QB Maalik Murphy: "I'm not utilizing my skill set the best way I can."
💬 Wondering what other Oregon State fans are saying?
Hear from Oregon State quarterback Maalik Murphy and defensive back Sai Vadrawale following the 41-7 loss to Oregon…
Q: How would you diagnose the run game issues right now?
Maalik Murphy: “I think we just gotta play each play as it is. Whether that’s like we don’t get any yards on a run, and it’s a missed assignment or a miscommunication. I think it really just comes down to everybody playing together in each play and not getting ahead of ourselves.”
Q: Maalik, coach, you talked a lot about the first half being stronger and being an example of what you guys might be capable of as a team. Do you feel like there was a lack of focus that led to the second half being what it was?
Murphy: “I don’t think it was a lack of focus. I think maybe a couple guys just got too high. That’s me included. I gotta do a better job of staying level-headed when things go right. I can play the full 60 minutes that way. It’s a lot that goes into doing the same thing over and over, doing it correctly. You just gotta do a great job of staying level-headed and playing each play as it is.”
Q: Do you feel like this offense is utilizing your skill set in the best way that it could?
Murphy: “I’m not utilizing my skill set the best way I can. I wouldn’t put it on the offense. I would put it on me. Just the simple fact that I could complete more passes when they aren’t there. Making the right reads and staying on top of everything that comes with being a quarterback in the offense. I don’t think it’s the offense per se. I think it’s just I gotta do better.”
Q: What made that touchdown drive special and why was it successful?
Murphy: “It was early on. It was a big score for us. It was a momentum boost for sure.I think we really needed that as a team early on in the game to get us going and keep that momentum going. Of course, it’s huge to score early on. Of course, I just wish we could have kept that up.”
Q: Sai, you look frustrated. What’s going through your head after that performance? How would you diagnose what the defense did today?
Sai Vadrawale: “I thought we came out playing great defense at first. Like Maalik said, we just gotta stay level-headed. We gotta stay the same the whole way throughout the game. Regardless of the circumstance. Regardless of what happens throughout the game. We gotta keep playing defense.
I think a lot of guys, once the score started going up, a lot of guys started going back down. We gotta keep our head level. We gotta be able to go out there and compete every single time we’re on the field. I think a lot of competing. That starts with us in the DB room. We gotta be better. Frustration? No. More of a learning experience for us right now. We gotta continue to get better every single day. Watch this film. Fix what we need to fix. We need to be on to Houston.”
Q: What’s it going to take for this team to stay together? There are countless examples of teams going the other way. What’s it going to take for this group to weather this year?
Murphy: “Captains. Starting with me, I can’t hang my head after a loss like this. I can’t get down on myself. I can’t get down on the guys. Just gotta go in and basically move on. Get ready for Houston. We’ve got a short week coming up. The guys are going to feed off me and feed off the other captains. With that being said, we’ve got to watch it, move on. It’s time to get back to work.”
Q: What are some positive takeaways from today’s game as far as your guys’ progression?
Murphy: “Honestly, it might not look like it, but I’ll say the run game. I think we were hitting it hard. We were hitting the holes how we were supposed to. We were blocking people up. We scored early on the run play. It was good stuff going on. We just have to keep it going. Coach Bray was talking about it with us. We’ve got to figure out how to hold on to that rope the entire game. We can’t let things slip when something doesn’t go our way. That kind of goes back to my first point to stand up ahead and then just play as good as it is.”
Q: Sai, as one of the veterans on this team. Just looking around this locker room, do you feel like guys have the same collective belief that you can turn this season around? Do you see guys hanging their heads? What is your impression of that?
Vadrawale: “I think we’ve got a lot of guys who still believe. We’ve seen that in the first half. We’ve seen that we’re sticking with a team that’s ranked in the top ten. We’re sticking with them. The belief is there. We’ve got to continue to believe. We’ve got to continue to buy into this. We’ve got to continue to get better every single day when we’re at practice.”
Q: Coach Bray critiqued the tackling after Tech, just curious your assesment on that today?
Vadrawale: “I think that’s where we grew today. I think our effort to the ball grew today a lot. Like I said before, we’ve just got to continue to keep growing and keep moving forward in that aspect. Effort erases all mistakes. Just continue to keep our offense involved in situations that we can go out and win.”
Q: We saw Trey (Glasper) take a pretty gnarly hit there on one of those and hit in the tent for a little bit. He comes back out and plays the rest of the game. What does it really say about that guy as a true freshman?
Vadrawale: “We believe in him as the coaches do as well. He’s a dog. He’s going to be out there competing. That’s the life of a DB. You go out there, you might get a ball caught on you. You might get a pass break up. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to be level-headed and next play mentality. He’s a dog. He’s going to be something else.”
Q: You guys had a picture in your head of what this was going to look like when you decided to come here. Where has it gotten away from you guys? Have you been able to match it?
Murphy: “I’m just not playing my best football. I give credit to the defense. Being able to go out there and continue to compete after we go three-and-out time and time again. It’s not easy as a defensive back. It’s not easy as a d-line. It’s not easy as a linebacker.
Anybody on the defensive side to be able to get back on the ball. They just got off the field and they go back out there. I’ve got to do a better job as a quarterback moving the ball forward. Getting first downs. Getting positive yards so we don’t put them in those tough positions as a defense. I think it really just comes down to me being better. What’s already happened has already happened. I’m glad that there are more games ahead. More games to play.”
Q: Sai, you guys added Conrad to the mix too. He gets a lot of snaps today. I’m wondering what your impressions are of him and what he’s able to add to a secondary that needs more bodies.
Vadrawale: “He’s an aggressive player. I like that for us. We needed more guys out there. We needed to go out there and hit and set edges and stuff like that. He’s an aggressive player. We just got to keep growing . That’s the whole group including him. We just got to add him to the mix. We got to keep moving forward as well. He’s a great player and I’m happy that he’s here.”
Q: What’s that going to look like for you guys as a defense when he’s out there on the field and is still obviously picking up the playbook? Are you guys talking to him about that in the huddle?
Vadrawale: “He’s in the next spot with me right now. I’m just giving him tips. If I see something out there, I’m on the sideline. I’m seeing calls that are being created and stuff like that. I’m helping him out and showing him stuff. I’m telling him where he needs to be. We’re just growing as a whole defense and I’m growing as well. I’m just trying to help him with everything that I’ve learned so far.”
Q: Oregon had nearly double the amount of penalties that you guys had. Speak to what it took to get to this point because it was only the reverse for you guys.
Murphy: ” I mean, I think we just got to play complementary football. When they get set back, we’ve got to capitalize on that. When we capitalize on that on defense, we’ve got to capitalize on that on offense. Flip the field in a better way. Plan is to get points off of that all night. It’s got to be a better job.”
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