Minnesota Postgame Presser Transcript: Players

Denard Robinson and Vincent Smith

Why was the passing game better today? Denard: “We just clicked. We worked on it in practice, and we just had to put it forward in games, and that’s what we did today.”

When the last time you had a rushing, receiving, and passing TD in the same game. Also, can you talk about the game plan that utilized you in a unique way? Smith: “I was just put in the right place at the right time. The coaches know what I’m capable of. What I have to do for the team to help them out.” Was it fun? “Real fun. And the last time I threw a pass was in high school, but not like three [TD’s] in one game.”

When did the 2-QB thingy arise? Denard: “We’ve been doing that in practice. We’ve been working on it. Coach said he’d throw it at us, and just be ready. And he called it, so we were ready.” Were you expecting it that early? “Oh yeah.”

That was an unorthodox offense today. Is that exciting for you? Denard: “Oh yeah … Just going out and having fun with my teammates.”

Denard, how comfortable did you feel in the passing game? You looked more comfortable. Denard: “Oh yeah. I mean, we’ve been practicing getting it down with the receivers, and we were just on the same page.” How much you looking forward to going on the road? “Both of us are looking forward to that.” Smith: “I mean it’s just another football game, and that’s what we love to do. We just love to come out to compete, and it’s another night game.”

You guys have been putting up a lot of points. How does the team feel about this new offense? Denard: “We’re confident. I mean, we’ve been playing [well], and we trust Coach Al to give us the right play and make things happen, because we have some playmakers.”

Are there other things we haven’t seen that you might show us? Denard: “We can’t tell them that …” Smith: “Not that I know of.”

(more after the jump)

Vince, can you talk about selling the run on your pass TD? Smith: “Coach was just stressing that everytime I’m in a trick play, definitely set up the run. That’s the first thing the defenders are looking at, and just look upfield.”

Denard, what was it like to get the ball off a handoff from Devin? Was that completely foreign to you? Denard: “I did it my first year of football. I mean, I played running back my first year of playing football. It was easy. It wasn’t hard.”

Vince, we joked about the different things you’ve done today, but talk about your role on this team right now going forward? Smith: “Just stay positive. Whatever the coaches want me to do and the type of situations I’m in, just step up and contribute to the team.”

Denard, talk about Devin’s play? Denard: “Devin is probably one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten. He’s a great, great quarterback. He’s got a strong arm and he’s going to compete every year.”

Two questions: Borges said he wanted to put you in better positions to throw … Is that something you talked about? Also, can you talk about the thing on your arm? Denard: “Oh. I had … took a shot, I guess, last week, and they just put … ” Smith: “He got a boo-boo.” Denard: “I got a little boo-boo.” What did Borges say to you? “He just told me just make the throws I have to make, and that’s it.”

Is it hard to keep playing when you’re blowing the other team out? Is it hard to stay focused? Denard: “Oh no. Coach told me, he said, ‘Nah, we’re not going to lose our focus. We’re going to keep going.’ ”

What do you think of your teammate stealing the show a bit, racking up all those touchdowns through the ground and through the air? Denard: “That’s my teammate, so I’m happy -- probably happier than he is! That’s what I like to see.”

The defense has had some issues in the past few years, but in the last few weeks they’ve allowed just 10 points. What do you see about them that makes them so good all of a sudden? Denard: “Oh man. Playing against them in practice, I mean, they throw some stuff at me and I be like, ‘Oh my God!” I know that once the quarterback they play against sees that, it’ll be the same way. They play great, hard defense.”

What’s the name of the package where you’re at running back? Denard: “I can’t … you tell them.” Smith: “We call it ‘Two.’”

Denard, you’ve been taking some flak from the media about your passing. Can you expand on how this game affects your overall confidence level? Denard: “I don’t read the newspaper anyhow, but I just went to practice, and I knew we had to work on just getting our timing right, and getting in rhythm. That’s the biggest thing. We got in rhythm today, and that’s what happened.”

Can you talk about how the defense’s focus on you opened up some holes for your running backs? Denard: “I mean, I guess they do that, and my running backs, they’re going to run the ball. That’s what they do. And the offensive line is going to block.” What’d you see out of Fitz and Vince today? “Yeah, they hit the holes hard. They’re going to compete every time they’re out on the field.”

Devin Gardner and Fitzgerald Toussaint

Devin, how does it feel to finally get out there and play some football for Michigan? Gardner: “It felt great. I just have been waiting for my turn to get a chance, and I felt like I did the most I could with it.”

When did you learn about the 2-QB package, and when did you know you were going to use it in this game? Gardner: “They make me aware that I was going to get in with the package. I think they brought it to me because they felt like, if we get our offense on the field, it’s going to be very effective.”

Devin, talk about the different dangers that formation presents to a defense? Gardner: “I think it’s really really dangerous because we’ve got Fitzgerald Toussaint back there as well and Vincent Smith. You guys are just going to have to wait and see, because it’s going to be pretty dangerous.”

Fitz, talk about running game today. >300 yards, and most of it wasn’t Denard. How important is it to continue to establish running backs? Toussaint: “I just have to say that’s more about the offensive line and about how we prepared on Tuesday and throughout the week.”

Can you talk about the play of Vincent Smith? Toussaint: “That’s exactly what we expect out of him. He works hard, and he’s a hard worker. He’s capable of doing those things.” Gardner: “I would just like to say … And he can paaaasssss.”

Speaking of passing, the double pass on the third play out of the 2-QB formation. What did you see there? Gardner: “By the time I got the ball, they were kind of closing in, so I felt like it was a smarter decision to just run with it.”

Can you guys talk about how important it was to get Denard going in terms of passing? Gardner: “Denard’s fine. He’s a really good competitor. He just loves to play football just like the rest of us. It’s really about the team, so he’s going to do whatever it takes for us to win.” Toussaint: “I agree.”

Fitz, it looks like you’ve won the starting tailback job. Do you feel like it’s your job to lose right now? Toussaint: “I feel like my main job is to go out there for Tuesday’s practice and just show up to play.”

How hard is it to maintain focus when you’re blowing out the other team? Toussaint: “It’s not hard. You just want to go out there and encourage the other guys. Young guys that’re going out there and playing.” Gardner: “I think it’s pretty easy because it’s a lot more fun. You can kind of let it loose and play. You’re not thinking too hard about your assignments and things like that. So I kind of think it’s easier to stay focused.”

Devin, do you guys lobby to use the funky plays? Gardner: “Even if we wanted to do that, I don’t think [Borges] would care much. He said it’s a dictatorship, so whether we want to or not, it’s going to be whatever he wants to do. I trust that he’s smart enough and he knows a lot of good things that we don’t really have to say anything. I mean, we try, but it really doesn’t work.”

Are you guys looking forward to playing on the road? Toussaint: “Yes I’m looking forward to it. As long as we have a great week of practice we’ll be prepared.”

Does a game like this send a little message to the Big Ten, like ‘Don’t forget about us’? Gardner: “I hope so. But if they do forget about us, they’ll have to play us eventually. We can’t really say what they think. We just know we have to play our game and do what we do.”

What does it do for team morale to have a ton of guys see the field? Gardner: “It’s really fun because we see each other in practice. Everybody plays well, but everybody can’t play on Saturday, so it’s just really great to see everybody, to see every other player play.”

Fans wanted to know why you weren’t playing more through the first four games. Were you ever frustrated about your lack of playing time? Gardner: “Not really. We were winning, so you can’t really get mad at that. I just wanted to be a part of the team and contribute.”

There’s been a lot of fuss about Denard’s passing. Talk about your confidence in him? Toussaint: “Him as a runner and a passer, I’m pretty confident that he can go out there and play well. Doing whatever he has to do, and going out there and having a great week of practice in order to prepare himself well for the game on Saturday.” So were you guys ever worried about it at all? Gardner: “No. He’s really fast.”

Devin, how much more is there in the 2-QB package? Also, how much more of the playbook have you not shown yet? Gardner: “I don’t know. It’s Big Ten play now, so I guess we just have to wait and see.”

Hoke talked about numbers on helmets. Whose decision was that? Toussaint: “Just to represent those before us.” Gardner: “I’m pretty sure it was a senior thing. We have a great group of seniors. I’m pretty sure they lobbied to get it done, and what the seniors want, the seniors get.”

Does being 5-0 this year feel different from previous years? Gardner: “Definitely, because we all believe and we’ve all bought into the new system and the things that Coach Hoke is trying to implement. I feel like it’s just a big belief on the team and it’s something we haven’t had in the past years.” Toussaint: “I agree.” Would you say if you disagree? Toussaint: “Yes.”

Craig Roh and Courtney Avery

Courtney, what’s it like to have the football in your hand and a whole lot of empty space in front of you? Avery: “It’s awesome. I can’t even explain the feeling.”

Craig, did the game plan change when you found out Marqueis Gray had a foot injury, and how well do you think you executed the game plan? Roh: “Well the game plan was just to line up our front. We knew that if you’re lined up correctly, we can compete with the best of them. It really didn’t matter who they had in there back at quarterback. It was just a really good effort by that front seven.”

Craig, did you sense Minnesota getting frustrated or demoralized? Roh: “I mean, you don’t really concentrate on the other team. You just concentrate on yourself. We were just getting checks in and we played a good game. That’s about it.”

Did you expect to dominate as much as you did on both sides of the ball? Roh: “I mean, we always believe that we can. We do have the ability to do that. We just have to play our techniques right. The more we listen to our coaches, the more we can dominate like that.”

How important was it to finish in the fourth quarter? Roh: “Yeah I mean that’s huge for us. There’s a goal for us every week to finish the fourth quarter. We have fourth quarter play and us finishing has been a huge emphasis since winter conditioning. We’ll have something at the end of our workouts to just finish. We just have to finish.”

Why is this defense better this year? Roh: “I mean, it could be a variety of things. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I’m just thankful to be a part of it.”

What do your accomplishments so far do for your confidence as a defense? Roh: “I’ll take this.” Avery: Go ahead, Craig, you got it.” Roh: “Um. Well it gives us confidence obviously. We know how we can play. Going further and further into Big Ten play, we can gain more and more confidence, but we’re still miles away from where we need to be.”

Can you talk about defensive backfield this season vs. last season? Avery: “We were really young last year. We had a couple injuries as you guys know. I just feel -- we feel a lot more comfortable back there now. We have a bit more experience and we have a lot of depth, so I think that’s great for the secondary.”

When you picked up the fumble, did you know you had such an open lane to the endzone? Also, did you run out of gas at the end? Avery: “I started slowing down a little bit. I may have run out of a little bit of gas, but not too much. I just saw the ball and I just saw open field, and I said, ‘No way I’m falling on this one.’ ”

You have a relentless attitude in swarming to the ball as a defense. Roh: “Yeah, our coaches, it starts with the way we practice. We’re not allowed to not swarm to the ball. Ever. It’s just natural in the games that we just -- even if one guy misses a tackle, there will be five more there.” Avery: “It’s just second nature now.” Roh: “Yeah.”

Was this as complete of a game offensively and defensively Michigan has played? Roh: “I mean, it’s our most complete game so far. We can still improve a lot, and we will improve a lot.”

Courtney, you played as a true freshman last year. How difficult is it to make the transition from high school to college for a defensive back? What have you seen from Blake Countess? Avery: “It is a lot of difference. A lot of people don’t really realize the big jump that it is. The game’s a lot faster, the receivers are a lot faster, but you get comfortable. I see Blake -- Blake’s doing a really good job. He seems really comfortable out there, and he’s doing a great job, and he’s going to continue to improve.”

Courtney, talk about depth that Blake Countess provides to the defensive backfield? Avery: “Great depth. We have -- it just really adds a lot of depth. We can rotate guys in and not take a lot of steps back or not take any steps back, so it’s great.”

Craig, does 5-0 feel different to you? Roh: “We have so far to go before we’re at that Michigan level, and today was a good day. But it’s a step forward to becoming a great Michigan defense.” Do you feel you have a better chance of maintaining the start? Roh: “Well just the emphasis that all the coaches have had on finishing. Even the second of the season. We’re going to have that at the forefront of our minds as we go into Big Ten play. So I think we will be improving every game.”

What do you attribute to the improved play of the D-line? Roh: “I think these coaches are doing a great job of giving us keys that we can take into the games. It really helps during the games -- it helps you play faster. As I said before, in practice they won’t let us not pursue to the ball [ed-M: this is the opposite of not failing to miss the non-ballcarrier], and I think that’s a huge thing as well.”

Do you feel like you have a swagger you haven’t had in previous seasons, and do you feel like you can control games rather than be controlled? Roh: “I don’t know about swagger … We just have so much fun out there, and I really do trust every guy on that defense. All of them are some of my greatest friends.”

Courtney, how often have you seen the 2-QB package? Avery: “I only saw it one time. I don’t know. How many times have you seen it?” Roh: “I don’t remember.” Avery: “I might have only seen it one time, so it was definitely something new for us.”