Ball State Football Postgame News Conference Quotes, August 30: Game 1 at Purdue
Coach Uremovich
Opening Statement: "Too many mistakes at all three phases of the game. It's a lot to improve on, but there's some positives as in every game, and we weren't consistent enough at any of the three phases."
Q: "It seemed like the defense had a little bit of a slow start. What did you see that gave the offense problems?"Â
A: "It felt like every third down was third-and-long, and that's not how our offense is built. We've got to stay in front of the sticks. [The offense] is built for that. If you're not successful in the first and second downs, then it's going to be tough and third down."
Q: "The pass defense was continued to struggle. What do you think was the issue?"
A: "I thought they did a nice job in protection. There were some times that [Kiael Kelly] had some time back there, and one of the things we talked about all week and we didn't execute well enough was keeping him in the pocket. He made a lot of plays, and extended plays, by getting outside of the pocket and it's hard to cover people for that long. Some of it's the coverage, and some of it's the pass rush."
Q: "The defense was able to make adjustments after the first quarter. What did you like out of them after that?"
A: "I know that we ran to the ball and played physical the whole game. I mean, it was a physical football game on both sides, but we've got to execute better, like I said. That's really what it comes down to."
Q: "There were a lot of plays where Kiael [Kelly] was able to escape sacks and turn plays into yards. What confidence does that give you in him moving forward?"
A: "I see him in practice every day, so I know what he can do. We didn't help him out a ton. Like I said, being behind the sticks and making it third and long. It's hard for a quarterback to function there."Â
Q: "What would you like to see improved?"Â
A: "There's probably about fix to six missing assignments we had, and those are play-killers offensively, and, defensively, you never want to start the way we started. If they score, you want to make them earn it, and they went right down the field on us to start."
Nathan Voorhis
Q: "[Purdue] got off to a pretty hot start, but you guys were able to adjust. What did you like to see out of [the defense] there?"
A: "I think we came out a little slow. We could've came out a little faster, but I liked that we settled down, stuck to our assignments and started playing football."
Q: "What was it like for you to get a big sack in your first Ball State game?"
A: "That's amazing. For me, I obviously wanted to get a sack today, but getting a win is more important to me. My success doesn't mean anything if the team doesn't win."
Q: "What are some of the biggest areas you think the defense needs to clean up?"
A: "I can't speak for the whole defense, but personally, I think the D-line, need to stay more gap-sound, more assignment-sound. It starts with me upfront, leading the D-line. I can play better too."
Q: "It seems like the defense was pretty reliable in the second quarter. What adjustments did you see there?"
A: "I think we just kept each other in check. We didn't let anybody lose their minds. I think the seniors and the upperclassmen leaders on the team helped calm everybody down and we got back to playing football. We know that we are confident in our abilities, so we're just going to continue to play Ball State football."
Q: "What does it mean for you to lead this defensive line?"
A: "It mean a lot. That was one of my big goals, coming from the summer, obviously, being a starter first, but the second thing on my list was to be captain. I'm confident in my leadership abilities, and I'm blessed that the team thought highly enough of me to make me Captain."
Kiael Kelly
Q: "From your point of view, what was it about the offense that just wasn't clicking?"
A: "We've just got to finish. There were times where we played well, and then we had those drives that would stall out. A lot of it was us hurting ourselves, getting behind the sticks, but think that we now we see that we can do it, and everything that we want to do is right in front of us. We've just got to
execute."
Q: "With this offense being so new, what did you like today?"
A: "I think they actually played pretty well considering this being our first time out there. I just stressed to them to just work their hardest, and I'm gonna make them right as much as I can. I can't really complain about how they played. I'm leaving healthy, so that's all I can ask for."
Q: "Being the leader of the locker room, what do you tell the guys in loses like these?"
A: "Really just that everything that we still want is right ahead of us, these non-conference games. We want to win them, and [they loses] hurt.It sucks to lose, but our goal is to win a [Mid-American Conference] Championship and we've got to win in the MAC. So right now, it's about finding our team and getting our product ready for that. Like I said, we want to win, so it hurts losing, but, I just stressed to them that everything we want is still right here, so don't give up."
Q: "What do you feel like you learned about the team after today?"
A: "Just the fight that we have. At a certain point, we were able to just turn the score off and just go out there and focus on ourselves. It got to a point where the game was getting a little out of hand, but we didn't give up. Our next goal is to go score some goals. Let's go score some points because that first touchdown might start this thing. We didn't quit, we just stayed with it and had the confidence that it was going to come."
Q: "This was your first game at quarterback since 2024, how did it feel to go out there?"
A: "Honestly, it felt pretty normal. Ever since I decided to come back everybody did an amazing job of just making me feel comfortable in my spot so I never missed a beat. I would say it was different being out there for every play, being able to feel the game from the start. But I think I was ready to go because the guys around me made me confident."
Coach Uremovich
Opening Statement: "Too many mistakes at all three phases of the game. It's a lot to improve on, but there's some positives as in every game, and we weren't consistent enough at any of the three phases."
Q: "It seemed like the defense had a little bit of a slow start. What did you see that gave the offense problems?"Â
A: "It felt like every third down was third-and-long, and that's not how our offense is built. We've got to stay in front of the sticks. [The offense] is built for that. If you're not successful in the first and second downs, then it's going to be tough and third down."
Q: "The pass defense was continued to struggle. What do you think was the issue?"
A: "I thought they did a nice job in protection. There were some times that [Kiael Kelly] had some time back there, and one of the things we talked about all week and we didn't execute well enough was keeping him in the pocket. He made a lot of plays, and extended plays, by getting outside of the pocket and it's hard to cover people for that long. Some of it's the coverage, and some of it's the pass rush."
Q: "The defense was able to make adjustments after the first quarter. What did you like out of them after that?"
A: "I know that we ran to the ball and played physical the whole game. I mean, it was a physical football game on both sides, but we've got to execute better, like I said. That's really what it comes down to."
Q: "There were a lot of plays where Kiael [Kelly] was able to escape sacks and turn plays into yards. What confidence does that give you in him moving forward?"
A: "I see him in practice every day, so I know what he can do. We didn't help him out a ton. Like I said, being behind the sticks and making it third and long. It's hard for a quarterback to function there."Â
Q: "What would you like to see improved?"Â
A: "There's probably about fix to six missing assignments we had, and those are play-killers offensively, and, defensively, you never want to start the way we started. If they score, you want to make them earn it, and they went right down the field on us to start."
Nathan Voorhis
Q: "[Purdue] got off to a pretty hot start, but you guys were able to adjust. What did you like to see out of [the defense] there?"
A: "I think we came out a little slow. We could've came out a little faster, but I liked that we settled down, stuck to our assignments and started playing football."
Q: "What was it like for you to get a big sack in your first Ball State game?"
A: "That's amazing. For me, I obviously wanted to get a sack today, but getting a win is more important to me. My success doesn't mean anything if the team doesn't win."
Q: "What are some of the biggest areas you think the defense needs to clean up?"
A: "I can't speak for the whole defense, but personally, I think the D-line, need to stay more gap-sound, more assignment-sound. It starts with me upfront, leading the D-line. I can play better too."
Q: "It seems like the defense was pretty reliable in the second quarter. What adjustments did you see there?"
A: "I think we just kept each other in check. We didn't let anybody lose their minds. I think the seniors and the upperclassmen leaders on the team helped calm everybody down and we got back to playing football. We know that we are confident in our abilities, so we're just going to continue to play Ball State football."
Q: "What does it mean for you to lead this defensive line?"
A: "It mean a lot. That was one of my big goals, coming from the summer, obviously, being a starter first, but the second thing on my list was to be captain. I'm confident in my leadership abilities, and I'm blessed that the team thought highly enough of me to make me Captain."
Kiael Kelly
Q: "From your point of view, what was it about the offense that just wasn't clicking?"
A: "We've just got to finish. There were times where we played well, and then we had those drives that would stall out. A lot of it was us hurting ourselves, getting behind the sticks, but think that we now we see that we can do it, and everything that we want to do is right in front of us. We've just got to
execute."
Q: "With this offense being so new, what did you like today?"
A: "I think they actually played pretty well considering this being our first time out there. I just stressed to them to just work their hardest, and I'm gonna make them right as much as I can. I can't really complain about how they played. I'm leaving healthy, so that's all I can ask for."
Q: "Being the leader of the locker room, what do you tell the guys in loses like these?"
A: "Really just that everything that we still want is right ahead of us, these non-conference games. We want to win them, and [they loses] hurt.It sucks to lose, but our goal is to win a [Mid-American Conference] Championship and we've got to win in the MAC. So right now, it's about finding our team and getting our product ready for that. Like I said, we want to win, so it hurts losing, but, I just stressed to them that everything we want is still right here, so don't give up."
Q: "What do you feel like you learned about the team after today?"
A: "Just the fight that we have. At a certain point, we were able to just turn the score off and just go out there and focus on ourselves. It got to a point where the game was getting a little out of hand, but we didn't give up. Our next goal is to go score some goals. Let's go score some points because that first touchdown might start this thing. We didn't quit, we just stayed with it and had the confidence that it was going to come."
Q: "This was your first game at quarterback since 2024, how did it feel to go out there?"
A: "Honestly, it felt pretty normal. Ever since I decided to come back everybody did an amazing job of just making me feel comfortable in my spot so I never missed a beat. I would say it was different being out there for every play, being able to feel the game from the start. But I think I was ready to go because the guys around me made me confident."