The Beavers were well represented at Pac-10 Media Day by HC Mike Riley and OLB Keaton Kristick. Here are my quickly transcribed quotes from the presser:
Mike Riley's Opening Statement:
I'm proud to bring Keaton to Media Day… he was recently voted a team camptain… he is well respected in the program.
We're looking forward to great year in a tough conference. Our conference is always getting better top to bottom all the time. We lost a lot of good players—had seven drafted— so we're looking to fill a lot of holes. Excited about Spring Ball. Both Rodgers' are 100%. Moevao is doing well. Should be healthy by first game. Canfield had a good spring. Hoping for two healthy senior QB’s by the time the first game roles around. We lost a lot of the secondary. Fall camp will be big for them. We always have good linebackers. Lost two DE’s. We’ll have guys who have played in ballgames and are looking forward to taking over the starting roles there. It's a big time of year. Looking forward to challenges that the season will bring.
Riley on the slow starts:
Two of three games are at home to start the year. That can be good. But it’s more important how we play. We have had rough starts. Some if it has to do with the opponents, but also with the fact that we were finding out our identity.
Keaton Kristick on Toby Gerhart and last year's Stanford game:
He's tough to bring down... a good runner.
Riley on the recruiting class. Who will be the next Jacqiuzz Rodgers?
I don’t know who will emerge as "that" guy. I’d still like to be able to redshirt players. We’ll just have to wait and see as camp unfolds.
Riley on what teams need to do to beat USC:
There’s not a lot of magic to it. You have to play a great football game and you have to finish it. Our team played a very efficient football game. We took care of the football, and the defense had early success. We got the ball back, punted well, and had to fight like heck through the end of the ballgame. It has to be efficient. You have to finish.
Riley on how engaged Lyle Moevao will be in the quarterback competition:
We’ll be very careful with his "pitch count". I don’t think he’s ready today to go through a normal practice. I hope that doesn’t last too long so it can become truly a 1-2 punch however it plays out. I’ve thought of a lot of different scenarios, but none of those matter until he is able to go through a whole practice and be game ready.
Keaton Kristick on Jacquizz Rodgers:
He’s a great player, happy to have on our team. he hides behinds guys, it’s hard to tackle him. That really comes down to wheteher he practices or not… coach…
MR: The one good thing about the way we practice is that it’s led by the players in terms of the work ethic. The speed at which we play will control how we practice and what it’s like to play against guys like Quizz in our conference.
When did Quizz break out last year in practice? In fall camp last year, when did you first see that he was something special?
KK: It was the second week when we realized that he was that kind of guy on his team. Realizing that we had that kind of a player at RB made us more confident as a defense.
MR: In our first scrimmage last year. He had a draw play for a 60 yard TD and got between the safeties before they could converge. Then he went 60 more yards on a screen pass later. We realized that this guy could be a factor early.
He’s not small, he’s just short. He’s very smart. We’ve had a good string of backs with similar build… Simention, Bernard. Jackson was different. They were all durable, and guys who got better as the game went on. We like to have those guys carry the ball 25-30 yards per game. Him being healthy and being ready to go will be a big factor heading into camp.
--Jake (jake.buildingthedam@gmail.com)