SDSU FOOTBALL: PLAYERS TANO LETULI & MARQUEZ COOPER POST GAME AFTER TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE

the defense did did a good job today we know we should have minimized those penalties and got to be more disciplined for the next coming weeks but we brought the energy today and it was a team game we worked with the offense picked it up when the offense needed us and the offense picked it up when they when we needed them it was a good team win and we're ready to wasn't the first half we wanted we know I'm excited to go back this next week and fix and tune up everything uh get ready for our next opponent I feel great uh but I feel more good about uh how my my teammates and responded and my coaches responded to the first half the first half was rough uh you know and I'm just thankful that I got I was apologizing to the defense because it wasn't the start that we wanted to and they was like nah that's on me we they shouldn't have scored they shouldn't have did this and I'm just like you know I'm just thankful you know my coach continued to put me in the game believed in me and we we was able to break through uh we just got in the groove of things and we tightened things up uh it it was our first time everybody playing with each other me the quarterback the old line the wide receiver it was everybody's first time playing with each other so and it was the first game so everybody you know was a little bit tingling and worried but we found each ourselves you're both team captains what was set the locker up the half to help youall lock in and you have the performance you know 42 points and then get the two defs um the biggest thing on the defensive side of the ball was Don't Panic you know the last thing you want to do is panic we got to stay to our stay to our rules stay to what we've been doing and just uh work as a team fix the things up and just just keep fighting come out with come out the energy and just don't panic just stay stay calm and Trust the defense and Trust our team trust our offense and it worked out you um obviously had um you know transferred back to San State and um in front of your own crowd F and you score defensive touchdown Ian very St toward you man how do you feel uh it was awesome that was my first College touchdown but I wouldn't have been able to do it without my teammates um Trey white punching the ball out Cody Moon being there and then I just happen to be at the right place at the right time you hit that 47 yard early in the third quarter is that kind of could you feel maybe the tens on the sidelines after that play yeah for sure I definitely felt the tension loosening and everybody just starting to feel more comfortable and more confident that b bouncing around it's about panicking how difficult is it to just just fall on the ball pick it up right kick it around see that I said Jo we work on a lot City Ball versus country ball and when at that point it was was a country ball you know you want to scoop and score not just fall on it and the ball just kept getting kicked further and further into the end zone and then once I knew the ball was in the end zone I knew to just fall on it get possession of the ball who was next to you uh Trey white was the first one to to knock it out after the quarterback picked it up and then Cody moon was also next to me you impressing with Cody get TouchDown no he kind of missed it a little bit but I was there to pick it up T the defense played a lot of different variations I think they started in a 34 as an inside linebacker how how does those differentes change your role M um we just kind of going based off you know their personnel and our coaches did a good job of preparing us and just knowing our rules and doesn't doesn't change too much we we did a lot of preparation and we just know to stay true to our rules and what our coaches taught us Mar you played in this offense with Kent State a few years back how does this version of it move in comparison to what it was like in Kent State is there a difference I mean it's a lot of different pieces so it definitely looks different uh it feels a lot of the same though you know and uh especially when I was able to get into a rhythm uh this was everything that I remember so and more and it's going to be more ahead you know I was just getting my feet wet tonight we all was just getting our feet wet tonight it's a long season ahead 23 yard Second Debut behind Marshall Fox already your first game Marshall Fox does that feel oh it feels amazing uh just being at San Diego State every day feels amazing with guys that you know were able to set the tone before me and guys to chase uh their greatness behind them so with Marshall ful Rashad Penny uh DaNell Pumphrey and guys like that you know I chase them guys every single day first quarterback game like you might a little bit hyped up thr second row of talk me through his progression and what you saw from him as he kind of got not just from the decision making the way he hand himself emotionally uh Danny never changed emotionally uh after some passes you know I got on him a little bit like come on give him a chance but he he never talks back or anything like that he takes it moves on to the next play and he was able to uh convert some key third downs and uh converge first downs for us passing the ball through the air so I really like the day he had today and what he shown what you like the you know early on like hey that was on me let's go was we're a Tempo team we don't huddle that much so when we were in the Huddle all he was going to all he was doing though was calling a play and saying let's go and motivating the old line up front that's all he was doing in the huddles on the field there between plays oh between plays uh me and him are both looking um to get the play so uh we were not just talk all he does is say motivational things that's all he does is let's go and stuff like that so I the staff hand you guys half time not playing where you guys wanted to play how did they approach you guys what was their message they never panicked at all like they came in the locker room and all they did was go to their positions like we would do on any other game and the position coaches coached their positions told them what they was doing right what they was doing wrong and we got it right yes after a game tonight how do you keep expectations for yourself set and have mentality for season uh I feel like I'm one of the best backs in the nation if not the best back so and I don't feel like a lot of people view me as that or look at me as that way a lot of people count me out because of my size and I've been dealing with that for my whole life so I'm just trying to continue to be the greatest man I can be every single day every single practice and I'm thankful for this opportunity every single SLE day uh you know I'm I take a a sacrifice to be away from my son every single day and he's going to be able to come next week so I'm excited for that they seem to really want to attack the middle of their defense how do you feel like you guys as a defense you know held up against the physicality that they were trying to establish uh they definitely brought it today and they started off in the ball in a in a bigger personnel and wanted to like you said run the ball up the middle and we just made those adjustments and and then that that made them get away from it and I think that our dline did a good job our coaches made the right adjustments at half like he said they're staying calm the coaches didn't come in yelling at anybody they just went to their positions and made the right adjustments and we came together as a team you play against an offense that go so fast in practice slow things down a little bit did you feel maybe stronger as a game went on you're so your win oh for sure yeah we do it we do a we're going against them at practice they go really fast and it's it's good to practice against that cuz the game can only get easier in a sense so uh our our offense does a good job of preparing us and and the game today we have more time to think more time to catch your breath and it it was cool to feel that question for theam what can you kind of take away from this game and then to kind of build on coming I feel like today was a good start like you said getting our our feet in the water but it's nowhere close to where we want to be and it's no weere satisfied we're not hungry we're starving to get out there and I can't wait to go back to practice and fixing things up tomorrow so I think today was a big big day for us to just get out there and see what we're doing but we got a lot of stuff to fix I think today was a wakeup call you know uh I don't think we came sleeping on them but it felt like it so we need to uh work harder and practice every single day and we need to get on that film room tomorrow and see what we need to fix could you both please comment about the job that your respective front lines of the off def did during this game my old line did amazingly especially in the second half uh they show perseverance um by you know they didn't get doubt themselves or anything like that because of the rough first half you know they wanted to you know they was motivating me in at halftime to come on you you you you the one you a dog uh let's run the rock we need to just run the rock on these boys so they want to run the rock just as bad as I do every single play and that's what I love about them you left a pretty big space where you get through on the long touchdown I I was untouched on my touchdown run untouched that doesn't happen often in college football or NFL uh my my dline did a great job and they they instilled confidence in me knowing that you know a a really good dline they do their job it makes my job a 100 times easier and they they did a great job today and made my reads easier and made everything clear for me to fit so uh any recognition goes in them I think it was three R passen you guys get an explanation on any of those borderline calls no um with those calls we just need to be more disciplined there should be no gray area we shouldn't be putting our ourselves in a position to get those penalties so we got to be more disciplined on those