Postgame Quotes: Utah vs. Florida
8/31/2023 10:08 PM | Football
No. 14 Utah 24, Florida 11
Salt Lake City, Utah (Rice-Eccles Stadium)
Thurs., Aug. 31, 2023
Kick: 6:05 p.m. MT | End: 9:11 p.m.
Attendance: 53, 644 (sellout)
Utah Quotes
Head Coach Kyle Whittingham
Opening Statement
"Proud of our guys, we had a bunch of guys step up and pick up the slack for a lot of guys that were not available tonight. That's the mentality you need to have. You can't cry and whine about who you don't have. The guys that are in the game have to get it done, and our guys did just that.
I'm extremely proud of eight to ten guys that picked up the slack for guys who were missing, so very positive there. I thought Andy called an excellent game. The two-quarterback system, Nate came in for some select plays, but I thought Bryson Barnes did a nice job. 67% completion, 160 yards. Not gaudy numbers but they didn't turn it over and they ran the offense. Nate came in and gave us some spark, struggled with ball security a couple of times, hanging on to the ball, but he's got a bright future. He's electric, he makes guys miss. It looks like he's the fastest guy on the field every time he's out there and so that was a positive. We didn't have a ton of numbers offensively, we only snapped about 53 times, so it wasn't very prolific but again, we took care of the ball.
The defense was suffocating. Defense was the storyline of the game; they didn't give up a touchdown until right there in the fourth quarter. They had a lot of sacks, five sacks. Got after the quarterback, had a takeaway or two, and we had the pick. A lot of good things for an opening game. Got the tone set right out of the gate with Money Parks on a deep shot first play of the game. That was outstanding to see Bryson Barnes connect on that, put the ball in a perfect spot.
I thought the punter did outstanding, Jack Bouwmeester, really hit the ball well tonight. The place kicker did a pretty good job. That last kick was debatable; do you go for that, do you punt and pin them and run that 34 or 35 yard line? It wasn't a horrible field position had we missed. Had we made it, it would've been a sixteen-point lead and essentially a three-score game for them to get the lead. But anyway, he hit the 51-yard prior to that and special teams was a positive in that regard. Didn't get much going in the return game, neither punt or kickoff return, we have to work on that and get more production there. But overall, it was an excellent way to start off the season against a really talented team. Those guys coming out of the tunnel, they look really good. It's a good looking football team and for our guys to really control the line of scrimmage on both sides was a credit and a tribute to those guys because that's where the game was won."
On how much results are attributed to Utah holding Florida to 13 rushing yards…
"A lot of it. When you have to throw to get first downs and you're in third in longer situations that lends itself to better percentages for the defense. You're right, we did play exceptionally well in third downs. We did give up a couple fourth downs but we made some stops on fourth downs so that kind of balanced out. I thought our defense was really, if you had to say what was the one phase or the one thing that made the biggest difference in the game, it was the way our defense played."
On advantage of using two quarterbacks for the game…
"Nate is just a different type of guy to defend. He presents a different set of problems for the opposing defensive coordinator. You look at those runs, and he made guys miss. He has a great ability to run the football. His throwing is coming along, I don't want to discount that. It's a change; they're so different that you have to have essentially two plans when you're facing those two guys. Bryson is a guy that would rather beat you from the pocket and operate in that world. But that's the reason why. In essence, a lot of it is in place of a wildcat. In place of putting Eric Weddle or Ja'Quinden Jackson back there, its another quarterback and you have more throw game available to you so it also adds that dimension. The coordinator can't just load up completely for the run game because he is a quarterback and so he's got the threat of throwing the football."
On Jonah Elliss…
"Outstanding. Jonah Elliss is an absolute warrior out there. He's quick, he's relentless, and he's got a motor that never stops. Our best pass rusher, Connor O'Toole, was not available tonight which means Logan Fano, true freshman, stepped up and played exceptionally well. Van Fillinger had missed 90% of camp with an illness so he was not his usual self tonight but he gave us some quality reps. Jonah Elliss is a guy that is just relentless in his style of play. He just keeps coming at you snap after snap and chases the ball, doesn't matter where it is, he's running full tilt after that football."
On what the defense would be called in this game…
"Stout. Vey stout, hard-nosed. Tackled well, I don't know how many missed tackles we had but it wasn't very many. Probably half as many as we had last year. Good run fits, and we're missing our top two defensive tackles. Simote Pepa couldn't play, he had some things going on, and Junior Tafuna who I think is the best interior tackle in the Pac-12 and one of the best in the country. For David Fotu and Aliki Vimahi, and Keanu Tanavasa came in and played exceptionally well."
On throwing the opening touchdown during the first offensive drive…
"That's pretty great, that's the stuff you talked about when you're a little kid. Like, 'man, what if we throw a touchdown first play the game?' That's the type of stuff you think of as kids, and it was great to go out there and actually put it on tape."
On the relationship with starting quarterback Cameron Rising, as he recovers from injury…
"One thing with Cam though, me and Nate are having the opportunities to get reps, while also having a veteran quarterback as our mentor sitting in the back. Not very often you get those types of opportunities with a guy who's been there, done that, seen a lot of ball, coaching us throughout the way and throughout our reps in practice."
#13 Nate Johnson, Quarterback
On his comfort on the field, especially on his touchdown run…
"I was very comfortable. I mean, going on year two, you get more and more comfortable with the offense. The more reps you get the more the game slows down a little more, so on that touchdown run, it felt great. The offensive line did their job, made great blocks, receivers did their job as well making great blocks and you know, it was an electric night."
#8 Cole Bishop, Safety
On holding Florida to 1-of-13 on third down conversions…
"I didn't know we did that good on third downs, so that's good to hear. We got a good third down package we like to do, to get pressure on the quarterback and do some different things in the back end that they're not used to seeing, so making the quarterback have to think. Rice-Eccles is a hard place to play in, so thinking with a loud environment and having guys coming at you like Jonah Elliss. Being able to rush four guys and get there, it's not beatable, really."
On how effective punt coverage can help the morale of the team…
"It's a game changer for the defense. The one time they downed it really short, I mean I know they got it out on the first play, but it still feels good when they do down it short. You can do so much more when they're backed up and they don't have many options, so it's definitely pretty exciting."
#83 Jonah Elliss, Defensive End
On holding Florida to 13 rushing yards…
"Honestly, just the defensive line, linebackers, and safeties all filling that box. I felt like last year we missed a lot of tackles and this year we were really clean on our tackles, and when the opportunity was presented, we really took care of it. So that's probably what it was, it's just our tackling fundamentals and technique, which is what the coaches preach to us every week every day."
Florida Quotes
Head Coach Billy Napier
Opening Statement...
"First of all, I've got a ton of respect for Utah and their staff. The success that they've had here and the program they've built, they beat us today. We didn't do enough to win. But at times they played really good football. I saw a lot of the things that I thought we would see from our team from an intangible standpoint. I do you think we have leadership, I do think we have accountability, it's a group that cares about each other, and we have a lot of players that will continue to get better as they gain experience. But, there's no question that we can coach better and play better today. We can do our part to help our players. Certainly, we have a lot to catch out there in the first game for the Gators that made some costly mistakes in the game. Talking about defensively, after the first play we settled in and played pretty decent. We put them back on the field after the penalty on the two jersey numbers and then we gave them a short field after the turnover. Outside of the big play, I think those guys did a lot of good things. There were some positives there. Then offensively, the red zone miscues, the missed field goal, they forced us to kick a field goal, and then we just had too many penalties. We had three penalties in short-yardage situations and illegal formations. Those are things that we can do better. I think that you find out who you really are in difficult times. This group is gonna respond. I know that group in there, there's fight in that group and you can see it already. The things that they're talking about, the words they're saying, the approach that they're going to take, and they're going to go back and work. We have a lot of players who will continue to improve as they gain more experience in their career. A lot of credit to Utah, the Gators will continue to get better. We're gonna coach better and play better in the future."
On the pre-snap penalties…
"First of all, I think that the crowd impacted the game, there's no question about it. Early on, a couple of those short-yardage situations we had procedures issues like guys flinching; two in particular that were costly. Then we're a little bit on or off in two formations and we have to communicate with the official better. Those just proved to be issues. One of them was a third-down conversion that didn't cost us but the other one was a third-and-one when we converted the play, but it gets called back because we're a little bit illegal in information."
On the Gators' inability to run the ball effectively…
"A lot of it has to do with that is the way that they played. But, there's no doubt that's an area where we need to improve and we have to get production out of the two [running] backs. We need to give them an opportunity to impact the game. Then when we did run it, I didn't necessarily notice that it was as effective as we would want it to be. So, I think I'll be able to tell you more after we watch the tape. But in general, there's no question that we need to rush the ball effectively in the future."
How Utah's defensive line caused problems…
"There were some pressures, they gave us some issues, and I think there's twofold there. It's a tough environment. I think [Utah] does a good job creating variables for you on defense. But there's no question that we'll be able to do some things better whether it's pick up a twist game with the [running] back blocking his guy or the ball being out on time. But, [Graham] Mertz got beat up a little bit and we got to keep him clean in the future."
On Florida starting quarterback Graham Mertz's performance…
"I was pleased with Graham. I think there were a handful of plays that he liked to have back. A few plays early that were inaccurate at times. But, he made a lot of plays too. This is the first game that he's ever thrown for 300-plus [yards]. For the most part, out there, he's doing what we wanted him to do. The ball is going where it's supposed to go. Oftentimes, a quarterback gets too much credit and too much blame. That's about when you really dig into it, it's going to be about the players around him playing well. But, there's no question that when you play a game against really good competition, there's a handful of plays where you have to come up better."
Florida's positive takeaway following the loss…
"Well, I feel like we were in the fight and we made tons of mistakes. There's going to be a ton of teachable moments for a lot of young players and new players on the team. The first thing I told the team after the game was 'execution wins'. Let's just call it like it is, it's simple. If we do what we're supposed to do at times, it's a lot more competitive game. We contributed to that and Utah contributed to that as well."
On his respect for Utah's program…
"I told Coach [Kyle] Whittingham before the game, I told him after the game, I told him last year, and when we had to play him when I was at Arizona State. I talked to Coach [Morgan] Scalley after the game. There's a mutual respect there. They play a football brand of football and we respect and that I respect. The way he's built his program with the consistency in which they play. This place has come a long way since the last time I was here. So, Coach Whittingham is a really good football coach. He's a good man and they've built a really good program. I've got a ton of respect for him."
#15 Graham Mertz, Quarterback
On playing at Rice Eccles Stadium . . .
"Yeah, I mean, you can tell you got a strong fan base. You can say, I've played a lot of bigger stadiums with a lot more fans, but you can tell that they really brought the juice. They care about the team here. So it was it was a good role to play in."
On Utah shutting down Florida's run game . . .
"I think that the play makers we have across the board, any team that tries to make us one dimensional will struggle. We have a lot of options that if we get the ball in a quick screen and we'll turn it around and play. Obviously, we'd like to be more balanced whenever we're playing a football game. I know that will be a takeaway going forward and really freeing up our o-line will help us compete as a whole."
On the mood in the locker room . . .
"I think the biggest thing is that anytime you lose a game the hardest thing to do is to have emotion but you have to look for facts. You have to let the facts dictate your actions, not your emotions dictate your actions. We know we cleared a lot of plays, we shot ourselves in the foot offensively. And like I said, obviously we're upset in the locker room, but there is an edge where we know we will do better."
On improving and preparing for to next week's action . . .
"We have to execute. Execution is what I think we need to see more of, from myself and holding myself accountable and just more from across the board. I'm gonna push the guys every day. We just need to execute."
#6 Shemar James, Inside Linebacker
On looking forward and preparing for next week . . .
"It is really just an execution thing. Tonight was just one game and we take it one game at a time and unfortunately, we fell short with this game. We will come back to the drawing board when we get back to Gainesville and prepare for our next game."
On Florida's defensive performance . . .
"We had everybody doing their job. We had guys that kept fighting to the last whistle which I appreciate from our defense. It definitely gave some guys breathers on the sideline and kept our legs fresh. I'll just say that even the guys that we subbed in today are some dudes they can make plays on the field. I will say along with that, we have a long season and we'll need guys like that to sub. We can always be better from the execution part and just getting the ball carrier down. We prepped for everything we saw tonight but you know, Utah had guys that came in and made big plays."
