Chattanooga Football Postgame Quotes
No. 11 Wofford at Chattanooga
Finley Stadium – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Saturday – Feb. 27, 2020

Rusty Wright, Head Coach
On today's game play.
"There was nothing crisp out there, movement wise and things like that. Just people out there playing. We lined-up and played. Them playing a game, us not playing a game to start with, I knew the speed was going to be a little different, and that was the biggest thing. We just settled in and played. We called few less defenses and just lined-up and started making them beat us instead of us trying to move and do things. They're a tough physical bunch. We went back and played base defense. We just said, 'all right, come beat us now.'"
 
On the muffed punt right before the half that led to a touchdown.
"That changed a lot of momentum. We came out in the second half and had a great drive to start the second half, but didn't get any points. But it was still a good drive. We get points right there, it's going to be real hard the rest of the day. I was pleased on how we tried to do things for a group that's probably practiced, truly practiced, about 10 or 12 times when it's all said and done."
 
On how they played, for the most part, turnover free.
"If you don't turn the football over, you always got a chance. Last time we played them, we turned it over twice and they didn't, and we got beat. Today they turn it over and it's just the opposite. If we don't shoot ourselves in the foot, we'll be a pretty good football team for a long time, I think."
 
On Reginald Henderson & Drayton Arnold's performance.
"He's [Reggie Henderson] worked really, really hard to be a good football player. Drayton can be better, for sure, but he will continue to get better. He'll continue to relax […] and keep growing and doing that. As long as he does that, we'll be fine. He's got a good enough arm, he's got plenty of good enough arm in this league to throw the football around. He's just got to make decisions a little bit quicker with some stuff."
 
On some starters being out.
"[We were out] at least four … maybe five [starters]. We got good enough guys around us. We might not be strong enough in some spots yet to withstand some things, but we're closer than we were a year ago to be a little better. We got to get stronger."
 
On obscurity of spring season.
"It didn't look like Southern Conference football to me out there today. I'm not taking anything away from the win and our kids and all that. They fought their butt off and played hard, but it was just different. It was just different. I'm happy to win. I needed it. We haven't won since November of '19. Nobody [last time] in that locker had ever beaten Wofford except for me and Jacob [Huesman]. It's a big win. It's a huge win."
 
Drayton Arnold, Sr.-QB
On offensive performance.
"That one sack was big, I probably should've seen it and checked it down faster, but it is what it is. We played a good game today. There were at least two drives that we didn't finish. but it was a good first game, and we move on to The Citadel next week. That's another big game for us. I'm just excited to finally be able to play and get a win."

On capitalizing off of turnovers.
"[The muffed punt by Wofford] shifted the momentum. We had to score right there. It shifted the momentum before half and allowed us to punch it in."

On Reggie Henderson's play.
"Reggie is uncoverable all of the time. Throw him the ball, and keep throwing him the ball, and he will come down with the ball eventually. I have as much confidence in him as I do anybody, but really all the receivers, the guys stepped up, we've got play makers here."

Reginald Henderson, Sr.-WR
On huge individual performance
"I really want to thank my teammates, my quarterback… I can't make plays without him. We look it at business as usual, we were cool, calm, and collected in certain situation. Starting from last fall, we were going through a lot of adversity, so it's nothing new."

On motivation and win vs Wofford.
"[Just throw it up and I'll go get it] that's how I was feeling. I was waiting for this matchup because we had a tough loss against them in 2019. This puts us on the radar."
 
Kam Jones, Jr.-LB
On defensive preparation.
"I want to give it all to the d-line and the defensive backs, they really helped the unit stay together. Once we all locked in and went one way, people were able to see the potential that we can get to."

On third down defense.
"Coach Ward and Coach Yeager and the coaches really helped with tendencies throughout the week, and helped keep our eyes in the right place, coming down to those third downs. We knew we had to win early in the drive to get off the field on those third downs."
 
Brandon Dowdell, Sr.-DB
On preparation and lead up to Wofford.
"Our preparation throughout the whole week was great, we came in and we executed the plan. The coaches gave us a great playbook for what we were going to do for them, and we just executed."

On getting over the hump and beating Wofford.
"I think we did a good job of limiting turnovers and if we can make them turn the ball over, then we have a good shot at winning. All congrats to the team. We put in a lot of effort and practiced well. We just had a grind and a mentality to go in and win. We're just tired of people saying we're not good. We just wanted to show the people and our fans that we're capable of winning."