Boston College Athletics
Media Day Quotes: Offensive Players
August 03, 2017 | Football
Graduate Student Quarterback Darius Wade
"Yeah, spring ball is a lot of fun and kind of just coming off that on a high note, just kind of ready to get back into things. You love just to go through this summer program, working out here, getting stronger, just really kind of getting all your tools in the toolbox ready to go for the season. But it gets to the point where you just want to play football and just now kind of being back in camp, being with all my teammates, now putting on some pads and really getting after it is really a very long time coming."
Q. When you didn't play a lot last year, how hungry were you going into the off-season to prove yourself?
"Very. I mean, we're in a situation where Pat Towles was a fifth-year senior and now he left, so now we're in a situation where the position is wide open again. It's just me being a competitor by nature, just a situation where I want to go out, just show my coaches, my teammates that, hey, I can do this, and that I want to prove that I should be the guy. So it's every day, not only me, the rest of the quarterback group just going after it every day."
Q. You've been here a few years; do you almost feel like you're a leader, like you've been around a while?
"Yeah, so it's interesting now to the point that kind of just now I'm going into my redshirt junior year that a lot of the guys who I started out with in my 2014 class are seniors now, so they're about to be in their senior year. I've kind of been here for a while, been through the process. I know all these guys, blood, sweat, tears, all that with these guys, so I feel like I'm in a situation where I do have leadership, even though I don't necessarily have the game experience to back it up. But I feel like I've played in plenty of games. I had an opportunity to play a lot this year, granted, late fourth quarter, things of that nature, but it's still playing time. It's still valuable any way you cut it. Yeah, I feel like in a way I've definitely become more of a leader, and as a quarterback that's what you have to do. Just really trying to see that as more of a necessity, being a leader at the quarterback position."
Q. Coach Loeffler talked about his system; do you feel like you've been a big part of that now, seeing that system come along?
"Yes."
Q. Can you take it to that next level this year?
"Yeah, so like I said, that's a coach Loeffler thing. He's a great offensive coordinator. He knows what he's doing. He has his own plan, and he's just kind of unveiling it to us as an offense, and like I said, I love it. I love going fast-paced, and that's what we're trying to do. I mean, I'm excited, and I'm just ready to kind of get after it, and like I said, whatever Coach Loeffler and Coach Addazio want me to do, I'm all for it, but I feel I'm a very capable person and quarterback to be able to do whatever they ask me."
Freshman Running Back A.J. Dillon
Q. Talk about the experience of training camp.
"So far it's been a lot of fun. I've made -- I feel like I've made a lot of strides in just understanding the offense and the flow of the game. That's a credit to Coach White and Jon Hilliman and Davon Jones and the older running backs in the group taking me under their wing and just kind of helping me out."
Q. Anything you've noticed in the speed of the game, quality of the offensive linemen, stuff like that? What are your first impressions?
"I mean, my first impressions are the speed of the game is definitely faster, and the offensive line that we have I feel is very, very good. They've been opening up a lot of holes for me, and same goes for them. Like it's only the first couple days so far, so I know they're only going to get better, which I'm really excited to see because they're already great. But I feel like it's a great kind of opportunity to go against a defense that's as good as ours every day. We've always been -- well, in the last couple years we've always been nationally ranked as one of the top defenses. I feel like coming in as a freshman, it can get a little overwhelming at times going against a defense that has so many good, high caliber guy, but it's only going to make me better, and our offense better, so I'm really excited for that, and it's fun because it's always passionate."
Q. I can't imagine a lot of situations where you'd be fighting for a job. How does it feel to have so many good backs around and have to compete?
"Yeah, I mean, obviously it's always a competition. I feel like right now what's really special with our group is that we all want to see each other succeed. I don't really feel like there's any real tension between the group. I feel like the senior Jon Hilliman, like I said, the older guys, they've really taken me under their wing, and Travis Levy, he's been here a while before me. He came in, he early enrolled, but he's also helping me out with things, and I know the older guys helped him out when he first got here. I feel like we're a kind of special group of backs that kind of honestly care about each other, and I'm excited to move forward throughout the year and through camp with them because I know as a group, as a unit, I feel like the sky's the limit."
Q. Talk about the mental approach you have to play playing college ball.
"Yeah, it's definitely a lot different than high school. There's a lot more that goes into it. I need to know what the linemen are doing and the defense are doing, just a lot of things. Because the game is so sped up, it helps you out a lot if you know what the other people are doing. It buys you a few seconds. But honestly, I've been just working a lot with Coach White, and I've been studying in my free time just to try to understand as much as I can. I'm trying to be a swung and grab everything I can from those older guys while they're here and just trying to get better every day."
Q. You changed, decommitted from Michigan. What brought you here?
"Honestly my senior season got cut short, not the way I wanted it to, but I feel like after that, a couple weeks after that, I really just started to -- I sat down and I thought about it, I was talking with my mom and my family a lot, and I really wanted to see like -- I just honestly felt like Boston College was the place for me to be the best and achieve the best as an athlete and as a student and also just growing into a young man in the future. Once again, like Michigan and BC were obviously my top two schools, so I have nothing bad to say about Michigan. I love Michigan. I had a great time when I visited out there, and I have a great relationship with the coaches and my class, but at the end of the day, I just felt like Boston College is the best place for me personally just to grow as an individual."
Q. Before September is over, you're going to be playing Notre Dame and Clemson back to back; has that kind of sunk in?
"I feel like it sunk in in the sense that I understand what's going on, but I feel like once it comes to the game week, it's definitely going to be a big different feeling, especially with my grandfather having played at Notre Dame. That's going to be really big in my household, as well. It's going to be a pretty cool experience to see. But I'm excited. I'm just trying to get better every week."
Q. Did you say your uncle --
"My grandfather."
Q. Played for Notre Dame?
"Yeah, he played for Notre Dame, Tom Gatewood. He played with Joe Theismann."
Q. The wide receiver?
"Yeah, that's my grandfather. When I went on my visits to Notre Dame, he came with me. He's a celebrity out there. But I've also learned a lot from him over the years. That's going to be funny, though."
Redshirt Freshman Quarterback Anthony Brown
Q. Just coming into a fresh experience, what mentality do you take in, what approach?
"That we have to basically work together to build our offense, and no matter who plays or who is called in to be the starter the first week or any other week, that we know we're comfortable with who's in the game and keeping our offense consistent and keep building off of that."
Q. There was a lot said about you even last year. A year ago you couldn't step on the field. How did you manage to carry that because there's expectation building as the year goes on?
"I didn't really pay attention to much of that. My parents and other people outside would, but I tried to just stay away from that so it wouldn't take me off track, and trying to just continue and do what I can do to help our offense and our team be successful."
Q. How has the dynamic been with Darius?
"Me and Darius have a really good relationship. He helps me out with some things that I need help on, and I help him out on some things -- like we pick each other up all the time. If he needs to drive the offense, I tell him that. If I need to drive the offense, he tells me. We just have a really good relationship to where honestly it really doesn't matter who is playing on the field. First week, we just know that we have that trust in each other."
Q. Obviously the offense has been looking for somebody to stabilize the quarterback spot. How do you see yourself as that still young guy but a guy who can kind of be in that spot?
"We all have to grow up, so to play in this league, you have to be a grown man, and you have to learn how to take on that role. I'm slowly getting into it. I don't have the experience, but some day I will. I'll have to get used to it. Darius has had his experience, but he also has been in the back, too, and we have to complement each other on what we can do great and what we sometimes fail to do in making the offense a little bit better."
Q. Did you travel, as well?
"Yes."
Q. What did you gain from that experience?
"Traveling?"
Q. Were you at Tech?
"Yes. Traveling last year was an amazing experience. I got the feel of other teams' atmospheres. Virginia Tech was a great one. They were loud. They were rowdy. Florida State was a huge stadium. Some things that I've never seen before, especially on the field, on-site, and it really like -- it kind of got me excited for when I would have to step in. It was great. It was a great experience just to be there."
Q. Going into the bowl game you got a lot of reps. How important was it to learn that system, and how quickly were you able to adapt? What's it been like?
"First question, it was kind of a little iffy at first, but I was a little used to it from what I used to run in high school, and I just had to get acclimated to the plays and the tempo and leadership and pushing offense and stuff like that."
"But I'm still learning, still pushing, still trying to get better and better at that, at leadership and driving the offense. But it was a new experience for this kind of school because everybody knows that's the ground and pound, and we're really trying to speed the tempo up, trying to be as fast as we can possibly be, and just keep building and building as a tempo offense."
Q. How important would you say would it be for this team, everybody knows you guys on defense, and you have this sort of reputation for having a different kind of identity.
"I would say it is very important that we establish a consistent identity on offense because our defense is so good that they're going to put us in the right position to keep -- I would say keep our team going in games. They put us in great position sometimes or special teams puts us in great positions, and we have to be consistent on a consistent basis. It is like very valuable that we keep it that way or make it a staple for us."
"Yeah, spring ball is a lot of fun and kind of just coming off that on a high note, just kind of ready to get back into things. You love just to go through this summer program, working out here, getting stronger, just really kind of getting all your tools in the toolbox ready to go for the season. But it gets to the point where you just want to play football and just now kind of being back in camp, being with all my teammates, now putting on some pads and really getting after it is really a very long time coming."
Q. When you didn't play a lot last year, how hungry were you going into the off-season to prove yourself?
"Very. I mean, we're in a situation where Pat Towles was a fifth-year senior and now he left, so now we're in a situation where the position is wide open again. It's just me being a competitor by nature, just a situation where I want to go out, just show my coaches, my teammates that, hey, I can do this, and that I want to prove that I should be the guy. So it's every day, not only me, the rest of the quarterback group just going after it every day."
Q. You've been here a few years; do you almost feel like you're a leader, like you've been around a while?
"Yeah, so it's interesting now to the point that kind of just now I'm going into my redshirt junior year that a lot of the guys who I started out with in my 2014 class are seniors now, so they're about to be in their senior year. I've kind of been here for a while, been through the process. I know all these guys, blood, sweat, tears, all that with these guys, so I feel like I'm in a situation where I do have leadership, even though I don't necessarily have the game experience to back it up. But I feel like I've played in plenty of games. I had an opportunity to play a lot this year, granted, late fourth quarter, things of that nature, but it's still playing time. It's still valuable any way you cut it. Yeah, I feel like in a way I've definitely become more of a leader, and as a quarterback that's what you have to do. Just really trying to see that as more of a necessity, being a leader at the quarterback position."
Q. Coach Loeffler talked about his system; do you feel like you've been a big part of that now, seeing that system come along?
"Yes."
Q. Can you take it to that next level this year?
"Yeah, so like I said, that's a coach Loeffler thing. He's a great offensive coordinator. He knows what he's doing. He has his own plan, and he's just kind of unveiling it to us as an offense, and like I said, I love it. I love going fast-paced, and that's what we're trying to do. I mean, I'm excited, and I'm just ready to kind of get after it, and like I said, whatever Coach Loeffler and Coach Addazio want me to do, I'm all for it, but I feel I'm a very capable person and quarterback to be able to do whatever they ask me."
Freshman Running Back A.J. Dillon
Q. Talk about the experience of training camp.
"So far it's been a lot of fun. I've made -- I feel like I've made a lot of strides in just understanding the offense and the flow of the game. That's a credit to Coach White and Jon Hilliman and Davon Jones and the older running backs in the group taking me under their wing and just kind of helping me out."
Q. Anything you've noticed in the speed of the game, quality of the offensive linemen, stuff like that? What are your first impressions?
"I mean, my first impressions are the speed of the game is definitely faster, and the offensive line that we have I feel is very, very good. They've been opening up a lot of holes for me, and same goes for them. Like it's only the first couple days so far, so I know they're only going to get better, which I'm really excited to see because they're already great. But I feel like it's a great kind of opportunity to go against a defense that's as good as ours every day. We've always been -- well, in the last couple years we've always been nationally ranked as one of the top defenses. I feel like coming in as a freshman, it can get a little overwhelming at times going against a defense that has so many good, high caliber guy, but it's only going to make me better, and our offense better, so I'm really excited for that, and it's fun because it's always passionate."
Q. I can't imagine a lot of situations where you'd be fighting for a job. How does it feel to have so many good backs around and have to compete?
"Yeah, I mean, obviously it's always a competition. I feel like right now what's really special with our group is that we all want to see each other succeed. I don't really feel like there's any real tension between the group. I feel like the senior Jon Hilliman, like I said, the older guys, they've really taken me under their wing, and Travis Levy, he's been here a while before me. He came in, he early enrolled, but he's also helping me out with things, and I know the older guys helped him out when he first got here. I feel like we're a kind of special group of backs that kind of honestly care about each other, and I'm excited to move forward throughout the year and through camp with them because I know as a group, as a unit, I feel like the sky's the limit."
Q. Talk about the mental approach you have to play playing college ball.
"Yeah, it's definitely a lot different than high school. There's a lot more that goes into it. I need to know what the linemen are doing and the defense are doing, just a lot of things. Because the game is so sped up, it helps you out a lot if you know what the other people are doing. It buys you a few seconds. But honestly, I've been just working a lot with Coach White, and I've been studying in my free time just to try to understand as much as I can. I'm trying to be a swung and grab everything I can from those older guys while they're here and just trying to get better every day."
Q. You changed, decommitted from Michigan. What brought you here?
"Honestly my senior season got cut short, not the way I wanted it to, but I feel like after that, a couple weeks after that, I really just started to -- I sat down and I thought about it, I was talking with my mom and my family a lot, and I really wanted to see like -- I just honestly felt like Boston College was the place for me to be the best and achieve the best as an athlete and as a student and also just growing into a young man in the future. Once again, like Michigan and BC were obviously my top two schools, so I have nothing bad to say about Michigan. I love Michigan. I had a great time when I visited out there, and I have a great relationship with the coaches and my class, but at the end of the day, I just felt like Boston College is the best place for me personally just to grow as an individual."
Q. Before September is over, you're going to be playing Notre Dame and Clemson back to back; has that kind of sunk in?
"I feel like it sunk in in the sense that I understand what's going on, but I feel like once it comes to the game week, it's definitely going to be a big different feeling, especially with my grandfather having played at Notre Dame. That's going to be really big in my household, as well. It's going to be a pretty cool experience to see. But I'm excited. I'm just trying to get better every week."
Q. Did you say your uncle --
"My grandfather."
Q. Played for Notre Dame?
"Yeah, he played for Notre Dame, Tom Gatewood. He played with Joe Theismann."
Q. The wide receiver?
"Yeah, that's my grandfather. When I went on my visits to Notre Dame, he came with me. He's a celebrity out there. But I've also learned a lot from him over the years. That's going to be funny, though."
Redshirt Freshman Quarterback Anthony Brown
Q. Just coming into a fresh experience, what mentality do you take in, what approach?
"That we have to basically work together to build our offense, and no matter who plays or who is called in to be the starter the first week or any other week, that we know we're comfortable with who's in the game and keeping our offense consistent and keep building off of that."
Q. There was a lot said about you even last year. A year ago you couldn't step on the field. How did you manage to carry that because there's expectation building as the year goes on?
"I didn't really pay attention to much of that. My parents and other people outside would, but I tried to just stay away from that so it wouldn't take me off track, and trying to just continue and do what I can do to help our offense and our team be successful."
Q. How has the dynamic been with Darius?
"Me and Darius have a really good relationship. He helps me out with some things that I need help on, and I help him out on some things -- like we pick each other up all the time. If he needs to drive the offense, I tell him that. If I need to drive the offense, he tells me. We just have a really good relationship to where honestly it really doesn't matter who is playing on the field. First week, we just know that we have that trust in each other."
Q. Obviously the offense has been looking for somebody to stabilize the quarterback spot. How do you see yourself as that still young guy but a guy who can kind of be in that spot?
"We all have to grow up, so to play in this league, you have to be a grown man, and you have to learn how to take on that role. I'm slowly getting into it. I don't have the experience, but some day I will. I'll have to get used to it. Darius has had his experience, but he also has been in the back, too, and we have to complement each other on what we can do great and what we sometimes fail to do in making the offense a little bit better."
Q. Did you travel, as well?
"Yes."
Q. What did you gain from that experience?
"Traveling?"
Q. Were you at Tech?
"Yes. Traveling last year was an amazing experience. I got the feel of other teams' atmospheres. Virginia Tech was a great one. They were loud. They were rowdy. Florida State was a huge stadium. Some things that I've never seen before, especially on the field, on-site, and it really like -- it kind of got me excited for when I would have to step in. It was great. It was a great experience just to be there."
Q. Going into the bowl game you got a lot of reps. How important was it to learn that system, and how quickly were you able to adapt? What's it been like?
"First question, it was kind of a little iffy at first, but I was a little used to it from what I used to run in high school, and I just had to get acclimated to the plays and the tempo and leadership and pushing offense and stuff like that."
"But I'm still learning, still pushing, still trying to get better and better at that, at leadership and driving the offense. But it was a new experience for this kind of school because everybody knows that's the ground and pound, and we're really trying to speed the tempo up, trying to be as fast as we can possibly be, and just keep building and building as a tempo offense."
Q. How important would you say would it be for this team, everybody knows you guys on defense, and you have this sort of reputation for having a different kind of identity.
"I would say it is very important that we establish a consistent identity on offense because our defense is so good that they're going to put us in the right position to keep -- I would say keep our team going in games. They put us in great position sometimes or special teams puts us in great positions, and we have to be consistent on a consistent basis. It is like very valuable that we keep it that way or make it a staple for us."
Players Mentioned
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LB
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