2021 Florida Football Postgame Quotes
Greg Knox, Florida Interim Head Coach
Florida 24, Florida State 21
November 27, 2021
Opening statement
“Great win today. I really want to thank Gator Nation for coming out and showing great support for this senior class. It’s a wonderful group of guys. I tell you what, this has been a week to remember. The last time I did an interim deal, it was under different circumstances. This one – it was tough, but our seniors made it much easier. They came to work every day, they held everyone accountable and we did it as a team… A great win and a rivalry game. What a big, big showing today. Was it our best? No. But, it was a win and it was a great win. I’m excited for this great send-off for our senior class. And, we have one more game. We always talk about how we’re guaranteed 12 games, and anything after that, we have to work for. So, we get one more game and we’re headed to a bowl game.”
On going to a bowl game…
“They’re excited. That’s what we talked about last night. Who knows where we are going to be or when… But, I can tell you this – they are excited about that. They were excited about winning this rivalry game, and they knew it meant going to a bowl game. That senior class wanted it.”
On Anthony Richardson’s energy he brought into the game…
“He did bring a lot of energy in [the game]. We played him early – the one play he ran the ball, he got hit and had to come out. We had him with our training staff, and at halftime, they told us that he was good to go. So, we got him into the second half.”
On Dameon Pierce’s helmet play…
“He is a tremendous young man and he plays with that type of passion. He practices with that type of passion. That was unfortunate that his helmet did come off, but he was determined that he was going to get into the endzone. He’s a senior, he wanted the ball in his hands… We gave it to him and he delivered.”
On Brenton Cox’s sacks…
“He came to play today. He was one of those guys that I could tell during pregame, that he was going to play… I could see it in his eyes, I could read it in his body language and I knew coming into this game today, he was going to play. And he did. Four sacks? Great day for him.”
On why the guys came together for this game to get this win…
“I think it was the fact that, again, we have a great senior class and we had leadership. They understood the situation they were in and we talked about opportunity and chaos. The chaotic situation that started Sunday with Dan being dismissed and me being put in place, and then all the things coming from the outside… I think they pulled together and it made them stronger. It made me stronger because I pulled with them. And today, when we watched our highlight video and came out of that meeting at the hotel… I knew when we walked out of that room, they were ready to play. And they were.”
2021 Florida Football Postgame Quotes
Florida Student-Athletes
Florida 24, Florida State 21
November 27, 2021
#0 Trey Dean III, Senior, Safety
On playing his last game in The Swamp…
“It was a great atmosphere. The fans are always great. I’m speechless – The Swamp is a place second to none. We had a great time, especially with a win.”
On becoming bowl eligible…
“I feel really good about it. A lot of teams don’t go to bowls. There are a lot of things that we’ve been through and it’s a blessing that we get to go to a bowl.”
#2 Kemore Gamble, Redshirt Senior, Tight End
On how his touchdown felt…
“Crazy. Just trying to win for this team tonight when it might be my last time out there. It felt amazing.”
On the crowd…
“It was pretty amazing seeing that we had a sold-out stadium. Personally, I thought we wouldn’t have a sold-out stadium, knowing that we were 5-6 before the game started. It was just pretty cool seeing them out there and my mom. It showed that this is the place you want to be at. Yesterday when I was in the meeting room, I saw on my phone on Twitter it said sold-out stadium. I said, ‘For real?’ I was shocked by that.”
On Anthony Richardson’s performance…
“Anthony’s a tough guy. You can always count on him. Even though he’s young, he’s still a leader on our team. He’s got a bright future ahead of him.”
On Emory Jones…
“Emory’s also a fighter. He’s still young. He’s got more time to get things together. Emory’s going to be good.”
#6 Zachary Carter, Redshirt Senior, Defensive Line
On Brenton Cox’s performance after overcoming injuries…
“Don’t get it mistaken, Brenton is the truth. He’s been battling through some things all year. It’s tough to do, but he goes out there every week and fights with his brothers. Cox is the truth, that I know.”
On how it feels to get a win on Senior Day…
“It means everything, especially with everything we have been through this year. We took a lot of losses this year. A lot of people don’t know how that can affect you and wear you down, but we continue to fight and stick together. And that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
On how he would explain the story of this team…
“I would talk about the trials and tribulations we have been through. Our perseverance at the end to just keep going no matter what is happening. With the losses, coaching changes and all kinds of crazy stuff going on, we just stayed focused and got the job done.”
#15 Anthony Richardson, Redshirt Freshman, Quarterback
On whether getting hit on his first play kept him out…
“On that run, you know, I got hit a little bit. Tweaked my knee a little bit. But it wasn’t anything to keep me out, it just got a little stiff on me. I ran around on the sideline a little bit, just to get loose. I was ready to go the whole time, but they just wanted me to loosen up and get ready.”
On the message from the staff and his mindset taking over the game…
“They just asked me, ‘Are you good to go?’ Just asked me am I good to go and ready to run around and stuff and I said, ‘Yeah.’ That’s when they put me in and they trusted me.”
On being able to provide a second-half spark…
“It was good, you know. For my teammates to be able to trust me, the coaches being able to trust me to go out there and get the victory. It feels good because guys believe in you, so I really appreciate that.”
On where this team goes from here now that they’re bowl eligible…
“We just got to focus on keeping our energy right. A lot of things can come into play. We just lose our heads sometimes, but just staying focused and maintaining the right energy and we’ll be good.”
On his expectations to start moving forward…
“I don’t know. That’s for the coaches to evaluate and decide. I’m just here to play whenever my number is called. So, when my opportunity is there, I’m going to try to take advantage of it.”
#27 Dameon Pierce, Senior, Running Back
On the excitement of senior day…
“I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel. Just getting closer and closer, it got more bittersweet. I walked out the tunnel for the last time. It kind of got quiet… It was quiet. I guess I just zoned out and took it all in. Ending the way it did, it went perfect. It couldn’t have been a better way to end it off.”
On the season as a whole…
“Right now, we ended on a good note. The locker room vibe is good. It feels like it did earlier in the year. The vibe is coming back. The energy is coming back. I feel really confident, I feel really good about the team. Hopefully the next coaching staff will re-energize some guys and keep it going. I don’t know who the next hire is going to be or how that is going to play out. There are some guys in the locker room who love football and are ready to play.”
On how the team played today…
“It meant so much. To send us out the right way, the seniors especially. All week, all the guys were talking about how were going to send y’all out the right way. The seniors said were going to go out the right way. Everyone had the same goal. Everybody worked toward that goal. Just to see it pay off on the field. It might’ve not been the prettiest one, but that’s the beauty in it. I wouldn’t want it easy. I like a hard-fought battle. That’s how it was today. We came out with the win today and I’m grateful. It meant everything to me.”
On getting to play in a bowl game…
“Hopefully we can add on to this performance and get better from it. We have a couple weeks of rest and couple weeks to chill and get our body back right. Like I said, the vibe is back in the locker room. I’m feeling the vibe and I’m feeling very confident on where the team is at right now. I probably couldn’t have said that three or four weeks ago. Only thing that matters is that we get back to who we were, who we are as a team, and as a program. Hopefully, we carry that over to the bowl game.”
#55 Antonio Valentino, Redshirt Senior, Defensive Lineman
On what this game meant …
“It’s a big win, it’s a rivalry game. Doesn’t matter what the record is, the standard here is you don’t lose to Florida State. So, I think that, Coach Rob and as a defense, we’ve just been really worrying about the things we can control. He challenged us last week… Can we stop the run? We stopped
the run. This week it was the same thing… Can we come out here and execute what we’re supposed to do? I think as a defense these last couple weeks, we’ve really come together. As you can see what I’m saying, we go out there, we battle, we play together and we pick each other up. If you notice when one guy makes a play, everybody’s coming and celebrating with him. And in the early halves of the season, we kind of weren’t like that all the time. C-Rob brought that up and was like, ‘Why isn’t it like this?’ So, it’s a conscious effort for all of us to go in there and do that.”
On what the mentality was like going into the game…
“It was mainly just sending the senior’s out right. It doesn’t matter if we went 1-11 and this was the one win. You don’t lose to Florida State, that was the whole thing. It wasn’t, ‘Oh, we’re trying to go to a bowl game.’ At least from what I understand, it was just defend The Swamp and that’s pretty much what it was.”
On what Coach Knox was like this week…
“Yeah, he was put in a tough position. I think all of us saw how well he responded to that and how well he took it on. He does things a little bit different than Coach Mullen, but that’s just what you expect. Every coach is going to have their own little unique twist on things. I think he did a great job. The guys really rallied around him. Coach Knox is a great coach and really friendly with everybody, so I think it was really easy for the team to rally around him.”
On Dameon’s non-touchdown run when his helmet came off…
“I love watching D.P. play football. I don’t think ya’ll get it because he’s as strong as a house. Dude squats more than me, he squats more than anybody on the team. So, that’s why he can make these impossible looking runs where he falls forward two yards or two steps then picks himself up, then makes a cut. I think that run specifically epitomizes who Dameon Pierce is as player, as a human and as a teammate. I mean it’s unfortunate that you can’t keep playing with your helmet off, but I was so lit after that.”
2021 Florida Football Postgame Quotes
Mike Norvell, FSU Head Coach
Florida 24, Florida State 21
November 27, 2021
Opening statement…
“Just to start off, it was a hard-fought game. One that had a lot of swings to it. One that I thought our guys battled throughout, we just made some mistakes there that truly cost us. Turning the ball over, penalties, times where we had some miscommunication… Obviously, coming on the road is challenging and it’s a challenging atmosphere. I thought at times, we let our passion and emotion probably go a little too far. We weren’t being in control of our response in certain situations which put us in some challenging situations. Defensively, I thought when you look at the first half, we weren’t very good on third downs on either side of the ball – something that improved in the second half. But, in the third quarter, a couple of turnovers really hurt us. Just like this team’s done through the course of the season, they continue to battle, and they continue to fight. Put themselves in a position at the very end to get an opportunity, and unfortunately, we weren’t able to capitalize on that. That’s a hard way to end the season because I’ve seen a team – they’ve been knocked down, had all odds against them but they just continue to respond, they continue to work, they continue to believe. You have to see that once again on display today, but some of the little things, the mistakes that showed up, that you have to be to perform in the moment, they cost us. I’m grateful for that group of young men, and they’re hurting. They’ve done what I’ve asked them to do, continued to believe, continued to invest. They believed in each other, believed in the staff. I was fully confident even when we found ourselves down 17 in the fourth quarter – we’d find a way, we’d make a run. We just unfortunately came up a little short and we have to give credit to our opponent, they did a good job. It was an emotional day, a great rivalry, and it’s one of those things that is going to come down to those same four plays. We’ve got to be better at being able to execute those and to maintain our feelings and composure throughout the course of the contest. I’m proud of our guys for the way they battled throughout the season, I just hate that we came up short today.”
On what season told him about Jordan…
“His toughness, his heart, his character. How much this team means to him. There’s only so much you can do by yourself, but when you care and believe in those that are around you, when you believe in more than just yourself and you’re willing to invest in that and you’re willing to put in the work, build that up, it’s amazing what you can accomplish. Jordan is a tremendous young man with a phenomenal heart. Even tonight, or today, it was the first series. He goes down and obviously did everything he could just to be able to get back. For him to go in, to play the rest of the game, to finish some of the plays he made, it was tremendous heart.”
On the next for step for this team…
“Continue to work. We’re going to have guys that they played their last game today and I’m forever grateful for them, but our guys… It was a tough season. There were some challenges, physically you have guys, how they played as much as they did, the investment that they made trying to get their bodies to go out there and perform, you’ve got to rest up. We get in the offseason, obviously we’ve got recruiting. We’re hitting the road first thing tomorrow morning. I’m on a 6 o’clock flight. We are going. That is something that is critically important: that we continue to find the right fit for Florida State in who we bring in here. As we finish up academically, I want to finish strong. As a football program, we are establishing a new standard there in how we compete academically and that’s something that we have to continue to push. Once again, our guys are building confidence in what they can do and as we get in this offseason, we have to continue to go up as a program. The little things, the fundamentals, the consistency of execution. We’ve seen some really good flashes of that
through this back half of the season, but we’ve got to continue to allow that to be our identity day in and day out. I fully believe that these guys are going to be able to accomplish that and that’s what we are going to work for each and every day.”
On rebuilding the program…
“I love the opportunity to do what I do. To be able to stand in front of those players means everything. I’m never going to ask them to do something that I am not willing to do. I try to invest in them to be the best that they can be. I want to challenge them and hold them to a standard of how they operate and what they do. There is always going to be outside noise and people telling you what you can’t accomplish and pointing out every issue. But when you can stay focused on the things that you can control, and you can believe in each other and speak victory over young men and help them see what they can accomplish. Then you start seeing that change and the way they mature. There is a lot of freshman that played and guys that come from all different place but to go through a season and see a team form. That’s what this is about. When you are 0-4 and with guys that have been here for 1 year and guys that have been here for 6 years, a relationship was built and an investment was made. I know the good Lord blessed me with the opportunity to come and be here. I truly believe that I am made for this, to help those guys and more than anything else inspire them and give them the opportunities to be challenged and to respond. I’m just grateful for what I get to do. In the last three years, if you would’ve told me a lot of the things that we would have to go through, a lot of people wouldn’t have expected that. But thank God that it did because we have learned a lot of lessons. I think the heart, character, and foundation of how we are building this team is about the right things. There are great days ahead at Florida State football I promise you that and it’s because of those guys in there.”
2021 Florida Football Postgame Quotes
FSU Student-Athletes
Florida 24, Florida State 21
November 27, 2021
#10 Jammie Robinson, Redshirt Sophomore, Defensive Back
On this year…
“Reflecting on this year, I feel like we started off bad… Everyone knows we started off bad. I feel like that made us come together as a team. Individually, it helped motivate me to just keep working, and now that the season is over, I feel like we definitely gained a brotherhood from this year.”
On the three picks in the first half…
“I think Emory had nine interceptions before this game, so it was kind of expected for him to be loose with the ball. Guys were in the right position and he kept throwing to us, so we capitalized off of them.”
On how hard it is to keep your composure in a rivalry game like this one…
“We just have to go back and celebrate with our teammates. That’s all we needed to do, but there was a whole lot of extra stuff too.”
#11 Jermaine Johnson II, Redshirt Senior, Defensive End
On his emotions from being down in the 4th quarter and coming back, but not getting the win… “We try to keep emotions out of situations like that. You control what you can control. Let the momentum pass over from the offense to the defense or vice versa. We knew when we were on the field, we had to make a stop to make things happen. So, we just kind of flushed what happened, and when our unit was called, we did our best. I think that is what this team is built on – doing our best. If something happens, who cares? You have to go out there, do your best and execute. You can’t let emotions get in the way. You can deal with emotions after the game, but not during the game.”
On how he wants to be remembered from his time at FSU…
“I’m a team-first guy, and not just with my teammates, but with the staff and the program as a whole. I truly tried to give it my all for the university and for the program. That was the first thing on my mind. I always said I didn’t come here to just be that guy and do all that… I came here and wanted to learn
and respect my teammates and my staff. That still stays true today. I’m not one of those big-headed guys who lets his ego get in the way. Football can go up and down every day, but you have to have good character and fall back on your morals. I tried to be the best guy I could be for others.”
#13 Jordan Travis, Redshirt Sophomore, Quarterback
On the team’s performance…
“Every time I can be out on the football field, I’m going to be out there. We fought hard. It sucks. Losing sucks. This offseason we will get better, and we will be a better team next year.”
On the team’s late rally…
“It’s disappointing. Losing sucks, once again. That’s just how our year went. We had a lot of ups and downs. We didn’t start the game of strong, but man we fought. This is the team that fights hard for the guy next to him. It’s really impressive to see. We haven’t been like this ever since I’ve been at Florida State. This team will grow together. Just get better every single day and we’re going to keep working.”
On the program entering the offseason…
“We’re taking the right steps. This is a family. I’ve never been so sad after a game in my life. This team of guys are brothers. I’m upset it’s their last college football game. It sucks man, but we’re going to keep growing and we’re going to get better. That’s all it is. We have to keep a positive mindset, stick together, and work really hard this offseason.”
On what he learned about himself this season…
“I know I’m a pretty good quarterback. I can throw the ball pretty well. I worked really hard. The coaching staff did a great job instilling confidence in me every single day. I go out there and work really hard. I started to become a leader today. I got the guys together for the first time in a while. I just know I’m taking that next step, becoming that leader I need to be and speaking a little more. Yeah, I’m growing.”
