Tuesday Press Conference Quotes

Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre

General
"We got Arizona this week for homecoming, which is exciting. Homecoming is always a lot of fun. They came off a big win last week against Oregon State. The thing that makes them go is [QB] Anu Solomon. He hadn't been playing the last few games with a concussion, but he's an excellent quarterback. The thing that Anu does is he's able to stay alive. They do a lot of what we call, 'Zone-read dive,' over and over and over, and then he'll pull it. He has the option to run or pass. He has a really great knack of staying alive, he's an excellent scrambler and can make plays. [RB] Nick Wilson keeps their offense moving, excellent runner. They have an excellent, big offensive line. Then, Cayleb Jones is a big receiver that is a good target for them. Defensively, they haven't had [LB] Scooby [Wright] who is a phenomenal player. But, they've moved a couple other guys around and they are able to make plays. A guy that really sticks out, who I think is an excellent player for them, is [DE] Reggie Gilbert. He's a good pass rusher, big, physical defensive end. Coach [Rich] Rodriguez does a good job with their team. They were ranked I think in the top-20 at the beginning of the year. I think they raced out to 3-0 and then lost a couple and then they've come back. So, they're a good football team that will be in here Saturday night."

On the status of his linebacker corps   
"[Ryan] Severson is out. Our three top linebackers are out. We'll have Rick [Gamboa] of course who has played really well for us. Then we'll have N.J. Falo or Grant Watanabe or Christian Shaver; so three freshmen and a sophomore, with Rick Gamboa the only one who has played a lot of plays. But, they had a good day of practice (Tuesday), they had a good day of practice Monday. So, they'll get out there and do what they can do."

On LB Addison Gillam's status for this week's game 
"We'll find out later this week, but it's hard for him to not get many reps live at all and then try to throw him out there (in the game) off a knee (injury). Doesn't look as good if he can't get back out there (to practice) tomorrow."

On TB Michael Adkins status for the game
"Michael Adkins is not back yet."

On the biggest challenge of defending Arizona's spread offense
"When Anu Solomon is in the game, the other young man, Jerrard Randall did an excellent job, but he is just not as accurate of a passer on the run as Anu is. When you watch Anu play, it's kind of un-canning some of the things he can do. You're thinking, 'How can he even get the ball away,' and how he scrambles around and makes plays. He adds another dimension to it, but Rich [Rodriguez] does a good job, they do a good job with their offensive line. Their offensive line is big; they kind of knock you out of the way and then [RB Nick] Wilson cuts and boom he's in the secondary. So, you have to be able to tackle that. They do a good job of everything is a run-pass-action. So, when they're running a run play, there is really pass routes going on, so Anu is reading that as he goes. He does a good job of reading that."

On getting a call from a good coaching friend
"I had a coach who coaches another sport who is a very good friend of mine that saw a couple of our guys interviewed and read a couple of things that they said. He's a prominent head coach and a good friend of mine. He called and said, 'When your leaders get really angry and ticked off, it's a good thing because they now know that they have to go execute and do it. Until it really hurts them bad, really bad then they kind of just take it.' He called me and said, 'I think it's a good thing.' I'd rather see them angry then not feeling anything about it at all, to be honest with you."

On TB Phillip Lindsay calling a "players only meeting"      
"He called it right after the game was over. We were flying back and going to be back (practicing Monday), he called it right there (on the plane) while I was standing there said, 'Hey we're going to get together when we get back.' Because we didn't get back until 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning on Sunday, and we didn't get together (as a team) on Sunday. So they had dinner here at 6:00 and so he said, 'Let's get together right before dinner.' Phillip Lindsay, I call him the "Tasmanian Devil," he's an excellent leader, he gives everything he has; he has great heart, he's a great team player. Our leadership council said they wanted to get them together. I meet with the leadership council once or twice every week and talk to the different guys on the phone all the time. So, they were excited about what happened in the meeting and all type of things (that happened)."

On if he has sensed anything different from the team since then
"They were more focused, there was more guys getting on each other. More initiative, we didn't have to tell somebody to pay attention, the other players did. To me, that was a real positive."

On what the defense needs to do this week to be prepared for UA's offense   
"Reps, Reps, Reps., and we had a lot of reps today. Also, we'll break it down, it won't just be a team group, there will be an individual area where you just work on the right side of the line with the back and how to read it and how to see it. Just so over and over doing it, is the only way you can do it. And then you show them a lot of film on it too. But mainly, it's repetition and a lot of it is not full team repetition, it's diagnosed down into sub-parts."

On how to get QB Sefo Liufau more protection during games        
"It's a combination of things, it is. Sometimes of course it's the offensive line's fault; sometimes we might be holding the ball a bit longer to get a route type of situation. So it's a combination of different things. Last year we gave up the least amount of sacks in the league (Pac-12 conference). The other night it wasn't very good. We knew if we got behind against them like that, some of the things we did to be throwing all the time (to get back in the game) it would be a little bit tougher. When you can mix it up the run-pass, it helps that situation a lot."

On the struggles at offensive line and dealing with injuries
"You would like to have five guys and then have one tackle and one guard, so-to-speak, that can rotate in and then you have a good continuity. When you're having to move guards to tackles and opposite, left and right side. It sounds very simple but there's some logistics that go into you and communication. If you've always dropped with your right foot back and now you're dropping with your left foot back; again it sounds simple, but [when there is] a guy running at you who is 270-pounds running and he breaks down your left arm and your right arm and you get your foot turned the wrong way or you hip the wrong way. So that's been tough, but I feel like doing it again this week, we'll be better than we were last week. And then ASU had some very good pass rushers also, that has something to do with it, and so did Oregon.  I think that will help us some, as far as some of the guys that are pass-rushing against us at times."

If there is an emphasis on rush-defense this weekend due to UA's rushing offense   
"Oh yeah, definitely. They're kind of like Baylor and those guys, they spread you sideline-to-sideline. It's one of those things you know, my wife always teases me and asks, 'Why didn't you run it up the middle some?' Because everyone wants you to do all that. Well, you're going to see them (Arizona) run it up the middle, run it up the middle, run it up the middle. They get you spread out and try to get you tired and then hit some creases there on you. You have to be extremely sound and get lined up correctly. Then, they have some misdirection that they do that allow them to hit some. But, it's mainly the speed of the game and the size of their linemen kind of getting a push and it ends up being a crease. So yeah, we're all working on it hard.

On if Stephane Nembot and Sam Kronshage have been working different positions 
"We have been working it both ways in practice. We have been working Stephane at left (tackle) and Shane [Callahan] at right (tackle) and Sam at right and Sam some at left in case Stephane got hurt. You have to work all those scenarios and (knocks on wood table) we don't need that to happen. Stephane did a good job at left tackle too."

On encouragement he receives from friends and family    
"I would like to get the win and walk through the door with a smile on my face and not have the dog be the only one smiling in the room, is what I would like, there's no doubt. That's a great point, you get texts from friends and what not. I get texts from a lot of our players' parents and calls a lot from our players' parents saying, 'Coach hang in there, you all hang in there.' What hurts me the most is honestly, looking into the young men's eyes in the locker room, and looking at the coaches' eyes and they're blurry because they've worked all week and there is no reward so-to-speak. So that's really what frustrates you the most and really hurts you the most. And of course, going home and sometimes I wish I was always in a good mood and sometimes I'm not always in a happy mood, and I shouldn't let all these circumstances affect my mood but I do. There's no doubt that you would like to walk in the room and be excited about everyone around you and having a good feeling about the weekend."

On the trying to re-establish the running game        
"We had some good runs there (at ASU). We definitely thought we would have AN opportunity to run the ball on them, we did the year before, but we got behind the eight ball so fast. Then we came out in the second half and we got down again. We felt like running it in that type of situation, we needed to make some other plays and we made some pass plays and had an opportunity. But, there is no doubt whatsoever that we would like to be able to run the ball better. I think that will help us, and I think that we need to be able to do it Saturday. We still gained over 400 yards and all that type of thing (at ASU), but when you have good balance it enables you to have more big plays and it enables you not to have some negative plays. Also, it allows you a chance to not have so many turnovers when you're balanced. And balanced doesn't need to be 250 yards rushing, but it needs to be 150-175 and that type of thing. Now, you'd love to have 300 yards rushing and 300 yards passing but…"

On if he is ever amazed by QB Sefo Liufau's physical toughness  
"No, I'm not. I even went up to him (at ASU) and said, 'Sefo can you keep doing this?' And I said, 'Because if you can't, you let me know right now,' and he said, 'No coach I can keep doing this, I'm going to keep going. He can keep doing it. We haven't gotten into as good a rhythm as we would like in some of the games. Today, I always say this but I really mean it, today was the best Tuesday practice Sefo has had since the CSU game. He was throwing it good, he was moving it good. It was like he hadn't even been touched (in games) he was throwing the ball really well, our timing was good. It gave me a great feeling that he feels back kind of in the saddle so-to-speak. I've said it before, I've never been around a quarterback that is as tough as he is. Also, he's mentally tough because we're not winning and he's the quarterback and the quarterback and the head coach always take all the blame and then we get too much credit when we win. But he's a leader and a guy the guys believe in and trust. I would love to see him get some 'W's' and get some accolades because right now he hasn't gotten any but he has done a lot of stuff we just haven't won games. When we do win games, he will start getting some accolades."

On what positives they took from the past two losses         
"The positive is we were able to battle with them. We've come a long way but we have a long, long way to go, but we are not where we used to be. But, we want to be a lot better than we are. That's really hard and for the kids it's really tough. So, you have to keep telling them that and showing them that and building them up, and keep having them push forward. I think from the Oregon game they took that, 'Hey we can play with these guys, there's no doubt. The Arizona State game, the time we went there before, it was really ugly at half. This game, it was 24-10 at half, and we basically gave them, it was a couple of fluky plays, you knock a fumble loose and it bounces forward (for a touchdown). I think their effort, their know-how, for some reason we kind of busted a couple of things that we haven't busted in the secondary that hurt us early in that game and that we need to fix. I think their fight and their attitude is there."

On in-game execution      
"You just have to keep doing the repetition of it, and then keep doing it over and over, and be more precise. There were a couple times in both the games (vs. Oregon and at ASU) that we had opportunities to score really early in a couple situations and we were just a little bit off; if you score on those, the momentum is a little bit different in both those games. That's what we have to do. We keep talking about starting fast, and that's something that we want to do, and every team talks about that of course. We need to go do it. I think that just some things happen sometimes and it's not a perfect science that's out there. But, it's just the repetitions, if something fluky happens in front you, the repetitions help you to take care of it and you are a little more precise."

On how big a win this weekend could be for team morale
"A win is always, in our situation, is huge; especially a Pac-12 win. I think it is extremely big for the guys. Any time you win, you make some mistakes in a game and you don't look at them as bad; when you lose, every mistake is magnified. Winning kind of covers up sin, so-to-speak. That's what we need to do, we definitely need to win football games. Our kids definitely want to and they're fighting hard. I haven't had to get on them one time at practice of not going hard or doing that, which is encouraging to me that they are having the fortitude to come ready. When I have to start beating them with a bat, so-to-speak, to push them to go, then that's when you really get nervous. But, they give me confidence watching them and their work ethic and their attitude and their fight. They said earlier, they're angry and I'm glad they're angry, I'm really glad they're angry."

On if he feels this team has had bad luck       
"I think you make your own luck. If the ball bounces places, you have to react, you have to handle that and react. We've had our share (of bad luck), there's no doubt. You'd like the ball to bounce the other, so-to-speak, and eventually it will."

On Steve Sarkisian and how he balances a stressful job    
"First of all, I really feel for Steve. I've gotten to know Steve and I really like him and I'm praying for him and thinking about him, and I can't wait to see him get himself together because he's very talented, has a great charisma to him and I don't know all of what is going on. But, when I saw that the other day, someone came in and told me, I just sat in my office for about 10 minutes and was thinking and praying for him, to be honest with you. The way I handle everything is through my faith and my relationship with Jesus Christ; that's how I handle everything. That's the most important thing to me, and then my family is next. I found out an hour before the Oregon kickoff that my dad got put in the hospital and my mother in-law got put in the hospital and I didn't know if either one of them would get out. So, my wife has been in Nashville at Vanderbilt hospital going back-and-forward between my dad's room and my mother in-law's room, but I don't have time to get there. My dad is doing okay now, my mother in-law has had a small miracle but she still has cancer all over her body and I don't know how long she'll last. Those types of things are what keep you grounded, and make you understand what really is important in life. Football is important, winning games are important, how you treat people is important, how you care about young men is important; but I think there is a balance. But, I would love to win a bunch of football games, I would feel a lot better."

On what impresses him about SS Tedric Thompson
"Tedric, to me is an amazing young man. His mom, flossy, is an amazing lady how she's raised her young boys—he has a brother who plays for the [Miami] Dolphins now. [Tedric] is a young man that has come here and overcome a lot of obstacles. Academically he is doing really well. Watching him kind of blossom from being a little shy to talking—he asks me more questions than anybody, that's why he is going to be successful, he's not afraid to ask a question if he doesn't know something; I think that is a great quality in life. And then, to see Tedric come back from the incident in the UCLA game (in 2014 when he was injured) and that was a scary incident. He had a time there, he wasn't sure if he wanted to play again, and you can imagine laying on the field and getting locked down on a stretcher and being carried off in an ambulance. His mom is watching it on television, his brother is watching it in the airport with his Minnesota [University] team before they get on a plane and their coaches hear and are calling us trying to find out if he's okay. So, he kind of goes through that and wasn't able to come back the last half of the year. So, in the spring me and him met a lot, because he was just trying to figure out life, trying to figure it all out. Then, it finally clicked back and to watch him play now and see what he's doing and how he plays so hard and how he's become a leader and how he's grown up is really, really fulfilling to me. I'm excited about what his future is going to be, not just in football but in life. It's exciting, and I tell you, it hurts him so bad, he plays so hard. That play he made in the Oregon game on fourth down was a huge play and got us back in it. His blocked field goal against CSU changed the game. So, he brings that energy to our football team and he is a guy that I rely on and believe in."

On how Pac-12 games differ from others
"In Pac-12 football there is excellent players all over the field. It being a Pac-12 football game for us is a big deal, and it being homecoming. We sit 3-3, we'd love to be better than 3-3, but we can still reach aspirations, there's no doubt about it. This is a step, a home game, homecoming at Folsom; we've played pretty well at Folsom and I think we'll play well on Saturday night and I think our kids will be excited about playing." 

On stretching the field on offense with receivers     
"Devin [Ross] has made a couple long catches, Shay [Fields] has. They are fast and able to get down the field. We have some other quick, fast guys that we feel like have gotten down the field and made some plays. We would of had more big plays, but Sefo [Liufau] got hit. If you go back and watch it on film you go, 'God, just one more step and and it's touchdown, touchdown, touchdown.' Our kids see that too and that frustrates them because they can just taste it and see it, and they watch it on film and go, 'Oh my gosh he's wide open,' and it doesn't happen. So, we make a few plays like that and it will change these games and I definitely believe that it will, we just have to keep pushing to do it. There's been some shots there, and you've probably seen it yourselves up in the press box. So we'll be able to make some of those shots."

Colorado Players

QB Sefo Liufau

On how he felt after the ASU game
"A little sore, but more upset with the performance that we put out there on Saturday."

On frustration level of the team
"A little bit; obviously you are going to be a little frustrated after how we performed on Saturday. But I think for the most part we're more, I guess, angry, I guess. It's not even about proving it to other people now, it's proving it to ourselves, and proving to ourselves that we can go out there and we can play, and we can beat these teams."

On where his toughness comes from
"I just think it's a mental toughness that my family's instilled in me. Like I've said before, I hang around with my dad's army guys all the time and you don't get to complain about anything. And so I think that is kind of how I was raised, and how I was brought up. And, you know, just kind of try and put everything into the back of your mind and just keep pushing." 

On "players only meeting"
"I think that a lot of good things were said. It was run by players, brought up by players. The coaches can only do so much for us—they can give us all the right techniques, all the right plays—but you know it's up to us to go out there and execute. And so, ultimately we came out with a better feeling and better understanding of what needs to be done."

On needing the positive reinforcement of a victory
"I definitely think it's important to go there and play a really good game, and to get a win to kind of boost confidence, because ultimately a win is kind of the only thing that will satisfy us right now. We don't care about coming close, overtime loss, or anything like that. We just want to win; that's our main goal. We just have to be consistent in all phases, so that we can ultimately accomplish our goals."

On his performance at Arizona State
"I think that I missed too many throws. I just think offensively we need to be clicking and in a rhythm, in both running and passing. I think we need to be a good, balanced team. Numbers are not everything; I will take a win over all those numbers any day."

On in-game execution
"It just goes on looking and seeing what the team does in film all week, so you have a better understanding on game day. It also starts in practice, and being able to execute in there—your routes, your blocking, your throws—because how you practice is how you are going to play on Saturday's. For us to be able to click and move in all cylinders on Saturday's, we have to be able to go out and practice every day, and play like it's a game, and be able to execute."

On UA LB Scooby Wright being injured
"Scooby's a really good player; you have to give him that. I think that Arizona has a lot of good guys that are able to come in; obviously they're no Scooby Wright, but they're solid players, they're Pac-12 players. So yes, they're missing Scooby right, but they'll still be a strong defense without him"

On having injuries, a young line, and changing positions
"Guys are moving around and we've had some injuries, but you have to be able to adapt—and that's not just in football that in anything you do. Guys just have to adapt, study film, study hard, work on it in practice, so that in games we're prepared as well as we can be. That's ultimately what it comes down to. I trust the guys. We played a rocky game, not just the O-Line, but everybody on offense. We just have to learn from our mistakes and be able to bounce back and play a lot better than we did last week."

On interceptions
"I think that anytime you turn the ball over it's a lot harder to win games. So, I have to do a better job of taking care of the football, and so it gives us a better chance to win."

On his accuracy
"I think it's maybe down to fundamentals. I think that just being able to sit there in the pocket and just deliver the ball; I think that I just have to do it, basically. It's as simple as that, just be able to hit your receivers and give them some time to get some yards after the catch."

On being pressured often
"Obviously that does have an effect on your throw, but you know, I think that for the most part there were some easy throws that I missed and there were a lot tougher throws that I made. I think I just need to be more consistent in that aspect so that it gives us more of a chance to get the ball to our playmakers."

On if the offense feels they're ready to have a big game
"Yeah I do, because I think that we should be a more explosive offense than we have been this year. We're kind of searching for it; and it's frustrating but we just have to keep practicing hard and nail down the little things. Because if you are blocking one certain way, instead of the correct way, on a certain run play or a pass play then everything can fall apart; so we just all have to be on the same page at the same time."

LB Derek McCartney

On defending spread offense
"They really do spread you out a lot; they try to get their athletes more one-on-one with our athletes. It really just comes down to man-to-man and open space, and that's pretty challenging."

On injuries to linebacker corps
"We'd obviously like to have our starters out there, but we trust our backups; we trust what they can do; we're just going to keep trusting in them and their abilities."

On the type of season he sees for himself
"I put pretty high expectations on myself because I feel like without a good pass rush, and without a good edge, and everything in the defense, then we can't really be great. I put a lot of pressure on myself to be great; I'm really working to work hard."

On frustration level of the team
"We are very frustrated with ourselves. We just kicked ourselves in the foot way too many times. It's definitely a critical game (vs. Arizona); this game is huge for us, and we all know that and we're practicing like we know that."

On getting pressure without blitzing
"I believe we can get pressure. I put a lot of that pressure on myself to get to the quarterback. I mean we, as a unit, we do need to be better at that."

On what he took away from "players only meeting"
"One of the biggest things for me is just that our leaders need to step up and really lead, be more vocal, just be more a part of the team and just keep lifting everybody up. We can't let anyone's head be down in this town."

On rush defense vs Arizona
"Every week we come in, we know as a defense that we need to stop the offense if we want towin—that's always our first goal, so we're definitely focused on that."

On the benefits of having a "players only meeting"
"I think sometimes when things start going the way you don't want them to (go), that guys on the team can, kind of, just put their heads down, and just kind of go with the losing mentality. I think that getting together was really good; we had some of our big vocal leaders come in and stepped up, and said something and got some guys fired up."

On how "players only meetings" come about
"After the game everyone was pretty upset. Phillip Lindsay came in and he was fired up. He said, everyone come in, we're having a meeting tomorrow, and everyone has to be there."

On if the meeting puts pressure on players
"It's not about putting pressure on ourselves, it's about believing in ourselves. That's more what the meeting was about. It wasn't to scare people, like 'We have to do this or we're never going to be any good,' it's more like you just believe in yourself; we can do this. It was more of a positive type of deal."

On QB Sefo Liufau's toughness
"I look up to him; he's one of the toughest guys on our team. I'd fight for him, die for him any day. He's one of my best friends too."