QUOTING ILLINOIS HEAD COACH Ron Zook...
On the seniors' last game:
"These guys were the foundation of the program this season, and I would have liked for them to have a couple more wins in their last season playing. I was happy for Kendrick today; he had three good catches that helped him end his season on a high note."
Reflection on the season:
"Coming into this year, I never thought that it would be like this or that; we'd win this game and that. Hopefully in a few years we'll look back and think to ourselves how this served as a learning experience. After the Penn State game, I told the guys you have to hit the very bottom before you can get back up again. We've improved on some things since then and have produced some quality plays. People don't focus on just one or two plays though; they get us on the negatives in between those plays. There's nowhere to go but up from here. We need to get out there and find some new athletes."
On recruits:
"We're going to go out and get those guys that want to play. You don't get better by riding the bench. Fortunately we have some guys this year that are young and gained experience to help them next year. We'll still have a young team, but we're going to have athletes and competitors that want to win. Consistency comes with experience, and that is something we need to build up. We're going to work harder than these guys have ever worked before. We're going to get better, but it doesn't change overnight. The team has been like this for a couple of years, and it's going to change. We have everything to do so, the facilities, the academics, and the players."
QUOTING ILLINOIS PLAYERS:
DB Justin Harrison...
On the end of the season:
"It's a sour feeling just knowing that this season did not go the way we planned it; it did not go the way we wanted it to. The work that we put in over the summer; it was hard. It's hard to have a season like this, with the seniors leaving, this being the last game for them. It's a disappointment just knowing we could have played better."
On hope for next season:
"Our hope is just knowing that we had that room for improvement and knowing that we are going to work hard. With the team we had this year, there were a lot of successful people, we just did not have success together."
FB Jason Davis...
On this season:
"We showed we can put the points on the board. We have to sustain for four quarters. We had a lot of good halves, but we never really put it together this year. But there's some young guys. They were forced to grow up early. It's going to pay off."
On his touchdown:
"It's bittersweet for me because we did not win. It was not like we went outside the game plan just to make sure I got a touchdown in my last game. Coach called a good play in the last game, and we executed it. Watching the film all week, we knew what kind of defense they played and how they played the run. We knew if we could get past the linebacker, we would be free."
On what the underclassmen can do:
"It's not going to happen again. Going through this year, they see it, and they are not going to repeat it. There is going to be more competition at this university, nothing is going to be promised to anybody, and the competition is going to breed success."
QUOTING NORTHWESTERN HEAD COACH RANDY WALKER...
On his football players:
"I can't say enough about the kids. People didn't give us much of a chance back in August. We had some setbacks in camp and some injuries, but our kids hung in there and there was great leadership and ownership out of our senior class. I can't say enough about [the seniors], and the job they have done as leaders and as players."
On Coach Ron Zook and Illinois Football:
"I am very impressed with the job Ron is doing. There isn't a more passionate guy on the planet than Ron Zook. We can see that in the Illinois program and in his kids. His team is going to keep coming. They're going to be a force to be reckoned with in this conference real soon."
On Tyrell Sutton's season performance:
"I never count on freshmen. We try to go out and recruit a good class, but I think it's a mistake to immediately pencil a guy in. But, he did it the hard way. He came in as the second-team back, and he was able to come in and replace Roberson. I am happy for him. But again, you never know with freshmen. It's more about maturity with freshmen than it is about their skill. And he's a pretty mature kid."
On Basanez:
"[Basanez] has always had vision and the ability to see things, and he displayed this as a freshman. He's coupled that instinct with hard work. He is such a hard worker in the weight room and has put so much time into the off-season studying. He has really worked to become a good football player, and he is getting better and better. And I've told the pro scouts that he still hasn't played his best football. He's one of those guys that in five or six years, he's really going to wow us. He is going to continue to get better and better."
QUOTING NORTHWESTERN PLAYERS:
RB Tyrell Sutton...
On responding to Illinois:
"That's what Coach Walker has been telling us; it's all about responding. Like he told us in pre-game, they're going to make plays that work for them and go against us, and it's all about responding. I came in optimistic about everything, whether it's getting a lot of carries or getting a lot of catches, as long as I feel as though I'm into the game then that's all that really matters to me."
On the rivalry with Illinois:
"It definitely is a rivalry. A lot of people over look it. They definitely came out swinging, and we had to make a lot of adjustments for what they were doing to us."
On the offense:
"It was definitely a lot of work; the past couple weeks we've been struggling a lot. We get rolling for one period, and then we sort of stall so it felt really good to keep our offense rolling today."
On the offensive line:
"They were fantastic. We had a lot of yards, we kept the quarterback well protected and that's all we want to do."
WR MARK PHILMORE...
On last season:
"Last year was last year. This season has been completely different, and I think we've had some great things this year to look back on and be proud of. Ultimately we're going to a bowl game, which is nice compared to last year."
On this season:
"It's real nice. Looking back right before camp it wasn't looking too good, but we believed and slowly we were able to push our way through to where we are now."
