Colorado University Athletics
Tuesday Press Conference Quotes
September 27, 2016 | Football
Colorado Head Coach Mike MacIntyre
Opening Statement
"Oregon State – Gary Anderson the head coach there I've known for a while because he was in the WAC (Western Athletic Conference) at Utah State, he did a phenomenal job there, and he did a great job at Wisconsin. I really respect him. His teams are always extremely tough. He's doing a good job of getting Oregon State going. He is a heck of a football coach and it's going to be a heck of a battle Saturday."
On Celebrating Saturday's Win
"You need to enjoy the wins, especially on the field. We got back here and there was about 200 fans here at one o'clock in the morning, about 75 percent of them students. It was exciting for our kids. They went around and gave them all high-fives and talked to them. That was really neat. I got up that next morning at about seven o'clock – we got home around two or three – went to church and after church was over I was back here and watched our film. I'd say it was about one o'clock I was on to Oregon State and so was the rest of our team. We've had two good days of practice."
On Emotions In Final Seconds Of Win
"When it was 33-17 I was hoping it was going to be 40-17 and it wouldn't have been quite as emotional to be honest with you. I would have been able to handle it. The way it ended and the way they kept fighting, they just never gave up. We haven't done that against an excellent football team, especially on the road – to get over that hump for those young men when they've been working so hard. Somebody asked me, 'When Akhello intercepted his pass, what did you do?' I was excited, I was thinking about how much time we had left and what we needed to do. After we got it all settled and I realized the last snap was going, I really started thinking of Akhello and his dad, Lucky, and his mom, Bobbie, from recruiting him. In college it's a little bit different; you recruit these young men, you watch them grow up, they're in your office a lot and they go through different things, which it's fun to watch them mature through but sometimes you want to pull your hair out. It's exciting when you looked at our guys, what they've been through and how they did it. I thought it'd be a great, great life lesson. I thought about all of this stuff in the last minute and how they've grown as a group of men and what they have in front of them. Every notch like that – I can talk until I'm blue in the face and they do believe and they do listen – now they get that in their belt so to speak. It's a lot easier to believe, fight through different things and sacrifice things they have to sacrifice to be as good as they want to be."
On Play Of Tim Lynott, Jr.
"He's athletic, he does a great job pulling for us, he's an excellent guard inside, he does a good job pass-protecting. I think he'll be a four-year starter and do really well. He also has a really good presence to him; the game's not too big for him. He's ready to step in, take his roll and play. We thought about playing him some as a true freshman but we just didn't think he was mature and strong enough yet. I think we made the right decision by waiting and letting him have the whole spring practice and other workouts and whole fall camp. He's proven to be a legitimate Pac-12 football player."
On Saturday Being A Signature Win
"For our guys and our team – Oregon's beat us 51-12 over the years since we came into the Pac-12 – to go do that I think is a signature win for our program and going there and beating them on the road. Our football team did something that no Colorado football team's ever done and will never do again I hope and is playing on the east coast one week and on the west coast the next week in a Michigan stadium and an Oregon stadium. That's a tough duty to do for anybody. For us to do that when everybody thought that we had no chance in either game – and played well in both games but only won one of them – I think shows our guys have stepped up to believe that they can truly beat anybody. In their minds and in their hearts it is a signature statement to them that we can stand toe-to-toe with heavyweight programs. We need to be a heavyweight again. We used to be a welterweight; I think we stepped up to at least being able to spar with the heavyweights. The more games we win, we'll see if we're a heavyweight."
On Confidence In Team At Halftime
"I could see it in the young men's eyes. We let them back in it too, but we kept battling. Looking around the sidelines, they all just kept playing where in the past we'd keep saying 'get up, get up, get up.' They just kept playing, and I saw that at Michigan too when it unraveled and all of sudden we answered the bell at the beginning of the third quarter which I thought was pretty impressive by those young men. We didn't finish it like we'd like but I saw it in their eyes and definitely saw it in their work ethic, attitude and maturity. It wasn't like you were having to get them up at halftime; they were ready to go again, they wanted to get back out there. Even when they caught back up and went ahead, you could see they wanted to get back out there and play. They could feel it."
On Atmosphere For Oregon State Game
"Our kids always love playing in Folsom. We love the grass, we love the scenery, we love our own locker room, we love running out behind Ralphie. The crowd's so tight on you, even if it might not be a packed house, it's loud. We'd love to see a packed house. The more we keep being successful, the more that'll happen. I believe that definitely will keep happening. We want to make those fans proud, there's no doubt about it. Our players were really excited when we turned the corner and saw all those students standing there in the Sunday morning at 1 a.m. I told them there were going to be some people here."
On Plan With Two Quarterbacks, Sefo Lifuau and Steven Montez
"Sefo still isn't completely well right now. He did a little bit more today in practice. We'll see how the week goes along and how it plays out with his leg."
On Oregon State
"Oregon State, offensively, they can make a lot of plays. Their quarterback, [Darrell] Garretson, is a good player, he's a good athlete. I knew about him from high school. You might remember his grandfather was an NBA referee; there's a great bloodline of athletics in their family. Also, [Victor] Bolden, their wide receiver #6, can fly. He made some big plays on us last year. He's also an excellent returner. I think he's number one in the country right now in kick returns and punt returns combined. I think kickoff he leads the country. Their offensive line is big. They have a huge running back, Ryan Nall, who pretty much ran over us in some parts of the game last year. We've got to really be able to control him and tackle him better. He's a physical young man. Defensively, they're playing a lot more man coverage. I like their secondary, they're more athletic than they were last year. I like their safeties, No. 9 and No. 3, Brandon Arnold and Devin Chappall. I think they're really good players; they're big and athletic. No. 47, Bright [Ugwoegbu], he's a very good pass-rusher. I've been impressed with what they did. They had a couple mistake in the Boise game that got them behind quick. They kept battling, but they had a chance. It should have been 31-24 with about eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter but they didn't get it done. They are a much improved football team from last year when we played them."
On Jay MacIntyre's Health
"He practiced today in a blue jersey. He hyperextended his elbow, so his arm is swollen and all that. They x-rayed it; he's going to be fine, he's just got to get all of the swelling out of it. Hopefully he'll be able to go full speed Saturday, but we'll know more as the week goes on."
On Freshman Being Able To Do More In Today's Football
"I think it's the different individual or your different system. If a quarterback comes out of a system where they weren't doing a lot of reads and a lot of throws, it might be a little bit harder for them, but they might have all the talent and skills. Every situation is different. Fortunately we were able to redshirt Steven [Montez] last year. The spring that he had with Sefo [Liufua] not out there, we gave him a lot more reps than he would have. In fall camp he did well. It was the right time for Steven to go play. I felt like he'd play well. I'd be lying if I said he'd break the record in the history of Colorado football in his first game on the road at Oregon. He did really well."
On Tackling Oregon State's Ryan Nall
"We're a better tackling team. We tackled pretty well against Oregon Saturday compared to what we had. You're going to miss them, they're major college football players. We need to Ryan than we did. He's a big load. You have to tackle him different; if you hit him up high, he's so big, you've got to hit him a little bit lower and wrap him up. You cannot just try to knock him down, he's not going to go down easy. He runs really well. He's faster than you think. I've watched some games from last year, he ran from Oregon on a long run there which I thought was really impressive. He's a good football player."
On The Players Getting Emotional After Win
"I've seen it quite often when we have had those types of moments. When you get beat pretty good by a team and then you've come that far, I mean Chido [Awuzie] was on the field as a freshman against them. The group of us all believing in each other when they probably get bombarded outside is a phenomenal life lesson, because they're going to face harder things in life in the future. I hope, pray that they will be able to fall back on that. Now they need to learn the other side of that. Yes, we're better, we're a good football team like I've said all along. Now we got to keep doing it. In the game of football things change, people get hurt, you're a different football team all the time. This week we're a little bit different football team than we were last week. Oregon State's a little bit different. It's a little bit different circumstances, we're playing at home. We can't get comfortable; you've got to keep working, you've got to keep pushing. Your habits dictate who you're going to be, you're habits dictate how you're going to be as a person too. All of that is a life lesson to me."
On Quarterback Situation
"It's all going to depend how our team is at the time. Everybody understands that in sports. We need both of them, because somebody's going to get dinged up, it's the way the game goes. We need both of those guys ready to play and ready to go."
On Jaleel Awini's Status
"There's a good chance he plays for us this year. He's had some had some back issues. He's been with the doctors, he's been with the trainers. He's working hard on his core, we're letting that calm down a little bit. He's doing more this week. I'm hoping that he can be back for our last six games. If he keeps moving like he is right now, he will be. I don't know how big his role will be; I know he'll play on special teams. We've just got to see how he recovers from his back injury. That's been tough on him, what a great young man. He's been through a lot. This year looked really promising, then this hit him. He wants to keep trying and keep going. I sure would like to see sixteen back out there, there's no doubt."
"Oregon State – Gary Anderson the head coach there I've known for a while because he was in the WAC (Western Athletic Conference) at Utah State, he did a phenomenal job there, and he did a great job at Wisconsin. I really respect him. His teams are always extremely tough. He's doing a good job of getting Oregon State going. He is a heck of a football coach and it's going to be a heck of a battle Saturday."
On Celebrating Saturday's Win
"You need to enjoy the wins, especially on the field. We got back here and there was about 200 fans here at one o'clock in the morning, about 75 percent of them students. It was exciting for our kids. They went around and gave them all high-fives and talked to them. That was really neat. I got up that next morning at about seven o'clock – we got home around two or three – went to church and after church was over I was back here and watched our film. I'd say it was about one o'clock I was on to Oregon State and so was the rest of our team. We've had two good days of practice."
On Emotions In Final Seconds Of Win
"When it was 33-17 I was hoping it was going to be 40-17 and it wouldn't have been quite as emotional to be honest with you. I would have been able to handle it. The way it ended and the way they kept fighting, they just never gave up. We haven't done that against an excellent football team, especially on the road – to get over that hump for those young men when they've been working so hard. Somebody asked me, 'When Akhello intercepted his pass, what did you do?' I was excited, I was thinking about how much time we had left and what we needed to do. After we got it all settled and I realized the last snap was going, I really started thinking of Akhello and his dad, Lucky, and his mom, Bobbie, from recruiting him. In college it's a little bit different; you recruit these young men, you watch them grow up, they're in your office a lot and they go through different things, which it's fun to watch them mature through but sometimes you want to pull your hair out. It's exciting when you looked at our guys, what they've been through and how they did it. I thought it'd be a great, great life lesson. I thought about all of this stuff in the last minute and how they've grown as a group of men and what they have in front of them. Every notch like that – I can talk until I'm blue in the face and they do believe and they do listen – now they get that in their belt so to speak. It's a lot easier to believe, fight through different things and sacrifice things they have to sacrifice to be as good as they want to be."
On Play Of Tim Lynott, Jr.
"He's athletic, he does a great job pulling for us, he's an excellent guard inside, he does a good job pass-protecting. I think he'll be a four-year starter and do really well. He also has a really good presence to him; the game's not too big for him. He's ready to step in, take his roll and play. We thought about playing him some as a true freshman but we just didn't think he was mature and strong enough yet. I think we made the right decision by waiting and letting him have the whole spring practice and other workouts and whole fall camp. He's proven to be a legitimate Pac-12 football player."
On Saturday Being A Signature Win
"For our guys and our team – Oregon's beat us 51-12 over the years since we came into the Pac-12 – to go do that I think is a signature win for our program and going there and beating them on the road. Our football team did something that no Colorado football team's ever done and will never do again I hope and is playing on the east coast one week and on the west coast the next week in a Michigan stadium and an Oregon stadium. That's a tough duty to do for anybody. For us to do that when everybody thought that we had no chance in either game – and played well in both games but only won one of them – I think shows our guys have stepped up to believe that they can truly beat anybody. In their minds and in their hearts it is a signature statement to them that we can stand toe-to-toe with heavyweight programs. We need to be a heavyweight again. We used to be a welterweight; I think we stepped up to at least being able to spar with the heavyweights. The more games we win, we'll see if we're a heavyweight."
On Confidence In Team At Halftime
"I could see it in the young men's eyes. We let them back in it too, but we kept battling. Looking around the sidelines, they all just kept playing where in the past we'd keep saying 'get up, get up, get up.' They just kept playing, and I saw that at Michigan too when it unraveled and all of sudden we answered the bell at the beginning of the third quarter which I thought was pretty impressive by those young men. We didn't finish it like we'd like but I saw it in their eyes and definitely saw it in their work ethic, attitude and maturity. It wasn't like you were having to get them up at halftime; they were ready to go again, they wanted to get back out there. Even when they caught back up and went ahead, you could see they wanted to get back out there and play. They could feel it."
On Atmosphere For Oregon State Game
"Our kids always love playing in Folsom. We love the grass, we love the scenery, we love our own locker room, we love running out behind Ralphie. The crowd's so tight on you, even if it might not be a packed house, it's loud. We'd love to see a packed house. The more we keep being successful, the more that'll happen. I believe that definitely will keep happening. We want to make those fans proud, there's no doubt about it. Our players were really excited when we turned the corner and saw all those students standing there in the Sunday morning at 1 a.m. I told them there were going to be some people here."
On Plan With Two Quarterbacks, Sefo Lifuau and Steven Montez
"Sefo still isn't completely well right now. He did a little bit more today in practice. We'll see how the week goes along and how it plays out with his leg."
On Oregon State
"Oregon State, offensively, they can make a lot of plays. Their quarterback, [Darrell] Garretson, is a good player, he's a good athlete. I knew about him from high school. You might remember his grandfather was an NBA referee; there's a great bloodline of athletics in their family. Also, [Victor] Bolden, their wide receiver #6, can fly. He made some big plays on us last year. He's also an excellent returner. I think he's number one in the country right now in kick returns and punt returns combined. I think kickoff he leads the country. Their offensive line is big. They have a huge running back, Ryan Nall, who pretty much ran over us in some parts of the game last year. We've got to really be able to control him and tackle him better. He's a physical young man. Defensively, they're playing a lot more man coverage. I like their secondary, they're more athletic than they were last year. I like their safeties, No. 9 and No. 3, Brandon Arnold and Devin Chappall. I think they're really good players; they're big and athletic. No. 47, Bright [Ugwoegbu], he's a very good pass-rusher. I've been impressed with what they did. They had a couple mistake in the Boise game that got them behind quick. They kept battling, but they had a chance. It should have been 31-24 with about eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter but they didn't get it done. They are a much improved football team from last year when we played them."
On Jay MacIntyre's Health
"He practiced today in a blue jersey. He hyperextended his elbow, so his arm is swollen and all that. They x-rayed it; he's going to be fine, he's just got to get all of the swelling out of it. Hopefully he'll be able to go full speed Saturday, but we'll know more as the week goes on."
On Freshman Being Able To Do More In Today's Football
"I think it's the different individual or your different system. If a quarterback comes out of a system where they weren't doing a lot of reads and a lot of throws, it might be a little bit harder for them, but they might have all the talent and skills. Every situation is different. Fortunately we were able to redshirt Steven [Montez] last year. The spring that he had with Sefo [Liufua] not out there, we gave him a lot more reps than he would have. In fall camp he did well. It was the right time for Steven to go play. I felt like he'd play well. I'd be lying if I said he'd break the record in the history of Colorado football in his first game on the road at Oregon. He did really well."
On Tackling Oregon State's Ryan Nall
"We're a better tackling team. We tackled pretty well against Oregon Saturday compared to what we had. You're going to miss them, they're major college football players. We need to Ryan than we did. He's a big load. You have to tackle him different; if you hit him up high, he's so big, you've got to hit him a little bit lower and wrap him up. You cannot just try to knock him down, he's not going to go down easy. He runs really well. He's faster than you think. I've watched some games from last year, he ran from Oregon on a long run there which I thought was really impressive. He's a good football player."
On The Players Getting Emotional After Win
"I've seen it quite often when we have had those types of moments. When you get beat pretty good by a team and then you've come that far, I mean Chido [Awuzie] was on the field as a freshman against them. The group of us all believing in each other when they probably get bombarded outside is a phenomenal life lesson, because they're going to face harder things in life in the future. I hope, pray that they will be able to fall back on that. Now they need to learn the other side of that. Yes, we're better, we're a good football team like I've said all along. Now we got to keep doing it. In the game of football things change, people get hurt, you're a different football team all the time. This week we're a little bit different football team than we were last week. Oregon State's a little bit different. It's a little bit different circumstances, we're playing at home. We can't get comfortable; you've got to keep working, you've got to keep pushing. Your habits dictate who you're going to be, you're habits dictate how you're going to be as a person too. All of that is a life lesson to me."
On Quarterback Situation
"It's all going to depend how our team is at the time. Everybody understands that in sports. We need both of them, because somebody's going to get dinged up, it's the way the game goes. We need both of those guys ready to play and ready to go."
On Jaleel Awini's Status
"There's a good chance he plays for us this year. He's had some had some back issues. He's been with the doctors, he's been with the trainers. He's working hard on his core, we're letting that calm down a little bit. He's doing more this week. I'm hoping that he can be back for our last six games. If he keeps moving like he is right now, he will be. I don't know how big his role will be; I know he'll play on special teams. We've just got to see how he recovers from his back injury. That's been tough on him, what a great young man. He's been through a lot. This year looked really promising, then this hit him. He wants to keep trying and keep going. I sure would like to see sixteen back out there, there's no doubt."
Tailback Phillip Lindsay
On The Shift In This Team
"We've been Pac-12 level athletes. It was the fact that we were young. Coach MacIntyre came in and brought a lot of us in and we were young. It's hard to win games when you're inexperienced, when you're 17, 18, 19 years old and going against 21 and 22 year olds. It's at an elite level. We've caught up with everybody and we're older, bigger, stronger and more mature."
On Kyle Evans' Performance This Season
"Kyle came in and has done his role. Everyone's role changes from him coming in as a walk on. Kyle has always gone hard and never complained about not having a scholarship. Kyle has been by my side through a lot of things along with Chido and a couple of the other guys on the team. But Kyle, as a running back, has always been by my side. Kyle is coming in and fitting right in. I'm proud of him and hopefully he can continue to help us out and give us that spark."
On Playing OSU After A Signature Win Against Oregon
"We don't worry about that. We worry about Colorado and that's it. Everyone is still talking about Oregon but that's done. We're on to Oregon State who is a good team. If you don't go in there with the right attitude with any Pac-12 team then you're not going to come out with the win. We're just worrying about ourselves and going out there and playing Colorado football. That's it."
On Sefo Liufau and Steven Montez
"We've known all along that Steven Montez and Sefo Liufau are great quarterbacks. You have to go out there and understand that Steven took all of the snaps during spring ball. Sefo has been here for a long time. It pretty much comes down to everybody around them. If everyone around them is doing their part then it helps them out tremendously. If we're blocking and making the right reads and the right cuts [it helps]. If we're running the ball well and the receivers are getting open, then it makes the quarterback's job easy. For Montez to go in there and do what he had to do, it was expected for him to come up and do what he did because that's the caliber player that he is. I'm proud of him and excited to see what he can do in the future."
On The Vibe Around Campus
"Everyone is excited. Some people are telling us to not let it get to our head but we're an older team. We've been through a lot and we've been through hard times and hopefully we're getting ready to have a lot of great times. The atmosphere is great. We just need to continue to come together as a student body and as a whole unit at the University of Colorado. That helps."
On Seeing Coach MacIntyre's Emotions After The Oregon Win
"It helps a lot. Coach Mac has been a father figure to a lot of us. He gave a lot of us opportunities. The senior class here, we're really close with each other with the coaches and with each other period. With Coach Mac, he's spent tireless days to try to get through to us and get us to understand that we're a special team and group of kids. To sit there and see him be able to share his emotions, it's a great feeling and we're going to keep on making him proud and doing what we're here to do which is win football games."
"We've been Pac-12 level athletes. It was the fact that we were young. Coach MacIntyre came in and brought a lot of us in and we were young. It's hard to win games when you're inexperienced, when you're 17, 18, 19 years old and going against 21 and 22 year olds. It's at an elite level. We've caught up with everybody and we're older, bigger, stronger and more mature."
On Kyle Evans' Performance This Season
"Kyle came in and has done his role. Everyone's role changes from him coming in as a walk on. Kyle has always gone hard and never complained about not having a scholarship. Kyle has been by my side through a lot of things along with Chido and a couple of the other guys on the team. But Kyle, as a running back, has always been by my side. Kyle is coming in and fitting right in. I'm proud of him and hopefully he can continue to help us out and give us that spark."
On Playing OSU After A Signature Win Against Oregon
"We don't worry about that. We worry about Colorado and that's it. Everyone is still talking about Oregon but that's done. We're on to Oregon State who is a good team. If you don't go in there with the right attitude with any Pac-12 team then you're not going to come out with the win. We're just worrying about ourselves and going out there and playing Colorado football. That's it."
On Sefo Liufau and Steven Montez
"We've known all along that Steven Montez and Sefo Liufau are great quarterbacks. You have to go out there and understand that Steven took all of the snaps during spring ball. Sefo has been here for a long time. It pretty much comes down to everybody around them. If everyone around them is doing their part then it helps them out tremendously. If we're blocking and making the right reads and the right cuts [it helps]. If we're running the ball well and the receivers are getting open, then it makes the quarterback's job easy. For Montez to go in there and do what he had to do, it was expected for him to come up and do what he did because that's the caliber player that he is. I'm proud of him and excited to see what he can do in the future."
On The Vibe Around Campus
"Everyone is excited. Some people are telling us to not let it get to our head but we're an older team. We've been through a lot and we've been through hard times and hopefully we're getting ready to have a lot of great times. The atmosphere is great. We just need to continue to come together as a student body and as a whole unit at the University of Colorado. That helps."
On Seeing Coach MacIntyre's Emotions After The Oregon Win
"It helps a lot. Coach Mac has been a father figure to a lot of us. He gave a lot of us opportunities. The senior class here, we're really close with each other with the coaches and with each other period. With Coach Mac, he's spent tireless days to try to get through to us and get us to understand that we're a special team and group of kids. To sit there and see him be able to share his emotions, it's a great feeling and we're going to keep on making him proud and doing what we're here to do which is win football games."
Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie
On What The Win Against Oregon Means For The Program
"Ahkello's [Witherspoon] play was awesome. To see one of your brothers that you go to grind with every day, to see him make a play like that it makes you feel ten times better than if you had made the play. I saw Ahkello make that play one-hundred times, in a couple of games he's dropped some of those picks to see him have the opportunity to finish the game like he had and to win the game it really felt good, especially for the defensive backs knowing that it was on us."
On The Reasons The Team Has Improved This Season
"Number one is definitely leadership. We have a great group of guys, and I keep saying that we were coach MacIntyre's first class so we really understood what he wanted out of us. It's been four years now with this program, so we kind of have an understanding about what coach wants out of us as leaders. All of us are seniors, juniors, and red-shirt sophomores, so we know how to get it done and we've been through the battles. All that experience has helped take us to where we are now. Attitude is also something as well. We don't let things slide by If someone who's a freshman is sleeping in a meeting or if someone is late to a meeting, we get on them real quick. We really hold each other accountable and we have the attitude that we're not going to let anything go by, and that's really helped us so far."
On Past Experiences In Close Games Playing A Role Against Oregon
"The Oregon game was a great win, and we've been in that situation plenty of times in the past. Of course it hurts that we didn't win those game, but the Oregon game could have ended the same way as before if we didn't have the experiences of being in close games. Being in all those close games has definitely helped us build to where we are now. We've gone through so much adversity that I feel as though, whatever comes at us, we'll be ready."
On Performance Over The Past Two Weeks
"Any team that you line up against, they're ready to beat you. We know that the teams we played in the first two weeks are different from the teams we've played in the last two weeks. Every week comes with different preparation. Whether they're a running team or a passing team, every week is different. Now we're just focusing on Oregon State. We know that they have a very good receiving core and big back that likes to run through people, so we'll definitely be focusing on that for this week and seeing how we can handle that."
On Pulling Out The Win Against Oregon
"It's just like any other win. Whether we beat Colorado State, Idaho State, or Oregon it doesn't really matter. It just gives us confidence to win no matter what. Our goal every week is to go 1-0 and our ultimate goal is to be Pac-12 Champions. In the grand scheme of things, it definitely helps that and we were happy after the win. But now we're just trying to focus in on Oregon State and keep this train rolling."
On Team's Turning Point
"The past few years has been really hard for a lot of the young guys who looked up to the older guys. I would say it would be the last game, and knowing that we're not bowl eligible and seeing those seniors eyes, knowing that's the last time they'll play Colorado football. You really realize that you don't want to go out that way, and that you owe these people something. It was really built into us that we can't make the same mistakes we made a freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. We've got to become leaders, and when we won that Oregon game I was in tears of joy. Because I knew that when I was a freshman, players like Chidera [Uzo-Diribe], Jared Bell, Parker Orms, and a lot of people that I looked up to when we were getting blown out by Oregon. I hope they know that we won that game for them, and that they had a big part in that win teaching us how to battle through a lot of stuff."
On Oregon State's Quarterback Play
"Both of their quarterbacks are pretty similar. They like to get the ball up to their receivers and they don't like to waste time in the pocket. So it's going to be a really good opportunity for our defensive line to show out again. They had a great week against Oregon, but we're going to need them again this week against Oregon State. Everything that the defensive backs do, it falls on the D-Line and they should be getting all the accolades. They really set it up for us to make plays on the backend."
On Kyle Evans
"Kyle is a big competitor. I grew up with him, and I actually played Pop Warner with him, he was my fullback, so I know how tough he is. When he came out here I was really excited for him, and then to see him earn a scholarship and for him to keep grinding, I always see him doing extra work off the field, so he really deserved the scholarship and the playing time. It's been showing on Saturdays, and since he's so short it's hard to see him over the linemen. So he has the knack of getting lose, and if you don't wrap up he's just going to pop off. I really love Kyle and what he's been doing. I've been pulling for him since day one, he's a San Jose kid like me, so hopefully he keeps it going."
On The Momentum The Program Has Spilling Over To The Fan Base
"We know that Colorado is a big time college football program, that's why we came here. We wanted to reinstall that to everyone in the community. From Boulder to Colorado in general. We want everyone to come out to our games, we want people to fly out for our games. It doesn't matter if you've been a fan for ten years, 20 years, or if you just became a fan today we welcome all the support. And it's really good for the players to know that we have that support and no matter what they're going to stick by us. If any fan saw the game and wants to come out we'll really love that."
On The Fans Meeting The Team When They Got Back From Oregon
"That was ridiculous, I've never seen anything like that before. It was like 12:30 at night and everyone came to show their support. Everybody on the team gave the fans handshakes and daps. It really felt good that the fans are really sticking behind us and that they believe that the rise is real, so we really appreciate that support from everybody."
"Ahkello's [Witherspoon] play was awesome. To see one of your brothers that you go to grind with every day, to see him make a play like that it makes you feel ten times better than if you had made the play. I saw Ahkello make that play one-hundred times, in a couple of games he's dropped some of those picks to see him have the opportunity to finish the game like he had and to win the game it really felt good, especially for the defensive backs knowing that it was on us."
On The Reasons The Team Has Improved This Season
"Number one is definitely leadership. We have a great group of guys, and I keep saying that we were coach MacIntyre's first class so we really understood what he wanted out of us. It's been four years now with this program, so we kind of have an understanding about what coach wants out of us as leaders. All of us are seniors, juniors, and red-shirt sophomores, so we know how to get it done and we've been through the battles. All that experience has helped take us to where we are now. Attitude is also something as well. We don't let things slide by If someone who's a freshman is sleeping in a meeting or if someone is late to a meeting, we get on them real quick. We really hold each other accountable and we have the attitude that we're not going to let anything go by, and that's really helped us so far."
On Past Experiences In Close Games Playing A Role Against Oregon
"The Oregon game was a great win, and we've been in that situation plenty of times in the past. Of course it hurts that we didn't win those game, but the Oregon game could have ended the same way as before if we didn't have the experiences of being in close games. Being in all those close games has definitely helped us build to where we are now. We've gone through so much adversity that I feel as though, whatever comes at us, we'll be ready."
On Performance Over The Past Two Weeks
"Any team that you line up against, they're ready to beat you. We know that the teams we played in the first two weeks are different from the teams we've played in the last two weeks. Every week comes with different preparation. Whether they're a running team or a passing team, every week is different. Now we're just focusing on Oregon State. We know that they have a very good receiving core and big back that likes to run through people, so we'll definitely be focusing on that for this week and seeing how we can handle that."
On Pulling Out The Win Against Oregon
"It's just like any other win. Whether we beat Colorado State, Idaho State, or Oregon it doesn't really matter. It just gives us confidence to win no matter what. Our goal every week is to go 1-0 and our ultimate goal is to be Pac-12 Champions. In the grand scheme of things, it definitely helps that and we were happy after the win. But now we're just trying to focus in on Oregon State and keep this train rolling."
On Team's Turning Point
"The past few years has been really hard for a lot of the young guys who looked up to the older guys. I would say it would be the last game, and knowing that we're not bowl eligible and seeing those seniors eyes, knowing that's the last time they'll play Colorado football. You really realize that you don't want to go out that way, and that you owe these people something. It was really built into us that we can't make the same mistakes we made a freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. We've got to become leaders, and when we won that Oregon game I was in tears of joy. Because I knew that when I was a freshman, players like Chidera [Uzo-Diribe], Jared Bell, Parker Orms, and a lot of people that I looked up to when we were getting blown out by Oregon. I hope they know that we won that game for them, and that they had a big part in that win teaching us how to battle through a lot of stuff."
On Oregon State's Quarterback Play
"Both of their quarterbacks are pretty similar. They like to get the ball up to their receivers and they don't like to waste time in the pocket. So it's going to be a really good opportunity for our defensive line to show out again. They had a great week against Oregon, but we're going to need them again this week against Oregon State. Everything that the defensive backs do, it falls on the D-Line and they should be getting all the accolades. They really set it up for us to make plays on the backend."
On Kyle Evans
"Kyle is a big competitor. I grew up with him, and I actually played Pop Warner with him, he was my fullback, so I know how tough he is. When he came out here I was really excited for him, and then to see him earn a scholarship and for him to keep grinding, I always see him doing extra work off the field, so he really deserved the scholarship and the playing time. It's been showing on Saturdays, and since he's so short it's hard to see him over the linemen. So he has the knack of getting lose, and if you don't wrap up he's just going to pop off. I really love Kyle and what he's been doing. I've been pulling for him since day one, he's a San Jose kid like me, so hopefully he keeps it going."
On The Momentum The Program Has Spilling Over To The Fan Base
"We know that Colorado is a big time college football program, that's why we came here. We wanted to reinstall that to everyone in the community. From Boulder to Colorado in general. We want everyone to come out to our games, we want people to fly out for our games. It doesn't matter if you've been a fan for ten years, 20 years, or if you just became a fan today we welcome all the support. And it's really good for the players to know that we have that support and no matter what they're going to stick by us. If any fan saw the game and wants to come out we'll really love that."
On The Fans Meeting The Team When They Got Back From Oregon
"That was ridiculous, I've never seen anything like that before. It was like 12:30 at night and everyone came to show their support. Everybody on the team gave the fans handshakes and daps. It really felt good that the fans are really sticking behind us and that they believe that the rise is real, so we really appreciate that support from everybody."
Players Mentioned
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QB
/ FootballColorado Football Postgame Press Conference at Utah
Sunday, October 26
Colorado Football Press Conference
Friday, October 24
Colorado Football Weekly Press Conference
Friday, October 24
Colorado Football Coaches Show | Presented by Aflac | 10.23.25
Friday, October 24