Players Press Conference Transcripts

Graduate QB Patrick Towles

On becoming bowl-eligible…
Only being here a year, I don't think it has the impact that it has on the rest of our football team. The locker room on Saturday after the game was the place to be and I am so excited to be a part of something bigger than myself. We are so excited to reach our goals. We talked throughout the entire season about playing in the postseason, especially after not getting there last year. That was our goal: to be able to do that. I wish it wasn't as in as stressful fashion as it was, but nonetheless, we will take it and we are excited about it.

I've never been to a bowl game. I was four years at [Kentucky] and we never went to one so this is really, really special for me. I think that I shared that with the rest of my team. A bowl game is special no matter where it is or when it is. I think it's really important – not only for this year – but for these 15 extra practices. It's great for the young guys. It's a lot easier to go out and recruit when you have a bowl victory. You are sitting on a bowl victory and you have bowl rings coming in. I think it's kind of our duty – our responsibility – as seniors. We kind of owe it to this place. Especially I feel that way, for the opportunity they have given me to give it everything we've got and win this bowl game.

On which bowl game the Eagles will go to…
Right now we are in limbo because we don't know where we are going, so we are trying to figure that out. We'll start game planning after that. We are super excited to go to a bowl game. That's a big thing, but our goal is win the game. We will be happy wherever we go but we're playing a football game and that's our number one priority.

On getting bowl-eligible for the first time in his career…
Two years I started at UK and we went 5-7 and had opportunities to go 6-6 going into the last game of the year and fell short. At a point in the [Wake Forest] game, I was thinking to myself, we are changing the tide. For me personally, that [game-winning] drive was really, really big. My entire career there have been moments where I wasn't good enough, was okay but not great, not what we needed. But I felt like winning that sixth game and putting not only program, by myself, over the hump was really a wonderful thing.

On what he said to the team after the Wake Forest win…
I was just so excited to be a part of it, to be able to experience it with guys who I have been with now for what seems like a long time, but has only been 10 months. It's wonderful. We've been talking about bowl preferences and I am like, I don't care where we go. I'll play wherever. If we strap it up in Alumni Stadium that would be fine with me. I am super excited to get back in and get fundamentally better over these next couple of weeks and figure out a way to win.

On the fourth-quarter, game-winning drive against Wake Forest…
That was the turning point. This place has always been known for having an incredible defense. In our keys to win, play great defense is the number one thing. If you want to play championship football, winning football, you have to have a great defense. We love that. It takes a lot of stress off us having a great defense like we do, especially when they were able to go out and make two stops at the end of that football game. Going into that drive, we talked in the huddle, 'this is the time we turn the tide. We make it happen.' The 10 points we scored in the first half were really based on great field position – we got the fumble on punt return and then the interception. So we were put in really great positions. We were able to score in the red zone which I think is really important. We were able to capitalize on those opportunities, but to have that drive in that situation, I think was nothing but a huge confidence boost for us on the offense.

On what this season taught him…
The importance of what really matters and what doesn't. Going through what I went through at Kentucky, it really puts things in perspective. Coach Addazio preached the entire season that it is about us, and it's about the people in this building. Everybody always has an opinion. Just because you have an opinion doesn't mean that people should listen to it, as unpopular as it might seem. We are worried about our team and we are worried about the people wearing the jerseys and the people who have been working with us in January and all summer and our staff. That's it. We are so happy for our fans and our families that we were able to [get bowl-eligible]. There are a lot of people who didn't think we could, especially after dropping the game to Syracuse. There are a lot of people who counted us out. We are totally okay with that. That is the mentality that we have: It's an uphill battle and we like that. We are comfortable there.

Senior RB Myles Willis

On scoring his first offensive touchdown and sparking the offense against Wake Forest…
It wasn't so much about me. It was just finding a way to make a play. I was able to get in the end zone. It was a great play call and we executed it well. And that's the best feeling, when you go out a week in practice and you know the look and you get the perfect look you want and you have the opportunity. Then the only thing left to do is to go punch it in.

On navigating the ups and downs of the season…
It was definitely a challenge, but we're a really, really close-bonded team. We never got into the situation where people pointed fingers at each other. We all kept focus. We had some bad losses and some games that could've gone our way, but we kept focus and realized that ultimately our goals were still out in front of us. And we were able to achieve it.

On head coach Steve Addazio and how he deals with the media…
Because we're all in it, it means a lot when you know you have a coach willing to take a bullet for you. He could've gone out there and blamed execution of the players because ultimately players make plays, and if you don't win the game obviously players have a hand in that too. You can't put it all on the coaches. But Coach Addazio, he faced the media and took the bullet for all of us and kept believing in us. We were able to pay him back and get that sixth win.

On the impact of the bowl game for the younger players…
We talked to them a lot about it but that's something they're really going to experience: the feeling when you go into a city and everyone knows that you and the other team are there to play a game. Everyone recognizes you. Everyone knows that you had a decent season. You were able to get to a bowl game. You were able to do what you could do. Everyone's excited and happy and they want to host you in the city. They also know they have a lot of practices to continue to develop and that's huge, not even so much for this year. We accomplished our goal this year, but it's so big for next year with the young guys getting to practice and continue to develop their skills.

Senior DB John Johnson

On a young player like Lukas Denis coming up with the big interceptions at the end of the Wake Forest game…
It's huge. When you get experience underneath your belt, it means a lot. He's only a sophomore and he's making plays. I didn't get an interception until late in my junior year. So it means a lot and I was happy for him. It just goes to show that you have to have a sense of urgency. There's no rule that says 'I have to wait until my senior year to start making plays and be good.' So I was happy for Lukas and Taj [-Amir Torres] – he got a pick the other game as well.

On potential bowl game locations and the opportunity to spend more time with teammates…
I've heard Detroit, Shreveport and Florida. I've heard D.C. I don't really want to go to D.C. I'm from the area. We've started planning our little trips, preparing things for after the game. The teams that we're playing are quality teams, so we're ready for them. We're just happy to be back and spending time with the rest of the guys. You get a couple more weeks with the best friends we're going to have for the rest of our lives.

On the relationship between the pass rush and the secondary...
I'll give a shout-out to Harold [Landry]. He's pretty much unblockable. He's been unblockable all year and quarterbacks fear that. They have to double team him and sometimes that still doesn't work. Quarterbacks feel that and they know he's coming for them. All we have to do is cover for a little bit. We can't let anyone get behind us. In the games where we got burned, that's what happened: They got behind us. So if we stay on top of receivers, we'll get sacks all game and Harold will force interceptions for us and the rest of the D-line not just Harold.

Senior DL Truman Gutapfel
On the last two bowl games and view on third…
When we went to Shreveport my freshman year we were just excited to be there. We didn't take the game too seriously, but I think this time it is important for the program to win the bowl game because we lost the last two. For me, it is a lot of fun but I'm just trying to remember that we have a football game to play. When you go to a bowl game there are so many activities, but I think it is important for the team to just stay focused on the game and win it. I think, especially my class, it's important for us to get that winning record and propel the program further into the future.

On how defensive line will use this time leading up to bowl…
I think it is just important for us to get healthy for right now. Everyone has got their bumps and bruises, but Coach Addazio has made us a great schedule for this week and I don't think we have anything until Friday. It's also good for us so we can catch up academically as well.

On what this extra time means for the younger players…
It's a lot of developmental work. You get all these extra practices with the younger guys. The older guys will get this time to use as a break to get our bodies back, but it's good for the younger guys to get this time to work on fundamentals, especially the D-line. Those guys are going to be really good. There is incredible talent there and those guys just need to keep working.

On outside media criticism and maintaining confidence in the coaching…
We have got total faith and trust in Coach Addazio. He is a great coach, works as hard as he can to support the players and does whatever he can to get us a win. That's clear to the players because we are around him all the time where other only see him on Saturdays and make judgement calls about him based on that. For us, we think he is a great coach and we love playing for him. He has a game plan to win football games and you've seen that against NC State and Wake Forest.

Senior RB Tyler Rouse

On going to third career bowl game…
It's incredible, the fact that we were able to get back to a bowl game. We have worked so hard this entire season just to get back to where we were and being with these teammates is unbelievable to me. We really want to get this win to just help the young guys and to help the program. Our mentality is that it is just another game and we have to go win it. We are going to soak up the experience and enjoy the fact we got to another bowl game, but we have to stick with the mind-set that we are there to win another game.

On the final, game-winning drive at Wake Forest…
It was so rewarding. Whatever my role might be in a game and I get a chance to make a play I do what I can to help the team to my full capability. Having that big play and being able to get that spark for the team and it was unbelievable.

On the season ending and thoughts on punt returns this year…
It was great. I knew my coaches and teammates called on me to pick up a new role and I just did everything I could to make that role successful and something that could impact games. My teammates all year did a great job giving me some time to return and practicing the fundamentals comes with the new position. I learned to just trust myself and my instincts and make plays for my team.

Boston College Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Lukas Denis

Truman Gutapfel

John Johnson

Tyler Rouse

Patrick Towles

Myles Willis

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