Karl Dorrell Quotations

Make one or two more plays than they do.

So many things that we don't have time to discuss them all.

Look, we're not a finished product by any means and we're still in that shadow, ... But we are gaining some momentum.

Matt Willis has had more practice time, and he's the one that will be in that position.

Maurice is our lead horse, so to speak, but we have some young players who have played in big games. We also have depth at quarterback. Drew has done a tremendous job. We're hoping that's the case for the extended portion of this year, for him to continue the success in decision-making and all those great things he's doing.

There are so many things that we need to improve upon and continue the momentum that we're building in our program -- which is playing better and better week after week. We did that three weeks in a row and now have had a bye week. We don't want any hiccups, even though we'll probably have a few.

Given our lack of success we've had against Washington State ... there's a lot of focus and motivation to continue the things that we are doing. This is a big road test, our first road test of the season.

He's a great coach. He's done a tremendous job for me here. I think it's not just the coaching ability you're getting; you're getting a great person, too. He's very passionate about this profession, and that's why he's climbed the ladder so quickly.

He's healthy enough, he's throwing the ball, he's getting his timing back,

He's a tremendous player (who is) learning to be more patient with his reads. You want the ball in his hands. He can break a big play at any time. I'm glad we have him on our side.

He's a very good football player. I've always said that and I'm very excited he's a member of our team. I've always recognized the great things he does for us. I saw him in high school and he was doing similar things.

He's just one of those guys that, when the ball is in his hands, he makes plays. He wants to perform for (his teammates). He has incredible ability.

He's done everything any offensive coordinator would want an offensive back to do. I think he's a key to their offense.

He's been doing this the last few weeks. He's been Mr. Crunch-time for us,

He's been 'Mr. Crunch Time' for us. Whenever there has been a time to make a play, he's been making a play.

He loves his son dearly. I know they have a special relationship. Eric has a great family, a great wife, Mia, and their youngest son, Elijah (7). It's very loving, caring, supportive. It's a great fit for Minneapolis to get the Bieniemy family up there.

Playing your rival from the same city, No. 1 in the country with a tremendous win streak, this is a tremendous opportunity,

Our defense was on the field too long. We played catch up with our offense and that was a difficult task.

I think what's happening is that we have better athletes on the offensive line than we've had before. They can get up and on their guys better, cover up their man better.

Jim is considered one of the top line coaches in the business. We are excited to have him return to UCLA. He has a wealth of experience at both the collegiate and professional levels and has enjoyed success throughout his career.

I think D.J. is a great fit for our staff. He has a great track record of developing productive receivers and he is an outstanding, energetic recruiter. He is very familiar with Florida and the surrounding states and I think that will be a big plus for our recruiting efforts.

Just his experience alone is a big factor. He's in his third year in our offense and he knows it better than anyone.

I might have a heart attack one of these days, but I'll tell you what, if I have to win them all like this, I'll take it every time.

It is great to let our players experience a little bit of what you all do.

Robert Cleary played well, ... We didn't skip a beat in there, in terms of blocking for the run or the passer.

Our team can move the football. We've done it against some very good teams in our conference. We also know how good the Big Ten is. For them to have success in the Big Ten, we know our hands are full.

Our biggest issue is to maintain some control of the line of scrimmage, ... It starts up front. That's where we think we're a little better than we've been in the past.

Our biggest issue is to maintain some control of the line of scrimmage. It starts up front. That's where we think we're a little better than we've been in the past.

I think he's going to have a tremendous impact season for them. I'm sure he's hungry. He's missed a year, he has a great desire to get back into the flow of things and I'm sure he'll be featured this Saturday.

I think he's a (great) football player. I think his experience on offense helps him immensely.

We're a good team, but we're not good enough to make any claims,

We have to stay sharp, ... But it's going to get even better. We're going to get better. We're anxious for everything around our program to be on the upswing.

We played a very explosive ball game. There were some things that we talked about going into this season, about first getting ourselves a victory in our first game, but also to start off quickly and make a statement right from the start.

We had an extra day and we've gotten a lot of good work in, ... We're ahead of schedule after today. Things look good.

That was neat. I was surprised. I'm very proud of what he's doing for our country. He was a member of our team at Colorado when I was there and now he's doing great things for our country.

That was a focal point. It has been since our game against USC. We wanted to get our running game going and keep that (Wildcat) offense off the field.

The facilities here are nice. We wanted to practice on grass and we wanted to get acclimated to the climate. There's some wind here and other things that we're not used to at home.

We're anxious to get off the ground, dust our pants off and find another time to fight.

We ran into a buzz saw. We had a great week of preparation and felt good about ourselves. It was just a point in time in the season, probably, that things weren't going to click for us as well as in the past. We saw some things that were uncharacteristic of how we've been playing all season.

We're not focused on that at all. Stanford is a big, big issue for us right now. The teams are going to get tougher and tougher along the way.

We're excited about being in this position, having the recognition we have right now. But now we have to prove each and every week that we deserve to be in that position.

We're still very capable of being a good defense, ... We have some issues we need to clean up, but we think we can get there.

We don't anticipate anything, but we want to make sure he's in good shape.

Whenever we needed a play made, he stepped up and made a play.

We're going to have to play with some sound defensive fundamentals, we're going to have to tackle and do what?s necessary for us to contain their offense. Our hands are full, but we anticipate for us to make some plays when we need to.

We're getting our players ready to play a good Northwestern team. It's going to be a great challenge for our program.

We're in a position that we envisioned ourselves being at this time. Now we've got to take care of business, continue to improve and do the things that got us to this point.

We still kept our composure and we just tried to reduce our thinking early in the game. Initially, we just wanted to get one good series. Then it was just one good play.

When you try to arm-tackle runners like him or even throw a shoulder pad on them, it doesn't affect those kinds of guys. He's a dynamite player. We're just hoping to keep him healthy every step of the way.

Drew has played all the way through, from training camp to (the OSU game),

Dino is a great recruiter and will do a fine job of following the philosophy we have established in recruiting.

This year, coming back in great shape from the knee injury (at the end of 2004) and the competition he faced in training camp (from Ben Olson) has put him over the top. He's playing now at a level he visualized himself playing at over the summer.

Todd has been a part of one of the top NFL defenses over the past few years. He brings both college and NFL experience to the position. He is a great teacher and I think our defensive linemen will really develop with Todd as their coach.

We've been playing very, very well in the red zone offensively. We want the opportunity to put points on the board, and those are opportunities we've been taking advantage of.

We have enough skilled people in our offense to give most anybody the football,

We had some good continuity and flow early in the game.

The things that we've endured the last two years and getting in a position now to have a stake in the conference and also a bigger stake in bowls and all those things that happen down the line with ramifications of this game.

I've always looked upon his career and the things he's done very favorably. Any young, up-and-coming coach, you do aspire to do a certain thing a certain way, and he was always one of those guys that I looked up to, and I still look up to.

That's great for the city of El Paso and the Sun Bowl. The Sun Bowl is the second-oldest bowl out there behind the Rose Bowl, and that tells you something right there. A lot of bowl games have come and gone since the Sun Bowl has been around.

They tried pressuring us quite a bit in the first half, and Drew saw most of the pressure that was coming and threw the ball to the right person, ... He played well. Our offensive line has played well and protected him well and has allowed some running room for our running backs.

They run the ball very effectively. They have all the tools over there to be successful.

They throw the ball very well and run the ball very well. The third dimension is their quarterback. He's very mobile and that's always difficult. Most of the time, you don't count on the quarterback being a key contributor in the run game.

They're talented, have great team speed both on defense and offense,

Our defense has been coming up with big stops, ... They had their best game of the season. They did a tremendous job of limiting Oklahoma's rushing attempts, particularly Adrian Peterson.

There's no doubt the blocking is improved. Drew wasn't even touched on that 64-yard run. That means a lot of people did their job, from the line to people down-field.

This is the best offense we've played in my tenure. It's really been fun to see the potential of what we can do come to fruition.

This is a big road test. Our players are excited about it and confident.

This is something we needed to do to prove that we are a good team, ... We've still got a lot to prove. This was just one step.

They were high-hoppers, and he's right there on the front of the line. The first touchdown looked easy. The second one, he had to think on his feet. It was just heads-up play.

I'm in the record book, ... That's not something you're proud of, so I think that's something we worked on from that standpoint, and (we) put a lot of stress into that as far as prioritizing that particular area. That's why we improved the last couple of years.

I'm in the record book. That's not something you're proud of, so I think that's something we worked on from that standpoint, and (we) put a lot of stress into that as far as prioritizing that particular area. That's why we improved the last couple of years.

I'm not predicting anything but for us to go out there and play to our potential and that's what we're gearing ourselves to do. Who knows which way the game is going to go and how it's going to flow and what's going to happen? We need to go out there and play good football, play to our potential and keep building on the positive things we've done in the season.

I'm proud of our seniors. To get 10 wins off the heels of a 6-6 previous year is a great accomplishment. It's a great step forward for this program.

I'm really proud of the seniors. To get 10 wins off the heels of 6-6 the previous year is a great accomplishment.

It's really opening with two openers in not knowing what your opponent is going to do.

It's big for our program. It's a measuring-stick kind of game to see what we're all about, to see if our players are ready for the next step.

It's big. It's something we talked about after the USC game -- finishing our successful season on a good, positive note. Now the people still in our program have something to shoot for.

His kind of injury usually takes a full eight to 12 months for recovery. But Drew has done a tremendous job getting himself ready to go. He has worked really hard. I mean, really hard. He wants to take this program to the next level. He is a prime example of how the attitude has changed around here.

Can we put up those kind of numbers against Oklahoma? That's to be determined.

His ankle is really sore. Playing on that surface probably made it more significant.

He's proven that he can win. He's proven that he can win when the chips are against him. He's proven that he can win on the road in a pretty crazy environment. He's the leader of our offense and he's leading by how he's playing.

I don't know if you ever really can stop him. But we need to make sure we're paying attention to him and we need to restrict as many opportunities as we can.

He's our leader. He's grown and matured this year to where he's physically and mentally the best he's ever been.

He's learned a lot. He's grown. He's matured, both physically and mentally, he's the best that he's ever been. Am I surprised that he's playing that way for us now? No. He's been visualizing this type of season for him. He's been visualizing having a great senior year and leading this football team and putting this offense into a position to do what it's doing.

They bring a certain spirit to the game and bring an attitude here.

They just haven't had a consistency yet. They're maybe just struggling a little bit here and there, and we're hoping that's still the case come Saturday.

The fun and all that stuff, in terms of the bowl experience, you can only take it so far. And now it's time to play. That's where the real fun begins, and that's the reason why you're here.

The first year (2003), Drew was sporadic in his execution of a new offense,

Their offense spreads you out effectively with the run and pass, but they have that third dimension in a quarterback who runs very effectively. When you defend, you don't count on the quarterback being integral in the run game. His decision-making, when to hand off or keep it himself, worries me. He does that as well as anyone I've seen.

The first play from Maurice Drew, that can get any team excited.

It's more significant because from here on the games get bigger. We finished non-conference 3-0 with a win over a ranked team. We treat every week as championship week. Our next game against Washington is another big week. We treat each opponent the same, we want to go out there and put it all on the line.

Then we reduced it even further, let's get one positive play and then start getting the engine going in a positive fashion.

That's really pretty easy given our lack of success against Washington State, particularly going up to Pullman and playing them. We haven't had a lot of success in this particular week, so our focus has been the best it has been all season.

That's the beauty of this offense. When something is not there, we have something else to pick us up.

They might have some question marks, ... but I respect that team, and I respect that coach.

There were some fluke things early in the game that you usually don't see happen. To be down so early, though, and then come back and lead at halftime tells you something about this football team.

There were times tonight when this team could have folded its tent. We're not as good as we think we are. I told them at halftime that it was gut-check time, that they needed to show what this team was all about. They finally stepped up and made big plays when they needed to. I was very pleased with their enthusiasm and effort at the end.

Wesley Walker looks good out there, ... Our depth at linebacker is getting better, but we'd like to play him some against Washington.

We won a game up there last year that was a barn burner, that went down to the last seconds, so I'm sure in their minds, they have something to prove. In our minds, we have something to prove about the caliber of team that we are and the steps that we've made so far this year.

We had such a rough start, being down so early, by so much and still keeping our composure. We just kind of reduced our thinking before that first touchdown: 'Let's just get one series.' Then we reduced it even further to 'let's just get one positive play.' Then start the energy going in a positive fashion over the course of that series of play. We did that and our confidence started to kick in.