Oregon Ducks Postgame Interviews: Washington State

Oregon Ducks football postgame interviews for Saturday, October 1 game against the Washington State Cougars. If you missed anything from the players or coaches following the Ducks 51-33 loss, fear not, that’s why we are here.

FRESHMAN QUARTERBACK JUSTIN HERBERT

BEING OUT THERE FOR FIRST TIME IN COLLEGIATE CAREER:

“It was really cool, I was really nervous. Those guys came a lot faster than I prepared for but it was a lot of fun to be out there.”

ON BIG PLAY TO THE TIGHT END:

“Just like we practiced. In practice, he’s been open. I tried to hit him. It was a great play.”

LOSING PLAYING TIME DUE TO CHARLES NELSON’S TD KICK OFF RETURN:

“I wasnt disappointed by it, it was awesome. I wouldn’t take that back. I was really excited for him (Charles Nelson) taking it in. I was just glad we got to score on that play.”

WHEN HE GOT ONTO THE FIELD:

“Stay calm, don’t do anything stupid. Follow my reads, listen to the coaches and try to find the open man.”

ON A POSSIBLE QUARTERBACK CONTROVERSY:

“100-percent he’s the guy (Dakota Prukop). I’m completely confident in him. The team and coaches are confident in him."

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MATT LUBICK

ON SAFTEY’S MOMENTUM SHIFT:

“It was big because they scored after their drive. It was a protection breakdown. I have to look at the film, I dont think he could get rid of it or saw the guy coming. There were a whole bunch of plays but that was a big one.”

ON THE YOUNG OFFENSIVE LINE STRUGGLING:

“It’s tough to say. I know we did have some protection issues as far as giving the quarterback time to throw. It’s hard to say until you look at the film. Give them credit, I think they did a good job. We knew coming into the game they were good upfront with schemes and twists. I’d have to go back and look at the tape.”

RUN STRUGGLES:

“Every game we go into, we think we can run the football. They did a good job putting an extra guy down there and sometimes to open up the run you have to throw successfully. I thought we did at times, especially when we got him out of the pocket a bit, but not consistent enough. In the second half, I dont know if the score was out of hand or not and we were able to run it a little bit because we had some momentum going in the passing game. We were a little more balanced. I got to give credit to those guys, they did a good job. We got to get better.”

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

ON POSSIBLE QB CONTROVERSY:

“Well first I was very proud of the way Justin (Herbert) came in. But, I’ve been very proud of Dakota (Prukop). As a quarterback, you take a lot of heat you shouldn’t take but that’s the nature of the position, part of the deal. There are a lot of guys out there who dont get the same type of exposure that he does. Dakota is our quarterback. But, we have to go back at look at it. We evaluate every position after every game. I was happy with Justin. To come out cold off the bench to perform, the way he did was impressive.”

HEAD COACH MARK HELFRICH

OVERALL PERFORMANCE SATURDAY NIGHT:

“Obviously we didn’t make enough plays of any kind tonight. We had a couple big runs but we’ll look at the tape. I think there were a couple times where something was available, but like I said, we’ll make sure to watch the tape.”

ON DAKOTA PRUKOP:

“You know, by virtue of the quarterback position, a long list. By continuing to just make plays that are there within the offense. The spectacular stuff that you’re trying to make happen comes from those routine plays. Just continuing to develop."

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

ON FRESHMAN QUARTERBACK JUSTIN HERBERT:

“We actually were going to do it right before the kick-off return. We talked about that. We had a play for the two-point conversion that we just kept Dakota in there as time wound down, but it went a bit differently. Not any huge statement, just trying to get him in there in this environment with those guys.”

ON OFFENSIVE LINE:

“I think there are certainly some segments that need to see it right now before they totally believe it. We are still very confident in this group and this team. Very proud of how they competed through a couple guys going down. They are very important to our team from a psychological standpoint and a spirit standpoint. They kept fighting.”

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