Quotes from head coach Rocky Long
Opening Statement:
“I felt like saying this because it is better to say this when you’ve lost a couple of games rather than won a couple of games. We’re a struggling, hurting football team, but this is probably my second favorite team I’ve ever been associated with because of the great kids in the program. These kids are unbelievable. We’ve got a great group of people that do a lot of things right. Just because it’s not going right on the field doesn’t mean we don’t have great kids. I get a feeling from some people that they’re starting to get picked on and that’s not right. They’re not performing very well on the field but it’s my second most favorite team I’ve ever been around because of the quality of the players. No matter what goes on the rest of the year, we might win the rest of them, we might lose the rest of them, but the kids are unbelievable. They come to play everyday.”
Question: Is the team’s confidence wavering?
Rocky Long: “I think any time you struggle more than one week at a time your confidence is going to waiver somewhat. Outwardly it might not appear so but inwardly you’re not quite as sure of yourself as you once were. Going into the season I thought we’d be a lot better than we are right now.”
Question: Why do you think the team is struggling?
“We’re not playing good enough. I’ve done a lot of reflecting on this and there’s no one point that you can put your finger on or else we would have already done that and fixed it. Since we got back early from the afternoon game (at Utah) I got to see two college games on TV and then Sunday I watched two pro games. The teams that lose don’t make plays and the teams that win make plays. I don’t think it has anything to do with a players psyche or anything else.”
Question: Does it get down to the quality of players then?
Rocky Long: “Sometimes it could be athletic ability, sometimes it is experience. We’re still a pretty young football team. Sometimes it’s a game situation. Last week I thought we were playing good defense in the third quarter until they made a 12-play drive and the defense was off the field for a total of 1:38. The second play the defense got back in they broke a 46-yard play for a touchdown because we missed three tackles. That has nothing to do with a kid’s ability, conditioning, or anything. They just didn’t get a normal rest period. Sometimes it’s talent and sometimes it’s kids learning how to make plays at critical times. If they continually don’t make them, I’m sure it’s harder to make after that.”
Question: Talk about Wyoming’s improvement from last year.
“I think their whole team is better. I don’t think they are any better than we are but they are better than last year’s team. They’re a lot better on offense and I think they are more familiar with their defense and they are playing harder on defense. Also, last year they had a whole bunch of injury problems. One of their better players is hurt, (safety) Al Rich. I met him at media day and he’s hurt his wrist again. He’s a good kid and a good player and I really feel for him. He broke his other wrist this time. He’s already had one hardship year and this being his sixth year he’s probably done.”
Question: What do you think the team’s reaction is to the quarterback change?
Rocky Long: “I didn’t see any over-enthusiasm at game time when we made the change, and I didn’t see anyone upset about it either. I think they look at it as any other position that is being substituted for. I don’t know if they’re going to have a different reaction today or not since we haven’t practiced since Sunday.”
Question: Will there be any other changes in the offense?
Rocky Long: We won’t change any of our schemes but it will be a simpler game plan. That’s just from a lack of experience. Rudy had a little bit better handle on it so we could put more plays in but Casey won’t have as much freedom to check plays. The game plan has to get simpler. Which is not necessarily bad.”
Question: Will Casey (Kelly) run the option?
“Casey can run the option. I don’t think we’re an option team but it can be an extra play that we run.”
Player Quotes:
Senior Lobo Scott Gerhardt:
(on UNM’s mentality after losing to Utah):”I think people are still really confident. If you look at it this time last year, we were 1-3, and we got on that hot streak and started winning games. The team is excited and I am excited that five of the last six games are at home. If we can pull this one out at Wyoming, it will give us a lot of momentum going into that home stretch.”
(on UNM’s current five-game road losing streak):”It really hasn’t affected me because I have been here through some bad years. I know we are getting better. In this conference, I think every team is about the same and I think you could either win every game or you could lose every game. It just depends on who comes more prepared and who plays harder.”
(on UNM’s defense allowing a season-high 255 rushing yards to Utah last week):”It was very disappointing and it is something we will work on this week. I was responsible for a lot of those big runs. It disgusts me but I am not going to stay down about it because I know we are going to come back and we are going to fix it.”
(on Casey Kelly becoming UNM’s sixth different starting quarterback since 1999):”It’s really not my business, I try to concentrate on my side of the ball. offensive coordinator Dan Dodd knows what he is doing on the offensive side and I think he found us a good quarterback in Casey Kelly. Kelly came in with confidence, he is throwing the deep ball very well, and I think he is only going to get better.”
(On whether the defense is frustrated about the offensive production):”Everybody gets frustrated, both on offense and on defense. The offense could get mad at us for giving up three touchdowns within 18 plays (against Utah). The more mature team is going to stick together and not let that stuff affect them.”
(on Wyoming):”I think we are both in the same situation. They have had a new system the past couple of years and they are starting to learn it. I think we are a year ahead of them in that regard, but they are getting better. It is going to be a really tough game. It’s very hard to win in Wyoming. For both teams, it is going to be a big game.”
Sophomore quarterback Casey Kelly
(on his first collegiate start Saturday at Wyoming): “It’s really exciting. I came here with the intent to play football, and I didn’t really expect it to happen like this, but I am really excited to have a chance to get in there and play.”
(on the pressure of starting):”I haven’t felt a lot of pressure. I really don’t pay a whole lot of attention to what is going on outside of football. I don’t try to put too much pressure on myself. I know that this is just a game and there are a lot of more important things going on in the world. I just want to play my best and try and get my teammates to play their best. That’s all we can do right now and try and have some fun while we are doing it.”
(on UNM’s game plan against Wyoming):”I haven’t seen what the game plan is for this week. It might be pared down a little bit and it will be simplified a little bit for me. I know offensive coordinator Dan Dodd is going to gave a great game plan and I have confidence in that.”
(on becoming UNM’s sixth different starting quarterback since 1999):”I would like to see that end. I’ve been here for three years and I have seen them all. It is kind of frustrating and hard to see all of our quarterbacks come and go. I am tired of seeing that and I would like to be the one to make that change. I know I have to play well, and that is the number-one job of the quarterback – to get the offense in the position to score points.”
(on gaining experience in a junior varsity game against Air Force Sept. 9, in which he completed 21-37 passes for 369 yards and six TD):”The JV game a couple of weeks ago gave me confidence. Up to that point, all I have done since high school – and it’s been 3 years – is play against our own defense. To play against another team and have success against them – even though it was just a JV game – really gave me confidence. It was fun at the same time. Knowing football could be that much fun gave me the encouragement to try and get that to the next level with regular football games.”
(on whether Wyoming is a must-win situation):”At this point we are not looking ahead. We know BYU is coming up (on Oct. 13), but right now we need to win, no matter who we play. For that to happen, we really have to focus and come out and play the best game we have played all year.”