Were there a lot of players hurt in that locker room?
"That was the most emotional locker room that I've ever been in. There were a lot of guys that were really hurt. We fully expected to win that game and we started fast, and we just came up a little bit short. Guys were hurt. We played our hearts out. We played our hardest. Effort wasn't a problem. We just got beat by a good team and guys really took it personally. The thing that I'm really interested to see and excited to see is the way that we're going to respond this week with the way that we practice in a few hours and then the way that we respond on Saturday. I But it's definitely good to see how bad it hurt."
How do you think guys will respond?
"I think that we're going to have a great week of practice. I think that's the expectation. If we're just going to be upset about it and nothing's going to come from it, then it doesn't really mean a whole lot. The tale of what kind of team we have, we're going to find out who we are from this adversity and the way that we respond this week and ultimately on Saturday. And I know that the guys in that locker room are up to the challenge and I know that I am too."
How did it feel to play well, notably during the first half?
"I think it was important to start fast. I was comfortable. I felt like I saw the field really well. I felt like I was on rhythm. The offensive line kept me clean for the most part the entire game, especially in that first half when we were able to get open and hit guys. It was a blast just to get out there and play. You miss playing. To go into that environment and get a chance to play, it was awesome. I felt comfortable from the first snap to the last snap. The biggest jump in any team and in any individual is always from that first game to the second game, and obviously I'm excited for this week.”
Often, the play clock was running down. Was that an issue?
"I think in the second half you're trying to shorten the game so you want to get deep into the play clock so the plays are getting sent in a little bit later so we can try to chew it up. That's just part of the game management. When they started to get a little bit of momentum and the crowd turned up, obviously you've got to do a better job of communicating and getting guys lined up early. And then you can do everything that we need to take care of at the line of scrimmage from a logistics standpoint to make sure everyone's on the same page for the play. We're 100 percent behind that, that we've got to get lined up and then we can go from there. We've got to communicate much better and we'll get better."
Was that part of the issue in the second half?
"I think anytime you go on the road, it was our first time going on the road and experiencing any sort of crowd noise. Going into a place like that, which is obviously a very loud place to play, you've got to do a great job of communicating. I think we didn't have any mental errors. Guys were in the right places, there weren't any really big mess-ups. Early in the game we had to burn a couple timeouts just because one time I think the headset came out and we couldn't get the play in at all, which it happens at a place like that, and then there were some other things. But I think all in all we did a really good job handling the noise. Now we've got to do a better job sustaining drives and making those key plays when we need them. We kind of got caught on some third downs, a lot of third-and-long situations -- it doesn't matter who you're playing, third-and-long is hard. We've got to do a better job on early downs of getting ourself into third-and-manageable so where we can do run or pass and we can open our whole playbook up. When it's third-and-10, it's pretty one-dimensional. We have to do a better job on early downs, and that's just executing and we'll get better."
Are there any concerns about the noon starts?
"I don't know, you get up early and you play. Where I came from we played at noon a lot. So you wake up early and you get going. I don't know."
So you might have an advantage?
"I hope so. This is a new team. I wasn't here last year. I don't know what that team was like. I know what this team is like and I don't think it matters what time we play at. I know I've heard of some of the struggles maybe last year playing at noon, we haven't had the best of luck getting up and getting going. But I'm sure Coach Mac will have something up his sleeve to create some adversity and make it uncomfortable this week, getting us up early for a lift or whatever, some meetings, just to get guys going. He talks all the time about starting fast. The way we start practice, we start fast with our fastball period and that'll be the point of emphasis, I would imagine, this week. And we'll be ready to go. If we're the team that I think we are, we'll start and we'll be ready to go at noon."
What was the mood on the sideline like in the second half against Tennessee?
“I thought we were totally dialed in the whole game. I didn't feel like we got complacent or relaxed or anything. They started making some plays. They're a good football team. We had some plays that we left out there and we are going to grow from it and get better from it. I truly believe the better team didn't win Saturday. But you got to tip your hats off to Tennessee, they are a really good football team and they won the game.”
How did you feel making calls in your first start for Florida?
“Kind of mentioned it earlier, when you know your stuff when you study the game plan, and when you know your job, it makes it a lot easier to affect the guys in a positive way. And I think all in all, I was prepared. I've told you guys I prepare like a starter whether I am or not. You know when you are ready for your opportunity, you go out and you play and have fun, it wasn't the first time being out there. I don't think I was nervous. I felt like I had poise from the first snap to the last. There were definitely a few things I wished I had back. I missed a couple of balls . I think with any film, when you go back and watch you can nitpick yourself, especially after a loss. We go win the game I think a lot of things slip away where they might not be talked about from the quarterback position from offensive lineman to receivers to defense to special teams. When you lose everything gets put under the microscope. You want to try to find out what the heck happened. And it might be a blessing in disguise. You know ti have it happen early now we will know we can't, we got to keep a foot on the pedal the whole time and pay attention to those details. We got to bring a certain level of our standard every single snap and it can't slip.”
Did you have any discussions with Luke Del Rio on the sideline during the game?
“We've got a great relationship. He and I support each other as good as any quarterback that I've ever been with. He's a great teammate. He wants to win. I've said it before and I'm sure he's said it: it doesn't matter who's in there. We want to win and we're going to support each other because we see the big picture. If there is division in the quarterback room there is going to be division in the locker room, and there's not that here. We want to win a championship. We support each other to the fullest. Our conversations are great on the sideline. He's looking for things. He's giving me tips and letting me know what he sees out there, 'hey, we got a chance to go deep on the corner,' or 'hey, they're starting to blitz or whatever it may be.' The conversation is the same thing that I give to him the first three weeks. That's what a guy that's in your position that can see some things that maybe not other guys can see and have a perspective similar to yours; it's awesome to have. He's great.
"There were a lot of guys in the locker room that were talking. Again, there was a lot of emotions. A lot of our leaders stepped up. There were a lot of tears in that locker room. The things that were said in that locker room will stay in there, but I'm really, really encouraged by the way we reacted that it wasn't OK. It just wasn't a loss. It looked like we lost the national championship. That's what it felt like. It hurt. And what I'm excited to see is the way we respond and I'm confident we will the right way.”
Was the deep ball just not there in the second half?
“I think when you are in third-and-long it limits what you can do. The game play didn't change at all. It was just some of the execution stuff. We've got to be better at executing on early downs and keeping ourselves out of third-and-long. And then once the crowd gets into it, the pass rush heats up and they play with a lot of energy in the second half. Hats off to them. We've got to control what we can control. We've got to clean up ... when I watch it, it looked like it was one block, or it was just a fingertip away or just working up to a linebacker and then we were going to gash some of these runs like we did early. That's just pushing the tempo, pushing our standard, every single play we've got to do what we do to the best of our ability.”
Starting last week, do you feel this is an opportunity to rekindle the competition with Del Rio?
“I don't count my reps I make my reps count. I don't control those things. What I control is my preparation this week, the way I practice, the way I affect my teammates in a positive way. Go out there and be the most prepared quarterback in the country and try to help the Gators win a game on Saturday. What happens after that is not in my hand at all. I would like to at least put some pressure on and be the quarterback for this team. I think I am. I didn't come here not to be. But again, that's a question for Coach Mac and hopefully my play takes care of itself.”
"That was the most emotional locker room that I've ever been in. There were a lot of guys that were really hurt. We fully expected to win that game and we started fast, and we just came up a little bit short. Guys were hurt. We played our hearts out. We played our hardest. Effort wasn't a problem. We just got beat by a good team and guys really took it personally. The thing that I'm really interested to see and excited to see is the way that we're going to respond this week with the way that we practice in a few hours and then the way that we respond on Saturday. I But it's definitely good to see how bad it hurt."
How do you think guys will respond?
"I think that we're going to have a great week of practice. I think that's the expectation. If we're just going to be upset about it and nothing's going to come from it, then it doesn't really mean a whole lot. The tale of what kind of team we have, we're going to find out who we are from this adversity and the way that we respond this week and ultimately on Saturday. And I know that the guys in that locker room are up to the challenge and I know that I am too."
How did it feel to play well, notably during the first half?
"I think it was important to start fast. I was comfortable. I felt like I saw the field really well. I felt like I was on rhythm. The offensive line kept me clean for the most part the entire game, especially in that first half when we were able to get open and hit guys. It was a blast just to get out there and play. You miss playing. To go into that environment and get a chance to play, it was awesome. I felt comfortable from the first snap to the last snap. The biggest jump in any team and in any individual is always from that first game to the second game, and obviously I'm excited for this week.”
Often, the play clock was running down. Was that an issue?
"I think in the second half you're trying to shorten the game so you want to get deep into the play clock so the plays are getting sent in a little bit later so we can try to chew it up. That's just part of the game management. When they started to get a little bit of momentum and the crowd turned up, obviously you've got to do a better job of communicating and getting guys lined up early. And then you can do everything that we need to take care of at the line of scrimmage from a logistics standpoint to make sure everyone's on the same page for the play. We're 100 percent behind that, that we've got to get lined up and then we can go from there. We've got to communicate much better and we'll get better."
Was that part of the issue in the second half?
"I think anytime you go on the road, it was our first time going on the road and experiencing any sort of crowd noise. Going into a place like that, which is obviously a very loud place to play, you've got to do a great job of communicating. I think we didn't have any mental errors. Guys were in the right places, there weren't any really big mess-ups. Early in the game we had to burn a couple timeouts just because one time I think the headset came out and we couldn't get the play in at all, which it happens at a place like that, and then there were some other things. But I think all in all we did a really good job handling the noise. Now we've got to do a better job sustaining drives and making those key plays when we need them. We kind of got caught on some third downs, a lot of third-and-long situations -- it doesn't matter who you're playing, third-and-long is hard. We've got to do a better job on early downs of getting ourself into third-and-manageable so where we can do run or pass and we can open our whole playbook up. When it's third-and-10, it's pretty one-dimensional. We have to do a better job on early downs, and that's just executing and we'll get better."
Are there any concerns about the noon starts?
"I don't know, you get up early and you play. Where I came from we played at noon a lot. So you wake up early and you get going. I don't know."
So you might have an advantage?
"I hope so. This is a new team. I wasn't here last year. I don't know what that team was like. I know what this team is like and I don't think it matters what time we play at. I know I've heard of some of the struggles maybe last year playing at noon, we haven't had the best of luck getting up and getting going. But I'm sure Coach Mac will have something up his sleeve to create some adversity and make it uncomfortable this week, getting us up early for a lift or whatever, some meetings, just to get guys going. He talks all the time about starting fast. The way we start practice, we start fast with our fastball period and that'll be the point of emphasis, I would imagine, this week. And we'll be ready to go. If we're the team that I think we are, we'll start and we'll be ready to go at noon."
What was the mood on the sideline like in the second half against Tennessee?
“I thought we were totally dialed in the whole game. I didn't feel like we got complacent or relaxed or anything. They started making some plays. They're a good football team. We had some plays that we left out there and we are going to grow from it and get better from it. I truly believe the better team didn't win Saturday. But you got to tip your hats off to Tennessee, they are a really good football team and they won the game.”
How did you feel making calls in your first start for Florida?
“Kind of mentioned it earlier, when you know your stuff when you study the game plan, and when you know your job, it makes it a lot easier to affect the guys in a positive way. And I think all in all, I was prepared. I've told you guys I prepare like a starter whether I am or not. You know when you are ready for your opportunity, you go out and you play and have fun, it wasn't the first time being out there. I don't think I was nervous. I felt like I had poise from the first snap to the last. There were definitely a few things I wished I had back. I missed a couple of balls . I think with any film, when you go back and watch you can nitpick yourself, especially after a loss. We go win the game I think a lot of things slip away where they might not be talked about from the quarterback position from offensive lineman to receivers to defense to special teams. When you lose everything gets put under the microscope. You want to try to find out what the heck happened. And it might be a blessing in disguise. You know ti have it happen early now we will know we can't, we got to keep a foot on the pedal the whole time and pay attention to those details. We got to bring a certain level of our standard every single snap and it can't slip.”
Did you have any discussions with Luke Del Rio on the sideline during the game?
“We've got a great relationship. He and I support each other as good as any quarterback that I've ever been with. He's a great teammate. He wants to win. I've said it before and I'm sure he's said it: it doesn't matter who's in there. We want to win and we're going to support each other because we see the big picture. If there is division in the quarterback room there is going to be division in the locker room, and there's not that here. We want to win a championship. We support each other to the fullest. Our conversations are great on the sideline. He's looking for things. He's giving me tips and letting me know what he sees out there, 'hey, we got a chance to go deep on the corner,' or 'hey, they're starting to blitz or whatever it may be.' The conversation is the same thing that I give to him the first three weeks. That's what a guy that's in your position that can see some things that maybe not other guys can see and have a perspective similar to yours; it's awesome to have. He's great.
"There were a lot of guys in the locker room that were talking. Again, there was a lot of emotions. A lot of our leaders stepped up. There were a lot of tears in that locker room. The things that were said in that locker room will stay in there, but I'm really, really encouraged by the way we reacted that it wasn't OK. It just wasn't a loss. It looked like we lost the national championship. That's what it felt like. It hurt. And what I'm excited to see is the way we respond and I'm confident we will the right way.”
Was the deep ball just not there in the second half?
“I think when you are in third-and-long it limits what you can do. The game play didn't change at all. It was just some of the execution stuff. We've got to be better at executing on early downs and keeping ourselves out of third-and-long. And then once the crowd gets into it, the pass rush heats up and they play with a lot of energy in the second half. Hats off to them. We've got to control what we can control. We've got to clean up ... when I watch it, it looked like it was one block, or it was just a fingertip away or just working up to a linebacker and then we were going to gash some of these runs like we did early. That's just pushing the tempo, pushing our standard, every single play we've got to do what we do to the best of our ability.”
Starting last week, do you feel this is an opportunity to rekindle the competition with Del Rio?
“I don't count my reps I make my reps count. I don't control those things. What I control is my preparation this week, the way I practice, the way I affect my teammates in a positive way. Go out there and be the most prepared quarterback in the country and try to help the Gators win a game on Saturday. What happens after that is not in my hand at all. I would like to at least put some pressure on and be the quarterback for this team. I think I am. I didn't come here not to be. But again, that's a question for Coach Mac and hopefully my play takes care of itself.”
