Press Conference Comments from Michigan Football Players
11/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Player Comments from
Weekly U-M Football Media Luncheon
Bye Week (Nov. 6); Reviewing Michigan State (Oct. 30)
Senior Quarterback Matt Gutierrez
On watching the game from the sidelines ... "From the sidelines, it was cool. I was trying to stay calm and look at things analytically and try to see what Michigan State was during and try to help the team out as much as I could from that prospective. But it was exciting for me on the sidelines."
On how he felt after the game ... "I was a little nervous that the students would run out on the field. I didn't want to get knocked around. There was so much excitement I was just caught up in that."
On his surgery ... "I guess like anything else, it was something that had to be done. I accepted it and went in and trusted Dr. Carpenter and the other physicians that worked with him and things went very well. What they found was exactly what they expected, which was a torn labrum. They repaired it, now I'm on the road to recovery and trying to get back."
On if he knew how he was injured ... "No, I don't think anybody really knows there are a lot of different possibilities, but I don't think there is any way to tell for sure how it happened. It was probably into the third week of camp, when I start to feel the pain and feel like my throw was being affected. It just gradually got worst and worst."
On his recovery ... "They said it would take 6-9 months for full recovery. For the first few weeks I should be doing pretty much nothing, letting the repair heal, and then rehabilitation would start. I knew it was going be quite a while, not only because I had surgery but because I had Spencer Brinton to talk about it and my injury was a lot like his. So with talking to him I knew it was going to take quite a while in getting back."
On his decision to come to Michigan ... "I feel that I made a decision to come here right out of high school and I want to stick with that decision. When people chose to go to school at a certain place, they commit and maybe some people take that lightly, but I don't take that lightly. I made a commitment to Coach Carr and the University to come here and I value the education that I'm getting right now and I want to see that through and get a degree from the University of Michigan. There have been a lot of guys that have gone through adversities in the football program, who are in the program now, who have persevered and succeeded. Maybe they haven't succeeded in football the way they wanted to and maybe it was just in other ways. Maybe you haven't heard of them or maybe you have. I just want to stick with it and I think I owe that to my commitment to the University and my family to stay here and get an education and to my teammates as well."
On if he will have a chance to play again ... "I don't think it's out of the question. There is always competition. There was competition coming into this season with a lot of positions, but really right now that's not the focus. The focus is finishing out this season and helping the team anyway I can and doing what I'm supposed to do as far as rehab in my arm."
On if he is surprised by Chad Henne ... "No, I'm not surprised because I see what talent he has and I know my coaches aren't going to put someone out there they didn't trust. We have a great coaching staff and a great quarterbacks coach in Scott Loeffler. He is going to get whoever is going to be playing that day and really anybody who is in our quarterback room is going to be prepared by him, so I'm not surprised at all."
On why he waited until now for surgery ... "I think that you want to put surgery off as long as you can, in any situation that's the last resort. That's one of the reason it took quite a few weeks before I went ahead and had surgery , I was trying to rehab and get some strength back and get whatever was going on in my shoulder to quite down and see if I can play. Sometimes there are injuries that require surgery that you can play through for a season and get is fixed afterwards, but I could never just get to that point. "
On whether he thought he could play ... "Oh yeah, it wasn't like I thought I could be out there and people where telling me no, I knew in the way I was throwing the football, I wasn't performing at a high enough level to play and that something was wrong. It's kind of hard to explain, the pain hurts when you throw, I didn't feel like it was unbearable but I didn't feel I could throw the ball the way that I could of I was healthy. My arm felt like, I basically had dead arm; there was no zip on the ball. I was throwing the ball like a normally would be it wasn't coming out the same way and I didn't have any control over it as well as the pain that was involved."
On Adam Finley being the holder ... "I think that Adam holds all the time in practice. During times when we're not practicing field goals and extra points, him and Garrett (Rivas) are working together. Adam is the guy who actually taught me how to hold because I never held when I came to Michigan. I wasn't worried about that at all."
On overcoming adversity ... "I think there are a number a guys you can look to, you can look outside of the program or not, you don't really need to, there are a lot of examples of guys that have come through here and really everybody in life goes through some types of adversaries whether its publicized or not, guys go through things with their families, academically.. There are always obstacles you have to over come, not come through and have a smooth path all the way through."
Junior Defensive Tackle Larry Harrison
On the first thing he did once game ended ... "First thing I did, was spend some time with my sister and my family. I hadn't seen them in awhile. I celebrated with them. I don't remember the first thing I did on field, it went by so fast. It didn't really set in until everybody rushed the field."
On what caused the comeback to happen ... "It was more of an attitude thing. We made a lot of mistakes out there and during halftime we really had to get focused on what we were doing. From an attitude standpoint, we had to pick each other up. We've played from behind before, but every game is a championship game. You could see the look in everybody's eyes. Nobody wanted to lose."
On Gabe Watson ... "He makes a lot of people's jobs easier. He takes up a lot of blocks. He is one of the greatest players I've played next too. He makes my job easier."
On the biggest plays of the game ... "The biggest in my mind, probably every third down stop was big for us, because they were having some success running the ball and converting on third downs. We needed to get some three and outs as often as possible, so every third down stop was big."
On his improvement throughout year ... "I think I've gotten better just about every game. I still have room for improvement. I don't think I've played my best game yet. Hopefully my best game will come pretty soon."
On the run defense ... "There's always room for improvement. Obviously they had a lot of rushing yards on us. That is a big gap we have to pull off during the next game, because of lot of people are going to look at the film and see what they did so we need to correct past mistakes we have made."
On being tired in overtime ... "I was tired, but in a game like that you really don't think about how tired you are, your main goal is to win. You want it so bad that being tired really doesn't cross your mind."
On thinking about potential Big Ten tie ... "Yeah, I've been thinking about it, but the only thing we can do is keep winning. That's our main focus. Wisconsin, we don't play them, so there is nothing we can do about that situation."
Sophomore Kicker Garrett Rivas
On if he is better with the game on the line ... "I think my focus goes up a little more. I am able to just concentrate on the task at hand. I actually try to not even think that the game is on the line every time I get out there. I try to think it is a normal practice and just a normal kick. It helps me stay more relaxed and smooth."
On what he thinks about during a kick ... "In the back of your head, everyone knows the game is on the line. You just try and tell yourself that it is just practice and just come through like it is a normal kick every day."
On the wind ... "Here anyways, the wind was swirling because it comes over the top. Before the game I tried working with it a little bit and I talked to Coach DeBord before the game and we were discussing the wind. When he was asking what I thought, I said maybe I should just go down the middle instead of trying to play the wind. When the wind is swirling like that you have to make a judgment right before the kick or you can play a little to the left or right. When it is swirling like it is Saturday you just have to go down the middle, hit the ball solid and the wind doesn't effect it that much."
On how the wind effects his range ... "I always try and figure out my range. If it comes down to a two-minute situation at the end of the game or then end of the half, I like to know where I am good from so I can tell Coach DeBord and he can let Coach Malone know what yard line we need to get to."
On when he realized Michigan had won the game ... "When that last pass was incomplete, that's when it hits you. You saw the time run out and it doesn't even matter anymore. That's when you know it was a big win. It hits you all at once. It doesn't set in until later in the night. It was a big win for us, but as much as you celebrate, you have to get ready. We have a bye week now and then the next game. Northwestern is going to be a big game for us."
On the onside-kick formation ... "We had worked on it before. With onside kicks it gets a little tricky. You just hope to get a good bounce and hope that it hits off someone's pads or something like that. It just worked out like we wanted to."
On the advantages of having two kickers on the field for the onside kick ... "It is somewhat common with two kickers. It leaves you with a lot more options and there is a lot more guessing on their part. It kind of keeps them on their heels. That's something you need and that's an advantage you gain when you are hitting an onside kick. That's why we did it."
On how much on an onside kick is luck ... "Onside kicks are 100 percent luck. The thing is that you have to hope for a good bounce. You have to hit it well. I try to put as much on it as I can and hope for a good bounce."
Senior Offensive Lineman Adam Stenavich
On the offensive line this season ... "One thing about Michigan, all the lineman we have are good lineman. It's a lot different than what happened last year when we had five guys all year. This year it has been difficult, because different guys have to step up, and every week you might be playing next to a different guy so it's just weird like that, but we've been doing a good job. We've been running the football as of late. We've come together. One thing we have to work on is our pass protection, we didn't do a good enough job this week."
On differences between John Navarre and Chad Henne ... "One thing that was nice about John was you knew he was not going to be out of the pocket. He was going to stay in the pocket and just throw the football. Whereas Henne is still getting experience in what he needs to do to avoid the tacklers, but still we gave up some sacks that we shouldn't have gotten."
On how defenses attack Michigan ... "You can either sit back as a defense, and try and cover our receivers, which is pretty hard to do, or you can put pressure on the quarterback and try and get him to make a mistake, or try and get the offensive line to make a mistake in protection. I think the defense would look at it that way, and think it is a lot easier to do that than cover our receivers."
On the great plays the position players make ... "Anytime a guy like Braylon (Edwards), Mike (Hart), or whomever, makes that kind of a play, you are just so proud of them, because you're with them all the time. You're seeing how they work. And you have a part in it, because it takes everyone to do something like that."
On if they're still celebrating the big win ... "I think if there is today it would be the last day that we'd be celebrating. You can't look over anyone in the Big Ten. Northwestern just got a big win, they beat Purdue. So they're a great team. You can't really forget about anyone in this conference. If we do what we need to do these last two games, we'll be where we need to be, and that is the way we're going to look at it."
On after the game Saturday night ... "It was unbelievable. When I was just sitting in the locker room after the game, I just had such a great feeling. I can't describe it at all, you're sitting there down 17 points, thinking what's going on, and then all of a sudden stuff starts going your way and you start scoring some points. It's the ultimate mood shift. All that emotion, it just makes you think. I don't know how to describe it, it was just awesome."
On when they knew the comeback was possible ... "It was the onside kick. I wasn't even watching. I didn't even know we were going to onside kick. All of a sudden we had the ball. I didn't see anything that happened. We had the ball and I was like We can do this.' I didn't think it would happen that quickly, there was like three minutes left after it was tied up."
On offensive line relationship with Mike Hart ... "Mike, he's like the little brother or something. He is such an emotional guy. He comes in the huddle real wound up, and real into the game. It's a lot like Chris Perry used to do. He's just a great guy. It's fun to watch him run because he's just so little, and he makes all those big plays. It's great to block for a guy like that, when you know he is giving 100 percent all the time."
Junior Fullback Brian Thompson
On if he will be know as 'the onside-kick guy' ... "Garrett (Rivas) just made a great kick and I just happened to be there. It was an unbelievable feeling. Anyone would have made that play. He just made a great kick and got a great bounce. It is just the way it happened."
On the onside-kick play ... "I was lined up a little farther to the right than I usually do. Garrett (Rivas) kicked it and it looked like it was a little short, but the guy stepped across the line to field it and it took a great bounce, a tough bounce. He kicked it hard and it hit off the guys pads. I kind of cut back around and saw it there."
On if there was a fight for the ball ... "No there wasn't. I think our guys who were on the left side, once the ball bounced off their guys pads, I think two of our guys hit him and the ball was right there in the open. I didn't see any (Michigan) State jerseys around it. I haven't seen the tape yet, but it came out clean."
On what he was thinking after recovering the ball ... "It was tough on the sideline being down by 17. We kicked the field goal and still needed a play. We got it and I knew if we got one big play, like when Braylon (Edwards) caught that touchdown, that we were going to win that game."
On if it is tough playing only on special teams ..."I am on special teams and you get out there for a couple of plays. That's what special teams is all about. Sometimes the game comes down to one play and that's on special teams. Like Garrett (Rivas), I don't know how many field goals he had in that game, but you just have to be ready on the sideline, even is you're not out there every down."
Of if the team practices the onside-kick ... "Every single practice we work on that for that reason. An onside-kick is tough. I don't know the statistics on how often you get a ball like that, but we practice it every single day and that's what we do it for."
On what he looks for during an onside-kick ... "My job is just to run to the ball. There are certain positions where you go to block a guy and other people go after the ball. My position is that wherever the ball goes, I go."
On if this is his favorite game ... "Absolutely. A lot of people rank their favorite games with the overtime against Penn State or the field goals against Washington or Minnesota last year. But, being from Michigan, this was the best thing that I could have ever been a part of. I will never forget it."
On what the rivalry means to him ... "Everything. Michigan State is a good team and in all the years it has never mattered how good the teams are. In a rivalry like that, it just comes down to who wants it more."
Junior Defensive End Jeremy Van Alstyne
On the win over Michigan State ... "It was a great win. I think it showed a lot of poise and showed what our team is capable of. We just really came together towards the end, and everyone was really excited. It was great to be a part of. It just shows how good of a team we are and how we're able to come together and overcome adversity."
On coming back from his knee injury ... "It was a big reward for me to be able to come back and play these games. It meant a lot to me that the coaches gave me the chance to play this year. (The quick recovery) was a combination of help from former teammates that had the same surgery, like Dave Harris, and help from (strength and conditioning coach) Mike Gittleson and all the trainers. It's been a slow progression, and we just took it week-by-week without any setbacks. I was just able to progress in a way that the recovery time was sped up.
"When I was talking with the athletic trainers, and they were doubtful that I'd be back this season, I liked keeping the attitude that I would make it back, so that if I did, I would be prepared and be ready with the right mental attitude.
On the condition of his knee ... "I think I'm doing pretty well. Of course, it's going to be sore some days. With all the therapy that I've done, I think it's really progressed, and every week, it's getting better. I just think with more weeks of practice and continual progression, I'll be able to be where I was playing before."
On the bye week ... "I think it's pretty important; a lot of guys are banged up. It's really nice to get a week of rest when we can prepare extra and just focus on the upcoming game."
On the defensive line ... "I think all three of our starters - Pat (Massey), Gabe Watson and Larry Harrison -- are all doing great this year. Pat has really stepped it up a lot this year. Gabe's really showing that he can be a force in the Big Ten. Larry has stepped up his play so much since spring ball with his technique and total commitment. I think there's been a continual progression in the defensive line."
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