On what the team learned from the Syracuse game…
“I think it taught us character. It showed us the mindset that our team has to be able to comeback like that in a hostile environment, it shows what we’re made of. I think we’re definitely going to have to reach into our back pocket and rely on that lesson later on in the season. You gotta learn from everything.”
On how much of the defensive success in the second half of the Syracuse game could be attributed to the defensive coaches…
“I’d say 100%. Our coaches have taught us so many situations, we practiced situations like that all through camp. They prepared us extremely well. They love to win. I love our defensive staff.”
On what it means to move back to linebacker and have the type of game he had last week…
“It means a lot. It’s what I love to do. It’s a testament to our defensive line. A lot of people don’t realize I was in on so many tackles because our defensive tackles and defensive ends are keeping offensive lineman off me, letting me run around free, so I have to give the credit to them. I wouldn’t want to play behind any other d-line in the country.”
On his feelings about the opening game at TCF Bank Stadium…
“It’s gonna be exciting to be on a good show for the Gopher fans. We’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.”
On how much emotions about opening the stadium and the first game day atmosphere will play into the game itself…
“I can’t even wrap my mind around it. It’s gonna be tough to try and keep our nerves down and stay relaxed and focus, but we’ll definitely work on that. I think it’s gonna play to our favor though. I think the home-field advantage will be just that, it’s gonna be an advantage for us, not against us.”
On how he feels about the new stadium…
“I love it. I love everything about it. I love that it’s ours. I love the turf, I love the locker room. I’m looking forward to Saturday.”
On what about playing in the new stadium most curious to see…
“To see how much support we’re going to get from our people. At the Syracuse game, we were down in the 4th quarter and to have a home field advantage in that situation, if we reversed at our place, I’d like to see how the Gopher fans would respond.”
On the buzz around campus this week…
“There’s an extreme buzz, and it’s only Tuesday. It’s all I hear about, I just got out of class. Everybody’s excited and we’re excited to play.”
On if the buzz is a distraction…
“It can be, but I think we’re going to use it in a positive way and stay focused on Air Force.”
On the Air Force offense…
“They run the football really well. They put up 72 points last week, so we definitely have a challenge ahead of us. They’re extremely disciplined. They run the ball well, they cut well, they’re not gonna overpower you, but they’re gonna try to come out there and outwork you and we’re going to have to be prepared for that.”
On if he expects to be as busy this week with Air Force as he was last week with Syracuse…
“Oh yeah. We’ve gotta be prepared for Air Force. There gonna come in here ready. They’re a good football team. I’m sure they know about our new stadium and I’m sure they want to come in here an upset us on our opening day, so we’ve gotta be prepared for anything.”
“I think it taught us character. It showed us the mindset that our team has to be able to comeback like that in a hostile environment, it shows what we’re made of. I think we’re definitely going to have to reach into our back pocket and rely on that lesson later on in the season. You gotta learn from everything.”
On how much of the defensive success in the second half of the Syracuse game could be attributed to the defensive coaches…
“I’d say 100%. Our coaches have taught us so many situations, we practiced situations like that all through camp. They prepared us extremely well. They love to win. I love our defensive staff.”
On what it means to move back to linebacker and have the type of game he had last week…
“It means a lot. It’s what I love to do. It’s a testament to our defensive line. A lot of people don’t realize I was in on so many tackles because our defensive tackles and defensive ends are keeping offensive lineman off me, letting me run around free, so I have to give the credit to them. I wouldn’t want to play behind any other d-line in the country.”
On his feelings about the opening game at TCF Bank Stadium…
“It’s gonna be exciting to be on a good show for the Gopher fans. We’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.”
On how much emotions about opening the stadium and the first game day atmosphere will play into the game itself…
“I can’t even wrap my mind around it. It’s gonna be tough to try and keep our nerves down and stay relaxed and focus, but we’ll definitely work on that. I think it’s gonna play to our favor though. I think the home-field advantage will be just that, it’s gonna be an advantage for us, not against us.”
On how he feels about the new stadium…
“I love it. I love everything about it. I love that it’s ours. I love the turf, I love the locker room. I’m looking forward to Saturday.”
On what about playing in the new stadium most curious to see…
“To see how much support we’re going to get from our people. At the Syracuse game, we were down in the 4th quarter and to have a home field advantage in that situation, if we reversed at our place, I’d like to see how the Gopher fans would respond.”
On the buzz around campus this week…
“There’s an extreme buzz, and it’s only Tuesday. It’s all I hear about, I just got out of class. Everybody’s excited and we’re excited to play.”
On if the buzz is a distraction…
“It can be, but I think we’re going to use it in a positive way and stay focused on Air Force.”
On the Air Force offense…
“They run the football really well. They put up 72 points last week, so we definitely have a challenge ahead of us. They’re extremely disciplined. They run the ball well, they cut well, they’re not gonna overpower you, but they’re gonna try to come out there and outwork you and we’re going to have to be prepared for that.”
On if he expects to be as busy this week with Air Force as he was last week with Syracuse…
“Oh yeah. We’ve gotta be prepared for Air Force. There gonna come in here ready. They’re a good football team. I’m sure they know about our new stadium and I’m sure they want to come in here an upset us on our opening day, so we’ve gotta be prepared for anything.”