Quotes from the Uh-New Mexico State game 11/27/10

NMSU = Official NMSU Athletics website
HSA = Honolulu Star-Advertiser
LCSN = Las Cruces Sun-News

Note: UH's website and the AP and USA Today articles I read did not have any quotes for the UH-NMSU game.

----------------------  Quotes from the UH Coaches  ---------------------


About how they have reached their goal of winning the WAC championship, Mack said:
"Our objective going into this game was to win the WAC championship.  After Nevada beat Boise State last night, we knew we had a good shot at winning this game and the WAC championship." (NMSU)

"I am really excited to win the WAC championship.  Like I said earlier, our goal was to win the WAC championship as soon as Nevada defeated Boise State." (HSA)


About how the great success that they had with their rushing game, Mack said:
"Our running game did really well today.  It had to have been our best rushing game in a long time.  Our offensive line also did a great job in helping out our offense." (NMSU)


About the ice water poured over his head as the game ended, Mack said:
"That was freezing." (HSA)


About how hotel security called him after his players made so much noise when Nevada beat Boise State, Mack said:
"He said there were all kinds of noise on the floor. It was our guys coming out of the room and high-fiving everybody. I apologized, and said, 'They just got some good news.' I had our coaches make sure (the players) got back into their rooms. But, shoot, I had a hard time going to sleep, too." (HSA)


About Scott Enos breaking Jason Elam's record with his 92 consecutive PATs during Enos' 25-game UH career, Mack said:
"I'm really proud of Scott.That's a big one. I mean, getting Jason  Elam's record? That's big stuff." (HSA)


About how all their receivers had to do was to run decoy routes to open things up for their running game, Offensive Coordinator Nick Rolovich said:
"That's the easiest block in football. The receivers were unselfish. Once (Green) broke through (the line of scrimmage), he had a lot of room." (HSA)


About how their running game opens up when teams play man-to-man coverage against their receivers, RB coach Brian Smith said:
"Usually when we play man(-to-man) teams, that opens up the run game for us." (HSA)


Praising Alex Green's running ability, Smith said:
"He's been running so hard lately. He does a great job of breaking tackles or making people miss. When he gets into open space, we know we have a chance for a big play." (HSA)


----------------------  Quotes from the UH Players  -----------------------

About Alex Green's 327 yards rushing, Bryant Moniz said:
"Amazing." (HSA)


About how their coaches knew that Green was close to a lot of records and wanted to keep giving him the ball, Moniz said:
"They wanted to feed him. He deserves it. He blocks for us all year. He saves me a lot of times with his blocks. When he has this kind of a game, he deserves to get the ball. I wanted to give him the ball, stand back and enjoy the view." (HSA)


Asked if he could have imagined having such a huge rushing day, Green said:
"Not at all. When I got up, I thought it was going to be a work day." (HSA)


About how he wasn't aware of the records he was breaking, Green said:
"I just wanted to win." (HSA)


About how he set a goal of having a 1,000-yard rushing season for UH when he signed with UH in 2009, Green said:
"I knew I made the right choice coming here. I knew that in 2009." (HSA)


Deflecting praise from the OL for Green's success, Austin Hansen said:
"Usually when you get all of these rushing yards, it's the offensive line that gets the credit. We played hard, and we blocked hard, but the film will show my man broke tackles at the line of scrimmage and in the secondary. Alex had an outstanding game." (HSA)


About how his TD reception was set up when Pilares ran a crossing route where he brushed up against the defender covering Salas, Greg Salas said:
"Kealoha does a good job of getting a little rub. It's one of our bread-and-butter plays." (HSA)


About setting UH's career record for receiving yards, Salas said:
"This means a lot. It means I've been doing work here for my career. I've been efficient. I've been doing what I'm supposed to be doing. It lets me know I've been doing a good job." (HSA)

"I'm honored. There have been so many great receivers to come through this program." (HSA)


About studying Jason Rivers when he was a freshman and Rivers was a senior in 2007, Salas said:
"I tried to get my game like his was. He'd always give me tips and help me out with routes, and let me know how to improve my route running. He was a really good teacher." (HSA)


About how their receivers ran decoy routes to bring defenders to the sideline to open up things for their running game, Salas said:
"We want to run hard when we're trying to run off (defenders). I just want to take my guy to the sideline, and watch A.G. run past." (HSA)


About how the team celebrated Nevada's win over Boise State, Kealoha Pilares said:
"It was crazy. We were cheering and pounding on the walls. We came out and were running up and down the halls. The other hotel guests were getting mad." (HSA)


About their excellent chemistry within their team, Pilares said:
"People didn't know what was going on inside our close-knit team. From day one, we believed in each other. We were out to prove people wrong. This proves if you work hard, all of the pieces will fall into place. That's exactly what happened this season. We have a piece of the championship." (HSA)


About how Mack told the team the day before the game that the stands would be empty and they had to motivate themselves, Vaughn Meatoga said:
"He told us we had to find our own motivation. When we were celebrating (Nevada's victory), we knew that meant we had to beat New Mexico State. We knew that would be our motivation." (HSA)


About how they were motivated by what their critics said after their losing season last year, Kaniela Tuipulotu said:
"Everybody doubted us. We wanted to prove some people wrong." (HSA)


Not surprised by Umu's interception, Tuipulotu said:
"He's the world's most interesting man. He found the Fountain of Youth but didn't drink from it because he wasn't thirsty." (HSA)


About the INT he had, DE Kamalu Umu said:
"I was shocked. I didn't know what to do. We had a good play. I ran into the running back. I waited there (for the interception). D-linemen don't practice catching, but I've got good hands. I have to work on my agility." (HSA)


About the unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty that he received for diving into the end zone at the end of his TD return on an INT, Aaron Brown said:
"I thought somebody was behind me.  (Teammates) will back me up on that." (HSA)


About their success on D in this game, Brown said:
"It was teamwork." (HSA)


Crediting long-snapper Luke Ingram and holder Shane Austin for his success on PATs, Scott Enos said:
"Extra points have to be like a machine. I don't think at all when I kick them. I just go up there and kick." (HSA)


About how he doesn't get nervous on PAT attempts, Enos said:
"I don't get nervous at all. I know it's going to be there." (HSA)


When Vaughn Meatoga asked him "You don't get nervous about anything?", Enos replied:
"Nope." (HSA)


When Meatoga asked again, "Anything?", Enos said:
"OK, some things. But we don't discuss that." (HSA)


--------------------  Quotes from the NMSU Coaches  -------------------


About their seniors this season (House and Smith), head coach DeWayne Walker said:
"I wish I had those guys back for four more years. Those are good players. They have helped us lay the foundation. So it's going to be tough to see those guys leave but we have to move forward." (NMSU)


About how he's looking for leadership for next year's team from the players who are coming back, Walker said:
"Well you've got to look at the guys who are coming back on offense Grady, Kenny Smith, you got your young quarterback Matt Christian, Todd Lee. Defensively you are going to have Savage and Fields. Hopefully, Jonte Green, he'll mature as a leader so there are enough of guys coming back to where we are going to have to generate a lot more leadership." (NMSU)


About their QB options for next season, Manley and Christian, Walker said:
"May the best man win! We will get that going during spring practice and we have a lot of work to do." (NMSU)


About how their team has a long way to go to catch up with the other teams in the WAC, Walker said:
"We still have a long way to go.There's a lot -- a lot -- of things you could factor in.  ... We have to look at definitely what's going on on the field, but also what's going on off the field.  You have to compare what you have to your competitors. I think if you're on the same level in all the areas, then it's: Are you getting the job done or not." (HSA)


About how having to gear up to stop UH's passing game left them vulnerable to UH's running game, Walker said:
"I was always concerned when you put an emphasis to stop the passing game. When you've got a big beast back there and you're using all your bodies to stop the passing game, all it takes is one missed gap. And that's what happened." (HSA)

"The passing game was definitely something we were concerned with. But, when you have a big beast back there and you're trying to use all your bodies to take care of the passing game, all it takes is one missed gap....All of his big runs were because guys were playing the pass first, and he hit us in a gap." (LCSN)


About how UH is better than their team, Walker said:
"We weren't good enough. That football team is just better than us. Are they that much better than us? I wouldn't say they're that. ... But they have a better football team. They have better players, they have a tradition of winning." (LCSN)


Not happy with how they played, Walker said:
"No, I'm not happy with all the big plays that they made and I'm not happy with what we did on offense. When you look at it, 600 yards versus 200 yards....you're not going to win a lot of games like that." (LCSN)


About how they need to come up with a plan to improve their football team, Walker said:
"I think this project we have football-wise is bigger than me. Hopefully we can sit down collectively and really find out the best plan. I think now is when you start. I look at this as really my first year. And I think we have to put a pretty detailed plan together on how we approach this thing ... from the top on down." (LCSN)


About how he feels that they don't have similar resources compared with other WAC schools, with just 1 strength and conditioning coach while others have "anywhere from four to six" and how their recruiting budget is much smaller than their competitors, Walker said:
"I think you have to look at everything. I really believe the more you give, the more you get. And I just really believe we have to study what are you giving? Because I think this can get done. I really do. But, it's going to take a pretty detailed plan with everybody involved for us to get it right." (LCSN)


About how they beat both New Mexico and SJSU despite both of those schools having more resources than them, Walker said:
"I think when you look at your competition, I think that's where we have to look at. Where is our competition? And then we have to look at, where are we? And that's what we have to gage it off of. What do we have to do to close that gap in terms of our competition?" (LCSN)


About how NMSU hasn't gone to a bowl game for 50 years, the longest bowl drought in the country, Walker said:
"Obviously you have to really evaluate on the field. Our talent level, our schemes, where we need to improve, what areas we need to recruit.  But we also have to look at what's going on off the field. We just have to really look at this football program, this whole program's entirety (instead) of just singling out one group over another group. We've got a lot of work to do, I think, to really get this program going." (LCSN)


Told that Walker said that they could use an "additional strength coach" and additional academic support as well, NMSU AD McKinley Boston said:
"(The) football budget is comparable — on the average — of most of the programs ... in the middle of the WAC. Which is really what our goal was." (LCSN)


About how their assistant coaches are among the lowest paid in the country, Boston said:
"I could think of some things that, if the economy was better, we could provide." (LCSN)


-------------------  Quotes from the NMSU Players  ----------------------


About how they prepared for UH's plan to blitz him to put pressure on him, Andrew Manley said:
"I knew they were coming after me. We prepared for it." (HSA)


Praising UH's defense, Manley said:
"It was a great job by their defense." (HSA)


About how he's improved as he has gotten playing time, Manley said.
"I feel like I've been able to talk to the guys about the offense more. ... I'm actually able to see defenses a lot better now." (HSA)


About how Coach Walker motivates their team, Manley said:
"Every meeting Coach Walker always has something positive to say to us, to get us fired up. We just have to keep getting the program better and better. We will get better." (HSA)


About how they stacked their defense against the pass and let UH run against them, CB Davon House said:
"For defense, we say lets have them beat us rushing. And that's what they did. And when we did stack the box to stop the run, we were left one-on-one with their best receiver, one of the top receivers in the nation. That's a bad matchup right there." (LCSN)


Asked about the limited resources their team has, House instead said:
"We believe the building stages is just about over now and it's time to start getting W's. And I believe with a lot of hard work and dedication, it will happen. We're only a player or two away or a play or two away from getting that done." (LCSN)