Kevin Jennings | QB | R-So
Q: How can you bounce back from and use this performance as a positive as you look forward to next year and I saw when you walked off the field you had a big embrace with Coach Lashlee. What did he say to you in that moment?
A: Yeah, he just told me, we got to move on from this, games like that. It can happen, so just move on from it and learn from your mistakes and the things you did bad today. So, things I can learn on and things like that, just being better with the ball, going on and that's about it, really.
Q: Kevin, 106,000 people in the building today. How did you prepare for dealing with the crowd, that environment, and how do you feel that you dealt with it and the impact they played?
A: Yeah, we prepared all week at practice, the two weeks we had to practice and prepare for it, so we were really all right with the sound, but, it was a big impact for sure, though, and they showed out and came out there and just, kind of disturbed our offense a little bit.
Q: Kevin, in terms of the interceptions, if you could kind of walk us through any of them on what unfolded, what do you think, what were you seeing? Coach actually mentioned on the third one that he felt was on him. How would you characterize those picks and kind of what happened?
A: Yeah, none of them was definitely on him. I mean, I had the ball in my hands. He didn't have the ball in his hands. I made mistakes three times and just gave the defense the ball making careless mistakes and, just not being protective with the ball, and, that's really it.
Q: The first drive, the fourth down, you can run it, you can throw it. You had a guy there. What did you see on that play and do you feel like missing that play kind of got stuck with you a little bit and led to further struggles?
A: Yeah, I mean, saw a guy wide open, missed the pass and just got live with it from there. I mean, tried to bounce back from it. That didn't really play a major effect in it but just tried to bounce back from it.
Q: Coach Lashlee was just in here and said he thinks that you guys have set up a new chapter for SMU football, one that doesn't always necessarily start with the death penalty. Do you believe that's true and in what ways do you think your success this year set you up for the future? This program, potentially. The guys who will come after you?
A: Yeah, I think it set the bar a lot coming in, you know, teams not planning for us to do nothing throughout the year. We came in and we showcased what we can do throughout the year and we set the bar for ourself for next year and that's all we did.
Q: Kevin, you mentioned learning from this game. What would you say you did learn and then where do you want to grow for next season?
A: Yeah, just learned a lot, of course, not being careless with the ball, trusting my teammates to make plays and not for me to do everything on the field and just trusting my teammates and I'm going to carry on for sure and we're going to bounce back from this and just learn from the mistakes we had today.
Q: What does it mean for you in this climate of college football in the portal and everything and teams changing every year for after a game like that, Coach already today said you're starter next year. You're going in starter next year. What does that mean for you? Because a lot of coaches around the country despite your body of work this year, would not have said that, would have made you maybe compete again or would try to go in the portal and get somebody else to get to another level, but they're sticking with you right now?
A: Yeah, it definitely means a lot just having the coaching staff having that much trust in me to say that, like you said, it's rare to come across that, transfer portals, high school kids coming in, things like that, it's rare for that to happen and I want to thank the coaching staff for that and all the trust they have in me.
Q: I know we asked you a couple times now about how you bounce back from this, but how do you actually do it? How hard do you take this game in this moment and how do you not let that fester and carry over into next year?
A: Yeah, it's definitely going to start in the offseason, you know, just what we put in day by day and just going to work and putting our heads down and putting this game behind us. So, offseason, fall camp, spring, all of that stuff is going to matter a lot just to put this behind us and to come out next year swinging.
Q. Coach Lashlee was quick to say that the weather didn't impact the outcome because obviously both sides had to play in it, but, Kevin, how hard was it just to throw the ball in these kind of conditions? And for the rest of you, did the conditions impact any part of your game even though it impacted Penn State as well, did it impact the way you guys were able to perform?
A: Yeah, I don't think the weather did nothing to us at all, just had a terrible game. I had a terrible game. Yeah, that's it.
Roderick Daniels Jr. | WR | Sr.
Q: Not the way you want to have your SMU career end, but can you put into words what this season has meant to you as a guy from Dallas and just going on this run to the playoff?
A: It was a fun journey being from Dallas and playing in the College Football Playoffs the first year with the 12 team playoffs and I was basically blessed to be able to do it with these guys up here and everything we did this season, I'm going to remember this year for a very long time, one of my favorite years of my life and just move on and hope my boy Kevin keeps doing what he's doing next year.
Q: All season we've asked you guys about what different games said in terms of a statement for the growth of this program and obviously you guys are sitting here after a game you didn't get the result you wanted, but when you think about this season, maybe for Elijah and Roderick, what does this season say about the group that Kevin is bringing back next year and what SMU can be?
A: I would say he brought us here already, so he already know what it's like when he do come back next year and he'll be able to lead those guys. He's a great leader and I know they're going to be in good hands when they're with Kevin next year, so he knows what he's doing and they're going to be all right.
Elijah Roberts | DE | Sr.
Q. Elijah, how did that defensive start forcing two punts, getting those two fourth down stops kind of really energize your unit and kind of keep you guys in that game for a bit?
A: Yeah, it was good to get a good start like that. We wish we could have taken the ball away a little bit more often in the beginning, you know, help put our offense in better positions, but, I felt like defense came out ready to play. We were ready to have the game and at the beginning of the game, you were able to do see that a little bit.
Q. Elijah, what do you hope people will remember about this team and about this defense when they look back at it?
A: I want people to remember how much fun we had on the field together, like, I honestly know that watching us, offense, defense, that we look like we're having so much fun. From the beginning of the season all the way up until the last second, we just played. I just want people to understand how hard we played, how much we really, love this game and put our time into this. We have a team that's very dedicated, all the way from the coaching staff to even the media people here. It's just -- we have such a great staff and like you said before, our program is going to be in a good place in the next few years for sure.
Q: All season we've asked you guys about what different games said in terms of a statement for the growth of this program and obviously you guys are sitting here after a game you didn't get the result you wanted, but when you think about this season, maybe for Elijah and Roderick, what does this season say about the group that Kevin is bringing back next year and what SMU can be?
A: Yeah, it's hard not to love SMU now. Just on the outside looking in, I know today didn't go as planned but if you're a recruit, if you're a transfer or something like that and you really want to have a special place to come play, like why not here? We're just on the rise right now. Kevin will be back. We got a lot of guys coming back on the team, so SMU will be good for sure.
Q: And Elijah, the ride for you to come in as kind of a tweener two years ago and to then emerge as one of the better defensive players in college football, what's your ride been like and just what are your emotions right now?
A: Yeah, I told all the coaches after the game, thank you guys for trusting in me and bringing me here. I was in the portal. I didn't really have a lot of options. I did, like, here and there but it was just to be a backup. Like teams would tell me, hey, we'll bring you in but you're going to be a backup. Just having that, like, opportunity here. I thanked every coach, every person who I shook hands with, thank you for the opportunity. Thank you for help, being in this chapter of my life and thank you for changing my life, you know. I really appreciate this program forever, man, and this has honestly been the greatest two years I've had playing football. Ever.
Q: Coach Lashlee was quick to say that the weather didn't impact the outcome because obviously both sides had to play in it, but, Kevin, how hard was it just to throw the ball in these kind of conditions? And for the rest of you, did the conditions impact any part of your game even though it impacted Penn State as well, did it impact the way you guys were able to perform?
A: I don't think so. I know as far as us up front, the D-linemen, kind of getting that first pop and that first strike, your hands kind of got to get a little adjusted but honestly, everybody was just so ready to play, I don't think it affected us at all.
Matthew Hibner | TE | Gr.
Q: As transfers from Temple and Michigan, you guys at least had played in weather like this before. Did you talk to any of your teammates about how to block out the conditions or handle them and deal with what you're facing today?
A: Yeah, I mean, for the most part, it's really just the mentality. I mean, there's little things you can do as far as latex gloves under the gloves, things like that, but it wasn't raining. It wasn't snowing. It wasn't anything crazy. It was partly cloudy most of the day. Once you get out on the field and you start playing, it just feels like every other game. For me, at least, the weather's never really been a factor and I think most of the team felt pretty much the same way.
Q: The first couple of drives, the fourth down play, the pick sixes, how frustrating was that as an offense that you guys are kind of moving the ball and not finishing drives and getting it down and actually giving up points.
A: Yeah, definitely frustrating. We know who we are as an offense and we didn't display who we were as an offense today and we all know that. Everybody made mistakes, everybody could have played better. It'll be fun to go back and watch the film and learn from it all, but, you know, it is disheartening that we came out and started a little bit slow. Did the same thing against Clemson. It'll be something to reflect on and really evaluate how we can be really intentional about fixing that issue in the future.
Q: You mentioned the 28-point margin at halftime, but like Coach Lashlee was saying, a lot of what happened in the first half was self-inflicted. I wonder if you could share at all anything about the conversations in the locker room as you guys tried to regroup and gather yourselves for the second eh half.
A: Yeah, I mean, even at half, it wasn't necessarily about making adjustments. I mean, Penn State's obviously a great defense, and they were able to make things harder for us and, you know, sort of putting us in situations where turning the ball over was more likely to happen, but at the end of the day, we just needed to get back to, you know, just the fundamentals of football, running through our plays, doing it, executing better. I felt like we did that to an extent. It just should have came out and did it in the first half.
Kobe Wilson | LB | Gr.
Q: Kobe, just what are your thoughts on your career just coming from kind of a late addition from Temple and coming into this program and emerging as not only a leader, but one of the best players on the defense and just how do you kind of bounce between that and just the ride coming to an end?
A: Um, I just think that growth has been a big portion of my career, so me growing as a player as well as a man, every year has been progression for me and the coaching staff has played a big part in that by developing me as a player and a man and I felt like that shows a lot about SMU and the culture they set because I wasn't -- like I wasn't starting at Temple. When I got to SMU, I got the starting role and then I started producing and that's not because of me, but because they put me through that developmental stage and they got me better to where I am today, so I just felt like growth has been tremendous throughout these years.
Q: What do you hope that people will remember about this team for years to come when they look back on what you guys did this year?
A: I just hope they remember how hard we played on that field and, like, we never gave up. That first half was like 28-0, but then they only ended up scoring ten points and we scored ten points so just how hard we played on that field from game one to this game and how much we love each other and how great this coaching staff has done with us. I hope they just remember that and the culture that we brought back to SMU. I felt like we brought that swagger back here and now more people are going to want to come here rather than the Baylors, the TCUs, the whatever, so we just hope that people take that into account and they just keep supporting us and keep loving on us.