COLLEGE PARK, Md. –
Maryland Head Coach DJ Durkin
Opening statement:
“I'm really proud of our guys. The most important thing to me was the enthusiasm and the energy that we came out and played with. I appreciate the fans, too. There was some bad weather at the start, but we had a bunch of fans stick around until the end. It was a great atmosphere. I'm really excited for our guys. Leading up to the game, we talked a lot about what Homecoming means. There's a long list of great players who have played for Maryland, been in this meeting room and sat in these chairs. One of the best things about a college football program is the people that came before you who have set the bar to a certain standard. I went through that list – position by position – with our team. It's a very impressive list. Our guys need to realize that the standard is to play at that level. Today was a great way to start off our Big Ten season. It was just one game. We have a lot to work on this week before we head on the road. We just need to find the areas where we need to improve.”
On the battle in trenches:
“I'm really excited about that. They ended up with just ten yards rushing. Our defensive line did a great job up front. We were able to make them one-dimensional. They came in leading the League in passing, but we knew we had to keep them one-dimensional, because that allows us to mix up our package and coverages. If they were running the ball well, we would have just been sitting there guessing. Our backs did a great job of helping out the offensive line with blocking. I want to make a point to say that our receivers have been amazing at blocking downfield. We have some unselfish guys who are busting it for their teammates. I don't know how many times I saw guys 20 yards downfield pushing guys out of bounds and finishing them off.”
On how Perry Hills reacted to an early interception:
“Obviously, you never want turnovers or interceptions, but the way that he responded was great. Perry saw our confidence in him, as well. The next time we got the ball, the first play was a pass, and we scored that series. It was a big response from the defense, too. We hadn't had a turnover yet this year, so they weren't used to such a quick change. I thought that was a great response from our defense.”
On the team's progression through four games:
“The thing I love about this team is our workman's attitude. We grinded after a tough game last week. We practiced hard all week. It's early in the year. Sometimes, teams don't respond to tough games the right way. We had some great preparation this week. Every week is a new week. We're just going to figure out what is the best way to prepare for our next game.”
On Maryland's pass rush:
“It was huge that we got pressure on [Blough]. He has a talented arm. He's thrown for a bunch of yards. We sent every single position of our defense as part of a blitz today. We brought everyone and brought a lot of pressure. Our corners did a great job covering outside, too. It got a little sloppy in the second half, but I'm happy with the way we put pressure on them.”
On the running back rotation:
“At the end of the day, when you're recruiting a roster, and you get what you want, that's what you have. When you have a positional competition, and one guy is the starter, and he has a guy behind him that's really good, that's the ultimate motivator. Both guys are going to improve solely off of that competition. That position is probably the best competition we have right now. We're going to continue to recruit the best players we possibly can.”
On how he feels being 4-0:
“I feel really good about the start. You want to be 4-0. I'm not surprised. We believe we're going to win the games that we play. Our guys prepared well, and put themselves in a position to do well. We have good self-awareness on our team. We're very honest with our guys. We know any team on our schedule can beat us. And we know we can beat any team on our schedule. It's about doing the things that we can control to win a game. We've done this stuff so far. But, every week is a new week. That's the beauty of the sport. It's 'what have you done for me lately.' We're 4-0, with a chance to go 5-0. We know we have a big task ahead of us. In college football, if you go on the road and get a win, that's a big deal. We need to go win in a hostile environment. I've played there. I've coached there. We know what we're up against. We need to have our best week of practice.”
Maryland Sophomore Running Back Ty Johnson
On being motivated by having multiple players in competition for running back position:
“Of course, when a guy can do that, you want to be there for that guy, you want to do what you can do when you're in the game. So when you see a guy like Lorenzo Harrison, Perry Hills, running the ball and throwing the ball, you want to be like 'that's a guy I want to play with and go from there.”
On the score of the game as the first Big Ten game:
“I never predict anything. You have to respect your opponent no matter where you go, regardless of their record or how good they are. It was all preparation, we were just like 'we can hit this, this, and this between this, this, and this and execute and go for the win.”
On Wes Brown's return this game and it raising the bar for competition:
“Definitely, we compete a lot during practice and I think that's a great secret between us. Even though we're competing against each other, we want the best for one another. And with Wes coming back that's another weapon in the arsenal to throw in the game.”
On moving up on the depth chart compared to last year:
"It feels good, but that doesn't mean that I'm content about it. I always want to keep going and I want to keep grinding and be able to get more reps. You have to be greedy about it. I want to get this, and get that, and I want to do this for the team. That's what it ultimately comes down to; to be able to contribute to the team in anyway possible, whether it be on punt pressure, kick off return, kick off, all three phases of the game."
Maryland Senior Defensive Lineman Roman Braglio:
On getting to the quarter back quicker based on what you saw in film...
“We knew we had to get to him, he's got an arm, he's definitely a gun slinger. So getting to the quarterback, keeping him in the pocket, not letting him run down the field or out to the side to be able to throw the ball to make big plays was a big key and we were successful in doing that today.”
On what this Big Ten win meant today...
“It was a nice way to open up our Big Ten season. Every win is a big deal, but this is Homecoming, this is my last year so it's a great feeling. My voice is gone, I was screaming the whole day. It's definitely a big feeling for the coaching staff, players, everyone.”
Maryland Senior Wide Receiver Teldrick Morgan:
On plays being ran to get the ball in hands and being used in different ways...
"Real good, I just follow the game plan, I can't say too much about it. I just know when my play is called, and I go out there and execute."
On first touchdown throw being a tough catch:
"Honestly, I couldn't even see the ball until the last second and I just knew it was in front of me so I just dove to get it. Luckily I made a play on it."
Purdue Head Coach Darrell Hazell
On the downward spiral of bad plays and it effect on the game:
“They [Maryland] executed better than we did, and it was a matter of being able to stop them, we were not able to stop them. Also, being able to move the ball forward, and we struggled, obviously, to move the ball. The second half I thought the defense came out and did a great job. We got a turnover, a stop, and we came up with two short fields and came up with no points. We were not able to offensively execute well enough, and it just kept spiraling.”
On Markell Jones injury status:
“Not sure to what degree, his shoulder is hurting again though, same issue. So we will see once we talk to the trainers to see if he is seriously injured or not.”
On Maryland's blitzing:
“Late in the game, not early. I think they were able to put a lot of pressure on us when they got more one-on-one match ups and that got to us. Then moving the quarterback around, they were able to get into the rushing lanes, but not early in the game.”
On the amount of penalties in the game:
“Way too many penalties. I am not sure how many there were, but we had way too many. That was disappointing obviously. Though we cannot lament, we got to go back and figure out what our issues are, all of us. Then we have to fix them all together, and we cannot feel sorry for ourselves - Illinois certainly is not going to. We are 2-2 and we have to make sure we are ready to go for practice and make those improvements where they are necessary. That is the key because if we do not, it can get worse, but we are not going to let it get worse.”
Purdue Sophomore Quarterback David Blough:
On the constant pressure of the game and its effect on the offense”
“We have to get better everywhere on offense, quarterback, cornerback, the offensive line and receiver. Unfortunately I was not able to help those guys at all. But you have to give credit to Maryland, because they gave a lot, but a lot of it was my fault.”
On what he could have done differently in the game:
“I could have gotten the ball out of my hands, maybe thrown it away. There is a list that goes on forever on what we could have done differently. I was just not sharp with it.”
On appearing to be angry, and what to do with that anger:
“Rightfully so right? We just go back to work, we put our heads down and love every guy in that locker room, and let that anger fuel you a little bit. They scheduled us for Homecoming and they did what they were supposed to do tonight. So we got to take it personally a little bit, because it is.”
Purdue Senior Offensive Guard Jordan Roos:
On raising their level to the Big Ten standard for tonight's game
“We can without a doubt compete in the Big Ten and up front physically they were just better than us today. Those one-on-one matchups, you need to beat the guy in front of you, and that did not happen most of the time today. So it is a matter of going back watching film and getting better.”
