2024 Chattanooga Football
Postgame Quotes
November 16, 2024 – vs. Samford
Finley Stadium – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Rusty Wright, head coach
Opening statement
"Disappointing today, for sure. It is anytime you get beat that bad. I failed them. I failed that program as a football coach today. Have to learn from and figure out how to get better, but gotta give a lot of credit to Samford. They came to play and I got out-coached, no doubt about it. Result was what it was. Gotta go back to work and figure things out for next week and see if we can find a way to win a football game."
On how he thought he failed the program today.
"When you get beat that bad in a conference game, it ain't the kids' fault. It ain't the kids' fault. I'm not gonna put that on them ever. You get beat that bad at home in a conference football game, the only person you can look at is yourself."
On what Samford was doing to disrupt the offense.
"Early-on, they were just kicking our butt. Plain and simple as it gets. No magic or mystery to it. They just lined up and kicked our butt up front, so we'll have to figure out some better ways to do some things. I knew it was a bad match up for us since they had been playing really well defensively, really all year. I knew it was gonna be a tough match up for us but I thought we'd be able to do some things and we just didn't get them done."
On his message to the team after the game.
"I said you know what, we've got one guaranteed week left and we've gotta go get it figured out. It's a good group of young men, it's a good group of coaches. We're gonna show back up for work like we do every Sunday and Monday and figure out a way to fight and go win a football game. That's all you can do in this game and that's the bad part about this game. I've gotta wait until next Saturday to go play again. I'm not a basketball coach or a baseball coach where I can go every other night or once every two nights or something like that. I've gotta wait until next Saturday to get this out of my mouth and we're only as good as our last one, or in this case bad."
Reuben Lowery III, Sr., DB
On today's loss to Samford.
"They played really good and they came prepared. They played well and they played to their strengths. they performed well and we need to learn from that and get better."
On throwing the records out when it's a conference game.
"That's the beauty of the SoCon, any team could beat any team at any point and it feels like every game is a big game just because we all know each other so well. I'm glad we're so familiar with other teams because it just makes every game exciting. Sorry we couldn't pull out this one, but it was still a really good game."
On his time here at Chattanooga.
"It's been a blessing, for real. God granted me this position to be here in Chattanooga and to play in this stadium in front of this crowd. It's really been great. My family's been supporting me, my teammates have been supporting me, and really this whole organization and program has been great. I'm just glad to have been a part of it. You have a game like this and you see how everybody is picking up their teammates, and that's just a reflection of the culmination of the program and people around us. I'm glad to have this team around me."
Sam Phillips, RJr., WR
On the offense's struggles today.
"That's on us. We've gotta move the ball when it's time to move the ball, we've gotta make the catches when it's time to make them. That's on us. That's on all 11 of us that were out there."
On Javin Whatley's kick return touchdown.
"I was really excited when Nunu returned that because we had talked about that literally since his freshman year where I've been like, 'Bro you're gonna get a return one of these years', and as it turns out I think it had been like 14 years since we had gotten one, so that was big. It definitely sparked the team, and that's what you're supposed to do. That was why the coaches brought us here; to spark the game and get the momentum going. Shoutout Nunu."
On this year's senior class and what they mean to him and this program.
"This senior class, their leadership and their focus and the integrity that they all have, that's what they've shown me. They weren't goofing around all year like other classes, they took it serious and made sure that they led us the whole year. We could lean on their shoulder and they were always there for us. That's the best senior class that I've probably ever had since I've been here."
On turning the page to Austin Peay.
"Shake it off. The sun's gonna shine tomorrow so let's go win. There's no reason to go out there and lay down. We're here to win, so why not go try to win?"
