Virginia Player Postgame Quotes
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NC State at Virginia
Oct. 22, 2011
Virginia Player Quotes
Freshman quarterback David Watford
On interceptions:
“They committed on their preparation for the game this week. We wanted to focus on their safeties and how the safety rotation went. With the cover two, when I threw my first interception, there was a hitch and they just were just sitting on it. They were sitting on a lot of our shallow routes with their cover two.”
On offensive struggles:
“It was frustrating, but you want to stay positive with the offense. We can score at any point, as you saw with that deep ball to Tim (Smith). We were trying so hard but they were just more prepared than we were today. We have to come back more prepared next week. We have to come back next week with the taste of this loss and we have to use that as motivation to prepare better. We just have to work harder in practice.”
On what he learned from the loss:
“I threw three interceptions today so I learned a lot. They were in my face early, and when I didn’t try to throw it, someone was always coming back. I just learned that no matter what the outcome is – no matter how well or badly I played – I just have to stay positive for my teammates. I have to make them believe in me, just give them the opportunity to believe in me and that I can get the job done. If we’re up 35 points or if we’re down 35 points, I can still get us the win. I just have to try my hardest to do that.”
On interception returned for a touchdown:
“From what I saw, Tim (Smith) got his hands up late and it just ricocheted off his hands. Both interceptions were my fault because I could have taken a little off the second one to help Tim. It wasn’t his fault. They were playing a cover two and I was expecting a cover three. I didn’t expect their safety rotation. The cornerback sat on me and I threw it right to him. I just have to bounce back in the next game and have a short memory. I have to get ready for practice tomorrow.”
Junior linebacker Steve Greer
On the loss:
“It was just a tough loss. They were coming off a bye week. We just had to execute the ball on both offense and defense and we didn’t.”
On whether NC State coming off bye week hurt Virginia:
“When any team comes off a bye week, they’re going to have a little extra pep in their step. They came out and they were ready to go. You could tell they game planned some stuff with the extra time they had in their bye week and you could tell they were incorporating some different things. We came out. It was tough.”
On short week before facing Miami:
“We’re going to have to take extra time during our short week. Guys are going to have to come in and do extra on their own and get that extra study time. This is going to be a huge week for us as far as preparation. It’s going to be on a lot of guys’ shoulders to come in and bounce back and get that extra prep time.”
Senior cornerback Chase Minnifield
On the loss:
“It was tough loss for us. We’re a better team than the way we played today. We just have to go back to work now. It’s disappointing. It’s tough. But we have to go back to work since it’s a short week. You’ve got to let it go and try to come up big next week.”
On the blocked punt:
“I just got a good jump on the ball and was fortunate enough to make a play on it. That was it. We had some good plays, but at the end of the game, it doesn’t do enough to win.”
Senior safety Corey Mosley
On the loss:
“We knew it was going to be a battle until the end. They have a great quarterback. We were hoping to get more pressure on him but he did a good job in the pocket. We had to play back on the hedge for the pass. I feel we played hard all four quarters, but they came out with the victory.”
On his interception:
“He (Glennon) had more time in the pocket than we expected. The line held up well for him, but I knew he was going to try to work off our middle linebacker. I just got a good read and jumped the ball.”
On whether NC State coming off bye week hurt Virginia:
“When you become a student of the game and you have an extra week to prepare, that’s a great advantage coming into the game. It looked like it worked out well for them.”
On short week before facing Miami Thursday:
“We just have to hit the ‘reset’ button and come back. We know we have a short week but we have the guys here who can focus. This game is in the past and now we’re looking forward to Thursday. Guys are sad about the loss and I’m sure they’re going to start tonight getting ready for Miami.”
Freshman tailback Clifton Richardson
On his six yard touchdown reception:
“I came out blocking a linebacker and then threw him off me. I tried to get the quarterback to see me, (Michael) Rocco threw it over and I made the play. Rocco did a great job rolling out and looking down the field.”
On how it feels to have his first touchdown reception:
“It felt good. I’m trying to make more plays.”
Sophomore quarterback Michael Rocco
On the flow of the game:
“We tried to get in a rhythm the first couple of drives and we just kept stalling. The third drive we had a big touchdown that put together a little momentum for us. It was an up-and-down first half, we stalled, then had another couple big plays, then stalled. We weren’t as efficient as we needed to be on offense. Our defense played a great game and we as an offense didn’t do much to help them.”
On how important it is to get into a rhythm:
“Getting into the flow of the game is very important for both the offense and defense. We didn’t get into a great rhythm tonight. We made some plays and didn’t make some easy ones. I take responsibility for a lot of that. Rhythm is a big thing and we couldn’t get into it tonight.”
On whether NC State did anything defensively that disrupted the offense:
“Not really, we prepared for it. We didn’t make plays when we needed to. We missed a couple easy opportunities.”
On the road ahead:
“It’s time to face Miami and turn the page like we tried to do last week after the win. After this loss we have to turn the page and move on. We’ll see where it goes, we are going to play our guts out in Miami and try to get a victory there.”