Chattanooga Football Postgame Quotes
No. 10/12 Chattanooga (2-1, 1-0 SoCon) at Samford (2-1, 0-1 SoCon)
Seibert Stadium (6,700) – Birmingham, Ala.
Saturday – Sept. 19 2015

Head Coach Russ Huesman
On the defensive performance:
"That's defense right there. Our guys got after it, they played hard. We didn't blitz one time for our defensive line. They got after it, and they had at least five (sacks). Great job by our defensive line. Incredible and I thought we also played good coverage.

"They had 99 yards in the first half, with 63 of them on one play. Second half, they started throwing screens. You know we bled a little bit in the second half, but made plays when we had to. Great defensive effort."

On Toyvian Brand's strip and McMillan's pick with five minutes to go on defense:
"When that happened, obviously we knew that we had a chance to finish the game. The bottom line is that our pass rush was relentless. They could not drop back and feel comfortable throwing the ball. I give (coaches) Marcus West and Tony Brown credit for not letting them throw the ball. Unbelievable credit and our guys were tired because it was hot out there, but they sucked it up and got the win."

On going without five offensive starters and how much the team needed the win:
"Well we needed the win big time. Our guys can respond and come back from not playing well. They practiced hard, they had a lot of confidence and we're Southern Conference Champs until someone knocks us off. (Offensive coordinator) Jeff Durden said in practice that we're the two-time Southern Conference Champs, and we need to start acting like it. They acted like it today and I was proud of our football team."

On the team having multiple playmakers and battling injuries:
"We've got good players, and I'm proud of them. Keionta Davis has been a warrior. We were cramping up, and I saw some of those guys come of the field just dead and tired. They were hurting, and they'll be tired tonight, but they'll feel better when they wake up. So many people played well today and you can't really single anyone out because we were able to get the ball to a bunch of people. Also, a bunch of defensive players played today like Isaiah Mack and Toyvian. There were a bunch of them out there and every guy that went out there and played did an excellent job."

On walking out with a road win against Samford to open the conference season:
"These guys (Samford) are factors in the race and they're good. They've got a good football team, well-coached and have playmakers. They're going to be in the picture when it's all said and done, there's no question. I hope that we can keep winning because I know that they are going to win a lot of football games this year.
I give Coach Hatcher credit because he was so gracious after the game today with how complementary he was of our football team. He was fantastic and I appreciate him. He was really humble and appreciative of what our defensive line did today and hats off to him, because I appreciate the kind words he said."

Senior DL Toyvian Brand
On forcing the interception in the fourth quarter:
"On that play, I was real tired.  I just had to put in an effort.  When I saw him drop back, I just swiped at it.  I saw Vantrel get it, and I was too hype.  I love that stuff." 

On the difference between this week and last week:
"It was a new attitude.  Against Mars Hill, I did not feel we were ourselves.  Today, everybody came with energy and that is the kind of defense we play." 

Freshman WR Bingo Morton
On his first college catch:
"I made a few good blocks early on when I got into the game, and I knew that my time was going to come with a catch.  I just stayed down and waited for the ball to come to me.  Once I got it, I was able to make a play."

On getting in the game after missing the first two with an injury:
"It felt good.  I redshirted last year, so it felt like I had not played a game in forever.  Once I was able to get out there and get my feet wet a little bit it was good." 

Junior DL Keionta Davis
On defensive performance:
"It felt good because we haven't had a game like that yet, so it gave us a chance to go out there and dominate. It's a relief because the past two games, we haven't played like the way we've wanted to, so to come out here and do this is like coming back to it."

On the satisfaction of Toyvian's key play in the fourth quarter:
"It was definitely a big play. They were driving and he got in there and made the play. I feel like everybody on our D-line can come in there and make plays like that. I'm proud to play with these guys and it's a blessing."

On limiting a Samford offense that averaged 51 points and over 600 yards per game:
"It was just getting back to how we played. We've played dominant defense (historically), and we finally came out here and did that. It was nothing out of the usual, it was just getting out here and coming to play."  

On bouncing back after trailing 14-7 in the game:
"We knew that it was just time to make something happen. We had to tighten up and didn't want to lose this game and turned it into a whole new level after that."

On Isaiah Mack's fourth quarter sack and seeing young players step up:
"It's exciting to see him do things like that. He's a young player and he's already getting that rush, and I'm proud of him. I couldn't be prouder of my whole unit. It was a phenomenal effort by everybody."

On having multiple people step up:
"It's just praise to what we've been working on. That is how we want to do things and when we come out here and perform, it's just praise to our work. Coach (Marcus) West puts us through it, and we do it."

On answering questions about defense:
"Definitely because pass rushing is a key part to our defense. When we do what we were able to do today, we can control the game."

Junior LB Nakevion Leslie
On defensive performance:
"It was a great performance. After the first two games, it was a little rough and we had to go out and make a statement. Today was a big statement game for us, and I felt like we came out and did that. We had a great week of practice and watching film. Coming in, we knew that it was going to be a competition, but we knew that we were going to have to play like the way we did."

On the how much the passing rushing helped the defense:
"Our guys up front made life so much easier for us. Even when they did get a chance to throw the ball, our DBs were out there making plays and doing what they're supposed to do."

On how much the team needed this win:
"We needed t it badly to build our confidence back up and get back to the way we've been playing. The first two games were rough, and we needed a statement game of everybody doing their jobs of what they need to be doing. This game was very important for us leading into next week. 

On how Coach Huesman's positivity affected the defense:
"He told us in our team meeting that he was being a negative coach and that he needed to change. He said that he was going to try this positive turnaround and he was smiling and laughing a lot with us. It was a pretty good change and it felt a lot better. Seeing the head coach smile a lot shows that he cares and that he can be relaxed and himself instead of being stressed about the game."  

Senior QB Jacob Huesman
On overall offensive line performance:
"The O-line was phenomenal today. Both in the run and pass game. I had as much time as I needed when I tried to pass the ball down the field. They opened up some great holes in the run game, especially when we pulled our guards lot. I was proud of those guys. They've been playing well all season, but especially today this was a huge step for them."

On how much fun it is to play with Alejandro Bennifield:
"You never know where the ball's going. There are so many things we can do with the ball when he's back there with me. The guy looked like a legitimate running back today. He had the one with the speed option that he scored on and I was proud of him. He's a competitor and wants to get in the game as much as he can. He's a great athlete and we want to utilize him any way what we can, and I think we did a good job of that today."

On the extra guys stepping up to make quality plays:
"We needed a big day for Richardre and he did a good job running the ball today. Our other two backs did well also and for the most part did what they were supposed to do. We had some new guys at wide receiver come in who don't get to play a lot. Bingo Morton had his first college catch ever today, so I was proud of him for that one. James Stovall came in and did some pretty good things and Drae Bowles had a catch too. Some new guys who weren't used to this level of football did some really nice things for us."

On having a number of weapons on offense:
"It takes a lot of pressure off me and anywhere I go with the ball can make me make the right decision. I have to give a shout out to Coach (Will) Healy and the coaching staff on recruiting some unbelievable talent.

On how satisfying a road win against Samford is:
"This is a big time win. Samford is going to be at the top of the conference no doubt about it. They are year-in and year-out. We kind of needed to prove something because there were a lot of doubters last week when we only beat Mars Hill by 10. We needed to come out and prove something to the SoCon and to our fans."