Boston College Football: Final Preseason Camp Scrimmage Quotables

Coach Addazio on the scrimmage:

"I felt better along the way during the week. You're fighting against the end of camp legs... But along the way I've seen some good signs. You still have young guys turning the ball over, and it's got to go away. And I have to make the decision of whether or not they are ready to go into the game. I think there are some good things going on on both sides of the ball. We let up a few good plays on defense. We had some breakdowns on offense...There were signs of explosiveness on both sides. It's there. It's just getting harder now to draw out because they are blown.

On the overall experience at preseason camp:

"We got a lot of work done. I liked the way the kids worked in camp. They had a good camp. I thought there was no drama, all work. All guys who like football and we saw a lot of progress. Overall, I was pleased with how camp went. We're in a foot race with the youth of our team.

On the freshmen running backs:

"We went from nine turnovers [in Saturday's scrimmage] to one today, so that was some good improvement. A lot of good stuff going on. I didn't give Myles [Willis] or Tyler [Rouse] a ton of work, gave it mostly to the freshmen...They're all going to have great careers, they're great players. It's all a matter of natural maturation."

On the team's mentality:

"We're a team who fundamentally believes in tough defense and you have to create negative yardage plays. Get off the field on third down. And on offense, you have to run the football. If you can't run the ball, you won't win championships. Once you establish the running game everything else will come."

Graduate QB Tyler Murphy on the scrimmage:

"We know we need to clean up some little things. It was nice to have the coaches off the field and just play."

On the offense as a whole:

"We're going to find a way to get certain personnel in and create some mix-and-match problems. We're going to work around and spread the ball around, get various guys involved and execute at a high level."

On cutting down turnovers:

"Coach [Addazio] always talks about: If you turn the ball over, you can lose the game. So we tried to focus on taking care of the ball and just moving down the field and executing. We did a good job moving down the field and getting into field goal position. Next week we're going to have to focus on finishing and getting points on the board.

On his vocal leadership:

"It's something that I've really been straining to get better at. I think I made a lot of strides this camp. Guys are looking for me to lead, so it's my obligation to the team for me to do that. It's something that I'm working on every day. It's not easy, it takes a lot of effort and you just have to keep nailing at it."

On throwing a touchdown pass to redshirt freshman WR Charlie Callinan:

"It felt good. Charlie's been a good target for me throughout this camp and some other guys. Any time we can get plays like that it adds life to defense and gives us momentum on offense, making my job easier."

Freshman QB Darius Wade on coming back from a lower leg strain:

"It felt really good to get back out there. The coaches have been conservative, trying to make sure that I take care of myself and stay healthy. So it was nice to get some reps here and there and get loose again."

On throwing a 40-yard pass to Thaddius Smith:

"That's probably one of my favorite things to do. I love throwing the deep ball and [Smith] was able to get open for me, he made a good catch. The line gave me good protection, so it was a good play; it felt good."

On friend Thaddius Smith:

"Me and Thaddius are tight. We were basically like a package deal coming here. We have always stayed close and had a good connection."

On being a spring enrollee:

"I feel like getting here early and getting acclimated to the system was extremely beneficial because in the spring everything was really fast. It was hard to grasp the college playbook. It was a lot different, but coming here in the fall, now I felt like I was a lot more comfortable. I understand the concepts and what we're doing."

On graduate QB Tyler Murphy also coming in the spring 2014:

"It's been nice, relieving some of the pressure. It was definitely in Coach Addazio's thought process. It does help nurture me, since I'm a true freshman. I know it's tough to adjust. He is extremely helpful and guides me on things that I wouldn't understand otherwise. The veteran presence really helps."

Senior P/K Alex Howell on earning the team's trust:

"Punting was really consistent for me so I think I earned some trust there. About 40-45 yards and some good hang time. Field goals I did pretty well, I think I'm over 90 percent throughout camp, so that definitely helps the team out. And kickoffs, I'm putting the ball in the endzone with good hang time. I think I did all three of those [throughout camp]."

On what he learned from previous BC kickers:

"[Nate Freese and Ryan Quigley] always told me, "It's not what the last play was it's what your next play is.' Even though Nate was perfect on field goals this past year, he might have had a missed punt or kickoff; his next play was perfect. So that's the big thing for me. And Quigley was the same way, you're just trying to turn the ball over."

On being ready on game day:

"I think the main thing is trusting in yourself. At the kicking position, you have to know that you're going to make that kick. And then when you go out on the field with that mentality, you'll hit it."

Via bceagles.com. Nine days ...