Don Patterson Quotes (39 Quotes)

The fact that he was determined to play two sports eliminated some of his opportunities. We had no difficulty with that at all. He'll start basketball late it's just a matter of how late. The games that matter the most are, of course, in February and March.

The defensive scheme we run is truly run only at two other schools. So the first thing we did was call New Mexico (University) and Brigham Young. New Mexico didn't have a candidate for us, but BYU said on the other hand 'we don't only have a guy, we have a guy who's outstanding and would be a good fit for you.' Right then we knew he'd be a finalist for the job.

I like the attitude of this team. They don't like what's happened the last two years. They're hungry.

The thing that made me feel positive in many ways was the way our defense played in the early stages when the game was in doubt. They ran an interception back and had the ball after the punt block. At that point it would have been in a lot of peoples mind

They (Waxahachie) just outplayed us in the second half. We ran into foul trouble and turnovers and they took advantage.

This defense causes you problems. We had a hard time on pass protection, and we had four weeks to prepare. Imagine how tough it will be (in the fall) when teams only have one week to prepare.

We knew he had good speed, but coming out of high school we didn't know how good he would be. The truth of it is, he runs good routes already. He's worked his way into the lineup.

There are some players that have a quiet confidence in what they can do. I believe Alex has that confidence. ... He believes in himself. He knows he has paid the price to properly prepare for the opportunity.

I think it will be a lot different than recent years. Last season, about at the midway point, I could see the lights go on in a lot of players. They understood the defensive schemes we wanted to use. Now, with this spring practice, they aren't going to have to learn anything new.

Some people don't think we play very good defense, but we can play it pretty well when we need it. I thought we did a good job in the fourth quarter putting some pressure on them.

I think a change of scenery will be good for us. We've had disappointment the last two weeks at home. It'll be something different (from) the routine we've had lately.

I would have to say I was more pleased with the defense today. They did a great job of not staying blocked very long, of flying around and making plays. On the offensive side of things, we ran the ball very well in long yardage situations.

We're going to have our work cut out for us (today). Of course, this will be the first game of the day for both of us.

(Former Iowa coach) Hayden Fry said (in spring games) he never wanted his ones to get beat. I want to see how our ones on offense do against our ones on defense. I think that will make a more competitive game.

That's what championship teams do. It speaks well of Southern Illinois. They had a little adversity and they responded.

This game does mean a lot to me. Having grown up in the state of Texas, I'll have a lot of family and friends at the game. I think the whole town will be there. I've only had one opportunity as a head coach to coach a game in Texas, and that one didn't work out so well against a good Sam Houston State team in 2001.

We said going in that we hoped the scoring system would make for a competitive day. It did that. ... Maybe it's a fair system, who knows what's for sure fair and what isn't. ... But, based on the score, I would say it's a pretty fair system.

Some of them play well on the practice field, but in front of a crowd ... it can be a different story. If you lay an egg on Saturday ... it's not a good thing.

We know what Chad Walker can do. We want to give some more playing time to the others, to see what they can do.

It'll be like old times. We go way back with Rockwall. Just two years ago, we were in the same district.

That's his background. He was expected to go to college regardless of whether or not he played football.

There aren't many breaks in the Gateway, that's for sure. We recognize that all the opponents in the conference are dangerous and they're all capable of beating you.

I was hoping this scoring system would make for a competitive day. Based on (Saturday's) score, I'd say it's a pretty fair system.

We played great basketball (Wednesday). I was really proud of our effort and the fact that we played such good team basketball.

There's no doubt that we're going to get it done. We're getting better on a daily basis. We're playing a lot of young players and they are learning on a good pace now.

I would hope that by the time the spring is over, we'll have a lot of questions answered.

Some do it without their parents, and they can really get caught up in the moment. Everywhere we went, we took a video camera and a still camera. When the educators are talking about the degree process, we have all that on tape. We're going over pictures and the tapes to make sure the right decision is there.

It made my job a little more enjoyable this time of the year. It was nice this (season), we had so many people in place. With the success we've had in recent years, we have lost two or, in some cases, three coaches.

We played great team basketball and did an excellent job of executing our game plan. We have to continue to do this as we move on this season.

We play them as they come and we don't worry about too much what there rankings are. We weren't ranked and we almost played a really good game against Southern. We realize that if we play up to our potential we can play with anyone and we proved that last Saturday night. I would expect that we will prove it all over again on Saturday afternoon.

As we spent time trying to play catch up, it was even harder trying to establish the run. We still had some plays that we thought we could be effective in running and we were disappointed that they didn't work better.

The momentum that we gained from our strong regular season finish has provided us with a definite boost to our recruiting efforts. Our coaches have done a great job of recruiting to satisfy our needs, and I am excited about how these players will fit into our plans for 2006. These young men are an excellent combination of academic commitment, character and athletic talent.

When they were effective with running the ball, it meant that they could be effective with the play action pass. We obviously didn't defend very well against either the run or the pass.

We lost two starting linebackers and (Miller) has an impressive rsum'. He earned a lot of accolades from his high school and junior college days. It was not a difficult decision for us that we should recruit him and, thankfully, he's here now and off to a good start.

Ultimately, it still boils down to execution. Our guys have to get open, the quarterback has to find them, and the linemen have to give them the benefit of protection. We'll have to hope they don't hit us with the stuff that we haven't seen already because that element of surprise can sometimes create a sack for the other team.

Alex just goes about his business. He's just a very solid football player.

I think our fans have a lot to do with it. We have our bench area on the east side over there to identify with the student body. I'm sure the travel aspect is a little bit of an issue.

Alex has made a real statement this spring and this past winter that that's the job he would like to have, that's the job he plans to have. Alex does recognize there is going to be a lot of competition, but that's the way it is for any top-notch program.

We were frustrated with a few of the calls that were made. But we understand that when you go on the road that's part of the game.