Oct. 24, 2006
University of New Mexico head coach Rocky Long, cornerback DeAndre Wright and center Vince Natali met with the local media this afternoon at the Tucanos Media Luncheon on the third floor of the L.F. “Tow” Diehm Atletics Facility. Click on the links below to watch Long’s press conference and listen to what the players had to say as New Mexico (4-4, 2-2 MWC) prepares to face Colorado State (4-3, 1-2 MWC) in Fort Collins, Colo. on Saturday. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. and there will be no television for the game. Click on the All-Access banner on the side of the page to listen to the game on 770 KKOB or watch the CSTV.com Gametracker.
Head coach Rocky Long
Listen to coach Long’s press conference
Watch coach Long’s press conference
(on Donovan Porterie’s progress at quarterback):
“Well if you go back and watch the tape he didn’t play all that well in the first half. He played really well in the second half and the second half was a vast improvement from the first game he started, so you would say that he is getting better. I want to make sure that everybody realizes he is still a rookie quarterback and rookie quarterbacks still have some bad days or bad times.”
(on the Colorado State offense):
“I think most of their yardage has been gained through the air this year but they lost a great running back at the beginning of the season due to a knee injury and I am sure that has bothered them some because in my opinion the second best running back in the league last year. They are throwing it really well and have an experienced quarterback that throws well and pretty good receivers. The biggest difference is what they are doing on defense. They used to be a zone defense team that was a bend don’t break but now they have become a lot more aggressive and are playing a lot more man to man coverage, blitzing and sending a lot more players than they ever have and they are playing really good defense. They are the second best defense in our league. They have changed their philosophy on defense a lot more than they have on offense.”
(on CSU Quarterback Caleb Hanie):
“He is a very athletic quarterback that is big and strong and can break tackles. He throws the ball really well especially the deep ball. He is a little bit like the Wyoming quarterback (Karsten Sween) but more experienced.”
(on classifying Colorado State an just another inconsistent team):
“I have said this a few times and that is that a couple of teams in this league have veteran players but the majority of teams in this league have young players. It is doesn’t matter if it is the eighth or ninth game of the season if you have young players on the football field you are going to be inconsistent. Colorado State has a lot of young players on the football field too, so they are inconsistent just like we are, Wyoming, San Diego State and UNLV but there is a couple of teams in the league that have veteran players and they are not quite as inconsistent.”
Junior Center Vince Natali
Listen to Natali’s press conference
(on the offensive line’s unrecognized contribution to freshman quarterback Donovan Porterie’s success):
“It’s typical for offensive linemen to not receive a lot of attention. The recognition that really matters comes from the guys who are on this team. Donovan did say `great job’ to us after the game and that is what really counts. Our offensive line coach told us we did a good job and that helps our confidence. If Donavan gets all the glory, we don’t really care as long as we get the win.”
Sophomore Safety DeAndre Wright
Listen to Wright’s press conference
(on the desire to beat Colorado State after last year’s loss at home to the Rams):
“We just want to get back on the field and play football. A lot of people keep saying that we are a young team and we aren’t going to do well this year but we want to go out and prove everyone wrong. We can play football with anybody in this country.”