San Diego State Aztecs College Football Pregame Quote, 10/01/2019

I think last week was a productive week. We got a lot of things done and hopefully we made our team better. We look forward to playing again this week against a very talented football team and a very explosive offensive football team. All you had to do is watch Utah State and Colorado State play, and they’re exactly the same athletically. They’re explosive – they can run it, they can throw it, all those kind of things. They’re scoring a lot of points and gaining a lot of yards. It’s going to be a very tough football game.

On if this is a desperation game:

I don’t think you are far enough in the season to have a desperation game. You play every game a week at a time and see what happens.

On how the players are feeling after being idle last week:

I think our players would’ve rather played last week. I don’t think players this time of year like to practice without the opportunity to play a game, but we got some things done. They were pretty enthusiastic yesterday to be back out there. We’ll see how they are today.

On if they are targeting anything special with Colorado State:

I don’t think so. We’re just trying to make ourselves better. I think they present a real issue for our defense on offense. They’re a pretty balanced football team. They’ve got a couple of really good running backs and they’ve run the ball really well. Then when people have slowed them down running the ball, they’ve thrown it really well. It’s going to be a challenge and hopefully we can score more points than they do.

On the health of Juwan Washington:

I watched him yesterday. He ran around pretty good, but he didn’t look 100 percent. I guess he’s the only one who knows how close he is to 100 percent. Hopefully he’ll be fine by Saturday and can play.

On when he’ll decide if he can play this week against Colorado State:

I think it’s way too early in the week to figure that out. We’ll see how he runs around on Thursday to determine on how much and at all if he’s going to play.

On if they’ll be able to take advantage of Colorado State’s turnover problem so far this season:

We talk about this all the time, but I think turnovers is the biggest factor in winning and losing, especially when it’s a close game. And I think they come in bunches. That doesn’t mean they are going to continue that way (for Colorado State). Some years we get a lot of interceptions and some years we don’t. Some years we cause fumbles and get fumble recoveries, and some years we don’t. Sometimes it’s just the game. Last week I watched their game (at Utah State) with many other games and there was terrible weather. The quarterbacks had a hard time throwing the ball and the receivers had a hard time catching it, because the wind was blowing and it was raining. If you count both teams, there were five fumbles in the game. So some of it had to do with the weather.

On the Senate Bill 206 passing:

I have some personal feelings about it, but publicly it doesn’t happen until 2023. I’m not thinking about it because it will change dramatically between now and then so it’s no big deal.

On something he said about going pro and getting paid recently:

I think all college athletes ought to be allowed to go to the pros whenever they want to. If they’re good enough, they ought to be allowed to go.

On gives them the best chance to beat Colorado State on Saturday:

Trying to slow them down and keep their point total down to a point that our offense can outscore them.

On Colorado State’s defense:

They’ve been able to cause turnovers. Last week they jumped out ahead of Utah State because they intercepted two passes and one of them they ran back for a touchdown. They also blocked a punt. They’re doing really good on special teams. Statistically their defense doesn’t look very good, but they’ve been really active, and have given their offense some short fields and some momentum. That’s partly why their offense is scoring so many points.

On getting a chance to play in Canvas Stadium:

I’m looking forward to seeing it, because I’ve heard a lot of really good things about it. I’ve seen it online and it looks real nice, so I’d like to see it in person.

On if any player has put their name on the transfer portal:

They haven’t come and told me, and I would know if they put their name on the (transfer) portal. I find out. None of our players have done that yet. I think that’s something that happened that nobody anticipated. That they play four games and audition so they can be recruited while they stay on full scholarship for the rest of the season. The way I understand it, the kids just walked in and said they’re going to redshirt, and put their name on the portal. I’m not sure anybody anticipated that part of it.