Sept. 1, 2007

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Post-Game Quotes following Illinois 40-34 season-opening loss to Missouri

Quoting Illinois Head Coach Ron Zook...

Opening Statement:
"First of all I just want to say this, they're a very good football team. The good thing is that we played them through the second half. I felt like it was a game that could go either way and in the fourth quarter our guys hung in there and kept fighting. There is no question in my mind that we are an improved football team. We are going to continue to improve and get better as the season goes on."

...on the resiliency of the Illini throughout the game:
"I told them in the locker room that I was proud of them. They could have shut down and quit but they didn't. They kept fighting and hanging in there. As a coach that makes you feel good, because you know that you have good people, that you have winners. The guys are going to learn from this game and it will help us down the road."

...on backup quarterback Eddie McGee's play:
"I thought Eddie did well. There's no question in my mind that you can't turn the ball over. I know that he felt bad, but he hung in there and he kept fighting and competing. Both quarterbacks are good players and when we recruited them we knew that. It's not surprising that Eddie had the kind of game that he had."

...on the close loss and loss of starting quarterback:
"In my mind a loss is a loss. No question in my mind that we are better. We still have to still go out and get it done on the field. As a team we are still on the verge. Today is going to help us down the road, because Missouri is a good team and we can learn from this."

...on not hesitating to play true freshman Arrelious Benn:
"(Arrelious) Rejus is going to be a special guy. The more he plays the better he is going to get. You saw him make the one catch on their sideline and then he made the catch at the end, to get us down the field. I think as he gets older and more mature he will continue to improve."

Quoting Illinois players...

Wide Receiver Kyle Hudson

...on his performance:
"I just tried to do the best I could. It was a good effort by the team. But we made some mistakes, and that's something we can't do. It's a steppingstone, and we'll come out ready next week."

...on the team's mental state after the game:
"I've still got a sick feeling in my stomach right now after being that close and not pulling it out. We worked really hard, and we have to come out and keep getting better. That's all we can do right now."

...on the play of Illinois quarterback Eddie McGee:
"He really stepped up. It's great to have somebody behind Juice (Williams) that will step up like that. If it wasn't for Eddie, we wouldn't have been in that game. I thought he did a great job with the plays he made, and I'm really proud of him."

Wide Receiver Arrelious Benn

...on his leg cramps:
"They bothered me a little bit. My hamstring was cramping up. They wanted me to sit out, but I didn't want to be out of the game. I didn't really have any other problems, I just need to get more fluids before the game."

...on the potential of Juice Williams playing in the second half:
"I thought for a second he was going to come back in the game. I saw him warming up on the sidelines like he wanted to go back in and I asked him if he was. He said no, but he wanted to get back out there. That's how he acts - he's a leader."

...on his first collegiate game:
"I played a pretty good game. I was pretty anxious, but I calmed down a bit. I just had to play football. It was a lot of fun, though."

Quarterback Eddie McGee

...on the last play of the game:
"We had a corner-out called and the safety came up and I just threw a bad ball."

...on how much this game will help him in the future:
"The first game is always a little sticky. I will probably be more prepared and ready for the next game. I had to just go in when my time was called and step up."

...on the Illini's second-half comeback:
"We believe in each other. We just need to get in the right position down the field so our offense can execute and we can be unstoppable."

Linebacker J Leman

...on Missouri's game plan:
"We thought they would run a little bit more with the quarterback being as mobile as he is, but they just opened it up passing. We didn't do a very good job of stopping them in the first half, but we buckled down in the second."

...on what Illinois could take from the game:
"We're just tired of excuses and turnovers. We need to stop people when we're supposed to stop them. It's not good enough to be close. We just didn't make the plays that we needed to win the game."

...on the comparison to last season:
"I'm not going to say it's the same this season. But a loss is a loss. We need to win games. Just as Coach Zook said, 'It's not good enough to be close, we need to win games.'"

Safety Kevin Mitchell

...on positives to take away from the game:
"We communicated well despite the (loud) atmosphere, especially with the tight ends and a good quarterback. We continued to fight and improved, especially in the second half."

...on the lack of offense in the first half:
"Sometimes we don't do our job and they have to stay on the field to pick us up. I think having a veteran defense, we're allowed to stay on the field. When the offense isn't producing, it's our time to step up and I think we did that in the second half."

...on what the defense needs to improve on:
"We could have tackled better, especially on 3rd-and-longs. We need to quit giving teams easy scoring opportunities. Fumbling the ball in the red zone is not how we're going to win games."