[Gregory said playing at home with all the changes and possibly more fan support leads to a better setup for the Orange. The opener also serves as the beginning of conference play, so it's doubly important. Starting quarterback Perry Patterson agreed with Gregory that there's a different feel with this year's opener than past ones. He said it's important to get off to a good start and feed off the energy associated with the program, but also to keep emotions in check.] Everyone has high expectations for us and we have high expectations for ourselves, ... But like Coach (Robinson) is always saying, we have to prepare hard and can't make up for it with emotion. |
At times it was cool, but when I look back on it, it was a long three years for me, ... It was just school for me. I wasn't really happy. |
Coach had a talk with me. He just wanted me to keep my head up. That was the first true test of the offense. There's a lot of things we have to work on, but we saw some good things on the film. He wants the same intensity. He don't care how good you played or how bad you played. |
Emotions are going to be pretty high. Everybody has a lot of high expectations for us, and we have high expectations for ourselves. Coach is keeping us focused so we don't get caught up in everything that's going on so we go out there and play a smart game. |
He'll tell me about games where he made six turnovers and how after the game they'd call him 'apple turnover,' ... He helps me keep that fire. |
I didn't really feel comfortable, especially after the first interception. I really felt I got into a little slump. The coaches don't want to see that in me. They feel like I'm a battle-back type of guy. I'm still learning. It was only my 10th start. I've still got a long ways to go. |
I feel a lot better as far as feeling more calm and more experienced and seeing things. It's only been like 10 starts in between. I'm definitely trying to be a better quarterback than I was in that game last year. I'll try to be more efficient and controlling of the offense. |
I just couldn't get into a rhythm. We couldn't get to a lot of things we practiced because we had a lot of three-and-outs. I kept my eyes on the rush. I didn't keep my eyes downfield. |
I went into hibernation. I was as anti-social as possible. It was definitely a humbling experience for me. I let a lot of people down. I felt I let the whole team down. I let the whole town down. |
I'm excited about the opportunity. I'm excited about the season. |
It might not be a bomb all the time, but it's all about the will. When I put the ball in the air it's about who wants it more. Sometimes last year it didn't seem like they wanted it more. |
People said in high school that I was a good passer in basketball because of football, |
That was my 10th start, so I still got a long way to go. We'd move the ball and then a dropped pass or a penalty would just get us out of rhythm. |
That's not the way we're coached. Coaches stress ball security. Those are the things we've got to fix. A lot of guys are down. The defense, they're playing their hearts out, and when the offense can't produce they feel pretty bad. |
That's our strength right now until I can figure out some receivers. I made sure everyone knows I'm the guy that can run this offense, and the guys on offense made big plays for me. |