Head coach Mike Riley on Tommy Armstrong Jr.’s start:
“We always knew that if he kept moving through the protocol he was going to be okay. We were given, as it would happen in the protocol, the final okay today. Because, what they continue to do is see if he has any symptoms of any kind, so everyday that’s what they do. Probably, before and after practice each day. It was before the game sometime this morning, I don’t remember for sure.”
On Armstrong’s toughness:
“You all know Tommy, you’ve seen him for years and he is very, very competitive and doesn’t ever like to come out of the game and always thinks he’s going to make the next play, which I really admire about him.”
On moving on from the loss to Ohio State:
“Well I think that the biggest hurdle that we had to overcome was the mental part of absolutely getting beat like we did a week ago. I think its very important to state that. That is absolutely the biggest hurdle. I was worried that this team, who had won four in a row. We came off of two losses, one a real-bad loss. It should be pointed out that that combination doesn’t feel really comfortable except with this team. I really had faith that this team would come back and play, and they did.”
Defensive coordinator Mark Banker on tackling:
“I know for certain there was one missed tackle that was big that led to that 31-yard gain. Other than that, I don’t recall anything outstanding from that standpoint, from the standpoint of negative. We’ll see it in more detail obviously. I thought we got to the ball pretty well, so a lot of the times if you do miss a tackle, the pursuit ends up covering up. Hopefully we’ll see that. I know there was a lot of physical play out there so that was also good to see.”
Offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf on having Jerald Foster back:
“He’s a fiery guy. It was just good having him back. It’s the first time we’ve been back to full strength at that group since fall camp, so I think that was encouraging. We’re playing some guys that are a little beat up but I think having him back was good, and Cole Conrad is playing well to fill out that right tackle position so I feel good about his play and Nick Gates, of course.”
Quarterback Tommy Armstrong on the process and uncertainty of this week leading up to the game and whether or not he’d play:
“I was kind of nervous, but I just wanted to go through the protocol. A couple days where I was kind of ticked off about the results here and there, but it got better, I just had to trust in the doctors, trust in [Head Football Athletic Trainer] Mark [Mayer] to do the right stuff and make sure I’m on the right path to coming back. Now that I look at it, I’m glad that they held me back on some days. I may have felt good on Sunday but didn’t feel too good on Monday, so they did a great job.”
Wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp on if anything Armstrong does surprises him:
“No. He has had a pretty incredible career and he is such a competitor. I say it every single time I get asked about him, he is the most competitive person I know and he just battles and battles and battles. I think it is great to see that out of your quarterback, out of one of your leaders.”
Left guard Jerald Foster on returning to the field after his knee injury:
“I’m happy to play football. I’m happy to be able to contribute and participate in the more than, you know, ‘hip hip hooray’ stuff on the sideline trying to get everybody’s minds together but also being out there. It was nice.”
On what the game felt like:
“I feel like we won. That’s probably a big one.”
