TCU-Louisiana Tech Postgame Quotes
12/12/2020 11:13:00 PM | Football
TCU – LOUISIANA TECH POSTGAME QUOTES
TCU 52, Louisiana Tech 10
December 12, 2020
TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson
Opening statement:
"We made it through the regular season. That's the whole goal and win more than we lose. At this time, I just feel bad, there are a couple of guys that are probably going to have surgery tonight, on both teams. End of the year, felt really bad for both kids. The La. Tech quarterback, he's a Fort Worth native. We will keep them in our prayers. I was proud of my group, at the end of the Oklahoma State game I think they lost a little energy about this game, but by game time they got it back. It was nice to solidify our chance to win seven games."
On the TCU true freshmen:
"Those guys are good football players. You have to give the offensive line a lot of credit for the reason that you are down to guys that haven't played very much."
On the defensive pressure:
"I was not very impressed in the second half. We should have done a lot better than what we did. Second half wise they did a lot of routes we didn't handle very well. We won the ballgame and the biggest thing was getting out of it. We didn't have any other corners to put in, I was going to go play corner. It became an interesting scenario, if we had to play next week, I'm not sure if we would be able to. It is good we are going to have a couple weeks off."
On C.J. Ceasar:
"It was great for Cesar as he has been getting picked on. He has given up touchdowns in the last three games going into today. For him to get two picks it's a huge positive because people hadn't gone after Tre (Moehrig), they had gone after him. That's a pretty good offense to hold to 10 points."
On winning five of the last six games:
"We've gotten better. I think we've had addition by subtraction. As I told them before the game, the younger guys have all grown up. I think they are much stronger and much more mature than they were back in August. I go back to the Chancellor, the Athletic Director, the Board of Trustees and the Big 12 for giving us an opportunity to play, minus the hiccup against SMU, we had an opportunity to play all our games going forward. It's a credit to our kids and the trainers, you name it, there are a lot of people to thank. We did not start with the same team we ended with and that is a credit to this coaching staff.
On Ochaun Mathis:
"He is going be a guy who will be a force to be reckoned with and he's only a sophomore. We have so many guys that we can rotate in there to keep them all fresh and everything, it really helps because you aren't playing 65, 70 snaps a game. It keeps us a lot healthier."
TCU Defensive Back La'Kendrick Van Zandt
On his excitement going into a bowl game
"I'm extremely excited especially since we missed out on a bowl game last year. Confidence wise – we have a lot of confidence going into the bowl game being that we have won 5 out of the last 6 games and I feel like if we continue to focus as a team, the confidence will come with it."
On the secondary stepping up
"The secondary has stepped a lot… being that there are a lot of young guys in there we have had to put our trust into them, which is difficult at times, but as long as we focus on what we need to do and do it together and keep each other up, especially the young guys because they aren't used to this so we have to keep their heads up and keep doing what we have to do."
On the true freshman play makers on offense
"Since they first got here they have been working hard and there is no doubt about the way they are playing now – I've been saying this since day one – they have been working like crazy. It is different to see freshman work like they do; it feels like they've already been here for years."
On C.J. Ceasar improving
"C.J. really improves off of his mistakes – he focuses on getting better based off of what he messed up on the last game. He knows very well what he needs to do technique wise in order to get better. He has also done a very good job at focusing on the next play after he makes a mistake."
TCU Quarterback Max Duggan
On giving a shoutout to his teammates:
"Tonight, you can look at the two freshman, o-line, defense, CJ, Wallow and Dee flying around, Tre and AD back there. That's a little shout out. Everybody played their tails off tonight."
On what went right for the offense vs Louisiana Tech:
"It helps when you have a running attack like we have and being able to put it up in the air to Qeuntin and all the other guys around. But, the O-line played phenomenal tonight. They played great. I mean, obviously we had some big runs. Just seeing all of the talented kids we have and all the work they put it has really shown on the field. I'm really happy for them."
On how his chemistry with Quentin Johnston has improved throughout the season:
"Quentin is a super talented kid. He's a hard worker and I think we put a lot of work in during the offseason and this season. When I get the opportunity I just get him the ball. He's so talented and such a good playmaker that I'm going to try to get him the ball as fast as I can just so he can do his thing. You can see what happens when he gets to the ball."
On state of mind when seeing an opposing quarterback go down with a serious injury:
"Prayers up for him. Some of the guys on the sideline were talking about that he's a Fort Worth kid. I feel for him, I'm praying for him. I went through an injury my junior year, an ankle, so all the prayers up to him. He's a great player and I'm just praying for him."
On development of Miller and Evans this season:
"Obviously you guys and everybody in our facility can see that they are very talented kids along with all of the other kids in the running back room. I think the attitude and the effort they bring every day to practice is the biggest thing. They have an attitude that they want to come to work every single day and that they want to get better and want to do anything that can help us win. I think you can see that. I'm just happy that I'm seeing success from them and for them on the field."
On feeling of going to a bowl game this year after missing out last year:
"We weren't able to make one last year and we felt horrible for te seniors. I think that was the biggest thing. Our goal, Coach P always says, is that we want to have the best season for the seniors. This year, we are able to get a bowl game and get another game for the seniors so I think that's the most important thing."
On if he envisioned getting to play 10 games this season amongst the uncertainty heading into the year:
"It's kind of crazy to think about where we were in July, starting up practice and all that. Everybody in the college football world really had no idea of how it was going to turn out, so I think at least in our minds and in this facility we're very happy that we had the opportunity to play as many games as we did"
On improvement of C.J. Cesaer and Tre Tomlinson:
"Like I said with the two running backs, those guys come in with a lot of confidence in themselves. Obviously as cornerbacks, you kind of have to. They work very hard. Extremely hard. They're both talented kids. I talk to them every day and they're always working on things together and I think that meshes well. Seeing them have success on the field is the biggest thing and I'm happy for the guys."
Ochaun Mathis
On what has gone well for him in his past 5 games:
"Starting off at the beginning of the season was a rough start for me. A lot of teams were running a lot of their offense away from my side and giving the other end, which they thought was the weak end, which is Khari, but he's played phenomenally. A lot of times throughout these past few games they were able to find a way to make their offense work. Whenever stuff happened like that I was able to make plays. I know Coach P has been doing a great job pushing me. Hes been picking on me. There is a mentality of when the coaches are really hard on me, whenever they make me mad, I get really angry. That's what makes me play hard."
On comparison of him to The Hulk:
"Oh yeah. Yeah, I'm The Hulk. Yes. I have a temper and I'm very competitive. I've always been. I wish I had a better game tonight. Now that I won MVP of the game, I feel like I could have do a lot better. I'm very competitive when it comes to competition."
On reputation of Coach P being tough his defensive players:
"I knew from the first official visit. It was a game visit against Texas back in 2017. I came in and Coach P is a really nice guy off the field but when you come in and see him in practices like that, coming from where I came from, there was not a lot of that much intensity going on. It kind of clicked for me and I said 'Oh my god, Coach P is like a really mean guy', but at the same time I need that push for me to be the best player I can be."
On feeling like he improved throughout the season:
"Oh yes, most definitely. Besides the attention aspect of things, Coach P has done a really good job of doing his thing with me along with me getting the leadership across the defensive line. It has pushed me to do what I have to do to grow other people up at other positions. On top of that, I think it's motivation for me to be a great example on and off the field. When on the field, I find my potential to do what I have to do. Going throughout this year, going towards the end of things, I feel like it was my best time to show out. Towards the end of the season I felt like it was a great time to start growing up. I've been here for three years, so going on I know I'm going to be a leader next year, so why not."
On difference in how the defense has played over the past 5 games:
"Throughout the last few practices I can say the biggest difference is us getting more comfortable communicating with one another across the board. A lot of guys coming in were a lot more nervous communicating with getting the plays off the sideline. Now that a lot of people have grown up and grown up together, most importantly, we've all become the defense that we wanted to become by communicating better and bonding on and off the field. That has had a big impact on our success."
On how much more potential he thinks he has going forward:
"Starting off from my freshman year I can say I've looked up to Ben and LJ a lot, knowing I was going to have to take the leadership role of starting at left and right end my red shirt freshman year. I can say from that much that getting the experience early on and throughout up until now, I can see my partake in this team's success and the defense has gotten a lot better. But I can say from this point on, I feel like I will be a very great player throughout the next years of my time being here because I've gotten way better with communicating, playing and flying around to the ball, being more comfortable with communicating with my teammates. Along with some of the seniors leaving, it's very sad to see them go, but it's my time to step up to do what I have to do for this defense."
- - -
Louisiana Tech Head Coach Skip Holtz
On the state of mind around the team regarding QB Luke Anthony:
"All he kept saying was that he loves his teammates and appreciates them. It was a hard thing as a coach to sit there and see one of your players go through an injury like that. Out thoughts and prayers are with him. A couple of us will stay back here in Dallas and stay with him at the hospital. I'm sure he will have surgery this evening, and we will see where it goes from there."
On poor field position throughout the game:
"We had seven penalties in the first half. We average five penalties per game on the season. Tonight, we had seven in the first half. Every one of our kick returns drew a flag. I thought it was ridiculous. That certainly didn't lose the game for us, but when you are calling plays from the shadow of your own goal line. Wayne (Toussant) drops the opening kickoff. It was a combination of, we certainly didn't execute, we didn't play very well. This was an uncharacteristic game for us. We dropped more passes in this game that were strikes, right in your hands, right in your chest, than we have all year. The one thing that we do is we pitch and catch it pretty well. The first interception, (TCU) had great field position. We had awful field position. It seems like every return we had we would get a penalty. We did not take advantage of any opportunity we had to make a play. It certainly felt like things started reeling south. I had a bad feeling early when we dropped the opening kick, you drop a pass, they score. I came out in the second half and told my team that I don't know if we can win this game, but I do know that I what I watched in the first half isn't characteristic of how we have played all year. Let's just go out and execute. Let's just go out and do what we do and compete. The second half wasn't much different than the first."
On TCU's performance and remainder of this season:
"I give TCU a lot of credit. They came out and did what they needed to do. I certainly look at this and start with myself as a head coach. I didn't do a good enough job getting this team ready to play in an atmosphere like this. That was not a performance that I am not very proud of as a head coach and one that I certainly assume the responsibility for. We just have to wrap our arms around a very tough ending and see what we can put together to maybe someday soon see what is going to happen with the bowls. We will find out where we are going from here."
TCU 52, Louisiana Tech 10
December 12, 2020
TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson
Opening statement:
"We made it through the regular season. That's the whole goal and win more than we lose. At this time, I just feel bad, there are a couple of guys that are probably going to have surgery tonight, on both teams. End of the year, felt really bad for both kids. The La. Tech quarterback, he's a Fort Worth native. We will keep them in our prayers. I was proud of my group, at the end of the Oklahoma State game I think they lost a little energy about this game, but by game time they got it back. It was nice to solidify our chance to win seven games."
On the TCU true freshmen:
"Those guys are good football players. You have to give the offensive line a lot of credit for the reason that you are down to guys that haven't played very much."
On the defensive pressure:
"I was not very impressed in the second half. We should have done a lot better than what we did. Second half wise they did a lot of routes we didn't handle very well. We won the ballgame and the biggest thing was getting out of it. We didn't have any other corners to put in, I was going to go play corner. It became an interesting scenario, if we had to play next week, I'm not sure if we would be able to. It is good we are going to have a couple weeks off."
On C.J. Ceasar:
"It was great for Cesar as he has been getting picked on. He has given up touchdowns in the last three games going into today. For him to get two picks it's a huge positive because people hadn't gone after Tre (Moehrig), they had gone after him. That's a pretty good offense to hold to 10 points."
On winning five of the last six games:
"We've gotten better. I think we've had addition by subtraction. As I told them before the game, the younger guys have all grown up. I think they are much stronger and much more mature than they were back in August. I go back to the Chancellor, the Athletic Director, the Board of Trustees and the Big 12 for giving us an opportunity to play, minus the hiccup against SMU, we had an opportunity to play all our games going forward. It's a credit to our kids and the trainers, you name it, there are a lot of people to thank. We did not start with the same team we ended with and that is a credit to this coaching staff.
On Ochaun Mathis:
"He is going be a guy who will be a force to be reckoned with and he's only a sophomore. We have so many guys that we can rotate in there to keep them all fresh and everything, it really helps because you aren't playing 65, 70 snaps a game. It keeps us a lot healthier."
TCU Defensive Back La'Kendrick Van Zandt
On his excitement going into a bowl game
"I'm extremely excited especially since we missed out on a bowl game last year. Confidence wise – we have a lot of confidence going into the bowl game being that we have won 5 out of the last 6 games and I feel like if we continue to focus as a team, the confidence will come with it."
On the secondary stepping up
"The secondary has stepped a lot… being that there are a lot of young guys in there we have had to put our trust into them, which is difficult at times, but as long as we focus on what we need to do and do it together and keep each other up, especially the young guys because they aren't used to this so we have to keep their heads up and keep doing what we have to do."
On the true freshman play makers on offense
"Since they first got here they have been working hard and there is no doubt about the way they are playing now – I've been saying this since day one – they have been working like crazy. It is different to see freshman work like they do; it feels like they've already been here for years."
On C.J. Ceasar improving
"C.J. really improves off of his mistakes – he focuses on getting better based off of what he messed up on the last game. He knows very well what he needs to do technique wise in order to get better. He has also done a very good job at focusing on the next play after he makes a mistake."
TCU Quarterback Max Duggan
On giving a shoutout to his teammates:
"Tonight, you can look at the two freshman, o-line, defense, CJ, Wallow and Dee flying around, Tre and AD back there. That's a little shout out. Everybody played their tails off tonight."
On what went right for the offense vs Louisiana Tech:
"It helps when you have a running attack like we have and being able to put it up in the air to Qeuntin and all the other guys around. But, the O-line played phenomenal tonight. They played great. I mean, obviously we had some big runs. Just seeing all of the talented kids we have and all the work they put it has really shown on the field. I'm really happy for them."
On how his chemistry with Quentin Johnston has improved throughout the season:
"Quentin is a super talented kid. He's a hard worker and I think we put a lot of work in during the offseason and this season. When I get the opportunity I just get him the ball. He's so talented and such a good playmaker that I'm going to try to get him the ball as fast as I can just so he can do his thing. You can see what happens when he gets to the ball."
On state of mind when seeing an opposing quarterback go down with a serious injury:
"Prayers up for him. Some of the guys on the sideline were talking about that he's a Fort Worth kid. I feel for him, I'm praying for him. I went through an injury my junior year, an ankle, so all the prayers up to him. He's a great player and I'm just praying for him."
On development of Miller and Evans this season:
"Obviously you guys and everybody in our facility can see that they are very talented kids along with all of the other kids in the running back room. I think the attitude and the effort they bring every day to practice is the biggest thing. They have an attitude that they want to come to work every single day and that they want to get better and want to do anything that can help us win. I think you can see that. I'm just happy that I'm seeing success from them and for them on the field."
On feeling of going to a bowl game this year after missing out last year:
"We weren't able to make one last year and we felt horrible for te seniors. I think that was the biggest thing. Our goal, Coach P always says, is that we want to have the best season for the seniors. This year, we are able to get a bowl game and get another game for the seniors so I think that's the most important thing."
On if he envisioned getting to play 10 games this season amongst the uncertainty heading into the year:
"It's kind of crazy to think about where we were in July, starting up practice and all that. Everybody in the college football world really had no idea of how it was going to turn out, so I think at least in our minds and in this facility we're very happy that we had the opportunity to play as many games as we did"
On improvement of C.J. Cesaer and Tre Tomlinson:
"Like I said with the two running backs, those guys come in with a lot of confidence in themselves. Obviously as cornerbacks, you kind of have to. They work very hard. Extremely hard. They're both talented kids. I talk to them every day and they're always working on things together and I think that meshes well. Seeing them have success on the field is the biggest thing and I'm happy for the guys."
Ochaun Mathis
On what has gone well for him in his past 5 games:
"Starting off at the beginning of the season was a rough start for me. A lot of teams were running a lot of their offense away from my side and giving the other end, which they thought was the weak end, which is Khari, but he's played phenomenally. A lot of times throughout these past few games they were able to find a way to make their offense work. Whenever stuff happened like that I was able to make plays. I know Coach P has been doing a great job pushing me. Hes been picking on me. There is a mentality of when the coaches are really hard on me, whenever they make me mad, I get really angry. That's what makes me play hard."
On comparison of him to The Hulk:
"Oh yeah. Yeah, I'm The Hulk. Yes. I have a temper and I'm very competitive. I've always been. I wish I had a better game tonight. Now that I won MVP of the game, I feel like I could have do a lot better. I'm very competitive when it comes to competition."
On reputation of Coach P being tough his defensive players:
"I knew from the first official visit. It was a game visit against Texas back in 2017. I came in and Coach P is a really nice guy off the field but when you come in and see him in practices like that, coming from where I came from, there was not a lot of that much intensity going on. It kind of clicked for me and I said 'Oh my god, Coach P is like a really mean guy', but at the same time I need that push for me to be the best player I can be."
On feeling like he improved throughout the season:
"Oh yes, most definitely. Besides the attention aspect of things, Coach P has done a really good job of doing his thing with me along with me getting the leadership across the defensive line. It has pushed me to do what I have to do to grow other people up at other positions. On top of that, I think it's motivation for me to be a great example on and off the field. When on the field, I find my potential to do what I have to do. Going throughout this year, going towards the end of things, I feel like it was my best time to show out. Towards the end of the season I felt like it was a great time to start growing up. I've been here for three years, so going on I know I'm going to be a leader next year, so why not."
On difference in how the defense has played over the past 5 games:
"Throughout the last few practices I can say the biggest difference is us getting more comfortable communicating with one another across the board. A lot of guys coming in were a lot more nervous communicating with getting the plays off the sideline. Now that a lot of people have grown up and grown up together, most importantly, we've all become the defense that we wanted to become by communicating better and bonding on and off the field. That has had a big impact on our success."
On how much more potential he thinks he has going forward:
"Starting off from my freshman year I can say I've looked up to Ben and LJ a lot, knowing I was going to have to take the leadership role of starting at left and right end my red shirt freshman year. I can say from that much that getting the experience early on and throughout up until now, I can see my partake in this team's success and the defense has gotten a lot better. But I can say from this point on, I feel like I will be a very great player throughout the next years of my time being here because I've gotten way better with communicating, playing and flying around to the ball, being more comfortable with communicating with my teammates. Along with some of the seniors leaving, it's very sad to see them go, but it's my time to step up to do what I have to do for this defense."
- - -
Louisiana Tech Head Coach Skip Holtz
On the state of mind around the team regarding QB Luke Anthony:
"All he kept saying was that he loves his teammates and appreciates them. It was a hard thing as a coach to sit there and see one of your players go through an injury like that. Out thoughts and prayers are with him. A couple of us will stay back here in Dallas and stay with him at the hospital. I'm sure he will have surgery this evening, and we will see where it goes from there."
On poor field position throughout the game:
"We had seven penalties in the first half. We average five penalties per game on the season. Tonight, we had seven in the first half. Every one of our kick returns drew a flag. I thought it was ridiculous. That certainly didn't lose the game for us, but when you are calling plays from the shadow of your own goal line. Wayne (Toussant) drops the opening kickoff. It was a combination of, we certainly didn't execute, we didn't play very well. This was an uncharacteristic game for us. We dropped more passes in this game that were strikes, right in your hands, right in your chest, than we have all year. The one thing that we do is we pitch and catch it pretty well. The first interception, (TCU) had great field position. We had awful field position. It seems like every return we had we would get a penalty. We did not take advantage of any opportunity we had to make a play. It certainly felt like things started reeling south. I had a bad feeling early when we dropped the opening kick, you drop a pass, they score. I came out in the second half and told my team that I don't know if we can win this game, but I do know that I what I watched in the first half isn't characteristic of how we have played all year. Let's just go out and execute. Let's just go out and do what we do and compete. The second half wasn't much different than the first."
On TCU's performance and remainder of this season:
"I give TCU a lot of credit. They came out and did what they needed to do. I certainly look at this and start with myself as a head coach. I didn't do a good enough job getting this team ready to play in an atmosphere like this. That was not a performance that I am not very proud of as a head coach and one that I certainly assume the responsibility for. We just have to wrap our arms around a very tough ending and see what we can put together to maybe someday soon see what is going to happen with the bowls. We will find out where we are going from here."
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DE
/ Football
S
/ FootballTCU Football | Sonny Dykes and Players Post-game Press Conference (Iowa State)
Sunday, November 09
TCU Football | Sonny Dykes and Players Weekly Press Conference (Iowa State)
Wednesday, November 05
TCU Football | Frogs Take Care of Business at West Virginia (WVU Postgame Press Conference)
Sunday, October 26
Behind the Mic: TCU at West Virginia
Saturday, October 25
