Jalon Daniels and Leshon Williams go in-depth on UCF win

After the Jayhawks knocked off UCF on the road Jalon Daniels and Leshon Williams talked about the victory. Here is a look back at everything they had to say after the win.

JALON DANIELS

What was it like seeing the defense get those two great stops?

It was wonderful. I mean, to be able to see the level of resilience that our defense has carried, knowing that we had to go out there to be able to get a stop. We had 100% faith in our defense, and they went out there and handled business.

How does it feel to win a close game like that?

Man, it feels great. At the end of the day, like I tell you all every single week, the only category we worry about statistically is the win-loss category. And we were able to get that 1–0 this week. So now we’re going to go ahead and celebrate for the next 24 hours, but at the end of the day, we know we have a great opponent next week that’s coming up. So, we’re going to take in these 24 hours, but come Monday, it’s time to get to work again.

When you guys were down 14–0, how do you keep yourself from getting ahead of yourself or trying to do too much?

You all have seen us down 14–0 before. A lot of y’all been here since 2022, where you’ve seen a lot of games where we went down 14–0 and were still able to come back and win. And I think tonight was a lot reminiscent of that. It was great to be able to say we came out with a win in a close game.

At halftime, what was Coach Leipold’s message to you guys as a team?

At the end of the day, we knew that there were plays that we left out on the field. It wasn’t our cleanest half of ball, but at the end of the day, we know what we continue to harp on every single day, which is staying resilient. No matter if we’re up 30 or down 30, we have to go out there and treat every single play with a one-and-only mentality. And that’s exactly what we did. We went out there and handled business.

Jalon, battling the rain a little bit tonight, did that affect you at all, or was it just business as usual?

It didn’t really affect me at all, if you want to be honest. I felt like every single time it rained their offense was on the field. Literally, it seemed like it was storming every time they were out there, and when we got on the field, it was dry. I wiped off my visor a little bit and went out there and played ball.

Your first road win of the year, what are the emotions like?

Man, it’s always a great feeling. You can’t really explain more than the fact that we got the opportunity to go win today. Even though it wasn’t a home game, it was an away game, and we feel great about it.

LESHON WILLIAMS

On having a three touchdown day:

Oh man, it’s lovely. I think it’s my first time. It’s lovely. I got to give a huge shout-out to all my O-line, tight ends, receivers, and all the coaches who trusted me to get them one or two yards.

Coach Leipold was talking about you getting a little banged up during the game. How did you fight through it?

I have no choice. I got to push it every time. I can’t go out there and be like, “Oh, I’m banged up.” They probably banged up too. You got to get the job done, you know what I’m saying?

What was it like in that third quarter where the offense was executing well and you guys were able to take the lead?

It was great, man. I feel like we have a great offense. I feel like we also got a great defense, as you all saw today. Truthfully, it just always comes down to us executing. I feel like if we are not rolling, it’s really us shooting ourselves in the foot, truthfully.

You mentioned the defense. What was it like for you guys on the sideline watching them get one stop and then have to get another stop soon after that?

I feel like it was like God’s plan because we’ve seen them do it before in practice. Them guys practice hard and everything. I feel like last week wasn’t really a good showing of how they can finish games, and I feel like God gave them the opportunity today just to show the world that they can, and they did it, I think, two or three times.

Speak on UCF’s defense. What were you seeing from their D-line out there today? Was your O-line able to get a lot of open holes against their D-line?

I feel like UCF, they had a good all-around defense. I think my O-line did a good job getting to their doubles and winning their one-on-ones the majority of the game. But I feel like those guys put up a fight.

You guys have had a lot of opportunities where guys have had to be the next man up with injuries. How important is that mentality and that readiness to take over?

You got to be ready. We don’t want to have a drop-off from anybody. It’s a physical game at all positions, especially running back, so that’s one of our main things. We want to make sure everybody’s ready, and yeah, it’s a next-man-up mentality.