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Vanderbilt Post-Game Quotes
9/16/2006
VU vs. Arkansas – Post-Game Quotes
Head Coach Bobby Johnson
“We played a close football game. I thought both teams played hard and it came down to three or four yards and field goal.”
“I think it was pretty easy decision, because if you don’t make that fourth down the game is over. You don’t have a chance to kick it or win it. We have a lot of confidence in Bryant [Hahnfeldt]. He’s a good kicker and I think it was right down the middle. If the wind was that consistent we’d probably have thought more about it, but when we decided to kick it the wind really wasn’t blowing.”
“We tried to do the same things against Alabama and Michigan and we weren’t quite there. You get the running game open and it opens up a lot of different things. Cassen ran hard and Jared Hawkins ran well. I’m very pleased to see the running game pick up.”
“Penalties are really frustrating to me because we usually don’t make them. I think we’ve been penalized the least in the conference the last three or four years. We’re going to get that straightened out.”
“The original play was for George to come running out for the needed yardage. Chris got pressure and got pushed back. George went up pretty high to get it. That was Hail Mary if there had been one.”
“I thought they played hard and fought hard. We’ve played three pretty good football teams, and I think they will continue to fight and practice well. We had all kinds of opportunities. We just have to take advantage of them and get the ball in the end zone.”
“I thanked them for their effort. I thought they played hard. I’m counting on their character to step up and come back tomorrow and work for next week.
Linebacker Marcus Buggs
“We came out and played well. The third and longs really hurt us. We couldn’t keep our defense off the field.”
On Bryant Hahnfeldt’s Kick:
“I have full confidence in him. He hits them all the time in practice.”
Quarterback Chris Nickson
“I don’t think I played well enough today. I’m dissatisfied with myself and we should have won the game.”
On Vanderbilt’s Offense:
“Our offense did a tremendous job. Our gameplan going into the game was excellent, but our execution wasn’t up to standard.”
On George Smith’s 4th Down Catch:
“I rolled out of the pocket and escaped the first guy they brought at me and saw George [Smith] in one on one coverage. With these receivers, you have to have confidence in what they can do. That was a heck of a catch.”
Running Back Cassen Jackson -Garrison
“I thought Chris Nickson played great. The improvement he’s shown from the first game until now has been tremendous. We’ll be down on ourselves after a loss, but give it some time.”
Kicker Bryant Hahnfeldt
“I left like I hit it well and in my mind, it was in. You can tell when the ball is going to drop short and the wind got a hold of it. Coach [Bobby Johnson] knows I can make those and told me to get in the game for us. The breeze died down during the timeout and picked up when we came back on the field. If there’s no wind, I make it. There’s not a doubt in my mind.”
On Recovering from the Missed Opportunity:
“It’s going to bother me, but I’ll put it behind me and move on. After the MTSU [missed field goal], I moved on and hit two field goals the next week at LSU.”
On the Missed PAT:
“It was an unfortunate snap. It was a hard ball for our holder to handle. I ended up with the ball and was crushed.”
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