Audio obtained courtesy of the Los Angeles Times and transcribed:
SHOWED A LOT OF FIGHT, ESPECIALLY IN THE FIRST HALF. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING AT HALFTIME AND WHAT CHANGED FROM THERE?
QB Ethan Garbers: “Yeah, I mean, we came in at halftime and we thought we had a really good chance to win this game — which we did. We got the ball back in the third quarter and we needed to put a drive together and we just didn’t execute. Again, we were shooting ourselves in the foot in the second half. But I’m really, really proud of how the guys played in the first half and we really got something to build on now and some momentum offensively.”
WHAT WAS THE KEY TO GETTING THAT MOMENTUM IN THE FIRST HALF? WHAT DID YOU DO BETTER THIS GAME?
Garbers: “I mean, I think just our mindset was better. You know, the whole week we were talking about how, ‘Hey, there’s no pressure on us to go out there and perform.’ Like, we just need to play free and play with no pressure. I mean, everyone was doing their job, everyone knew what to do and we were executing. So, it seems like it worked.”
IT SEEMED LIKE TIMING WAS BETTER IN THE PASSING GAME AND YOU WERE GETTING A BETTER FEEL IN THE OFFENSE. WOULD YOU SAY YOU FELT THAT WAY?
“Yeah, definitely. In the first half, we had some good going. We gotta work to sustain that for four quarters ‘cause we can’t just not score any points in the second half, it’s not gonna be great. But we just gotta keep working, keep building on what we had today and we’re gonna keep our heads up.”
DID LSU DO ANYTHING IN THE SECOND HALF TO GET YOU OFF YOUR GAME?
“Yeah, they rushed the passer pretty good all night long. But I mean coverage-wise, they played a little more zone. But I know they’re a great team, they’re gonna go a long way. Hats off to them, but we just gotta be better.”
CARSON, IN THE SECOND HALF LSU WAS ABLE TO SUSTAIN SOME DRIVES. DID THEY CHANGE THEIR APPROACH AT ALL? DID THEY DO STUFF UNDERNEATH, SHORTER STUFF TO KEEP THOSE DRIVES GOING?
LB Carson Schwesinger: “Yeah, I think going into the second half — similar to what Ethan just said — we were going in thinking we needed to get a stop to start off. Built off that first half, came into it just needed a little bit more communication from the defense. Obviously, teams are going to come out with adjustments but we gotta come out and adjust the same way, too.”
A LOT OF LONG DRIVES FOR LSU, ESPECIALLY IN THIS HEAT. HOW HARD IS IT TO STAY IN THAT RHYTHM WHEN YOU’RE ON THE FIELD FOR SO LONG?
Schwesinger: “Yeah, I think one of the things we want to do when we get on the field is get back off the field. You know, give the offense the ball back. The long drives in the heat obviously, yeah, they can affect us but we’re all playing in it, you know? We gotta keep, just keep our communication, keep our technique — assignment, alignment, technique — and hone in on those long drives to be able to get off the field.”
ETHAN, I KNOW THE STATS ARE GOING TO BE MISLEADING IN THE RUN GAME. HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED A MORE ROBUST RUN GAME TO IGNITE THIS OFFENSE?
“I mean, yeah, I felt like we actually ran the ball pretty good, pretty well against their front seven today. I know all the sack yardage is probably gonna throw that back, but I felt like we did a decent job moving the line of scrimmage and gaining positive yards on runs. And, I mean, that’s just something else that we’re building on. Yeah, a good run game is a quarterback’s best friend, but yeah, we’re still working on it and we’re gonna be better.”
BOTH OF YOU CAN ANSWER THIS: THIS WAS SOMETHING TO BUILD OFF ALL THE WAY AROUND TODAY?
Garbers: “I mean, yeah, I feel like we’re both disappointed in the outcome, but I think how we played in the first half versus a good LSU team like that and an SEC team, I mean, I think we’re proud of that. But I’m not proud of how we finished, I’m not proud of how we played in the second half.”
SEEMS DEFENSIVELY YOU JUST COULDN’T GET ANY TACKLES FOR LOSS AND NEGATIVE PLAYS. HOW KEY IS THAT, ESPECIALLY IN THIS GAME AND MOVING FORWARD?
Schwesinger: “Yeah, I think in any football game one of the things we try and do is what we say is create havoc — whether it’s PBUs, interceptions, TFLs — and those are things we’re gonna have to do moving forward in order to get off the field and keep those drives from becoming those long drives that we had in that second half.”
SEEMS LIKE YOU’RE TAKING STEPS. FEMI IS ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY NOW AN EDGE AND YOU’RE PLAYING A LOT MORE INSIDE. IS THAT HELPING AND WHAT ELSE IS CONTRIBUTING TO THAT?
“Yeah, I think we’re moving. We got a lot of real good football players on defense, and I just think, you know, we’re moving things around to see where we can get the best cohesive unit. (Inaudible), being able to get everybody in that can make impactful plays, and how that changes week to week is really just us trying to be able to get our best guys on the field.”
CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH KAIN MEDRANO?
“Yeah, I mean, I’ve been with Kain, he’s been here since I got here. Knowing him for the past couple of years, and he’s obviously been a mentor as he’s been one of the guys playing, so it’s definitely great to have him out there next to me. Someone you can rely on and hopefully the reverse of that, too.”
SOME GUYS WHO CONTINUE TO STEP UP LIKE KWAZI, CARTER SHAW. HOW MUCH ARE THEY GOING TO HELP DOWN THE ROAD?
Garbers: “Yeah, it’s great, you know. Those young guys coming in and getting some gametime reps. I just gotta continue to work, build chemistry with them, and I really like what Carter and Kwazi are doing. It’s just good if we can get guys rotating in there, keep fresh legs. I’m really proud of those guys.”
SHOWED A LOT OF FIGHT, ESPECIALLY IN THE FIRST HALF. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING AT HALFTIME AND WHAT CHANGED FROM THERE?
QB Ethan Garbers: “Yeah, I mean, we came in at halftime and we thought we had a really good chance to win this game — which we did. We got the ball back in the third quarter and we needed to put a drive together and we just didn’t execute. Again, we were shooting ourselves in the foot in the second half. But I’m really, really proud of how the guys played in the first half and we really got something to build on now and some momentum offensively.”
WHAT WAS THE KEY TO GETTING THAT MOMENTUM IN THE FIRST HALF? WHAT DID YOU DO BETTER THIS GAME?
Garbers: “I mean, I think just our mindset was better. You know, the whole week we were talking about how, ‘Hey, there’s no pressure on us to go out there and perform.’ Like, we just need to play free and play with no pressure. I mean, everyone was doing their job, everyone knew what to do and we were executing. So, it seems like it worked.”
IT SEEMED LIKE TIMING WAS BETTER IN THE PASSING GAME AND YOU WERE GETTING A BETTER FEEL IN THE OFFENSE. WOULD YOU SAY YOU FELT THAT WAY?
“Yeah, definitely. In the first half, we had some good going. We gotta work to sustain that for four quarters ‘cause we can’t just not score any points in the second half, it’s not gonna be great. But we just gotta keep working, keep building on what we had today and we’re gonna keep our heads up.”
DID LSU DO ANYTHING IN THE SECOND HALF TO GET YOU OFF YOUR GAME?
“Yeah, they rushed the passer pretty good all night long. But I mean coverage-wise, they played a little more zone. But I know they’re a great team, they’re gonna go a long way. Hats off to them, but we just gotta be better.”
CARSON, IN THE SECOND HALF LSU WAS ABLE TO SUSTAIN SOME DRIVES. DID THEY CHANGE THEIR APPROACH AT ALL? DID THEY DO STUFF UNDERNEATH, SHORTER STUFF TO KEEP THOSE DRIVES GOING?
LB Carson Schwesinger: “Yeah, I think going into the second half — similar to what Ethan just said — we were going in thinking we needed to get a stop to start off. Built off that first half, came into it just needed a little bit more communication from the defense. Obviously, teams are going to come out with adjustments but we gotta come out and adjust the same way, too.”
A LOT OF LONG DRIVES FOR LSU, ESPECIALLY IN THIS HEAT. HOW HARD IS IT TO STAY IN THAT RHYTHM WHEN YOU’RE ON THE FIELD FOR SO LONG?
Schwesinger: “Yeah, I think one of the things we want to do when we get on the field is get back off the field. You know, give the offense the ball back. The long drives in the heat obviously, yeah, they can affect us but we’re all playing in it, you know? We gotta keep, just keep our communication, keep our technique — assignment, alignment, technique — and hone in on those long drives to be able to get off the field.”
ETHAN, I KNOW THE STATS ARE GOING TO BE MISLEADING IN THE RUN GAME. HOW MUCH DO YOU NEED A MORE ROBUST RUN GAME TO IGNITE THIS OFFENSE?
“I mean, yeah, I felt like we actually ran the ball pretty good, pretty well against their front seven today. I know all the sack yardage is probably gonna throw that back, but I felt like we did a decent job moving the line of scrimmage and gaining positive yards on runs. And, I mean, that’s just something else that we’re building on. Yeah, a good run game is a quarterback’s best friend, but yeah, we’re still working on it and we’re gonna be better.”
BOTH OF YOU CAN ANSWER THIS: THIS WAS SOMETHING TO BUILD OFF ALL THE WAY AROUND TODAY?
Garbers: “I mean, yeah, I feel like we’re both disappointed in the outcome, but I think how we played in the first half versus a good LSU team like that and an SEC team, I mean, I think we’re proud of that. But I’m not proud of how we finished, I’m not proud of how we played in the second half.”
SEEMS DEFENSIVELY YOU JUST COULDN’T GET ANY TACKLES FOR LOSS AND NEGATIVE PLAYS. HOW KEY IS THAT, ESPECIALLY IN THIS GAME AND MOVING FORWARD?
Schwesinger: “Yeah, I think in any football game one of the things we try and do is what we say is create havoc — whether it’s PBUs, interceptions, TFLs — and those are things we’re gonna have to do moving forward in order to get off the field and keep those drives from becoming those long drives that we had in that second half.”
SEEMS LIKE YOU’RE TAKING STEPS. FEMI IS ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY NOW AN EDGE AND YOU’RE PLAYING A LOT MORE INSIDE. IS THAT HELPING AND WHAT ELSE IS CONTRIBUTING TO THAT?
“Yeah, I think we’re moving. We got a lot of real good football players on defense, and I just think, you know, we’re moving things around to see where we can get the best cohesive unit. (Inaudible), being able to get everybody in that can make impactful plays, and how that changes week to week is really just us trying to be able to get our best guys on the field.”
CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH KAIN MEDRANO?
“Yeah, I mean, I’ve been with Kain, he’s been here since I got here. Knowing him for the past couple of years, and he’s obviously been a mentor as he’s been one of the guys playing, so it’s definitely great to have him out there next to me. Someone you can rely on and hopefully the reverse of that, too.”
SOME GUYS WHO CONTINUE TO STEP UP LIKE KWAZI, CARTER SHAW. HOW MUCH ARE THEY GOING TO HELP DOWN THE ROAD?
Garbers: “Yeah, it’s great, you know. Those young guys coming in and getting some gametime reps. I just gotta continue to work, build chemistry with them, and I really like what Carter and Kwazi are doing. It’s just good if we can get guys rotating in there, keep fresh legs. I’m really proud of those guys.”
