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Utah Football Quotes: Penn State (Dec. 13)
12/13/2022 8:56 PM | Football
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
On the passing of Mike Leach…
"Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to his wife, his kids, his grandchildren. Just an awful turn of events. Only 61 years old and he was a good friend of mine. It's just devastating. We will miss him. The whole college world will miss Mike Leach."
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Can you share some recollections of your bond with Coach Leach?
"First of all, he was brilliant. You could pick any subject; UFOs, Sasquatch, politics, three hours on any subject, he could go. And you (wouldn't) get much talking in, he would carry the conversation. He was well-versed in every subject, any subject you would bring up. I remember one time we were talking before (a) game, he was still at Washington State. We're talking and he pulls a banana out of the back of his pocket, starts eating it and says 'you want one? I got another one in my pocket.' I said 'no, I'm good Coach.' But that's just who he is. He was his own man, his own person. I don't want to say he didn't care what anybody thought, but he said what was on his mind. He was one of a kind. His humor was second to none. Like I said, just miss him dearly."
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On the impact Coach Leach had on college football…
"He's really the guy that took the air raid and made it what it is. Hal Mumme was the brainchild of it, I guess. But Mike Leach developed it and took it to where he did during the course of his career. He's an innovator. He deserves the credit for making that offense come to fruition and making it so effective."
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On how recruiting has shaped up lately…
"Really good. We're closing in on a top-20 class, which we've never done. We could be inside the top-20 when all is said and done. We'll see. Nothing helps recruiting more than success. Back-to-back Pac-12 Championships, back-to-back Rose Bowls. All that stuff matters. Obviously, NIL is a big part of that. We're not a school that has a ton of NIL resources, but we've got a lot of momentum in recruiting right now. We're trending in the right direction…just got to keep it going."
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On the impact on recruiting from young guys playing in games like the Rose Bowl Game…
"It has a big impact. We're an equal opportunity (program) here. We don't care if you've been here five years or five months or five days. If you're the best player, you're going to play. I think the amount of young guys that we play year after year is a testament to that. That's another reason why, I believe, that recruits are very attracted to our program. They know that if they're good enough and they're ready, they're going to play right away."
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On growing up in Southern California and following the Rose Bowl Game…
"(I) grew up in the shadows of the Rose Bowl. The Rose Parade and all the pageantry that comes with it, watching the Pac-12 and the Big Ten go at it every single year was a really big deal."
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Does having played in the Rose Bowl Game before help this year?
"I think experience helps you any time you're in a situation like this. I think it helped us in the last two [Pac-12] Championship games, after going to our first two in '19 and '18. I think that's always a positive thing. It doesn't guarantee anything, it doesn't mean you're going to play great or anything like that. But it does give you a reference point and some opportunity to learn from what you did well or didn't do so well in the last year's preparation, and apply it this year for the better."
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Junior Quarterback Cameron Rising
On what he's confident about in this team…
"Just the togetherness. I think everybody's focused on just going out there and competing each and every day. I like the head space right now."
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On what it means for the young guys to play in the Rose Bowl Game so early in their careers…
"It just shows you the standard and how hard it is to get there. It really puts into perspective how big of a stage that is, playing in The Grandaddy of them All. It's going to be exciting and I know they're looking forward to getting down there."
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On how Thomas Yassmin has grown and chemistry between the two…
"It's been going great. We've been working together since 2019 (on the) scout team. It's always been productive. He's a phenomenal player. Just need to get the ball in his hands and watch him do the rest."
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On Penn State…
"They play a good brand of football, I think similar to ours with physicality and really stressing on defense and making sure the offense is playing complimentary. It's going to be an exciting game because of how well they play on both sides of the ball."
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Junior Tight End Thomas Yassmin
On the formula for successful practices in bowl season…
"I think the biggest thing is just not approaching it any differently. Obviously, the mentality is a little more intense. Cam [Rising] says it all the time, we just need to do the same thing we always do, just do it better. Just going in with the same approach, just doing things like we usually do and not getting in over ourselves."
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What do you like most about this team right now?
"I'm sure everyone says it: the brotherhood. Everyone's just so close to each other; offense, defense…the specialists. Everyone's very close-knit, everyone knows each other personally. It's always a good practice environment. It's competitive; we get into it. But at the same time, we go back to the locker room and we're best friends again. I think it's a very good environment to be in."
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On having the experience of going into a second Rose Bowl Game…
"It's awesome, honestly. It's been a long road for me. I've been here for four-and-a-half years, and I've only started to see action the past six games. It's really good to be out there and show people what I can do. I'm going to continue to do that and continue to do the best I can out there."
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Does going to a second Rose Bowl Game affect the approach?
"We're all obviously still excited. But we've been there, we've seen it…we know what the atmosphere is like, the environment. Right now, it's just going in there and playing another game. I think that was just the case with the Pac-12 Championship. We go in there, it's just another weekly game for us."
Â
On the passing of Mike Leach…
"Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to his wife, his kids, his grandchildren. Just an awful turn of events. Only 61 years old and he was a good friend of mine. It's just devastating. We will miss him. The whole college world will miss Mike Leach."
Â
Can you share some recollections of your bond with Coach Leach?
"First of all, he was brilliant. You could pick any subject; UFOs, Sasquatch, politics, three hours on any subject, he could go. And you (wouldn't) get much talking in, he would carry the conversation. He was well-versed in every subject, any subject you would bring up. I remember one time we were talking before (a) game, he was still at Washington State. We're talking and he pulls a banana out of the back of his pocket, starts eating it and says 'you want one? I got another one in my pocket.' I said 'no, I'm good Coach.' But that's just who he is. He was his own man, his own person. I don't want to say he didn't care what anybody thought, but he said what was on his mind. He was one of a kind. His humor was second to none. Like I said, just miss him dearly."
Â
On the impact Coach Leach had on college football…
"He's really the guy that took the air raid and made it what it is. Hal Mumme was the brainchild of it, I guess. But Mike Leach developed it and took it to where he did during the course of his career. He's an innovator. He deserves the credit for making that offense come to fruition and making it so effective."
Â
On how recruiting has shaped up lately…
"Really good. We're closing in on a top-20 class, which we've never done. We could be inside the top-20 when all is said and done. We'll see. Nothing helps recruiting more than success. Back-to-back Pac-12 Championships, back-to-back Rose Bowls. All that stuff matters. Obviously, NIL is a big part of that. We're not a school that has a ton of NIL resources, but we've got a lot of momentum in recruiting right now. We're trending in the right direction…just got to keep it going."
Â
On the impact on recruiting from young guys playing in games like the Rose Bowl Game…
"It has a big impact. We're an equal opportunity (program) here. We don't care if you've been here five years or five months or five days. If you're the best player, you're going to play. I think the amount of young guys that we play year after year is a testament to that. That's another reason why, I believe, that recruits are very attracted to our program. They know that if they're good enough and they're ready, they're going to play right away."
Â
On growing up in Southern California and following the Rose Bowl Game…
"(I) grew up in the shadows of the Rose Bowl. The Rose Parade and all the pageantry that comes with it, watching the Pac-12 and the Big Ten go at it every single year was a really big deal."
Â
Does having played in the Rose Bowl Game before help this year?
"I think experience helps you any time you're in a situation like this. I think it helped us in the last two [Pac-12] Championship games, after going to our first two in '19 and '18. I think that's always a positive thing. It doesn't guarantee anything, it doesn't mean you're going to play great or anything like that. But it does give you a reference point and some opportunity to learn from what you did well or didn't do so well in the last year's preparation, and apply it this year for the better."
Â
Junior Quarterback Cameron Rising
On what he's confident about in this team…
"Just the togetherness. I think everybody's focused on just going out there and competing each and every day. I like the head space right now."
Â
On what it means for the young guys to play in the Rose Bowl Game so early in their careers…
"It just shows you the standard and how hard it is to get there. It really puts into perspective how big of a stage that is, playing in The Grandaddy of them All. It's going to be exciting and I know they're looking forward to getting down there."
Â
On how Thomas Yassmin has grown and chemistry between the two…
"It's been going great. We've been working together since 2019 (on the) scout team. It's always been productive. He's a phenomenal player. Just need to get the ball in his hands and watch him do the rest."
Â
On Penn State…
"They play a good brand of football, I think similar to ours with physicality and really stressing on defense and making sure the offense is playing complimentary. It's going to be an exciting game because of how well they play on both sides of the ball."
Â
Junior Tight End Thomas Yassmin
On the formula for successful practices in bowl season…
"I think the biggest thing is just not approaching it any differently. Obviously, the mentality is a little more intense. Cam [Rising] says it all the time, we just need to do the same thing we always do, just do it better. Just going in with the same approach, just doing things like we usually do and not getting in over ourselves."
Â
What do you like most about this team right now?
"I'm sure everyone says it: the brotherhood. Everyone's just so close to each other; offense, defense…the specialists. Everyone's very close-knit, everyone knows each other personally. It's always a good practice environment. It's competitive; we get into it. But at the same time, we go back to the locker room and we're best friends again. I think it's a very good environment to be in."
Â
On having the experience of going into a second Rose Bowl Game…
"It's awesome, honestly. It's been a long road for me. I've been here for four-and-a-half years, and I've only started to see action the past six games. It's really good to be out there and show people what I can do. I'm going to continue to do that and continue to do the best I can out there."
Â
Does going to a second Rose Bowl Game affect the approach?
"We're all obviously still excited. But we've been there, we've seen it…we know what the atmosphere is like, the environment. Right now, it's just going in there and playing another game. I think that was just the case with the Pac-12 Championship. We go in there, it's just another weekly game for us."
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