Chattanooga Football Postgame Quotes
Chattanooga vs. The Citadel
Finley Stadium – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Saturday – Sept. 16, 2023
Rusty Wright, Head Coach
On how he felt the team played in the 48-3 win over The Citadel.
"The biggest thing going into the second half for us was just playing like we were supposed to play and doing the things we were supposed to. We made some mistakes, some of the young guys did, but at the end of the day we just had better players than those guys do right now. They've got a road ahead of them, but we did what we were supposed to tonight."
On how important it was to get out to the early lead.
"The biggest thing is we did not want to give a team like that, who had not had a lot of hope the past two weeks, hope. Folks that have nothing to lose but get given an opportunity to hang around, things start to happen for them. That was the biggest thing that I thought we did where they made mistakes and then we made them pay for them. That's what you have to do and that's what good football teams do."
On Jordan Walker's growth from last season to this season.
"It's pretty close to night and day. If he didn't end up with a rolled ankle he would've been really good tonight, but he rolled his ankle in practice on Tuesday so he was limping around and I wasn't even sure if he was going to play. It just shows you what kind of kid he is and what he wants to do. He has an opportunity to be a really good player in this league for the next couple of years."
On if he was ever able to relax at all tonight.
"I have 11 days that are scheduled anxiety. It doesn't matter until the game is over. I did take my headphones off for the first time and just let the kids play, which was good, but I want us to always do things right. The guys that don't normally get to play, I want them to do things right. I want us to look like a college football team when we're out there and for things not to go haywire. So no, probably not, but I did relax once I got into the locker room."
On
Ailym Ford's impact and the history he made tonight.
"He ran the ball hard and he ran the ball with purpose tonight. He can probably handle more carries, and we've got a gauntlet over the next seven weeks, so we were just trying to use as many of those guys as we can. He's just such a good football player and such a good young man that you just want good things to happen for him. As hard as he's worked for this football program over the last four or five years, you want good things to happen for him because of what he's sacrificed for us."
Ben Brewton, DL, Sr.
On the growth of the defense.
"At the beginning of the season, we really didn't figure out who we were. We didn't establish who we were going to be in the beginning. I think it took that first game for us to really understand and put our eyes in the right spot to understand who we want to be."
On what the defense was trying to prove this week.
"That we play football, man. We can do our job to the best of our ability, we can put our eyes on the right spot, we can line up and go play no matter who's out there."
Chase Artopoeus, QB, Jr.
On the offense's complete performance.
"That's what Coach Wright and Coach Pizzo have been stressing to us. Coach and Pizzo have been talking about getting better every week, and I think that's what we kind of showed out here today so, I'm really proud of the guys."
On the offense's penalty-free game.
"Yeah, I think that's a big testament to the coaching staff. They train us very hard in practice. They keep us on our toes. They give us every situation, so we don't really feel flustered when we run those moments, and you can kind of keep your head about yourself."
On the touchdown to Whatley feeling like a home run.
"That's a great analogy. I play a little bit of MLB the Show, but yeah, it felt good. It was good to see him score and see him succeed."
On the success of the offensive line.
"Yeah, no [it's been] great getting coached by Coach Revis. I think that's exactly what you said. Haven't been hit too much back there. I thought we got our running game going this weekend too. So that's a very big successful thing for us that's going to help us in the future. I'm really proud of the guys."
Ailym Ford, RB, Sr.
On the work required to move into 2nd All-Time in school rushing yards.
"I just enjoy every day. The moment I stop loving it is the moment I stop playing this game. I just take it as a learning process throughout my fire years here and just enjoy the people around me. I don't look at it as a job."
On the offense coming together.
"The run game opened up because we've been hitting a lot of guys with the pads down. So they've been dropping a lot of guys and we just been shoving it down, getting it in the end zone on the ground."
On facing Samford.
"We've got to treat it like any other game, executing Monday through Thursday and just watching film, trying to prepare for them."
Jordan Walker, DB, So.
On the defense's impressive performance.
"We just wanted to come out here and set the tone for conference play tonight. I feel like we came out here as a team and we focused and we locked in on our keys. Everybody did their jobs and those are the kind of results you get. So it was an overall team effort tonight and I'm proud of our guys, and we've just got to continue to build off this."
On the defense limiting mistakes.
"It started Sunday through Friday, guys just coming in getting in that film room, doing extra work, getting locked in on the details and their keys and things like that. Everybody was doing their assignments, and like I said, these coaches, we've got a great coaching staff that puts us in the best positions possible each and every week. All we've got to do is trust them and trust in our players and execute the game plan and like I said, we'll get the results we got tonight."
On facing back-to-back road games.
"We know it's going to be tough; we're looking forward to it. That game against Samford last year was very heartbreaking to us, and as a team, that's nothing but motivation for us right now. So we're going to enjoy this one for 24 hours, and it's on to Samford. We'll be really well prepared come Saturday."
