University of Connecticut Athletics
Connecticut vs. Vanderbilt Post Game Quotes
10/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 2, 2010
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Head Coach Randy Edsall
Opening Statement:
"This was a very good win for us and I was very proud of the young men and the way they came out and played in the second half. I was proud of the way they did some of the things in the first half, but not being able to complete third-down conversions was disturbing and defensively allowing big plays. Once we got those guys to execute and do their jobs, you were able to see the difference between the first half and second half."
On the whole team's contribution:
"There's not a lot of guys who can do what Jordan (Todman) did out there today. We're a banged up football team. I feel bad for Jimmy Bennett, he was playing well, but I give a lot of credit to Kevin Friend for the way he came in and played, along with Mike Ryan moving over to the left side. There were a lot of guys that stepped up. Cody had a good day and we had the ball spread around in terms of the receivers. I thought we had a good game plan. Also, Blidi (Wreh-Wilson) did a nice job of intercepting that pass and putting the icing on the cake."
On the team's mistakes in the first half:
"Sometimes these guys want to do too much. We tell them to just take care of your job. It's an 11-on-11 situation. There are 11 matchups, and you have to win your matchup. I liked the way we played in the second half today, but now we have to do it for 60 minutes (next game)."
On WR Mike Smith's (#80) fumble:
"The turnover we gave up-I love Mike to death, but I told him, 'I appreciate you really trying to make something happen, but you've got to understand you already had the first down.' He's switching the ball here then back and then the guys hits him from that side. They're kids and they're trying to do too much. He's trying to make a play, but he needs to understand that people are going to be around him."
On TB Jordan Todman (#23) running the ball 37 times:
"You have to do what you have to do. He didn't come to us and say, 'Don't give me the ball.' We're smart with those guys though, we'll rest him up as much as we can, and after next week, we get a bye. Jordan's done a good job of making himself fit. We had a guy a couple of years ago who carried the ball that many times-Donald Brown.
Jordan, 37 carries today, how did the arm hold up and you looked pretty good out there?
"Definitely, I was excited and the arm you know came back and was strong. I felt comfortable running the ball, 37 carries, it was a lot and you don't realize it when your playing, but you're in shape and work hard to keep going."
They took you off kick return and I saw when going to the side line you went out of bounds instead of getting the extra yard, you kind of tried to limit your contact, how important is that going to be going forward to keep you fresh?
"My elbow is getting better day after day, so as a running back, you've got to be able to take the tough yards also, you know running between the tackles. You know if you can get a couple of yards, and can afford to step out of bounds sometimes that helps, because you get a lot of pounding on your body. We've got half a season to go left so I'd like to keep my body 100% so I can keep pushing."
How big was it to beat another BCS team, a team out of the SEC as your prepping to get into Big East play?
"It's important for us we made some good plays when we had to today unlike sometimes in the past, and it's a good thing to get the ball around. We've got a big game coming up Friday, a quick turnaround, and I think all the guys will be ready to go soon."
Jordan got the ball 37 times would you rather not give the ball to him so much?
"Yea we're going to give the ball to playmakers, and Jordan's a playmaker for us and he did a great job like he always does for us in getting us yards and moving the chains."
Head Coach, Robbie Caldwell
On UConn Running Back Jordan Todman:
"He is as good as I have seen. I have not seen a better running back this season. We knew coming up here that he was a very good player and he proved just how good he was today."
On play of UConn's Offensive Line:
"Their offensive line was outstanding. Their big, strong, aggressive and they physically outmatched our defensive line. We knew coming in that the game would be decided on the play of the two lines. We shot all our all bullets defensively but their offensive line matched it and came back more physical than our line."
Sophomore Running Back, Warren Norman
On UConn's Second Half play:
They simply just outplayed us in the second half. They played more physical up in the trenches and made the plays they needed to in order to win the game. They simply beat us."
On preparation for next week:
"We played really well in the first quarter, so we need to be able to match the same intensity in the second half that we came in with at the beginning of the game. Anytime you lose a game, there are major areas of improvement that you must work on and we will begin to make those improvements next week."
Redshirt Junior Wide Receiver, Udom Umoh
On play of UConn Cornerbacks:
"Their defensive line was able to bring pressure and that led to miscommunication between the receivers and Larry (Smith). As receivers, we have to do a better job in coming back to the ball in order to help out Larry. You have to give credit to their corner backs but at the same time we need to do our part in helping out our Quarterback."
Players Mentioned
