Postgame Quotes: Hawai'i
September 14, 2019 | Football
Members of the Washington football team met with the media following the Huskies' nonconference win over Hawai'i at Husky Stadium on Saturday, Sept, 14. Read some of what they had to say:
HEAD COACH CHRIS PETERSEN
(Opening statement) "So pleased and proud of our guys. Hawai'i can be an awkward challenge, as I have been saying all week. You guys saw that a little bit in the second half. Our guys played really well in the first half. We complimented each other. Our offense was really clicking and we were getting some stops. In the second half we saw how Hawai'i plays. They go for it on fourth and long. They keep moving the sticks and they had long drives. We had the ball five plays in the third quarter, but only one drive until we went into the fourth quarter. They did a great job of converting fourth downs. All of that is really awkward and difficult. But, I am really pleased on the first half. Everybody played together, and it was good we had a lot of young guys in the game."
(On what it was like for your offense when Hawai'i's offense was dominating in the third quarter) "They are going to hold the ball, and they are going to eat the clock. Hawai'i threw the pass. There was one drive where they threw it seven times and ran it seven times. That is not what we expected out of Hawai'i, but they did a nice job of keeping us off balance. Our guys played good defense together. There were a lot of guys on the field that gained some great experience.
(On to what he attributes the takeaways to) "I don't know what it was. We work so hard on it every game. We had a couple of dead balls, we work on that drill. It was nice to get some, it has been a couple of games since we got some. Hopefully they will keep coming in bunches. It changed the game for us."
(On why the offense was so good in the first quarter) "That is a good question, I thought we had a good run/pass balance. We had some things add up, we were throwing the ball downfield. Early on, they were mixing up their coverage. At times, they were playing soft and trying to get behind them, and we couldn't. Other times, they were tightening up and Jacob Eason saw that, and threw it over the top."
(On what went into making the first touchdown work) "We had good play action on it. We were attacking the backers and safeties on that one. When you got a guy wide open like that in the middle of the field it is usually because of some good play action or busted coverage, which I don't think it was. We had some guard action there that worked pretty well."
(On what he was seeing from the defense in the third quarter) "Hawai'i was doing a nice job of keeping it in third and medium. The problem is they can be third and eight and that is third and four for most offenses. That is just what they do, they read it and throw it down the field. They did a great job of staying in those situations. Then they got a fourth down, and it was three different times. Any offense is hard to defend from there, we just couldn't get them off the field."
(On what he likes about Richard Newton as a ball carrier in the red zone) "I think everybody sees what we see. He puts his pads down and he runs hard. I am anxious to put this tape on for a couple of reasons, for a couple of guys to look at, and he is one of them. It is always hard for us to see what they are seeing or what they are not seeing on the field. He runs hard. He is a good player that we have to keep progressing."
(On what makes Puka Nacua ready to contribute) "He has super good ball skills, you can see that every day in practice. He is a smart player, we have thrown a lot at him, a lot of offense for a new guy that has not heard of this. He is going to keep getting more and more time. We are trying to do that, and he knows that."
(On whether he feels like Jacob Eason took a step forward in how he is reading the game) "I think his completion percentage was really solid. He is seeing the field well. There are always a few things that you can see quicker or a little late, and that is just the quarterback position. I think everybody is playing in a good mix and everyone is getting a lot of good game reps. There is a lot of stuff that all of these guys are growing on, and Eason is one of them."
(On what jump out the most that the team improved on this week) "An explosive start on offense for sure. I think both sides were feeding off each other. It was really nice to be able to build a lead. I don't think that happens most games. I think that was really important for this game because Hawai'i can score. They can control the ball and score quickly. We saw that in their first two games before they got to us. I was really pleased when we were scoring and having a little bit of breathing room."
QUARTERBACK JACOB EASON
(On what made the first touchdown play to Hunter Bryant work) "Hunter Bryant ran a nice route, I was O-line protected, and we had a little play action sell there and some guys bought that play action to find a nice window for Hunter to run through. Then Hunter took care of the rest."
(On how Puka Nacua has been playing in practice) "Puka has definitely [been playing well in practice]. For a young guy he's coming in and making plays. He goes up and high-points balls. He's a big guy which is nice to have, so it's exciting. He's had a great fall camp and he's been having a good couple of weeks, so I was excited for him to go out there and score his first touchdown. I know he was really excited about it, and it was awesome to see."
(On how the team reacted to the tough loss to Cal) "We had the 24-hour rule so we had 24 hours to dwell on the Cal game and then we were right back Sunday morning. We watched the tape, learned from it, and then had our Sunday practice, corrected a few things, put that aside, and onto Hawai'i. The team did a great job of getting over that hump and preparing and then going out and executing this week."
TIGHT END HUNTER BRYANT
(On whether or not focusing on the little things help the big plays come) "We have so many explosive players at so many different positions. I think that they all can come at any time. Our backs could break any run that they have, our receivers, any catch they could make they make it and can score. So we really take that into consideration going into every play, locked into that one play and trying to make that play great."
(On whether or not he is the best that he's ever been right now) "I think so. I say that because I think that I am a much better blocker now then I was and that takes my game to the next level. That's what makes me really happy, when I make good blocks. I feel really good about it and now I am able to help and work with the O-line and work with the running backs and be a part of that whole thing. That's what I'm really focused on right now."
DEFENSIVE BACK MYLES BRYANT
(On how nice it was getting the first turnover out of the way) "Yeah, for sure. I feel like at this point, once the team starts getting turnovers, then it just becomes a downhill thing to where it just keeps happening and happening. Hopefully from this point on it just keeps going and doing."
(On whether or not Hawai'i looked similar on offense to what he expected) "For sure. I feel like that's the kind of system to where they just play by the rules. They know what they want to do and they go out and try to do it. So, coming in I think we had a good week of preparation and we understood what they were trying to do. From then on, we just put ourselves in positions to make plays."
(On why he thinks Hawai'i were able to move the ball after halftime) "I think they just hit our soft spots in our zones, and then they just were able to gain a momentum that allowed their quarterback to get some confidence and then keep going."
RUNNING BACK SEAN MCGREW
(On whether it's nice to have so many running backs that can carry the load) "Oh yeah, definitely. I mean, that's why we call ourselves the stable. We've always got to be ready to run and we pride ourselves on making each other better every single day. So, whoever is in there we're rooting for them and we know they can get the job done."
(On whether or not the patience you have something you learned from Myles Gaskin or something you always had) "It's definitely a combination. Definitely being here and those guys being in front of me and seeing how he ran the ball, you just try to learn from the guys who are ahead of you. You see what they do well and try to put in your game as well. It's also something KB (Coach Keith Bhonapha) harps on a lot. We all try to run patient because we've got to let our line set up the blocks and then we hit the hole."
(On how all the running backs complement each other) "I mean, we're just trying to be the best teammates possible. We all love each other, we all want each other to be the best running backs they can be, and it's an awesome atmosphere. Just to be able to be in the same room with a bunch of great guys all competing and just trying to make each other better. It's awesome."
HEAD COACH CHRIS PETERSEN
(Opening statement) "So pleased and proud of our guys. Hawai'i can be an awkward challenge, as I have been saying all week. You guys saw that a little bit in the second half. Our guys played really well in the first half. We complimented each other. Our offense was really clicking and we were getting some stops. In the second half we saw how Hawai'i plays. They go for it on fourth and long. They keep moving the sticks and they had long drives. We had the ball five plays in the third quarter, but only one drive until we went into the fourth quarter. They did a great job of converting fourth downs. All of that is really awkward and difficult. But, I am really pleased on the first half. Everybody played together, and it was good we had a lot of young guys in the game."
(On what it was like for your offense when Hawai'i's offense was dominating in the third quarter) "They are going to hold the ball, and they are going to eat the clock. Hawai'i threw the pass. There was one drive where they threw it seven times and ran it seven times. That is not what we expected out of Hawai'i, but they did a nice job of keeping us off balance. Our guys played good defense together. There were a lot of guys on the field that gained some great experience.
(On to what he attributes the takeaways to) "I don't know what it was. We work so hard on it every game. We had a couple of dead balls, we work on that drill. It was nice to get some, it has been a couple of games since we got some. Hopefully they will keep coming in bunches. It changed the game for us."
(On why the offense was so good in the first quarter) "That is a good question, I thought we had a good run/pass balance. We had some things add up, we were throwing the ball downfield. Early on, they were mixing up their coverage. At times, they were playing soft and trying to get behind them, and we couldn't. Other times, they were tightening up and Jacob Eason saw that, and threw it over the top."
(On what went into making the first touchdown work) "We had good play action on it. We were attacking the backers and safeties on that one. When you got a guy wide open like that in the middle of the field it is usually because of some good play action or busted coverage, which I don't think it was. We had some guard action there that worked pretty well."
(On what he was seeing from the defense in the third quarter) "Hawai'i was doing a nice job of keeping it in third and medium. The problem is they can be third and eight and that is third and four for most offenses. That is just what they do, they read it and throw it down the field. They did a great job of staying in those situations. Then they got a fourth down, and it was three different times. Any offense is hard to defend from there, we just couldn't get them off the field."
(On what he likes about Richard Newton as a ball carrier in the red zone) "I think everybody sees what we see. He puts his pads down and he runs hard. I am anxious to put this tape on for a couple of reasons, for a couple of guys to look at, and he is one of them. It is always hard for us to see what they are seeing or what they are not seeing on the field. He runs hard. He is a good player that we have to keep progressing."
(On what makes Puka Nacua ready to contribute) "He has super good ball skills, you can see that every day in practice. He is a smart player, we have thrown a lot at him, a lot of offense for a new guy that has not heard of this. He is going to keep getting more and more time. We are trying to do that, and he knows that."
(On whether he feels like Jacob Eason took a step forward in how he is reading the game) "I think his completion percentage was really solid. He is seeing the field well. There are always a few things that you can see quicker or a little late, and that is just the quarterback position. I think everybody is playing in a good mix and everyone is getting a lot of good game reps. There is a lot of stuff that all of these guys are growing on, and Eason is one of them."
(On what jump out the most that the team improved on this week) "An explosive start on offense for sure. I think both sides were feeding off each other. It was really nice to be able to build a lead. I don't think that happens most games. I think that was really important for this game because Hawai'i can score. They can control the ball and score quickly. We saw that in their first two games before they got to us. I was really pleased when we were scoring and having a little bit of breathing room."
QUARTERBACK JACOB EASON
(On what made the first touchdown play to Hunter Bryant work) "Hunter Bryant ran a nice route, I was O-line protected, and we had a little play action sell there and some guys bought that play action to find a nice window for Hunter to run through. Then Hunter took care of the rest."
(On how Puka Nacua has been playing in practice) "Puka has definitely [been playing well in practice]. For a young guy he's coming in and making plays. He goes up and high-points balls. He's a big guy which is nice to have, so it's exciting. He's had a great fall camp and he's been having a good couple of weeks, so I was excited for him to go out there and score his first touchdown. I know he was really excited about it, and it was awesome to see."
(On how the team reacted to the tough loss to Cal) "We had the 24-hour rule so we had 24 hours to dwell on the Cal game and then we were right back Sunday morning. We watched the tape, learned from it, and then had our Sunday practice, corrected a few things, put that aside, and onto Hawai'i. The team did a great job of getting over that hump and preparing and then going out and executing this week."
TIGHT END HUNTER BRYANT
(On whether or not focusing on the little things help the big plays come) "We have so many explosive players at so many different positions. I think that they all can come at any time. Our backs could break any run that they have, our receivers, any catch they could make they make it and can score. So we really take that into consideration going into every play, locked into that one play and trying to make that play great."
(On whether or not he is the best that he's ever been right now) "I think so. I say that because I think that I am a much better blocker now then I was and that takes my game to the next level. That's what makes me really happy, when I make good blocks. I feel really good about it and now I am able to help and work with the O-line and work with the running backs and be a part of that whole thing. That's what I'm really focused on right now."
DEFENSIVE BACK MYLES BRYANT
(On how nice it was getting the first turnover out of the way) "Yeah, for sure. I feel like at this point, once the team starts getting turnovers, then it just becomes a downhill thing to where it just keeps happening and happening. Hopefully from this point on it just keeps going and doing."
(On whether or not Hawai'i looked similar on offense to what he expected) "For sure. I feel like that's the kind of system to where they just play by the rules. They know what they want to do and they go out and try to do it. So, coming in I think we had a good week of preparation and we understood what they were trying to do. From then on, we just put ourselves in positions to make plays."
(On why he thinks Hawai'i were able to move the ball after halftime) "I think they just hit our soft spots in our zones, and then they just were able to gain a momentum that allowed their quarterback to get some confidence and then keep going."
RUNNING BACK SEAN MCGREW
(On whether it's nice to have so many running backs that can carry the load) "Oh yeah, definitely. I mean, that's why we call ourselves the stable. We've always got to be ready to run and we pride ourselves on making each other better every single day. So, whoever is in there we're rooting for them and we know they can get the job done."
(On whether or not the patience you have something you learned from Myles Gaskin or something you always had) "It's definitely a combination. Definitely being here and those guys being in front of me and seeing how he ran the ball, you just try to learn from the guys who are ahead of you. You see what they do well and try to put in your game as well. It's also something KB (Coach Keith Bhonapha) harps on a lot. We all try to run patient because we've got to let our line set up the blocks and then we hit the hole."
(On how all the running backs complement each other) "I mean, we're just trying to be the best teammates possible. We all love each other, we all want each other to be the best running backs they can be, and it's an awesome atmosphere. Just to be able to be in the same room with a bunch of great guys all competing and just trying to make each other better. It's awesome."
Players Mentioned
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