Aug. 31, 2010

Oregon State head football coach Mike Riley and several players met with members of the media on Tuesday morning in the Valley Football Center. Coach Riley answered questions from the assembled media contingent for approximately 25 minutes. Media represented Tuesday included: Paul Buker, and Molly Blue of The Oregonian, Bob Clark of the Register-Guard, Cliff Kirkpatrick of the Gazette-Times, Gary Horowitz of the Statesman Journal, Mike Parker and Jon Warren from 1240 KEJO, as well as KMTR, KVAL, KEZI.

Opening thoughts for the season "We are excited to get started. It feels like it should be that time. I think our camp has been good, and it is just about time to play to see where we are for the season."

On the Beavers going throughout their walk through in Texas: "I have a former coach friend that played there last year, he said to go do a practice the day before the game to get the `wow' factor out of the way. We are going to go down there, instead of practicing here, we are going to get up a little bit earlier (to get to Texas early enough) and get a 5:15 practice in. I think it will go well, go see the stadium, and do our regular pre-game walk through down there."

On the wow factor for first time starting quarterback Ryan Katz: "Ryan is well prepared, and that is the best thing for him as far as the confidence and being able to handle it. There will still be some butterflies now, it's his first start, and he has been looking forward to this for a long time. As soon as (players) decide where they're going to college, they start thinking about that time when they are going to get to play. He has been here for over two years and he's well prepared. With that preparation, comes a natural excitement, which is a lot of different emotions."

On the Rodgers Brothers getting to play in their home state of Texas: "It's probably exciting for them, but I do think they are thinking about the bigger picture, and winning the football game. James made the comment to a teammate that they are going down there to win. If there is a concern there somewhere, it's never been one for me. It's exciting to go back there and play, if anything, it is an added attraction for them. All of our guys see the bigger picture, going back there to win."

On whether the play-calling will be affected by having Ryan Katz starting his first game... "Everyone has been talking about if we are going to scale everything back for him, and I think we have tried a new approach in the installation of our plays to make it a better learning for everybody. We have had a big package for him during fall camp. Our volume is just about all in at this stage, and he has it all right there in front of him. How we start out (the game) will be according to what we think we need to do to win the game. We expect him to execute whatever is (called). I don't think a major part of the thought process will be about holding stuff back. We always realize the importance of getting the quarterback started."

On TCU quarterback Andy Dalton: "You're talking about a veteran quarterback that has won a lot of games and has executed their offense really well. That is a major factor going into the game, they are a very versatile offensive football team. Their quarterback has been successful, won games, and is a major part of their 2010 team. They will be a hard team to defend. There are a whole bunch of ways we need to be great in the details of assignments. We're going to have to be great with our open field tackling and just be sound throughout to make the play.

On whether the Beavers understand how good TCU is on both sides of the ball: "This is a really good team, maybe as a fast of a team that we have seen overall. I don't think it's hard for our players to watch the film and see the quality of this opponent. These guys not only have talent, but they have a program where they have had time to build a system. It is very easy to see that this is a good team on film, there is already a ton of respect by our team for the quality of their opponent."

On how much Andy Dalton has been reported to be studying OSU's defense: "I know Ryan (Katz) has already been watching them, I think that a lot of our focus with Ryan has been about our football, and our season. I know that (our guys) have been looking at TCU and we have been looking at it in meetings with the players. That is what an opening game does to everybody, there is always that curiosity about taking a look and studying it." What do you sense as a veteran to learn from the big games "After the first couple of snaps, and you have already seen the whole stadium, fans, and the crowd, after all of the extra stuff, once you get going, it returns to football, the way you know it and love it."

Ryan Katz - Quarterback

On his thoughts about his first game as a starter:
"It's getting closer, which makes it more exciting. Being only four days away, I think we are ready to go."

On what he's seen of TCU's defense:
"They are a really quick defense and stop the run. I think they fly around and make plays, but I also think that there are some big plays out there to be made."

On whether there are any nerves about the atmosphere:
"I think we will get all of that out of our system on Friday when we are down there. It should be good for the guys to get the wow factor out and enjoy the stadium. Come game time, we are ready to play."

On reports that TCU quarterback Andy Dalton has been watching the OSU defense all summer long:
"I have been watching them all summer as well. I have been watching their tendencies, some of their personnel. They have most of their guys coming back minus the two that were drafted last year."

On his first start:
"Right now I am just trying to get prepared for the game. It is a big stage and a big opportunity. We are comfortable right now, with having a lot of the guys around during the summer, I threw to all of them. Our timing is down, and it's where we're at the point of feeling comfortable."

Alex Linnenkohl - Center

On what he's seen of TCU:
"I see that they are quick off the ball, and good at reading blocks. You can tell they are extremely well-coached, with the linebackers. They are slippery and don't like to get blocked at all. You have to be careful to not lean, and not to fall when you are trying to get into them."

On first-year starting quarterback Ryan Katz:
"I think it would be a really good thing to go in there and open up for him to make some good throws, like we know that he can. It's going to be a big venue to make your very first start. He will make his reads, make his throws, and it should go well. We need to get the running game going, which should take some pressure off of him."

On the changes in fall camp this year:
"The speed of the game was absolutely faster, we had the entire offense in after the first five or six days, which is something I have not seen. The way they put it in, by involving packages, instead of just plays and cutting it up. You can tell that we put in a lot of work. You can tell that we don't want a slow start going again. We are all very active, there wasn't as much down time, it was all straight down to business."

James Rodgers - Flanker

On the opportunity to play in his home state of Texas:
"When I found out about the game, I thought it would be a great thing for my family and friends to be able to watch me in person. It's going to be a great experience, but it still is going to be a business trip, and that cannot distract me from anything that I do."

On the evolution of his game as a receiver:
"I did a lot of studying my freshman year, when I wanted to be a receiver. I was running the ball a lot. Sophomore year I attacked it during the summer very hard, running routes with the quarterbacks, getting the timing down, and also learning from the older guys."

On what whether the play-calling will be different with a first time starter at quarterback:
"Ryan Katz has been making good throws all through fall camp, I see no reason to sit and hold back. We are breaking in the new quarterback, and I don't see any problems arising."

Jacquizz Rodgers Running Back

On what he's seen on TCU:
"I have been watching film this week and that is probably one of the fastest defense I have seen on film. The way that their safeties play, we will have some chances to take them deep, and that could potentially open up the running game."

On trying to stay focused with the hype surrounding him:
"I am team first. Instead of worrying about my individual accomplishments, I say if you win as a team, and all of that success will come at the end of the season. Right now, you have to stay on track and try to improve on games week in and week out."

On having such a tough opponent in the opening game:
"I love opening up on this stage because you get an understanding of where the game is at. If you play a Division 1AA team, the coaches don't even open up the playbook. So we can just let it all go. We will gain something from it, whether we win or lose."

On differences in fall camp this year:
"We just put in certain packages every day. Everything wasn't thrown at us all at once like it was like in previous years. It helps the younger guys understand the offense better so you can learn it quicker. Once we combined all of the plays together, it was easy and everyone understood it, where it went at full speed."

On what he specifically worked on in the offseason to prepare for the 2010 season:
"I always try to get stronger, faster, and quicker. In order to play at the college level, you have to be fast. Everything has become a speed game now."

James Dockery - Cornerback

On playing at TCU:
"We are definitely excited about going down to Cowboys Stadium to play against a top 10 team. Once it went on the schedule, the whole team got excited. A lot of guys stayed in town during the summer to prepare for this day, and it's almost here."

On TCU quarterback Andy Dalton:
"Their receivers are very athletic and fast and they do a good job at going after the catch. Dalton is good at making quick decisions and he has a strong arm, which makes the ball get out fast."

On the contrast in season openers from Portland State last year to TCU this year:
"For us seniors, this is our last time to strap up as Oregon State Beavers which makes it that much more important to go out with a bang. We aren't going to back down from anyone this year. We are going to take it one game at a time. Saturday is against TCU, No. 6 in the country, and we will be ready to play."

On his sense from fall camp and what is different about this season:
"One reason why we are expecting that this year will be different, is just the level of commitment and from a numbers stand point, this is the most committed team. All the extra guys who have put in the extra work, does extra lifts, works hard all day. Other teams can be at home enjoying vacation, and our motto has just been `hard work pays off.' Going into our off season, fall camp we had more interaction with Ryan (Katz), going against our defense, and more reps against James (Rodgers) and Markus (Wheaton). We are going against a lot of speed, which will not take us by surprise by the speed of the game. We are just hoping that all of the hard work we have put in during the offseason will pay off."

On being a 13.5-point underdog and whether it rubs the wrong way:
"We aren't worried about that kind of stuff at Oregon State. Our motto is also to take one game at a time, and that is what we are standing by this year. We're not worried about the opponent's ranking or how much we are supposed to win or lose by. Our main focus is to show up and play very hard to try to bring back a win to Beaver Nation."