Postgame Quotes: Mississippi State Student-Athletes (Sept. 21)
September 21, 2019 | Football
Mississippi State vs. Kentucky
MSU Student-Athlete Quotes
September 21, 2019 | Davis Wade Stadium
Offensive Student-Athletes
QB Garrett Shrader
Q: You are 1-0 as a Mississippi State starting quarterback. How does it feel?
GS: "It feels good. It was not the prettiest, but we got it done. It felt good to win."
Q: You were 17-of-22 in the passing game. What was clicking for you?
GS: "I was struggling early, and then started to really see what they were doing and was just taking what they were giving me and not forcing anything. It all turned out alright."
Q: What did you see on the interception?
GS: "That was a play we repped twice this week. Actually, on my call sheet, I put it in yellow, and I just stepped out of the pocket and should have taken something off of it. It is definitely one I wish I had back, because we were moving the ball at that point in time. It would have been good to get a score before half."
RB Kylin Hill
Q: How do you feel with today's win?
KH: "It was incredible. We have a couple of pieces back, and at the end of the day, we have to give the credit to the big guys. Without them pushing, there would be no 100-yard game for me or four straight 100-yard games for me, so I give all of the credit to them."
Q: What was it like having Willie Gay, Jr. back out there today?
KH: "It was huge. Willie contributes so much. His energy is stellar, and he is a very energized guy. Everyone just feeds off of him. He came in with a lot of energy and played with a lot of energy. Before the game, I told him he would get a pick six, and he got it."
Q: There has not been a Mississippi State running back to rush for more than 100 yards in four straight games in 10 years. When you become the first guy to do that in a while, what does it feel like to break that school mark?
KH: "Huge. I have dreamed of moments like this. I want to give a big shout out to my mom for keeping me levelheaded through my freshman year, hard times and last year. She just told me to keep balling and God has me."
Defensive Student-Athletes
CB Cameron Dantzler
Q: How difficult was it to defend [Lynn] Bowden today?
CD: "We knew he was one of their best receivers, so we keyed in on him the whole week. One of the great guys on [Kentucky's] team was Bowden, so we just tried to prepare for him as best we could. He made his plays, and we still did a good job covering him and the ball."
Q: How different was it this game with certain players on the field that hadn't been on before?
CD: "We just had to come together as all 11 of us. We talked about our style of play: hard, offensive and aggressive. We just made plays today."
Q: How big of a factor was it to have those guys that hadn't played on the field this year?
CD: "We missed those guys. They came back with a chip on their shoulder and were amped up to play. All of them were amped up to play, and we need those guys who came in to be there for us."
Q: What did you see on Willie Gay Jr.'s interception?
CD: "To be honest, I was in the zone. I just saw him catch the ball and ran behind saying, 'Go! Go!' I was just very excited for him, because he's sat out a few games, and for him to make a big play for us, I was very excited for him."
Q: How much energy did Willie Gay Jr. bring out on the field today?
CD: "It started with the loss we had last week. We got past that, and we just had to win this week. Sunday, we made the corrections, and we just went hard from Sunday to gameday. We just did the little things right, and it showed today."
LB Erroll Thompson
Q: How do you feel like you guys adjusted today to Kentucky's offense?
ET: "I feel like they kind of gave us some fix in certain things throughout the whole thing, but I feel like the main thing was that they had one or two missed field goals inside the red zone so that was big. We got them down there, and it was tough for them to score on us. That was improvement from the past couple of weeks. We had been given up touchdowns, so there are still some things we have to clean up and keep working on."
Q: What are you guys trying to do differently to add to that success of the defense this year?
ET: "Really just everyone has to key in on their assignments. [Montez] Sweat and Jeffery Simmons, those are guys that can play any kind of defense and be dominant. We got a different type of players in there now. It's just being savvy, staying in your gap and in your integrity and keeping your eyes in the right place as well."
Q: How do you guys keep that energy when players like Willie Gay Jr. aren't out on the field?
ET: "It's everyone. It's a collective thing, and I try to do the same thing with getting the guys going and being that electric guy. All the leaders on the team, Leo Lewis, Cameron Dantlzer, Chauncey Rivers, guys like that they get it going also."
Q: How big was this win today in the SEC opener?
ET: "It's really big. Kentucky is a great program. Last week, they had Florida down to a nail biter. Florida's top 10 in the country right now, so they're a great program. So, it's big in this first SEC win at home."
MSU Student-Athlete Quotes
September 21, 2019 | Davis Wade Stadium
Offensive Student-Athletes
QB Garrett Shrader
Q: You are 1-0 as a Mississippi State starting quarterback. How does it feel?
GS: "It feels good. It was not the prettiest, but we got it done. It felt good to win."
Q: You were 17-of-22 in the passing game. What was clicking for you?
GS: "I was struggling early, and then started to really see what they were doing and was just taking what they were giving me and not forcing anything. It all turned out alright."
Q: What did you see on the interception?
GS: "That was a play we repped twice this week. Actually, on my call sheet, I put it in yellow, and I just stepped out of the pocket and should have taken something off of it. It is definitely one I wish I had back, because we were moving the ball at that point in time. It would have been good to get a score before half."
RB Kylin Hill
Q: How do you feel with today's win?
KH: "It was incredible. We have a couple of pieces back, and at the end of the day, we have to give the credit to the big guys. Without them pushing, there would be no 100-yard game for me or four straight 100-yard games for me, so I give all of the credit to them."
Q: What was it like having Willie Gay, Jr. back out there today?
KH: "It was huge. Willie contributes so much. His energy is stellar, and he is a very energized guy. Everyone just feeds off of him. He came in with a lot of energy and played with a lot of energy. Before the game, I told him he would get a pick six, and he got it."
Q: There has not been a Mississippi State running back to rush for more than 100 yards in four straight games in 10 years. When you become the first guy to do that in a while, what does it feel like to break that school mark?
KH: "Huge. I have dreamed of moments like this. I want to give a big shout out to my mom for keeping me levelheaded through my freshman year, hard times and last year. She just told me to keep balling and God has me."
Defensive Student-Athletes
CB Cameron Dantzler
Q: How difficult was it to defend [Lynn] Bowden today?
CD: "We knew he was one of their best receivers, so we keyed in on him the whole week. One of the great guys on [Kentucky's] team was Bowden, so we just tried to prepare for him as best we could. He made his plays, and we still did a good job covering him and the ball."
Q: How different was it this game with certain players on the field that hadn't been on before?
CD: "We just had to come together as all 11 of us. We talked about our style of play: hard, offensive and aggressive. We just made plays today."
Q: How big of a factor was it to have those guys that hadn't played on the field this year?
CD: "We missed those guys. They came back with a chip on their shoulder and were amped up to play. All of them were amped up to play, and we need those guys who came in to be there for us."
Q: What did you see on Willie Gay Jr.'s interception?
CD: "To be honest, I was in the zone. I just saw him catch the ball and ran behind saying, 'Go! Go!' I was just very excited for him, because he's sat out a few games, and for him to make a big play for us, I was very excited for him."
Q: How much energy did Willie Gay Jr. bring out on the field today?
CD: "It started with the loss we had last week. We got past that, and we just had to win this week. Sunday, we made the corrections, and we just went hard from Sunday to gameday. We just did the little things right, and it showed today."
LB Erroll Thompson
Q: How do you feel like you guys adjusted today to Kentucky's offense?
ET: "I feel like they kind of gave us some fix in certain things throughout the whole thing, but I feel like the main thing was that they had one or two missed field goals inside the red zone so that was big. We got them down there, and it was tough for them to score on us. That was improvement from the past couple of weeks. We had been given up touchdowns, so there are still some things we have to clean up and keep working on."
Q: What are you guys trying to do differently to add to that success of the defense this year?
ET: "Really just everyone has to key in on their assignments. [Montez] Sweat and Jeffery Simmons, those are guys that can play any kind of defense and be dominant. We got a different type of players in there now. It's just being savvy, staying in your gap and in your integrity and keeping your eyes in the right place as well."
Q: How do you guys keep that energy when players like Willie Gay Jr. aren't out on the field?
ET: "It's everyone. It's a collective thing, and I try to do the same thing with getting the guys going and being that electric guy. All the leaders on the team, Leo Lewis, Cameron Dantlzer, Chauncey Rivers, guys like that they get it going also."
Q: How big was this win today in the SEC opener?
ET: "It's really big. Kentucky is a great program. Last week, they had Florida down to a nail biter. Florida's top 10 in the country right now, so they're a great program. So, it's big in this first SEC win at home."
Players Mentioned
CB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DE
/ Football
QB
/ Football
DT
/ Football
LB
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