University of Connecticut Athletics
2011 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Announcement Quotes (December 5, 2010)
12/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 5, 2010
UConn Head Coach Randy Edsall
Opening Statement:
"Playing in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1 is a tribute to these young men who went out there and played this season and did the things they needed to do in order to win the BIG EAST Championship. The room was very excited. We know we have a tremendous opportunity and a difficult challenge ahead of us playing Oklahoma. We are thrilled we have this opportunity and I know the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl will put on a good time for these kids and what a tremendous award for them. We'll prepare to go out there on December 26 and play the game on January 1."
On the scene for the team watching the selection show:
"We were just next door over in the team room. We were all watching it just like you all were. They were excited and enthusiastic when they saw the pictures of them in the beginning of the show with Connecticut listed up on the screen. When they went through the teams and they put up the Orange Bowl, we knew we would be in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. There was a lot of noise and enthusiasm for what just took place on the screen."
On what goes through his head seeing UConn in a BCS Bowl:
"It's really remarkable. It's remarkable what's taken place. Having Memorial Stadium there is just a reminder each and every day of where we came from and what we've achieved. To get where we are in 7 years in the BIG EAST and in the 12 years since I took over is remarkable. It's something that I dreamed about when I got here and wanted to make a reality. But you never know if it's going to happen. Low and behold, we did the things and the kids did the things that they needed to make that all come true. It's just a lesson in life that if you work really hard and do the right things, good things happen to those people who put in that time and effort to be successful."
On the exposure for the entire school:
"I think it's a tremendous boost for the University. A tremendous honor for the University. It brings more national attention to the school. You get all this publicity for the next month. Then on January 1st, that night, when we have the game on prime time television, it's going to bring a tremendous amount of exposure to the university, to our state and to the football program. I think everybody benefits from that. It's just a team effort that took place to allow it to happen."
On eventually getting the talent to compete in the BIG EAST:
"You have to have talent, but its more than just talent. You gotta have heart. You gotta have character. You gotta have will. You have to be willing to sacrifice your own individual aspirations to make sure that the team is the most important thing. Yeah we have very good athletes and we have guys that work hard. But one of the things we've taken into this and the guys have grasped is that it's more about the team than individuals. By being a team, we were able to accomplish that. I think very year we've been able to attract more athletic players and more skillful players and guys that really understand and buy into the concepts that we feel have worked in order to win here."
On being the underdog:
"That's kind of been the story ever since we made the jump to 1A (Now the FBS). We've always been the underdog. Then again, to me, I think you always get a little more fired up when people think you can't do something and you're not good enough to do something. It's always good to be able to prove people wrong. What we've got to do is keep getting better. We want to make sure we get better from the time we finished last evening to when we play again on January 1. We are going to go out and work hard and get better at the fundamentals and techniques. We know we'll be playing a tremendously skilled and athletic perennial power in Oklahoma. One of the winningest programs in college football. It's going to be fun to compete against that type of talent and that type of program."
On the program basically playing the biggest game in UConn history year after year:
"Well that's what you want when you are program that's not too old. Every year you hope there's something more that you can accomplish. This is just another step of accomplishments that have taken place. This year, there have been a lot of firsts that we've done. We beat West Virginia, we won down in South Florida for the first time. Getting a BIG EAST Championship bid, going to a BCS Bowl Game. There's not a lot left. You talk about putting some notches on the belt in terms of what you want to accomplish when you came in here looking to develop a program. There are fewer things that we have to accomplish left on the list. The biggest thing is to try and keep getting better each and every day."
UConn Players
Scott Lutrus (Brookfield, Conn.) RS Sr. - Linebacker
On when the reality of the game will set in:
"Once we start practicing and once we are in game mode. It is business again with us, it's another game and we prepare like any other game, practice hard and have meetings. The only difference is that we have a longer period of time to prepare for the game."
On UConn football and his career:
"I didn't know much about UConn before I came here, the first UConn game I ever went to was when they invited me up for a visit. That was the first time I had heard about UConn football, heard about Rentschler Field. From then until now, I never thought we would be in this position, but we couldn't be happier. When you think of all of the hard work and all of the hours of practice that we put in over the years it is a great way to end my career."
On the UConn fan base:
"That is awesome to get that fan base and having all of the younger kids into UConn football is huge. For them to grow up as UConn football fans and have that dream of one day playing here and being part of this team and this program is great."
On being the underdog:
"I think we are used to that, I don't know how many times this year that we have been the underdog in games. It isn't a surprise for us, we knew it would be that way. We are still going to go out there and prepare the same way and play the same game."
On the growth of the program:
"Since we went to our first bowl game we have been improving ever since. The kids that we recruit and how well we play as a team has also been improving ever year that I have been here. It is what we can do with the kids that we get here and teams that we go up against with their big recruits and how well we can compete against any team that we play. That is our approach going into this game, Oklahoma has some of the best players in the country but there is nothing for us to back down from, we are going to go into the game with the mindset that we can win."
Thoughts on the upcoming game:
"I never thought I would be in this position, it is an amazing moment to be here. There is no bigger last game for the seniors. This is the biggest game that the program has ever had and it is a great way for the seniors to go out. We have a great winning streak going right now and we want to keep it going."
Kendall Reyes (Nashua, N.H.) RS Jr. - Defensive Tackle
On the fan support:
"I heard from a lot of teammates since last night. A lot of guys have been letting us know that they were watching. That is great because everyone is still in it, all of the football players, all of the fans. We are representing Connecticut and we are going to go out and do our best against Oklahoma."
On being the underdog:
"All that does is fire me up. And we all play better when we are fired up, so it's fine if people want to say that. We aren't going to lose sleep over it. You say what you have to say, we are still going to go out and play football and that is what matters at the end of the day."
On the upcoming game:
"It's hard to gage what people feel about us, but we are just going to go out and play football. That is what we do and we want to win every game. Our guys came a long way, we kept fighting throughout the season and we are going to continue to work and that is all that we can do."
On the team:
"We have been through it all and sometimes when your back is against the wall you are the most dangerous. That is how this team is, every time we are backed up we always fight back and we never give up. That is the way we play, we never give up, we play the entire game."
Zach Hurd (Waterford, Conn.) RS Sr. - Offensive Guard
On the feeling that the team is looked down upon as a weaker opponent and the perception that they don't belong in this type of game:
"Who cares. We are going and we deserve it. The BIG EAST gets an automatic bid and we did everything the right way. We fought back when faced adversity from the tough times since the end of last year and that shows what type of team we are. We stuck together. That's what a championship team does. We might not have won all our games but we fought this whole season."
On facing adversity the past two years:
"Facing things like that just make you stronger as a team and as a person. It makes you grow up as a man. The things we went through last year with Jazz (Jasper Howard) as a team, it turned us into a family. This whole season, losing those players at the start of the year and getting shut out on the road, it makes you check yourself out in the mirror and grow from that. You become a man and step up in practice and step up in games and that's what everyone has done on this team."
On reaction to being considered one of the biggest underdogs in BCS history:
"Who cares, we are still going. The media can say whatever they want. People said we would lose against South Florida and we won. We don't care what anyone else says. It's the people on our team, the players, the coaches, the supporting staff, those are the only people I care about."
On embracing the underdog role:
"We definitely have done that. Our team plays the best when no one gives us respect. We go out and earn it. That's the only way to do it and that's what we'll do on January 1."
Anthony Sherman (North Attleboro, Mass.) Sr. - Fullback
On the feeling of going to a BCS Bowl Game:
"We were watching the prediction show and just knowing that we were one of the teams that were going to be picked was pretty exciting."
On the underdog role:
"I don't mind that. We've always been underdogs here. It doesn't change anything for us. We'll go out and prepare the same way we normally do."
On nervousness before the game-winning field goal against USF:
"Yeah there was some nervousness there but we saw before the game when (Dave) Teggart went to walk-through and kicked a few 60-yard field goals. So we knew he had the leg in him so it had nothing to do with that. We knew that if we gave him a good snap and a good hold he'd put it through. It was just exciting knowing that the game came down to that and nothing else really mattered."
On the change of the program since he came in as a freshman:
"I don't think anything has really changed. We've just become more experienced. A lot of guys now are seniors and juniors playing out there. Just experience and the growth of the team - the closeness of everyone."
On what he knows about Oklahoma:
"Well not too much. We heard the announcement the same time as everyone else. We'll go back and probably watch film tomorrow. I know they played Cincinnati earlier in the year and they gave them a good run and hopefully we'll go ahead and do the same thing."
On coming from such a small stage in North Attleboro, Mass. to playing in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl:
"When I was looking at schools I wanted to go somewhere close to home. I wanted to go to a good team really. I could have gone to some smaller schools that weren't as good. I wanted to go to a big-time team. I knew we had it in us. I just didn't know when It was going to happen."
Players Mentioned
