GEORGIA STATE HEAD COACH TRENT MILES
Opening Statement:
First of all, hats off to Troy. They are a well-coached team and they came in aggressive and they have excellent players are we are fortunate to get the win. We didn’t finish it the right way, we have some things we need to fix, but these guys have battled all year and they put themselves in a position to go to a bowl game. I couldn’t be happier for the alumni, fans, administration, the student body and most importantly our players. I’m excited and incredibly proud to be their coach.
Talk about the defense:
I thought our defense played outstanding, even though we gave up a few big plays. For the most part, our defense played well again. They held a high scoring offense and did good job again this week.
Talk about Keith Rucker:
10 catches for 150 yards for a TE is outstanding. He does so much, and I hope he’ll be okay for next week. He brings such an added dimension to us and I really believe he is the best TE in the conference. We have the two best TE’s in the conference but Joel can’t play this year. He’s very versatile and I think he’ll be a great NFL prospect so I’m excited for him.
Talk about Glenn Smith:
Glenn Smith is an outstanding person and outstanding athlete that can play so many positions but he chose to be running back. We’re very excited for him and this success couldn’t happen to a better person.
Preview the rivalry game:
I wouldn’t want it any other way. If we have to go through them then so be it. Our young men will prepare because they know how to win and get the job done. All of our success is on them and the confidence they have now.
What does the win on Senior Day mean:
These guys have contributed everything to the program. Now we need everybody behind us. We have great young men who give everything they have and represent the program well on and off the field. This win today was huge for the guys who have been here all four years and I’m very excited for them. They put themselves in a position to move the program, athletic department and university forward. Winning is good for everybody and I’m proud to be associated with them.
Talk about Chandon Sullivan:
He brings “swag” to the team. He’s an excellent person and student who could play anywhere in the country. He’s in his second year of college and first year at safety. He’s getting better every day and his ceiling is off the charts.
How long are you going to enjoy this win:
Whenever the games are over tonight. Tonight I get to enjoy time with my family and tomorrow I’m going to start breaking down film from Georgia Southern.
What was the turning point of the season:
The guys finally started to understand how to win. We’ve always had the talent but now the guys understand how to win a game. It’s difficult to win a game at this level, and now we are preparing the right way for it. The sky’s the limit for these guys if they continue to do things the right way.
RB Glenn Smith
On what he saw that led to his rushing touchdown
“It was a zone play, and I just saw the hole and hit it. I trusted my linemen and just hit it.”
On his decision to play running back and his success at the position
“I’ve been playing running back for all of my life, and I started playing quarterback when I was in high school. That was a new thing to me, but running back is something that I’ve been doing for all of my life, so it just came naturally.”
The difference in the locker room between this year and last
“It’s a big difference! There is a lot of energy in the locker room; everybody is having fun. It’s just a joy to be around.”
QB Nick Arbuckle
What it means to be a win away from bowl eligibility
“It means the world to everybody in this facility and to me personally. It just means the chance to have another game with these guys and have another couple weeks of practice with the players and coaches, and that means the world to me and to everybody else. It means more than a bowl game because, when your senior year is winding down, you start to reminisce in all the time you’ve had with everybody, so you know every opportunity you get to extend that is important.”
What allowed Keith Rucker to have a great performance
“There were some really good plays that Keith made in one on one match-ups where he was able to get open and create a little bit of separation with either his adjustment to the football or his route. They singled him up a lot; focused their safeties on our outside receivers. With how many good receivers we have all over the field from Keith, Penny (Hart), Donovan (Harden), Robert (Davis) and Todd (Boyd), you can’t double cover everybody, so it makes my job really easy to find the guy that is singled up. We usually win that match-up most of the time.”
Whether beating Georgia Southern or becoming bowl eligible would be better
“Beating Southern has to come first, so definitely that.”
DE Shawanye Lawrence
On what led to the defense’s improvement since the Liberty game
“We just take it day by day. We stopped trying to look at the big picture and just started taking things day-by-day and it’s really been improving us and making us better.”
What he saw that allowed him to have a good game
“I saw all of the same stuff I’ve seen on film all week; just the quick throws and all that stuff. I knew I didn’t have to get the sack as long as I just put my hands up and affected the throw in some type of way.”
TE Keith Rucker
What made the middle of the field so open for him.
“I overheard Nick (Arbuckle) kind of say it, and we watched it on film all week. We have talented guys on the outside that we try to get the ball to, and safeties tend to try to overcompensate. A lot of the times, I am left one on one with the mike backer, and if I’m one on one with the mike backer, Nick always just makes the right throw; or if we add in the play-action and the backers step up, then I’m by myself in the middle of the field, so I think that because of the big games that Robert Davis, Donovan Harden and Penny Hart have all been having, I feel like this was just my week to squeeze one in.”
On what led him to play through a shoulder injury and perform at a high level at the same time
“At dinner last night, we had a real heart-to-heart; just the fact that this might be the last couple of times that we are going to be on the field with some of these seniors. I just wanted to go out there and give everything I had for them. We’ve never won on a senior night (under head coach Trent Miles). We wanted to change that and for this group in particular.”
The biggest thing this year’s senior class will leave behind
“One thing I think they leave behind is the way to be a leader, like Jo-Pete (Joseph Peterson). I’ve never been around a guy who leads as much as Joseph Peterson, and I’ve never been around a guy who leads as much as Nick Arbuckle. When the coaches go away and you have guys that grab you and tell you, “Hey! We’re staying and we’re watching film,” that’s leadership, because they know what we need to do in order to get a win.”
Troy Head Coach Neal Brown:
Opening Statemen
Not much to say about the game. We got out played, out coached. We dropped balls, we got penalties. We went from 12 most turn around team in the country in penalties to 12 penalties. We had unsportsman like which I can’t really talk about until I watch them in video but not really excited about what we put out on the field today.
Question about the Last Game of the Season Against UL Lafayette:
Yes, the plan is to end the season on a good note against Lafayette, but we've got to decide what we are going to stand for in our program. There are things that happened today that I will not stand for, you probably won’t see them next week. Extremely disappointed, and we will get those cleaned up. We will look like an outfit that is well-coached and disciplined.
Question about the pace of the game in the beginning:
We started out fast last week. This week we had opportunities. We ran the throwback first- and-goal inside the 12 yard line and got called for holding, which I have to see about that in film. We just didn’t make plays offensively. I don’t know how many drops we had, we had many, and we got in ourselves on third and long, and we didn’t run the ball that much.
