Media Day: Player Quotes

Boston College Football
2016 Media Day | August 11, 2016
Player Quotes

A selection of Boston College football players spoke with media at the team's annual Media Day.

Quick links: Jon Hilliman | John Johnson | Chris Lindstrom | Connor Strachan | Patrick Towles | Darius Wade

R-So. RB Jon Hilliman

On expectations this season:
"Same expectation every season: win an ACC Championship and be one of the top four teams in the college playoffs. For myself, be the best that I can be in everything. Not just one specific thing, but a little bit of everything. Be all I can be for my team."

On motivation this year after his injury-shortened season in 2015:
"I wouldn't call it extra motivation, but just being optimistic for another year. The injury isn't out of sight, out of mind. It's still the questions of 'What if?' But I try not to harbor on it, and try and stay optimistic and focused on this year for a lot of reasons and can't wait to get going."

On what he's looking most forward to this year:
"Winning. Winning at maximum. Getting back to winning. That is what the fun is. Going back in the locker room and taking advice and all and music with the guys and dancing. As a competitor that's the stuff you work and train for and vision."

On his involvement with team being injured last year:
"I was there but it definitely wasn't the same. It's hard to be on crutches when you're trying to tell guys to hustle. It was tough, but gave me a different perspective on how practice should be run and how certain things should be done. I saw the things that can get you beat, and saw what it takes to actually win in this league. It was unique, seeing it from a coach's perspective."

On offense vs. defense after the first week of preseason practice:
"Yeah, it's a battle. That's the best part of anything is competition. That's what I think is the cornerstone to success is competition. I think naturally the defense should be one step ahead of the offense. We're just battling every day. We're taking our lumps and giving some. That's the beauty of competing. It's a good battle out there, a lot of flying around. It's good."

Sr. DB John Johnson

On personal and team goals for the upcoming season:
"Well I think we have to win a bowl game this year. Over the past couple of years I have made it to two bowl games, but I think a good team goal is to actually win a bowl game. So I think the expectations are definitely high after coming off a losing season. We have to change the tide."

On team chemistry through the first week of camp:
"I think we have a good amount of chemistry right now for just starting out. Obviously it will grow, but starting right now everything is going well. We are competing. That's something we haven't done in the past so we are getting better every day."

On his upcoming final season as an Eagle:
"It has hit me and it will hit me more down the road. But after the last summer workout that is when it really hit me that this is my last summer here. So it has hit me already and I feel a sense of urgency and that it is all or nothing. Just seeing the guys in front of me like Justin Simmons who just went through this and how he attacked the field makes me feel that it's time for me to do that now."

On if he has grown as a leader over the years:
"Yes I have, I've noticed myself become more of a vocal leader. I also viewed myself as a leader but just by my actions. Now I have become vocal about it, too."

On growth of the underclassmen and possibility of a breakout star:
"There're a couple of guys, but I just try to get the younger guys, my younger guys, my underclassmen in the defensive back room to get going and stay on top of them. I think that group is going to be the best breakout group of the year."

On chances of defense performing like last year:
"Oh Absolutely! In fact it will probably be better with the guys we have"

So. OL Chris Lindstrom

On getting ready for the season:
"I'm just really excited to play with my teammates. We've put in so much work together and we spend so much time together that I'm just excited to play alongside those guys and become the best that we can as a unit. Also, I can't wait to watch how great they can become – just to see the work the we put in and now we hope to see the results. That's what I'm really looking forward to the most."

On Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Justin Frye:
"I love him. He's phenomenal. He's a great phenomenal coach, absolutely love the guy. He knows a ton about football. Every single day I come in and he's got corrections from practice and everything else that he wants to see me develop."

On the OL's consistency:
"We're just working as a unit. We dictate the consistency that we have, so if the offensive line is working and gelling, that's the most important thing for us. So we have to fix our unit and make sure we're working to our full capacity to help the team."

Jr. LB Connor Strachan

On if he's the next great BC linebacker:
"I'm really excited. There're been a lot of great leaders before me. I'm learning a lot from them and excited to play defense."

On the attitude required at BC:
"BC's always been a really tough program. It's one of the things about this place: you have to be tough to play here. Our whole program is built around toughness and every position here, you have to be a tough guy."

On the importance of creating a lot of long-yardage situations last year:
"I wouldn't say it's a paramount thing. It's more we're just going out and working as hard as we can every day. Obviously we don't want to let people run on us or pass on us. If we've gotten them into long-yardage situations, it just means we're doing our job. It's always the goal."

On senior linebacker Matt Milano:
"He's a great guy. I'm actually living with him this summer and have spent a lot of time with him this summer. He's been a really great leader. He's a great person, a great field. It's been a lot of fun. He's an accountable guy."

On the team's attitude so far this year:
"Everyone's worked really hard this summer. Honestly, camp hasn't been a grind, like, 'Aww, we've got to go to camp.' It's actually been a lot of fun to be able to play with this guys. Everyone who's stepping into a new position is getting after it. The defense as a unit – there're no selfish guys. Everyone's just working to help each other. When you have a team like that, it's a lot of fun."

On his on-field leadership:
"As a Mike back there, you have to be a leader on the defense. So having experience last year has really allowed me to comfortable out there this year, and be ahead in my mental part of the game."

On what's ahead for the defense this year:
"We're going to be facing a lot of speed (in the ACC) so we have to be ready for that … You have to stick to your defense, the sound rules that Coach puts out there. Every team you're going to face is going to have a starting quarterback who's athletic, strong player. So you just have to listen to Coach and what he says and follow your defensive rules."

Gr. QB Patrick Towles

On Steve Addazio saying it'll be a tough decision to name a starting quarterback:
"I think competition is huge. It's a benefit for the whole team. I've been in a quarterback competition since I was at Kentucky and since I arrived here. It forces both of us to be better and adds pressure. It may not be there without a competition. I hope it's a difficult decision to because that means we are both playing well and it will make our team better. I have said this before, if Darius is the better quarterback than he needs to play and I'll be the best backup quarterback I can be. I want the best for this team and I want to win as many games as possible and if it's with him, it's with him.

On the competition between him and Darius Wade:
"I don't think we need to get in a habit worrying about what each other are doing. We need to cheer each other on. And I try to offer help and advice and he does the same. We are worried about getting the team better. We just had a talk yesterday about we can motivate the team because they do look to us when adversity hits and no doubt if it's me or him, Anthony or Johnathan, this football team will be a lot better in the fall."

On incorporating the running backs into the offense:
That's really big … if you get them the ball, it's so much better. You can throw it four yards to Jon (Hilliman) and it goes on paper as a 65-yard pass. They are our best athletes on our team and if you can incorporate them in the play-action game in the throw game it spreads it out and make the defense cover a little more and makes the linebackers commit.

On his decision to attend BC:
"I have a really good relationship with my priest back home at my church and we talk all the time. We talked throughout the season last year. We had a conversation about what was the next step. We eventually came to the conclusion that I was to leave Kentucky. Then the next step where to next. You get permission to contact schools and it's up to them to contact you. I took official visits to Colorado State and here. There were others but I'm not going to get into specifics, some close to home but I wanted to continue to play big-time football in a another conference."

On if he had concerns after BC's season last year:
"Absolutely not … I was so thankful for a chance to play. Like I said, Coach Addazio took a chance on me – he gave me a chance. I'm so gracious and thankful for that. Once that happened I'm looking forward. I'm not worried about what has happened in the past. From what I have seen and the attitude my teammates have I'm nothing but confidence in this team."

On if he should start:
"Well, it's not up to me unfortunately … If I was up to me I'd pick me. But that's up to Coach Addazio and Coach Loeffler and you know my job is to make sure I do the best I can do when I'm in there. If they think Darius (Wade) is the guy, then Darius is the guy. If they think I'm the guy then Darius will say the same thing."

On his "Patty Ice" nickname:
"It was my freshman year in high school. It has nothing to do Boston College and Matt Ryan. One of my buddies just called me that. It's just a coincidence that I came here. Hope I can live up to it, probably not … he was a hell of a player."

R-So. QB Darius Wade

On when he was cleared to get back on the field:
"Right at the start of spring game. It was at that time that they fully cleared me to go in practice which was very good to hear. Being out for so long and getting hurt so early, I was definitely happy to be back and be able to go through spring ball."

On the confidence he had in his leg when he got back on the field:
"Naturally it will take a little while to test it out going full speed. It was always different than mechanical lifting, actually being out there making quick moves and adjustments. After the first week I was fine."

On how he is different now than he was a year ago:
"A year of maturity does a lot. Our strength program is top notch so they definitely did a good job of bulking us up and making us more durable which is exactly what I need. Then just having the perspective of being in the game; then being able to look at it from a different perspective on the sideline and seeing how hard it is to win in college football, and how easily it is to lose a season with a couple of injuries. We're all fighting to make sure that that doesn't happen again. I'm making sure that I'm ready; that if it's my time out there I make the most of it."

On if there was a positive from sitting out the season:
"There was definitely a silver lining in the sense that I got the redshirt, but you never want to get hurt. It puts you in a weird state; especially for me because I've never been hurt. Having the opportunity to start and having that ripped away; then seeing the kind of season we went through and I wasn't able to assist us other than being a cheerleader on the sideline. It was definitely very frustrating."

On if it is frustrating coming back and having to compete for the starting job:
"I wouldn't say it's frustrating. That's big-time Division I football. You have to make sure that if you have a starter go down, that you have a great backup to be able to go in and play as well. It only makes you better. Competition brings out the best in everybody. I just have to keep working. We're both kind of feeding off each other and trying to make each other better."

On how he was told about bringing in a fifth-year quarterback:
"It was very transparent. After the season, Coach Addazio told me that we can't have what happened this year happen again. He was very open and said that we're going to look for a fifth-year. He said he didn't know who it was going to be, but we're going to bring in a fifth-year transfer. He told me that before we ended up pursuing and then getting Patrick Towles. I was fully aware of everything."

On his relationship with Patrick Towles:
"It's been good. He got here in January and he's trying to get the team to know who he really is. He's a great guy, a great competitor. He makes me better. We both try to help each other out as much as we can. We know at the end of the day that the most important thing is the team and the team's overall success. Whoever plays, we're going to make sure we're ready. We're going to try and do everything we need to do to assist each other so that the team can be as successful as possible."

On how excited he is to prove himself:
"I'm so eager. I'm a competitor. I'm a football player. I want to be able to go out there and show people what I'm capable of. Whenever that opportunity arises, I'm going to make the most of it. Once I got back to full-go, now it's just trying to get acclimated back to the college speed – playbook-wise, fundamental-wise – and trying to get ready for the season."

On the first few days of practice:
"The first few days were not padded. These past few days have been shoulder pads so of course things change up a little bit, especially with the younger guys. It went well. Once the pads get on, the defense always dominates. They're eager to make a play. We're tough guys. We aren't scared of any contact. It's been going well. I've been trying to take my coaching as much as I can and make sure I improve on the little things like fundamentals because without that, you're not going to be successful at all."

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Players Mentioned

Jon Hilliman

John Johnson

Chris Lindstrom

Matt Milano

Justin Simmons

Connor Strachan

Patrick Towles

Darius Wade

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