Florida A&M Player Quotes:

Demarius Folson, LB

On inability to stop USF's offense -
“We go by a plan that if we get three turnovers or more we can win the game. We gave up too many big plays. That's one of our goals also, not to give up big plays and we gave up a lot of big plays. As you can see by the score we had a horrible tackling day and it was really unbelievable. We really have to get back into the swing of things and really work on a lot of technique things."

Terrence Johnson, DB

On the play of the secondary -
“We got to work on smaller things, basically our tackling. I'm not going to say we beat ourselves, I mean USF is a good team. I'm [going to] give credit when credit is due, they're a good team and they should do some big things in the Big East. We just got to work on the smaller things. Tackle better and give more effort.”

Austin Trainor, QB

On what the offense encountered throughout the game -
“We knew coming into this game that it was going to be really tough and it was nothing short of that. I mean that's a really good defense that we were facing and they're big up front. They've got a lot of movement in the secondary post snap, stuff like that so it was kind of hard for me to read. We put up a decent amount of points, but we missed a lot of opportunities again. We keep missing opportunities so we just got to get back and really concentrate on execution because we left probably a good 14 points out there. That's just something we have to continue to work on.”

Damien Felming, QB

On feelings of first collegiate experience -
“It feels good. I've been waiting a long time for that. I've just been getting ready so when my time came I just had to be ready.”

On confidence when moving the team down field for the field goal -
“I had a lot of confidence because I watch the game a lot in practice. I see what mistakes not to make so I just knew I had to lead the team down to try and get some points on the board.”

Skip Holtz, USF Head Coach

Summary:

“I'm really proud of our team tonight. The way they were focused and came out and played. We talked about the scores all over the country especially against FCS programs.  We look at WVU a week ago was losing 12-10 to Norfolk St. at halftime. You look at how many close games there have been in our league. We just challenged our players to go out and play our game. I thought they were really dialed in, I thought they were really focused and I was really pleased with them and the way they came out here. I have great respect for coach Taylor, FAMU, and this program. I thought it was a game; It was classy on both sides. There wasn't a lot of trash talking for an in-state rivalry game. I thought it was a hardheaded and complete football game.”

“I can sit here and talk about nine penalties and two fumbles along with mistakes in the kicking game but we can look at all of that tomorrow. There isn't a whole lot to complain about tonight when you look at the way we played in all three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams. There's some things we've got to do to get better. I thought it was great to get the 2's in. I believe our 1's played one series of the second half then we got our 2's in. So we got a good half of football in with Bobby and Rueben and Andre Davis and the same thing at linebacker with Mike Jeune. We need to get them on the field and get them some experience because as we have said they are just one play away from those guys being starters. I was really proud of the way they went out there and played."

On Darrell Scott's performance -
"It wasn't like he just turned the corner and ran into the end zone. He would have to make one miss, which is what you normally have to do on a big run. I thought he did a great job of making some people miss in the open field and then was able to turn and take it the distance. I believe he only carried the ball about 10 times in the first half, but he is starting to feel more and more comfortable back there. Two weeks ago, he hadn't played in two years and was a bit tentative. That was a point of emphasis, because I don't think, in the past two weeks, we have had a play over 24 yards. At this point we had not done a very good job of making somebody miss and turning up field. Turning that 15-20 yard play to that home run ball. That's why it was really nice to see him do that."

"Darrell Scott is a load. It's great to get this type of work for him, especially early in the season. As we get ready for conference play it's nice to see him get that kind of work in and be able to knock some of the rust off it."
 
On Andre Davis' block punt and performance -
"His block wasn't even a block he's just the force guy. He just came wide off the edge, nobody blocked him and he came free and blocked the punt. We had a return called, and then Andre did a good job catching that ball in the end zone.I think Andre Davis is going to be a talent. When we got the opportunity we wanted to put the ball in the air and see what they can do. I would have liked to see Marcus Shaw get the ball a little more too, but they blitzed us 9 out of 10 plays. They were bringing their safeties through the A gaps and B gaps. You can't run it against 9 and 10 people so we turned and said let's see if Bobby [Eveld] can throw it." 

"For Andre Davis, these our invaluable reps for a guy like that. When we made the decision to play them, I knew that Andre Davis, Rueben, (etc.) were not ready to play a complete game at this point. But we hoped that we could get some reps early in the season and by the middle of the year, by conference play, they'll be able to get us a solid 15-20 reps during the course of a ball game. Andre Davis is a special player."

On BJ Daniels managing the game -
"Very focused, very dialed in, saw the field didn't put the ball in danger. This was a totally different game from last week, because we have pressure coming from everywhere. BJ stood in that pocket and I thought he made some good throws. He continues to grow and mature every week. He is not the one-hit wonder. Right now, he is here to stay. He is really focused, he is reading coverages well. He understands the offense and he is doing a great job."

AJ Love leadership and veteran mentality in the locker room-
"A guy like AJ /who played 38 plays a week ago, and didn't catch a pass. He didn't complain, “Oh I'm not getting the ball” no he went out there and blocks his tail off. It was great to see him make that big play early in the the game. It's like I said to him: “It's been a long time coming.” A lot of rehab days for that play right there. It was great to see for him."

"He is great role model for these under classmen and these young wide receivers. To look up to a guy that's not selfish, total team player. He's going out there with the ball without the ball. He is making a difference right now far past graduating this year, because he is leaving his mark on some young guys. A tremendous influence."

Dual Back effectiveness (Darrell Scott, D. Murray) and Depth -
"Murray is running hard and physical and knowledgeable and those will do you so steady and solid. He had an uncharacteristic fumble tonight. And then to have like Darrell come in and do what he has been doing. That is the kind of depth we need to continue to develop. It was great to see Marcus Shaw get in tonight, because he is another guy we need to keep coming along."

"We need Bobby [Eveld] to come, we need that second offensive line to come, the second group of linebackers to come and we have talked about how important it is to create depth on this football team. Great football teams don't have 11 starters, because unfortunately injuries are a part of this game. We're not just trying to win a game; we are trying to build a program. To do that we need a lot of people to step up. It has been great to see so many guys do that."

On Records, and the Big East -
"(BJ records) The only thing I was aware of was BJ had a very special night. We weren't calculating numbers, somebody do some math and figure out if he is anywhere near a personal best. I look at this and see Sterling's three yards short (of 100 yards receiving). I was like throw 'em a hitch. Let him get a hundred yards. He's worked hard for that."

"BJ was five yards short of tying the school record with Grothe. So I put him in, you get one slant and that's what you get. You hit, you make it, you don't, so I pulled him out. He (BJ) said: well a hitch would have been easier. So I said okay, I put him back him and let him throw a ball to Hopkins who gained five yards and tied the record."

On Records -
"We played a lot of people tonight. We aren't here to set records. That wasn't the objective. I was trying to get our backups in there. Come into the third quarter I need to see Bobby throw the ball, I need to see Andre Davis catch it, I need to see Rueben catch it. I need to see those guys run the offense in the fourth quarter. And they did. And that's why those records are there."

USF Player Quotes:

BJ Daniels, QB

On playing against an opponent from his hometown, Tallahasse -
“I know a lot of people on the sideline.  There are a lot of guys I've played with out there.  Some of the guys that were tackling me were protecting me in high school.  I'm more worried about getting the 'W'.  That's the most important thing. Yeah, being from Tallahassee, I know a lot of people on both teams.  I've played against them and grew up with them and been around them.  So it's fun to go back and play the people that you grew up with.”

On what he focused on for this game - 
“Just trying to do what I can, making sure I'm leading the offense the right way.  Trying to prevent the bad play and just be consistent.”

On how he feels about the team three games into the season -
“[There's] still a lot of work to do.  Like you said, it's only been three games. We still have the rest of the season.  We have to continue to get better.”

On his approach to the game -
“Just be focused, be consistent and take what the defense gives you, trying to make a big play and just leading the offense and do what I can.”

On the performance of USF's running backs -
“That's real big.  That definitely takes some of the pressure off of us and it definitely sustains drives when your running backs can get yards.”

Darrell Scott, RB

On Love's block that helped him reach the end zone on the 84-yard reception -
“[A.J. Love] did great.  I complimented him on that.”

On returning to football this season after a long layoff -
“Everything is falling into place.”

On the team's 3-0 start -
“We didn't want to get comfortable with a 2-0 start.  We want to eventually go 4-0 into our conference games.  We just got to be consistent, stay hungry, that's the main thing and get big wins.”

Andre Davis, WR

On his special teams punt block and touchdown -
“I blocked it.  I was looking for it at first, but then I got my head around and I found it.”

On playing in Raymond James Stadium -
“I mean, recruiting, once I committed here, I always knew this was the stadium I was going to be playing in, my home stadium.”

On the difference between playing football on the collegiate level -
“It's a bigger fan base but it feels the same to get out here and play with the team, play with my boys, my new boys.  The game is much faster, but it's the same game, football.”

Jon Lejiste, S

On USF's defensive performance -
“As a defensive player you always like to see that from your team.  I feel like the one's, two's and three's did a great job of holding them to under 180, so overall I think the defense did well tonight.”

On his interception -
“Over the offseason we emphasized getting turnovers and I had an opportunity to make a play on the ball.  If you get the opportunity you got to make the play and I caught the interception.”

On the defense's focus on getting turnovers -
“We emphasize turnovers. Every time I get an opportunity to make a play I have to make it to benefit my team and get the ball back in the offense's hands.”

On USF's offensive performance -
“It makes me very happy knowing that the offense can go out there and put points on the board.  It makes me feel good.  It's always good to see the offense do good.”

Sterling Griffin, WR

On Andre Davis' first TD reception -
“When he scored his first touchdown I was just excited for him.  I felt like when he scored, we all scored as a receiving unit.  So I was just excited for him.”

On his impressions of freshman WR Andre Davis -
“He just played a wonderful game as a freshman to just come in and play the role he played and go up there and make the catches and block the punt and pick it up.  He works hard in practice and it shows in the game.  I'm just very proud of him.  He's a talented young freshman and he's going to be something special”

On Andre Davis' skills he shows in practice -
“The ball can be thrown behind him, high, wherever the ball is, if it's in his vicinity he's going to catch it.  He has outstanding hand-eye coordination.”

On USF's offensive performance -
“It feels good.  It gives us confidence.  To go out there and set the tempo, FAMU is a great team, they have a great defense and again our coaches worked all week on drawing up a game plan and we just went out there and tried to execute, tried to perform to our best abilities.”

Michael Lanaris, LB

On USF's defensive performance -
“We gave up a couple big plays.  We still have work to do, but if you look at the yards, we did a pretty good job.”

On USF's offensive performance -
“It's fantastic to sit back and watch our offense play with that kind of confidence, which is what they're doing right now. I'm just so proud of those guys.  I love the offense so much.  I love how hard those guys work, week in and week out. It's good to see all their hard work start to pay dividends and seeing them start to play with confidence and have a lot of swag and have a lot of fun out there.”