We’ll hear from more players later this week, but a few were available today and all seemed to share the same thoughts on the news that their head coach is gone after this year. Those heard from so far (Ronnie Fouch, Jake Locker and Johri Fogerson) all seemed sad that their coach was leaving, though none were too surprised by the news given the team’s record this season.
Here are a few highlights of what was said:
LOCKER
When did you find out?
“About 10 minutes ago in the locker room. I had no idea.
It’s obviously tough being that was the coach and staff that brought me in and I kinda had a close relationship through the whole process so it’ll be tough to see them go.”
Can there be a silver lining to this?
“Only time will tell. At some point, us as players have to make a decision we need to make the difference for this as players. The coaches can give you a game plan and put you in the best position they feel for success, but it’s up to the players to execute that. I think that no matter who’s in here, that still falls on our shoulders, so I think it’s an important time for us as a team to come together and rally around each other and realize we’re what’s going to be left. We’re going to have to do this together and find some way to overcome it.”
Your emotions?
“It’s difficult. A lot of us were recruited by these guys. A lot of us had personal connections and they knew us well as people, so that’s the most difficult thing – especially for me. Just knowing these guys outside of football with their families. It’s tough, it’s difficult. But it’s a business. We know that and we know that they know that.”
What went wrong?
“To define one thing and put you’re finger on it, I don’t know. I felt really confident coming into this season. I thought we had a really good team, a good camp, good summer. I was really, really confident. If you would told me at Week 7 I would be talking about Coach moving on and us being 0-7, I would’ve told you you were crazy. It’s difficult. I can honestly tell you I didn’t see it coming. It’s a surprise.”
Can this announcement help the team from splintering?
“I think it’ll be an important time for us as a team and players. We have to make that decision now – we’re going to be the only people coming back. We’re not going to have the coaches to count on and its going to be us to hold it together. It’s up to us to decide where it’s going to go.”
How does this change things?
“I don’t think it changes things. Our goal is still to win football games. I believe this coaching staff will still put us in the best position to do that. It’s up to us to execute that plan and do the best on Saturday.”
How big was Ty in your decision to come to the UW?
“It was a big part of my decision. Not only did I feel comfortable with him, my family did. I wanted to come somewhere where I was going to be developed not just as a football player, but in all aspects of my life. I felt he presented that opportunity to me and gave me a chance to do that at this university. I have 100 percent belief the guy they’re going to bring in will be able to do the same thing. They’ll look for the same values in the next head coach. But, it’s difficult to move on with having those thoughts. He gave us a lot of opportunity to be more than a player in this community, this university. Not only him, but the other guys on this staff and I’m thankful. I wouldn’t change my decision for anything.”
Is this the best decision for the players?
“We weren’t winning games and that’s difficult for the players. It can be put on a lot of different things. I know a lot of us would come up here and say we’re not taking care of what we need to. At some point, you can go out and any play can be called – whether you agree with it or not – you execute it and be successful with it. That falls on our shoulders. The coaches can’t do anything about that. The problems we’ve been having, the first thing to point at is the players. We didn’t live up to what we needed to do.”
“Change can be a good thing or change can be a bad thing. It depends on how we rally together as a team and the attitude we accept whoever is coming in with.”
FOGERSON
“I can’t speak for everybody on the team, because I haven’t seen everybody, but he’s the one who brought us in here, so it’s sad to see him go. Unfortunately it’s a situation that we all have to deal with. He’s a great coach and he’ll be missed.”
Will it help going forward now that this decision has been made?
“A lot of that stress is relieved, and right now it’s to the point where it seems like we’ve given up, but we haven’t, so now that everything is complete, we can just play now.”
Moving forward what are the emotions?
“It’s more of a, ‘thank god they put that away now.’ You don’t want him to go, but the head man… they wanted him out, so he’s out.”
Did it feel inevitable?
“Basically yeah. The suspense, the whole atmosphere in the locker room, we didn’t really know what was going on. We come in now today and he’s gone.”
Did it get to a point that it needed to happen?
“Not at all. He’s the one who brought me in, he’s the reason why I came here, so it’s sad that I have to see him go and see another coach come in to where I’m starting at ground zero.”
So haven’t there been the wins this year?
“I can’t explain. How we play in practice and how we play in games, it just doesn’t add up. We have great practices, it just doesn’t transform to the game. We have the talent to win, we’re not an 0-7 team at all.”
FOUCH
Your thoughts?
“It’s tough. It’s tough not being able to get enough wins to keep his job after this year. He’s the leader of this team, and like I’ve said before, he’s the reason I came here… and he’ll be gone next year, it’s tough for me because he’s the reason I came here.
Is it hard to play out the season?
“It won’t be hard because we’ll be playing for him. Like I said, he’s the reason I came here and it’s going to be tough seeing him go after this year, but our focus is on SC right now.”
Is it better for you guys that he’s finishing out the season?
“Yes, I think it’s best for our team to have him stay because he’s built this program to where it is right now, and we’re going to rally around him and try to win some games to try to finish out the season right for him.”
Initial emotions?
“It was tough, because he’s the reason I came here and he recruited me since day one. Having him look me in the eye and tell me he won’t be back next year, it’s tough. He’s the reason I came here, he’s the leader of this team, and what he expects from his program is very respectable. It’s hard.”
What’s gone wrong?
“If you look at the obvious point, wins and losses. But I don’t think that’s his fault. A lot of it is the team. He can only do so much, and we’ve got to be able to put wins out there ourselves. It’s tough.”
Have you seen any change in him as the season has gone on?
“He’s the same Tyrone, he’s the same strong, tough-minded Tyrone, and he hasn’t changed at all. He hadn’t changed this morning when I met with him about this situation, I was kind of upset when I first heard it because he’s the reason I came here, but he’s the same guy that’s been here ever since I’ve been here.”
How much of a distraction was the talk about Ty before today?
“There were a lot of rumors going around, but I thought we did a great job of blocking them out of our ears and focusing on winning only, but now that we know, I think it’ll help guys a little bit knowing what’s going to happen after the season, but I think we still need to finish the season out right and get some wins for him.”
How does the focus change week to week now?
“We still have a lot of season left, so we can’t give up now just because coach is gone after the season. We’ve got to go out and compete still.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
