JON CELESTIN
On what his pick-six meant to him…
“It meant a lot to be able to catch that ball and score for the team. For me, it was a great accomplishment. It was something I have been trying to do my whole career here. I dedicated that score to my father, so it meant a lot.”
On playing through injury…
“It was a battle. Last week, it was more of a battle than it was this week. It’s not easy playing through an injury like this because it effects how I fight off blockers and make tackles.”
KOBE MCCRARY
On his mindset going into today’s game knowing he would get more touches…
“My mindset was to make sure that the running backs didn’t skip a beat. We lost Shannon (Brooks), and he is one of the best backs in the Big Ten, so I knew I had to step in and fill his role. We came in the game knowing we had to run the ball and dominate the line of scrimmage, so Coach got me prepared to run hard like I did.”
On Coach Fleck saying McCrary earned more carries in future games…
“It’s an honor, especially playing behind two great running backs with Shannon and Rodney (Smith). Watching them, I feel like I have learned a lot. It’s again just a great honor to get to run with these guys.”
CARTER COUGHLIN
On how the Gophers prepared for this game during practices this week…
“We like to apply everything that Coach says. We want to prove to him that we truly do listen and we want to execute what he tells us to do.”
On his personal success today and how his game has grown…
"My game has improved by just being able to use my speed. As I get more comfortable in my position that has been the biggest difference maker for me since we’ve started Big Ten play.”
On Kobe McCrary getting more playing time and his success…
“It’s awesome to see him have these opportunities throughout this season. It wasn’t like that for him last year and he’s getting a lot of opportunities and he is making the most of it.”
THOMAS BARBER
On how has personally worked to get better each week…
“I’m glad we got the win and I’ve just been working on executing my plays and getting better every week. The game has been slowing down for me a little more and I’m getting more comfortable in the system and in my position and my role on the team.”
On getting the first Big Ten win in front of a home crowd…
“It means a lot to us. We’re excited and we’re going to enjoy it for a little bit and then get back tomorrow and focus on next week so we can keep getting better.”
On how the defense was able to contribute to the win today…
“Our focus this week was dominating the line of scrimmage and being able to stop the run game. We were able to do that this week more than in the past few games and that was the key to getting the win today.”
LOVIE SMITH
“A loss is a loss. It’s hard, especially right away, to think about good things that you did. I thought guys fought hard throughout. It didn’t start the way we wanted, to let them go down and grab the ball on us, run the ball on us, and go up 7-0. But defensively, we settled down after that. Whenever you can take the ball away—I think we had three takeaways—it’s a good thing. I thought the defense did some good things. But the way we started and the last drive, the way we finished, for them to go up seven at this point, and tackle as well as we had earlier, kind of pushed off the ball a little bit. Offensively, we were looking for ways to generate some offense while playing two quarterbacks—that was the plan coming in. Obviously, they’re two different quarterbacks, so you have to prepare a little bit differently for both of them. We never really established the running game to go along with that. In the end, turnovers really hurt you, and that’s the difference in the game, as much as anything. We had a couple injuries—Bennett Williams was able to come back, with his elbow. Ra’Von Bonner was not able to finish with a head injury.”
On playing Cam Thomas…
“For the first action, freshman, first time playing, you had to like some of the things he did. He can move the ball. He threw a couple good passes early on, and a couple we’d like to have back later on. That’s what you normally get the first time a quarterback plays.”
On playing Jeff George, Jr…
“We’re going to do what we think we need to do. Jeff’s a team player. I thought both of the guys handled it well. We just need to get better play from the quarterback position overall.”
On playing two quarterbacks…
“By playing two, we felt like we needed more at the quarterback position. We felt we needed both guys to give us something. In the end, if we’re in a passing game, we thought Jeff [George, Jr.] would give us a better option. But just normal down distance, we wanted to give Cam [Thomas] some reps and see what he could do.”
On the freshmen in the lineup…
“I think every game the young guys have played has been a learning experience for them. It’s Game 7 now, which is a bad thing. But all the young players are playing, and when there’s a new situation popping up each week, it has to help in the long run. But right now, we put you on the football field, we feel that’s our best option to win. We need better play at all positions.”
CAM THOMAS
On when he found out he was going to play…
“I found out I was going to play earlier this week. Coach (Garrick) McGhee and coach Lovie Smith came up to me and told me to come into this week to prepare like I was going to be a starter, and throughout the week I got good quality reps with the first string against the first defense. That’s how I knew.”
On what it was like to get into the game…
“It felt good. It felt good to finally play on a college football field and it wasn’t as bad as I thought. It’s still all football. It’s still the same sport as it was growing up.”
