Quotes about the defense

After practice yesterday, Micah Lau yelled to everyone:
"Not WAC champs yet!" (HSB)


About how their defense is so deep that they have 3 full strings game ready, Lumpkin said:
"I'm not talking about just being out here (at practice). I'm talking can play." (HSB)


About how their defense did well in the 50-play scrimmage, GM said:
"We have some good depth. We kept Mike (Lafaele, the only returning D-line starter, at tackle) out, we wanted to look at a lot of players. I'm happy with the way they came to play, happy with the effort and the enthusiasm." (HSB)

HSB Note: "It could be said that Lafaele's absence was more than balanced by that of starting center John Estes and left guard Hercules Satele sitting this one out also. Second-year freshman Joey Lipp and others handled the snapping -- with just one bad one, and the resourceful Tyler Graunke turned it into a TD to Dylan Linkner.

After Colt Brennan was Colt Brennan, completing seven of eight short passes (he hit some long ones in a superb 7-on-7 turn), Graunke and Inoke Funaki, the No. 2 and No. 3 quarterbacks, took over. Graunke was sharp, completing 10 of 13 passes and Funaki was seven of 12. Passing accuracy of 24-for-33 is pretty spectacular, even for a group of throwers and catchers returning intact who led the nation in passing offense last year."


Praising their DL depth, JJ said:
"We have eight to 10 guys (on the defensive line) who can really play. And they all showed up today." (HSB)


About their DL, Inoke Funaki said:
"They do a lot of stunting. (Show) blitz, and pop back. They've all got that Coach McMackin scheme going. It's probably going to help us in the games. It's always a lot different with everything going on around you. There were still quite a few balls I need to throw better." (HSB)


About how they weren't able to gain much on runs yesterday, LWJ said:
"There's nothing much we can do when they penetrate the holes like that." (HSB)


Praising LWJ's play in the scrimmage, JJ said:
"He showed me what I wanted to see. North-south. He'll do better against other teams that don't know our plays." (HSB)


After C.J. Hawthorne got behind the defense for some long passes in the scrimmage, JJ said:
"C.J. Hawthorne is going to give us another dimension this year. He's so fast." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Jones isn't ready to say yet that Hawthorne has the right wideout job sewn up over sophomore Malcolm Lane, who continues to play well through injuries. He has a dislocated finger, "


Not worried about their offensive line's struggles in the scrimmage, JJ said:
"We didn't play Herc and John today, and our defensive line is so good it might be the best they play against all year. We didn't do what we needed to do to run the ball, but I'm seeing a lot of good things in there." (HSB)