Comments from the game

[mat1992 2,238]

Rob on game
"Eight months of training. This wasn't about the game. Eight months of a different team. It's a family."

On going with Flacco over Stover
"We went with Tom because of experience. He's older. Ryan got a ton of experience last year, Tom is just more mature. They both ran the offense very well but Tom carried himself in a way...I just have a little more confidence in him just because he's an older guy. There's no substitute for that. I was pleased with how he played for the most part. He's 1-0 as a Tiger. But I'm a hard grader and he did some knucklehead stuff. It's always good to be able to teach during a win."

On no-huddle offense
"The fact that he could do it and not be here in the spring and learn it. We started doing this in January. He only got here in June.He did pick it up in 10 days and that's how smart he is. It's a testament to him and his work ethic and smarts, that he picked up something in 10 days that we started in January. 

On what he liked
"As a team, we played for six seconds in a way I haven't seen in a couple of years. I'm not talking about one aspect. There was an effort and a focus that has not been here for three years. It's different."

On What he didn't
"When the ball is going to run into the end zone and you're not on the four-yard line, don't touch it. That would be a good idea. When we do the things we're supposed to do, we did them really well. When we stepped out of the box, is when we messed up."

On running game
"Considering what we just faced, I love our running game. We found a way to run the ball a little bit with 37 people in the box. We did not just line up and throw it every play. We knew we were going to throw. We didn't care. The fact that we protected enough to throw it and ran it enough, I'm encouraged. It's nowhere where it needs to be but I'm encouraged."

On running back by committee?
Yes and no. If you go back to when Terrance was first here and he didn't play much eralier in the season. We were stil rushing for 200+ yards per game with three guys. The more we can do that, the healthier we will be in the long run. But I will also tell you that if there is a guy that is hot, I'm smart enough to let him stay in."

On Yeedee
It hurt to watch him run over other people. I actually cringe when he was running the ball. I haven't seen anything like that since Darrius (Victo) was here."

On Rob Heyward
He had the best camp of any football player on this team and that's a hefty statement. He is as dialed in as I've seen on defense...If I say anymore Frank Beltre will kill me."

On Aidan O'Neill breaking record
He's a very talented soul. He's also an artist, which makes it challenging. He's back into his groove. His brain works differently. He's his own worst enemy in his head. I have to massage that to make him a fan of himself."

Diondre Wallace
It feels great (to hold MSU to 3 pts last 2 years). We did our job. They are a good team. They'll score some points this year. We did a good job of sticking together. It was a good team win tonight.

On defense as a whole
We have a lot of work to do. This was a good team but we're going to play better teams. We have to be ready for the kings of this league, the Villanova's and Richmond's. We have to go back to the drawing board and be ready to play Wake Forest next week.

On INT
It was worked out in practice. We anticipated that. The QB did a fake read. He just threw it and I was glad I was there to be able to make a play. It wouldn't have been made without the D-line putting up pressure. Good coverage from the back end. I just took advantage of an opportunity that was helped by the team.

On the team
We're hungry. We have a chip on our shoulder because they picked us 10th. We know we're not the 10th ranked team in this conference. Every day we're going to continue to get better. We're going to continue to hunt. We're going to make a statement. We're excited. We feel disrespected so we're going to prove that with our play.

Togetherness, Comraderie, Chemistry. The last couple of years, the team was tight but not like this team. We want to do anything for the person next to use and in front and behind. That's what makes this team different.

[mat1992 2,238]

Aidan O'Neill on keys to his success

Staying focused. Taking it one kick at a time. Not thinking too much. One a time

On why no kickoffs

They are comfortable with the guy out there. When I first came here, they didn't want to get me hit on the field. He's a senior so I'm not going to take it away from him. Next year, you'll see me on kickoffs.

Tom Flacco

It was great to get a win. There's a lot of things to get better at but that's something for tomorrow. Tonight, we're going to be able to celebrate this win. Morgan State played hard like we thought we would. It was nice to get a pretty good win.

 

On being named starter

It's means everything in me that the coaches have trust in me to be the starter. Ryan is going to compete in practice very day.

 

On being nervous

I wasn't nervous at all. I was excited. These 7pm games are brutal. You have to wait all day. Everybody else is playing, you're sitting in that hotel. I was prepared and ready.

On no huddle

The offense that I've been playing with have been no-huddle. That wasn't a big adjustment for me but I was excited that it was new for Towson. We could surprise teams. We'll see what happens next week.

 

On first couple of drives

It's week 1. We have to get better. That's a good thing. We have room for improvement. We didn't finish those drives. A couple of fourth downs we didn't get. There were a couple of things I came up short on that I need to get better at and the team will get better.