Player Comments From Football Press Conference vs. California

Junior OT Steve Shidell

On Cal:

“There is no question that Cal is going to be a tough opponent. They are a great team and they have a lot of great players. The game is going to be very tough for us to go there, but we are just going to have to bring our “A” game and play our best.”

On watching the Saturday Cal game:

“We absolutely watched the game. When you watch Cal on television and see how talented they are and how much talent they have on their team it is going to be a great test for us, especially going into Berkley and playing them on their home field.”

“Tennessee is also a great team and it was a great match up. There were a few plays that made the difference in that game, but they are still a very talented team. That score didn’t reflect what happened in that game.”

On tough teams to play:

“It is kind of nice playing a tough opponent on the road and we are going to have to go in there and give it everything we got to hang in there with those guys.”

On mental toughness:

“You have to be mentally prepared for every game you play. Any opponent can win, that is why they play the game. Every game you have to be prepared for. During the week prepare, mentally and physically, and get ready to play on Saturday.”

Sophomore SS Dominic Jones

“It is definitely going to be a great game, Coach Mason said that the only similarities between the teams is their blue and gold colors, it is definitely going to be a different game.”

On the six turnovers:

“From a secondary standpoint I know those three interceptions came from more pressure on the quarterback and him being rattled back there with happy feet. The combination from the D-line to the secondary, we have made the plays and broke the ball up.”

“Anytime we can get our offense on the field, as productive as they are, and keep our offense on the field and make the defense play the whole game, that is going to be in our favor.”

On being the underdog:

“You’ve got to love it, we have nothing to lose. They have the rankings, and we are underdogs. We couldn’t be in a better spot right now. The way we have prepared and we had a few extra days to prepare so we should be ready.”

On who will play quarterback for Cal:

“That is a good question. I know one of the quarterbacks is back from suspension. We watched film on all three, we don’t really know, but they pretty much run the same stuff with the quarterbacks and we will be ready for all three.

“We have to go in there and stop the running game, hands down, regardless of what happens. We want to be aggressive and hassle the ball.”

On preparing for Marshawn Lynch:

“Going against Maroney helped us because he was one of the greatest running backs in the country and it helped us work hard. That is why we work so hard in practice because if we can stop our offense then we have good chance.”

On the big game:

“We have to think about the big win, that is what separates the good from the great teams and here is the opportunity to go on the road, to a hostile environment, and come out with a victory. There probably isn’t anyone in the country that is giving us a chance against Cal so it will be very interesting.”

Sophomore DE Willie VanDeSteeg

On watching the game:

“Yeah, we watched a lot of film. They are both about the same [the quarterbacks]. We don’t expect both of them to play. We watched the film of Cal from last year, they are very well coached. They play real hard but they just got out hustled on Saturday [vs. Tennessee]. We will see what happens on Saturday when we play them.”

From Kent State game:

“It was the first game jitters, the first half was a little rough for us. By the second half we came back and played better defense. For our defense, we are really young, so creating turnovers is huge for us. It keeps us going and energized and it helps us to get an offense like ours back on the field.”

“From the first half of the game, Kent State threw a lot of different stuff at us and Coach Mason settled us down and got us adjusted. He told us to play football, have fun, and do what we have been coached to do. We have two new coaches that always help us out, they are really energetic and they have us hustling everywhere.”

Weight of Cal game:

“For us, we are a young team, people don’t really expect that much out of us so going to play Cal will show what we can do.”

On Marshawn Lynch:

“Marshawn Lynch is really good. He is a combination of Maroney and Barber. He is alert, really fast and we hope to keep him under control. It is good for our defense to play against and see how we will react. We just have to go out there and if we do what we do everyday in practice, we can stop a lot of teams. Practicing against Maroney and Barber everyday has helped us prepare for games and players like Cal.”

Sophomore RB Alex Daniels

On the game:

“ We see that they are a really good team, we watch them on film constantly, they took a good punch from Tennessee but I think they are going to come back fighting. This is the biggest game of the season, because it is the next game. After we beat Kent State we started to think about Cal, and it is all about Cal right now.”

On switching from LB to RB:

“I was comfortable when coach told me to make the move to running back, but it took two days to really sink in. Now that I have one game under my belt I am going to take it one play at a time, every time I am out there. I am going to try to make good decisions with the ball, run hard, and not put the ball on the ground. I had to prove to myself that I could play running back and do what was best for the team. At first I didn’t want to play running back, but when coach presented me with the opportunity I told him I was up for the challenge. I just had to take it one practice at a time.”

On being on national TV:

“It doesn’t matter. It felt like I was on national TV at Kent State because the atmosphere was so good and there were a lot of people there. It was a great start to the season.

Timing of Cal:

“It is a great time. I am just excited about going to California. We are excited because if we beat them people will know that Minnesota is a strong team. We are a family and we are going to stay together no matter what happens on Saturday.”

On having better vision:

“I have been working on that in practice, usually I just want to run over people but I know I am not going to last that long doing that. I am working on a couple of moves here and there but I just wait until the blockers get in front of me and take whatever they can give me.”

Senior QB Bryan Cupito

“Cal had a tough game against Tennessee but it could’ve gone either way. Cal will be ready to go and we will be ready to go. I was surprised a little bit, Tennessee got lucky, there were just a few tackles that Cal missed. We definitely want to win this game.”

On Cal’s defense:

“They are definitely fast, but we have tall and physical guys and it will be to our advantage for us to be successful in this game.”

On playing Cal:

“I have had this game marked on the schedule and I excited to get going. We have to take it one game at a time. We are going to have to play a lot better against Cal then we did against Kent State.”

On Alex Daniels:

“Alex had a really good game. He ran hard. He blocks well, he picked it up really fast. He ran ten straight times and still wasn’t tired, that is a great sign for us.”

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