Mizzou / Vanderbilt Post-Game Quotes
Missouri Head Coach Barry Odom
Opening Statement:
“I’m happy for our seniors and happy for our team. They’ve invested a lot and it hasn’t been pretty, but they continue to do everything that I’ve asked them to do. I’m glad that they finally got a little bit of success for working through that.”
On preparation:
“We had a good week of preparation. We’re still doing things to make it a little more difficult than it should to go win one. We’re growing up a little bit. It’s tough when you get to this point in the season, you just want the seniors to go out the right way, finish one for them. And then now we want to go finish another one for them.”
On Damarea Crockett’s performance:
“We blocked well from the point of attack and Damarea, for a freshman, he’s gotten better every week. He works that way in practice. I’m excited to see him throughout the week the way that he practices, handles himself, and then prepares the right way. He’s got a bright future.”
On the passing game:
“The offensive line seemed like it did a great job protecting most of the night. They stood there and delivered some shots. The receivers made some tough catches. When you’ve got guys playing together like that, you’re going to be all right offensively.”
On the defensive performance:
“DeMontie [Cross], Jackie [Shipp], Ryan [Walters] and Greg Brown, they did a great job throughout the course of the game, making some checks and making some things that really helped us.”
On Corey Fatony:
“I don’t know that there’s a more talented [punter] than him in the country. He competes and he’s disappointed when he doesn’t put the ball inside the five. That’s pretty a pretty good skill set. We talk all the time about being able to flip the field. From a field position standpoint, he’s helped us so many times to be able to do that.”
On Tennessee:
“It’ll be a great environment to play in Knoxville. Butch [Jones] does a great job with that team. I think I just heard a score that they won. They’re playing pretty well. They’re an explosive team and he’s done a great job, so a great opportunity and a tremendous challenge for us next week.”
Missouri Players
Senior CB Aarion Penton
On the win:
“This is a great team. Everyone knows we haven’t won in a while, but you know, this is just a great win. It started early this week, when Coach Odom told us to just give it our all. He told us to do it for the seniors, because they have invested so much in this program. It is such a great feeling to get back on track.”
On how much sweeter this win feels as a senior:
“I am just so dedicated to this program and try to give it my all every time that I step out onto that field.”
On his pick-six:
“I knew I had safety help, so I could go ahead and be aggressive on any underneath routes. I just used my keys, saw the three-step read, saw that the receiver was running a slant,and I just stepped in front of him and made a play. And once I had the ball in my hands, you know that there was no looking back.”
On the mentality necessary to play cornerback:
“Really, you just have to have a dog mentality. Every single rep counts. Either you win that rep or you lose. Me, being competitive as I am, I want to win every rep. I just keep that in my head, and make sure I stay focused and not let any plays slip by.”
Senior TE Sean Culkin
On how meaningful this win is:
“It is awesome. It has been a tough season, especially as a senior. But taking in the feeling in the locker room after wins like this are memories that I will never forget. It is definitely something I am going to miss, but I am just thankful for it right now.”
On the key to the victory:
“I think it was all phases of our team playing well. We have had a couple of games this year where the defense plays well, or the offense plays well, or the special teams do good things. But when all three phases play well together, that’s how you win.”
On the upcoming contest against Tennessee:
“We are going to celebrate this victory tonight, and then we are going to get back to the grind tomorrow.”
Freshman RB Damarea Crockett
On the keys to another successful day:
“All good running backs know that success starts with their offense line, it all starts in the trenches. And those guys went out and worked hard tonight. You can tell, because when I come out of the game, I am not really hurting at all. I love them to death. That’s all I can say, really.”
On the number of touches he has received as a true freshman:
“I really didn’t envision it. I just put my head down and work as hard as I can. I feel that God will give me the things that I work hard for.”
Vanderbilt Coach Derek Mason
Quotes to come...
Vanderbilt Players
QB Kyle Shurmur
On the pick-six:
“I threw it to the wrong guy and he made a great play. That’s all I can really say about it. I threw it to the guy he was covering, and he caught it. He made a play for a touchdown. That’s it.”
On the dropped passes early in the game:
“I can do a better job of making catchable balls. You probably saw (Pinkney) early on. You could say it was a drop, but I have to give him a catchable ball. I put it right on his face. I need to put right on his chest. The other one, I can‘t say it was drop. I threw it low, and he slid down to make a catch. I threw it low, so you can’t really say it was a drop. I just think any time we don’t complete passes, we get behind the chains and make it really hard to play offense.”
On Ralph Webb playing hurt:
“I think we have a bunch of guys who can play ball around the perimeter. Ralph’s a great running back, but we’re not going to make excuses for injuries at all. Everybody across the country has to deal with injuries. It’s not something out of the ordinary. It’s a part of this game. I won’t make excuses. Everybody else has to do their part.”
On Mizzou’s defensive end rush:
“I just think they’re good players. That’s it.”
On struggling on 3rd downs:
“It’s just us players. We have to be more competitive. Me, the offensive line, all the skill guys, everybody. All 11 guys on the field have to be more competitive on 3rd down. Basically, what I believe it boiled down to was that we turned the ball over twice, three times with that fumble, we got behind the chains, and when 3rd down came around we didn’t execute. That’s on us as players. We have to do better. If you want to point the finger at anybody, point it at the players. The coaches had a great game plan, put us in a great position the whole entire week, and it’s on us as players to do better on 3rd downs especially.”
WR Caleb Scott
On being down 19-0:
“When you get down like that, our mindset is still on winning the game. When you get down like that, you have to work on the passing game and get points on the board.”
On struggling on 3rd down:
“We just have to play better as a team.”
On execution of plays:
“We just kept hurting ourselves. Penalties. We didn’t execute on some plays. We’re going to watch the film and clean it up.”
On getting to a bowl game:
“We definitely missed a big opportunity. We have a 24 hour rule. We let it soak in, and we wake up tomorrow ready to go. We’re going to win out. We’re going to go to a bowl game.”
DT Nifea Lealao
On struggling on 3rd downs:
“We just need to work a little harder on getting home. The rushing coverage worked together. I thought our secondary did a pretty good job overall. I think we did lack a little bit in getting home, but collectively we’ll come back and do a better job.”
On the game tempo:
“We just need to get lined up. We’ve been harping on that this whole season. We have fast ball carriers for a reason, we’ve been working at it. It’s just on us. We just need to get lined up. There isn’t a call that can make it; it’s the players that make it.”
