AZTEC ATHLETICS PRESS CONFERENCE NOVEMBER 15: IS IT WINDY IN WYOMING?

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version Share this

 

Story and photos by Liz Alper

Full quotes courtesy Jamie McConeghy

November 15, 2016 (San Diego) - The San Diego State football team won again last week against Nevada, but now it's on to their second road game in a row against Wyoming on Saturday and this time, it's a day game.  Coach Rocky Long, redshirt sophomore quarterback Christian Chapman, junior running back Rashad Penny and senior defensive lineman Kyle Kelley spoke to the media at this week's press conference.

“Obviously we’ve got a big challenge this week," Long opened with. "After watching Wyoming on film the last couple of days, I think they are the best football team we have played this year...Playing in Laramie is difficult and going on the road for two straight weeks is difficult."

Long previously coached for Wyoming and spoke on the environment there. “It’s a great football town. It’s a great football state. They love football. The population is not very large and (Wyoming) is the only four-year school in the state, so the whole state supports (Wyoming)."

As always, Long talked about the opposing quarterback.  This week, it's redshirt sophomore Josh Allen.  “He’s a really good player. He throws it very, very well, he can get out of trouble and throw it down the field. He’s got two really good receivers who, in our opinion, do the best job in our league of going up and getting the ball and taking it away from the defenders, even when they are covered. One of their receivers has been on the ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 two times for the unbelievable catches he’s made, one of them last week. The quarterback has done a great job.”

The Aztecs are used to playing at night, so I asked Long about if it makes a difference playing in a day game. “I don’t think it makes a difference,” he said. “But we are used to playing at night. Now we’re very happy that it is a 1:30 game because we are in Laramie in November. No matter how cold it is, it would not be as cold if it were 7:30 at night. We’re happy about it (being a day game).”

Kelley echoed the sentiment. “It’s not that much different. We practice during the day so we are pretty used to playing in the sunlight. It’s just getting up and getting ready to go right away instead of sitting in the hotel all day. That’s the only difference.” 

I also asked if the wind would affect sophomore kicker John Baron. “I’m worried that the wind is going to blow. Right now the wind is not being predicted to blow very much, so it shouldn’t make a difference. But in the mountains that could change in 24 hours. It would make a difference for both kickers.”

“It’s do or die for them (Wyoming), we know that,” Chapman said. "We're coming into a hostile environment." 

"I'm not allowed to say the w word (wind)," he said when I asked him how the wind would affect his passing. "it won't be a factor."

Penny thanked the offensive line. “They’ve become a big part to the success of our running game. You just see what they did Saturday (at Nevada). Teams get worn down and they get on top of them. They create so many big holes for us and we take advantage of it. (The running backs) can’t thank those guys enough. They do so much."

Kelley, meanwhile, praised the defense's better play. “Every position group just started playing better. We started clicking. We know the defense better and have had a great game plan. I think we’ve gotten more comfortable with the defense. There’s more familiarity (playing against the same teams), knowing the offense a bit better.”

SDSU men's soccer is finally back in the NCAA playoffs and will play UNLV on Thursday.  Head coach Lev Kirshner and seniors Matt Callahan and Michael Sauers took the media's questions today. "...we’re excited to be brought into the (NCAA) tournament," Kirshner said. "We’ve accomplished quite a bit during the year. The team mentality and buying into what we’ve always coached here has been phenomenal. The leadership of our senior core has really brought along the youth that is a very talented and humble group.  In the end, we’re not satisfied with just getting a bid. We’re here to make a run and very excited for the community that we’re hosting our first NCAA game since 1989.” 

"For me, this is everything I could’ve dreamed of (after) transferring from Maryland," Sauers said. "I’m just very happy and thankful that these guys have let me come in with open arms, and I’m happy that we’ve come so far. All I can ask for is that we make a deep run.

“I think everyone is on the same page as of right now. We all have the right mind-set and are just looking at UNLV right now. We’re not trying to look forward. The intensity and drive that we’ve had all season, I definitely feel it will carry over to our next game, and we all have a great trust in each other. I don’t think I have to say much or do much, but once we get out there, just play like we’ve been playing all season.”

SDSU football takes on Wyoming at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.  Aztecs men's soccer face UNLV at 7:00 p.m.

 


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.