Following Auburn’s win over Mercer, interim head coach DJ Durkin sat down with the media. Here is what he (and a few players) said.
Interim Head Coach DJ Durkin
Opening statement…
“First off, extremely excited for our guys. The look on the players’ faces after a win- there’s nothing like it. That’s why you do this. I thought our guys did a great job. I said it going into the game, through the bye-week and last week, preparing for this, they’ve done a great job with it. We demand a lot of them and they always respond. They prepared the right way, and I thought we played a complete game in the second half. I do not feel that was the case to start out on defense.
You’ve got to give credit to Mercer- they are a really good football team. They are going to make some noise in the playoff in their level. That offense and that quarterback, they do a great job. They hold the numbers going into it. And we knew that going into it, but I think that there are some things we could do better and clean up. Credit to our guys, we challenged them and they did respond, and obviously had a shutout in the second half. I thought we played much better defense through it, and we played a complete game in all three phases in the second half. I’m very happy about it.”
Deuce Knight, QB
On his first college start…
“It was fun. It was a blessing. We had a great gameplan. We practiced good all week. It just came down to players making plays, great blocks, great blocking downfield and all the things like that.”
On his first rushing touchdown…
“It was crazy. Like I said, great blocking downfield, great blocking up front, I just do the easy part. All you got to do is just run.”
On having fun on the field…
“I just enjoy life, you know. Life is fun. You’ve got to live it. Have fun doing everything you do.”
Alex McPherson, K
On the win…
“It was awesome. I think we were building off the Vandy game and the energy and momentum we had. It was a great win. A great team win all around. Defense played its guts out the second half. Offense had a great game. We did our job when we were needed on special teams. It was a great complete game like we were trying to do. It was fun.”
On his toughness…
“I think it really puts the game into perspective. When you can go through something like that, it makes football pretty easy. Coming back from that, it’s taught me a lot of lessons. Like I said, it truly strengthened my mindset whenever I am out there on the field, and it helps me knock down the kicks when I’m needed.”
Mason Murphy, OL
On Deuce Knight’s performance…
“You saw what I saw. He looked natural. He is fun to watch, fun to play with and is a good leader. He just went out there and did his thing. He did what we all thought and knew he could do.”
On Deuce Knight’s preparation to the game as a freshman…
“He has an approach to the game that is similar to a pro. He takes every little ounce of coaching that you can get, and he is just an all-around good leader and a role model for the other freshmen to follow. Overall, his approach has been that of a pro for sure.”
On his advancements this late in the season…
“My move to center was definitely a challenge, but I just looked it dead in its eyes and went after it. I think I am performing well. Just little technique errors here and there, maybe misidentifying the front or something like that. I just have to keep growing and keep striving to get better.”
Jay Hardy, DL
On being a leader for the younger players…
“That was big, you know. This year wasn’t the kind of year I expected. I was just always trying to be there for the young guys like Bobby, Malik Autrey and Malik Blocton. Just trying to be there to support them because they’re young and got a lot of time to go.”
On the Iron Bowl next week…
”I mean, I’ve been wanting to play in the Iron Bowl since I came here in 2019-2020. So, actually getting to play in it now instead of being that young freshman and actually being a part of it as a leader now, it feels a lot different and it’s surreal too.”
Chris Murray, BUCK
On the emotions of Senior Day…
“I think what got me the most was just the atmosphere if I am bring completely honest. Like I told you earlier in the week, just the bond I’ve built with the guys, how we just came together and become brothers that is a big blessing to me.”
On the atmosphere of today’s game…
“That explains what I just said. This year hasn’t been the biggest for us. With one-score games and how everything has been going for us, but the atmosphere and the people that love Auburn. It doesn’t get much better than this.”
