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Rice University Athletics
Ken Hatfield's Monday Quotes
10/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 10, 2005
Opening Statement -- "It's a rainy day here at the Stadium, but it's a sunny day at Minute Maid Park. The first thing I need to do is go call (Astros owner) Drayton (McLane) and get his formula for starting slow and coming on strong. It worked once again for the Astros. Between watching film and everything, I had the ballgame on but finally had to go do something for about an hour. Came back and they were still playing. It was an exciting moment for the Astros and all the folks who had written them off a long time ago. They continued to play and the right ingredients came together. It's a great story for them and all of Houston.
"Where we are right now, it's very disappointing. It's a situation that the leadership of the two seniors who started Saturday's game -- John Syptak and Adam Herrin -- is going to be needed now more than ever. We have a lot of young players playing. We know we have a lot of ability on the field, but at the same time some of them are making mistakes. You've got to keep your head up and keep improving, and that's where the leadership comes in. There's no way to get a quick fix on experience.
"We just have to be a little bit more solid on everything we're doing on the defensive side. We can't keep giving up the long pass, the ones that seem to take all the wind out of your sail.
"We were in position to win the football game and it just didn't happen. We've got to find a way, to keep improving.
"Nobody expected Tulsa to go to Southern Miss and dominate the way they did. They had the ball 42 minutes, got four interceptions in the second half, and completely dominated the game. They started out behind and looked lilke it was going to be an easy win for Southern Miss. But they stayed in the fight, got those four interceptions which turned the game around, and ended up winning big.
"Our last two games with them have been great games. Last year, we got close and (Ashlan) Davis returned a kickoff which broke our back. The year before, we had a 31-28 game. We were leading late in the game and they hit a pass down the sideline. We miss a tackle and the guy goes in to score.
"We've had two good football games with Tulsa when they were playing at their best. We know they're a good football team and we look forward to playing them this week. We've just got to find a way to get better and get a victory."
On Rice's offensive improvement -- "We'd like to score everytime we get the ball. We just didn't get the ball that many times (at East Carolina). We miss a block once or twice, we had a 48-yard pass completion called back, and we dropped about three balls. We miss one block on a play and it's a walk-in touchdown.
"Our backs and our line have been blocking their tails off. They've really been doing a tremendous job. You know, Tommy Henderson was a quarterback this time last year. He's caught some balls, but he's asked to block sometimes and he's knocked some people upside-down.
"I've been encouraged with what potential we have offensively. We'd like to score everytime. It doesn't always happen, but we're trying to work to that point."
On Quinton Smith -- "He started on the first drive, had three big pitches, and got the ball into the end zone. He made a couple of good inside runs, and then the big one when we took the lead (in the fourth quarter). He ran the option and used his speed to get into the end zone. He's a good, tough runner, and he had some outstanding blocking. He has the potential to go a long way any time. He can make something happen."
On keeping up team morale -- "You keep it up when you recruit them. You recruit people with character and who are trying to get better and improve. That's like asking someone who's flunked two tests when they're going to pass an exam. They're going to get in there, study hard and go to the next exam. They're not going to quit after two exams. They're going to keep going back until eventually they make an A in the class.
"When you're a competitor, if we've done our homework and have the right kind of people... You've got to earn your respect on the football field the same way you've got to earn the respect for your degree. You have to go earn it, and we haven't earned it yet."
On finally playing at home again -- "It's going to be a real positive. There's no doubt about it. We're not packing up to eat breakfast here at 8:15 on Friday, getting on a bus to the airport, and driving through rainstorms like we did there in East Carolina. Everyone likes to play at home and we're no exception."
