Xavier Nwankpa talks Iowa defense
There were several plays, particularly in the second half, where Xavier Nwankpa felt like he and his teammates on the Iowa defense were playing nearly perfect defense. Yet it was a perfect throw or a talented receiver that went up and made a play that kept the USC drive alive. Those type of plays led to the Trojans 26-21 victory over the Hawkeyes on Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles.
Following the game, Nwankpa spoke to the media about those plays and the Iowa defense trying to do their best against a group of talented receivers who simply went out and made huge plays over and over again.
On what USC’s offense did well:
“They were executing and they were making plays. They had some tremendous players, especially six (WR
Makai Lemon) and eight (WR Ja’Kobi Lane), two really good players that will play past college football. They’re out there making plays. We had chances, but at the end of the day we just didn’t get it done. So we just got to keep going out there, keep going to practice and executing and trying to play the best kind of football we can.”
On what he saw with USC’s offensive comeback:
“Just their execution. At the beginning of the game, they weren’t really executing at as high a level as they normally do, but they came out, especially in that second half. Basically a really high level. We can say we had chances to make plays, but at the end of the day, it didn’t swing our way. We got to get our hands with some more balls, either create more turnovers, help our offense out, keep them from scoring points. They were explosive, especially the second half. So we have to get to work in the lab and try to correct those.”
On stopping the USC receivers:
“I feel like at the end of day, those two receivers (WR’s Ja’Kobi Lane and Makai Lemon) are going to play in the NFL. They’re just making plays. We have guys on our team that are going to play the next level, too. So we have to go out there and execute. We’re going to keep working and keep grinding.”
On the coverage of USC receivers:
“That’s where it hurts the most. I thought we had really good covers on some plays, and they just came out with the ball. So like I said, they’re executing at a really high level. We just gotta find a way to stop that going forward.”
On his hamstring:
“My hammy just tightened up a little bit at the end of the third quarter. I tried to finish the game, do it for my brothers and try to pull off a win. Now we have to recover so we can get out the next weekend and keep trying to win games.
On what they did well defensively:
“I feel like defensively, we’re flying around, making plays, batting balls down, making tackles that we need to make. We’re just excellent at a high level. You have to keep doing that, keep that momentum, especially in the first half and the second half. Just keep playing mental, keep playing fast and keep on coasting.”
