Screenshot of Blake Anderson’s press conference on Monday, Oct. 17, 2022
LOGAN – Utah State held its weekly press conference with Blake Anderson and two players from the team, this week it was defensive end Daniel Grzesiak and guard Wade Meacham. Those three all spoke on last week’s win at Colorado State and gave insight as to the upcoming matchup at Wyoming.
You can find the full press conference audio on 1069thefan.com in the Full Court Press podcast feed or on the 1069 The Fan mobile app. You can also tune into the Full Court Press from 4-6 p.m. on weekdays where Eric Frandsen and Jason Walker discuss these quotes and the other things coaches and players discuss in press conferences.
Injury updates on the quarterbacks and defensive end Byron Vaughns
Anderson – “Everything for us is day-to-day at this point. It’s gonna really depend on what happens in the next 24-48 hours. What kind of progress those guys make. We’ll follow the protocol. They are in the protocol and if they’re cleared we’ll be ready for them to play. If not, we’ll be ready to play without them. It’s going to be a day-to-day process.”
Timeline of when Andrew Peasley left and when Levi Williams decided to transfer to USU, which came first? Also memories of Peasley.
Anderson – “We had no intentions of taking a transfer quarterback until Peasley chose to leave. Myself, coach (Tucker) had probably five, six individual meetings with Andrew before he made his final decision. I don’t think it was an easy one for him. He loved our locker room, loved the coaching staff. I don’t want to put words in his mouth but he made it very clear this was not an easy decision. But he did want to be the starting quarterback and understood the circumstances with our room and what that meant. And so he put his name in the portal. We then decided to look and investigate the landscape of what was available. Levi reached out fairly quickly. It was obvious he was leaving. And with his fiancé being here on campus I think there was some incentive on his part to be a part of our roster. (He) knew the circumstances with Logan. Knew the circumstances with (Cooper Legas), both having been a starter and both having played well in the bowl game. Wasn’t afraid of competition and he chose us.”
Meacham – “Andrew’s a great guy. He’s an awesome athlete. A great quarterback. We were really sad to see him go. We weren’t the closest of friends but we hung out quite a bit and talked a bunch. Super-excited to see him again this week and wish him the best.”
Peasley’s performance with Wyoming
Anderson – “He’s done exactly what I expected. He hurts people with his feet any time they’re not really sound and making sure they account for him. We always knew the dude could fly. He’s got power to throw the ball anywhere on the field and he’s doing that as well. The system is different and I think he’s done a good job of stepping in and playing within the system that they have. It’s a ball-control, run, play-action pass, shot-type system and I think he brings a dimension to the table that they weren’t sure they were going to have.”
Bishop Davenport’s play at Colorado State and going forward
Anderson – “You could see very clearly that the moment was not too big for him. He is a very calm, competitive individual. He’s played in stadiums full of 40 and 50,000 people in the playoffs in Texas. It’s not something that really took him back. He connected the dots really well. Did not turn the ball over which is what you ask any freshman to do. And he did a great job with his feet. With reps, you’d like to think we could put together a very sound game plan that allows him to utilize his skill-set. But also we’ll be day-to-day in terms of what the other guys can or cannot do. So we’ll prepare with him and prepare without him. But he will get reps for the first time since fall camp which is only going to help him.”
Grzesiak – “I believe in him. I’m riding with Bishop. I’m riding with Bishop. If Coop come back, Levi come back, I’m riding with any quarterback we’ve got. They’ve prepared. They’ve been here – Bishop just got here in June – but they all look good to me. So I’m riding with them.”
Meacham – “Honestly, it’s the same for us. We try to go into each week, each game with the mentality that the game is on our shoulders. A lot of times people will say that games are won or lost in the trenches and I firmly believe that. Regardless of who’s in the backfield we’ve got to make sure that they have time to throw the ball and that our running backs have holes to run through. And if we can make that happen then I don’t think it matters who’s behind us, we can come home with a W.”
On last year’s loss to Wyoming
Grzesiak – “I heard about the game last year and we can’t let that happen again. Last two weeks, everyone got to do their job, gap responsibility. And D-line, we have to create knockback and, you know, I think we’re going to go out there and do a good job.”
Meacham – “Obviously, there’s still a bit of a chip on our shoulders from last year. It’s definitely a game we wish we could have back. We’re excited for this opportunity to line back up against them and prove that we’re – at least as an offensive line – a much better unit than we were last year.”
On Kotsanlee, who just won Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week
Anderson – “He does a phenomenal job at putting the ball where we need him to. The block had nothing to do with him, it’s just a pure bust up front. His ability to place the ball in different areas of the field out of the same look is unique. He’s got a tremendous amount of control. The hang time that we get from him to allow us to cover. And when needed, he can sit it down there and really flip the field. Done a great job of pinning the ball, we got another one on the one or two yard line the other night. He’s extremely versatile and very consistent and takes a tremendous amount of pride in the job that he does. He’s a weapon, he really can be. We’re fortunate to have him. He just does things with the ball a lot of guys can’t do. We’ve seen him spin it any direction, place it any direction and hang it up.”
On the Bridger’s Rifle trophy and the rivalry with Wyoming
Anderson – “I’ll be truthful, I don’t know a lot about it. I know I watched those guys carry it off the field last year and that was enough to piss me off. I just want to play good ball. It’s a conference game and it matters. It really wouldn’t matter who’s on the other sideline. It’s going to be Wyoming which brings about one of the best coaches in college ball. Brings about a physical, nasty style of football. And if we get to carry the rifle away so be it. But we just need to win. We need to stay in control of our own destiny and the only way to do that is keep winning. And that means going on the road, wind will be blowing 30 miles an hour, probably will be pretty cold and who knows who will be playing for us. We’ve got to find a way. The trophy would be a great consolation prize but it has nothing to do with our conversation this week.”
