Boston College 24, Maine 3: Quotables

Steve Addazio opening statement...

First off, it's great to be 1-0. Half of the teams in America are 0-1. We're 1-0 and that's a good thing. We still have a lot of work to do; we all know that but that's what that game is for.

For us it was a very herky-jerky game. There were great moments to be had all around but there was a lot of stuff in between that wasn't so great. Maine's opening drive down the field against us really wasn't so great but there were many times when we were stifling on defense. On offense, we had some big plays but they were sprinkled amongst some 'garbagey' looking stuff.

I thought our guys on both sides of the ball played really hard. I thought we were physical and played really hard. We just played really sloppy and made a lot of elementary mistakes - things we need as a staff to get corrected.

We're trying to smooth it out. We're trying to get rid of some of these mistakes. I will say this - when I watch the tape we're not really far off as sometimes it might appear. I feel like we're a couple of blocks away here and there. They're there. They're just not there anywhere near consistent enough right now but I feel pretty good about the fact that we can continue to get it there.

We're 1-0. We did some good things. We did some not so good things. We've got along way to go but we've got a team that loves football and I think it's going to be a hell of a group. We have a bunch of explosive players and a bunch of explosive plays. We didn't really get that unleashed today - not shocking in game one but I'm assessing it and I'm saying to myself we're just going to have to let those guys go fly because we need that. We're going to be a little different kind of team this year. I think we're going to have to let it fly and let some of those fast guys be fast.

Addaio on the touchdown catch by Bobby Swigert...

I was really happy for Bobby Swigert making that catch in the corner of the endzone. Great throw, great catch.There's a guy that's battled to come back. You can't feel any better for Bobby Swigert.

Addazio on the play of Darius Wade...

We threw the ball well at times. A couple of times we didn't I thought the pocket was collapsing and he wasn't able to step through on his throws, but I think we can see the promise in his ability to throw the ball. He throws a nice ball. I thought Darius managed the game well. I thought he did a really good job.

Addazio on Maine...

I really thought Maine was a pretty physical, tough, football team. I think they are well coached and pretty sound. Their defense brought a lot of pressure. I thought they played hard and they had some good looking athletes that had some good speed and pursued well. My hat’s off to them.

WR Bobby Swigert on his touchdown catch...

It was everything I've been working on this whole time. I had so many dreams of making that catch and celebrating with my team. I don't know if you noticed, but the whole sideline was basically out to the numbers, even more excited than I was. It was awesome to see the support, and to be able to [score] in a manner where you make a significant contribution to the team winning is the ultimate goal. Making this team better is the No. 1 reason why I came back.

Swigert on sharing a moment with Mehdi Abdesmad before the game...

We just had a lot of shared emotion. We looked at each other and I said, ‘This is it. This is the day. This is everything we've been working towards.'

Swigert on the passing game...

I think obviously we're a really young team and we always want to be able to run the ball. It's up to the coaches as to how much we want to pass. But we definitely have the ability to throw it down the field, so if we have to do it, we can take advantage of that.

Swigert on the atmosphere...

When we were about to start the game, I was like, ‘This is what we do. This is why I'm on this Earth.' I love this game, this place, Alumni Stadium and my teammates. And I did make sure to take a look around and soak everything in, because when you're away from the game you truly miss it.

DL Mehdi Abdesmad on the first sack...

It felt great. I've been waiting for almost two years to make some plays. It felt great to be back with the team and making plays.

Abdesmad on how long before he was ready to go...

I just needed one snap to feel good and know that I could knock someone back, and then I was good to go.

Abdesmad on managing emotions...

I'm a quiet guy, so I just prayed before the game and I tried not to be nervous because it would affect me in game.

LB Matt Milano on BC's adjustments after Maine's first drive...

I think we're kind of young on the defensive side, so once we got our feet on the ground we kind of took over and got jitters out of our system. We came in on the next series ready to go.

Milano on pressuring an opposing quarterback...

I think it really rattles him knowing I'm coming off the edge. That's what he was thinking about instead of reading his keys and reading his zones, so I think that made a big impact.

OL Harris Williams on his journey back from injury...

It was pretty tragic how last season ended, but it's great to be back with the guys out there and be there with a new set of guys and build some new chemistry. The sky's the limit for all of us. I know we all have something to improve on and we have 11 more games to get better.

QB Darius Wade on preparations for his first start...

As a quarterback, you're considered the apex of the team, so everything runs through you. I just had to make sure I mentally knew all of my stuff. I make sure I constantly prepare, watch film and know my plays, so all I had to do was just go out there and play football.

Wade on looking for a big play...

With our mentality, we're that team that likes to come at you, keep grounding and pounding and kind of get you on your heels and wear you out. We've got a ton of athletes that can make these big plays. So we're trying to get some of those guys and [Tyler Rouse] came through for us.

Wade on his TD pass to Bobby Swigert...

That was surreal. I didn't realize he was in until I threw it and he was about to catch it. So I was ecstatic given the struggle he's gone through and what he went through to get back on the field and that my first touchdown pass was to him. So it was memorable to me.

RB Tyler Rouse on his first TD run...

We came in at halftime and we knew everyone was grinding. It was a good feeling, but we didn't have points to show for it. So we kind of got the running backs together and we said, ‘Hey, we got to make a play here. We can't be denied. We need to make a play here to spark something.' So I got my number called and I was thankful to get in the game and I had great blocking and something happened.

Rouse on Swigert's touchdown reception...

"When he caught that touchdown pass, I was in shock. I ran over there and was maybe the second guy to congratulate him. It was one of the greatest moments for me, because when I first got [to Boston College] I think he was going through one of his last surgeries and recovering. So I really got to see him grind, and it's just so great to see someone who put so much effort in to succeed. It was amazing and words can't describe the feeling I felt."

Transcripts provided by BC Athletics.