Sept. 20, 2008

Recap |  Box Score |  Notes

Head Coach Jerry Kill
Opening Statement
"Today I saw that ISU is a much improved football team than when I coached against them last time. I've been on the other side of this thing and he's on the right course and doing a good job. The speed of the game got to them. I felt that we had the momentum the entire game which helped us out a lot. I give a lot of credit to the kids and the coaches. The entire program did an outstanding job today, but I am very proud and happy for the kids."

On the defense:
"I thought the defense was very solid today. It makes things a lot easier for us as a football team. The defense did a great job of stripping the football. That has been something that we have been working on in practice a lot throughout the week. It caused ISU to turn the ball over to us a number of times and that helped us out a lot. The takeaways were big. Every opportunity we had a chance to get a turnover we did. We were physical in the secondary. Overall, the defense played very aggressive and real well. "

On using three quarterbacks
"I plan on a multi-quarterback approach if we can do it. It seems to be working very well right now. This is a team game and I will play all my quarterbacks when we are still able to move the ball with all three. We can't have enough depth. We have got a lot of kids close in talent and whoever is doing well, we are going to have in there. Obviously, if we have one kid that is playing real solid, that is who we are going to play. However, we have a long-term focus on things so it's always great to get the youngsters some experience as well. I am happy that we can utilize our quarterbacks to give Danny [Nicholson] a rest and still be able to move the ball."

On getting his first win
"Obviously I enjoy the success and winning as a coach. But when it comes to that, I think it's more about the kids. I love to win as a coach, but I enjoy the win even more for the kids. Especially for the players in this program who have been through a lot. It was a tremendous crowd, great that Huskie Nation came out and supported us so well. I'm happy for our youngsters and happy for our university. There is nothing like winning.

On placekicker Salerno
"I am always hard on the kicker. I think he has done an outstanding job. It comes in big for us when we have a kicker that goes six for six, especially when it is a close game. He has done a great job and I am very proud of him."

Montell Clanton-Senior RB
On the Win
"It's been a long road for me and the entire team. Individually, I felt great and the team felt real good going into the game. It's exciting to enjoy the first win as a team."

On the Running Back rotation
"We have a lot of good backs on this team. We're confident with whoever is out there. We all practice well and we all play well. All of us want to help the team when we step out on the field. There is no extra added pressure. We're a very close knit group. We all want to put on a good show."

Dan Nicholson- Senior QB
On the offense
"We were very balanced out there today. Getting the running game established helped a lot. As a group we played well."

On the offensive line's play today
"It felt good not getting hit today. It's been rare for me."

On DeMarcus Grady
"He is a tremendous athlete, a very athletic player. He's a playmaker and has great vision running the ball. I have great confidence in him on the field."

On Running backs
"I love the rotation we have going. We have quality backs who each bring a different type of style."

On Montell Clanton's performance
"I'm real proud of him. He's been through a lot with injuries. It was good to see him back on the field."

Bradley Pruitt- Senior CB
On his interception
"It was a total defensive effort. The line got great pressure on the quarterback. We've practiced reading the jump all year and that helped me."