Jeff Tedford Quotations

While Marshawn is a great back, we have some others behind him that can play.

We're going to play in conference games that are going to be close, and those type of things will come back and haunt you. Special teams had a letdown tonight and we didn't play to our potential.

Scott did a real solid job. He knows how to work hard and he was prepared. He's not the kind of guy who sleeps all week in practice.

I don't think you can stop them. You just really hope to slow them down a little bit, ... ... When you get a group together that has played together like these guys have, it's unbelievable to watch.

I get the sense they understand, ... I've been very pleased with our mind-set. Our guys have been focused for every game. It hasn't really wavered at all. That's not us, I don't believe. We don't ever really talk about rankings. There are enough veterans on this team to understand that it doesn't really mean anything.

He was an integral part of our program when we were getting started and it's exciting to have him back as part of the family.

He had great composure and made great plays throughout the game. He was not apprehensive at all. He wasn't looking for some safe game to get his confidence back.

He has done well. He has a little bit of experience from those two games. It probably gave him a little boost of confidence coming into the spring.

He has to handle it the right way.

He has such a winning, positive attitude. He was one of our first recruits. I'll never forget him saying, 'I came here to win a championship, coach.' He didn't care that they were 1-10 before. His attitude is contagious, and it rubs off on the rest of the kids.

He is a great fit for us and our program, and a great recruiter.

He doesn't go through the peaks and valleys that some people would. He just has an easy-going attitude.

He made some big plays on third down with his scramble ability and those were the things that we saw when we recruited Joe.

He matured big-time after the first week. He used to be kind of a happy-go-lucky guy. Every now and then you would turn and see him goofing off with guys. You don't see that anymore. There is a whole different maturity with him now as far as focus.

We talked all week, especially last night and this morning, about believing and staying together as a team. I was very proud there was never any quit.

He's been one that has been cooperating. None of our players have been implicated with any wrongdoing. We're doing everything we can to cooperate with the investigation.

We have to be patient. Joe will get it.

We have to be patient. Joe's young and there are going to be some times where he need to learn a bit.

He was suspended for the first quarter for missing the meeting,

He was making the right reads, and he had a couple of dropped balls, and another one there was miscommunication with the receiver, so it wasn't all him, ... He put some pressure on himself. Now being the starter will be better for him. He doesn't have to wait his turn. He can go in the game and get the jitters out of the way early.

He didn't play to his potential, by any means, but that doesn't mean he can't play, ... Everybody has a day like that from time to time, and he had it right out of the gate. He's our quarterback, and he'll be ready this week.

Joe took the game pretty hard. He just needs to know we're behind him 100 percent.

Joe is going to be our guy and we're going to go with it.

It is a huge learning curve. We have become very spoiled here with expectations with Kyle (Boller) and Aaron (Rodgers) throwing a bunch of BBs all around the field. It doesn't happen overnight.

I was a little shocked that Joe struggled like he did,

I see a group that's playing with a lot of energy. They have a lot of passion for what they're doing. They fly around. They play very hard. It's obvious coach Zook has done a good job of creating a mind-set of enjoying playing the game.

Our plan was to try to attack the weaknesses of the defense. We knew coming into the game that they had some injuries at corner and we had to test those guys.

Patience is our key here with the quarterback situation. There are going to be some mistakes, but we're going to work through it.

People have said he was injured (that night). It's unclear what type of injury. It was a scratch on his wrist, a little bitty scratch, it wasn't even bleeding ... None of our players have been implicated in any wrongdoing.

People have said he was injured (that night). It's unclear what type of injury, ... It was a scratch on his wrist, a little bitty scratch, it wasn't even bleeding ... None of our players have been implicated in any wrongdoing.

People look to him for guidance. He is an ambassador for the team.

I think it went just fine. We got a chance to learn some of the concepts. The biggest thing was adjusting to the shotgun. We'll take a look this summer how much of that we want to do and how much of the traditional offense we want to do.

I think last year consistency was an issue with him.

We need a little life in the kickoff returns,

That was a tough start for him, no question about it,

That was big for him. He was Pac?10 Player of the Week, which is great for his confidence.

You have to draw on previously experienced successes to have your confidence. You have to try to keep that in your mind instead of dwelling on the bad part.

We don't even really think about whether we're without Marshawn or whatever, ... We have guys who are ready.

We don't want to put him in a position where he wouldn't be safe.

We had almost the same talk I had with Aaron after the Oregon State game ... Joe's gonna be our guy, not like the last game where he was going to start the second half.

We've lost quite a few guys but that's no excuse. Football is a rough game and we all have had our share of the injury bug.

We've learned a lot this year. Any time you can win a bowl game it really gives you some momentum.

We'll make a decision on who's best for us offensively. Nate will take the first snaps of the fall, but it really doesn't matter. Joe sat out today but did a great job throughout the spring and will definitely be in the mix during the fall.

To hang in there and keep throwing strike after strike, ... he is just an unbelievable competitor.

To be the every-down back now is his big challenge.

We practiced very well for that game, but I wasn't aware of the hangover from the BCS thing until the night before the game. This year, we've told everybody that the game on Thursday is the only thing that matters. That's where you get a chance to make a stand.

We'll see how practice goes this week, and make a decision later in the week. They'll both get (practice time) equally. ... Maybe Steve will have a few more reps this week as we get closer.

We let Maurice Drew get loose too many times,

You cannot give them a short field. We've seen games where the score gets crazy early because they force turnovers down deep and score.

You can never put your team in the position to kick off from the 20-yard line.

This week, we're watching their first two games against Rutgers and San Jose, but we are also watching the Florida tape from last year,

What, are you nervous? ... That wasn't even close.

We just need to stay together as a team. We need to understand that attention to details makes you win or makes you not win.

vision of Cal being one of the premier dominating schools (in football). The academics here are high quality, and with coach Tedford, we're like a family.

You have to put a lot of drill work in. A lot of your focus is put on things you don't see every day, like counters coming back off of it, play-option passes coming off it. They're always (blocking) at your legs. It's totally different than preparing for the typical team you play.

This will step it up a notch, ... It's going to be one of those games, like I told the team ... this is why you play. A Top 25 opponent on the road, in the Rose Bowl, it doesn't get much better.

Every time I look at that, it kind of leaves a knot in my stomach. It was an unbelievable football game and we had a chance to win, but didn't get it done. So we have to go back to the drawing board and see if we can do it this year.

Everybody enjoys being around him. He's got a great sense of humor and can always make people laugh.

Every day he's getting better and better with the reps he's getting.

Each game we learn new things. By no means did we come close to our potential tonight.

Each game has a different set of circumstances,

There's no question that since (the Bears) have grown up with (the Trojans), ... There's a lot of familiarity with the people involved. That raises the attention level, because you're playing with your peers.

I've said all along I really admire his toughness and his will to come back. At some point, it's only natural to be a bit shook up by this type of things. We've got to help him through this and bring him back, both for the team and for him as a person.

After the first week he matured big time. More than just physical things, the mental part of the game and the leadership he provides in the huddle has improved dramatically.

Any time a team goes 1-10, their confidence and self-esteem is low, ... You really have to get that back up and believe in one another. That was the main thing. We just tried to take care of that in-house and get our mindset a little bit better to where they felt like they had a trust level that they could play through anything. Then a little bit of success breeds more success and goes from there.

That's not the way you draw it on the board.

This is the first time he has been healthy. But I'm not surprised how he has played. He is a big, physical receiver who is productive.

They've brought it to a new level, the way they dive for balls, the effort they give.

They played more physical than we did, ... a poor game plan.

There were a lot of plays to be made and we didn't make them.

They really know what they're doing with the option. There're a lot of things that are unorthodox with the option, and they don't just dabble in it; they know what they're doing.

There's a lot of potential there. We have some skill and we have some holes to fill. The spring will be really important to us.

At certain times, he's got to put his pads down and get us one or two yards. Not everything can pop outside for a touchdown. That's a fine line though, when you have a back that's special.

Absolutely. It's one of those events you can mark off the checklist.

It was a tremendous boost for us to see what kind of player he really was. He just keeps getting better every week it seems like.

Every now and then you'd turn around (at practice) and see him goofing off with the guys. You don't see that anymore.

Steve was very efficient. He didn't turn the ball over, he ran the huddle well and he brings a confidence to the table and it's infectious. It was pretty evident last game and it was there today.

It's impossible to compare different eras because the game is so much different now. Things are so spread out today, and athletes are so much better, it's an unfair comparison. All you can say is both teams were great for their time.

It's definitely a question mark about our season, ... Aaron was a pretty special guy. He did so much in such a short period of time. Now we'll be going with guys who have never taken a snap at this level.

It's been very difficult to manage the schedules of the players because this is such an early game. This has been particularly challenging.

I want to give BYU a lot of credit. Their offense did a good job of spreading the field. They played very well and they have a physical defense.

They bring another dimension, guys who are very fluid, very fast and with great hands.

They bounced back pretty well. They're a lot more resilient than the coaches.

It was great to see a reflection of how much we've improved with this young team. This effort was typical of our team. It doesn't surprise me.

They will go to the meetings, be involved with the game plan.

(The Cougars) were making a conscious effort to strip the ball out, ... and (Lynch) was making a conscious effort to hang onto it.

I love it, ... That's why I'm a fan of it, that's why I'm in favor of it, and that's why I voted for it.

I knew we'd be OK. Joe had a good day throwing the ball and he ran the offense really well. He has a lot of potential.

In our conference, we don't see anything like it.

In open space with people spread out, the guy is very, very difficult to tackle.

I obviously haven't done enough of the coaching or preparation you need to do, so we're not going to give up on him as a kid or a player. You can work on a lot of things in practice, but how do you simulate a game? That's where Joe is facing his biggest struggles.

In my opinion, they are the best team I have seen in college football. There is no doubt about it.

He stayed strong. I was really proud of him.

But you know that there's going to be more coming, because they haven't done it all in their first two games.

He's not a guy who lays back and gets juked by people. He's very aggressive going to the ball and he runs through people. He's a physical guy who can run; he covers the field. He's a pretty gifted guy.

(He) played very well and did a nice job for us out there. The kickoffs were great and all of the punts were right back there against the end zone.

You can only practice so much. Now it's time to get in the game.

This is a great day, without a doubt.

The maturity, not only physical, but mental and emotional, he gained over the last six or eight months has been awesome.