Illinois Player Postgame Quotes
Nebraska vs. Illinois
Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, Neb.)
Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018
Nick Allegreti
Senior Offensive Lineman
On senior quarterback AJ Bush Jr.’s performance
“A lot of fire out of him. He played hard from the first snap to the last snap. You can’t ask for much more. He’s playing his heart out. I love blocking for him. He ran the ball well. I love the kid and I wish we could have got a win for him, but he played hard.”
On special teams turnovers
“It hurts when that happens because you’re about to get the ball back and your defense just made a great stop. It does, it hurts momentum a little bit, but in games that’s going to happen and we’ve got to learn to get past that. Our defense, even after those, still stepped up and played as good as defense as they could. But the turnovers with those and the offensive turnovers all day hurt us.”
On the importance of the rest of the season
“The way Coach (Lovie) Smith is attacking it is like a playoff system. We have two games. If we lose, postseason over. So we have to win both games left. So the next game against Iowa, if we don’t win, there’s no bowl game. So we have to go out and attack it like it’s a must-win, because it is, and come out with a win.”
On if the team thought it would come down to having to win the last two games
“No, you obviously never think that’s where it’s going to go. I thought we were playing better football and we thought the outcomes would’ve been different. But that’s where we are and we can’t look at it that way. We have to look where we are and know what we have to do and go execute it.”
On his last home game next week
“That’s hard. It’s senior day and the last time we get to play in Memorial Stadium. It’s going to be a hard one. I’ll leave it at that now. I know next week the postgame, win or lose, the interview is going to be tougher. It’s my last time playing there so it’ll be hard.”
AJ Bush
Senior, Quarterback
On being back in Nebraska
“It felt good. It felt good to get out there.”
On his level of excitement compared to other games
“I just wanted to go have a good game and try to make it as less about me as possible.”
On talking with the Nebraska players during the game
“They’re all my boys, so it was just playful talk just to keep the game hype, I guess. It wasn’t nothing serious. Those are the same guys I hosted on official visits so they’re still my boys.”
On if he wondered what it would be like to play at Nebraska
“If the opportunity presented itself, then it’d be cool. But I never really put a lot of thought into it.”
On having the most yards of any Illinois quarterback in a game
“It’s cool, but I didn’t get the most important stat I wanted.”
Ra'Von Bonner
Sophomore, Running Back
On his mindset
“I had to step up and do the best I could in order to help my team win.”
On improving as a player
“Truly listening to [running back coach Thad Ward] when he tells me to press the ball, look at all of my reads, being able to see the defense better. The game is really starting to slow down to me this season.”
On conditioning
“I definitely do. [Strength and conditioning coach Joey Boese] really pushed me this off season, helping me get faster. I’m really working on my conditioning because he said the better conditioning you have, the better football player you’ll be.”
On losing fat, gaining muscle
“I lost seven percent body fat. I was 215 last year, and now I am 214 this year, but it’s more muscle.”
On how his body feels
“It feels a lot better. My body feels so much better this year than it did the year before.”
On offensive line and running backs
“The offensive line, that’s where it starts. I truly believe that. They’ve blocked their butts off week in and week out and has worked harder than anybody in practice. I feel like we have great weapons in the back field. We have a lot of depth at the running back position.”
Bobby Roundtree
Sophomore, Defensive Lineman
On defense
“I felt like we just took a step back.”
On what defense lacked
“Communicating, executing. Basically everything. Just staying on top of each other and holding each other to a higher standard.”
On strategizing the quarterback
“Trying to keep him in the trap. He’s athletic and a pretty young dude, so you just want to keep him in the trap. You don’t want him scattering everywhere, making it harder for secondaries.”
On defensive play
“For me, I just want to keep him in the trap so I can’t lose them. He kind of makes it easier to make more sacks on him because he’s just trying to look down field. He’s a scrambler, but he doesn’t actually see us coming and that kind of helps us out.”
On personal improvements
“I’m more educated with the game and stronger. I’m more aggressive than last year. Last year, I was a freshman, I didn’t really know what to expect. This year, being more mature and older, it helps me I feel like.”
On personal sack goal
“Today, I thought two or better. I could’ve ended off with three or more, but I’m just going to keep pushing.”
Del'Shawn Phillips
Senior, Linebacker
On playing a dual-threat quarterback
“It’s always tough when you have a dual-threat quarterback, a guy that can run and throw and give you the option. You have to take another defender and put him in the box and keep the quarterback in tail, while also trying to stop passes in the back end. That’s always a challenge.”
On defensive mindset
“We weren’t really locked in, honestly. There were a lot of mental mistakes. Then they capitalized.”
On why defense lacked in areas
“I don’t really know the reason. I know it happened though, and when it did happen, they made sure they found where it happened at and attacked that area.”
On making it to a bowl game
“It’s definitely important to finish strong every year. You want to come out every game with a W. But, it’s really for us like playoff run now. We want to go to a bowl game. We have to win two in a row. So, it’s really win or go home. I definitely don't want to sit at home after the regular season, so the whole team needs to lock in and focus more than ever and try and get it from there.”