Hammock
On how the game played out…
"Utah is a great football team. We knew that going in. We knew we had to make plays to give ourselves an opportunity to win the football game. Our goal was to get it into the fourth quarter and give ourselves a chance to win. It didn't happen the way we wanted it to. We have much respect for them. Our players are resilient and played hard. They expected to win and came in here in a hostile environment and handled the environment. Very proud of our team. There are no moral victories but at the same time we're trying to build a football team that can compete in the MAC. We took some steps forward."
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On why Tre Harbison had just one carry in the first half…
"In the game plan we had some different type of run-pass option plays, and they were giving us some different looks that led us to throw the ball. I think the quarterbacks and receivers did a great job of taking advantage of what the defense gave them. In the second half, we came out with the idea that we wanted to try to establish the run and get the running game going as well."
Â
On putting a lot of guys on the box on defense…
"We knew that the running back is a guy we have to respect. I thought he did a nice job of running downhill and braking tackles. For us to stop the run, we need to try to get more guys to line of scrimmage and give ourselves a chance. The quarterback did a nice job of delivering the ball in spots."
Â
On the play of Spencer Tears…
"With Spencer, we wanted to give him an opportunity. Last week wasn't his greatest but he responded this week in a positive manner. There's still some things we're going to try to do better and get cleaned up. Hopefully we can be more dynamic and explosive in the second half and give us some opportunities to catch the football. But this is a good team [we faced] with good DBs."
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#14 Spencer Tears, WR
 On how he's played the first two weeks of the season…
"I felt like last week I left a couple of plays out there. It was a good win for sure for the team, but for me individually, I felt like I could have done better. Overall, I was kind of pissed off this week and had something to prove this week. We came up a little bit short, but we will get better this following week for the next game."
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#12 Ross Bowers, QB
On what was working well in the first half…
"I was getting a lot great protection. I thought our receivers played really, really hard. I thought they did a good job of pressing Utah's secondary, which is very elite. I really just stuck to my rules and the game plan. Coach E, our offensive coordinator, had some great stuff that he put in. We were fortunate enough to execute in the first half. I just couldn't get it done in the second half for us."
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On what changed in the second half…
"I started off with a pick and the pick killed us. That took all our hope away. And I was just holding the ball a bit too long, and that caused some sacks and that really hurt us, too."
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Players Mentioned
DE
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DB
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QB
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DB
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WR
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