2009 Postgame Press Conference Quotes PDF Print E-mail
Written by Sun Bowl Web Admin
Thursday, 31 December 2009
Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh
Opening statements
“I thought our football team played as hard as well as they possibly could. I told them that in the locker room that I was proud of them.”
“I wish I could have put us in better situations especially in the second half. Hopefully one of these days our paths will cross again. He’s a wonderful person and he made some big plays. I wish we could have been a little better in the second half, put our guys in a better situation; move the ball score points. Overall, Toby (Gerhart) ran hard, line blocked. Oklahoma has a heck of a defense. Our guys fought as hard as they could. They’ve been to the top of the mountain, looked over and seen what’s on the other side and said, ‘This is where we want to be’.”
Talk about Oklahoma’s secondary
“We were really impressed with their secondary. Those guys were tremendous athletes. They did a good job hitting. I envision our secondary like that one day; that’s what we want.”
Can you describe the last play?
“Our last play was a sprint out that we did earlier in the game … he (Tavita Pritchard) hit that earlier in the game for about 40 yards.”
Talk about the passing game of Oklahoma
“That was the difference in the game, really, because our defense shut down the run. (We gave up) too many big plays, too many easy plays, too many yards in the passing game.”
Describe the penalty that looked to be against Stanford that turned into a muffed punt
“The only flag I saw on that play, the only thing that was illegal was the block in the back by the Oklahoma’s gunner. I thought it was a beautifully-timed play by (Johnson) Bademosi. I’ll need to see the replay and the film to see if my eyes were right … I thought he timed it up perfectly; hit, fumble. The way I heard it called on the field, they called ‘receiver interference’, but he was pushed in the back.”
What happened to defensive lineman Ekom Udofia?
“He hurt his knee. Not enough to take him out of the game but we’ll see. There might be some meniscus (damage), it’s on the lateral side of the knee. He came back (into the game).”
What’s the outlook for next year?
“We need to come back (and) get stronger, more athletic.”
Stanford running back Toby Gerhart
What did you see different from Oklahoma in the second half?
“I’m not sure. They’re a good defense. We had to chip away. I had one big one (run).”
Is this the best defense you’ve played against?
“They’re (Oklahoma) a great defense. They’re definitely one of the top we’ve played so far. It’s a credit to them.”
Was the use of the direct snap an adjustment?
“That was something we incorporated all week to act as a game changer.”
Is there any chance you come back next year?
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll talk about it with the coaches and my family and decided where to go from there.”
Stanford quarterback Tavita Pritchard
Talk about your game and the program
“I felt alright. I would have liked a different result. I loved the way these guys, my teammates, fought. The coach and this program are going in the right direction. There are a couple of plays I want back personally.”
Talk about the big plays for each team
“There were a bunch of those, a bunch of those that could have gone either way.”
Can you talk about the last play?
“It was a run/pass option. Like coach said, there’s also a run; that was the first play call. They’re a good defense … it’s a credit to them.”
Stanford defensive end Thomas Kaiser
Were you proud of the way the defense played?
“I was proud of the way our defense played. I thought we played hard and I know we’re going to look back on this game and see the plays that we should have made. Overall I was proud … the effort was there.”
What did you think of Landry Jones?
“He was good. We knew going in that he was a good quarterback.”
Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops
“I would like to congratulate Stanford on a hard-fought game. They’ve had a great year. Coach (Jim) Harbaugh did an amazing job in just a few years. Watching them play through the years I knew this would be a challenge. We are just excited to see our players play overall. We did a good job getting them prepared and getting them ready. The players have had a great attitude this month getting ready for this game and even today fighting through some injuries. They just never got dejected and they work through it. I thought some guys had some special games. Gerald McCoy played really sensational. Ryan Broyles was outstanding. Landry Jones, minus the one play, had an outstanding day. Dejuan Miller came up as a young guy with some big third down catches. Defensively the second half was outstanding and I thought even in the first half we weren’t far off. They were put in a bad position. There is a couple of situations there where we weren’t far off from having and excellent day in the first half. Overall we were physical, we talked well. We had a couple missed tackles but not in the second. It was a good solid day and pleasing to come out with a good win.”
How did you handle the injuries to the defense?
“Adrian Taylor had a fairly significant ankle injury. I am sure they will have to work on and operate on in the morning. Gerald just had a hip pointer that knocked him out for a few plays. Jackson couldn’t play. He had some headaches during the week that didn’t clear up so they didn’t feel he should play. We found that out a day or so ago. Jonathan Nelson and Demontre Hurst came in and did a heck of a job. Demontre is a true freshman.”
Talk about your short to intermediate passing game?
“It was good. I thought of course Ryan had a huge day catching the ball and then Dejuan Miller and Jaz Reynolds caught some nice slants and some intermediate stuff.
What’s the future on Ronnell Lewis?
“We call him the Hammer. He had so much power and explosiveness. He’s a young guy, he’s just unusual how powerful he is and the way he can run. He’s got a chance to be a special player. It’s funny we were with the hypnotist a couple nights ago. He was in the crowd not supposed to be getting hypnotized and then was. When he came out of it he had a bad headache. You could tell he wasn’t all there. He was in he was out. So I walked up to the guy afterwards and I said ‘I want my hammer’ I said ‘I’m not leaving without my hammer’. I told him you got to get my man right. He put him back in and by the next morning he felt all good.”
Was Lewis the anchor for the entire defense?
“He was. Him playing that SAM position with all their big formations … he played it great and all of his responsibilities.”
Your team looked like they enjoyed every play?
“We did. I thought our kids did that and no matter what the situation. We got some tough breaks; that happens. We got a few other ones that went against us but we still did what we had to do to get the win.”
Quarterback Landry Jones
“I thought I played pretty good this afternoon. I had a crucial mistake but other than that I thought I made some smart decisions. I got a lot of help from my teammates. They played great.”
“I can see a big progression the way I see things out there. At first it was kind of hard to see some coverage’s but now that I’ve been able to play a couple games the game has slowed down more.”
“We came out the second half and we said how it was a seven to zero game now. We came out there and executed like we could. “
“I forced the ball down the field a little bit when I should have used my check down.”
“The coaches put together a great game plan. We came down here and it was a total business trip. I just felt the game plan and the way we prepared was really good this week.”
Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy:
“This is the first bowl game we’ve won since I’ve been here. The depth of our team is what’s always going to save us. It just shows how much heart we have.”
“I asked all the guys early in the week. I told them this was a great team we were playing and I would really love to win out for my last game. We played really hard and they gave all they had. I love my teammates.”
“We used leverage to open up holes. We knew this would be a tough task.”
Wide receiver Ryan Broyles:
“It was really just game plan. The guys came out there and play while the O-line was blocking for us.”
“This isn’t all about me. It is the situation and I did the best that I can.”