Georgia State Post-Game Quotes
2020 LendingTree Bowl – Western Kentucky vs. Georgia State
Georgia State Post-Game Quotes
Head Coach Shawn Elliott
Opening statement: “What a great win and an awesome evening it turned out to be to finish off the 2020 season at the LendingTree Bowl and getting a great win over Western Kentucky. It was awesome to watch our players and our coaches fight and persevere with all the adversity that we had throughout the year. We talked about finishing, we have gone through so much; I explained to them on March 13 we shut down spring practice and I said to them I would see them in two weeks, two weeks turned into two months and then three months and we finally got them back on June 1. It’s amazing what these players can do when they put their minds to it, it’s awesome to witness as a coach; it’s so gratifying to see successful individuals that can go out there and put aside so many things. I’m very, very proud of our football team getting our second bowl win.”
On Cornelious Brown’s performance: “I was hot early, I told him you can’t win the game with one play so let’s just take what we can get. He came back and delivered just a masterful performance after the third drive. Our receivers, our backs and our offensive line – the supporting cast around Quad – had to play well and they did. They push hard every single day but Quad had an exceptional night, I was really, really proud of him. I told him the sky is the limit for us, let’s make sure we go and put the next step in and make us the best we can be.”
On the how the team’s defensive played in the game: “We didn’t feel like controlling the run game was going to be a huge problem for us, they weren’t a juggernaut running the football; we felt that throwing the football is what they wanted to do. But we felt like we had to keep him [WKU QB Tyrrell Pigrome] in the pocket, a few times early on we didn’t keep him in the pocket and they hurt us. But our defense ran him around and he had two picks tonight, it was an outstanding effort. We got a little chippy, some coaches out there would get really upset about that but I wanted the fire and intensity in their eyes.”
On the team’s energy: “If you understood what we have been through this season, we had an opportunity to finish it and when I say finish it we had an opportunity to finish it the right way; that was coming down here to win, and win decisively. It was a two-day trip, we weren’t coming down here to hang out and have a great time, we were coming down here to win a football game. With Covid you have to generate your own intensity, they dug deep to find that fire in themselves today. I loved it. That energy on that sideline was exactly what we want, we want fighters and that’s what we had tonight. They left it all out there.”
Redshirt freshman QB Cornelious Brown IV
On how he bounced back from the first half interception and got the offense going: “First and foremost, I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to play this game that I love to play each and every day. After that first interception, I knew we were going to get rolling. My teammate: Sam Pinckney, Cornelius McCoy, Roger Carter and Aubry Pane picked me up and never let me hang my head. They never lost confidence in me. Coach Elliot came up and patted me on the back and told me that I was ready now. He never lost confidence in me. My OC [Offensive Coordinator] continued to call the game wide open and call things that were working even though I had thrown that early interception. I knew guys would make plays. I knew if I did my job distributing the ball that somehow, some way we would break open and that’s what we were able to do.”
On playing two great games in Mobile this season: “It’s great coming back to my home state of Alabama. Playing in familiar territory, I’m able to get a little bit of a confidence boost. I tell myself that I can’t lose in my home state. Playing here gets me going and gets me fired up. I try to fire my guys up so that they can play well as well, because without them, I can’t win. [Playing in my home state] is an edge that I use to my advantage. We just have guys that make plays though no matter where we are playing. They are going to do that each and every day and I just have to fid them.”
On being able to keep the momentum after building the big lead: “Our leaders did a great job at halftime of telling us to just keep our foot on the gas, as well as telling guys to not let up even though we had a pretty sizeable lead. We had scouted them really well and whenever you have three to four weeks to prepare for a team you’re usually going to be able to do well against them. It was kind of rough at first; I hadn’t been hit in a few weeks so coming out there I had to feel my way into the game and get adjusted. We were able to capitalize in the run game. We knew they were going to have six in the box, so we did a lot of things with our tight ends as far as going inside zone with a crossing route. We were able to go inside zone attached and go into the Mike [linebacker]. They also played a lot of man [coverage] out on the perimeter and we have guys that are able to create separation with ease, which makes my job easier. We were able to protect up front. I was able to get our receivers the ball because they were able to take advantage of the man-to-man defense and get open. We were able to keep them honest with the run game and keeping the tight end in the box to help out with protection.”
Junior RB Destin Coates
On responding after falling behind 7-0 early on in the game: “After an opponent scores, I always go up to my teammates and tell them that we have to go get one, we have to score and punch it in. I always try to lift my guys up on the sideline when we’re down.”
On what this game means for him and his teammates: “This game means a lot because you have to think about what we’ve been through this season with COVID-19. We’ve been working hard for a long time not knowing whether or not we were going to be able to have a season. This game meant a lot to each and every one of us.”
Redshirt sophomore OLB Jontrey Hunter
On how they were able to not let the long layoff affect them: “We were just able to maintain our focus and not get ahead of ourselves. Even though we had multiple weeks off, we still had to be prepared.”
On the defense not allowing Western Kentucky’s offense to get going in the second half: “We just stayed confident in ourselves and our ability, and kept playing the way we know how to play, We wanted to finish out the season [strong]. That was our main goal. We knew we had to finish today and we did.”
On his interception: “It was just about staying calm in coverage. A lot of defenders panic when the ball is in the air, especially on a route like a long post. I was able to keep up with him and get my eyes back around [to the ball] so that I could make a play.
Senior PK Noel Ruiz
On being able to help the program in his first season: “It feels amazing to be able to play a key role in the offense. My goal is always to do my job and put points on the board. It’s been awesome to get a lot of action and make the most of my opportunities.”
