UCLA football safety Qwuantrezz Knight and quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson were the two players selected to talk to the media at the conclusion of Monday practice.Knight talked about being an emotional leader on the team and what that demands from him during a two-game slide and bye week like the Bruins are coming off of right now, as well as the growth he and his teammates are trying to prove from last year loss to Colorado. Thompson-Robinson detailed his injury timelines and gave updates on his thumb, which he hurt against Oregon, and also talked about the shift in energy in the quarterback room over the past few weeks. Mood in the locker room after two tough losses?Right now, the mood in the locker room is honestly just staying positive https://www.ukfootballprostore.com/Mark_antony_Richards_Jersey-143, trying to go 1-0 and just go out every day and just have the best attitude and best practices that we can have. Practices like today, I feel like today was one of the most locked in days that weve been. Guys came out with positive attitudes and we were excited about moving forward and looking forward to Colorado.Thoughts on Colorado?Yeah, like you said, they started out really slow, but you actually saw them pick up in this last end of the season. The quarterback is pretty good, he can throw it really well, he can run it as well too. Have some pretty good receivers, tight end, No. 38. Some pretty good returning players, so like I said, just we just gotta handle our assignments, do exactly what were supposed to do and just stay positive and enjoy the game https://www.ukfootballprostore.com/Stephen_Martin_Jersey-106. Rather take the bye to get healthy or play through it to make up for the last two losses?Yeah, definitely just because of the last two losses, you would want to get that taste out of your mouth as quick as possible. But I think the bye week definitely benefited us, we had a lot of guys that was able to get healthy, that were able to bruise up the nicks that they had and now, like I said, being that we had a bye week, the energy is at an all-time high right now. Everyone happy to be here, everyone is just positive, just trying to go the next best thing, the next best play, just trying to be the best we can be right now.Message to teammates about finishing the season strong?Yeah, earlier, we bring it up before every practice, I just told the guys lock arms, look around each other, were all in this together. It starts with us and as long as we believe in us, we can come out on top. Our journey right now is to go 1-0 each week, and if we go 1-0 each week, were gonna find ourselves in a good spot. And just, like I said, just stay together is the main thing right now. Just stay together and fight together and be here for each other. We put in the work, and just continue to do that and it gonna uphold like it supposed to.Talked to other players about the excitement of playing in a bowl considering youre one of the few who has played in one before?Yeah, oh man, bowl games are great. It definitely makes just to have a feeling that you are, you know what I mean, almost right here, just before a bowl game, is a great feeling but were not trying to look that far ahead, you know? Because we cant go to a bowl game with five wins. In order to go to a bowl game, you must you gotta get six. So until we get that sixth win, the bowl game, it in our mind but it long term right now. The main thing is winning right now, just for this game and we can worry about the bowl after that.Chance to show growth since allowing 48 points and losing to Colorado in Week 1 last year? Read MoreFormer UCLA Softball All-American Rachel Garcia Joins Athletes Unlimited, Signs 2-Year DealUCLA Gymnastics Adds Olympic Talent to Veteran Roster, Previews Season at Meet the BruinsSI Pac-12 Men Basketball Power Rankings: UCLA Finally Falls, Arizona Takes AdvantageYeah, honestly that been what weve been trying to accomplish all year. Just showing the world that showing the world and ourselves that we are capable of doing anything that we want to. Like you said, just starting out earlier in the season, we did great versus many opponents, just getting back to those things. These last two games, we gotta just get off blocks and beat blocks or block them, so whichever one, were just doing that, trying to come together in the best way we can. And yeah, just finish strong, man. Can you take us through the last few weeks with the injury? I think everybody saw I got hurt against Oregon, a pretty bad thumb injury. So I know on, probably right after the game and taking X-rays and stuff, and probably on like Sunday I texted Garbs and reached out like Andres Garcia Jersey, hey, youve got to start to get ready for this week, you know its going to be tough to try to get back and stuff, but well see, though. And just leading up to the game, throwing in warmups a little bit and it just didnt feel 100% or at least close enough to where I could give the team the best chance to win and at the end of the day thats my job, and so I figured Garbs would have the best shot for us, so thats why I didnt play against Utah. But the bye week came at a pretty good time. You know, I got a full two weeks off of not having to use my hand or anything, so the first day of practice for Colorado being Monday today and felt pretty good, so.Missed the potential game-winning drive against Oregon and all of the Utah game, how hard is it not to be on the field for the big moments?Oh, yeah, for sure. You know, those are two of the games I had circled on my calendar for the year and obviously walking out of the tent and seeing the last play of the game against Oregon was really tough, but you know the biggest thing for me is being there for Garbs, being there for my teammates and really making sure I can be the best guy I can to help this team win https://www.ukfootballprostore.com/Kervins_Choute_Jersey-94, but obviously having to watch those two games was really tough, those were two games I obviously wanted to play in and come out with a win, so we didnt do either of those. 100%? Yeah, were still working back into it, its not completely healed or anything but its definitely better than it was two weeks ago.What do you say to Ethan and the team about staying positive?Yeah, just that, theres not really much you can do besides stay positive; its only going to get worse if you go that other route, so just sticking together like we always have been, its a really close-knit group, and so just leaning on each other, weve got guys like Q-Knight, Q-Lake, Paul and guys like me that can really hold the team together as leaders and I think it makes it really easy.Thoughts on Ethan performances vs. Oregon and Utah?Yeah, Oregon was obviously really tough, I didnt get to see the driveI only got to see the last play, so after watching film, I thought he did a really good job coming off the bench cold. Utah, being his first start, I thought he handled it really well, thats a really tough place to play. I was doing the signaling because the CGs down, so I did the signaling, so I was able to be in his ear for most of the game, you know wed talk after every drive on the sideline and stuff like that and Id give him kind of my feedback of what Im seeing on the field and stuff like that and so I thought he took that in really well, he used that to his advantage and he played really well on Saturday, obviously he had some plays he wants back, but for that being his first start and being so young, I thought he played really good in terms of quarterback-wise.Extra juice, new energy in QB room with new guys stepping up?Yeah, definitely, and I try to harp on all the young guys to make sure that theyre always staying ready, you know its kind of hard to see when youre fourth- or fifth-string and being on the scout team all year, so being able to get guys like Parker promoted to the offensive field and getting K.J. in with the quarterback reps on the scout team really showed them that you can get in the game, youre one or two plays away from playing, so I think that gave them a new perspective, definitely brought a little bit more juice, I guess you could say, to the quarterback room, guys feeling like they can play now and get practice more and all that stuff, so.
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