JMU QB Alonza Barnett: "I was one of those kids that grew up watching Oregon."

Duck fans are about to get to know JMU quarterback Alonza Barnett after the weekend. No matter the outcome, Barnett has had a spectacular season resulting in him earning Sunbelt conference player of the year honors. (Bill Dudley award)

This season he has thrown for 2,533 yards with 21 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He’s also accounted for 544 rush yards and 14 more scores on the ground.

Here he is talking about playing at and against Oregon, a team he grew up watching.

On Winning the Bill Dudley Award:

“I mean, it’s an absolute honor just to represent this university yet again in a positive light and to bring nice notoriety to the university is nice. This award is bigger than me. This award is a representation of our team’s success, offensive success, defensive success. It’s a representation of our team’s success, offensive success, defensive success. So a lot of it went into this. I want to thank the voters again on the panel for deeming me the right guy to fit this award. And to be able to join the long list of names, not only within this university, but overall, it’s truly a humbling experience and an honor.”

On This JMU Team:

“This is a legit team. It’s the epitome of a team. Like I’ve said before, it’s a team that really cares about each other. I know when I’ve said that, we’ve talked about the offense side of the ball, but that goes between units, defense as well, Special teams, coaches to players, coaches to coaches. There’s nothing but genuine interactions around this place, and I believe that’s what makes this team and this place special because that’s just, you know, the energy that we get reciprocated outside of the building.

You know, just a simple motto, Dukes hold doors. I think that goes a long way into, you know, really showing the world how this university and this community is.”

On Preparing for Playing at Oregon:

“You can’t psych yourself out and lose a game before you start the game. You have to remember just base day one why you started playing this game as a kid. I think if you were to ask everybody on this team, especially, you know, this generation, this era, you know, who was your favorite football team growing up? People would probably say Oregon. You know, they had the flashy jerseys, Marcus Mariota, Darren Thomas, Devin Carrington, you know, Kenjon Barner, a bunch of people.”

You know, I was one of those kids that grew up watching Oregon. And so this is environments that you dream of playing in. And, you know, if you are who you say you are, you can’t shut down when the lights are bright.”

On Oregon’s Defense:

“Yeah, they’re a legit defense. They’re a college football playoff defense and I wouldn’t expect anything else. When you look at the front four, they’re huge. They’re dancing bears as I’ve referred to them. They’re big guys that can move and they play well. They get after the pass rush and they’re aggressive. You know, we move that to the linebackers. They’re really savvy. They’re big. They do a good job playing in space and kind of maximizing their zone integrity.

And then when you get to the corners, statistically on paper, it says that they’re young guys. But to me, I see them, they play like savvy veterans. They look really comfortable out there in one-on-one situations.
and I believe the same thing is to be said about the safeties they do a good job playing in their zone responsibility when they when they have to play man-to-man they’re really solid so they’re a really good defense.”

On National Noise if JMU Should be in Playoffs:

“Yeah, you can’t control everybody’s opinion as much as people might say stuff that you disagree with.
That’s their opinion. My job and our team’s job is to focus on the guy to the left and to the right of you, focus on their why, focus on why they play the game the way they do, how they play, and how can I be the best version of myself to help that guy and help this team win. So, you know, our response really isn’t to the national media in itself, but it’s, you know, more of a calling card to each other to, you know, pick up the pace, pick up the intensity a little more.”